Tokageroh

Tokageroh (トカゲロウ, Tokagerou) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series of Shaman King. He is the guardian ghost of Umemiya Ryunosuke. In life, Tokageroh was a bandit that was killed by Amidamaru. He is voiced by Wataru Takagi in Japanese, and Wayne Grayson in English.

About
Tokageroh was born into poverty and eventually, he was forced to eat his own dead mother to survive. He later became a thief ambushing a lot of people. As an ancient bandit, he stole most of everything, money, food, lives, and so on. He led a horde of bandits who terrorized the area 600 years ago.

During his lifetime he became infamous and even gained his own fighting style called "Tokage Kenpō" (トカゲ剣法, "Lizard Style"). Tokageroh always calls himself a nasty villain but in reality, he was a big softie who misses the comfort of mother's care.

There was once a local hill, Tokageroh and his group of bandits used as a hideout, but one day Amidamaru passed by and was ambushed by them. However, being the strongest one, Amidamaru would kill Tokageroh and his group of bandits. Tokageroh was unable to pass on because he wanted revenge while his hatred eventually turned his skin tone lizard green.

In the modern day, Tokageroh possesses Umemiya Ryunosuke and uses him to steal Harusame from the museum and then attacks Yoh and Amidamaru, who does not recall him at all. In the ensuing fight, Yoh and Amidamaru are forced to break Harusame in order to save Ryu's life. Yoh appeals to Tokageroh and allows him to possess him instead of Ryu because Yoh believes that Tokageroh is not as evil as he claims. Tokageroh does so, with the supposed intention of killing him in the process, but finds that he does not have the heart to do so, and leaves Yoh's body peacefully.

Tokageroh prepares to move on, but for some odd reason, he can not enter the afterlife and eventually decides to become Ryu's guardian ghost after meeting him again in Izumo. While training in the mountains of Izumo, Tokageroh embodies the spirit of the mythical river god Yamata no Orochi and after training with Anna during the Shaman Tournament, Tokageroh evolves into a Seirei-class spirit.

O.S. Tokageroh Bokutō
O.S. "Bokutō ni Tokagerou" (O.S. 木刀にトカゲロウ, Tokageroh in Wooden Sword) Description: This was Ryu's first Over Soul, made by integrating Tokageroh's ghost with his bokutō. This O.S. provides Ryu with much-needed protection in the form of shoulder armor and prehensile, snake-like tendrils that are used to bind enemies as well as defend against attacks. Originally, this O.S. manifests as armor, turning Tokageroh into a shield bearing his likeness, before being re-imagined. Overall, this O.S. proves to be Ryu's most versatile O.S. type, if not the weakest. Ryu can even create the Big Thumb Over Soul, a 'legendary hitch-hiking' technique, which appears as a huge green thumb with a striking resemblance to Tokageroh's face.
 * Shaman: Umemiya Ryunosuke
 * O.S. Type: Weapon Type
 * Spirit Ally: Tokageroh (human ghost)
 * Medium used: Bokutō, carved from normal wood

Attacks


 * Hell Dragon Crimson Lizard: A simple, yet powerful downwards slash with the Over Soul, it cuts something in half.


 * Hell Dragon Scarlet Lizard (地獄竜紅蜥蜴 Jigoku Ryū Beni Tokage): A cross slash with the Over Soul, it can cut open an opponent.


 * Ame no Murakumo (天叢雲 (アメノムラクモ) Ame no murakumo, lit. "Heavenly Gathering of Clouds"): By using the "Ame-no-Murakumo" bokutō, carved from a sacred tree (神木 Shinboku, lit. "god wood"), the river spirit manifests in Tokageroh and he would grow long snakes out of his hair, which he can use to attack. It can create a large white spirit ball around the sword and sprouts the heads of the Yamata No Orochi that can crush any opponent with a spear-like thrust attacks of its heads.


 * Yamata no Orochi Spirit of the River (山田のおろし川の精神,"Yamata no Orochi kawa no Seishin"):

O.S. Yamata no Orochi Go
O.S. "Yamata no Orochi Gō" (O.S. ヤマタノオロチ号, "Great Serpent of Eight Branches Edition") Description: The result of Anna's training, Ryu learns to harness, at will, the power he displays during his fight with Boris Tepes Dracula, the vampire shaman. Orochi provides all the advantages of the previous form, but in the form of an eight-headed serpent, yielding far greater ferocity and power. Once a Seirei-class spirit, this evolved O.S. transforms Tokageroh into the fearsome "Yamata-no-Orochi Gō," a gigantic O.S. which places Tokageroh as the rider of a humongous, three-wheeled motorcycle monstrosity with eight humongous serpents heads, looming over an over-sized replica of Tokageroh's head guard. This O.S. variation, aside from its naturally high defenses, is surprisingly mobile.
 * Shaman: Umemiya Ryunosuke
 * O.S. Type: Spirit Type
 * Spirit Ally: Tokageroh (Seirei-class)
 * Medium used: "Ame-no-Murakumo" bokutō

Attacks


 * Super Attack (スーパーアタック,"Sūpā Atakku"): This attack involves using the multiple heads of the O.S. to grab and crush any object.

O.S. Sushi Knife Susanorō
O.S. "Sashimi Bōchō Susanorō" (O.S. 刺身包丁スサノロウ, "Sashimi Carving Knife Susanoo") Description: In order to compete against Team "The Ren", Team "Funbari Onsen" would train to hone their shamanic powers, while Ryu develops this O.S. as a result. It is an Armor-type O.S. made from integrating Tokageroh's spirit with Ryu's Ame-no-Murakumo bokutō. The O.S. takes the form of a giant sashimi knife with Tokageroh's signature Headgear visible over the hilt, which has a golden dragon insignia on it. It also forms shoulder armor created over Ryu's right arm, while there were two armor rings on his left arm, and a purple skirt armor on his right leg.
 * Shaman: Umemiya Ryunosuke
 * O.S. Type: Armor Type
 * Spirit Ally: Tokageroh (Seirei-class)
 * Medium used: "Ame-no-Murakumo" bokutō, carved from shin-boku ("god wood")

This O.S. embodies Ryu's dream of becoming a sushi chef, which makes this O.S. all-powerful. He was supposed to show this O.S. in the fight against Team "The Ren"; however Usui Horokeu quickly shatters his hands and makes it impossible for him to fight. Instead, it is first revealed in the first Plant of the Desert, where he fought against Namari and his guardian ghost Red Rope.

Attacks


 * Ultra Sabaki (ウルトラ捌き ,Urutora Sabaki, lit. "Ultra Handling"): A cutting technique, Ryu slashes his opponent in half vertically and then several times horizontally all in the blink of an eye like it was cutting a filet into sashimi. Sabaki also refers to the fighting style Tai sabaki, which uses all of the body movements, referring to the way how Ryu uses all of his skills when fighting, combining his street fighting style with his Shamanic abilities.

Trivia

 * Susanorō is the name of the Shinto god of sea and storms who slayed the Yamata no Orochi.


 * The word Sabaki (捌き) also means "knife work" in relations to cooking.


 * It is a common misconception that the "Yamata no Orochi" is a second spirit that Ryu possesses.


 * In the Anime Series, the O.S. "Yamata No Orochi Go" is referred to as a Giant Over Soul.