死神shinigami
Quick definition:Shinigami are death gods or spirits in Japanese belief and fiction, linked to the end of life, and in anime they often appear as guides or collectors of souls, like the Western grim reaper.
Meaning
Shinigami means death god, and the term is used for spirits or gods that are believed to bring about death or lead souls to the afterlife. The image of a single figure in black robes with a scythe, called the grim reaper in English, is a Western one, but anime and manga often mix the two traditions.
In modern stories shinigami usually belong to an organisation or realm, with rules about whom they can take, what tools they carry and how they deal with humans. They may serve as guardians, rivals, teachers or comic characters. Several well-known series feature shinigami as central characters, and their appearance, from skeletal robes to ordinary clothes, varies widely.
Traditional Japanese folklore has no single figure matching the grim reaper. Death is linked to many deities and spirits, and the word shinigami was used in tales from later centuries. Modern anime and manga have turned the idea into a popular fantasy character type, and fans use the word for any being who guards the border between life and death.
Origin:Shinigami is made from shi, meaning death, and kami, meaning god or spirit. The word appears in Japanese writing from the Edo period, though the idea of death-related deities is much older. Anime and manga popularised the shinigami as a character type in the late twentieth century, and English-language fans often match it with the grim reaper. Example:In Bleach, shinigami are soul reapers who guide spirits to the afterlife and fight monstrous spirits called hollows, and the hero gains a shinigami's power when he steps in to protect his family. Death Note takes a different approach, with a shinigami who drops a notebook into the human world and watches what a student does with it.
Did you know?Shinigami in anime often have unusual habits or limits, such as the love of apples shown by the shinigami in Death Note. Writers use these small details to give personality and humour to a distant, supernatural figure and to make it feel more human.
