Anna Raregroove

Anna Raregroove is the Second Princess of Jurai and adoptive younger sister of both Zev Raregroove and Tamao Glory. She is a shaman of unknown spiritual ability and impressive skill with the blade.

Despite the clear differences in appearance, similarities to her siblings become clear soon after meeting her. Unlike Zev's tendencies to be extremely laidback and relaxed and Tamao's legendary grace and hidden ferocity, Anna possesses more balanced qualities of both.

Blood father and mother's names being Silva and Fulmina (Respectively), Anna was originally born of the Patch Tribe. However, she has been accepted fully as a daughter of the Glory-Raregroove Family.

Appearance
In addition to the features shown in the photo, Anna's turquoise-colored eyes seem to be unreadable most of the time and, while she has a lovely smile, her usual expression is a neutral frown.

Personality
Anna possesses a largely calm demeanour, similar to her older sister. However, like her older brother, Anna has also shown that she can be very friendly - Once she feels comfortable around someone. Among Anna's other traits are her distinct liking for perceptive individuals; devotion to the arts of swordsmanship, and far moreso to both the Patch Tribe and the Glory-Raregroove Family; and respect of skilled, honorable warriors.

Greeted With Love
Before her adoption into the Glory-Raregroove Family, Anna was born to a woman named Fulmina. Her father, Silva, was a powerful shaman of the Patch Tribe and a good friend of Zev Raregroove's father. When her father died in battle, he left two wishes for Anna: That his Spirit Allies protect her and train her like they did him, and that Anna be adopted into the Glory-Raregroove Family.

At first, Anna was absolutely terrified of how she would be received - However, she quickly found that the Glory-Raregroove Family happily accepted her. Though she still fully honors the traditions of the Patch Tribe, because her new family has made her so welcome and accommodated the Patch Tribe's rituals, cuisine, stories, etc., etc., Anna is just as loyal to the family that her father was so set on his daughter being adopted into. However, his exact reasons for her adoption are still unknown...

The Family Seems To Be Gathering!
In the current story, Anna appeared on the Space Station where numerous characters are gathered, looking to the domes where her older brother and others are training. This happened to put her right outside the restaurant that Viriathus, Yuuka, Wisp, and Dorothy Wayneright were leaving. Anna was skittish of the group at first, but with her stomach growling to reveal her hunger, she allowed Vi to bring her back to The Bebop II for something to eat.

After the meal and sharing the story of how she came to be adopted into Zev's family, Anna agreed to show Vi her Spirit Allies. The two grew rather attached to each other, finding quite a few things in common. They then had what seems to be a trademark of her family: A friendly sparring match. After this, Anna has found to her delight that her family keeps gathering at The Bebop II - First with Zev and Tamao, and now with her aunt and uncle.

An Honorable Warrior Comes Along!?
Later, while "meditating" outside of The Bebop II, Anna was interrupted by the arrival of a peculiar, robed individual. Following a brief talk and minor clashes, the two engaged in much more serious combat. The two realized themselves to be on fairly even footing, with Anna's respect for her opponent growing strike by strike. Soon after, Anna was convinced to reveal the nature of both her signature katana and her skill with the blade.

This revelation of her story, combined with the growing bonds of combat, ignited the heart of Anna's opponent. With the newly-impassioned being declaring himself to be Mushima, eldest of the Shima Brothers, he formally challenged Anna to a duel on the spot. Happy to comply, Anna stated an acceptance of the challenge. Both warriors thrilled with their opponent, they entered the battle anew.

One Royal Mess
Following the escape of the Shima Brothers with a computer unit - One which left Anna stunned with anxiety at the implications of its theft - She immediately alerted Zev and began gathering together a meeting.

Here, a number of secrets were made known - Among them that the Glory-Raregroove Family are in fact the Royal Family of Jurai; center of an intergalactic empire with incredible power. This makes herself, Zev, and Tamao Glory the next generation of royalty - And Zev, as First Prince, is next in line to ascend the throne.

Soon after, it was revealed that the stolen computer unit - The Arboretum Notes, aka "The Jurai Book of Secrets" - Contained the results of Masaki Raregroove's three centuries spent researching the Royal Trees of Jurai. With this information, even the Jurai Royalty could be easily blackmailed.

Unfortunately, as Anna revealed, there are secret files within the Arboretum Notes which only she was made aware of at the time. With the knowledge contained in these files, blackmail is now the least of anyone's worries on the matter:

Certain files in the Arboretum Notes tell how to subjugate the will of a Royal Tree.

Etu (Katana)
Named Etu (Believed the Navajo word for "sunrise"), Anna's blade combines the masterful design inherent to katana with the legendary skills of the Patch Tribe; specifically, their revered Great Crafter and her most closely-guarded secrets. The result is a supremely sharp, incredibly strong blade that can be called the very peak of weaponry to be crafted without magical enchantment or scientific alteration.

As it is very rare for the Patch Tribe's craftsmen to make a weapon - To the extent that Etu is the only weapon known in their history to have ever come of a Great Crafter's work - Calling this blade important to Anna would be a drastic understatement. To her, it is the whole of her warrior's honor, the Great Crafter's trust in her, and the love held for her by the entire Patch Tribe embodied in a most noble weapon.

Shamanist Spells/Techniques

 * Spiritual Perception: Anna is able to see and interact with spirits in a manner that is beyond ordinary mortals.


 * Spiritual Channeling: Another ability of hers is to channel spirits. In addition, it has been confirmed that she can use mediums and form an OverSoul.


 * Unnamed Furyoku Control Technique: Though its name has not been revealed at this time, Anna seems to have mastered a furyoku control technique which allows her to maintain five Spirit Allies at once.

Swordsmanship
It has been revealed that Anna received training in swordsmanship from eight highly respected Spirit Allies of the Glory-Raregroove Family. This means she has received tutelage in her new family's most renowned sword arts from the very originators themselves. Combined with her unique katana, Anna is no warrior to trifle with. Raregroove Takaryu: (Translation: "Raregroove Hawk-Style") A style of swordsmanship that seems to revolve around swift, brutal slashes and rapid blocking.
 * Raregroove Takaryu: Jinsokuna Tsubasa: (Translation: "Raregroove Hawk-Style: Swift Wings") Leaping in, the user unleashes two quick slashes - One down, over the opponent's shoulder, then another across their abdomen.
 * Raregroove Takaryu: Gekitai Suru: (Translation: "Raregroove Hawk-Style: Repel") Simply a quick parry with the sword's blade pointed downward.

Spirit Allies
Anna has five beast-type animal spirits that were left behind to watch over and guide her. They were originally partnered with her father. They seem to be good friends with Anna, and she respects their opinions highly.


 * Silver Wing: Rather proud and at times arrogant, Silver Wing stands as the leader of the group. He's the first to make his opinion known, and tends to look down on most shamans other than those who have earned his respect - i.e., Anna herself. However, despite his bold, assertive nature, Silver Wing is somewhat capable of admitting when he's judged a person wrongly.


 * Black Horn: Overall quiet and gentle, Black Horn has shown a more reserved nature than Silver Wing. However, he also tends to be less confident, and has a noticeable stutter when speaking. Black Horn's OverSoul takes the form of bulky, glowing silver armor on Anna's lower-left leg. On her foot is positioned the totem-like effigy of a bison's head, retaining a silvery composition like the rest of this OverSoul. Though its full capabilities are not yet known, it has shown notable defensive capabilities and doesn't seem to slow Anna down to any serious extent.


 * Banded Rod: Similar, but not entirely the same as Jewelnet in personality, Banded Rod is not so much quiet and reserved as gentle and polite. She takes a liking people who show manners to others, and would appear to be the most outwardly friendly of Anna's Spirit Allies.


 * White Tail: White Tail has shown traits which hint at seniority to the other spirits, and possesses a cool, composed attitude. He also holds pride in having a powerful nose, and can apparently "smell" shamanic ability.


 * Jewelnet: While not much is known about her personality, Jewelnet has displayed a quiet, reserved, calm disposition. She has shown subtle traits of being detached from the rest of the group.

Trivia

 * Anna Raregroove is an adaptation of the character Anna Asakura from the anime Shaman King.
 * Anna is the first character to be introduced as a shaman, but begin their first battle without a Spirit Ally - In Anna's case, she started her sparring battle with Vi using her family's swordsmanship techniques.
 * In addition to the above note, as of her second battle in-story and first major battle - Against the enigmatic Mushima - Anna has only used one of her spirits in combat, and even then for an incredibly short amount of time.