Yukari Hirai (平井ゆかり Hirai Yukari) is a student in Yūji's class at Misaki Municipal High School. She becomes a Torch and has her existence filled by Shana.
Appearance[]
Yukari as a Torch
Yukari had dark-colored hair with two small ponytails tied up either side of her head.
Personality[]
Yukari had a very upbeat personality, was kind and quick to help others out, but becomes very melancholic and silent after being turned into a Torch. Her novel counterpart is a sombre and shy girl, as compared to her livelier anime counterpart.
Background[]
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Plot[]
"Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" Arc[]
She dies when Friagne's Rinne Marianne appears on her way home, essentially killing everyone in the vicinity of the attack, except Yūji, who is rescued by Shana. Shana makes a Torch of Yukari, and everyone who was involved, that same day. Unfortunately, her flame burns out on the next day and her existence disappears as a result.
Before she disappears, however, Yūji attempts to give her the best last day of her life, and persuades Ike to hang out with her. They take a photo together, but Yukari's image fades from the photo when her flame burns out. Her last moment in her life is when she sits on a hill watching the sunset, apparently her favorite view.
Shana then uses the remains of Yukari's existence to shift the perception of others' identification of Yukari Hirai as herself, so others recognize her as the new Yukari Hirai, as if Shana had been so all along.
Final Battle of Misaki City Arc[]
Yukari is revived by Yūji, who uses Kazumi Yoshida’s memories of Yukari combined with the Torch existence of Yukari retrieved from Shana to restore her existence with the spell he received from Lamies.
Relationships[]
Hayato Ike[]
In the anime, she had a crush on Hayato Ike. Two months after being revived, Yukari went to the Sakura Festival with Ike and suggested that she wanted to hold "St. Edward's Ring" with him.
Yūji Sakai[]
The fading of her existence teaches Yuji some very valuable lessons about both the world around him, and his own inability to affect it.
Kazumi Yoshida[]
She was close friends with Yoshida.
Quotes[]
- (Yukari's final words): "I like this scenery."
Etymology[]
In the surname Hirai is the kanji 平 (Hira), which can mean "plain". When combined with 坂 (Saka) from Yūji's surname, which means "slope", they refer to Yomi, or Yomotsu Hirasaka (黄泉平坂), the land of the dead in Shinto mythology. The kanji 井 (I) present in both surnames means "well", which refers to a hole in the ground which leads to Yomi. The name Yukari (ゆかり) is not attributed with any kanji but is used in reference to the kanji 縁, which has multiple readings and meanings, the important ones for the series being "bonds" or "connections" (縁 yukari) and "destiny" (縁 enishi). This refers to the relationships she had lost through becoming a Torch and disappearing. Shakugan no Shana ends with Yukari returning. Figuratively, by following the well (井) from Yomi and eventually surfacing on the plains (平), bonds (ゆかり) are revived. Yukari Hirai returned from Yomi with her bonds.[1]
Trivia[]
- Yukari's parents were Torches as well and were most likely devoured at the same time as her. They had already been extinguished when Shana and Wilhelmina Carmel began living in the Hirai Residence.[2][3]
- Masumi Asano, Yukari's Japanese voice actress, also does the voice of Nina in the Shakugan no Shana Drama Disk.
- Yukari has the same Geneon English voice actress as Kimiko Nakamura.
Gallery[]
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References[]
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana no Subete Kan page 165
- ↑ Side Story: Reshuffle
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume XXII