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Shani
Shani-haruka4
Character Information
Birthday:
June 10
Age:
13
Height:
152 cm (5')
Bloodtype:
AB
Family:
Visvakarman (grandfather)
Surya (father)
Mother
Nasatya (step-brother)
Levanta (half-brother)
Yami (half-sister)
Asvin (half-brother)
Occupation:
Innate Element:
Metal
Celestial Stem: Geng
Dominate Hand:
Right
Hobbies:
Studying (often ditches lessons to learn from locals)
Voice Actor(s):
Houko Kuwashima
First Appearance: Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4
Only voiced in drama CDs and Aizouban port. He has several sisters and mother-in-laws, but they do not appear in the game or official media.

Shani (シャニ) is a secondary character in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4. He joins the party in chapter eight within the game's main story.

Role in Game[]

Shani, the youngest son of Surya, became the lord of Izumo at the age of eight. Unaware of the political problems in his homeland, he prefers to govern peacefully in Nakatsu Kuni. Though there is a war between Tokoyo no Kuni and Nakatsu Kuni, Shani does not involve himself and instead focuses on interacting with the locals. He is the only prince accepted by the residents of Nakatsu Kuni.

Chihiro and her group arrive in Izumo in search of the sacred altar of the deity Seiryu. They pretend to be a traveling performance group when they meet Shani, who catches Chihiro's attention by giving her a lotus flower. Shani, aware of their purpose, waits for their arrival at his manor. Surprised to learn about Shani's occupation, Chihiro and her group are entertained by Tooya's song, which convinces Shani to accompany them to the sacred altar.

Shani explains that the path to the altar will be revealed during the village festival, but they are missing the decorative coral for the village altar. Shani asks Chihiro and her group to find it, and once they do, the annual festival goes smoothly. Shani happily rewards Chihiro for her help, and she chooses the Suzaku of Earth dragon gem as her reward.

After the festival, Surya and his army personally march into Izumo to capture Chihiro. Shani promises to stop the war before it begins, yet he fails to see his father before there is bloodshed. As he hurries to his father's main camp, Shani sees the Black Dragon's spirit within his father's body. Scared by the revelation, the young lord protests his father's conquest. Surya orders Nasatya to kill Shani for his impudence. Nasatya seemingly obeys the command and the Raja believes his youngest son has perished.

In reality, Nasatya placed Shani under a potent sleeping spell. He brings his younger brother with him to Kashihara. Shani awakes after the conflict in Kumano and asks for an explanation from Nasatya. His brother tells him of Mudgala's death, Asvin's defection, and Chihiro's true identity. Based on reports, Nasatya is aware that Chihiro is close to the capital and is manipulating a sacred deity to attack the rebels. Shocked by the knowledge, Shani decides to leave the castle to search for Chihiro. Originally, Shani thought to accept the princess as his enemy and attack her. When he sees her nearly fall into Nasatya's trap, he saves her instead. The boy admits he doesn't want to see her dead and disagrees with his father's behavior. Therefore, Shani joins Chihiro's army.

During the final and canon timeline, Shani is surprised to see Chihiro within Kashihara. Although he is skeptical of her claims to save everyone from the world's destruction, Shani decides to help her escort Tokoyo no Kuni ministers and the locals to the flying ship. He helps his brothers look through the ship's library to find a solution to the mortal world's end. Once the world is restored, Shani presumably returns to his homeland.

Personal Route[]

Tooya's song brings Shani joy, so he writes about it in his diary. Chihiro asks about his habit, and he happily admits to doing it often. Shani sees Chihiro and Hiiragi near the sacred altar, with Hiiragi holding an Akasha scroll. Shani asks to see it and is shocked by its contents. Suddenly feeling sad, he excuses himself.

Later, Shani explores the library on the flying ship and discovers that the Akasha scrolls mirror his diary entries. This means that whatever he writes in his diary comes true. Shani confides in Chihiro about his strange power and becomes afraid to write again. However, Chihiro encourages him to embrace his power and not blame himself for the negative events. Shani starts to believe in himself and writes a new future with the goal of bringing happiness to everyone. He wishes Chihiro luck in her battle and remains on the flying ship.

His power unlocks the chance for Chihiro to save Surya's soul from the Black Dragon. With the dragon deity's departure, Tokoyo no Kuni is restored. Surya reunites with his children and Shani is glad to be thanked by his father. Overjoyed by his father's survival, Shani thanks Chihiro for everything she has done for them.

His Aizouban extra event takes place several months after Chihiro has become queen. As a sign of peaceful relations with Tokoyo no Kuni, Shani is allowed to visit Nakatsu Kuni for his tutoring. His visits are mostly an excuse for Shani to wander into the palace for a playdate with Chihiro. He pouts that she is working too much and offers to teach her Tokyo no Kuni's written language as a benefit for her. Chihiro wants to learn, but her day hours are swamped. Therefore, she begs Shani to be her teacher during the evening. Shani agrees since he has an excuse to visit her room and spend time with her alone.

The prince teaches the queen well, and she is able to read at an elementary level half a month later. For one of their teaching sessions, Shani presents the scrolls of his diary and cheerfully fills in the gaps she is unable to read. The first scroll describes their first meeting in Izumo; the second entails the first time he arrived in Nakatsu Kuni and went fishing; the third one she reads fairly well as it is the one which has his written wish in his story path. The diary reads his wish as "a future in which everyone is happy", but Shani remarks he wrote it to mainly make Chihiro happy. She thanks him for his consideration and struggles to read the last scroll; it says he wants to become more intimate with someone. Shani playfully kisses Chihiro and thanks her for making his last wish come true.

Character Information[]

Development[]

During the early phases of the game's conception, Shani was originally a girl. The princess would be a sheltered contrast to Chihiro who was cherished by her older brothers. After some rewrites, the writers concluded that the female Shani shared too many parallels with Chihiro. Switching Shani's gender, they think, presents a new character dynamic for players to enjoy.

He was written to be a complete opposite of his real world namesake. The over exaggerated, ill-begotten rumors about Shani in the game are actually allusions to the mythological Shani. Ruby Party members thought it would be an amusing twist to defy the perceptions of him.

Personality[]

Shani is a friendly and popular person in Izumo, loved by young women for his charm. Unaware of the violence around him, he believes in peace and trusts his brothers to handle politics. He admires his father and is protected by his brothers. However, when he learns the truth, he is shocked and upset. He disagrees with his father's actions and fears his cruelty. Shani is confused and hurt when Nasatya becomes cold towards him, feeling unwelcome at home.

The young prince took an instant fancy for Chihiro. He calls her "Sis" (お姉ちゃん, onee-chan) and favors her over her other companions. He may not like the quips he hears from Futsuhiko or Nagi, but he tolerates them if it means staying beside her. Admiring her gentle maturity, Shani earnestly believes in her passionate desire to end the war.

Character Symbolism[]

Shani (शनि) is one of the feared devas in Hindu mythology. He rules the planet Saturn and is considered a slow moving force of destructive darkness. Saturn is often associated with ill fortune or unawareness, thus extending to Shani's reputation as a dark deity. Born as one of Surya's sons during an eclipse, he is the elder brother to Yama. Like Yama, Shani judges a soul. He performs his judgments during a person's life, severely punishing crimes and luxuriously rewarding good deeds.

His symbolic color is seiji-iro, which is literally translated as "blue porcelain". It is a color is named after tinted porcelain from China, a cultural value which started in either the Tang Dynasty or the Song Dynasty. Eventually, the porcelain was exported throughout East Asia and largely kept its namesake intact in every culture. The Court of Japan valued the pottery and decorative items created with the tint, and it became a cultural fad during the Edo period.

Amacha, a type of Japanese hydrangea, acts as his symbolic flower. Its young leaves are reportedly sweet and perfect to use in flowering teas; its sweetness argued to be its literal namesake. The flower is famous for being associated with the flower festival for Buddha's birthday (April 8th in the old lunar calendar). Buddha is said to have picked the amacha out of hundreds of blossoms, walked seven steps, and raised his right hand to bless the land. Amacha is often seen adorning Buddha status within shrines or temples when it's in bloom. To honor the story, the flower means celebration within the flower language.

Quotes[]

  • "Welcome to my Izumo! I'm the lord, Young Lightning Shani! Are you surprised?"
  • "Even the flowers are happy to be here with everyone."
  • "I really love seeing smiles on pretty people like you, Sis."
  • "Anything that moves my heart is written into my diary. Happy things or sad things, everything. I'll write about the Tsuchigumo's song too! It would be nice to have him sing for the festival."
  • "Father, stop! What are you doing to my country?"
  • "Sis, I don't want to see you hurt. I'll do my best by your side!"
  • "Oh, I get it. You're too nervous to sleep. (giggles) I was like that too when I first moved to Izumo. But everyone cheered me up a lot up so the trip wasn't hard. I'm talking about my brothers... and Father..."
  • "Ugh, it's him again. I'm not up to dealing with you right now. Listen, kid. Just go back to your home."
"... Sis, why are you traveling with someone like him? I wouldn't be able to stand him for a day."
"S-Sorry. Nagi doesn't mean to sound that way."
"Hmm, I don't like him one bit. But it's okay. If Sis says so, then I'll forgive you! ❤"
"This brat..."
~~Nagi, Shani, and Chihiro
  • "Brother! (chuckles) You're looking so serious again. Were you talking about the festival?"
"Saty can't be as lively as you, Shani."
"... Shani, you should present yourself before Father. He must have something to tell you."
"Ah... um... I don't want to go. I mean, he's just going to say something weird like army maneuvers or whatever, right? It's got nothing to do with me. And... Father's kinda scary lately. I don't know what's going on, but I'm okay with both of you taking care of it."
"Must be good to be so carefree."
~~Shani, Asvin, and Nasatya

Special Ability[]

When Chihiro calls upon Shani during a fight, he has the power to make an enemy's attack become a regular one. This ability is very helpful because it can even work on all the big bosses in the game. It stops them from using their really strong group spells and makes them use a weaker regular attack instead. If a team of characters with the Counter ability uses this summon, they can take advantage of it.

Gallery[]

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