- For other articles using this title, see Over Soul.
Over Soul (オーバーソウル Ōbā Souru), or simply O.S., is an advanced shamanic technique, in which the shaman uses their furyoku to materialize their Guardian Ghost.[1]
About[]
The shaman forcibly integrates a spirit with a physical object and uses their furyoku to materialize the overflowing spirit, creating an "Over Soul".[1] Since an Over Soul is composed entirely of a shaman's furyoku, there is no actual matter and it can only be damaged by another Over Soul; it is typically impervious to conventional weapons and physical attacks.[2]
An Over Soul can best be described as a metaphysical construct that fashions an apparition in elaborate and complex shapes by a shaman using their Furyoku and a medium. Aside from gaining corporeal properties, an Over Soul actualizes the knowledge and memories of an apparition and allows their memories to manifest essentially as magical powers, allowing for feats such as spellcasting or paranormal effects.
While any spirit can be molded into an Over Soul, their attributes depend solely upon the spirit's ego—or identity. Depending on its ego, the ghost can be molded by the shaman into any shape or form the shaman desires, enabling the direct display of its abilities to protect the shaman. Human ghosts usually make poor choices for an Over Soul, as opposed to animal spirits, due to their egos[2] but can evolve over time into Seirei—spirits whose souls have been refined over hundreds of years and have attained their purest form. While the exact design of an Over Soul depends entirely on the shaman's imagination, it is also important that the shaman chooses a medium which best symbolizes the spirit's abilities, such as a katana for Amidamaru who is a samurai.[1]
In regards to strength and integrity, an Over Soul's durability is proportionate the amount of Furyoku utilized, as well as the shaman's level of concentration. It is important that a shaman keeps in mind that although the mass of an Over Soul remains constant, Furyoku is consumed anytime it is used to create matter, like ice, which consumes Furyoku in itself. Furyoku is only consumed when the "body" of the Over Soul is compromised. At this juncture, the Over Soul must be immediately infused with the appropriate amount of Furyoku necessary to maintain its integrity, depending on the degree of damage sustained. If an Over Soul absorbs enough damage, it breaks and dissolves along with all Furyoku used in its creation. Therefore, a shaman must consider how much Furyoku to charge their Over Soul with during each engagement.
The sizes and shapes of certain character's O.S. often change since their introductions, some without any explanation. This could be attributed to the mental imagery a shaman uses to envision the form, size, and ability of the Over Soul. Yoh's Spirit of Sword, for instance, has changed considerably throughout the series since its introduction in volume 15 of the manga, with a defined blade and the inclusion of a large hilt.
Types of Over Souls[]
Generally speaking, O.S. can be divided into three categories: Spirit-types, Weapon-types, and Armor-types. Strictly speaking in terms of practicality, the classification of an O.S. doesn't necessarily determine its effectiveness in live combat, but the higher the quality of the O.S. determines its range of abilities and maintenance, making the overall effectiveness of any O.S. largely based on the shaman's individual talent.
- Spirit-type Over Soul: These O.S. usually manifest an apparition corporeally in such a manner as to fully utilize its unique abilities (ie. O.S. Bason, O.S. Kororo-Snowboard).
- Weapon-type Over Soul: These O.S. manifest an apparition as a supernatural instrument or armament (ie. O.S. Spirit of Sword, O.S. Kororo-Ikupasuy, O.S. Super Bushin), usually to compliment the shaman's personal fighting style.
- Armor-type Over Soul: These O.S. are the most efficient form of Furyoku-based constructs. Armor-types represent the pinnacle of O.S. magic and are the most practical type of O.S. because of their resilient, highly dense Furyoku composition. This method makes them equally formidable in terms of raw power.
- Unity-type Oversoul: Also known as "Over Soul Merge", these O.S. are very difficult to achieve due to various factors. Unity-types require both the shaman and their apparition to establish and maintain continuous spiritual synchronization throughout the entire process, which is the sole responsibility of the Shaman. The major advantage of the Unity-type is the unrestricted access to an apparition's nature abilities. The only example of this is Chocolove McDonnell's Black Jaguar O.S. with Mic the Jaguar.