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Doll to Duelists
Doll
Dragon
Duality
Duelists (and Others) in Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Daffodil
In the Language of Flowers it means regard, sunshine, or chivalry. At the end of OVA 2 of Licca: Wondrous Yunia Story, Licca is able to use a magic daffodil to send herself, the cat, and Dodo home.
Daimon
In Greek mythology, they were evil spirits of the dead or minor gods. After time, the name came to be used for an evil spirit. The daimon of regeneration is also the name given to the attendant to the goddess. At the same time, a daimon might also be an individual's personal guardian spirit. In the BSSM S, the daimon are the monster of the day.
Dandelions
A favorite superstition is to make a wish and blow on the seeds of a dandelion. If all the seeds blow away the wish will come true. Dandelion flowers are in the opening credits of the Kakyuusei TV series and by the end the petals have turned to seeds which Ai-chan blows upon and watches them float away on the wind.
Deimos
From Roman myth his name meant fear and he was brother to Phobos (fright) and son to the deity of war Mars, and would accompany his father in battle.
Deimos (from Bride of Deimos) calls himself the "God of Fear," but takes on more of his devil-like representation in personality. He preys on human foibles, and unmasks deeds completely within the realm of choice
of the humans he encounters. Many times the phrase "Be careful what you wish for" takes on deep meaning, as characters like Akira and Thumbelina get just what they ask for but with
consequences they are too arrogant to foresee. He says of himself also that: "I can only live in the heart of humans. When humans go extinct, I shall cease to exist as well." There is an
implication that God or Devil may exist within the hearts of humans and are kept alive through them (this idea is in Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne as well). At the end of Minako's encounter with
the priest, this may be part of what Deimos tried to explain to Minako. It may be also that Deimos is the personification of human weaknesses, that chance to commit evil or believe it, and as long as humans
continue to do so, he will exist. The last story of volume 2 is titled "Love is Stronger than Deimos." Minako's belief in the innocence of the young man and the goodness of humans and the
basic human need to believe in one another proves to be right where Deimos is wrong, and thus that quality is stronger than Deimos, as is the bond of the lovers in the last story.
Devil
The names given to the devil or to fallen angels are found. In Utena, Akio likens himself to Lucifer or the Morning Star, and in the movie, Akio is referred to as the Lord of Flies, Beelezebub. In both cases, this choice reflects his fall from the prince-like individual he used to be. In Unico, Beezle is the name of the little devil Unico befriends on the Island of Solitude. And in Wedding Peach and Kaitou Jeanne, the heroines must fight to keep those from the devil world from harming mankind. Also, the pure-blooded angel, Salvia, falls in love with the fallen angel, Oasis, in the OAV of Wedding Peach.
Dhampir
In folklore these were the children of vampires, half human and half vampire. They were often used as hunters since it was believed that if the vampire was invisible, a dhampir would be needed to fight it. D, the protagonist of both Vampire Hunter D films, is a dhampir and a vampire hunter. His mother was human and his father the Vampire King. Ramica in the first movie is also a dhampir.
Diana
Her name is the feminine counterpart to Ianus. She was goddess of the chase, childbirth, and moon. Became identified with Artemis and Hecate. Her chief worshippers were women, praying for a successful birth or marriage. Diana is the name of the kitten in Sailor Moon, named for the goddess' association with the moon.
Djinn
Arabic for demon. Found in the folklore of of the Saharan, and eastern and north Mediterranean regions.
They may appear as giant humans, or any shape they choose. They may be found on
islands or in the desert. To those they favor they can bring wealth, or they can bring
disaster. In Morocco, everyone is said to have a personal djinn throughout life.
In Magic Knight Rayearth, the two sisters from a rival country have their own guardian djinn as members of the royal family.
In Uta-Kata, djinn are spirits of nature (the heavens, water, earth, etc.).
Efreet/Ifrit
The second most powerful demons of the djinns. After beating this spirit in Bastard, the Efreet locked in the sword becomes the servant to Schneider.
This seems to be the source of Ifurita's name in El Hazard, she is known as the most
powerful of the demon gods.
Dodo
Licca's stuffed toy. In OVA 1 & 2 of Wondrous Yunia Story when she falls into the other world ala Dorothy or Alice, Dodo is able to move and talk. The cat tries to take Dodo a few times, but Licca protects him. A dodo of course is an extinct species of bird.
Door
From ep. 11 of Seraphim Call. Urara lost both her parents and to cope with their deaths and the emotional effect it caused she lives within her own fantasy world. The door we see is the door back to reality, and her choice to pass through it is the choice to leave the figurative world she's created and heal and live her life as her father wanted in the real world beyond it.
Doppleganger
From the Online Encyclopedia Mythica: "The frightful image seen at the window, or staring back from the mirror, could be your own--a double, or doppelgänger (from the German for "double goer"), the sight of which could foretell your own imminent demise. Sometimes described as the soul embodied, sometimes an astral projection or aura, the double most often presented itself as a warning." Zongi is the doppleganger in Escaflowne. He has the ability to assume the form of anyone he takes the life force of.
Dowsing
Hitomi says she uses her pendant for dowsing in the Escaflowne series, she uses her mind to see things. Dowsing is a form of divination, and the success of the practicer depends on the sensitivity of the person searching to the object they wish to find.
Dracula and Frankenstein
The most famous vampire of literature, and created by Bram Stoker. It's no wonder he's made the Vampire King in VHD, father of all vampires and literally of D himself.
From Shin OVA 2 of Dream Hunter REM. Mephisto in this episode has fangs and rides in a carriage pulled by a wolf-man, his character comes off as a bit Draculian. Frankenstein is also a story taken from.
Victor Frankenstein brings Julian to life at the beginning of the episode through lightening experiment. When Mephisto takes Julian over with dark spirits/ghosts he looks like
Frankenstein's monster from the films. The little girl who befriends him in spite of his appearance is reminiscent of the child who befriends the monster in the movie.
Dream
As for dreams, dreams fall into different categories, and one under supernatural dreams is the prophetic. In these dreams, the person watching, whether ascetic or other, is
passive. Sometimes a messenger might appear in a dream or a kami, or an object may be bestowed. Dreams are also important to ascetics because through dreams of initiation
they gain clairvoyance or divination abilities. Dreams may also fortell bad or good luck; some say they are experiences of the soul when it leaves the body in sleep.
In CCS Sakura's dreams often act as a premonition, fortelling an important meeting as in the case of Li or Madoushi. In the first film, the 3rd dream Sakura has from Madoushi
crosses from a mere dream into reality as when she wakes up her wrist bears the mark of where Madoushi's ribbon held her.
From X, Hinoto can neither see nor hear. And both she and her sister, Kanae, are known as Dream Watchers (they can travel and show people dreams of the future). Hinoto is a
bit like the blind medium of Japan. These miko are known as itako or ichiko, and are called to this life because they are blind, usually from birth or infancy, and it is a good
profession for them to be of use to others.
In Shamanic Princess, Sarah comes to Tiara in her dreams after she is bound to the Throne of Yord (so situation is much like one given). The gem Tiara receives that is the clue to
the answer she seeks, appears and is bestowed from her dream.
In the UY movie: Beautiful Dreamer, Mujaki tells Sakura, "Time is a creation of your human consciousness." Whether time goes quicker or slows down or moves in one
direction or another, it is all created by the human mind. Mujaki of course is a master of dreams and lives within them, his statement could then extend to the question of if
waking life is someone's dream or if it is a perception of one's mind. This is like the philosopher Chuang Chou's dream and what he says on waking: "I did not know whether it had
formerly been Chou dreaming that he was a butterfly, or whether it was now a butterfly dreaming that it was Chou."
From Licca OVA 3 & 4, a magic carnival appears mysteriously over a single night and Licca has her adventures that play out almost dream-like. The structure of the story is
similar to Midsummer Night's Dream or the Nutcracker. One of the strange sights they see is a transparent spirit-anteater but instead of ants it eats bouncing stars.
The BSSM SuperS movie also deals with dreams, for more see the Sailor Moon section. And also the page for Dream Hunter Rem.
Dream Demons
Demons or malevolent spirits in dreams go way back in folklore. A few such entities are the incubus, succubus, and mare. The incubus was a male demon that would lie on sleeping women and have relations with them in their sleep; the succubus was the female equivalent to the incubus. Mare were said to cause bad dreams, thus our word Nightmare which originally was used for a night demon. One spirit, though not malevolent, found in Japanese lore is the baku. This spirit is called upon to eat a frightening dream. Dream Hunter REM uses various spirits dealing with dreams.
Dream Watchers
Hinoto in CLAMP's X can neither see nor hear. And both she and her sister, Kanae, are known as Dream Watchers (they can travel and show people dreams of the future). Hinoto is a bit
like the blind medium of Japan. These miko are known as itako or ichiko, and are called to this life because they are blind, usually from birth or infancy, and it is a good profession
for them to be of use to others. As for dreams, dreams fall into different categories, and one under supernatural dreams is the prophetic. In these dreams, the person watching, whether
ascetic or other, is passive. Sometimes a messenger might appear in a dream or a kami, or an object may be bestowed. Dreams are also important to ascetics, as through
dreams of initiation they gain clairvoyance or divination abilities.
Hinoto: In Chinese the 4th of the 10 Heavenly Stems***
Kanoe: The 7th of the 10 Heavenly Stems***
***From translations by Cynthia Ma, rec.arts.manga, 11 May 1993 of an interview with Ookawa Nanase of CLAMP