Shinoa Hīragi

"I like how the word rolls off the tongue. Besides, I have little interest in the petty power struggles of the upper ranks. I lost my elder sister to that sort of thing, after all."

- Shinoa to guards on why she has the meager rank of sergeant

Shinoa Hīragi (柊 シノア) is the main female protagonist of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series and the younger sister to Mahiru Hīragi. She is from the prestigious and rich Hīragi Family and was appointed as Yūichirō Hyakuya's supervisor during his suspension. She was a sergeant of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the leader of the Shinoa Squad (シノア隊) in the Moon Demon Company. She was ultimately possessed by Shikama Dōji shattering away her humanity.

She also appears in the light novel series Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen as Mahiru's messenger.

Catastrophe
In the light novels, Shinoa is described as a short, adorable, and beautiful young girl with shoulder lengthened ashen hair same as Mahiru's, and a large, dark pink bow at the end of a twisted braid. Guren describes her as having clear, piercing amber-red eyes that seemed to stare out at the world and skin so pale that it was almost transparent to her blood. On her left arm, she has a black shackle.

She wears a black sailor-like uniform with 10 yellow buttons along the side of the dress. Placed before the last set of buttons, she wears a silver belt, and on her hands are white gloves. There are 2 green stripes around the wrists of the uniform, and on the neck side, she wears a dark pink bow.

Vampire Reign
Shinoa has grown up but is shorter that alot of other girls. She has petite and thin figure and she now has hair is pinned up at the back with a magenta bow and side braids. After being possessed by Shikama Dōji, her eyes become a pale yellow with thinner irises and pupils.

At the beginning of the series, she is shown wearing her school uniform, a sailor fuku which consists of a grey blouse with black cuffs that have teal trim in the middle. It has a black sailor-style collar with has teal trim and a single five teal petal design in the middle. The ribbon of the uniform is also teal and is tied in the front and laced through a loop attached to the blouse. The bottom is a black skirt. She wore it with dark blue knee high socks and white shoes.

After Yūichirō was accepted into the Moon Demon Company, she is often seen wearing her Japanese Imperial Demon Army uniform which consists of a long-sleeved black coat with a standing collar which has a magenta bow tie around it. The coat has two rows of gold buttons on the front, light green details including the shoulder epaulets, which has a fourragère passing under and around her right side. Along with that, she wears a pair of white gloves, an armband on her left arm, and a white web belt with a gold waist-plate. She also wears the standard black skirt, dark gray thigh-high socks and knee-high black boots.

Her casual appearance doesn't differentiate much from her JIDA uniform. The minor differences are that she doesn't have her gloves along with the bow tie on her collar and wears a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a camisole over it.

Personality
Shinoa has a sarcastic, apathetic attitude and does not put much emotion into her words. She loves teasing others and is quite dry-humored. Shinoa generally tends to smirk before teasing or performing her antics towards others, placing them in uncomfortable situations. She can be proud and arrogant but has a nice, joyful and cheery part of her. Rarely, Shinoa shows that she can have a scary and manipulating side. Shinoa has made a contract with Shikama doji. This makes her part-demon. Her personality while fighting consists of a cruel, but quiet state. This causes her to give off a growling sense. At times, she lacks self-control and will get mad easily, increasing her tone and growling. Shinoa keeps her developing emotions for Yuichiro in reserve, as she says she wants to keep her feelings "professional" and because of this, she shows to have a tsundere side.

Due to her circumstances surrounding her family, Shinoa grew up without knowing what a sibling is, and never truly cared about anyone until her current squad was formed. She greatly respects Yūichirō's resolve and feelings toward his family and wants to help him. She shows surprisingly little emotions when talking to Yūichirō about her sister's death, suggesting that Shinoa is emotionally detached to people she knows and keeps her friends away at an arm's length.

In Catastrophe at Sixteen, Shinoa is revealed to be a lonely girl, shut away in an apartment on her own. The only friend she has is her older sister Mahiru, but in the end, the demon possessing Mahiru consumed her humanity, and that shattered Shinoa's resolve to form bonds with others. When Shinya and Guren offered to take care of her after seeing the mess in her apartment, she pushed them away, claiming that they are only there to use and exploit her. Shinoa's lack of faith in others caused her to believe that she can only rely on herself, as there is no one else to trust. Because of this, she trusts people less overall and is more negative about things, and messy if she is alone.

Shinoa shows that she does not care about the conflict inside her family, claiming that family conflicts are what caused the death of her older sister. Unlike Kureto, she lacks ambition and only wants to serve the army well. She explained to some soldiers that she does not actively seek a rise in rank, and her lack of ambition (and Mahiru overshadowing her) is what caused her to be cast out from her family.

However, it was not until after she lost the mock battle between her squad and Guren's three-person squad, did Shinoa finally realize the fear of losing someone important to her, and even a tiny mistake or her pranks can cost her family their lives. Also, she and her squad can grow even stronger and the closer they grow, the more powerful they shall become.

Shinoa has a vulnerable complex about her short stature when Yūichirō and Shihō teased her for being too short to drive a car, she laughs smugly before proceeding to materialize her Cursed Gear to physically teach them a lesson.

She developed feelings for Yūichirō, in which she is uncertain of. This is shown more when she later speaks with Shikama Dōji.

As a leader of her squad, Shinoa takes a calm and strategic approach to situations.

After being possessed by Shikama Doji, her personality changes drastically. She becomes merciless, violent and ruthless, attacking anyone who might pose a threat to her (under Shikama Doji's influence) this is largely shown when she attacks Ferid and Crowley whom Ferid tried to kill her. This follows Ferid breathlessly telling others to run from her. With Shikama Doji and her demon power in control, she also attacked Guren, Shinya, Kureto and Mika for no reason at all, just for her own amusement. She has also developed the power to cut off one's head with her fingertips or hands.

History
Shinoa, like her half-sister, Mahiru Hīragi, was conceived through artificial insemination by using the seeds of Tenri Hīragi in various demon-possessed women. The demon Shinoa was born with was Shikama Dōji, but somewhere in her early childhood, Mahiru somehow separated the demon from Shinoa in order to save her younger half-sister which causes Shinoa to forget about Shikama Dōji.

As a child, Shinoa was overshadowed by her older half-sister for being a genius and fighter prodigy that her father was looking for; hence, Shinoa was never acknowledged by her father along with most of her family and even lived alone in her own apartment. The only person she had was Mahiru, who often visited and treated her nicely to the point that Shinoa was willing to be her older sister's messenger until Mahiru eventually abandons her. Shinoa is eventually reunited with Shikama Dōji which causes her to regain her memories of him and gain the demon as her Cursed Gear.

While Mahiru is considered a hero for developing the Cursed Gears that the JIDA now relies on today, Shinoa ended up getting shunned by the Hīragi Family largely thanks to Mahiru's betrayal in siding with the Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights, starting the war between them and the Imperial Demon Army, and becoming possessed by the demon curse that lead to her death.

At some point, Shinoa is appointed sergeant and has been working under Guren.

Book 2
As Guren heads towards Hyakuya Orphanage, he sees Shinoa standing in the middle of the street he is walking on. Guren is able to tell immediately that she is related to Mahiru just by her hair. She introduces herself as Mahiru's younger sister. He asks her why she's here and she tells him that Mahiru has a message for him. When he sarcastically wonders why Mahiru would have a message for someone like him, she tells him that she knows who he really is as Mahiru told her. She recalls all the information that only Mahiru should have known to prove her point.

Guren asks her what side she's on and she responds by saying whichever side is most interesting. She says that honestly, power and influence seem boring to her and she was lucky to be born with a powerful sister since that means that she doesn't have to deal with the same expectations over the leadership of the Hīragi family. She adds that it's between Kureto and Mahiru and that she is mostly a backup in case the both of them die.

She springs forward, holding a fuda, which seems to appear out of nowhere. Guren notes the aura of danger rippling through her body and he finds it hard to believe that a small child could have this much power. He doesn't react to her attack. Shinoa stops mid-way and wonders why he isn't trying to counter. He responds by saying that if she's that strong, there nothing he can really do. He asks what she's trying to prove. She slips the Fuda back into her pocket before responding. She says that she was trying to prove whose side she's on and she's not interested in the Hīragis' or the Thousand Nights, but she loves her sister as she's always kind to her.

Moving back to the subject at hand, Guren asks what the message was. She says that the message is to not go to Hyakuya Orphanage as Mahiru is planning to betray the Thousand Nights. He asks her what Mahiru is planning and what she's going to do. Shinoa says that whatever she's planning is too complicated for her to understand, so Guren says to just tell him what she can understand. She says that all she knows is that Mahiru is trying to acquire enough power to ensure that no one ever comes between the two of them again and that Mahiru said that he's doing the same thing and that while their paths are different, their destination is the same.

He asks if that's all she knows which she nods which Shinoa says yes. Guren then tells her to deliver a message from him to Mahiru. He says to tell her that he doesn't like being manipulated by anyone; She's a fool and if she really thinks she loves him that she should stop playing games with him.

Just then, they hear voices from behind her. It's a group of children who look to be the same age as her; among them is a blond boy. Guren recognizes him as the one from the Hyakuya Orphanage, Mikaela. He runs up to Shinoa to see if she is alright, and she milks the situation by telling Mika that Guren told her all sorts of dirty things and that he was probably trying to abduct her.

Before Guren leaves, he tells her to not forget about delivering his message. As Mika threatens to call the police, Guren hears Shinoa cackling in delight.

Book 3
Kureto has her picked up from her apartment without warning one morning, and she does not have time to grab her wallet or shoes. Kureto has makeup put on her to make her look like she was beaten and had her fingernails torn off. He has her bound to a chair and uses this appearance to interrogate Guren. When she see him, she cheerfully says she is innocent and should be freed.

Guren's face contorts into an expression of disgust. Kureto comments about it, and Guren says he hates torturing kids. Kureto agrees but says such things do not matter for a Hīragi. He points out that Shinoa is smiling and says she has been trained to never let loose a single word during torture.

Guren walks over to Shinoa, pats her head, and releases her restraints. She asks permission to stand up, but Kureto orders her to remain seated. Kureto reveals that this is actually all makeup and Shinoa was not actually tortured. He says she would not reveal anything anyway. Shinoa stands up, saying she is bored. He commands her to stay and leave the makeup on for when he questions Shinya later.

Kureto says this was all to gather information and says he will trust Guren. Kureto says he already knows Guren met Shinoa, so he will kill Shinoa first. Kureto grabs Shinoa by the neck, and Guren charges him. Kureto blocks his attack and threatens to break Shinoa's neck.

Mahiru sends Kureto a message telling him to do as he pleases, and tears briefly form in Shinoa’s eyes. She listens to Kureto order Guren to meet and persuade Mahiru with a message requesting and wanting her to return to the Hīragi to the point that Kureto will permit her and Guren to marry to keep her in the family. He also tells Guren to hold her and never let her go or else kill her before she destroys everyone around her. He then sends Mahiru's IP address to Guren, and he asks whether Kureto or Mahiru is stronger which Kureto tells him Mahiru is stronger.

Mahiru then calls Guren, and Guren puts the phone on speaker for Shinoa, and Kureto to also speak to her. Shinoa reports that everything happened as Mahiru predicted, and reports that Guren, Kureto, and Aoi are listening to their conversation. When she asks about their father, Kureto reports that he does not know she is missing. She calls him a liar and accuses Kureto of her crimes, saying he actually did everything instead of her out of jealousy. He says no one will believe her. After they talk for a bit, she mocks Kureto for prolonging their phone call to track her instead of hanging up immediately. She reveals the special ops he sent after her just now are already dead. A student rushes in and reveals that this entire conversation was just broadcast over the whole school. Shinya meets Guren and Shinoa once Kureto releases them, and he and Shinoa laugh about Shinoa’s torture makeup. Guren asks Shinoa how she feels about her sister. She says Mahiru would be the one most against her death while no one else would care at all. When Guren and Shinya both say they would be sad if she died, she says they only care about her as a replacement for her sister, whom they love so deeply.

Shinoa states it is clear Mahiru officially abandoned her today and will probably never contact her again.

The bell for fifth-period rings and Shinoa holds out her hand to request money from Guren. She says wants to take a taxi home. He says he is not interested in caring for Mahiru's little sister, but she and Shinya laugh. Shinya gives her a 10,000 yen bill and asks her to ask Mahiru if she remembers who her fiancé is.

Book 5
Another day, Guren visits Shinoa at her apartment which is large enough for a couple or a small family. He finds her sitting in the dark with a blank expression. He notices there is no refrigerator, and the only things present in the kitchen are canned foods and a microwave.

Guren invites her to his house for dinner and says he has good cooks, but Shinoa does not trust him so easily. She says Mahiru told her Guren betrayed the Order of the Imperial Demons, and his father is being held hostage until his execution. Kureto sends Guren a message to keep an eye on Shinoa in case Mahiru contacts her.

Shinoa calmly throws a knife at Guren with an exploding tag on it, but he easily catches the blade between his fingers and tears off the talisman with his thumb. Shinoa comments that he is strong. She says Mahiru told her they had sex and teases Guren about it.

Guren steps out of the apartment with Shinoa at 6:15 p.m. They take a taxi, and the driver complains about being his previous job letting him go and how his two passengers are so fortunate to be born into wealthy families. He complains about the cozy life he believes Guren and Shinoa lead, which makes Guren laugh and makes Shinoa say he is being too talkative. They go onto the Metropolitan Expressway.

They hear a screeching sound, and Shinoa jumps out of the car while Guren drags the driver out with him. A dump truck falls onto the taxi and then falls onto a mother and child. Guren summons Noya and cuts the truck in half to save them.

The civilians begin screaming.

Guren orders Shinoa to return home and gives her 10,000 yen for a taxi. He tells her to get a meal before going back and will stay to observe the situation a while longer. They tell each other to be careful and then split up.

Book 6
Guren takes Shikama Dōji to meet with Shinoa within Mahiru orders. The traitorous faction attacks them, but Guren kills them quickly and incidentally drenches Shinoa in their blood. Shinoa loses consciousness as soon as she touches Shikama Dōji, but Guren manages to escape with her.

Goshi calls Guren and reports that Guren's apartment was set on fire by the traitors. Their phone call is interrupted. Guren steals a motorcycle and escapes, but a van chases and crashes into him. Traitorous soldiers face him, but Shinya attacks with Byakkomaru while pulling up on another motorcycle. Goshi arrives in a stolen minivan with the rest of their squad and picks them up. He says policemen are still chasing them. They ask Guren what they should do about the end of the world.

Natural Abilities
As a member of the Hīragi Family, Shinoa proves herself qualified to handle a weapon of the Black Demon Series as seen when Guren engulfed the classroom with his Cursed Gear's aura, albeit the weapon she wields is a lower class. As leader of her squad, Shinoa remains levelheaded and takes an analytical approach at dire situations. She is knowledgeable about weapons, demons, seraphs, and vampires as well as the Demon Army politics. Her natural abilities include physical abilities, and mental abilities, such as having strong resistance to opponents. According to Shikama Doji, she is the first person to actually wound him by throwing her scythe at him despite being an immortal being.

In the Light Novels, Shinoa is naturally and highly skilled at martial arts, and Guren once mentioned that she's an incredibly gifted child that looks like a genius. Using her sturdy build and physical strength, Shinoa proves to have the physical abilities to take down multiple vampires at once. Instead of using a scythe, in the Light Novels, Shinoa has been seen using martial arts to kick and take down vampires and humans possessed by demons. Minus using her legs, she additionally is shown being able to wield her scythe extremely well despite her young age, like when she was able to deflect several bullets at once when protecting Goshi. Moreover, Shinoa has the need to protect everyone, despite everyone counting on her or Yu to protect them. She proves this very well.

Shinoa is also shown to have a strong range in battle, she can jump very far and sprint very fast. She has good strength in her arms, and legs for tough kicking skills. Her arm muscles are used for punching, as well as carrying and use for her scythe. When possessed, she occasionally uses her fingertips to cut off one's head with a single swift with her hand or her fingertips. Shinoa does have high agility, which causes her to jump and move easily, jumping over fences and walls way taller than her.


 * Strong resistance to demons: Shikama Dōji has said that Shinoa is the perfect product of the experiments, and that she is able to resist any demons that she comes in contact with. This is due to the fact that she doesn't have a lot of desires in her heart. Shikama Doji also mentions that Shinoa can contract to any number of demons without being possessed. Shinoa is still unaware of this. As of eight years later, Shikama Dōji stated that in hundreds of years of possessing the Hiragi family, there has never been a vessel of her caliber, noting that there would be no need for him possessing Kureto any longer once he starts possessing Shinoa. Which the latter succeeds in doing so. Chapter 81 – Page 17.png


 * Shikama Dōji possession: After Shikama Doji possessed Shinoa, her strength increased tremendously, overpowering and defeating Ferid effortlessly. Shinoa has also shown the ability to summon and materialize multiple scythes to attack. In addition her agility has increased as she can jump through high building's windows and smash them, and is able to dodge Saito's multiple chain attacks. She also has gained the ability to have the angelic wings of Shikama Doji for flight, and materialize numerous and enormous ethereal scythes around her wings that whirls around similar to a halo of scythes becoming a deadly attack. She usually cut off one's head with a single swift with her hand or her fingertips.

Talismans

 * LN exclusive: Shinoa is seen to be skilled with talismans as Guren noted her as an exceptionally gifted child, her talents befitting of her family name.

Cursed Gear

 * Shikama Dōji (四鎌童子): A manifestation-type demon weapon from an unknown series. Shinoa takes out a pen-length black rod and spins it, which then transforms into a black massive scythe with a thick, black aura around it. She can call out the demon, which she fondly addresses as "Shi", inhabiting it out of the weapon to attack an enemy. It is strongest at mid-range. Her primary ability is to detect anything that comes within the attack radius of her scythe.

Trivia

 * Four 「四」 can be read as "Shi" 「し」. Shi 「死, し or シ」 means "Death."
 * Hīragi 「柊」 literally means "Holly."
 * She usually calls Yūichirō by the nickname "Yu-san" (優さん) in Japanese.
 * According to the light novel, she and her sister Mahiru were born as part-demons.
 * In the manga, Shinoa has been asked by Ferid if she was the first progenitor. She responded, "What if I am?" And sliced his head off. This could note to a clue that she is the first progenitor by standards.
 * She can't cook.
 * Shinoa is the youngest and shortest member of her squad.
 * From the Osaka Arc, she is sixteen years old.
 * According to the TV Anime 108 Fanbook:
 * She does not have a favorite color.
 * To her, a person that gets bullied easily is Mitsu.
 * According to the Manga 8.5 Fanbook:
 * She likes Pocky.
 * Interests/Likes: Originally had no interests, but lately has been thinking about her comrades/ Yu / Methods to increase her bust size.
 * Favorite food: Food with cheese / Mont Blanc.
 * What she looks for in the opposite sex: A prince on a white horse, of course. Oh, but what kind of person is this Prince Charming? He came from The Little Red Riding Hood, right?
 * In the popularity poll, Shinoa earned 2nd place with 4,074 points.
 * She loves embracing people.
 * She is too short to drive.
 * Shinoa gets teased/mocked for her height.
 * According to Shikama Doji, she's way stronger than her older sister Mahiru and Kureto. Mahiru herself acknowledges this.
 * Shinoa has been fending off Shikama Doji possession for a very long time, probably ever since Guren passed the demon to her after Mahiru request.

Book 2

 * "I guess I can’t expect you to take my word for it. Maybe if I tell you some of what I know? About the Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights? And the cursed weapons? The fact that my sister sold out the Hīragis in pursuit of power, all for the sake of some boy she loves? Well? Is any of this starting to sound familiar?"— To Guren, Chapter 2, Page 216


 * "OK! Shut up, shut up, shut up!"— To Mika


 * "I’m just a kid. To be honest, power and influence just seem boring to me. I was lucky enough to be born with a powerful sister, so I don’t have to deal with the same expectations over leading the clan. That’s between Kureto and my sister. I’ve had some training from the clan, mostly just as a backup in case both Kureto and Mahiru die. I’m still fairly capable, though. At least, for my age."— Chapter 2, Pages 216-217


 * "I’m just trying to prove whose side I’m on. I’m not interested in the Hiragis. Or the Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights. But I love my sister… She’s always been kind to me. And interesting. She tells me everything."— Chapter 2, Page 217


 * "Don’t go to the Hyakuya Orphanage. Mahiru is planning to betray the Thousand Nights, too."— Chapter 2, Page 217


 * "It caught me by surprise, to be honest. Apparently, my sister loves you so much that she’s willing to leak important information for you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her act this way before. She’s usually very rational and logical. I guess love makes people act impulsively. I don’t quite understand it. But then again, I’m just a kid."— Chapter 2, Page 218


 * "Hmph… I really don’t understand grown-up love. It all seems a bit twisted to me."— Chapter 2, Page 219

Book 3

 * "Not another torturer, I haven’t done anything wrong, so maybe you should just let me go already."— To Guren, Kureto, and Aoi, Chapter 4


 * "No, I’m not hurt. Just as you planned, I’m sure… But I think my maidenhood was in danger for a while. I’m only eight, you know."— To Mahiru about Kureto threatening to have her raped, Chapter 4
 * Note: She is counting her age using the Japanese system, where they grow a year at New Year's rather than on their birthdays. Using the English system, she is still seven years old until her birthday on Christmas.


 * "Nope, it’s just makeup. I look like a zombie, don’t I? Rawwrr!"— To Shinya with her torture makeup, Chapter 4


 * "Don’t ask me. I’m just a kid. All that adult boy-girl stuff is still a mystery to me."— To Shinya about Mahiru loving Guren, Chapter 4


 * "Even after what happened, I think she’s still the one person in the world who would be most upset if I were to die. If I wound up dead in some gutter someday, I don’t think there’s anyone else who would really care."— To Guren about Mahiru abandoning her, Chapter 4


 * "Well, that’s a shocker! Considering how little we know each other, I would’ve never thought the two of you would feel sad if I croaked. I guess that goes to show how much you both love my sister. You even care about me just because I’m related to her."— To Guren and Shinya, Chapter 4


 * "Unfortunately, it looks like my sister is through with all of us—me, you, and Shinya. She made it pretty clear today that she’s abandoned us. I don’t think she’ll make contact again. She’s already accomplished whatever it is she wanted to accomplish at this school."— To Guren and Shinya, Chapter 4


 * "Count me out. All you adults with your grumpy faces and your stupid wars are boring me. I’m going home."— To Guren, Chapter 4

Book 5

 * "You weren’t thinking about sneaking into a pretty girl’s room to do nasty things to her in the dark, were you? No thanks, you perv. I might have to tell my sister on you."— To Guren, Chapter 1


 * "Maybe you can’t tell just by looking, but you know I’m actually an excellent chef? …My skill at pressing buttons on a microwave is unparalleled."— To Guren, Chapter 1


 * "The only calls I ever receive on this phone, by the way, are from wrong numbers, telemarketers, and my sister."— To Guren, Chapter 1


 * "Holy shit, Superman!"— To Guren after he rescues a parent and child by using Noya, Chapter 3

Book 6

 * "Mind knocking next time?"— To Guren after he enters her apartment without warning, Chapter 4


 * "Wait, the world is ending?"— To Guren, Chapter 4