Azaka Kokutou

Azaka Kokutou
Japanese name:	黒桐鮮花
Portrayals
Japanese VA:	Ayumi FujimuraWP (Movies) Yukari TamuraWP (Drama CD)
Appearances
Primary franchise:	Kara no Kyoukai
Appears in:	Kara no Kyoukai All Around Type-Moon The Garden of Oblivion
Characteristics
Species:	Human, Psychic
Gender:	Female
Height:	158 cm
Blood Type:	B
Birthday:	December 21

Azaka Kokutou (黒桐鮮花, Kokutō Azaka^?) is a character from Kara no Kyoukai. She is Mikiya Kokutou's younger sister and the apprentice of Touko Aozaki.

Profile

Background

Azaka is Mikiya's younger sister, separated from her family and adopted by her uncle on her own request at a young age. When they were young, there was a person passed away who was very dear to Azaka and Mikiya. It was at this moment Azaka was attracted to Mikiya's kindness, falling in love with him despite their blood relation.

Around the time of Chapter 2 "A Study in Murder (Part 1)", she was adopted into a relative’s family and was bidding her time for the perfect moment to launch her Brother Conquering Campaign. She met Touko at some point when a series of strange incidents occurs similar to Edogawa Ranpo^WP and Seishi Yokomizo^WP mystery novels, Touko found Azaka in a lake, upside down with her legs sticking out of the water. As the daughter of the house, Azaka got dragged cooperating with the investigation. Tobimaru Tsukiji would appear as well.

She entered Reien Girl's Academy until high school and became friends with Fujino Asagami who was also an outsider at the time. She became a roommate and friend with Shizune Seo. She eventually returned from the Academy in her late teens, looking forward to seeing her brother, but instead met her love rival, Shiki Ryougi, for first time as Mikiya brought her home.

She became Touko's apprentice around June or July of 1998 as a way to spite Shiki, and wished to become a magus in order to rival Shiki physically and mentally.

Appearance

Azaka has long black hair and has blue eyes, like her brother. During school she wears the standard Reien uniform. Her casual clothes consists on a white shirt with a red tie, a brown waistcoat with a matching skirt.

Early Sketch

Newer Sketch

Young Azaka

Ufotable character sheet

Ufotable character sheet

Personality

Her preference in men has to be older men with black hair and glasses, in other words Mikiya. She was attracted to Satsuki Kurogiri because his name and appearance resembles Mikiya.

Azaka is a "tragic heroine" whose love, Mikiya, was snatched away before her eyes by Shiki. She had the false assumption that Mikiya would always be alone, so she buried her affection and played the role of the "good little sister." While she is a perfect model student, differing from Mikiya, her true colors are exposed around Shiki and Touko. She is a predator that always captured her prey, a wolf in sheep's skin, and because her love is pure and beautiful, although a little twisted, that is why it will not simply disappear. She becomes Touko's apprentice simply out of necessity to match Shiki, but they actually like each other's personalities. Only their relationships with Mikiya make it difficult for them to become good friends.

Development

In Chapter 3 “Remaining Sense of Pain”, if Fujino knew Azaka was the sister of Mikiya, the scenario would have changed onto a completely different route. The final confrontation would have changed to Combustion versus Distortion and the Reien Girl’s Academy would be completely obliterated.

Role

Kara No Kyoukai

In Kara no Kyoukai, she is a supporting character in most of the chapters. However in the 6th chapter Oblivion Recorder, she is the main character to investigate a certain incident. She was originally in limbo of being only marginally relevant to the story.

Chapter 3: Remaining Sense of Pain

In July 1998, Fujino Asagami lied to Azaka about trying to find the upperclassman she admires, as in reality she is seeking to kill him.

Azaka and Fujino tried to meet her brother Mikiya in Ahnenerbe but Mikiya couldn't make it so he asked Shiki to pass down a message, much to Azaka's annoyance.

Chapter 1: Overlooking the Scenery

In September 1998, she and Touko witnessed the suicide of Kirie Fujou. Azaka couldn't understand why she killed herself, and Touko comments that she just probably could not fly today.

Chapter 5: Paradox Spiral

In November 1998, Azaka tried showing Mikiya and Shiki her magecraft using one of Touko's pens as a catalyst, however when Touko returned from her art exhibition, she scolded Azaka from using her magic in front of people and warned her that the magecraft would lose it's effectiveness if she got dependent on channeling it through an item.

Azaka then asked if Shiki is a man or woman, causing Shiki to leave, annoyed with the question. Azaka questioned how Mikiya viewed Shiki and Mikiya said he would still be interested even if she is a man. Azaka, disgusted with the answer, threw a book at Mikiya and left.

Chapter 6: Oblivion Recorder

In January 1999, Touko contacted Azaka about a job where she would detect and eliminate the magus who is controlling the fairies in Reien Girl's Academy. However she has to work with Shiki, who has the ability to see them with her Mystic Eyes. They're investigating the case around Kaoru Tachibana's suicide in November.

While walking around the school, Shiki notices a fairy, and chases after it. Azaka, who cannot see the fairies, is left alone and is attacked by Misaya Ouji and has her memory stolen, only waking up in the evening with no memory of what has occurred. They discover that the magus using the fairies is trying to erase everyone's memories of the event, but the school has a written record of the investigation. Azaka goes alone to check out the suicide site in the old building, as Shiki does not want to wake up this early.

When she received word from Mikiya about Satsuki Kurogiri's abilities. she took Shiki's walkman and earphones. Because of this, Azaka is able to run past Kurogiri without being affected by his ability, and heads to the suicide site to discover all the students there in a trance, with lighted matches and open canisters of fuel, Ouji intending for them to commit suicide in the same manner as Kaori. Ouji and Azaka moved their battle to the chapel; Azaka uses her magecraft to burn Ouji's fairies, as though she can't see them, she can detect their heat with her abilities. Azaka then knocks out Ouji with a kick and moves to confront Kurogiri about his motives for giving Ouji the fairies, though she ultimately leaves him be.

After the incident was resolved and school resumed, Azaka was able to leave the academy to spend the day with Mikiya.

Chapter 7 – "A Study in Murder (Part 2)"

Azaka barges in and complains to Touko about Mikiya's relationship with Shiki and wishes him to cut his ties with her. Touko ask Azaka to help her pack her stuff before leaving. As Touko leaves Mifune City, she is most likely to quit learning magecraft later in life. When she becomes an adult, she'll be able to say things like "You know, as a girl I was able to use magic."

Carnival Phantasm

Azaka makes a small appearance in Episode 12. She appears at the Ahnenerbe party, talking with Rin Tohsaka, Caren Hortensia, and Akiha Tohno.

Abilities

Azaka using Spontaneous Combustion.

Azaka is a hatching magus under the guidance of Touko. She has no talent as a magus due to lacking Magic Circuits, but she is able to learn ignition spells due to her inborn ability of triggering spontaneous combustion. She wears a Mystic Code, Salamander Skin Gloves, given to her by Touko in combat to make up for her subpar spell-weaving skills. Shiki points out that thanks to her strength, Mikiya would not be able to resist if Azaka tries to force herself on him, as she herself is unable to push Azaka off of her. She has advantage over characters with a vampire attributes.

Spontaneous Combustion (発火能力, hakka nouryoku^?) is the "unexplained phenomenon" of human combustion, an ability closer to ESP, Pyrokinesis, than magecraft. She favors the spell, utilizing it as a method of attack to cause the target to self-combust rather than immolating the them directly. While there are many theories which explain Spontaneous Combustion, Azaka's is explained by an amalgamation of the Charged Corpus Theory and the Electromagnetism Theory. The Charged Corpus Theory suggests that the human body produces electrical current during states of psychological arousal, causing Spontaneous Combustion, while the Electromagnetism Theory suggests that Spontaneous Combustion is a result of an increased release of electrons in the atmosphere. All the incantations she uses to activate Spontaneous Combustion are musical notes, AzoLto, FoLLte, and MezoFoLLte, since Azaka comprehends magecraft and combat through music. The move that Azaka used to defeat the giant fairy is called "Exploding Fairy Fortissimo".

Her origin is "Taboo" (禁忌, Kinki^?), straying away from the norms. She is fairly normal compared to Shiki, who has the Origin of "Nothingness" and is drawn towards death because of it. She only struggles to deviate from the norm because an Origin is merely a cause, and not something that dictates an individual as long as they don't become aware of it.

Her axe kick can kill a person and it's enough to punch through a Comiket^WP catalogue, the destructive power is equivalent to 10 Albas and 3000 Neco-Punches.