Summary
A sadistic psychopath and cold-blooded killer affiliated with the Mugai-ryū, Shira finds sexual gratification in the torture and murder of his victims, particularly young women. He is responsible for the death of O-Ren, a close friend of Magatsu Taito. An attempted ambush on Anotsu goes awry, leading Shira to brutally mutilate his attackers with the saw-blade side of his sword. When he attempts to rape and dismember a prostitute accompanying them, Rin intervenes but is slapped away. Manji arrives and severs Shira's hand before the killer flees. The trauma of this encounter causes his hair to turn stark white, and he amputates flesh from his injured arm to sharpen the bones into spikes. Consumed by an obsession with revenge against Manji, Shira betrays his Mugai-ryū comrades, resulting in the death of Shinriji. This vendetta leads to a battle with Magatsu Taito, who had been traveling with Manji specifically to track Shira down. The fight further cripples Shira by costing him his remaining hand. He is later imprisoned in the same facility as Manji, where he is given a specific list of opponents he must face before being permitted to fight Manji, which includes Magatsu. Shira reveals he has lost an eye and possesses a new "weapon," which is actually Manji's lost arm, along with bloodworms. He wields a ninja-to named Hotosogi, which features a saw edge on one side of the blade. He typically uses the standard edge to immobilize opponents by severing their legs, then employs the saw-blade to inflict maximum pain by cutting off other body parts. The name Hotosogi translates to "woman shadow eraser," but the kanji for woman and shadow together also signify vagina, reflecting his sadistic nature. Shira first appears in Dark Shadows part 2 and is first named in Dark Shadows part 3.
