Shiki Kurobane/TV Tropes

thumb|294x294px|I wonder how this guitar works....
The Ace: Shiki comes from one of the most famed and powerful families in the Dragon Clan. He was the most talented child in his generation, and even becoming the most powerful Dragon Master the world had ever seen. Not to mention that he was skilled enough to even take on Ash despite having less abilities than him in the AV and land some clean hits on him. Sought after by every girl as well, though he showed no interest. He was also stated to have multiple talents and hobbies and is considered a charming, confident and popular prince who also serves as PAL's Blacklist Hunter, their best Defense Attorney and a talented musician and is considered the best of the best. 
100% Adoration Rating: Subsequently, they also adored him while he was still the PAL Prince. After all, he wasn't called the Prince of Everyone's Hearts for nothing, right?
100% Heroism Rating: Everyone thought of him as a hero, even after death. 
Abusive Parents / Meddling Parents: Shiki mentioned that his parents were extremely hard on him as a child. He heavily implied that he received a lot of pressure from his parents as he had natural talent, and was possibly given up by his parents to a project with the goal of creating a superhuman paragon by imbuing a single person with every talent possible. This was regardless of his wishes and in defiance of his right to any sort of childhood. 
Act of True Love: Risked his own life in the Team Rocket HQ to save Amethyst, and subsequently took a death blow meant for her. He even transferred his powers and Pokémon to her so that she could take care of herself. However, with the latest revelation of Shiki, whether or not it was really true love is anyone's guess. 
Always Someone Better: Amethyst stated that he always beats her in everything, even in her own special fields such Pokémon Coordinating. No matter how much she tried to beat him, he would usually come out on top. He also serves as this to Ash. 
All Your Powers Combined: He was given multiple talents from those who already possessed them, resulting in abilities like Super Strength, Super Reflexes‎, extreme analytic skills, superb cooking, performing and Coordinating skills and even supernatural luck that can counter Amethyst's bad luck. 
Ambiguously Evil: The Reveal that Shiki was a victim of the talent procedure. His actions were not out of actual malice, but the wish to feel more alive. He never actually killed anyone that did not deserve it, combined with how he is never once shown committing sadistic actions and the strong implication that he was really trying to help Amethyst, raises doubt on how legit of a emotionless sociopath Shiki really was. It further reveals Shiki cannot feel emotions, not would not. In the end Shiki may just be Heroic Neutral than ever really evil despite the number of people he killed and the rape of Amethyst. 
Ambiguously Human: The talent project either excised or suppressed all of Shiki's senses, thoughts, emotions, hobbies, and memories that interfered with acquiring talent. This was done with the intent to make him the perfect genius, but Shiki's lack of these essential parts of the human psyche made him utterly apathetic to the world—everything to him is boring. The only thing that made him alive was spilling blood and trying to predict Amethyst herself. 
Aristocrats Are Evil: Averted. Despite being born in an aristocrat family of the Dragon Clan who valued blood purity more than anyone, Shiki was kind and empathetic, much unlike his warmongering clan members and even took in the Cursed Child himself when he knew no one else would. Though how much of his personality was real is unknown. It's implied even Amethyst didn't know about it. 
Back from the Dead: Despite being dead for five (FS)/six (AV) years, he appeared to everyone to explain why Amethyst chose to be a killer and go against all of them. The reason why he was able to appear was probably the fact that he transferred his aura to Amethyst so that she could have his powers, and there is also the fact that aura grows stronger in death. It does ‘help’ that Amethyst created him in her head in the AV.
Badass and Child Duo: With Amethyst in the early days. Furthermore, he was one of the best Defense Attorneys in the region, and is definitely the stronger member of the Dragon Duo, meaning the Badass title definitely goes to him.
Battle Couple: He and Amethyst definitely count as one.
Bequeathed Power: Before he died, he transferred all his abilities and even his Dragon Champion powers to Amethyst, banking on the fact that if he died when transferring the powers, she would have them permanently. He also apparently transferred even his own skills and power control over to her through his Power Transference, for she was able to control the abilities and powers without a problem.
Berserk Button: Lay a hand on Amethyst and Shiki will attack you in cold blood. You’ll be considered lucky if you get a quick death.
Beware the Nice Ones: Very amiable person, described as nice and friendly most of the time, but he also would do whatever it takes to protect Amethyst, even if it means killing. It was implied he committed a massacre just to protect the sweet little girl and his personality is also all but outright stated to be an act.  
Big Brother Instinct: Gets his pressed very, very hard when meeting Amethyst in her little cell for the first time, and he helps her escape ten years later to convince her that there are people who will love her. As they grew up, he tends to her in an extremely caring manner and did whatever he could to see her smile.
Big Brother Mentor: Was this to Amethyst. However, it may bleed to Evil Mentor with the rumors that Shiki's niceness was just a facade. 
Big Damn Heroes: Rescued Amethyst and took care of her well and long enough for her to find her own place. Well, sort of. 
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Implied. There are rumors that he is hiding something more under that noble, righteous façade.
Blood from the Mouth: After he got the knife to the chest, and realized it was poisoned.
Blow You Away: When using his aura, he utilizes wind manipulation as one of his main abilities and sometimes used it in combination with other abilities that he had. He can surround his attackers in tornadoes, throw them back with blasts of wind, and can use wind to kick up objects to enemies as if they are projectiles and hurl them as a Flechette Storm. He can also infuse it in his weapons to make them more lethal. He also makes use to if to propel him when he's in flight. 
Born Lucky: His Divine Luck as a character trait meant that he almost had everything handed to him. His luck is so well known that, he was able to locate things that should not be possible under normal means or a normal human has a lottery's chance of accidentally stumbling across it. Whenever someone bets on something, he would always win, no matter how unlikely the eventual outcome was. He can even win big just by putting a coin he picked up off the ground into a slot machine. Combining with his ability to tell his opponent's subtlest tells, it makes him virtually unbeatable in games such as poker or blackjack. His luck is also sometimes unpredictable: sometimes he has bad luck that would happen to him, but it allows him to escape even worse things. It's also just one of his many talents, and it was this luck that made him able to save Amethyst, dying in the process. However, it was confirmed he did not need any of that luck to be dangerous in a fight.  
Broken Ace:  Shiki portrayed himself as a noble, down-to-earth, dedicated and loving PAL Prince, excelled in everything he did, and even handsome enough to seduce both men and women. However, the process that bestowed him all his talents actually robbed him of any human qualities, naturally leading to his complete lack of any ability to enjoy his superhuman abilities. He also had no real motivation to do anything unless he found a potential to cure him of his boredom. In fact, he did not have any particular favourite food, drink and only ate to keep his energy up. He didn't even have any preferred hobbies, only trying different things in an attempt to see if he'll be interested. 
Brother-Sister Team: Subverted, as Amethyst isn't actually his sister. She can pass as one, though, since both of them have dark hair and their eyes are different shades of the same colour. Not to mention both are considered very good looking.
Brutal Honesty: Not afraid to speak his mind even as a child. Now we know where Amethyst picked up this trait from.
Can't Hold His Liquor: Is implied to be this during the night of the party to celebrate their new positions before he targeted Amethyst for sexual purposes.
The Charmer: Subverted. He doesn't know the effect he had on other girls, and only interacted and smiled at them to be polite.
The Chessmaster: The role he took when they became the Dragon Duo, and dictated their activities. He is so good he can manipulate murders and implicate someone else WITHOUT the need of tempering of evidence. 
Chick Magnet: Is actually considered very handsome and is noted to be very popular with girls. Heck, he even had some girls drugging him during a party for him to lay them. It backfired, however.
Child Prodigy: Described by other characters as a very talented boy with the ability to master the art of swordsmanship rather quickly and at a very young age. He also has knowledge of the Dragon Pokémon and the Dragon Clan that exceeds that of Lance, who is expected to assume the title of the heir as he was the oldest. He was an incredibly gifted, talented, and mature person even as a child, and he was a musical genius as well. And that was before he received the lobotomy bestowing him with even more gifts.  
Cold-Blooded Torture: Makes use of this to interrogate targets. It's disturbing how he let Amethyst watch, and even worse, Amethyst did not seem to mind or care. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why she was able to execute it herself once Shiki died.
Cool Big Bro: Shiki is the nicest of the Dragon Clan members, capable of showing empathy and seeing the bigger picture of what the Elders said, and would eventually tend to and take care of Amethyst by himself when she was rescued by him. 
Cool People Rebel Against Authority: Shiki definitely does not approve of the Elder’s actions, and he is considered one of the coolest people Amethyst have ever met in her life, and even strived to be as good as him.
Crazy Jealous Guy: He was trying to protect Amethyst from all those men out there who just wanted to get in her pants, despite being a jail bait. Or so he told himself.
Cuddle Bug: According to Amethyst, he's very clingy and hugs her in his sleep a lot.
Dance of Romance: Only danced with each other in parties. 
Dark and Troubled Past: His entire family was killed due to a pox epidemic, and he was forced to train so much because he's told he's destined to be the clan head instead of Lance, which puts a huge burden on him to live up to expectations. Furthermore, he was put under a procedure that all but deleted his original personality and memories in exchange for talent. He secretly despised what the clan members did to Amethyst but could not do anything as he himself was a child and was still under his parents' care. 
Death Glare: Always has this when other males hit on the then jailbait Amethyst. 
Death of Personality: Implied as to what happened to him when the talent team Rocket researched was implanted into his brain via lobotomy. The project either excised or suppressed all of his senses, thoughts, emotions, hobbies, and memories that interfered with acquiring talent. This came at the cost of making his new personality incredibly sociopathic and pretend to respond to emotions without actually feeling them to blend in with different people and winning them over. 
Died In Your Arms Tonight: Amethyst held Shiki as he transferred his powers to her and gave her a smile, a kiss and some words as to encourage her to move on before finally closing his eyes and succumbing to his fate. It angered her enough to wipe out all the Team Rocket members that came in to attack and destroy the base without blinking an eye.  
Emotionless Guy: After an incident during early childhood, Shiki was unable to feel things like happiness, sadness, anger, or love. This led him to study more about emotions and made use of Amethyst's ability to sense emotions as a result. This is also why he became a lawyer- to study the minds of different people and what made them tick. He also took Amethyst in in an attempt to study emotions of other people via her power. With this in mind, it's implied his personality was a mere façade and that the persona he showed was simply to win people over. 
Fashion Designer: It was all but outright stated that the outfits worn by Amethyst during her time with Shiki was either chosen, stitched or altered by Shiki. This implies that he has some skills in designing clothes though he never bothered to develop it as a career. It was enough for Amethyst to be known as a fashion icon in the Performing and Coordinating World and form an image of her. It serves as an early hint at Shiki's uncanny ability to manipulate people by understanding their wants and desires. 
First Love: To Amethyst. Their romance ended in tragedy, since Amethyst's carelessness and hesitance to kill her own family back then made Shiki have to Take a Bullet for her so she would live. Despite this happening five (FS) or six (AV) years ago, the course of the story all but outright stated that she's still not over his death and would never be. Whether or not Shiki reciprocated her love, considering what we know about him is still unknown. 
Flight: Has the ability to fly, whether with psychic power or with the wind to propel him. Gave this power to Amethyst before he died.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: In the courtroom while being a Defense Attorney.
Good Is Not Soft: He certainly does not show mercy to anyone who tries to touch Amethyst.  
Heir to the Dojo: The Elders passed Lance and named Shiki as their heir apparent because he was more talented and knowledgeable even at his age. However, is was adverted once Shiki gave up his position as heir when he left Blackthorn for his journey, disgusted at the Dragon Clan's rumor of the Cursed Child.
Hello, Attorney!: He’s extremely handsome which earned him a lot of female admirers. Amethyst speculated he was attractive to the guys as well. And he’s a Defense Attorney, a much better one than Amethyst was.
Heroic Sacrifice: His wish was to protect Amethyst even if it costs him his life, because he fell in love with her. Indeed, he had given up his life and used up all his luck just to save her, but he considered himself lucky that he was able to save her, instead of thinking his luck had run out.  
Homemade Inventions: Made the Idiot Gun and the Laser Gun Amethyst used out of scrap material. Works well as well, which was why Phillip took it, wondering how Shiki did it. 
Hypocritical Humor: Glared at every single guy who looked at Amethyst (who was a real jail bait back then) the wrong way. Guess who cruelly snatched her purity from her before she turned legal (albeit he was not in his right mind)? 
I Regret Nothing: Shiki told the Elites years after his death, that he didn't regret a thing when he made the decision to protect Amethyst from that attack, and would do it again if he had to. He had to tell her straight out in the AV that it was never her fault that he died.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: It's the reason why he spent his early days with her to try and get her to smile.
Iaijutsu Practitioner: While he has occasional stints with other weapons, his main weapon is a katana which he can fight with iaijutsu by drawing, killing and re-sheath before the opponent can register his movement, relying more on a single powerful strike rather than locking the opponent into a combo. It looked like he was just walking past the enemy, before they get all cut up into bloody pieces when he stops walking. 
Improvised Training: Probably how he mastered his newly discovered aura and develop his abilities. Apparently his aura abilities are all self-taught. Considering his talents, it was no surprise he mastered Aura very quickly. 
Informed Ability: Was stated to be much stronger than Amethyst in terms of Pokémon battling and aura powers, but the full extent was not exactly shown. However, it may be subverted as Amethyst had excellent control of his abilities and was able to get Ash down to his final Pokémon, since Shiki transferred all his powers and skills to her. 
The Jail Bait Wait: Subverted when Shiki mentioned Amethyst was too young for any adult things despite being more mature than some adults. It was adverted, however, when he got drugged and drunk. He just ripped her virginity from her without caring about her age. 
Japanese Politeness: Often bows in greeting. Passed this trait down to Amethyst where she learnt to curtsy as a greeting.
The Leader: The unspoken leader of the Dragon Duo (in other words, the more dominant member). He was set to become the Leader of the Elite as well. He is also one of the founders of the Legend & Co. Law Offices. Sure enough, he is professional and business-like when he's on duty and makes sure his members know what is expected of them and does his best to ensure their success. However, he also has a friendly, charming and charismatic personality and makes sure to take care of his team in any way possible.
Lack of Empathy: Implied. It was rumoured that his Nice Guy personality was a mere façade. He most likely lost his ability to empathize with people, likely due to the deletion of his real personality and emotions that came with the surgical procedure he was all but stated to have underwent to have endless talent. Even for Amethyst himself, he may not have any actual empathy for her, only pity. 
Lawful Good: Would never fall in the temptation of evil, and believe that fairness and equality is what is needed to lead the region. Can't say the same about the little girl he took in, though.
Living Emotional Crutch: To Amethyst. Amethyst broke down mentally when he died, and lost her morales and idealistic viewpoints. As Amethyst herself notes, "I'm fine as long as I have you." When he died, she...was never the same again. 
Living Legend: By the time he became the Prince, his reputation precedes him and everyone knows him as the Defense Attorney who can turn things around just as people thought they had him cornered. It turned out he is able to deduce possibilities and waited until the right moment to spring his trap on the prosecutors. He was also known as the trainer who is destined for great things when he won all the regional conferences around the world, which came true when he won the Trainer’s Tournament alongside Amethyst. Everyone called him the Prince to their hearts as he was a fair ruler and very capable despite being young. It was subverted, however, when he died, leaving Amethyst to wonder how she could be as good as Shiki, as she had been hiding in his shadow all the while.
Living Lie Detector: He could tell Amethyst was lying and had to use Mind Control to make her reveal what happened to her the afternoon after he raped her by accident. 
Look-Alike Lovers: Amethyst and Shiki both have purple eyes and black hair, and many mistook them for siblings, despite the fact that they are not actually related. The only difference was that Shiki's eyes are a shade lighter than Amethyst's.
The Lost Lenore: To Amethyst. His death was what made Amethyst go down the Path of Darkness, and awakened her killing instincts. It was also what made her quit as Dragon Princess and manipulate her way to get back her tiara, and hence the driving force to the story. His death haunted Amethyst ever since.
Manipulative Bitch: His social skills make it extremely easy for him to get people to help him; his Nice Guy charisma and profound knowledge of multiple topics also lets him associate better with different crowds. Also, he sometimes makes use of his psychological skills to manipulate his rivals into doing certain actions, thus getting them out of the way as his competition. 
Master Swordsman: He has trained with swords all his life and is able to use up to nine swords in combat which more often than not left no openings, and not to mention he is extremely proficient at using three, two and one sword, and brought down a lot of Team Rocket grunts with just a single sword, and killed them before they even realized they were dead. And his speed is stated to be lower than Amethyst's. Even people are wary when they engage him in combat. His skills were subsequently passed down to Amethyst, who later created her own sword fighting style which is deadlier due to her high speed.
Master of All: Is this: in ranged combat, at one point, he was able to cut down a assassin target who bulldozed the rest of the team; in unarmed combat, Amethyst found out the hard way he was able to keep up with her despite her torturous training; in mobility he's not only incredibly fast and strong but also possessed a powerful skill set, ranging from Mind Control to Illusions to even Wind Manipulation; he's also an amazing tactician that could keep up with Phillip, a skilled swordsman, and are one of the few rulers who are beloved by everyone in the region. What is more, he is a Renaissance Man in non-combat related things on top of that.
Neutral Good: Not above rebelling against the Elders even as a child as he knew what they were doing is wrong, and even rescued Amethyst from Team Rocket to take care of her himself. However, it's subverted when it's revealed his loyalty lies towards Amethyst only and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her and even keep her secrets when he was channeled in the AV and carried out his tasks despite knowing it was wrong.
Nerves of Steel: Say what you will, but this guy did not care one bit about his Elders, and even went into the enemy base to take Amethyst away and as a genius he most likely knew the consequences but did not care or was confident he can protect her.
Nice Guy: Undoubtedly one of the nicer characters in the story, though he is already dead. True to form, in flashbacks we see that he treated Amethyst with nothing but love and respect until the very end and was deeply against the Dragon Clam members' treatment towards her, and he was supposed to be their heir. Amethyst apparently wanted to inherit his immense kindness and his charitable nature, but strayed off the path at some point. May be a façade as it was rumored Shiki hid behind a mask. If it was, Shiki faked it extremely well. 
No Sympathy: Doesn't really feel pity or sorrow for others' misfortune, hence he was the perfect Blacklist Hunter. Justified as only he saw Amethyst’s misfortune, while the other residents of his hometown did not care or thought they were right in doing so. However, there could be more to the reason behind his lack of sympathy.  
Older Than They Look: Some people still refer to him as a boy despite being a full grown adult. 
Passing the Torch: Unspoken, but most likely did this to Amethyst so she can continue the legacy of the Dragon Duo in his stead by transferring his skills and powers to her, increasing her arsenal of abilities and skills and her overall stats. 
Posthumous Character: Died way before the start of the story, but makes appearances via flashbacks, pictures and even hallucinations (AV). Amethyst's desire to have him by her side again is what drives the original stories, and she often wonders what Shiki would have done in various situations. He even met the living characters in both versions to talk to them about Amethyst. 
Prince Charming: Rescues Amethyst, and not only that, he is handsome and one of the nicest characters in the series. Need we say anymore?  
Purely Aesthetic Glasses: Implied. Despite being depicted with glasses, Shiki is stated to have perfect eyesight like many other Elite members.
Rebel Prince: Born in an aristocrat family, so he’s probably treated like a Prince back in his hometown. The Elders even let him slide for the words he said, thinking it was a part of growing up.  
The Reliable One: The one that dictates the Dragon Duo's activities most of the time. He was able to make use of their Defense Attorney position to attract the attention of potential targets desiring legal protection, and their Blacklist Hunter jobs to eliminate the people threatening the peace in the region. Shiki is also the one running the Legend & Co. Law Offices, and directs the operations.  
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Protects the region as the Blacklist Hunter, and is even a Defense Attorney to save the innocent people from being thrown into jail. He  
Ruling Couple: With Amethyst. 
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Shiki did not care what the Elders thought of his rebellious nature, he was going to find, rescue and take care of the girl himself. 
Sexy Spectacles/Stoic Spectacles: Shiki certainly wears them. Amethyst has said at least once that she finds his glasses particularly attractive. It helped that he usually had a deadpan expression that makes him all the more handsome.
The Smart Guy: Smart enough to make strategies that almost always work. If it doesn’t, he just improvises. One thing is for sure, though: He’ll always shield Amethyst from danger. Amethyst once admitted that Shiki was smarter than her. He could probably hold his own in terms of a battle of wits or a strategy against Phillip himself. 
Smart People Wear Glasses: He doesn't actually need glasses considering the fact that he has enhanced eyesight like most of the Elite members. It is implied he wore them because it made him look smarter, which Amethyst definitely agrees to. 
The Social Expert: Thanks to Amethyst's ability to detect emotions and his intense study of psychology, he's incredibly charismatic, and charisma is one of the skills passed down to Amethyst from him. It's the trait that allowed him to build up so many allies and was beloved by the entire region. 
The Sociopath: Implied. He was a charming and handsome prince and heir who lacked empathy for others and is capable of anything thanks to his immense talents. He admits herself that he felt very little emotion and doesn't relate well to anyone. Furthermore, it was all but stated that Shiki was capable of remorseless killing and crippling of anyone just to protect Amethyst...or so he claims that was the reason. 
Stern Teacher: His methods of testing and teaching Amethyst are very stern. Shiki was willing to go all out on Amethyst, throws a nonstop horde of powers at his 'charge', and eventually stepped it up to using methods to disarm and leave her vulnerable... and then lets the his powers begin to overwhelm Amethyst while she's pinned down. In the moments leading up to it the look on Amethyst's face was one of absolute terror. Afterward, Shiki reminded Amethyst that he won't always be there to protect her, and that she'll have to get much better if she ever hopes to be able to become a better leader. 
Story-Breaker Power: Shiki is easily the most talented character in the entire series. However, he rarely uses his full potential. When with Amethyst, he mostly uses his talents to prove to her that she cannot hope to depend on a single talent to get by in life. His biggest, intended, contribution to was killing people he felt was not worth living, if only because that would further his own agenda into making Amethyst the perfect assassin next to him. 
Superpower Lottery: Shiki's talent is talent itself. He surpasses Amethyst's music and cooking skills and trumps Phillip in programming skills. Not only that, he has access to Aura and Psychic powers, with his wind abilities being strong enough to summon tornadoes, typhoons and hurricanes. His Mind Control is strong enough to affect an army all at once. Not to mention, he is a host of the Dragon Champion powers. 
Taking Up the Mantle: Amethyst took Shiki's jacket and glasses after he dies, and seeks to get him to be by her side once more. She took over as Head of the Blacklist Department, his would-be title as Elite Leader and continued as the sole ruler of PAL for a certain amount of time. 
Tall, Dark and Handsome: Definitely. He is around 184cm tall, and he had black hair. Handsome? Amethyst can so readily testify for you.
That Makes Me Feel Angry: Went to take a look at the Cursed Child when he heard the rumours, curious as to what made her cursed. Only he saw a cute bruised little girl with tear tracks on her face, and he was slightly irritated at what they did. 
Token Good Teammate: He's the one of the few members of the Dragon Clan who is capable of empathy, and the only one of them who doesn't act like a complete dick. He's willing to acknowledge that there is potential in everyone, instead of dismissing someone as a weakling just because they did not have the right blood and was born out of wedlock, and even outright stated that he didn't see anything cursed about her considering how adorable she was and how smart since she was able to speak properly before she was even two years old. He is shown to genuinely care for and love Amethyst and disapprove of the other clan members utter Lack of Empathy, He's actually much more compassionate than them as well. 
Took a Level in Jerkass: Subverted. He was actually acting like one in the story to test if Amethyst's fellow Elites was really sincere in their promise in taking care of her. In the AV, he gave Ash something that is almost like a Heads, I win. Tails, you lose situation. However, it was clear he did this because he loved Amethyst very much and did not want her to suffer anymore.
Took the Bullet: Took a poisoned knife to the chest to prevent it from hitting Amethyst. 
Troubled, but Cute: When he was a kid, but shows Troubling Unchildlike Behavior. Apparently, he has been what he can do to people and break them like toys easily. Heck, he murdered a kid before for before he's even old enough to enroll to kindergarten. 
Victory Is Boring: While Shiki is capable of accomplishing any task or talent, he always ended up with obtaining the result he predicted. Without having to work on the task or learn the specific talent, accomplishing the result felt meaningless for him.
Warrior Prince: Does most of the killing to protect Amethyst.
What the Hell, Hero?: Subverted, since he wasn’t exactly on the right mind when he raped Amethyst. 
Wise Beyond Their Years: Definitely, as he already knew that the way the Elders were acting, their reputation would go down. He was absolutely right, as it came in the form of a revengeful Amethyst. 
Category:TV Tropes