Guardian Spirits - The moe personifications of 2011

Edit 23/07/2011: Made a mistake with the Guardian Spirits' quest. You don't need to have any of the GS with you at all for them.

Edit 2/10/2012: As GungHo forbids the use of images taken from the official website, most of the images here have been removed. Time to look for new ones~

Following the Nekomata family, 2011 sees the introduction of a new series of familiar pets, the Guardian Spirits (Japanese: 守護魔 Shugoma). Released once per month through the lotteries, these lovely new additions are named after the traditional names of the months in the Japanese lunar calendar (all notes on their names found in this post are all copy-pastaed from this link and other wikipedia entries).

Like the Nekomata, they have their own quests in the game, but unlike the Nekomata quests from which we get our beloved cat spirits, you are rewarded instead with a item related to the Spirit(s) involved. Another difference from the Nekomata quests is that the GS quests are (in Japan) available for only 1 month each, after which the current one will be taken down and be replaced by the next one. In addition to the quest rewards, depending on which Spirit, with 2~3 EX Tickets (obtained also from the lotteries), the player can exchange for another special item.

Like their feline counterparts, the Spirits have a number of skills up their sleeves to aid their master in battle, though many of the Spirits have skillsets for directly engaging the enemy. Unlike the Nekomata though, they don't provide extra carrying weight and capacity.

Now, without further ado, let's welcome them with a round of applause...



Mutsuki (ムツキ)
Guardian Spirit of January. She is said to be the elemental spirit of the Moon .
From: ECOくじ「あけおめ兎年」

Skills:
- Area Heal
- Lullaby
- Revive
- Raise Body

Note: Mutsuki (睦月) is the traditional name of the 1st lunar month, which means "month of affection/harmony". This is the time of year where families & friends gather for Oshogatsu, a holiday still observed at the beginning of the year in Japan


Kisaragi (キサラギ)
Guardian Spirit of February. She said to be the source of magical energy.
From: ECOくじ「ハンドメイド・バレンタイン」

Skills:
- Counter
- Wrist Blow
- Magic Revolution
- Black Widow
- Luminary Nova
- Gravity Fall

Note: Kisaragi (如月 or 衣更着) is the traditional name of the 2nd lunar month, which means "changing clothes". It is known as such because it was considered the coldest month, where people bundle up in winter clothes


Yayoi (ヤヨイ)
Guardian Spirit of March. She is said to lead the coming of Spring. Lily White...?
From: ECOくじ「アジアンファンタジア」

Skills:
- Parry
- Counter
- Critical
- Brandish
- Healing (only on herself)
- Wrist Blow

Note: Yayoi (弥生) is the traditional name of the 3rd lunar month, which means "new life". It is around this time that plants start to grow.


Uzuki (ウヅキ)
Guardian Spirit of April. She is said to lead to encounters.
From: ECOくじ「風雲！アクロニア学園

Skills:
- Tornado Attack
- せ～の！(= Limitation Edge)
- Reverse Edge
- Parry
- Counter
(... No Omni or Spectre?! D=)

Note: Uzuki (卯月) is the traditional name of the 4th lunar month, which means "month of the u-no-hana (卯の花)". The u-no-hana is a flower of the genus Deutzia which starts to appear during this month.


Satsuki (サツキ)
Guardian Spirit of May. She is said to bring forth a fresh new wind.
From: ECOくじ「フェアリーテイル」

Skills:
- Warsong
- Avoid Burst
- Fireball
- Ice Arrow
- Energy Crow (= Energy Bolt)
- Luminary Nova

Note: Satsuki (皐月) is the traditional name of the 5th lunar month. It is also known as Sanaetsuki (早苗月) , which means "early rice planting month" as this would be the time people start planting seedlings.


Minatsuki (ミナヅキ)
Guardian Spirit of June. She is said to bring forth calm rainy days (and Mai Waifu!!! for many players it seems...)
From: ECOくじ「プレシャスウェディング」

Skills:
- Heal
- Life Absorption
- Warsong
- Magic Burst
- Defense Burst
- Critical Burst
- Revive

Note: Minatsuki (水無月) is the traditional name of the 6th lunar month. While the 無 kanji usually means "absent" or "none", here it is an ateji used for the sound "na", which itself is a possessive particle in this case. So "水無月" would mean "month of water" (instead of "month without water"). This refers to the flooding of rice fields which requires large amount of water. Alternatively it could also be refering to the summer rainy season in the East Asian region, which occurs in Japan around the 6th lunar month. The "month without water" part referred to the ending of the aforementioned rainy season.


Fumizuki (フミツキ)
Guardian Spirit of July. She is said to lead the coming of Summer (Shinryaku! Tako Musume /shot)
From: ECOくじ「夢見るアクアマリン」

Skills:
- Warsong
- Wrist Blow
- せ～の！(= Limitation Edge)
- くらえ！必殺！(= Tackle)
- Luminary Nova
- Ice Arrow

Note: Fumizuki (文月) is the traditional name of the 7th lunar month, literally "month of books". This probably refers to it being the month of the Tanabata festival, where kids write wishes on paper and attach it to a bamboo stick.


Hazuki (ハヅキ)
Guardian Spirit of August. She is said to bring forth the summer storms (and yes, she's a DEM-ko! >=3)
From: ECOくじ「エレクトロメモリーズ」

Skills:
- Assault
- Defrag (DEM pets' version of Heal)
- Burst Shot
- Cross Crest
- Energy Barrier

Note: Hazuki (葉月) is the traditional name of the 8th lunar month, which means "month of leaves". In old Japanese, the month was called Haochizuki (葉落ち月), "month of falling leaves".


Kikuzuki (キクヅキ)
Guardian Spirit of September. He is said to announce the end of Summer and the arrival of Autumn (yes, a boy, much to a certain veggie's delight o3o)
From: ECOくじ「古の大和神話」

Skills:
- Warsong
- Bumrush
- Whiplash
- Heal
- Thunder Bolt

Note: The traditional name for the 9th lunar month is usually Nagatsuki (長月), which means "the long month". This refers to the length of nighttime increasing and days getting shorter. Kikuzuki (菊月) is an alternate name which is also used in the Chinese lunar calendar, meaning "chrysanthemum month", perhaps due to Autumn being the flower's natural season.


Kamia & Kanna (カミア・カンナ)
Guardian Spirits of October. They are said to be the messengers of God and Satan (twins + nuns = lots of love, fuhuhuhu~)
From: ECOくじ「ホーリーハロウィン」

Skills:
- Heal
- Black Widow
- Holy Bolt
- Warsong
- Salvation Aura
- Gravity Fall
- Life Absorption

Note: The traditional name for the 10th lunar month is Kaminazuki or Kannazuki (both written as 神無月). Like Minatsuki, the 無 kanji is an ateji used for the sound "na". Thus, contrary to common belief, Kannazuki actually means "month of the gods". The common intepretation of this name ("month where is no gods") comes from the Shinto tradition that all the eight million gods of Japan will all leave their shrines to attend an annual gathering at the Izumo Taisha during this month. As such, in the Izumo province, the 10th month is known as Kamiarizuki (神有月 or 神在月), literally "month when the gods are here". From "Kamiarizuki" and "Kannazuki", we get "Kamia" and "Kanna".


Shimotsuki (シモツキ)
Guardian Spirit of November. She is said to protect the eggs (my Guardian Spirit can't be this cute...)
From: 「森の中の童話」

 Skills:
- Warsong
- Heal
- Dust Explosion
- せーの！(= Limitation Edge)
- Double Throw (would be fun if she throws eggs or food instead of cards =3)
- Mystic Poison

Note: Shimotsuki (霜月), the traditional name of the 8th lunar month, literally means "Month of Frost", known as the month where frost sets in. So among the currently available Guardian Spirits, this girl is the only one with a totally different feel from the month she's set in ^^;;;;.


Rougetsu (ロウゲツ)

Guardian Spirit of December. He is said to perform all tasks perfectly.
From: ECOくじ「クラシカルサーバント」
Skills:
- Life Absorption
- Black Widow
- Gravity Fall
- Warsong
- Brandish
- Tornado Attack

Note: The traditional name for the 12th month is usually Shiwasu (師走) which means "Priests Running", referring to Buddhist priests being busy at the end of the year for New Year's preparations and blessings. Rougetsu (臘月) is an alternate name more commonly used by the Chinese (pronounced as "La4 Yue4"). The word 臘 has two meanings in Chinese (aside than being a name for the 12th month itself). In ancient times it referred to the sacrificial rites done at the end of the lunar year; nowadays it simply means preserved meat, which people relied on for food in winter.


And finally..... all good things must come to an end.

Uru (ウル)

Half of a Guardian Spirit. She will display her true abilities when merged with Ruu.
From: Completing the entire Guardian Spirit saga quest.

Skills:
- Lullaby
- Blazing Spirit Sword
- Critical Encouragement
- Loud Song
- せ～の！
- くらえ！必殺！

Ruu (ルゥ)

Half of a Guardian Spirit. She will display her true abilities when merged with Uru.
From: Completing the entire Guardian Spirit saga quest.

Skills:
-Salvation Aura
- Noxious Blast
- Parry
- Concentration
- Magic Aura
- Cure Poison

Uruu (ウルゥ)

Leader of the Guardian Spirits. She is said to lead the coming of a new year.
From: Merging Uru and Ruu.

Skills:
- Salvation Aura
- Zen
- Blazing Spirit Sword
- Concentration
- Sacred Embrace (!)
- Bumrush
- Cure Poison
- Reflection

Note: Unlike the other Guardian Spirits, I don't see any connection to the calendar, so I assume that GungHo picked their names at a whim. Note that Uruu cannot be raised; her stats are affected by how well her master trains her halves, which are augmented when they merge into her. Also note that, as befits her status as their leader, she has rather imba stats compared to her fellow Spirits: see here for details.


With that we have come an end to the Guardian Spirit series. Onwards to 2012 and the Alma Monsters~!