Sese Kitsugai
Image from Len’en Reiretsuden ~ Reactivate Majestical Imperial (video game, 2014)
A Corpse in Search of Themself
Earth/Shadow Type
Original Media: Len’en Reiretsuden ~ Reactivate Majestical Imperial (video game, 2014)
Story
A gashadokuro, a skeleton creature of Japanese folklore. While gashadokuro are traditionally made from multiple skeletons, Sese’s only skeleton is their own, and even that they’re still trying to find the remaining bones of. Sese’s power increases with how many bones they collect, but with how much success they have at that…yeah, it’s going to be a while until they’re at full power.
Sese’s quite cheerful and childish, even alternating on the fly between referring to themselves in the first person (“I found a bone”) and the third person (“Sese found a bone”). They also have a close friendship with Orange and Cellval; the three are rarely seen apart.
Abilities
Marrow Shot
Sese fires a small burst of magical energy from an arm cannon made from bones.
Shadow/Neutral Type
Marrow Shot image is edited from Mega Man 7 (video game, 1995).
Yorick Fastball
Sese flings a skull at the opponent, dealing heavy damage. Even if the attack is blocked, it will knock the opponent back slightly.
Shadow/Swift Type
Bone Burst
Sese unleashes a barrage of homing bone projectiles at the target.
Shadow/Missile Type
Bone Burst image is from Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (video game, 2000).
“Blotchy Rib Roast”
A Spell Card where Sese clamps the opponent in a set of giant rib bones.
Shadow/Grapple Type
Image is from Len’en Reiretsuden ~ Reactivate Majestical Imperial (video game, 2014).
Marrow Cannon “Bone Buster”
A Spell Card where Sese fires a gigantic beam of magic energy, leaving behind a trail of scattering bubbles (also made of magic energy).
Missile/Weapons, Shadow/Laser Type
Image is from Reactivate Majestical Imperial.
Sese can also power up into an “EX Form”, which greatly increases their attack power. This only works if they use “Spirit Absorb” in an area with many wandering spirits, and even then the effects are only temporary.
Voice
General Description
Child; androgynous; upbeat, friendly, and energetic
Example Voice 1
Source: Genshin Impact (video game, 2020)
Original Context: The voice of the character “Venti”.
Example Voice 2
Source: Shadow the Hedgehog (video game, 2005), Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (video game, 2010)
Original Context: The voice of the character “Tails”.
Behind the Scenes
Sese was one of the first Len’en characters I learned of, and immediately became a favorite of mine; while many of the series’ characters (especially in my eyes at the time) felt similar to those from Touhou (the series that inspired Len’en, and the one I was far more familiar with), the idea of a skeleton creature as a character seemed unique, and I was interested in how that concept was incorporated into a humanoid design.
Introducing Sese into Chaos Zone was in part out of general interest in the character, but it was also because I felt they could help flesh out Orange as a character; by having Sese approach Orange as someone unfamiliar with Orange’s home, I could set up Orange to show a personal conflict to set her apart from others (namely a desire to be respected, and possibly even looked up to, as opposed to being babied around like the other younger characters at the time), while also using Sese’s EX form as a way to mix it up (making Orange question who should be “looked up” to, or if they should just be friends who respect each other equally).
This isn’t to say I kept Sese one-note; I established a bubbly friendliness to their character combined with sincere care for others, which were all traits I had given to characters before, but I feel I managed to show in different ways with Sese. Later storylines would flesh this out further by having Sese be quick to defend others, and stubborn about it if they needed to be (like if a heavily-wounded Orange was trying to continue a fight she clearly couldn’t win in her current condition). Overall, while I’ve written much of Sese around Orange (and later Cellval), I feel like there’s enough of a character to them that I’d be happy to write them in an independent or focal position.
Images
Further Reading
- Gashadokuro on Wikipedia
- Gashadokuro on yokai.com (a website dedicated to Japanese folklore)
Brash Buster 