Tomo's Mini-Shrine
Welcome to my Tomo page. Personally I think Tomo is really cool even though he is evil and coniving, but he is still definately my favorite Seiryuu seishi. His laugh sends shivers down my spine and is too cool.
Tomo's Past
Tomo's past is a mystery, and he's not telling either...he was abandoned
as a child and raised by a dancer (thanks Ritz!). His "real" name is a
name given by the person who raised him as the name given to him by his
real parents was lost after his abandonment.
Tomo's Attire
As can be seen in his pictures, Tomo is fond of Chinese Opera regalia.
He can be regularly seen with a painted face, elaborate headdress, and
full costume outfit. As he explained in one of the tv episodes, the
different colors used in his face paint represent different things: Indigo
for strategy, Black for loyalty, and Gold for harmony. As Cind-chan
found out after some research, in the Chinese Opera, a character with a
base face paint color of white is considered an evil character. When
asked at Anime Expo 98, series creator Watase Yuu admits that she intended
to show Tomo's gorgeous un-painted face in the anime, but the plot did
not allow it. -_-; Also found out somewhere on the net, Tomo's
costume is like that of an important high-ranking general. And cool info
on Tomo's headdress can be found at the CTFC webpage, here.
An interesting page on Ancient Chinese Opera can be found here,
check out the Ching character role and make-up meanings!
Tomo's Powers
Tomo is able to "capture" people in illusions created by clams he calls
"shin." People are susceptive to these illusions extremely easily,
especially after experiencing something tramatic. These illusions are
extremely real and within them Tomo is able to create an infinite number
of copies of himself to populate them. Tomo also possesses telekinetic
powers over objects, bending them to his every whim. This is normally
seen through his manipulation of the long feathers located on his
headdress.
Tomo's Personality
"...I happen to really like him. He's handsome, and he has
personality. He has a perfect body and an impulsive and rash personality,
which catches people's eye."
- Watase Yuu
Tomo seems to be a cold, conniving, totally evil character at first glance, but upon looking beneath the surface, it is possible to see that most of that impression is an illusion created by a gifted performer. At a young age, Tomo was abandoned by his parents and taken in by a street dancer. To survive he had to learn that life was harsh and cold, and that if you didn't get the job done yourself, it might not get done at all. Sometime after, Tomo joined a traveling opera troupe, most likely playing the Jing character type (a strong-willed male character who wears greatly exaggerated facial make-up). Here he learned to perform; maybe one time an important general and another time a scheming politician. To create, through costuming, make-up, gesture, and voice, the "illusion" of being that character. Something never seen, because we are never allowed inside Tomo's head, is the fact that Tomo is shy. So, the ability to transform from a shy, street dancing pauper into the feared and adored war general is a great ability indeed. Something the younger Tomo probably embraced. Then, somewhere along the line, Tomo learned he was a Seiryuu seishi...someone of power and status...he could finally become the illusion, the man of power. Add into that equation his seishi ability to physically manifest illusions. To capture people within them and populate the illusion world with an infinite number of alter egos. Add in a touch of telekinesis and the Seiryuu seishi Tomo has an arsenal of weapons to use on anyone who would think to push him down again. Enter Nakago, the Seiryuu seishi self-appointed leader. Also from a reviled past, he had overcome all that to be the efficient, respected war general of Tomo's opera roles. Quite worthy of Tomo's respect and homosexual attractions. Yes, Tomo is gay...a fact somewhat glossed over in the anime (two mentions), and yes, he was attracted to Nakago but that was never mentioned in the anime for unknown reasons. Anyway, for Nakago's own reasons, he did accept Tomo as an equal...worthy of discussing strategies against the Suzaku seishi and so on, a position no other seishi is seen to occupy. And given Tomo's, somewhat subconscious, feelings for Nakago, he was placed in direct opposition to fellow Seiryuu seishi, Soi. Now, probably due to being in the company of men his whole life...from the streets to the opera troupe, Tomo has a dislike of women. He is generally cold to them, but he can still work with them if need be. So, Soi is just a rival for Nakago's affections..."professionally" Tomo and Soi are an effective team. (though 'teams' are rare on the Seiryuu side, the only others being Soi/Nakago and Suboshi/Amiboshi) Bottomline, Tomo is a performer. His illusions allow him to become more than he is in reality...to transcend his past. And this comforts him.
Tomo in the Novels
As you may know, a series of Fushigi Yuugi novels
came out after the two OVA series ended. The sixth book, Seirandan, was centered around Nakago and his
past. No Nakago book would be considered complete without the presences
of both Tomo and Soi. The novel puts forth that Tomo entered the Koutu
palace as part of his traveling opera troupe. His name at the time was Ra
Gun. He then, personally, presented himself to the emperor as the Seiryuu
Seishi Tomo. It is then that he meets Nakago, then lieutenant of the
army, and with use of his shin discovers Nakago's past and
confronts him with it. Nakago betrays little when confronted with his
worst memories, to which Tomo promises are similar to his own
background...no parents, brought up by others, etc. Tomo also assures
Nakago that he will support Nakago from then on in whatever he undertakes.
It's all very cool, i assure you.
Also, you may have noticed that Tomo's name was Ra Gun in the novel.
Kai Ling explained
the discrepancy from his previously known name "Ruo Chuin":
"Just to explain things a bit.... both the manga and novel give the same
name for Tomo, that is, the same set of kanji. However, in the manga,
Watase Yuu wrote the pronounciation as 'Ryo Chuin' whereas in the novel,
the kanji are read as 'Ra Gun'. Actually, 'Ra Gun' is the correct
pronounciation of the name in Japanese.
Now, in Chinese, Tomo's name is read as 'Luo2 Jun1', which if one were to
pronounce using Japanese alphabets, the closest thing is 'Ryo Chuin'... it
actually sounds pretty much right. So, I'm just guessing here... but I
suspect that Watase Yuu wrote 'Ryo Chuin' because she wanted to use the
Chinese mandarin pronounciation."
Tomo Stuff
from my site...
My Tomo Antenna Ball ala Jack-in-the-Box.
My Tomo UFO-catcher doll -he's kawaii
My Tomo Love Test
My Tomo Manga Scan Gallery
Tomo Fan Fiction
Cind-chan's
"From
the Ruins of Childhood"
also
Cind-chan's "Simply
an Illusion"
Jay Mason's
"Jissai -
reality"
A touching
Tomo/Soi fic - "Masks"
~*Destiny no
Miko's*~ "5th God of
Ten Sho and it's sequel, Zen"
The Four
Gods Sky and Earth - fan fiction, mostly Seiryuu
Tomo Links
Cackling
Tomo Fan Club (or CTFC), join and bow down to the evil that is TOMO!
Ritz's Manga
Translations - Watase Yuu's Tomo Free Talk and Tomo fact file!
Follow the
adventures of Shijin
MUX's Tomo reincarnation!
Tears of
Amber
Illusions - a shrine to
the Seiryuu Seishi, Tomo
Star Pattern: Libra
Seishi Name: Tomo
Pronunciation: toe-moe
Real Name : Ruo Chuin
Birthdate : 10/13
Age : 21
Height : 184cm ~ 6'0"
Hair color : Greyish-black
Eye color : Brownish-gold
Blood Type : AB
Seishi power: Causing hallucinations and illusions using "shin" (hard
clam)
Character : Root
Location of character: Low on right side of pelvis @_@
Interests: Threatening and picking on others, is a homosexual
Flaws: Evil to the bone (and doesn't like women ;_; )
Seiyuu : Tobita Nobuo
here's also some sketches of tomo included in the 1st artbook (click
for larger version):
okay, to show you exactly what kind of freak i am, this is the fyml member
badge i modified for myself for the Project Akon 9 anime convention:
