Shiba Roses

Shiba Roses
Kanji	シバ・ローゼス
Rōmaji	Shiba Rōzesu
Alias	First Rave Master The Sword Saint Shiba
Characteristics
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Age	74
Height	155cm
Weight	50kg
Birthday	November 18, 9992
Hair Color	Brown (Young) White (Old)
Eye Color	Black
Blood Type	AB
Professional Status
Birthplace	Garage Island
Previous Occupation	Rave Master
Likes	Reading and writing His homeland (Garage Island)
Dislikes	Dark Bring
Previous Partner(s)	Plue
Personal Status
Status	Deceased
Special Skills
Weapons	Rave Stone Ten Commandments
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 1
Anime Debut	Episode 1
Portrayal
Japanese Voice	Tomomichi Nishimura Kouichi Toochika (Young)
English Voice	Alan Shearman Steve Blum (Young)
Image Gallery
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Shiba Roses, the "Sword Saint", was the very first Rave Master. He had fought in the war against the mother of all Dark Bring, Sinclair, fifty years ago, and had embarked on a journey to gather the five mystical Rave Stones that went missing since. He eventually transferred the responsibility of defeating all five Dark Brings (Shadow Stones) to his successor, Haru Glory, the second Rave Master.

Physical Appearance

Shiba is an old man, who, despite his age, maintains a rather muscular build. He has white eyebrows, and sports a long graying beard, with what little of his hair perched atop his balding head and jutting upwards in a horn-like fashion. He dons a brown overcoat with light linings and two rings dangling by the ends of each side of the collar. Underneath it, he wears a pair of pastel green pants, and brown boots. He carries a huge object wrapped in strips of cloth in a fashion reminiscent of a cocoon, with a smiling face doodled on its surface.

During his youth, Shiba had rich, dark brown locks with fringes falling in the middle of his forehead, and by the sides of his face. When not in battle, his typical garb is that of a Symphonia Kingdom soldier uniform, which consists of a grayish green polo shirt with two breast pockets and a buttoned collar reminiscent of a ring around his neck. His pants were of the same color, and he wears a pair of boots along with it. During combat, he dons a Laminar armor over his uniform, with the gardbrace, breastplate, and vambrace embellished with similar, wing-like patterns.

Personality

Shiba is a cheerful old man who oftentimes does not act his age. Despite being an elderly, he is rather mischievous, and even childish at times. Shiba has a knack for crying anywhere and everywhere, and over the most trivial of things, too. But for all his lighthearted personality, Shiba gets serious when the time comes. As the first Rave Master, he bears a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, which gave him a good deal of wisdom, knowledge, compassion, and bravery. Shiba does not hesitate to throw himself on the line for those he wishes to protect from harm.

History

Throughout the series Shiba's past is developed further and further. Shiba was shown to have been originally from garage island and close friends with Botohn as well as "knowing everybody" on garage island. Having no interest in becoming a soldier for Symphonia he questioned why Botohn would want to become one. When Botohn's wife revealed to Shiba she was pregnant with Gemma Shiba went to the recruitment ship for the Symphonian army and challenged Botohn, only to beat him and replace his friend so that he may raise his unborn child.

As a common soldier Shiba was in awe of the big city at first and felt very out of place. At some point during this time Shiba was wounded in a battle against the Raregroove forces & had met Haru (who via a rip in time had accidentally travelled back in time). Thinking him a civilian he warns Haru to leave whilst his comrades made a tactical retreat, Haru however decided to stay and protect the masked soldier. Eventually having been carried to a safer location, Shiba removed his helmet and shocked Haru which prompted Haru's realisation of his time travel, as well as overwhelming emotions of seeing his old mentor one last time. Here Shiba recognised Haru's accent as being from garage island but questioned who he was (due to not recognising him), he commented on Haru's unusual silver hair (where by most islanders have genetically black hair) and mentioned it's similarity to the Symphonian king's hair. At this point time wound forward for Haru and Shiba ran off to join his comrades.

Shiba faces off against the last Dark Bring.

In the historic Symphonian War, Shiba Roses, through the aid of Plue and the immense mystical light powers of the Rave Stone, delivered the finishing blow to the last, and the mother Dark Bring. The Dark Bring collapsed, and Shiba began to leave, relieved the war had come to its conclusion. Plue, however, stayed behind, having sensed the remaining evil life-force within the Dark Bring. Realizing this a tad too late, Shiba turned in time to witness first-hand the legendary Overdrive. He broke down in tears when he saw that Plue had sacrificed himself to protect Shiba. As he wept for his old friend, the Rave began to shine, floated in midair, and broke down and scattered into different directions, disappearing indefinitely with Plue.

Synopsis

Intro arc

Fifty years into the past, Shiba finally puts a conclusion in the war against the Dark Brings. As he begins to leave, however, the Overdrive ensues.

Shiba mistakes Gemma for Botohn.

In the year 0066, Shiba returns to his hometown Garage Island, and mistakes Gemma, a coffee shop owner, to be his old friend, Botohn. When Gemma clears the misunderstandings, Shiba asks if Haru Glory is Gemma's son, which the latter denies. Over a cup of coffee given by Gemma, Shiba explains that he once lived in Garage Island, and terribly misses the place. He suddenly breaks down in tears. As Shiba proceeds to leave, Haru offers to keep him company, which greatly delights the old man.

As the two of them exit Cafe Tsubomi, Haru exclaims that his pet dog, Shabutarō, is missing, and produces a lollipop to lure Shabutarō out—something which Shiba finds quite odd. At this, an unknown man arrives and confronts Shiba, who says that he does not know what the man seeks. Haru demands the man pay up for the lollipop he had previously stepped on, but the stranger kicks Haru instead. Shiba rushes to Haru's side, but is pounded on the head by the stranger.

Shiba introduces himself.

Shiba exclaims in worry when Haru engages the stranger in battle, but is taken aback when Haru delivers a powerful blow on the man. He escapes, and drags Haru to the forest, where Shiba finally introduces himself to Haru. When Haru asks whom Shiba is hiding from, Shabutaro arrives, much to Shiba's surprise. Shiba reveals that he had been searching for Shabutarō—whose real name is Plue—for 50 years, and demands that Plue be given back to him to finally finish the war from 50 years ago. When Haru refuses, Shiba begins to recount his tale.

Shiba explains that the Dark Bring that had fled because of his carelessness, has awakened at last. In addition, the only thing capable of defeating the Dark Bring is the Rave, which Plue alone could locate. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Haru agrees to return Plue, which Shiba apologizes for. When Haru addresses him as a friend, Shiba confesses that he has not heard the word in so long, something which he cries over again.

Feber shoots Shiba.

At this point, the stranger from earlier appears again, demanding the Rave Stone. Shiba introduces him as a member of Demon Card—an organization which possesses the Dark Brings. The man confirms this, revealing his Dark Bring—a canon for his right arm. Shiba calls for Haru to take cover, and engages the Demon Card soldier in battle. As he is about to employ the power of Rave, Shiba realizes that Rave would not respond to him. Taking this chance, the man blasts through Shiba's torso with his canon.

After he collapses, he hands the Rave Stone to Haru, urging the lad to run as far away from the scene as possible. When Shiba sees how Haru, having engaged the Dark Bring-wielder in a brawl, is actually overpowering him and is displaying various, admirable traits, he realizes that the reason the Rave would not respond to him before is because Haru is the new Rave Master.

Immediately after the confrontation, Shiba is rushed to the Glory residence, where he recovers. After Feber's attack on the household, Plue rushes back to Shiba's side. He sits on the man, shakes his head so rapidly that the friction produces smoke, and eventually regains consciousness. Upon seeing that Haru confronts Feber without a weapon, Shiba gives the lad his sword, the Ten Commandments. Haru's lack of skills with the weapon, however, surprises Shiba, and as Feber defeats the him, Shiba worries that the Dark Bring is consuming Feber's heart. He tries to protect Cattleya from Feber's growing evil, but is kicked away instead.

When Haru successfully employs the Explosion sword despite his limited experience with it, Shiba is awe-stricken. He then explains the mechanism behind the Ten Commandments. As he compliments Haru, Shiba is shocked when the latter returns the sword, saying he couldn't leave the island. He profusely argues that Haru needs to be the next Rave Master, but when Haru remains unswayed, he begins to leave, disappointed.

The Ten Commandments shatters.

At some point later on, Shiba engages the Demon Card officer, Shuda, in an effort to protect the Rave stone. The ensuing battle leaves Shiba severely injured. When he regains consciousness, Shiba is surprised that Haru has driven Demon Card away. As they converse, the Ten Commandments, in its Eisenmeteor form shatters in Haru's hands. Recovering from his surprise, Shiba claims that the sword's old age has finally taken its toll. However, only the legendary blacksmith Musica can reforge it. At this, Shiba sets out to make a raft to go to the mainland, but collapses again.

Later on, when Haru sets sail for the mainland, Shiba receives Haru's letter, informing him of the latter's decision to bring down Demon Card, and asking the first Rave Master to watch over Garage Island in his stead.

Powers and Abilities

Master Swordsman: Though he is rarely shown in combat, flashbacks reveal that in his prime Shiba was an exceptionally skilled swordsman. Even before obtaining Rave Stones he was capable of effortlessly defeating several large groups of enemy soldiers, though his skills were still well below those of the Knights of the Blue Sky. After receiving the Rave Stones he was able to single-handedly turn the tide of the war, eventually leading Symphonia to victory. Even in his old age, he remained confident enough in his abilities to face several grunts from Demon Card, though he was outmatched after discovering that he was unable to use the Rave Stones. His abilities were best showcased during his fight with Haru, when he possessed the experience he had gained over fifty years and his body in its prime. During the fight he completely overwhelmed Haru, who, despite possessing considerable combat skills and the Decaforce sword spent the majority of the fight on the defensive. The fact that Shiba accomplished this using a seemingly ordinary sword (asides from being made to withstand great stress) further contributes to his amazing sword skills.

Enhanced Strength: Despite not showing much strength in his old age, during his fight with Haru, Shiba proved that in his prime, his sheer brute strength is among the top tier characters in the series. This is shown by the fact that Haru (who has faced numerous physical powerhouses) commented on the strength of his blows. Further supporting his status as a powerhouse is the fact that he was able to match a swing from Haru's Gravity Core sword, which is known for its enormous weight and destructive power.

Enhanced Speed: He also displayed an impressive level of speed during his fight with Haru, being able to keep up with the latter, and even put him on the defensive, despite Haru's own impressive speed (being able to cross large distances in an instant) being further enhanced and strengthened by Silfarion.

Former Equipment

Ten Commandments:

• Form 1 - Eisenmeteor:
• Form 2 - Explosion:
• Form 3 - Silfarion:
• From 4 - Rune Save:
• From 5 - Blue Crimson:
• From 6 - Mel Force:
• Form 7 - Gravity Core:
• From 8 - Million Suns:
• Form 9 - Sacrifar:
• Form 10 - Star Rever:

Rave Stones:

• Main Rave:
• Rave of Knowledge:
• Rave of Combat:
• Rave of Destiny:
• Rave of Truth:

Quotes

• (To himself) "This war is over. Maybe now, there can finally be peace."

Trivia

• Shiba was originally meant to died in the beginning of the story, but even with Haru and Plue going on a fun adventure, the author felt that it would've had a bad aftertaste.