Seiryū

Seiryū (青（せい）龍（りょう）, Literally meaning: Blue Dragon) was one of the Saint Beasts who attempted to cause havoc in the Human World. He was voiced by Mitsuo Senda in the Japanese version. In the Filipino dub of the anime, they use the standard name of Blue Dragon.

AppearanceEdit

Seiryū is a tall and slim man. Seiryū towers over the members of Team Urameshi, standing at 12 feet; more than twice as high as Hiei, while possessing pale green skin and black facial hair. His blue martial arts robe is tied at the waist by a large white strap and features the image of a blue dragon wrapping around his shoulder. To match his robe, Seiryu wears a dark, blue cap, and on his feet he wears a simple pair of black shoes.

PersonalityEdit

Seiryū seems to value power above all else. He has no respect for the weak, or anyone of lower status, including his fellow saint beast Byakko, whom he ruthlessly murders on account of being "soft." In contrast, he displays the utmost loyalty to his superior, referring to Suzaku as "master," even when he is not present. For the most part, Seiryu remains calm and somber even when things seem to get drastic, however Seiryu does seem to worry about an outcome when the opponents manage to get closer to the tower. Somewhat like Byakko, Seiryu too seems to have a bit of a temper when favor is not sided with him as seen with his battle with Hiei and like Byakko seems to have a high claim of confidence especially when it came to underestimating Hiei, which would lead to his downfall. Seiryu also tends to get annoyed when somebody interrupts his battles; an example is that before the battle started, Byakko approached to the room which seemed to aggravate the man. Despite valuing power, however, he seems rather arrogant or foolish, as when Hiei later compared him to Toya of Team Masho, he said Seiryu was no master of his ice skill, saying that "he was a fool who though he could get by on half his lessons" (stated in episode 38) .

SynopsisEdit

Spirit Detective SagaEdit

After Byakko's supposed defeat, Seiryū asks Suzaku for permission to take care of the intruders, and is granted his request. Kurama, knowing the Blue Dragon's territory, warns the group before they proceed. Briefly following Team Urameshi's arrival into Seiryū's lair, Byakko, apparently still alive, enters through the door and pleads for his teammate's help. Instead, Seiryū, clearly lacking sympathy, unleashes the ice dragon technique, freezing and decapitating the white tiger with a kick, then spitting on Byakko's frozen head. Hiei, inwardly enraged at the cruel action, decides to take Seiryu on, letting Yusuke battle the leader.

Seiryu falls to pieces the moment the battle begins, as Hiei slashes him within a page. The anime however, lengthens the fight significantly; Seiryū sends a barrage of ice at Hiei, causing him to run around the room at top speed. Eventually, Seiryu appears to freeze Hiei's leg; Hiei, however, revealing that he is impervious to ice attacks, charges at Seiryu, expeditiously slicing his body in 16 different places, causing the Saint Beast to shatter like ice.

Dark Tournament SagaEdit

Seiryu is mentioned briefly during Kurama's match with Toya. In the English anime, Hiei said to the Masked Fighter (later revealed as Genkai) that Seiryu was a fool who thought he could get by on half of his lessons and that if there was a true master of ice, it would be Toya. However, in the Japanese version, Hiei mentioned that Seiryu was a true master of the ice technique and that Hiei luckily defeated him quickly enough before he could reveal any more dangerous techniques.

Techniques/MovesEdit

• Ice Dragon (魔闘凍霊拳, Matō Tōryōken, translated as Demon Fighting Frozen Spirit Fist, Ghostly Ice Fist in the Viz translation): Seiryū's signature move. Being able to control the temperature around him, he is able to throw hundreds of subzero-degree celsius punches in a split second. He does this by charging energy in his fist and projecting it out, causing anything that it hits to be frozen in ice.

TriviaEdit

• Seiryu is the Japanese name of the animal deity Qinglong, which guarded the east. It took the form of a dragon, with blue being the color indicating the eastward direction. Seiryu's flag would be carried by the left flank of an army. Today, the name is associated with having a running stream to the east of one's house.
• He shares the same English dub voice actor with Yusuke Urameshi.
• In the original version of the English dub, Seiryu's voice was deepened somewhat from its original pitch. The blu-ray rerelease left the voice unaltered. Something similar happened with Dragon Ball Z character Super Buu, who, ironically, was also voiced by Justin Cook.
• In the manga he was noted as a true master of ice, while in the anime Toya instead was.

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