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Soul Metal (ソウルメタル, Sōru Metaru) is a mystical metal alloy commonly used by the Makai Order to create weapons and armor in their battle against Horrors.

Overview[]

Original Universe[]

In Kouga's universe, Soul Metal was discovered through studying an artifact called Horror's Claw — a disembodied arm of unidentified Horror which had since fossilized and fused with earthen matter from magma expelled by a volcanic eruption long ago — that originally belonged to a knight who wore it as an amulet thus allowing him to fight on equal terms against Horrors. As a naturally occuring Soul Metal, its presence brought adverse effect on nearby Horrors as expected. The research, which plausibly included recreating the amulet in the more controlled environment, culminated to the creation of what would be actual Soul Metal; a special magical alloy that has high tensile strength, malleability, responsiveness to human will, and resistance to magic. It is also used as the core material in anti-horror weaponry and armor for the Makai Priests and Makai Knights.[1]

Unlike ordinary metals, Soul Metal responds to the wielder's strength and thoughts; a trained body and a strong will are required to effectively wield anything made out of Soul Metal. Soul Metal's combat potential is based on the wielder's will: Former Golden Knight Taiga displayed he can make the metal as light as a feather or as heavy as a meteorite, as well as have it float and move in the air as he pleases. Also, during the duel between Garo and Zero, both knights displayed the same application by having their respective makai blades fly and fight each other independently at one point. By using the same applications on Makai Armor (which is made of Soul Metal itself), and combine it with the armor's tensile strength, an experienced Makai Knight in his armored form gains varying degrees of superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, and the ability to defy gravity. However, anything made out of Soul Metal must be purified regularly or may experience corruption.

Soul Metal also reacts to dark energies. When knights use their blades and armors to slay Horrors, Jaki (dark energy) accumulates and if not cleansed of it, the metal can be corrupted and harm its user. Normal humans without sufficient will and training cannot lift the metal of any size. Direct contact by those untrained in its usage will lead to injury, as it burns flesh due to its magical properties. Expertly trained users can channel their power into the blades and increase the strength of their blades to cut through solid rock in a swift motion or have the blade fly and attack foes from far distances. When a Makai Knight falls into darkness, the knight's metal turns into Death Metal (デスメタル, Desu Metaru), taking hold of its user and consuming the person from the inside-out.

As revealed in episode 3 of ZERO: Dragon Blood, Soul Metal possesses self-repairing properties. Makai Knights have used the metal for their weapons and armor, subjecting it to great wear and tear from combat and impact. Yet, despite whatever damage potential the alloy may have been subjected to, the only form of maintenance Soul Metal needs is purification. Taking into account of the alloy's aforementioned ability to be responsive to the wielder's strength and thoughts, it can be inferred that the Knight's willpower is all he needs to undo the damage on their Soul Metal-based equipment.

Ryūga-verse[]

In Ryūga's universe, soul metal is made from the seeds of Legendary Horror Zedom. When the Makai Order captured and sealed Zedom, a magical port was made to open to retrieve the seedlings that Zedom makes. Studies conducted by the Makai Priests on the seedlings discovered that they can create a special metal that possesses high physical damage and magic resistance along with the ability to respond to human will out of them. It was through this discovery that resulted in the procurement and refinement of Zedom's seeds. The seeds need to be magically processed into saplings, where they will be made into soul metal as a material for the priests to craft into Makai Blades and Makai Armor.

Thought unconfirmed, the method of processing Zedom's seeds into Soul Metal presumably involves smelting iron with seeds in question.

While there doesn't seem to be a time limit and soul metal exposure in this world, the rest of its attributes remained consistent with its Kouga's universe's counterpart.

Anime Series[]

Soul Metal in the Anime primarily borrows aspects from the original series. As within the live-action continuity, the alloy is highly resistant to physical damage and magic, is responsive to human will, and has the ability to burn flesh through direct contact, making it ideal core material in Anti-Horror weaponry and armor.. However, there are some differences. Whereas live-action series established that mastery over Soul Metal took a lifetime of training, it took at least few weeks, if not outright days depending on one's skill, to fully master said technique in anime instead, which also includes intense workout sessions. A trained body and a strong will still be required to master anything that made of Soul Metal, but the said requirements seemed to be less strict in the anime universe. In fact, the 4-year old Roberto Luís shown able to miraculously wield Zoro daggers for the first time when confronting Sir Venus to protect his mother thanks to training sessions he went through under León's tutelage. Even so, those who have little to no experience in wielding Soul Metal still have difficulty in properly wielding armor or weapons made of the said alloy.

Given that in this world Makai Alchemists took the same role as Makai Priests in other continuities including the creation of Soul Metal, that became core material for Makai Knights' weapon and armor, it can be inferred that the alloy was created from lesser metal transmuted with use of an alchemy formula they developed generations ago.

In GARO: The Carved Seal of Flames, Soul Metal can also be used as core material for Demon Beast Armor aside Makai Armor and Makai Blade, like Octavia, the devout follower of Mendoza, was given a Soul Metal-based Demon Beast armor to combat Ema, León, and Alfonso.

VR-verse[]

Soul Metal in VR-verse appears to borrow aspects from Original Series iteration like Anime Series version, being special alloy that can effectively harm Horrors, highly resistant to physical damage and magic, is responsive to human will, and has the ability to burn flesh through direct contact. The alloy can be corrupted by built-up darkness from slain Horrors and prolonged exposure from negative emotions from those around it, but through special technique that seemingly exclusive to that world, the accumulated dark energies can be forged into Soul Metal's dark counterpart, Dark Metal.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. Garo Hobby Japan Mook 013

External Links[]

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