Raised from a young age to be a song maiden whose job was to bring courage to warriors on the battlefield, her human emotions had withered away. But the cries and suffering of the people brought a change to her.
Shiho is an Einherjar from Valkyrie Profile. She is a Sorceress and can be recruited in Chapter 5 or 6.
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| Shiho | |
| Japanese: | 詩帆 |
| Romaji: | SHIHO |
| Race: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 21 |
| Title: | Song-Maiden |
| Class: | Sorceress |
| Weapon: | Staff |
| Purify Weird Soul: | Great Magic |
| Homeland: | Hai-Lan |
| Appears In: | Valkyrie Profile Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth |
| Voice Actors: |  Yuri Shiratori Tara Jayne
|
Background
Born blind, but gifted with a beautiful voice, Shiho was destined to be a song-maiden for the Hai-Lan troops. Her songs gave the warriors courage and inspired them for battle, but some feared her power as witchcraft or blamed her when a campaign did not succeed. Having spent the greater part of her life on the battlefield, she had grown inured to its hardships and suffering, perhaps never really realizing the true nature of her role. However, one day, after an unsuccessful battle, a widow asked her how many men had died because of her. This affected her deeply, despite her commander's reassurances that her songs caused soldiers to stop fearing death, and thus, even if they died, it was with honour. The next battle she participated in opposed the Hai-Lan army and the Hundred Demon samurai troupe. The odds were initially in Hai-Lan's favour. However, still thinking about the widow's words, Shiho suddenly realized that she was effectively encouraging people to kill and stopped singing. Her superiors panicked and tried to threaten her into resuming her song, coming to blows when they realized she would not obey. The tide of the battle quickly turned, and the Hai-Lan army retreated, leaving Shiho for dead.
As he scouted the battlefield, Suo, one of the Hundred Demons, found her lying on the platform she used to sing from. Puzzled at her behaviour, he asked her why she had stopped singing. As she asked him what red looked like, he realized that she was blind. She said that life as a song-maiden was all she had ever known, but wondered if it was such a terrible thing for her to wish she could see. Her words moved Suo, and he asked her what she would desire instead of being a song-maiden. Desperate at what she had caused, she replied that she wanted to die. However, Suo could not bring himself to kill her and carried her back to his camp instead.
After she had recovered, Suo brought her to his commander, either to persuade him to use her as their own song-maiden or as a hostage. The commander was impressed by Shiho's beauty, but, deeming her too dangerous to be left alive, swiftly killed her. Shocked, Suo demanded an explanation, to which his commander replied that Shiho deserved no mercy, since she caused the death of so many of his soldiers, and that she must have bewitched Suo if he had ever considered sparing her. Moved by Shiho's plight, Lenneth recruited her.
Battle
Shiho is a decent Sorceress, even though she lacks by comparison with the likes of Lorenta, Mystina or Lyseria. She comes with a good selection of restorative and defensive spells, and may thus serve as a good source of healing and support for the party. However, she has no innate attack magic, so it is a good idea to remedy that if you want to maximize her usefulness. She will join your party with a Ruby Mace, Tiara, Cloak and Leather Boots. Her Familiar is a parrot.
Initial Spells
Elemental Tolerance
| Darkness | Fire | Holy | Ice | Lightning | Poison |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 50% | 100% | 25% | 25% | 50% |
Purify Weird Soul
As Shiho is a Sorceress, her PWS will vary depending on her assigned attack spell and her weapon. She will either cast the same spell three times in a row or use Great Magic, if her staff has that property. She will say "Evil has no place in this world!" before using it.
Traits
- Beauty
- Graceful
- Sickly
- Yearning
- Elegant
- Maternal
- Blind
- Nondrinker
Recruitment
Shiho is one of the characters whose recruitment is randomized. She may appear in Hai-Lan in Chapter 5 or 6, on all difficulties.
Transfer
Shiho's starting hero value is a rather high -22 (in the PSP version which includes all traits it's -33). As a Sorceress, she may meet the requirements for Chapter 7.
Etymology
Shiho is a common Japanese name, but the spelling used by the game is an uncommon one, composed of the characters 詩 (poem)[1] and 帆 (sail)[2]. The combination may then be something akin to "sailing poem", as a reference to the beauty or the flowing quality of Shiho's song.
Trivia
- Shiho is voiced by the same actress as Nanami, Yumei, Llewelyn, Celia, Lemia and Claire.
- Upon first meeting Suo, Shiho asks him what red looks like, which could be a symbolic reference to her being unable to see the blood she had caused to spill. Suo expresses similar concerns about being unable to see the blood on his red armour during his own recruitment sequence[3], which is fitting, since both their character arcs revolve around realizing how much death they have caused.
- Sending both Shiho and Suo to Asgard during Chapter 7 may result in a short additional scene between them during the Sacred Phase[4] which implies that Suo has developed feelings for her. He tells her that he is overjoyed to see her again and will protect her from then on. You will not be able to see this if you are aiming for Ending A.