Zenless Zone Zero Miyabi: Cursed Blade? What is a HERO?

Miyabi, the youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu, comes from the famous Hoshimi family, and recently Zenless Zone Zero has released a new animated short film about Hoshimi Miyabi - "The Path to Becoming a Hero" - which tells the story of Miyabi's childhood. Let's take a look at the short film and analyze where Miyabi's power comes from!

Hoshimi Miyabi has mentioned in an interview that "as the Chief of H.S.O.S. 6., the goal is to establish an order for New Eridu that defies hollow disasters." And this ambition was set in Miyabi's mind as early as his childhood, and successive generations of family heirs may have had to walk through this gallery to gain inspiration from their ancestors. When faced with Miyabi's vow to destroy all the bad guys, her mother shows a hint of surprise in her expression and warns her that the essence of a hero is to protect, not destroy. This also corresponds to Miyabi's biography: The Chief of H.S.O.S.6. is now responsible for guarding the principles and order of New Eridu.

Miyabi took her mother's teachings to heart. In fact, her mother didn't want Ya to take on this responsibility, she just wanted Ya to be able to live out her life in peace." Because the path to becoming a hero, often comes with losses that can't be undone..." The mother's heartfelt sentiment shows that she may also have an unspeakable past, which may be the Hoshimi family's inescapable destiny.

There is a detail where the viewer comes behind the mother and realizes that the headdress she is wearing is the same headdress Miyabi is wearing nowadays, a relic that Miyabi wears at all times, as a token of the daughter's grief for her mother and as a reminder of her own mother's teachings.

2. Miyabi's Childhood

The camera pans back to Miyabi's childhood, where Miyabi, still a toddler, picks out a wooden blade in One-Year-Old Catch. Despite her young age, she was already proficient in the art of blade fighting. Miyabi is documented as having a shelf full of weapon collections. Her interest in blades was innate, it was in the "blood" of the Hoshimi family.

The clan appreciates Miyabi's choice of wooden blades and exclaims that Miyabi has hopes of being recognized by "Ethereal-Slaying Katana: 'Tailless'", and that Miyabi has been identified as the most promising heir to the Hoshimi family.

However, in East Asian culture, the "One-Year-Old Catch" is held at the age of one year, and at only one year old, Miyabi was recognized by the entire clan. This expectation may stem from the Hoshimi Miyabi's bloodline. At the same time, the drawings of Hoshimi family conceal the fact that the "Ethereal-Slaying Katana: 'Tailless'" does not recognize each of the heads of the family, but is always in a sealed state.

Amidst the laughter of the clan, only Miyabi's parents look unusual. They may have known the secret of the cursed blade, but Miyabi's interest in blades made them realize the worst. In her heart, her mother did not want Miyabi to walk on the tip of a blade, but only wanted her to live a normal and happy life.

For this reason, Miyabi is currently given wooden blades that are more likely to break when she practices. When training, Miyabi is prevented from touching the blades on the weapon rack. Here both mother and young Miyabi can lift a sledgehammer with one hand, and it seems that super strength is a genetic factor in the Hoshimi family.

Miyabi's intelligence is also evident in his training of etiquette, horseback riding, qin playing, archery, calligraphy, and arithmetic. These six skills are the six arts advocated by Confucianism, and have traditionally been the talents that must be mastered by a gentleman.

The training is both her responsibility as the heir to the Hoshimi family and a memory of the time she spent with her mother. This also explains why Miyabi is obsessed with her strange training, and Yanagi can't find Miyabi anywhere in the streets of New Eridu, probably because her heart is closer to her mother when she is in a state of total devotion to her training. Behind the nonsensical training is a deep longing for her mother.

As Miyabi grew up, her mother became more worried about Miyabi's grip on the blade. She doesn't even allow her to use the fruit knife and purposely breaks the melon. The previously gentle mother seems a bit anxious, as she has probably seen first-hand what it means to unseal the cursed blade.

As they look out at the night view of Eridu, accompanied by the fireworks, their mother looks forward to Miyabi growing up as an ordinary person who will blend in with the lights of the city. At this moment, her mother wants nothing more than to be with her for a long time.

3. Tragedy is when the Best Things are Shattered

Miyabi's eyes had barely closed when the dull, cozy days came to an end. Eridu was caught in a flash of bloody fire.

The Hoshimi family was not spared from this unprecedented catastrophe, and when Miyabi opened her eyes again, Ether crystals had grown on her mother's face. This symptom was similar to that of Pompey, who was assassinated by Lucius, and was a precursor to Ethereal.

Her mother solemnly hands Miyabi the cursed blade, the first and last time she will let Miyabi hold it.

Miyabi's tears wept, and the moment they dripped onto the blade, a dark flame rose. Remarkably, in just a moment, the Ether crystals on her mother's face expand rapidly to show that the symptoms of Ethereal cannot be delayed, and that she must make a choice now. The mother smiles and asks Miyabi to close her eyes, this is the last goodbye, she doesn't want Miyabi to see her dying, Miyabi refuses to close her eyes despite her tears. Miyabi refuses to close her eyes, despite her tears. This is the first time that Miyabi, who has always been a good girl, has ever refused to let go of her favorite sword just because her mother asked her to.

The blade of "Ethereal-Slaying Katana: 'Tailless'" reflects the approaching Ethereal, and her mother is equally unwilling to turn herself into a skeleton in front of Miyabi. Even though her heart is filled with sadness and reluctance, she simply holds Miyabi and says her last words, "This is... our last training..." and "Mom loves you... Always". In the end, her mother's final gesture of taking the blade out of Miyabi's hand and not letting her carry her demons is the last gentle gesture she gives to Miyabi.

The "Ethereal-Slaying Katana: 'Tailless'" awakens and Miyabi goes into an emotional frenzy, transforming into a bloody shadow that mercilessly kills the enemies in front of her. The soundtrack reaches its climax with a female soprano singing the Japanese phrase "Must go forward". One detail worth mentioning is that her mother told Miyabi to memorize the names of all her people. In an earlier episode, Miyabi's conversation with Zhu Yuan mentioned that Miyabi was practicing the practice of remembering the names of her classmates throughout the year by using their photos. In retrospect, behind all of these past strange episodes, Miyabi's thoughts of her mother abound.

So Miyabi must have known exactly what the Ethereal she killed with each swing of her sword looked like in life. Since then, Miyabi has been carrying the name of her predecessor, and only by finding the culprit who caused the fall of Eridu will she be able to comfort the souls of all her people.

In the blood light, the tail gradually falls off, which corresponds to the name "Ethereal-Slaying Katana: 'Tailless'", and it seems that the Hoshimi family, who are Thirens, do not have a tail, which may be hidden deep inside their hearts. The fact that the tail, which symbolizes the feelings of the heart, has fallen off may mean that they have to cut off their seven emotions and six desires in order to awaken the cursed blade. Miyabi's mother is guarded against the idea of Miyabi holding the blade, but the first person Miyabi kills after holding the blade is his own mother.

The footage of Miyabi's berserk rampage is very close to the painting shown in the gallery at the beginning, which is very similar to the painting, which shows the heroism of his predecessors, but the color tone is very tyrannical and cruel. So it's likely that all the previous heads of the family had seen what Miyabi is seeing now when they drew their blades. This is the lingering destiny of the Hoshimi family.

4. Hero

The scene changes and Miyabi easily decapitates Ethereals. The rescued girl longs to be a hero like Miyabi. In the face of the girl's words, "the bullet from years ago hits the young girl squarely in the eyebrow".

Miyabi doesn't smile or encourage the girl, she clearly understands the cost of being a hero. But Miyabi didn't deny the girl's wish either. The scene in front of her eyes made Miyabi see herself once upon a time, when she too was living a carefree life in her mother's arms.

Half of the story of H.S.O.S.6. has already passed, and the members all have tragic pasts: Yanagi from the war, Harumasa from nightmares and sickness, Soukaku from famine, and Miyabi from the death of her mother. The experiences of the four are like those of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Pestilence, Famine and Death.

The plot of Section 6 is like a manga with a lot of twists and turns, and the future of the four will be shaped by their will. Rely on yourself and your companions to overcome the curse of fate.