"Gintama" is a very popular manga. It is serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and it is so popular that there is no one who doesn't know about it. There are many characters in this work "Gintama". One of these characters is a character called "Utsuro" who is quite mysterious. Utsuro is quite strong in "Gintama" and is considered to be the strongest character. In this article, we will introduce "Utsuro" including spoilers!
What kind of character is Utsuro?
"Utsuro" who appears in "Gintama" is a character who suddenly appeared in the second half of "Farewell Shinsengumi Arc", one of the long stories that is quite important in Gintama. Hollow is a mysterious being who always hides his face behind a mask and hat. He is quiet and always speaks politely, but in reality he is extremely cruel and merciless, and has no hesitation in killing people. He is the former leader of Amaterasu-in Naraku and one of the Tendoushu. Oboro calls him "the judgement of heaven," and Nobume calls him "a real grim reaper (crow) who even takes the life of a country."
Hides considerable fighting ability
Such a "Hollow" has considerable fighting ability. He overwhelms even Kagura of the Yato, the strongest fighting race in the universe, with his strength that makes him call her a baby rabbit, and even Okita and Nobume, who are quite skilled, can barely react. Even when Okita, Kagura, and Nobume all attacked him at once, he fought back without any resistance. In that state, Hollow has considerable fighting ability, but for some reason, only the main character, Gintoki, managed to hold his own against Hollow at the very limit. This was an unconscious reaction by Gintoki himself.
Spoiler Alert! What is Hollow's true identity...?
From here on, there will be a major spoiler that relates to the core of the story of "Gintama", but when Hollow and Gintoki fight, his mask breaks. What emerged from the broken mask was a face that looked exactly like Yoshida Shoyo, who was once the mentor of Gintoki, Katsura, Takasugi, and others, and is now supposed to be deceased. Gintoki was so shaken by seeing his real face that he just stood there unable to think. Afterwards, Kagura called out to him and Gintoki somehow regained consciousness, and he landed a fatal blow on Hollow, but Hollow's wounds regenerated at a rapid speed and healed completely.
The reason he was able to react unconsciously
In that state, Gintoki and the others could not fight and had no choice but to retreat. After the battle on Kuronawa Island ended, Nobumi told him the whole truth. The reason Gintoki was able to react unconsciously to Hollow's sword was because of the "memory of defeat" he had cultivated through training with Shoyo many times in the past. "You know my sword, don't you? If so, then you probably know the memory of defeat that is hard to erase." "Your sword cannot reach me."
Why is Hollow immortal? Spoiler alert!!
Hollow regenerated and recovered from the damage caused by Gintoki. He is immortal. How did Hollow become immortal? In fact, Hollow is immortal due to the influence of a huge energy called "Altana", and has been alive for 500 years.
What is Altana
The "Altana" mentioned here is the energy of the planet in the world of Gintama. It is the life energy of the planet that revolves around the earth, and on Earth it is called the "dragon vein". There was a time in the story when Sadaharu became giant, and this was also due to the influence of Altana. Thanks to the energy of Altana, the civilization of the Tenjin has developed considerably, for example, long-distance interstellar flight and the creation of planet-destroying weapons are possible thanks to Altana. However, as this technology has developed, conflicts have arisen, escalating into interstellar wars over Altana. As a result, many planets have been destroyed. To avoid this, the Tenjin have studied Altana and established an organization called the "Tendoshu" to research and manage it.
Huge impact on lifeforms
The energy of "Altana" has a huge impact on lifeforms. It has the effect of causing phenomena that can be called miracles, curing illnesses, and causing nature to grow rapidly. Hollows influenced by this power exert their powers by becoming immortal, and the Tenjin planned to use this to rule the Earth.
What is the relationship between Hollows and Yoshida Shoyo?
Hull is immortal. However, Yoshida Shoyo was beheaded. The reason for this is that in his 500-year history of immortality, the only life that resisted him was "Yoshida Shoyo" for Hollow. During the Tokugawa period when "Naraku" served the Tendoushu, Hollow suddenly disappeared, changed his status and name, opened the Shokasonjuku school under the name "Yoshida Shoyo," and taught swordsmanship to children. For Hollow, that moment was a little bit of happiness that he was able to find in the 500-year history of massacres. However, that time did not last long, and Shoyo was captured by the shogunate as a traitor. Furthermore, he was decapitated by his disciple (Gintoki) in a cruel death.
Resurrected at the Crematorium
After Shoyo was executed, "Hutsu" was resurrected once again in the flames of the crematorium. Naraku tried to examine the body, but before he knew it, Hollow had risen to the top of the Tendoushu.
What is Hollow's personality?
"Hutsu" repeatedly committed cruel murders. However, gradually, Hollow's personality becomes more similar to that of Yoshida Shoyo, such as when he gives his blood to the young Oboro to prolong his life and when he lets many assassination targets go unpunished. To Hollow, Yoshida Shoyo was the result of his resistance to himself, thinking that he could give something even though he had only ever taken from others. However, he himself says that in the end, it was he who was given.
After Resurrection
However, Hollow is now a different person who has been resurrected, and there is almost nothing left of his personality as Yoshida Shoyo. When Nobume saw this, she said, "He is Shoyo, but not Shoyo." By the way, Gintoki says, "That is not Shoyo, but something else that even Shoyo could not kill," and Takasugi says, "There was something else inside the teacher." However, Hollow has not completely lost his memories of when he was Yoshida Shoyo, and there is a scene where he says, "The flesh and blood of that man inside me is tingling." Also, Nobumi's line is "It wasn't Gintoki who killed Shoyo, it was that man," which means that Shoyo's personality was killed by the existence of "Utsuro."
What about Utsuro in Rakuyo?
In Rakuyo, Gintoki and Utsuro face off again. Utsuro plans to use all of Harusame's power to destroy not only Gintoki and his friends, but also the 7th Division, who were with Seikaibouzu and the others. So they end up fighting Seikaibouzu, and here again, Utsuro's strength is shown. Seikaibouzu is the strongest of the Yato tribe, and even the strongest in "Gintama", but even Seikaibouzu was unable to compete with him and felt his life was in danger. After all, he is immortal, so even though Seikaibouzu once blew off Hollow's right arm, it didn't matter.
But he sees through it
However, Seikaibouzu realized that Hollow was immortal due to the power of Altana. Incidentally, Seikaibouzu's wife, Kouka, is also immortal due to the same Altana. This caused Seikaibouzu to hold the Altana crystal stone in one hand and crush his heart. Since he had transferred all of Altana's power to his right arm beforehand, his body died, but it regenerated from the blown-off right arm.
Sekaibouzu is near death
And Hollow cuts off his right arm and his torso with Seikaibouzu's sword again. Here, Seikaibouzu is seriously injured, but Hollow has also been rapidly regenerating and is quite weakened, and his Altana has run out. Therefore, he retreats without finishing off Seikaibouzu, who he had driven to the brink of death. By the way, Hollow says of Seikaibouzu, "He is the only one who could possibly kill me," and "We could not have defeated each other unless we were prepared to sacrifice our lives."
【Gintama】Spoilers about Hollow!
That's all for an introduction to Hollow, a key character in "Gintama." He is an important character who holds the core of the story. I'm sure many fans were shocked when they found out his true identity.
