tamamo kyousuke

Tamamo, also known as Kyousuke Tamamo in his human form, is the most significant youko in the manga series. He is a powerful entity who serves both as Nube's ally and ultimate rival. First appearing at Doumori Elementary as an attractive male teacher who quickly wins over his students and colleagues, his true intention was to obtain the skull of Nube's student Hiroshi Tateno, which he considered the "perfect skull" for transforming into a human. When Nube intervened to save Hiroshi, this led to an intense battle where Tamamo's true form as a golden fox-creature was revealed, nearly defeating Nube. However, due to Hiroshi's bravery, Tamamo was defeated, though not permanently. Intrigued by Nube and how his powers intensified when fighting for his students, Tamamo returned to learn more about the power of the human heart. He abandoned his teacher's disguise and began working as a doctor at Doumori Hospital, using his 400 years of accumulated knowledge to heal others, believing it would help him understand humanity better. Having trained his spiritual powers for centuries, Tamamo has mastered many abilities without fully perfecting his "transformation jutsu." He excels in "illusion jutsu," manipulating perceptions as long as there is motion, even creating clones of himself from video game screens. Offensively, he uses a "youko foxfire jutsu," generating and controlling a potent fire-based attack that can be intensified to burn opponents. He can also handle other spiritual abilities like Nube's, such as assisting in controlling spiritual energy and performing the "youshin jutsu." His primary weapon, a paw-like neck catcher, is used to extract suitable skulls for his "transformation jutsu" or to create a barrier for more powerful attacks. In the manga, it is revealed that the skull he uses during the series came from a deceased mountain climber, a well-to-do college student. An encounter with the student's fiancée marked a crucial turning point in Tamamo's character development. Initially, Tamamo seemed like a powerful youkai driven by selfish desires. After fighting alongside Nube and class 5-3 and solving numerous youkai problems, he grew increasingly fond of humans, to the point where he used his most powerful fire-based ability, "Megido," to destroy Zekki, the younger brother of Nube's Oni no Te. Tamamo found himself unable to take Hiroshi's skull later on, having learned too much about the human heart. This posed a problem, as without a suitable skull, his mental and physical faculties would eventually deteriorate, leading to his demise as only a shell of his former self. In the manga liner notes for Volume 2, the author mentioned that Tamamo was intended to be a direct descendant of the notorious Nine-Tailed Kitsune known as Tamamo no Mae. However, the fox appeared later in the story and was less than fond of Tamamo, suggesting the name is likely an allusion, perhaps out of respect. (Source: Wikipedia)