Manga / Sekirei

Boobies for the win!

Minato Sahashi is an Ordinary College Student, even though he's failed his entrance exams twice. As he's walking down the street, he suddenly finds a Magical Girlfriend falling from the sky and crashing into him. She is Musubi, one of 108 beings known as Sekirei, about to be engaged in a Battle Royale across Tokyo, headed by the mysterious MBI organization. With a kiss, Minato "wings" Musubi and becomes her Ashikabi, or master, for the battle royale. The Sekirei Plan begins.

Based on the manga by Sakurako Gokurakuin (yes, the mangaka is a woman), Sekirei lasted for 187 chapters between December 3, 2004 and August 21, 2015.

A sequel manga series called Sekirei - 365 Days Without a Girlfriend started up in the fall 2017 season. Once again being done by Sakurako Gokurakuin.

The series was adapted into two 12-Episode Anime seasons for the summers of 2008 and 2010. The first season was titled Sekirei while the second season was known as Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~.

The anime was licensed by Funimation. Find it here.

Please move any character tropes to the proper character page.

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Provides examples of:

• 20 Minutes into the Future: The manga was first published in the early 2000's and the setting takes place in the year 2020.
• Abduction Is Love: Several Ashikabi are known to forcefully wing Sekirei against their will. Mitsuha describes the process as "taming" them, suggesting once winged, a Sekirei will develop feelings whether the bond was consensual or not.
• Accidental Marriage: You may say this when Minato winged Tsukiumi and Kazehana as both of them said they are his wives. Musubi and Kusano also claim to be his wife, though Musubi didn't seem to know what this actually means.
• Accidental Pervert: Minato, though usually the result of the action of one or more of his haremettes.
• Achilles' Heel: All winged Sekirei have one, in the form of their Sekirei Crest. If exposed, an opponent need only touch it and recite their Norito for an One-Hit Kill.
• Action Survivor: Minato quickly becomes one, later upgrading to borderline Badass Normal status by the end of Season 2.
• A-Cup Angst: Benitsubasa does not seem to like being flat-chested at all, especially when Haihane picks on her about it.
• The Ageless: Sekirei appear to not age in the same manner as humans. It is shown that the five eldest Sekirei (#01 - #05) are fully grown adults while many of the others are still infants. A brief flashback shows Miya saying her farewells to an infant Tsukiumi, before she retired from the Discipline Squad. Likewise, Karasuba and Yume were fully grown adults when Musubi met them as a small child.
• Almost Kiss: Played with during the 3rd Match. Natsuo repeatedly asks his Sekirei if they want to use their Norito, causing them to get flustered and excited. Benitsubasa makes a huge deal about it and bickers with Haihane over who gets to go first. She wins the argument, but just as she leans in to get her kiss....Natsuo's phone rings.
• Amusing Injuries: Homura setting Matsu's hair on fire is Played for Laughs.
• Animal Battle Aura: Musubi occasionally has an animal avatar of a bear appear behind her, and the bear fist is one of her attacks.
• Animal Motifs:
  • The Sekirei as a whole have a motif involving birds. This makes sense since the Sekirei is a type of bird, also known as the Wagtail. Shinto creation myths credit these birds with teaching the gods Izanagi and Izanami to love.
  • Musubi with Bears is an obvious one, but a more subtle one is Tsukiumi; a number of her attacks are named after and carry the appearance of snakes or serpents or her hair went wiggling like a snake everytime she is angry.
• Anti-Magic: Seo can surpress a Sekirei's ability as long as he's touching them. Or, more accurately, groping them.
• Anti-Villain: Uzume - taking out Sekirei like a hitman and not even following the customs of honoring one's opponent, but only because she's being blackmailed with her Ashikabi's life on the line.
  • Mikogami is beginning to slide into this as well, along with his two primary Sekirei (Akitsu and Mutsu).
• Apron Matron: Miya Asama, the landlady of Izumo, is also crazy tough in combat, and thus regularly trains with Musubi.
• Art Evolution: The art style slightly changed over the course of the manga's run.
• Art Shift: In manga omakes, Minato's harem are drawn as macho, muscular men wearing the exact same outfits. Featured and the first season ending as Minato's reoccurring nightmare.
• As You Know: Minato accidentally invokes this on Matsu in season two when she mentions there were now rumours about a Sekirei and Ashikabi escaping the plan.
  Minato: But they're not rumours! They really did escape!
  Matsu: I know. I was there.
• Author Appeal: Ahika Sakura seems to really like busty girls and bishounen.
• Babies Ever After: In the epilogue, Seo goes on to have 4 sons (two sets of twins) with his Sekirei twins upon the series end.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Shiina, Yukari's Sekirei, has powers that make everything rot and die but he is one of the kindest and sweetest people in the manga and is actually scared by Yukari's brutal treatment of defeated Ashikabi.
• Badass Biker: In a surprising bit of anime-original material, Matsu, and it makes her come off as a genuine Badass Biker instead of a lame attempt at Fanservice as well.
• Badass Crew: Minato, Seo, and Sanada's harems all count.
• Badass Normal: Seo and Sanada, who both ignore the rule about Ashikabi not fighting. Minato by the end of Season 2. He fought Haihane to save Kazehana, and was doing a damned good job considering Haihane could've sliced him to ribbons had it not been for being dizzy from the fumes of alcohol, and he also survives several things like having a roof collapse on him, and takes so many wounds for his Sekirei he's practically Made of Iron. And, by the end of Season 2, having the sheer balls to stand up to Karasuba, especially when she could have effortlessly killed him, should be proof positive he's taken several levels in badass. He managed to knock out Haihane in the Sake warehouse twice.
• Balanced Harem: Minato has specifically stated that he likes all his girls equally, and wants to return all their feelings. Initially, there was a disproportionate emphasis on the first heroine Musubi, but over time Musubi lost her camera time edge and was often paired off with Tsukiumi during any scenes showing her, allowing the other girls their chance to shine.
• Barehanded Blade Block: Musubi. She tries (and fails) this against Miya, but later shows how much she's learned by catching (and breaking) Yomi's Sinister Scythe.
• Bash Brothers: Common among teams with multiple Sekirei. Musubi with Tsukiumi, Homura with Kazehana or Tsukiumi. Sanada's trio as well.
• Battle Harem: Minato's Sekirei harem is the primary example, but Sanada's trio and Seo's twins count as well. The villainous examples play with this, in completely different ways: Mikogami has a collection rather than a romantic harem, Higa considers his harem to be employees, and the Discipline Squad suffer from Incompatible Orientation with their Ashikabi.
• Beach Episode: An Omake features Minato and his harem going to the beach.
• Bee People: The Sekirei are hinted to be this, as Takami once explained to Kusano that #01 was "their queen". Miya is vague about exactly what she is, but clarifies that she is something completely different from her "107 feathers".
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: While they do get visibly injured in battle, Haihane is the only Sekirei thus far to have any visible scarring. It's suggested that they heal better than humans, and MBI provides them with exceptional medical treatment when necessary. Karasuba mentions that she only has a small scar left after Miya nearly killed her, thanks to MBI's treatment.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Miya may appears to be a very nice landlady, though everyone in the house are deathly afraid of her. Of course, she is Sekirei Number 1, not a badass normal you think she is at first. Cue demon head and Glowing Eyes of Doom every time she is angry.
  • It's not clear whether the ghostly head is something she invokes or if it's a visual shorthand for the respectful terror other Sekirei have for her.
  • She also can do it over the phone, which freaks the hell out of Seo. Minato uses this against him when he initially wants to charge Haruka for helping escape the city with Kuno. Although Seo agrees to it, he puts Minato in a headlock afterwards. Nevertheless, he sticks to his word and helps out as much as he can.
  • Shiina, who more than earns his title as "Death God".
  • Minato himself, once he begins to fight seriously with the intention of winning the Sekirei Plan. He proves to be an excellent strategist and takes full advantage of his harem's strengths and unique abilities.
• Big Ball of Violence: Seo and the Ashikabi of the West get into one because of mist, complete with fighting sounds. In season 1 Seo gets his ass kicked by his own Sekirei for being a pervert in this manner.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Hiroto Minaka and Karasuba #04 are the ones behind the Sekirei Plan. Hiroto is the chairman and founder of powerful pharmaceutical company MBI (though he has his head researcher Takumi Sahashi do the physical work herself), and Karasuba nominally works for Natsuo Ichinomiya, Akishabi of the Discipline Squad, but manipulates him to do what she wants and is the main enforcer of the Sekirei Plan.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Nothing definite, but certain chapters seem to have Higa headed in this direction. His team was pretty much Curb Stomped during the third fight of the third round, and Minaka seems to be becoming interested in taking him out.
• Big-Breast Pride: Breast size happens to be Serious Business to many Sekirei. Minato's harem often compare their sizes, arguing over who has the largest assets (Kazehana, naturally).
• Big Brother Instinct: Minato, Shiina. Kazehana also states many of the Single Numbers feel this way towards the rest of the Sekirei, which makes it a Tear Jerker since they're pretty much guaranteed to end up terminating their little sisters (and brothers).
• Big Damn Heroes: Tsukiumi does this at the end of Season 1, but it's subverted because she's fighting 2 against 1 and as a distraction, so she ultimately loses. Played straight with Yume when she emerges shortly afterwards.
• Big Damn Reunion: At the end of the story, Sekirei who were terminated reunite with their Ashikabi, including Uzume and Chiho who cry in happiness as they kiss to renew their bond. The end of the final chapter is Minato and the rest of the harem's reunion with Musubi after she spent a whole year at Kouten. The real epilogue has Minato finally bringing Miya's husband back to Izumo Inn, resulting in a very heartwarming reunion between the married couple.
• Big Eater: Every single Sekirei out there, but especially Musubi who finishes a meal for ten by herself in episode one.
• Big Good: Minato, by virtue of having the majority of the good guy Sekirei at his command. Seo is a lesser example, and Miya is a psuedo mix of this and Harem Nanny.
• Birthday Episode: The side story of Volume 14 is about the harem trying to bake a cake to celebrate Minato's birthday. In the end, they fail and Minato himself buys the cake.
• Bland-Name Product: Once in a while you can see Sony Vaio laptops with blanded name
• Blessed with Suck: If you think about it, most Ashikabi's have this. You've been given one or more hot members of the opposite sex who love you completely, and perfectly understand you. Then you have to watch them fight to the death (or whatever it is) with other people, and you'll probably lose him/her. And to top it all off, you know the other people you're fighting are fighting for the exact same reasons and just lost the person they love because of you.
• Blue with Shock: Happens to some characters from time to time.
• Book Dumb: Minato is actually very intelligent, but he does badly in school since he cannot perform well when under pressure.
• Bookends: The story begins with Musubi falling on Minato. The final chapter of the main manga closes with Musubi falling from the sky after leaving Kouten and Minato receiving her in his arms.
• Bound and Gagged: Happens to Musubi in the Sekirei Diagnosis OVA - when Karasuba offers to measure her, she ties Musubi up in the measuring tape. Musubi complains about the tape being too tight, but the noises and expressions she makes indicate she's loving every moment of it.
• Boy Meets Girl: The chance meeting between Minato and Musubi is what kicks off the plot.
• Born Winner: The Single Numbers, who are inherently more powerful than other Sekirei. Mutsu hints that this is because their further development when found meant that MBI had less of a chance to control their powers.
• Bridal Carry: Minato does this for Musubi in the first episode when she's unable to move in an attempt to escape from Hikari and Hibiki.
• Butt-Monkey: Several examples:
  • Seo to Hibiki and Hikari.
  • Minato whenever his Sekirei are fighting over him.
  • Matsu to Homura, and especially Miya anytime she accidentally does/says something Miya doesn't like.
  • Minaka to Takumi. While he may be the CEO of MBI, that doesn't stop her from whacking him if she feels he's stepped out of line.
  • Everyone beaten up by Yukari while she's helping Shiina search for Kusano.
  • Benitsubasa towards Haihane, and in one episode, to Kusano and Kazehana, who both hang up the phone on her when she's trying to blackmail Musubi. The look on her face is hilarious after they hang up on her.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Repeatedly emphasized in this series, especially in the Sekirei Diagnosis OVA. Bust size is Serious Business for Sekireis! The show's page on Funimation's website flat out states this with zero subtlety, actually posting a trailer advertisement with the caption "Boobies for the win!"
• By the Power of Grayskull!: Sekirei gain power with a kiss and an incantation, called a norito. Each Norito is unique to that Sekirei:
  • Musubi: By the fists of my contract, my Ashikabi's perils will be shattered.
  • Kazehana: By the forewinds of my contract, my Ashikabi's dark clouds will be blown away.
  • Homura: These are the flames of my pledge, burn the Karma of my Ashikabi.
  • Shiina: By the corpse of my pact, my Ashikabi's burdens shall withered.
  • Tsukiumi: This is the water of my pledge, purify the evil residing in my Ashikabi.
  • Hikari and Hibiki: By the thunderstorm of our pact, our Ashikabi's perils will be destroyed.
  • Uzume: By the veil of my contract, my Ashikabi's nightmares will be dispelled.
  • Karasuba: Blade of my pledge, exterminate the foes of my Ashikabi.
  • Matsu: By the wisdom of my pledge, bestow the teachings of the world to my Ashikabi.
• Calling Your Attacks: All Sekirei shout out names for their attacks.
• Can't Hold Her Liquor: Haihane in the anime. Too bad for her she got in a fight in a warehouse storing sake...
• Can't Live Without You: If an Ashikabi is killed, their Sekirei will die too.
• Casanova Wannabe: Seo Kaoru sure would have gotten far if not for those two Sekirei of his.
• Cast Full of Pretty Boys: Despite the Battle Harem setting of the show, there are several important male characters, all of whom are very attractive.
• Cast Herd: Primarily divided along the territories of the major Ashibaki — North (Minato and his allies), South (Mikogami's group), East (Higa's group), and West (Sanada's trio), as well as the employees of MBI.
• Cat Fight: Completely avoided. While there is Clothing Damage and plenty of other bits of fanservice involved, the fights are treated seriously and can be downright brutal.
• The Champion: Uzume to Chiho, Mutsu and Akitsu to Mikogami, Shiina to Yukari and Kusano.
• Changed My Mind, Kid: Tsukiumi comes to help out at the end of episode 12 after Miya gives her a pep talk about how the other girls are in the lead against her because she was refusing to help while the other three girls did what they could. Subverted in that she doesn't stop the two discipline squad members, although she did delay them.
  • Played straight with Uzume as well. She decides to help Kuno escape rather than kill her as ordered to.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Higa engages in a variety of schemes to defeat MBI and Minato, including blackmailing Uzume and Shiina into working for him, kidnapping Yukari with the intention of forcing her to marry him, and stealing the Jinki from others. This eventually leads Mikogami to step in, as well as triggering his Villainous Breakdown after Minato's team rescues Chiho, terminates four of his Sekirei, Uzume betrays him, and Yukari sets fire to his penthouse before escaping with Shiina. Even though he's one of the last Ashikabi standing, he's completely outmatched by the others and has essentially lost all his former edge.
• Chekhov's Gunman: All the Sekirei that Minato come to wing appear in the 3rd chapter (or 0.3), except Kuu, and even she got a mention. Akitsu also appears...
  • Kaho and Oosumi are first spotted when Homura recalls his time serving as the Sekirei Guardian. They later show up, and turn out to be a fairly significant pair.
  • In a one-shot omake and Drama CD, an Ashikabi and Sekirei get blasted off into the distance by Shiina after they were fooled into accepting a fake bounty on Yukari. They later show up at the beginning of the 4th Match, just in time to create a panic by recognizing Yukari and Shiina. We later learn they managed to escape the city, and ended up befriending Haruka and Kuno. Their news about the current events in the Sekirei Plan inspire Haruka to write Minato a letter encouraging him to win.
• Clark Kenting: Spoofed. Kagari is absolutely baffled at Tsukiumi's inability to recognize him as Homura just because of the black mouth-cover he wears when fighting. When Tsukiumi finally connects the dots◊, she quite visibly feels like a moron.
  • Also seen in the anime when Tsukiumi saves Kagari, who's not wearing the mask at the time. Justified In-Universe with remarks by Homura mentioning later that she didn't see his face because it was really dark in the alley at the time, and later in Season 2 when Tsukiumi also mentions that she didn't take a good look at his face because it wouldn't be proper.
  • Musubi also once thought Homura was Kagari, and then did a doubletake and said it wasn't him because Kagari "doesn't wear a mask".
• Cliffhanger: Season 1 ends with Haruka and Kuno successfully escaping, but a lot of loose ends are shown which have yet to be resolved, and Minaka mentions that the game is far from over, which ultimately leads into the second season.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Tsukiumi changes from a Tsundere to this after her winging, Kusano also appears to learn to behave this way from her. Also Hikari and Hibiki (the former having a shorter fuse than the latter) do not let Seo to wing another Sekirei, and will immediately zap him if they catch him trying to do that. They don't mind if he takes a male one like Shiina though.
  • Although its very subtle, when Musubi sees Minato getting a little too friendly with Tsukiumi, a bear aura will pop up behind her briefly, which scares them the same way Miya's aura does.
• Closet Key: A bisexual-variant. Minato and Homura are this to each other, and Mikogami is implied to be this for Mutsu.
• Clothing Damage: Musubi is especially prone to this; her clothing must be made of tissue paper. Justified in how Sekirei are beating the crap out of each other with various supernatural abilities, most of which are more than strong enough to destroy easily clothing and buildings but leaving Sekirei fairly intact, and Musubi in particular has to get close to punch them... Apparently strongly enough to strip them, too.
  • Used as a common tactic in duels, since the Sekirei Crest at the base of their neck provides a One-Hit Kill.
• Cranial Eruption: From Musubi's failed Bare-Handed Blade Block.
• Color-Coded Characters: All of the Sekirei have different hair colors, and wear different clothing to make it easier to tell them apart. Slightly subverted at first with Kagari, Takami, and Takehito, as they have similar hair color/styles.
• Color Failure:
  • Matsu completely whites out when Minato innocently asks who Sekirei #01 is, right before Miya shows up.
  • A random guy loses his color after Yukari kicks him in the groin to try and get info from him on Kusano's whereabouts.
• Combat Stilettos: A large percent of Sekirei wear high heels.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • In episode 8, after hearing Matsu mention a Sekirei mysteriously defeating and leaving their opponents before MBI can confirm the fight, Minato has a talk with all his current Sekirei about it, since he's worried about their safety. Both Tsukiumi and Musubi mention that they want to fight her since she's so strong, and develop a Battle Aura. Even Kuu develops one, much to Minato's chagrin. Matsu meanwhile, continues to snicker at his inability to control the situation.
  • Later in Season 2, after Matsu reveals she was one of the original 5 Sekirei, Minato and some of the others are surprised at this fact. She reveals some more information, but they're still completely shocked at the fact that she was one of the original Discipline Squad members. She puts on a cute pouty face afterwards.
  • Mutsu makes a heartfelt confession of his devotion to his master, using video game comparisons. Mikogami takes this to mean if he wins, he'll get all the Sekirei and be the only one playing~! Mutsu wonders if he was even paying attention at all.
• Coming of Age Story: For Minato Sahashi. He has to prove himself as a capable Ashikabi when he participates in the Sekirei Plan and stop Hiroto Minaka, who turns out to be his father.
• Compressed Adaptation: A fine example, too. The anime uses only the most important bits, moving along at a brisk pace.
• Cooldown Hug: Minato literally gives one to a blazing Homura.
• Covert Pervert: Yukari at first appears to be a very well off, but soon, you see her getting Nose Bleed around Shiina and even struggling trying not to peek at him taking shower. She later tries to grope Tsukiumi in Season 2, but the latter runs off before she gets a chance to. The face she makes creeps out Tsukiumi in the process.
• Crash-Into Hello:
  • In the first chapter/episode, Minato meets the first heroine Musubi when she lands on him while being pursued by Hikari and Hibiki.
  • Minato also meets his fourth Sekirei Tsukiumi when she falls down on top of him.
  • Yukari first encounters her Sekirei Shiina when he bumps into her while running away from Mikogami's Sekirei.
• Cross Counter: Seo and the Ashikabi of the West.
• Cross-Popping Veins: Several characters display one from time to time, especially Tsukiumi when the other Sekirei try to claim them over her.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: In the manga and anime, we're shown an invading international army against the first disciplinary squad. Army lost big time, and there were only 5 of them(sekirei). Later this is proven even more when Karasuba massacres so many soldiers their bodies pile on each other.
  • Musubi loses somewhat easily to Benitsubasa, but then when Yume takes control of Musubi's body temporarily, she easily defeats both Benitsubasa and Haihane.
  • Karasuba and Shiina are both infamous among the Sekirei for these.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: Kuno, pretty standard version.
  • Haihane and Akitsu to lesser extent. The former sometimes forgets to remove her claws so that she often stab herself in the face, the latter ... forgets to wear panties!
• Dark and Troubled Past: The first generation Discipline Squad: Miya, Matsu, Kazehana, Karasuba, and Mutsu, who were forced to slaughter human armies to protect the 103 infant Sekirei. For Karasuba, it may have been her Start of Darkness, since she enjoyed killing so much. The others eventually walked away from it, and avoid talking about it. It's safe to assume the person responsible for erasing all data on the 1st generation was Matsu.
  • Akitsu due to the events that caused her to become a Scrapped Number. The Tuner that messed her adjustments up was fired as a result, and took out his rage on Akitsu. He told her everything was her fault, and attempted to strangle her to death for being a failure.....forcing her to kill him in self-defense.
• Declaration of Protection: One of Minato's motivation for helping out the Sekirei. This is also why Haruka took pity on Kuno and decided to be her Ashikabi.
• Defeat by Modesty: Played straight in many cases, but Musubi early on is seemingly immune to this. Miya also did this to Tsukiumi in a training session.
  Musubi "And I even protected my modesty this time."
  Arrows point out that she's only wearing panties.
• Demon Head:
  • Done mostly by Miya It seemed she learned from her husband, Asama Takehito, back when she first was being adjusted
  • Somehow, Yukari later learn to do it as well, and thus the title 'Demon Ashikabi'.
• Denied Food as Punishment: Miya often threatens to do this to Seo, and Matsu when she's fooling around with Minato, and by extension, Minato.
• Depraved Bisexual: Yomi. People also think the Ashikabi of the North (Minato) is this, due to the rumors about his harem.
• Deserted Island: Kamikura Island, a mysterious island that rose up out of the sea and revealed the crashed Sekirei ship. Minaka initially hoped that it would turn out to be a Monster Island as well. He got Human Aliens instead.
• Devoted to You: The bond between an Ashikabi and their Sekirei naturally results in this. Usually, the later is the devoted one with a badass side, though exceptions do exist.
• Diabolus ex Machina: In the manga, Uzume was about to rejoin the Izumo Inn (the chapter is named Welcome Home) when, out of nowhere, one of Higa's Sekirei attacks Minato in a final attempt to kill him and Uzume takes the attack and in the next chapter dies.
• Disappeared Dad: The only mention of Minato's father is 'unknown', by Matsu. You just know something's up when the information Sekirei has no clue.
  • Or more likely, Miya's forbidden her to reveal it.
  • Pretty much confirmed to be Minaka.
• Distressed Damsel: Yukari becomes this for awhile. It is eventually subverted when she realizes she shouldn't just be waiting for a rescue and starts trying to escape on her own. With a Slasher Smile to boot!
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • The winging scenes in the anime version seem a little too sexual.
  • When Karasuba rants to Musubi about how glorious their final battle will be, she grabs her roughly, shoves her against the wall and the hilt of her sword presses up against Musubi like an erection, all while wearing a crazed, lustful expression. It's one of a handful of instances in the series of one character coming on to another that isn't played for laughs.
  • Sekirei can be winged against their will, by any Ashikabi that is able to kiss them. It is described at one point as "taming" them, and Mikogami's attempts to capture first Kusano, and later Shiina, have a rather disturbing undertone to them.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Homura thinks Minato just sees him as yet another "prize" to add to his Sekirei "collection". However, Minato convinces him that he is truly concerned about him as a person, as Homura was one of the first people who helped him out when he first got kicked out of his apartment. Aside from that, he also mentions that other people were worried about him, and didn't want to see him do a Senseless Sacrifice.
• Double In-Law Marriage: Technically, since Sekirei consider the bond with their Ashikabi to be equivalent to marriage. Minato and Yukari's respective Sekirei, Kusano and Shiina, consider each other to be siblings.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Several examples:
  • Hibiki/Hikari towards Seo.
  • Takami towards Minaka.
  • Tsukiumi towards Minato (usually in the form of using water on him).
  • Yukari towards various male Ashikabis (although in one case, the guy deserved it for pulling a knife on her after he lost his Sekirei battle to her).
  • Made all the more striking by the introduction of an abusive male Sekirei and his female Ashikabi. On the surface, his actions aren't much different (mocking, yelling at, pushing around) but it is played as deadly serious and a Moral Event Horizon.
• Double Take: In episode 8 of the first season, Minato feels at ease after having a private talk with Tsukiumi about her not losing a fight, which he had with Musubi in an earlier episode. He then wonders out loud if they're not the same despite their differences. He opens the door slightly, and sees Musubi standing by the door. He nonchalantly closes it for a few moments, then opens it again, and after she says something to him, he screams, wondering if Musubi just heard what he said comparing the two girls.
• The Dragon: Each villain seems to have one. Hiroto Minaka has Takami Sahashi, Natsuo Ichinomiya has Karasuba, Mikogami has Mutsu, and Higa has Kakizaki. Taken from the viewpoint of other Ashikabi, Shiina is this to Yukari.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Minaka and Natsuo are both Non Action Big Bads who rely on their second-in-command; as such, Sasahi actually runs the Sekirei Plan (though she will not go against Minaka even if she disagrees) and Omnicidal Maniac Karasuba manipulates her supposed master Natsuo.
• Dragons Up the Yin Yang: The Sekirei crest includes a taijitu (the Yin Yang symbol). Tsukiumi and Homura also each use a dragon-themed attack.
• Due to the Dead: One of the rules of the Sekirei Plan requires the victor to stand guard over their terminated enemy until MBI is able to retrieve the body. Musubi in particular in shown to take this very seriously, watching over them with a somber expression. That Uzume does not do this is considered a serious offense, earning her the label of a "heretic".
• Earn Your Happy Ending: By the manga's finale, Uzume and all other terminated Sekirei are not only revived, but reunited with their partners, the Ashibaki, with their memories restored. Musubi, who had to go MIA and merge with a powerful instrument that even allowed this to occur, finally returns home and reunites with the main cast as a hero and as a treasured friend even by her love rivals.
• Ecchi: There's a lot of uncensored nudity, mainly from the women.
• Elemental Powers: Quite a few Sekirei (especially low-numbered ones) have some sort of elemental power. Specifically:
  • An Ice Person: Akitsu - 07.
  • Blow You Away: Kazehana - 03.
  • Dishing Out Dirt - It is implied that Mutsu's powers may be this.
  • Green Thumb: Kusano - 108.
  • Holy Hand Grenade: apparently Yume - 08.
  • Making a Splash: Tsukiumi - 09.
  • Playing with Fire: Homura - 06.
  • Shock and Awe: Hikari and Hibiki - 11 and 12.
  • Walking Wasteland: Shiina - 107.
• Enemy Mine: Higa's attempts to steal the jinki from others prompts Mikogami to come to Minato's aid on multiple occasions.
• E.T. Gave Us Wi-Fi: MBI was established using the technology found with the Sekirei.
• Everyone Is Bi: While the respective gender ratios of Sekirei and Ashikabi makes it much more likely for a male Ashikabi to have a female Sekirei, this is hardly always the case. In these instances, characters who are otherwise shown to be exclusively heterosexual will show obvious signs of being attracted to the same sex.
• Fall-in Angel: Minato's life was completely normal until Musubi fell from above and crashed straight into him.
• Fanservice: It's rare for a chapter to not contain heavy fanservice through depictions of nudity, mainly from bath scenes and Clothing Damage. It gets cranked up to eleven in the Pure Engagement OVA Two Gossips Topic, which chronologically takes place after Season 1 but before Season 2, features a Measuring Day in the first half, and a Beach Episode in the 2nd half. Virtually all of the main women in the show are topless for pretty much the entire episode.
• Fantastic Racism: A few Sekirei hold extremely negative attitudes towards humans, viewing them as an inferior species. Attitudes range from simple disdain to wanting to kill them all.
  • Higa shows this to Sekirei as well. The most notable example is when he convinces Shinna that Yukari prefers humans.
• Fate Worse than Death: Broken bonds are considered this by the Sekirei, who would rather tolerate a cruel Ashikabi than lose their bond. Akitsu's situation as a Scrapped Number also counts, as she is incapable of being winged in the first place.
• Faux Affably Evil: Higa, Kakizaki, Natsuo, and Karasuba.
• Flames of Love: As Homura is attempting to burn his own body, Minato kisses Homura to wing him as both are surrounded by Homura's flames.
• Foil: Perhaps unintentional on the author's part, but each of the four major players in the Sekirei Plan reside over a cardinal area of the city. Diametrically speaking, this makes Ashikabi of opposite directions (Minato and Mikogami and Higa and Sanada, respectively) foils of each other:
  • While Minato is a ronin with no money of his own who takes the Sekirei Plan very seriously and treats it for what it is, Mikogami is a spoiled rich kid living off of his parents' wealth who treats the Sekirei Plan as a game.
  • In contrast to Higa who has his own company and is smart enough to rely on manipulation and pulling strings to get what he wants while usually staying within his own building, Sanada is frequently mobile, riding his motorcycle everywhere and who prefers the direct approach, even fighting alongside his Sekirei. In a further contrast, Higa sees his Sekirei as nothing more than employees, while Sanada is very affectionate towards his 'Lovelies.'
  • Basically, examine any part of one Ashikabi's personality and actions. Chances are the Ashikabi of the diametrically-opposite cardinal direction will be the opposite.
• Foregone Conclusion: Musubi and Karasuba will battle at the conclusion of the Sekirei Plan. How exactly they will reach that point, and whether or not she will fight alone is unclear.
• Full-Contact Magic: Many Sekirei's abilities function like this, channeling their powers through weapons or physical attacks.
• Furo Scene: The Izumo inn's bath provides many opportunities.
  • Also, there was an omake story specifically about a trip to a "neutral ground" hot spring.
• Gecko Ending: The anime diverges from the manga around the time Homura gets winged. In the manga, Stage 3 starts immediately after this, while Minaka only hints at starting it at the end of Season 2 of the anime. Uzume's arc gets drastically changed as well. Minaka still offers to help in both versions, but in the manga Uzume was still alive when they got her to MBI, and she saves Minato rather than Musubi in the manga, and Minato doesn't play as active a role in the manga of helping Chiho. Nor did Minaka implement the rule of deactivating Sekirei with no wins, or blow his building up (yet anyway...) in the manga. Kazehana also gets "winged" right after Minato helps Kuno and Haruka escape in the manga, whereas in the anime she does it in Season 2. She also takes a much more active role in helping out in the manga, rather than the subtle offscreen help she provides in the anime.
• Gender Bender: Homura, who finds himself growing breasts when he becomes the last unwinged Sekirei. The Call Knows Where You Live and it is a pervert.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: Matsu gets a suspicious look after accidentilly kissing Musubi, and becomes interested in relations between Sekirei.
• Giver of Lame Names: Haruka's names for Kuno's attacks, which she's not very fond of.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Miya will use these if she is really pissed off. Hikari and Hibiki also use this when they are angry with Seo. Yukari starts sporting it later as well.
• Groin Attack: Yukari's favorite way to 'punish' abusive Ashikabis. This is because Shiina refuses to do it for her.
• Guy on Guy Is Hot: Matsu gets a... suspicious... look when Seo wants to "get along with" Minato as men during the hot springs omake. She's also very interested in asking her old squadmate about his male Ashikabi.
  Matsu: Mutsu-tan! Mutsu-tan! Matsu has always wanted to ask! Why did you choose a male Ashikabi to....hehehe!
  Mutsu: Don't talk to me, Pervert.
• Hadaka Apron: After being winged, Kazehana welcomes Minato home wearing nothing but an apron. Miya dispproves violently.
• Halloween Episode: A special chapter of Volume 8 has Minato and his harem dressing in costumes for a Halloween parade.
• Hammerspace: Matsu pulls a large gun on Musubi in the bath, even though she's only wearing a towel. Minato even lampshades this.
• Harem Genre: The premise of the show is a Rōnin finding himself in a battle of attractive Human Aliens. He attracts six of them who all fall in love with him and start living at an inn together.
• Harem Nanny: Miya, though she comes down hard on anything too ero-ero in the house.
• Heel–Face Turn: Hikari and Hibiki, who started out attacking Musubi and were longtime enemies of Homura. They quickly become some of Minato's most important allies, once he moves into Izumo Inn and becomes friends with Seo.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • At the end of a battle between Minato and Higa's Sekirei, Toyotama attempts to kill Musubi by stabbing her with a lance before fleeing. Musubi is saved, however, when Uzume jumps in her way and gets herself stabbed instead. Uzume would die from her injuries shortly afterwards.
  • In the manga, Uzume tried to block the attack from Higa's Sekirei which was aimed at Minato.
  • Takehito focused the unstable power of the Jinki on himself to save Minaka, Takami, and the Sekirei unable to flee the MBI building.
• Heroic Second Wind: Musubi or is it Yume? recovers at the end of episode 12 to beat up the Disciplinary Squad after Minato's Heroic Resolve to not abandon his friends and Sekirei helps to revive her.
• Hollywood Tactics: An invading army with tanks, helicopters and ships? Group the Tanks within spitting distance of each other. The same for the helicopters that are maybe 50 ft in the air directly above the tanks. And have your support warship hanging out right off the coast.
• Hope Bringer: Higa pretends to be one on occasion, in order to manipulate other Ashikabi. Being the real deal, Minato is not fooled.
• Hostile Show Takeover: The On the Next for Pure Engagement episode 0 is an extended skit with the entire cast declaring what the new season will be about. Needless to say, their ideas on it vary considerably.
• Hot Springs Episode: As an omake.
• Human Aliens: The Sekirei are an alien race that look completely human, except for some unusual hair colors and superpowers.
• I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: The Sekirei realizing who their Ashikabi are get horny when wanting to get winged. And poor Minato, even AFTER winging his Sekirei, most of them still get horny and want/find ways to get laid by him, they HORRIBLY fail thanks to Miya.
• Idiot Hair: Musubi, Hikari, Shijime, Kujika, Mikogami, and Karasuba.
• If It's You, It's Okay: All Sekirei appear to be attracted to the opposite gender. Whether or not their Ashikabi happens to be that gender, or, in some cases, attracted to that Sekirei's gender, is completely unrelated. Some, like Mutsu and Uzume, take it much better than others.
• Immodest Orgasm: Not a real one, but it certainly sounds like it when they Sekirei get "winged" in the anime.
• Impossibly Cool Clothes: Quite a few Sekirei wear outfits that are impractical, to say the very least.
• Improbably Female Cast: Out of the 108 Sekirei, there are only 4 known males. One of which ends up a Gender Bender. They're all insanely pretty Bishōnen, and evenly divided between male and female Ashikabi.
• In a Single Bound: Sekirei are, with a few exceptions, capable of jumping several stories. Roof Hopping is a common method of getting around, as a result.
• Incompatible Orientation: Natsuo and his three female Sekirei. Benitsubasa seems to think she can change that.
• Innocent Fanservice Girl: Musubi at first, though she eventually catches onto the concept of "modesty".
• Instant Bandages: Minato has some on his head after Tsukiumi lands on him.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Nearly all human Ashikabis are in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with their Sekireis, a race of Human Aliens with varied superpowers.
  • The original Sekirei and their Ashikabi that survived went on to have children. This is where the modern Ashikabi come from.
• Involuntary Battle to the Death: Occurs frequently, due to the nature of the Sekirei Plan. The Discipline Squad is tasked with preventing anyone from escaping, and even punishing those that refuse to fight.
  • The 4th Stage centers on this trope, as two teams of Sekirei are forced to fight in a sealed area. If one team hasn't terminated the other within an hour, both teams will be terminated — Sekirei and Ashikabi alike. The first match-up? Minato vs. Seo, forcing the longtime allies to fight to the death.
• It Amused Me: Minaka's Sekirei Plan game. While he has a set of rules regarding the Sekirei plan, he will often set up a new rule or change his plans slightly based on what's going on. Such as killing off any Sekirei with no wins within a certain period of time to encourage them to fight, setting up obstacles to prevent some Ashikabi/Sekirei from escaping the city, or agreeing to help Minato, but then making a bunch of other Ashikabi attack him before he can get to MBI's headquarters. Will generally earn him a Mega Ton Punch from Takami once she gets wind of changes to his plans.
• It's Personal: Higa in particular becomes the focus of Minato's wrath, when his manipulation of Uzume is revealed and she performs a Heroic Sacrifice. From then on, he starts fighting to win and reminds people that's a good idea to Beware the Nice Ones.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • Seo Kaoru, at least his two Sekirei will 'discipline' him if he goes too far. Hikari and Hibiki somewhat count as well, given they were introduced targeting unwinged Sekirei for practice yet are good-natured deep down.
  • Seemingly that Ashikabi of the West guy too, since he's almost a carbon copy of the above (something lampshaded in the actual manga)
  • Haruka Shigi as well. He can be blunt, thoughtless and short-tempered, but cares enough about Kuno that he despite her plain appearance, she's his Sekirei and nobody else. He even refuses to force her participation in a 'Game' they can't win.
• Jumping the Gender Barrier: Homura has an unstable gender, but mentally identifies himself as male. At the start of the story he was physically male, and had been trying to find an Ashikabi who was female. However, as time went on his body began reacting to Minato, who is a heterosexual male. As a result, Homura began turning into a woman. It's not clear if the transformation was complete by the time he was finally "winged", but Homura now has breasts as well as more feminine features.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Benitsubasa's Pulverizer attack.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: At the end of the series, Minaka finally gets his first major comeuppance when Minato finally foils his Sekirei plan.
• Kick the Dog:
  • Izumi Higa regularly makes it clear to his Sekirei that he has no use for them if they disobey him or fail in any way. In particular, he forces a badly injured Oriha to face Minato's three Sekirei, telling her that he has no further use for her if she can't win. He also treats Uzume this way prior to her termination by his own Sekirei.
  • Karasuba terrorized, mocked, and threatened a fledgling Sekirei she was supposed to be rescuing. Kaho grew up with the goal of proving her wrong.
  • A literal example with Junichi Tanigawa, kicking Yashima after she falls down.
  • Amebane's treatment of his Ashikabi. Shiina is not amused.
• Kill Sat: Matsu sometimes "borrows" MBI's satellite to deal with opponents. Probably one of the reasons why she holds so much influence in the Sekirei game.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Sekirei with Abilities or Elemental powers are almost always skilled fighters in their own right, combining their powers with physical attacks to devastating effect.
• A Lady on Each Arm: Seo sometimes holds his Sekirei twins on each of his arms, normally groping them.
• Large Ham: Hiroto Minaka, chairman of the MBI and Mad Scientist.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Minaka sends an email to all the Ashikabi that a "certain group" of people were going to storm the MBI buildings. He set a new rule that anyone who stops that group from reaching the building would be exempt from his earlier rule where an Ashikabi with no wins would lose their Sekirei. Naturally this causes a lot of other people to try and stop Minato, and it appears he has no way out. Fortunately for him, a biker guy arrives late to the situation, and immediately trash talks some of them, then picks a fight with all of them.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The cheerful ditz Musubi and the haughty Tsundere Tsukiumi. Both are feminine, but in different ways.
• Lightning Glare:
  • Seo and the Ashikabi of the West.
  • Tsukiumi sometimes does this with Minato's other Sekireis.
• Like Brother and Sister: Shiina and Kusano. It's suggested other sequential Numbers may consider each other siblings, as well.
• Limit Break: All winged Sekirei have a special ability, the Norito, which can only be activated by kissing their Ashikabi and reciting their unique incantation.
• Limited Wardrobe: Justified, as each Sekirei has an assigned outfit and most don't bother with civilian clothing. MBI sends deliveries of replacement clothing whenever they suffer Clothing Damage in battle.
  • Unlimited Wardrobe: Uzume tends to wear the same two iconic outfits, but is shown to have a near limitless collection of outfits in her closet. She lends them out to the other Izumo Inn residents.
• Little Miss Badass:
  • Kusano, at least at anime episode 11 where she carried a big grenade launcher atop Matsu's motorcycle.
  • Yukari, who eventually gains the all-too-appropriate nickname "Devil Ashikabi".
• Locked Out of the Loop: Miya goes out of her way to withhold information from Minato, to the point of subtly threatening people who try and reveal too much. Really, no one lets this guy know anything unless necessary...
  • Matsu hasn't even felt the need to tell him his sister is playing. And that his sister has Kuu's brother.
• Loophole Abuse: Higa pulls this in the third match of the third stage bringing extra Sekirei once his three are taken out, saying it would only be a violation of the rules if they fought.
• Love at First Sight: It's common for a Sekirei to react to their destined Ashikabi in their first meeting.
• Lover Tug of War: Minato is often the target of this, usually involving Tsukiumi and Musubi.
• MacGuffin: The Eight Jinki. Each Jinki is a small, pearl-sized jewel encased in a larger crystal by MBI to contain their power.
• MacGuffin Location: Kamikura Island, Kouten, is the place where the remaining Sekirei of the game must go for the final duel against Miya to decide the new Sekirei Queen.
• Magical Girlfriend: The Sekirei are essentially this to their Ashikabi.
• A Magic Contract Comes with a Kiss: An Ashikabi wings their Sekirei with a kiss, effectively becoming soulmates.
• Magic Contract Romance: The relationship between a Sekirei and their Ashikabi is this, or at least is intended to be this.
• Male Gaze: The camera focuses on the female Sekirei, mostly on their breasts, legs, and butts. A lot.
• Mama Bear:
  • Musubi when it comes to Minato. She has a bear avatar, for crying out loud!
  • Miya. The things it is hinted she will do if anyone actually asked for her help will send a shiver down your spine.
• Manipulative Bastard: Higa, and how! Blackmailing Uzume, kidnapping Yukari and messing with Shiina's head (leading him to almost rape Yukari), using Uzume and Shiina to cheat at the game, cheating at the game in general, trying to join forces with Minato (which is either very stupid, what with holding his sister captive and all, or full-on Magnificent Bastard territory).
• Manly Tears: Minato when Musubi loses her crest, effectively meaning she would be taken away.
• Marry Them All: At the end of the manga, Minato gets to keep his six Sekirei and they vow to spend the rest of their lives together.
• Marshmallow Hell: Musubi really likes to do this to Minato as well in the anime.
• Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple:
  • Uzume and Chiho are a downplayed example. While Uzume isn't that tomboyish, she's laidback, always wears pants in her casual clothes, and is a combat capable superhuman due to being a Sekirei. On the other hand, her Ashikabi/girlfriend Chiho is a frail and ladylike Delicate and Sickly girl.
  • Minato and his sixth Sekirei Kagari/Homura are a twist on this, in a way. Minato is definitely the sensitive one of the pair, while Kagari is a badass and a Ladies' Man until his gender begins to change. Even so, Minato states that he considers Kagari's a "cool guy" that he deeply admires.
• The Masquerade: Sekirei are a carefully-guarded company secret, and Ashikabi are warned to never reveal their involvement in the Plan. Since MBI controls most of the capital, they're able to manipulate the media and come up with cover stories to explain the strange goings-on of the Sekirei Plan to the public.
• Measuring Day: The Sekirei Examination Day omake, rife with competition over bust sizes.
• MegaCorp: MBI, also a Law Enforcement, Inc. in the city.
• Megaton Punch: To be expected in any harem series. And yet, Homura does this to Minato!
• Meet Cute: Haruka and Kuno met when he saw her shivering and alone on a cold day, and bought her some meat buns out of sympathy.
• Mindlink Mates: Most Ashikabi-Sekirei pairs are able to sense each other's emotions and share dreams.
• Mission Control: Matsu acts as this most of the time, providing Minato with intel from her computer room.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Uzume was tasked with defeating Kuno, but at the end of episode 12, helps them with their plan to escape the city, along with Kazehana.
• Mon: Sekirei are essentially a humanoid version, along with (usually) being a Magical Girlfriend to their Ashikabi.
• Mook Horror Show: Both seasons of the anime begin with one, from the point of the view of human soldiers facing Sekirei. The second season is notable in particular, as it shows the Invasion of Kamikura Island from the point of view of the military.....then several episodes later, we see the same incident from the other side. It's a powerful reminder of how dangerous the Sekirei truly are.
• Most Common Superpower: The majority of Sekirei are very.....stacked.
• Most Writers Are Male: Averted; the Mangaka is a woman, but the female characters are incredibly busty either way.
• Mukokuseki: The Ashikabi characters manage to avoid this for the most point, with similar facial features, black or brown hair, and dark eyes. The Sekirei seem to follow the trope, but they're aliens.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Musubi and Benitsubasa are prime examples, though very few Sekirei look as strong as they actually are. Buff Sekirei do exist, but only one of them is a Power Type and another is a Red Shirt brutally taken down by Benitsubasa.
• Mutual Masquerade: Minato is forced to keep Musubi's true nature a secret from everyone, and has to come up with varying excuses as his harem grows. Then.....it turns out everyone living at Izumo Inn already knew about the Sekirei Plan. Keeping the secret prevents Yukari from finding out #108 has been safely with her brother the whole time.
• My Kung-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours: Musubi spends a good amount of time training with Miya, and later Tsukiumi begins to join in these training sessions.
• N.G.O. Superpower: MBI started as a pharmaceutical company but thanks to the Sekirei and the technology of their crashed spaceship, MBI has grown massively. It now owns the majority of Japan's capitol, has a private military force, and at one point successfully defeated a joint military attack by several foreign nations.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: #87 Kaho is a Lady of War that uses a naginata to produce Razor Wind. She's noted to be exceptionally strong, and provides a backstory example of Tomboy and Girly Girl for her childhood friend, Musubi.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Discipline Squad seems to inspire fear in most Sekirei, although Musubi doesn't seem to realize that.
  • Sekirei #00/01 Miya is so feared that no one will normally dare venture in the northern section of the city where she lives. Considering what kind of power she showed in a flashback at the beginning of Season 2, you can't blame them. This is also the reason why Seo devises the escape plan in the northern part of the city at the end of Season 1, as there will be less MBI-affiliated Sekirei/Ashikabi there.
  • The demon Ashikabi title, which was given to Yukari due to her tendency to viciously assault any Ashikabi she ran into in order to ask where Sekirei No. 108 is. This hilariously gets some Ashikabi's to run away during one fight in Stage 3 in the manga.
  • The Single Numbers are the equivalent of this trope for the Sekirei, as this signifies not only that they are the eldest and therefore the most experienced.....but also that they are inherently more powerful than their younger counterparts. The first five in particular tend to inspire Oh, Crap! moments among other Sekirei, thanks to their status as Super Prototypes.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: One of Seo's girls accidentally zaps him during the escape plan at the end of Season 1. This fries the cellphone he was using to communicate with Matsu. This justifies him being unable to help out the other people or give/receive updates to what's going on with the plan, and all he can do from that point is lay low.
• Non-Action Guy: Most Ashikabi are this. Emphasis on most, as there are some that qualify as Badass Normal who fight alongside their Sekirei. The ones that don't generally make up for it by being cunning strategists.
• Nose Bleed: Minato gets a nosebleed when one of his Sekirei women does something perverted towards him. Surprisingly, Yukari is also prone to this, being a fangirl of pretty boys.
• Not Distracted by the Sexy: Most Sekirei are incredibly well-endowed, and tend to wear very revealing outfits. It's rarely given any attention, other than the occasional gag or when a particular character directly calls attention to their looks.
• Not What It Looks Like: Miya often come in while Minato is in bad position.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Kazehana doesn't take threats seriously. She doesn't need to.
• Oblivious Younger Sibling: An interesting subversion. It's against the rules to talk to Muggles about the Sekirei plan, so Minato isn't allowed to talk to his sister about it. She, however knows and is in fact a part of the Sekirei plan, but for the same reasons doesn't talk to her brother about it. Unfortunately her main reason for becoming a part of the game is to look for Kuu, her Sekirei's little sister and her brother's Sekirei, leading to a case of Poor Communication Kills.
  • Inverted later on. While Minato is still in the dark about it, Yukari has known the identity of their father for quite some time.
• Oh, Crap!: The look on the Disciplinary Squad when Yume shows up. More so on Haihane than Beni.
  • They invoke it by name earlier when Tsukiumi identifies herself as #09.
• Olympus Mons: The ancient Sekirei from the other seven ships, beings so incredibly powerful that Minato's Sekirei are in awe of their strength. They may or may not have inspired some of the ancient myths, and their Ashikabi were noted to have amassed incredible authority over their homelands and fought epic wars with each other.
• One Cast Member per Cover: A variation. The main heroine Musubi is shown on all of the manga's volume covers, but in most of them, a different Sekirei girl is depicted alongside Musubi. Very few girls show up on a cover with Musubi twice. Volume 19 is the sole exception, as it depicts all of Minato's Sekirei harem.
• The One Guy: Male Sekirei are this, by default, since males are exceptionally rare. In particular, Mutsu for both the 1st generation Discipline Squad and the South. Homura becomes this for the North, leading Mutsu to express his sympathy over having to deal with "those witches".
• Only Mostly Dead: Uzume and the other terminated Sekirei who suffered wounds that should be fatal. It is suggested that the winner will be able to reactivate them, though Miya states that a broken bond is the equivalent of death to a Sekirei and that the Uzume they knew is gone. We find out later when a terminated Sekirei is restored, their memories are gone, unless they are re-winged by their Ashibaki. This is exactly what happens to Uzume, who finally reunites with Chiho and lives happily with the rest of the main cast at the inn.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Tsukiumi uses it on Minato as a threat. Played straight with Karasuba defeating Musubi, who stops herself from fighting Yume at the end of episode 12 in Season 1 after she comments that Musubi needs to train more if Beni beat her.
• Only Six Faces: Common with the Sekirei. It evens gets mentioned in-universe, as many Sekirei resemble each other.
• Out-of-Clothes Experience:
  • In Chapter 113, Miya takes Minato and his harem to a mental plane created by the Genetic Memory shared by Sekirei and Ashikabi who share the blood of the oldest Sekirei. Minato gets the most shocked by finding himself, his harem, and Miya naked in that non-physical place.
  • It happens again when Matsu activates her Norito and Minato enters her mind where both of them appear naked.
• Painting the Medium: Kazehana talks to Minato with heart-shaped speech bubbles at one point. Miya swiftly forbids them.
• Panty Fighter: True to the trope, most of the Sekirei (the ones who wear panties) end up with at least one Panty Shot. In some cases, the panty shots are so plentiful that the girls' undergarments might as well get their own character entries.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Matsu's "disguise" while hiding from MBI in season two is nothing more than a babushka. Lampshaded by Homura.
  Don't tell me that's your entire disguise.
• Parental Abandonment: Apart from the missing father, Minato and Yukari's mother pretty much left them to be raised by their grandmother. Turns out their mother is working for MBI, essentially as The Dragon. She seems to care more about her Sekirei "children" than her actual ones...
  • Mikogami's parents completely ignored him in favor of their work, when they weren't shipping him off to other countries for acting out.
• Petite Pride: Kusano, she is rather proud of her lack of assets.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Minaka leaves Miya in peace and keeps her out of the Sekirei Plan as part of a promise to Takehito right before the latter's Heroic Sacrifice.
  • The main reason he had Natsuo wing Sekirei was to help him move past his depression over his lover's death.
• Please, Don't Leave Me:
  • Kuu says this to Minato, and he promises never to.
  • Mikogami, to Mutsu while clinging to his scarf.
• Polyamory: Minato eventually wings six Sekirei and excluding the little Kusano, he's romantically involved with all of them.
• Poor Communication Kills: Shiina's search for Kuu wouldn't last very long if Yukari ever bothered to just go to Maison Izumo. Justified however, in that neither Yukari nor Minato knows that the other is involved in the Sekirei program, and Minaka did plainly warn Minato in the first episode (and probably every other Ashikabi as well) that if they ever reveal the Sekirei plan to a non-participant, they'd be punished severely for it. Seeing as how Minaka has eyes and ears all over the place, Minato not wanting to explain why he's suddenly living with even more women, including Tsukiume, and Kusano, and all the other crazy stuff going on around them, it's hard to blame her entirely.
• P.O.V. Boy, Poster Girl: Minato is the POV protagonist and the main heroine Musubi is the poster girl who starts the plot when she literally falls into Minato's life.
• Power Gives You Wings: When Sekirei kiss their Ashikabis, they sprout wings made of light as a symbol of their power increasing.
• Power Limiter: Matsu states that one function of the adjustments was this, limiting their natural powers to a more manageable level. Homura believes this to be one reason that Akitsu was scrapped, since her power is not as limited and controlled as other Sekirei.
• The Power of Love: A major theme of the series, as all Sekirei draw strength from their bond with their Ashikabi. The deeper the feelings between the two, the stronger the Sekirei can become.
• Power Tattoo: The Sekirei Crest. It appears on the base of their neck when a Sekirei is winged, and vanishes when they cease functioning. Doubles as an Achilles' Heel.
• Pre-Meeting: In the third pilot chapter, Minato has a brief meeting with Kagari and Matsu before he properly meets them at Izumo Inn some time later.
• Pretty Freeloaders: Mostly avoided with Minato's harem, due to Miya requiring them to earn their keep with household chores. Mikogami's harem plays it straight, living off his family's wealth and behaving like a bunch of Rich Bitches.
• The Promise: Musubi and Karasuba promised to be the final two Sekirei standing, and to face each other in the final battle.
  • It turns out that Minaka promised Takehito that he would not involve Miya in the Sekirei Plan, allowing her to live in peace after his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Psychic Link:
  • All Ashikabi and Sekirei share one, as part of their bond. Ashikabi with multiple Sekirei can also act as a psychic intermediary between their partners, allowing them to combine their powers and create a Combination Attack.
  • Shiina and Kusano are also shown to have one, due to their strong telepathic abilities and bond as siblings.
• Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Subverted. The majority of Sekirei are extremely feminine, and don't concern themselves with how feminine or masculine their peers are. Minato's harem are among the strongest Sekirei around, and very feminine whether they're kicking ass or cooking lunch.
• Redemption Equals Death: Poor Uzume.
• Red Shirt: Most Sekirei are doomed to be this, because of the very nature of the game. Higa treats his army of Sekirei as disposable Mooks, while pretty much any Sekirei that encounters the Discipline Squad is going to be Monster Munch.
• Red String of Fate: The nature of the relationship between Sekirei and Ashikabi, who are destined to be together. Mikogami and Higa are both infamous for winging Sekirei against their will.
• Retired Badass: Just to illustrate how badass Miya is, during the invasion of the island in the Back Story the other 4 disciplinary members went around taking out tanks and helicopters. While Miya, cut battle cruisers in half lengthwise, from a cliff without breaking a sweat.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: A variation of this occurs in episode 10 of Season 2. At Minato's request, Matsu hacks into Higa's business accounts and essentially bankrupts his business, partly to force Higa to contact Minato, and largely as payback for him being responsible for Uzume's death. The speed and zeal in which she does this scares Minato a little bit.
• Running Gag:
  • Musubi's inhuman brute strength usually causes collateral damage around the Izumo Inn and gets her clothes torn to the point she's almost naked.
  • Kusano carries around a small plant which grows enormous when she cries or is upset about the harem arguing, using it to entangle others and make them stop fighting.
  • Matsu tries to pounce Minato to engage in intimacy only to be thwarted by Miya and is Denied Food as Punishment.
  • Homura uses his fire powers to burn anyone who makes fun of him (usually Matsu), giving them a fuzzy afro. Also, he can't decide whether to go in the male or female side of baths or changing rooms.
• Run or Die: When the Black Sekirei, Karasuba decides to fight Mitsuha and Akitsu, the latter tells the former to run or she'll die. Mitsuha ignores the warning and is quickly killed while Akitsu ran away and lived.
• Sacred First Kiss: For Sekirei, being winged is at least the equivalent of this, if not their true first kiss. Yukari states that winging Shiina was her first kiss.
• Sailor Earth: Out of the canonically established 108 Sekirei, only about half that number (58, currently) have been introduced or at least given names. There's still plenty of room for Fanon to make new Sekirei.
• Say It with Hearts: Quite a few characters. Benitsubasa is prone to saying it with STARS, including her named attacks.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Matsu gets a chance to do this once or twice. Minaka also does this ALL the time that we rarely see his eyes through his glasses.
• Screw Destiny: Yukari and Shiina also do this, quitting the Sekirei Plan once they confirm that Kusano is safe.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Minato does this so that the weak Kuno and her Ashikabi can flee the city. This comes back to haunt him later, when he is forced to fight against the Disciplinary Squad, once in the act and again in the third round as punishment.
• Sealed with a Kiss: Sekirei: 365 Days Without Her, a collection of side-stories after the final battle and before Musubi's return from Kouten, ends with Musubi kissing Minato. The series closes with the rest of Minato's Sekirei harem reproaching Musubi for once again getting ahead of them.
• Secret-Keeper: Miya appears to know a lot about the characters, but doesn't tell anyone until absolutely required, such as the existence of Sekirei, and about Kagari's true identity.
  • Seo, Hikari and Hibiki, Uzume, and all of the Single Numbers except for Tsukiumi and Akitsu are sworn to secrecy about the identity of Sekirei #01. Minaka also honors this secret, and allowed #01 to remain outside the Sekirei Plan because this was Takehito's dying wish.
  • Kazehana knows about Uzume's secret, but chooses not to stop her nor will she allow anyone to harm her whenever she's around.
  • Also forced upon all Ashikabi upon winging a Sekirei. They are not to tell anyone not involved in the Sekirei plan about it, under threat of retaliation from MBI should they leak the info.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: It seems to be played straight in the first few chapters, with Musubi's outfit far more modest than Hikari and Hibiki's S&M gear outfits. However, it ends up being zigzagged like crazy the more Sekirei that are introduced — Sanada's Sekirei have some of the smallest outfits around, but are cheerful and kind-hearted. Meanwhile, some of the most modestly dressed Sekirei are Ax-Crazy villains.
• Sexy Santa Dress: Several pieces of art feature Minato's Sekirei, as well as Hikari and Hibiki, in these. Parodied with Homura, who tells the audience to not be disappointed that the outfit has pants instead of a miniskirt.
• She-Fu: Extremely common among Sekirei.
• Shoot the Medic First: Attacking an Ashikabi is strictly prohibited by MBI, because their death will terminate all their Sekirei. Higa's Sekirei seem to make it a standard policy to target enemy Ashikabi if the battle is going poorly. Oriha, in particular, makes multiple attempts on the lives of other Ashikabi during the 3rd Match.
• Shout-Out:
  • Minaka's explorer outfit is flat-out a Kamen Rider costume.
  • The 2nd episode of season 2 finally acknowledges that Sekirei is Pokémon with tits when Minato says the famous Catchphrase: Kazehana getto daze! Kazehana even says that Minato is in the wrong show.
    • And in the next episode you have to fight off the urge to shout "... Blasting off again!"
  • In the first episode, when Musubi is cooking dinner for Minato, you can hear her humming the Chocobo theme. This is only in the English dub, though.
    • And in the second episode of the English dub, Musubi hums another particularly catchy tune in the shower.
    • In the third episode (English dub again), Musubi hums what sounds like the opening theme for pre-Disney Doug.
  • Sanada complains that because they have thunder powers, Hikari and Hibiki should be wearing tiger-striped bikinis.
• Shrouded in Myth: All the major Ashikabi, as well as the first generation (#01 - #05) have various myths surrounding them. The myths surrounding Minato and Seo, in particular, are hilariously off the mark.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: A majority of the Ashikabi are sweet, normal guys. Minato, in particular, manages to win over each of his Sekirei through his kind heart.
• Sitting on the Roof: Kazehana hangs out on the roof frequently, but it seems to be a common place for the residents of Izumo Inn to go.
• Skinship Grope: Yukari performs this a few times. At first it seems to be a legitimately friendly joke, but later she starts to show her true, semi-bisexual nature: it doesn't matter if you're a prospective future sister, a dear friend, or a stranger she'd just met under suspicious circumstances. If you've got big boobs, she will tackle and grope you, while laughing and drooling for good measure.
• Slasher Smile: Several characters, but Yukari takes the cake.
• Slave Brand: The Crest all Sekirei receive when winged by their master is a benign version of this.
• Slave Race: The Sekirei are under the control of MBI, and it was Takehito's goal to set them free.
• The Smurfette Principle: The Ashikabi seem to follow an inverse of the gender ratio of the Sekirei, with all but three of the known Ashikabi being male, and only one of the known female Ashikabi being considered a part of the game's major players. Notably, two of the three happen to be the owners of some of the only known male Sekirei.
• Sneeze Cut: A Running Gag is that when a character is talking or thinking about another character, there's a cut to the latter sneezing.
• Snow Means Love: Haruka and Kuno met on a snowy day, when he saw her shivering in the cold and took pity on her. Mikogami and Mutsu may also count.
• So Proud of You: In the manga, after Minato refuses to back down from a confrontation with Takami, she states as his mother she's so proud of the man he's becoming. .......then she breaks out the Slasher Smile and sics MBI soldiers on him anyway.
• Split Personality: Musubi. Sekirei No. 8, Yume, is inside of her. Yume is a love-crazy beam-user type, but while Musubi knows she has Yume's soul inside of her, she remembers nothing she's done as Yume.
• Spy Satellites: Matsu hacks into satellites to monitor what's going on in Shintou Teito city.
• Standard Female Grab Area:
  • Minato seemingly knows how to do this properly, though it usually makes whoever he did it to call him a pervert.
  • Played deadly straight with Seo, since when he is touching a sekirei, he effectively neutralizes their power until he lets go.
• Straight Gay: Natsuo is solely attracted to men, but, due to the nature of winging not having anything to do with gender or sexuality, is surrounded by a harem of beautiful women at all times, causing his homosexuality to be something of an Informed Ability. Despite this, we later learn that his backstory, which explains all of his more unsettling characteristics, revolves around the death of his (male) lover.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: The Southern Sekirei, Akitsu and Mutsu, who both turn out to be reserved by kind-hearted Anti Villains.
• Super-Deformed: During it's moments of humor the anime will often switch to this style for short periods of time.
• Super Prototype: Numbers 01 - 05 are this, having been given special adjustments that drastically increased their power. With the possible exception of Matsu, each of them is a One-Man Army and the reason other Sekirei fear the Single Numbers so much.
• Suspect Is Hatless: Benitsubasa calls for Musubi, but Kuu answers. She asks for "the big breasted one", which is extremely undescriptive in a World of Buxom.
• Sword Fight: In the penultimate episode of the 2nd season, there is a brief duel between Karasuba and Mutsu. She's bored waiting until she can confront Musubi, and figures he'll be able to keep her amused for a while. In the end, she decides she's had enough fun and wanders away, leaving Mutsu to make a hasty retreat.
• Take Care of the Kids: Before she dies, Uzume's last request of Minato is to protect Chiho for her.
• Team Mom: Miya Asama, landlady of Izumo Inn. Though, she will become angry if called this; she thinks of herself as more of a Cool Big Sis
• Technical Pacifist: Minato is a frail peace-loving guy who is uncomfortable with having his Sekirei or anybody else fight and wishes he could avoid conflict as much as possible. That said, it doesn't take much for something to get him to voluntarily join or even start a fight to help somebody else.
  • Lampshaded in Minato's first Stage Three duel, when his strategy to minimize fighting consists largely of Demolish the surrounding area and beat up everyone before the dust settles. Homura notes that for something Minato came up with to avoid conflict, it sure included a lot of wanton destruction.
• Technopath: Matsu has the ability to look into any computer system with her mind and even hacks into and spys through MBI's sattelites at various points. This has caused her to be labelled "The Sneaking Sekirei" a title she doesn't appreciate.
• Telepathy: All Sekirei have it, to one degree or another. Kusano is stated to have particular strong abilities, which allowed her to call out to Minato.
• Tempting Fate: After Minato nods off in the bath in episode 1 of Season 2, Musubi calls him for dinner, then decides to get in the bath with him. After he wakes up, he comments that it would be bad if the other girls saw them like that. Cue Tsukiumi and Kusano opening the door to the bath...
• Themed Harem: All the heroines in Minato's harem are Human Alien Action Girls with supernatural powers.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kuu berates Tsukiumi for not wanting to help with Minato's plan to help Kuno escape with Haruka. Miya later helps snap her out of her refusal to help.
  • Musubi and Minato essentially tells this to the Ashikabi and Sekirei who confront them in Season 2 and ask for his participation in escaping, after the latter Ashikabi continually insults Haruka and Kuno as being weak and pathetic.
  • Mikogami delivers one to Higa, when the South shows up to help defend Maison Izumo. His accurate assessment of Higa's jealousy towards Minato for overcoming the restraints of his family and society, as well as the threat of all out war between the South and East, force Higa to back down.
• There Can Be Only One: The whole point of the Sekirei plan is making Sekirei fight each other until only one is left.
• The Unreveal: Seriously, is there anyone (other than Minato) who doesn't know Miya is Sekirei No. 1? If you couldn't already guess it, the beginning of episode 1 in Season 2 gives it away, but it's still kept as a huge secret/surprise in-universe. In the Manga, it's not as readily apparent because of the pacing, but once Sekirei with numbers begin appearing in mass and the background info picks up, it's not a difficult concept.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Minato states that he won't forgive anyone that treats Sekirei like tools, or mocks the struggles of weaker, loving pairs like Haruka and Kuno.
• Three-Way Sex: Seo proudly declares he was late to the 4th Match because his Sekirei twins "kept him up all night". The embarrassed reaction from the twins and Hibiki's pleas about children being present suggests he wasn't making it up. He later gets the two pregnant at the same time, as his four sons were all born on the same day.
• Time to Unlock More True Potential: A combination of Miya's training, and a hefty dose of The Power of Love. She notes that a Sekirei's true potential is further unlocked through the strength of their bond with their Ashikabi and the state of their emotions. Training can only do so much, if their bond isn't strong enough. When Homura is winged, Musubi and Tsukiumi both manifest new abilities in response.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Haihane and Benitsubasa, mostly because the former is completely unconcerned with her appearance while the later wears a cute flower hairclip and moons over her gay Ashikabi.
• Top Wife: Subverted. When Tsukiumi gets "winged" as Minato's Sekirei, she tries to save face and declares herself to be his wife before finding out that she's, in fact, his fourth Sekirei (in order of acquisition). Musubi and Kusano take offense to this, and declare that they're also Minato's wives^note Matsu sometimes does too, only because [[The Gadfly it annoys the other girls, and when Tsukiumi insists that she's the main wife, they insist they are as well. Minato seeks to avoid favoritism and prefers to love his Sekirei harem equally rather than favor one over the other.
• Training from Hell: Miya can be a pretty harsh mentor, as shown the first time Tsukiumi attempts to train with her. She's left battered, bruised, with her clothing shredded and barely standing. Musubi, being a Spirited Competitor, loves every minute of it.
• Troll: Takami, Minato's mother, of all people, does this in episode 3 of Season 2. After Tsukiumi starts talking to her in the hospital, his mother tells her that she should be addressing her as "mother" (due to Tsukiumi's "marriage" to Minato), while making the same scary face Yukari does (minus the red eyes). Tsukiumi immediately apologizes and calls her that, only to have Takumi nonchalantly says she wasn't serious about it, which ticks off Tsukiumi.
• Truce Zone: There are several within the capital, primarily areas owned and operated by MBI. This allows the company to perform monthly examinations on the Sekirei and keep the peace during a game of There Can Be Only One. The Northern portion of the city is considered this to a degree, as most Sekirei are too frightened of the legendary Hannya of the North to dare causing trouble in her territory. Miya strictly enforces a "no fighting" rule within Izumo Inn, which the smart people respect.
• True Companions: After Karasuba defeats Musubi at the end of episode 12 in Season 2, the rest of Minato's harem move in to protect her. Karasuba taunts them that they still wouldn't be able to defeat her, but ultimately lets them go, either because she knew they saw through her bluff, or perhaps she wants Musubi to get stronger for more of a challenge.
  • Shown even earlier in Episode 8 of Season 1: Despite Musubi and Tsukumi constantly fighting one who Minato's "true wife" is, they agree - through "a most secret exchange" - that they trust to each have the other's back, with Tsukumi actually calling Musubi "friend."
• Twinkle in the Sky: Yume did this to Benitsubasa and Haihane at the end of first season (by throwing them instead of Megaton Punch). Repeated later by Kazehana.
• Tyke Bomb: The Sekirei are an entire species of tyke bombs, raised by MBI and aimed primarily at each other.
• Uneven Hybrid: All modern Ashikabi are the descendants of matings between Sekirei and humans several centuries ago, and still close enough to their non-human heritage that that the jinki classify them with Sekirei rather than humans. This is further driven home when they arrive on Kamikura Island, and learn that the island gives off unique energy due to centuries of exposure to the Sekirei's ship. Humans are immune to it, and Sekirei filter it harmlessly through their cores.....but the energy is toxic to Ashikabi since their bodies absorb it like a Sekirei, but lack a core to process it safely.
• Unwanted Harem: Subverted; while at first Minato's reluctant and unwilling to take responsiblity, he eventually goes after four of his eventual six Sekirei.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Matsu pulls a tracking device out of her cleavage in chapter 62
  • She also pulls out a gun that shoots a net while in the bathroom with Minato. He immediately asks where the heck she pulled that out from.
• Villainous Breakdown: Higa is showing the first symptoms.
• We Have Reserves: Higa treats his Sekirei this way, which comes back to bite him since he does not in fact have reserves. Out of his original dozen Sekirei, he's down to his last three and things do not look good for him, since his potential opponents in the 4th Stage each have a founding member of the Discipline Squad in their ranks.
• Weapon Specialization: Weapon users are a common type of Sekirei, as are the Power types that use their fists or feet.
• Wham Episode:
  • Played with when Matsu declares her intent to leave the inn. Minato and the viewers were surprised; the rest of Minato's Sekirei were somewhere between Dull Surprise and out right disbelief.
  • Uzume's death.
  • The truth about the Sekirei, as told by Miya. It really has to be seen to be believed.
• What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Kuno's sole weapon is her voice. It stuns targets but doesn't hurt them. If she does it too long, she throws up blood when finished.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: One of the undertones of the series. Minato treats his Sekirei as normal people, while most Ashikabi treat them as things.
  • Which makes it all the more painful to watch other Ashikabi who did clearly treat their Sekirei's as people as well, and then having them get defeated by another who probably didn't want to fight them in the first place if not for Minaka's constant rule changing.
• When It All Began: Miya provides insight into several key events that shaped the current situation.
  • The great battles between the Sekirei from the other 7 ships and their Ashikabi. The survivors of these battles are the ancestors of modern Ashikabi.
  • The discovery of Kamikura Island by Minaka and Takami, which resulted in the formation of MBI and the awakening of the Sekirei.
  • The first Invasion of Kamikura Island. This final event resulted in not only the formation of the original Discipline Squad, but inspired Minaka to change the S-Plan from a research project focused on the study and protection of the Sekirei to the current Sekirei Plan.
  • Another significant event, of course, was the kidnapping of Musubi as a child, which resulted in Yume giving the damaged fledgling her core.
• White Shirt of Death: Uzume, in the manga. Minato, also wearing a white shirt at the time, ends up completely covered in her blood.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Yukari puts Shiina in a dress to hide him from pursuers, fortunately he is so bishounen that he looks like a girl.
• Wife-Basher Basher: Yukari and Shiina become infamous as a result of their dispatching abusive pairs. Doubles as Laser-Guided Karma, since Yukari is fond of stomping on their balls to finish things off. Amebane learns just why abusing his Ashikabi in front of Shiina is a is a very bad idea.
• World of Action Girls: Sekirei are incredibly gender-skewed, with only 4 known males out of the 108. And one of those ends up as a hermaphrodite. Most Ashikabi are Non-Action Guys, and the rules of the game actually prohibit them from being involved in combat.
• World of Buxom: Almost all the women have massive breasts. The number of flat-chested girls can be counted in one hand.
• Would Hit a Girl: Played with in both directions. Since most of the Sekirei are female, the few males have absolutely no issue with fighting them seriously. Evil characters, such as Junichi and Amebane, are also shown to consider hitting women for annoying them to be perfectly acceptable. Both get what's coming to them courtesy of Yukari and Shiina.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Tsukiumi and Homura combine their attacks into a giant steam dragon. It's said that this can only be done with Sekirei with a shared Ashikabi, or at least a very high synchronisation.
• You All Look Familiar: The male characters in particular all look relatively alike (along with spiky-haired female characters). Invoked, as quite a few Sekirei with sequential Numbers look nearly identical and have similar powers.
• You Are Number 6: The Sekirei, numbering from #01 - #108. Numbers 01 - 09 are known as the "Single Numbers", and considered the most powerful.
• Younger Than They Look: The Sekirei were discovered 21 years prior to the series, when all but #01 were either infants or fertilized eggs. Numbers 01 - 05 have been shown to have been adults when the others were still infants, but how quickly Sekirei actually reach physical maturity is unclear. Either way, it's easy to forget that they are all younger than Minato.
• Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Tsukiumi in the english version of the anime.

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