Shin-Ah

SPOILER ALERT! This article contains details from the manga that are not covered in the anime. Proceed with caution.

Template:Character Infobox

Shin-Ah (シンア, Shina) is the current Seiryuu, one of the four dragon warriors, which possesses the blood of the blue dragon deity. His power lies within his eyes. He became the third person and the second dragon to join Yona and Hak on their journey.

Appearance

	File:Shinah appearance.png

Shin-Ah is a tall, handsome young man who wears a horned skull mask over half of his face. Before departing on his journey with Yona, he had two bells attached to the left horn of his mask. He also has a big detachable white fur piece that he usually attaches to the back of his mask, which covers his short blue hair. Without the mask, he has beautiful golden dragon eyes, the source of his dragon ability, that are highlighted by red facial markings, both of which come from being the Seiryuu.He also has particularly pale skin, even compared to Yona, likely due to his living the majority of his life in a cave.

He wears a black robe with white fur trimming over a blue turtleneck shirt along with two decorative necklaces. He also wears fingerless black gloves and carries his sword across his back.

Personality

Growing up in complete isolation, he has almost no social skills whatsoever. He is very quiet and hardly ever speaks, usually replying to questions with nods and gestures, or just blank, awkward stares. Because of this he is often misunderstood by other people, thinking he is suspicious and even frightening. However, he has an extremely kind and caring personality, even towards those in his village who hate and fear him. He deeply cares for Yona and the rest of the group, and has a unique bond with a squirrel that he named Ao. He also absolutely hates the cold, often using his fur head-piece to keep himself warm.

Shin-Ah fears his own dragon powers and refuses to use them, calling himself "cursed" and a monster. He is afraid of the destruction they could cause and the people that could be hurt, including himself. Because of this he constantly keeps his mask on in order to prevent people from looking into his eyes and being affected by his "curse". Despite this, it is suggested that the girls in Chapter 65 of the manga saw his eyes, as one of the girls asked her friend if she had "seen the eyes of the man in the mask?". She went on to say that 'It's so beautiful, it sucks you in."

Background

Baby Shin-Ah

After Shin-Ah was born his mother committed suicide after seeing that her child was the next Seiryuu. The villagers immediately put a mask on him for fear of his powers and made him remain nameless, only being called "the Seiryuu". As the village law instructs, Shin-Ah was put in the care of the previous generations Seiryuu, who was named Ao. They both lived together apart from the rest of the village so that the villagers didn't have to live in fear of them. Despite this, Ao, and little Shin-Ah tagging along behind, would protect the village whenever bandits or soldiers with ill intentions came near. Ao told Shin-Ah that he must learn swordsmanship to protect the village and never use his dragon ability for it backfires on the user. Living apart and being hated by the villagers made Shin-Ah wonder if he could ever have any friends. Ao yelled at him saying that it was impossible since he was the Seiryuu. As time went on Ao starting losing his powers and becoming more and more blind as they transferred to Shin-Ah, whose vision continued to improve. Eventually, Ao became completely blind and was so happy, saying that he was finally a regular human. Shin-Ah found some bells dropped by bandits and wore them because he found the sound they made pretty. They also helped Ao to still know where he is. However, losing his abilities, Ao died, before which he cried and apologized to Shin-Ah because he was going to leave him all alone. In his complete loneliness, Shin-Ah continued to wear the bells on his mask, hoping to be "found".

Shin-Ah killed all of the soldiers

Soon after, a large group soldiers approached the village. Being only four years old at the time, Shin-Ah could not protect the village yet. Despite Ao's warning, he had no choice but to use his dragon ability, annihilating the entire troop and collapsing from the power's curse. Because of this terrifying scene, the villagers feared him even more. They moved their village to the mountains of the Fire Tribe and isolated Shin-Ah in the deepest corner of it. Shin-Ah lived for many years like this, only having a small squirrel as company, which he named Ao.

Synopsis

Dragons Arc

Shin-Ah saves Yona

Seeing that Yona has been taken away by his fellow villager, he rushes to help her as she cries for help. He successfully stops the man; however, he suddenly feels his eyes throbbing in pain and notices that Yona is the one causing it. Three unfamiliar men show up and upon setting his eyes on one of them, which is Kija, he automatically thinks of him as a “White Dragon”. Confused about what’s happening to him, he flees from the group and hides in his room while his pet squirrel, Ao, is comforting him.

Shortly after, Yona and Yoon enter his room and he automatically unsheathes his sword to drive them away. However, Yona tries to warm up to him by talking about Ao and eventually, exchanging formalities, though he is unable to give a name because he doesn’t have one. She asks him to be her ally, but he declines her offer and points the sword on her, which he soon stops after realizing that he can’t hurt her. Yona tells him that she is a friend to convince him, but he reasons that he is cursed with the dragon power and demands her to leave. With that, Yona gives up on him and makes his request, but not before telling him that she doesn’t care if he has terrifying curse at all. As she goes away, he feels regretful on his decision as he remembers how much he desires to have a friend.

File:The Seiryuu's face revealed.png

The Seiryuu's face revealed

Suddenly, an earthquake occurs and blocks the exit. He goes outside to help everyone trapped together with him; however, the villagers become scared upon seeing him and one of them knocks his mask away, which accidentally reveals his dragon eyes. He closes them right away to avoid spreading fear, picks up his fallen mask and puts it on back to his face again. He then moves towards Kija and digs the wall behind him with a pick. Kija tells him that he should be opening up the entrance instead of the wall, but he clarifies that the wall is easy to dig and it will lead them to the exit faster. Upon hearing that, everyone helps him to dig that certain location. However, with the gradual depletion of air inside, Yona is no longer able to breathe properly and he takes her in his room. He is keeping her comfortable when she bursts into tears and confesses how she had a small world similar to his. Because of that, she finds it unfair for him to be in such world and by then, she promises him that both of them will get out of darkness and find a place where they can do the things they want. At first, he doubts her, especially as he thinks of no such place where they can be free; however, he realizes that this place is actually by Yona’s side. Eventually, they are freed when Hak destroys the wall from the opposite side of the spot they are digging.

Yona invites him the second time around and without any hesitation, he accepts her offer. Before leaving, he bows to his fellow villagers to show gratitude towards them. As he turns around to where his friends are, the bells on his horned mask falls off, but he choose not to take them anymore as he believes that he will be now alright even without it.

File:The Seiryuu gains his name.png

The Seiryuu gains his name

On their way on finding Ryokuryuu, Kija collapses out of exhaustion and they stop travelling to take some break. Unable to track the green dragon without Kija’s senses, the group’s attention goes to him as he is a dragon warrior, but, as he has no knowledge about the full extent of his powers, he doesn’t have a clue about how to find Ryokuryuu, which Kija greatly pities. Because of this, Kija tells him that he will teach him everything and he can consider him as his “big brother”. Appreciating his concern towards him, he goes to a nearby river to catch a fish so that Kija can have a speedy recovery, though the latter freaks out as he thought that he dislikes what he said and is killing himself.

After the fish is cooked, they have a meal and during that time, Yona asks him if he needs a cloak as the only thing he is wearing is his fur. He declines and thanks her while calling her by her name. Yona is surprised to hear her name as she is only called Princess by everyone up until then, and with that, she asks him what he would like to be his name as he is only referred to as “Seiryuu”. Unable to think of an answer, he curls up inside his fur and dismisses the inquiry. That night, he goes to a meadow field and basks under the moonlight. Yona and Hak arrive, and he receives the name “Shin-Ah” from Yona, which means person of the moonlight. He gladly accepts his new name and promises that he will cherish it forever.

Awa Arc

Arriving at Awa, everyone except Hak stays near the port town to avoid being noticed by the officers as they all attract attention. Shin-Ah and Gija can feel the presence of Ryokuryuu, but is unable to pinpoint his exact location as he is jumping around a lot, though they eventually detect him in the direction of the sea. The next day, the two of them spots a pirate ship where they feel Ryokuryuu again, but the presence quickly disappears. gija and the others decide to go to Awa and he is asked to hold down the fort.

Hak, Kija and Shin-Ah vs. the Awa Pirates

After some troubles concerning Hak’s time with the Ryokuryuu, whose name is Jeaha, Sinha joins everyone again when they are making an alliance with the Awa pirates. Gi-Gan becomes curious about him and takes off his mask, which makes him immediately cover his eyes in reflex. He is still forced to show his face until Yoon pleads the pirate captain to stop. Gi-Gan then tells them that she will not let them join her crew unless they prove themselves to be useful and thus, she makes her men to gauge their abilities. Sinha, Hak and Gija passes the test effortlessly, however, it took Yun and Yona some time until they can join the pirates. That night, he sees seven ships docking at the port and informs the captain, Yona and Jeaha about it. After a few days pass by, Jeaha gets information about how Yang Kum-Ji abducts people and they hold a meeting. During their discussion, Yona proposes that she will blend in to Kum-Ji’s merchandise in order to inform them the ship where they are holding the captives. She suggests to everyone that she will launch a firework and Shin-Ah can help them by telling the exact location where it is launched.

Shin-Ah while he is fighting Kum-Ji's men

The following evening, they wait for the ships to embark before carrying out the plan. Minutes before the battle begins, Shin-Ah notices how Jeaha has bags under his eyes, which then leads for Gija and Hak to observe his face forcefully. Defeated, Jeaha admits how he is worried about Yona and he also shows concern towards Yun. Gija and Hak tell him that Yun will be alright, to which Shin-Ah agrees to as well.

When the enemy finally moves, they infiltrate their ships and in due time, Shin-Ah sees the signal, and he and Jae-Ha goes to where it was fired. Just as they arrive to the ship, they stop the mercenaries trying to kill Yona. In the end, they win against Kum-Ji and they celebrate the town’s freedom all day long. They soon leave Awa after saying goodbye to everyone and as they walk away, Yona regrets that she is unable to say goodbye to Jae-Ha. However, Kija informs her that he is with them and Shin-Ah cuts the tree where Jae-Ha is hiding. From then on, Jae-Ha becomes their ally.

In the middle of their journey, Yoon gets a love potion called the “Hakuryuu’s Scale”. Jae-Ha gets his hands on the potion and he attempts to use it to Yona, but instead, he accidentally throws some to Shin-Ah, making him charmed towards him. Shin-Ah spent all his day following Jae-Ha until the effects wore off.

Fire Tribe Arc

Shin-Ah is bumped by Zeno while they are playing

After a day when Zeno joins them, Shin-Ah is suddenly dragged into a game initiated by him that involves making each other warm. As he despises the cold, Shin-Ah plays with him and shortly, Kija also joins their game. They are stopped by Yoon when he announces that they will go to Ik-Soo to know more about the “sword and shield” mentioned in the prophecy. However, when they reach the priest’s home, they learn that they must wait for some time before the sword and shield appear to them. The next day, they follow Yoon at Katan and help him in distributing the rations he has brought. During this time, government officials show up to collect taxes from the village and Yoon hurries them to hide. As the situation goes worse between the civilians and the officials, Jae-Ha intervenes and eventually, Hak, who takes Shin-Ah’s fur to hide his identity. From that point on, they form a bandit group and call themselves as “The Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch”.

Shin-Ah as he is being comforted by Yona

As they protect the Fire Tribe villages, they disperse in different areas, and Shin-Ah is left with Yona. While they are on the lookout, Yona, who still doesn't want to give up on learning swordsmanship, tries to steal his sword, which makes him to run away from her. Yona gives up and just asks him if she can watch him practice, to which he agrees to. While he is showing his skills, Yona asks him why he decided to learn swordsmanship when he has the dragon’s eyes. He remains silent at first, but then tells her that his instructor told him that he shouldn't use his dragon powers because of its effects. Yona wonders what kind of power he has, and from that, he started remembering all the bad things that happened during his childhood. As he trembles, Yona hugs him and apologizes for bringing up the topic. She then tries to lift his mask away, but he goes away from her to prevent her from seeing his eyes. Yona tells him that she just wants to look at his eyes while talking to him and she looks forward to a day where she can see him smile. Their talk abruptly ends when a kid comes up to Yona to request some food.

Shin-Ah tries to smile

Sinha thinks of what Yona said about smiling and he tries to create one, though a little forcefully. Because of his preoccupation of this thought, he doesn't notice the two kids that approach him, who then steal his sword away. He tries to catch up with them, but he suddenly hears Yona’s plea for help in his mind, and as he turns around, he sees her being carried away by two bandits. Mad, he rushes to her while beating up some other bandits along the way. However, as he is unarmed and outnumbered, he loses to them and is stabbed in the right side of his stomach. As he watches Yona being taken away while crying out for his safety, he uses his dragon powers.

Sinha cries as Yona tells that he can stay with her

In an instant, his opponents fall to his gaze and are under a hallucination. He feasts on everyone’s suffering as he rips them out via illusion and gradually loses himself to his power. Unbeknownst to him, Yona is already talking to him and tries to stop him from further using his ability, but as she continues on doing so, he also envelops her with his power. Despite that, Yona still tries to bring him back to his senses and when he finally hears her call his name, he snaps out from his power and is soon paralyzed. Yona tries to help him, but he tells her to go away as he is a monster, which makes him depreciate his self as he fears that Yona will hate him. However, she still stays and tells him that he is a human who simply wants to control his power. She suggests that he should accept everything about his power and then encourages him to get stronger with her. Shin-Ah is glad that Yona didn't push him away and swears to himself that as long as Yona calls for him, he will follow her until he can be proud of the name she bestowed on him. Later, he is treated by Yoon and cheered by Kija and Zeno to get back to health when they return from another village.

A few days later, he notices that the sky lit up through the tent during one night and goes outside, only to find soldiers heading to their way which alerts Yona. Eventually, the matter is dealt with and after Yona lets Kan Tae-Jun continue their work, they go to Kai to find a crop that will help the Fire Tribe.

They reach the Senri Village, though they forge their identities as travelling entertainers to avoid suspicion. In there, women flock around them and Sinha becomes scared when they try to take his mask off. As they stay at the village, they learn that the soldiers from Sen are passing by near their area. They go to where the soldiers are seen and Shin-Ah spots some Fire Tribe soldiers. Afterwards, they divide themselves into two groups and Sinha joins Jeaha, Yun and Yona as they continue to watch the vicinity of the village. Sinha sees from afar that some soldiers are approaching and he advises Yona to hide immediately. They spy on them and catch sight of Li Hazara, the dominant ruler of Sen. Because of this, Yona tells them that they must return to Kouka as she feels that something is amiss.

Sinha as he looks at the Sen Army near Saika

They go straight to Saika, the Fire Tribe’s capital, and lurk in the alleys to gather information. They stay at a tavern in the meantime, but as they are just about to get some rest, they receive word that the Sen Army has already invaded Kouka’s borders. The following day, Sinha and Jeaha scout the area. While they are jumping, Sinha stops Jeaha as they will be detected if they go any further. He tells him that he can see the outside of Saika from where they are and continues to monitor the area, but he stops when Jeaha doesn't stop looking at his eyes. He faces away from him, and to his surprise, he sees 2,000 Sen soldiers camping near the Saika Castle who are just being on a standby. The two of them returns to the inn they are staying at and reports everything they saw. Yona decides that they will intimidate the enemy soldiers staying near at Saika to create an opening for the Fire Tribe.

After going through an underground passage, they casually walk into the enemy’s encampment and attack them. While they are fighting, Sinha spots another army, but he notes that they are not coming at Saika. Confused from the opponent’s movements, they step back to discuss what is happening. Hak asks Sinha if the soldiers in the army he saw are injured, to which he answers no, and Hak eventually comes to a conclusion where Sen and the Fire Tribe joined forces to get Soo-Won’s head. Yona, albeit silent at first, chooses that they will stop Sen and the Fire Tribe from causing further damage at Kouka. After Hak gathered some horses, they embark to where the war is happening and join Kouka’s forces. They manage to meet Kan Soo-Jin, but they soon leave when Soo-Won shows up. Afterwards, Yoon heals all the injury they got from the battle.

Abilities

File:Shin-Ah's power.png

Shin-Ah using Seiryuu's power against a bandit.

Dragon Eyes: With the eyes of the blue dragon, he has the ability to see long distances very clearly, being able to see people and objects miles away. When using the eyes' ability, he has the power to paralyze people when he looks directly into their eyes. His victims are then subject to fatal hallucinations. In extreme cases he can cause their entire bodies to stop functioning, including their hearts. However, he does not have full control over this power and will lose himself to the blue dragon's murderous willpower. When he finishes using this ability, he himself becomes paralyzed as a result, making the power a double-edged sword. In order to avoid unintentionally hurting others with his ability, he wears his mask to cover his eyes.

Swordsmanship: Since his dragon ability is so dangerous, Sinha has trained himself to become a extremely capable and skilled swordsman so that he doesn't have to use his powers. He is able to keep up with Hak and Gija easily.

Education: It appears that Sinha may not be able to read. In the first OVA, he draws the symbol for an onsen to show Yona and her companions, rather than tell them the sign he has seen with his dragon sight in the distant forest.

Relationships

Ao

Ao is the one who was put in charge of Shin-ah the day after he was born and he is the closest thing that he had to a father. Even though Ao is grumpy and is always pessimistic on him in having friends, he always looked out for him and acts as a backup whenever he is fighting. When Ao died, Shin-ah was greatly saddened over his death and wished to be together with him again. Despite this, he continued Ao’s duty of protecting the people of his village and always keeps himself on check to never to use his dragon powers. Even though many years have passed since their separation and with the gradual forgetting of Ao’s physical appearance, Shin-ah still remembers him for most of the time and even wonders if he will be laughing at him as he already found friends that he is yearning for when he was still a child when he joins Yona’s journey.

Ao (Squirrel)

Ao is Shin-ah's pet squirrel that he named after the previous Seiryuu and was his only friend before meeting the others. They met when he was trying to shelter Ao from the rain with a large leaf, which in turn was eaten by the squirrel. She seemed to have followed Sinha after that, even staying with him underground in the complete darkness. She continues to stay with him even after he left the village with Yona.

Yona

Yona is the first friend Sinha ever has and also the first person who thinks of his eyes as beautiful and not terrifying. Because of this, Sinha cherishes the name he got from her, and seeks to be someone befitting of his given name for Yona someday. Be it because of the dragon’s blood or his will itself, he cares deeply for Yona and always looks out for her safety, but, for this reason as well, he becomes against the idea of teaching her swordsmanship as he fears that she will get hurt after seeing the first time he lend her his sword. When worst comes to worst, he will not hesitate to break his promise to Ao and will use his dragon eyes even if he loses himself in the process just to protect her. He was shown enraged multiple times whenever Yona was hurt, showing just how much he cares for her and how protective he can be of her like the others.

Kija

Kija deeply cares for Shin-ah and considers him as a younger brother. Their bond grew stronger over time as they traveled alongside Yona and lived by their will of protecting her. Kija's attachment towards Shin-ah is furthermore highlighted when the latter got possessed by the soul of a resentful seiryuu. He showed no hesitation in coming forward and protecting Shin-ah; he fiercely told the soul to "return [his] younger brother". The two are, without doubt, ready to put their lives on the line for each other.

Quotes

(Shin-Ah About Yona) 'In truth I already knew the moment I saw her. There's a place full of light at this girl's side.'

(Shin-Ah About Yona) 'Yona... she's calling for me'

Trivia

• In the original planning stages for his character, Shin-Ah was supposed to have a more serious, dark personality.
• He ranked 5th in the character popularity poll conducted by Hana to Yume in December, 2014. He scored 771 votes in total.
• "Shin-Ah" is a name that means "moonlight" in the language of Kouka.
• Although he is physically around 17, Zeno has lived for thousands of years, making Shin-Ah the youngest of the current dragons.
• When he becomes possessed in The Forest Lushing Blue, Shin-ah finally gains control of his eyesight.
• It is revealed that he is fiercely protective of the members of the Happy Hungry Bunch, as when the dragons were attacked by the Five Stars, Shin-ah attempted to use his sight to protect them.
• Out of the dragons, the Seiryuu is the only one that is truly hated as the Ryokuryuu are described as annoying.
• Between the anime and manga, Shin-Ah and Hak's character designs remain the same. With the other characters, the patterns on their clothing is not present in the anime (excluding the second ending).
• Shin-Ah's original character design featured him with slightly curved lines going from his forehead down his face, instead of the smaller ones on his cheekbones. Other than that, he looked very much the same.
• During the course of the story, Hak, Soo-won and Shin-ah are the same age, being 18 years-old, but Shin-Ah is one month older than Soo-won and almost five months younger than Hak.
• Shin-Ah's mask and sword are mementos of his former guardian, Ao.
• Both Shin-Ah and Han Dae share the same voice actor
• It is clearly shown that Shin-Ah has a big appetite as it is seen that he can devour almost anything served to him. In one of the special chapters where he took in candy which made him go berserk (just like Yona and Kija), it was evident that Shin-Ah's weakness is food as he stopped fighting when Zeno mentioned rice balls. But this behavior could probably just be a result of his years living in a cave and being forced to eat anything for survival.