| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kuroageha (also known as "Princess Naa") is a major character in the second part of of Joujuu Senjin!! Mushibugyo, she is the magistrate of Mushibugyo, was the primary enemy of Mushikari (or "Insect Hunters"), as well as the best friend and later wife of Jinbei.
Appearance[]
Kuroageha is short and petite young girl. She has fair-skin, green-eyes, straight azure hair reaching her ankles, and very noticeably thick azure eyelashes. She is regularly seen wearing a long layered light blue kimono, with blue stripes, and long purple obi sash and a matching square-shaped hat with a bell tied on each side of her hat. For a short time, she had only one bell after giving one to Jinbei out of gratitude, but later replaces the one given away.
She later wears a plain violet kimono, straw hat, and geta sandals, when she is disguised.
When she fully transforms into an insect-human, her clothes darken black with a dark purple aura, her hair turns black, and finally she grows a pair of dark purple Kuroageha butterfly wings, hence her new name; Black Swallowtail (butterfly)...which only a few higher ranking characters know of (initially).
Personality[]
Kuroageha had shown to be dark and mysterious due to her destructive powers and tragic past but lightened up when she befriended and fells in love with Jinbei. Despite her seemingly dark and cold nature, Kuroageha has shown to be selfless and is willing to help others, sometimes even at the cost of herself, if it meant someone else would be saved. Whether the reason she might be doing this is due to her past, an innate part of herself, or a combination of both, it doesn't change the fact she's changed drastically after meeting Jinbei. Although her being cold to everyone at the beginning was most likely due to mistrust of people who don't think too fondly of her due to her powers, like the Insect Hunters.
It's revealed later on she was once merciful and kind to all creatures, no matter how ugly as some have described, when she choose to care for an insect that looked like a larvae or grub, something that would ultimately decide her fate, and affect others as well.
History[]
Kuroageha before she gained her powers.
Kuroageha was born Princess Naa around just after the Sengoku period, while Toyotomi Hideyoshi was in power, more than a hundred years ago prior to the start of the series. When tragedy struck from her house being invaded, she was killed in cold blood. She was later brought back to life by a worm-like insect/bug (mushi) she had previously saved and cared for, out of pity for it. This bug would later also be responsible for giving rise to the ultimate mastermind and antagonist of the anime.
After she was revived, her hair color faded, and emited gasious poison from her skin. That resulted in the accidental deaths of everyone in the castle unfortuante enough to come in contact with it, like soldiers from both sides, even her own parents, whom looked upon her as a monster. Fast forward a hundred years later to the start of the series, she has now become the Insect Magistrate due to her unique powers, having aged not a single day.
Kuroageha recieves her powers from the eternal insect
She now wears gloves and covers her entire body except her face, to minimize the amount of poison she emits. To furthur prevent any harm to others, she normally appears behind a screen, partly due to her position, but mainly for any potential accidental bodily contact with others.
Even when feeling imprisoned, she is still responsible to her duties. That is, until the day she meets Tsukishima Jinbei, who would end up changing her entire life, starting with her outlook on life itself, and her once solitary personality; merely from his innocent kindness, and genuine earnestness. It's after this that she feels more comfortable to be around others...so long as they do not touch her skin.
Most know her by her title, as the Insect Magistrate (Mushibugyou) and address her so. However Jinbei is the only one that sees her as much more than that. At first, Jibei mistakenly refers to her as the Mushibugyou's servant/ helper/ assistant (often translated to simply "Miss"), and just as he always has; even after finding out her true identity as a princess near the end of the show, when Sanada Yukimura refers to her as Princess Naa infront of him. Although, it could just mean he doesn't see her as the Magistrate--whether it's because he wants to see her for who she is instead of her title, or if he's simply just the same idiot he's always been--it remains unknown.
It was shown that she has known Oooka Tadasuke.
However in the OVA episode 3, it is shown that she is inside the Osaka castle near the cocoon of the eternal insect, this might suggest that certain events in season 2(which in 2017) transpired to place Kuroageha there.Jinbei and his friends will come to save her..
Plot[]
Kuroageha Arc []
Kuroageha appears inside a temple waiting for the insect hunters.[1] She is ultimately greeted by Jinbei, who crashes inside the temple. They talk to each other for a bit, and finally, the Insect Hunters appear to kill her. As she tries to fight them, she is interrupted by Jinbei. As he is trying to protect her, Kuroageha thinks that he is with
Kuroageha falls in love with Jinbei.
the Insect Hunters. As she was about to ask him, she is surprised to see him being attacked by the Insect Hunters. As she was about to be killed by the Insect Hunter leader, Jinbei jumps in and protects her. After that, Jinbei tells her to get the Mushibugyo and get out of here, also telling her a promise that together, they will again see the skies of Edo.
Kuroageha battles the Insect Hunters after Jinbei's "death".
Upon hearing this, Kuroageha falls in love with Jinbei and is greatly saddened over the apparent death of Jinbei. She transforms into her true self and attacks the Insect Hunters out of anger. She has the upper hand, until they disable her poison powers. As the Insect Hunters wonder how to kill her, Kuroageha is happy to see that Jinbei is still alive, but unconscious and barely. She tries to get attention from the Insect Hunters, but one of them finds out that Jinbei is alive. As they try to kill him, Kuroageha shouts in horror, but Mugai steps in and saves him. Kuroageha then carries the unconscious Jinbei, and is fully unaware of his developing transformation.[2]
Kuroageha is surprised to see Jinbei
Jinbei sleeps on Kuroageha's lap.
awakened, but as a blood-thirsty monster. She watches Jinbei fight and kill Sougan, impressed by his new physical capabilites. Jinbei goes after the other Insect Hunters, and Kuroageha follows him. Then, she is found out by one of the Insect Hunters and as he is about to kill her, Kuroageha thinks that she won't keep her promise to Jinbei. Just then, when she was about to be killed, she is saved by Jinbei once again. Jinbei then reminds her of the promise, after regaining his sanity, and promtly falls asleep in her lap. She smiles graciously at the sleeping Jinbei, but is annoyed that Hibachi hits him, since she was angry that he attacked them and then merely falls asleep afterwords. After that, the Insect Hunters withdraw, resulting in the Insect Magistrate's victory. She then goes back to Edo with the Insect Magistrate.
Abilities[]
Kuroageha activating her poison power.
Her body can producing an extremely powerful form of poison, one that's capable of instantly killing any living being who makes contact with her.
When using her powers to their fullest extent, Kuroageha manifests giant, dark, butterfly-like wings from her back, hence her alias.
In the past, when she first gained her powers, her poison was uncontrollable and seeped out through her skin as a purple mist which killed all who inhale or even touched it.
The only person who seems to be able to withstand and endure her poison is Tsukishima Jinbei, as not only did he touch her countless times, he also survived falling into the poisonous well that shares very similar, if not identical properties to Kuroageha's poison.
Battles/Events[]
Kuroageha vs. Insect Hunters - (Lose)
Relationships[]
Jinbei Tsukishima[]
At first, she paid no attention to Jinbei, but after he nearly sacrificed his life trying to protect her from the Insect Hunters, she began to take a greater interest and eventually falls in love with him as the series progress. Kuroageha had shown signs of jealousy when she saw Jinbei's father wanting Oharu to marry Jinbei.
Trivia[]
- She is the strongest member of the Insect Magistrate - the only person who could potential rival her being Mugai.
- She is one of the four girls in love with Jinbei, the others being Oharu, Hibachi, and Irori.
- According to Sanada Yukimura, he claimed that Kuroageha has some relations to the fallen Toyotomi Clan, as he refers to her as Princess Naa, indicating she was the daughter of a lord. Whether her father was Toyotomi Hideyoshi or simply a vassal to him, it remains unknown, except for the fact that Sanada Yukimura served the Toyotomi clan at the time of his (human) demise while searching for any survivors in the fire that burned down the castle, namely his lord and Princess Naa.
- In the manga, near the end of the Kishuu Arc, she regains her powers and her Kuroageha form and defeats Yukimura, however she was forced to return with the Eternal Insect rather than go back to Edo as shown in the anime.
- Kuroageha gets her name from when she transforms into a Black Swallowtail butterfly with dark purple/black wings, and black hair.