Kikoru Shinomiya

* Manga
* Anime

*"No casualties or dropouts allowed. At least, not on any battlefield where I set foot!"*
— Kikoru during the Secondary Selection Exam
**Kikoru Shinomiya** (四 (し) ノ (の) 宮 (みや)  キコル, *Shinomiya Kikoru*) is the tritagonist of the *Kaiju No. 8* series.

She is the young daughter of Defense Force Director General Isao Shinomiya and a member of the Third Division. After Tachikawa Base was destroyed, Kikoru was transferred to the First Division.

## Appearance

Kikoru is a petite young girl with long blonde hair styled in two ponytails on the sides, decorated with two black bows, and big green eyes. She is fairly short and possesses a rather skinny yet athletic physique. Considering her overall appearance and her hairstyle, she resembles her mother Hikari Shinomiya very much.

On duty, Kikoru wears the usual combat suit of the Defense Force along with her usual arsenal. With Numbers Weapon 4 as her new personal weapon, Kikoru dons a light-colored scaly suit with a long skirt. It has both of Izumo Tech's logos (the one for weapons at the end of the skirt and the regular one at the top) and the 004 insignia on the chest.

Her casual attire consists of a long grey dress.

When Kikoru was a child, she had slightly shorter hair with the same hairstyle as today.

## Personality

Kikoru appears as an arrogant and prideful girl, very confident in her ability to look down on people and humiliate those she deems inferior without second thought. Kikoru is also a very persistent and determined person, working hard to constanly improve herself and becoming stronger and more useful whenever she can. Even towards superior officers, she still manages to show her confidence, although in a much more polite and less arrogant way.

Despite this more evident trait, Kikoru deep down cares about her comrades and does whatever in her power to avoid casualties or injuries whenever she's on the battlefield. She is also a loyal person, showing gratitude towards Kafka Hibino for saving her, and keeping his secret. Even if it's hidden by her proud and unafraid nature, she cares for her allies well-being and goes as far as needed to ensure their safety or simply to support them.

It is revealed that Kikoru used to be very fond of her parents' work as Defense Force members, and this brought her to desire to join the Force herself. However, every since her mother's death, Kikoru grew a hidden yet large sense of insecurity that brought her to push herself to get stronger and stronger, in order to keep the promise made to Hikari. This, in tandem with Isao's overly high expectations on Kikoru, cause her to constantly feel the need to get stronger to avoid the death of anyone around her. Her relationship with her father and everything regarding her family as a whole seem to make her insecure and hesitant, easily breaking down in despair. This feelings obviously increased ever since Isao's death, with her wish to get stronger growing again due to living the same trauma twice. Hidden in Kikoru's subconscious, in fact, lies her obsessive desire of being praised by her parents and grant their approval, fueling her will to become stronger in order to prove to be worthy of their praise.

Kikoru appears to be very polite and professional when speaking to higher ups and superiors, being probably used to speaking to military officers due to her upbringing.

## Powers & Abilities

**Overall Abilities**: Kikoru is the daughter of two famous high-ranking former Defense Force soldiers and a prodigious talent. Despite being a first-year rookie, many of her peers and superiors ackowldeged her combat prowess is second to no one, allowing her to single-handedly neutralize a horde of Yoju and their Honju all by herself, and with minimal effort. Her excelent skills in combat, in tandem with her remarkable Unleashed Combat Power and tactical skills, earned Kikoru the praise of many senior officers, most of them agreeing that she will become a linchpin of the Defense Force in the future. Ever since being enlisted, her abilities earned her the privilege of wielding a personal weapon in battle, which is usually only granted to higher ranking Division members. Keiji Itami states that watching her on the battlefield reminds him of her mother, former Second Division Captain Hikari Shinomiya.

After being granted Numbers Weapon 4 by Captain Gen Narumi, Kikoru's already exceptional physical attributes evolved even further, allowing her to easily spar with Gen himself, with him also wearing a Numbers Weapon, and eliminate kaiju with a Fortitude level of 7.0. The suit also allows her to temporarily fight on par with a Identified Kaiju of Kaiju No. 15's caliber. Kikoru can see her mother's Ghost through Kaiju No. 4's memories while wearing Numbers Weapon 4, allowing her to mimic her mother's movement and improve her combat techniques. By following her mother's Ghost in battle and copying its moves, Kikoru's comabt prowess reaches numbers and performances worth of a Captain-level officer.

### Powers

* **Flight**: While using Numbers Weapon 4, Kikoru is able to fly long distances at extreme speeds.

* **High Unleashed Combat Power**: Despite being a rookie, Kikoru is initially able to release 46% of her combat suit's power on her first try while wearing a standard Defense Force combat suit, which Soshiro Hoshina states is platoon leader-class. She further improves her strength after marksman training, capable of releasing 55%. After training with Gen Narumi, Kikoru is now able to initially release 84% of the suit's power while wearing Numbers Weapon 4, with the number even growing to 88% in a stable form, and 94% at its highest. Thus far, Kikoru's Combat Power percentage is the highest as a non-Captain Defense Force officer.
	+ **Enhanced Strength**: Kikoru's strength, when wearing her Defense Force combat suit, is enough for her to effortlessly lift a car with one arm. Her physical strength is furtherly agumented when wearing Numbers Weapon 4, enabling her to crush kaiju with one attack or fight on par with stronger opponents.<
	+ **Enhanced Speed**: When wearing her uniform, Kikoru can run way faster than most of her peers, with them struggling to follow her pace. Wearing Numbers Weapon 4, famous for being the Defense Force's fastest Numbers Weapon, Kikoru is able to move and fight faster than trained soldiers can follow and even evade powerful blitz attacks.
	+ **Enhanced Endurance**: Kikoru's suit is resistant enough to prevent a shot from Kaiju No. 9 from killing her, although the shot can still tear the suit through. Despite being severely injured from No. 9's powerful attacks, she is able to stand and continue fighting. With Numbers Weapon 4, Kikoru's endurance has drastically improved since she's able to tank blows from a kaiju like No. 15, although not coming out unscathed.

### Abilities

* **Axemanship Mastery**: Kikoru is highly skilled at killing kaiju, so much so that she is granted her own personal weapon, a giant axe. She has shown increased combat prowess with her axe after joining the First Division. After training with Gen Narumi, Kikoru's level of skill and performance in battle now resembles that of a Division Captain.

#### Fighting Style

* Number One: Falling Thunder
* Number Two: Water Skimmer
* Number Three: Half-Moon
* Number Five: Twin Swallows
* Number Six: Daruma Dropper
* Daruma Dropper - Ten Hit
1/6
After receiving a battle axe from the Defense Force, befitting her aggressive and high-handed personality, Kikoru displayed a remarkable mastery in the Squadron Style **Axe Technique** (斧術, *Ono-jutsu*). She uses this combat style for close-range battles and her proficiency gives her enough power to easily defeat durable kaiju and injure kaiju as powerful as Kaiju No. 10, although drastically consuming her stamina and energy.

* **Number One: Falling Thunder** (1式: 落 (らく) 雷 (らい) , *Isshiki: Rakurai*): The first application of the Squadron-Style Axe Technique. By pulling the trigger on the axe she creates a shockwave that releases backward, resulting in a vicious axe chop from above.

* **Number Two: Water Skimmer** (2式: 水 (みず) 切 (きり) , *Nishiki: Mizukiri*): The second application of the Squadron-Style Axe Technique involves sending a shockwave forward only at the moment of the impact, for a powerful and clean cut.

* **Number Three: Half-Moon** (3式: 半 (はん) 月 (げつ) , *Sanshiki: Hangetsu*): A brutal rotating axe chop.

* Unnamed **Number Four** (4式 , *Yonshiki*) technique.

* **Number Five: Twin Swallows** (5式: 双 (そう) 燕 (えん) , *Goshiki: Sōen*): A pair of cross-shaped axe slashes, resulting in a rapid blitzing attack.

* **Number Six: Daruma Dropper** (6式: 達 (だる) 磨 (まお) 落 (とし) , *Rikushiki: Daruma Otoshi*): An attack consisting of four rotating horizontal chops, going from the head to the legs of the target.
	+ **Ten Hit** (十段, *Jū-dan*): A variation of Daruma Dropper where Kikoru lands ten slashing attacks instead of the usual four.

## Battles

* Kikoru vs Kaiju No. 9 and Revived Exam Honju (Lost): Chapter 6 - Chapter 7
* Kikoru, Soshiro Hoshina and  Mina Ashiro vs Kaiju No. 10 (Won): Chapter 30 - Chapter 31
* Kikoru and Kaiju No. 8 vs Gamma (Kaiju No. 9 clone) (Won): Chapter 43 - Chapter 48
* Kikoru vs Kaiju No. 15 (Won): Chapter 76 - Chapter 85

## Equipment

**Combat Suit *(formerly)***: Kikoru wears the usual combat suit on the battlefield.

**Respirator Mask**: Kikoru wears a respirator mask in combat.

**Numbers Weapon 4** (識別怪獣兵器 (ナンバーズ) 4号 (ごう) , *Nanbāzu Yon-gō*): Just like her mother, Kikoru is compatible with Numbers Weapon 4, a special combat suit made from the corpse of Kaiju No. 4. It is the Defense Force's fastest Numbers weapon, giving her immense speed on the battlefield, and the only one capable of flight.

**Battle Axes**

* **First Battle Axe *(formerly; destroyed)***: Ever since proving her worth to Mina Ashiro and Soshiro Hoshina, Kikoru carries a big battle axe, marked **AX-0112**, made out of the uni-organ of a Honju that was subjugated two years ago in Shinagawa. The axe is equipped with a trigger that, when pulled, releases a shockwave through an electric current. The axe was destroyed during her third encounter with Kaiju No. 9.
* **Second Battle Axe**: A second battle axe, marked **AX-0113**, was later given for Kikoru.

**Handgun**: Kikoru carries a handgun for long-ranged attacks, equipped with a torch and a laser sight.

**Rifle *(formerly)***: Before being given her signature axe, Kikoru would use a rifle.

Kikoru's respirator maskKikoru's Numbers Weapon 4 combat suitKikoru's AX-0112 battle axeKikoru's handgunKikoru's combat suit (formerly)Kikoru's rifle (formerly)
## Etymology

* Kikoru's last name **Shinomiya** contains the kanji for "four" (四, *shi*) and "temple, shrine, palace" (宮, *miya*).

## Trivia

* Kikoru likes to exterminate kaiju, black tea (especially Darjeeling tea), and big dogs.
* Kikoru's personal weapon was supposed to be a giant sword, but the author decided an axe for a higher contrast between the rugged weapon and her character.
* Kikoru ranked #5 in the first character popularity polls.
* The Daruma Dropper technique takes its name from the japanese children game Daruma Otoshi, played by hitting a Daruma doll in five pieces with a hammer without making it fall. Kikoru's technique, in fact, cuts the target in five pieces from head to legs, similarly to Daruma dolls.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kikoru's character profile
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Chapter 3
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Chapter 72
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 4
5. ↑ Chapter 34
6. ↑ Chapter 39
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Chapter 44
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Chapter 5
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chapter 71
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 7
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Chapter 6
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Chapter 26
13. ↑ Chapter 68
14. ↑ Chapter 69
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chapter 78
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Chapter 79
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Chapter 80
18. ↑ Chapter 11
19. ↑ Chapter 77
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Chapter 45
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Chapter 42
22. ↑ Chapter 30
23. ↑ Chapter 84
24. ↑ Kikoru's weapon concept art.