User blog:Hawkeye2701/No Name Assassin and the Kouga Ninja Scrolls

Shockingly enough, the No Name Assassin has provided me with more topics of thought than I imagined she would, and in this latest one, I'm going to address the possiblity that she, or at least one of her abilities, takes influence from the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada.

The original teaser chapter made mention of one of No Name's Noble Phantasms, called Zabaniya, which is remarked as having caused several magus, actively preparing spells to stop her, to incinerate themselves instead. This left the whole thing rather ambiguous as to what it actually did, but even then, I had an inkling.

Later still however, when the first manga for Fate/strange fake was published, we got this image.



In this, we can see the magus actively attacking her, and a focus on Assassin's eyes, one becoming differently shaded, and then the attacking magus are suddenly on the ground, half burnt to death.

Now for anyone not familiar with the Kouga Ninja Scrolls, I'm sure your asking "What has the ability of a Middle-Eastern Assassin got to do with Ninjas?" Well the answer is simple.

In the Kouga Ninja Scrolls, one of the primary characters possesses an ability called Doujutsu, which basically translates to Eye Technique. So popular and widespread was this concept, that not only did the Kouga Ninja Scrolls recieve a Manga, Anime and Movie adaptation, but has inspired several works of Japanese Fiction, including the Film and Series Ninja Scroll, the Naruto Franchise and others.

Given this widespread reception, it's not unreasonable to assume that this idea could have influenced the Nasuverse, especially when one considers what the Doujutsu in the Ninja Scrolls does.

The Doujutsu's effect, is, in essense, to turn the aggressive intent of others back on itself, causing attackers to assault themselves instead of the target.

Considering that Assassin seemingly took no physical action against the magus, they were actively preparing to attack her, and when seen in the manga, are actually attacking her and that upon the use of her ability, specific focus is given to the eyes, it seems entirely likely, that the Noble Phantasm, Ichor of Reverie, is based on the Doujutsu of the Kouga Ninja Scrolls.

This isn't even the first time the Nasuverse would have referenced Japanese culture through the Assassin characters either. The Hundred Faced Hassan, No Name's apparent rival for the title, was claimed, offhandedly, to have impersonated Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

So, there it is, my evidence laid out in full. While I'm sure there are those who would disagree, or claim that it can't be stated despite the evidence, I am happy simply to plead my case on this one until the issue is resolved, if it ever is.