Kuo Shenlin
Kuo Shenlin (郭神琳) is a Lily who attends Yurigaoka Girls' Academy. She is one of the commanders of Team Hitotsuyanagi.
History[edit | edit source]
Shenlin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, the daughter of two CHARM designers and the younger sister of three brothers. Once she was old enough to attend kindergarten, her family enrolled her in Yurigaoka Girls' Academy to prepare her to become a Lily, while her brothers remained in Taipei. Not long after that, her brothers were killed in a devastating attack by a single mysterious Huge that came from the ocean, and Taipei was abandoned as a fallen region[1].
During her junior high school years at Yurigaoka, Shenlin didn't have anyone who she could call a friend, though the instructor Yoshizaka Nagisa gave her emotional support[2].
Shenlin's lifelong goal, which she was especially fervent about in junior high school, has been to take Taipei back from the Huge. She once worked tirelessly to become an elite Lily, make herself captain or commander of a strong legion, and launch an expedition to Taipei as soon as she could.
Although Shenlin has never admitted this herself, Futagawa Fumi thinks she was hoping to become part of the first-generation Legion Álfheimr. While the legion was active, Shenlin was already a skilled and diligent Lily who was capable in every regard. However, she was by no means alone in that. The Lilies known as the "Three Princesses"—Ito Shizu, Tachihara Sayu, and Kudo Sakua—were every bit her equal.
It was obviously unlikely that Álfheimr, were it to recruit new members, would scout more than one commander. Sayu was the most natural pick for such a role, with talent on par with Shenlin's and Regista, the ideal Rare Skill for commanders. In time, Takegoshi Chihana received permission from the student council to take Sayu as her Schild, and she was invited to become a member of Álfheimr (though the legion dissolved before she formally did.) Although briefly depressed by being passed over, Shenlin set her mind to joining another legion.
Not long after this, the end of Shenlin's third year in junior high school approached—the time of year when each Garden's junior high reserve teams compete for the highest rating. This serves to measure the abilities of Lilies as they enter high school. Unlike when legions are formally rated, Gardens themselves normally choose Lilies to take part in the junior high reserve team evaluation, as if they were assembling a top legion.
During this particular year, the primary reserve team had already been formally graded as A-rank and was taking part in live combat missions such as destroying Caves. Yurigaoka also has rules for the Lilies they send to the competitive evaluation: they must be deemed physically and mentally capable of taking part in live combat. This disqualified Tachihara Sayu, who had recently been injured, and Ito Shizu, whose complex family situation had taken an emotional toll on her. Kudo Sakua had also recently decided to change her command style, making all of the Three Princesses unsuitable as commanders in Yurigaoka's view.
Shenlin was thus chosen to be part of the Yurigaoka reserve team, after which the St. Mercurius reserve team, commanded by Kaede Johan Nouvel, scored a higher grade than Yurigaoka's for the first time in history. Futagawa Fumi thinks it must have been quite the miserable experience for her[1].
Stage plays[edit | edit source]
At an unspecified point prior to the start of their first year of high school, Wang Yujia transferred out of Heimskringla and came to Yurigaoka, though she had not yet formally become a student. She met Shenlin, became friends with her, and the two of them requested to share a dorm room in high school[3].
In Assault Lily: League of Gardens, Shenlin agrees to be part of Riri's new legion when asked, and Yujia joins as well, the two fighting together at Riri's side. Shenlin is firm with Yujia when she fails to have confidence in herself, but also supportive of her.
Anime/game[edit | edit source]
Bouquet[edit | edit source]
Upon entering her first year of high school, Shenlin was assigned to be the roommate of Wang Yujia, a new transfer student from Heimskringla. She also became classmates with Hitotsuyanagi Riri.
In Assault Lily: Bouquet, Shenlin agrees to be part of Riri's new legion when asked. Riri invites Yujia at the same time, and when Yujia expresses uncertainty about whether she's good enough to be in a legion, Shenlin tells her that she shouldn't join if she lacks the confidence. Yujia immediately agrees to do as Shenlin says and decline the invitation. This upsets Riri, who insists on at least seeing what Yujia can do, whereupon Shenlin asks to choose the method with which Yujia can demonstrate her skill.
Shenlin instructs Yujia to snipe her from a kilometer away with ten shots, informing Shirai Yuyu that "if she's accurate, I can dodge"[4]. Encouraged by Riri, Yujia lands every shot, even compensating for the fierce wind. Shenlin then admits to Yuyu that she was jealous of Yujia's family reputation and talent, and upset by her lack of confidence. Both Lilies decide to join Team Hitotsuyanagi. Shenlin and Yujia then begin to grow closer to each other, with Yujia telling Shenlin that she was insensitive and never considered how Shenlin must feel after losing her home.
Last Bullet[edit | edit source]
Blue Strike of the Soulmates[edit | edit source]
I… very nearly squandered the words my brothers sacrificed themselves to give to me.
No longer will I lie to myself about how I feel.
Yujia-san. You are, and have always been—
My soulmate.—Kuo Shenlin, Blue Strike of the Soulmates, scene 4-3
When Shenlin hears of strange swarms of peaceful Huge descending upon Kyushu, she convinces Team Hitotsuyanagi to go there and aid the local naval garrison. Recognizing the similarity of events in Kyushu to her brothers' letters to her, Shenlin searches for the leviathan Huge that killed her brothers and attacks it alone, desperate for revenge. She is nearly killed by its counterattack and is saved by Yujia and Tazusa.
After regaining consciousness, Shenlin runs away to launch another desperate solo attack before the leviathan Huge devastates Kyushu with its massive laser, but Yujia finds her and begs her not to throw her life away. Shenlin remembers the final letter from her brothers, where they hoped she would live on and find her soulmate, and realizes that soulmate is Yujia. She vows to never leave Yujia's side again.
Using a particle cannon built by Moyu and their Rare Skills, Shenlin and Yujia disable the leviathan Huge's laser. Team Hitotsuyanagi finishes it off with the Neunwelt Tactic, saving Kyushu and avenging Shenlin's brothers together.
Combat Style[edit | edit source]
Shenlin normally fights from the TZ as the center of the formation. As a Testament user, Shenlin has weaker defenses than most Lilies. She trusts in the defensive capabilities of her Mazu Relic to keep her safe and often takes calculated risks in combat, such as shielding her legion members from attacks, or instructing Team Hitotsuyanagi to leave her exposed in order to lure the Huge in[5].
Family[edit | edit source]
Shenlin's father, Kuo Ruijie (郭睿澤), is a famous CHARM engineer who has become wealthy from his trade. He is still alive and in good health[2].
Shenlin's mother, Fu Yiran (符依然), is an Arsenal who has also invented her own CHARMs. She is still alive and in good health[2].
Shenlin's three older brothers—from oldest to youngest, Kuo Jiarui (郭嘉睿), Kuo Yuhang (郭宇航), and Kuo Haoyu (郭浩宇)—lived in the evacuation zone in Taipei, and were all killed there by a devastating Huge attack when she was still young herself[1].
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Shenlin's hobbies are writing poetry and reading. Her favorite literary genres are Chinese classics and books on strategy.
- Shenlin enjoys meat dishes, pasta, Japanese food, baths, and the gongfu tea ceremony.
- Shenlin dislikes people who lack confidence and are indecisive[6].
- Although heterochromia is a frequent characteristic of Boosted Lilies, in Shenlin's case, it is naturally occurring[2].
- Shenlin's height is given as 165 cm in most older sources and in the Special Feature on Radgrid, but on her Assault Lily: Last Bullet design sheet it's noted to be 163 cm.
- The characters in Shenlin's given name mean "divine" (神) and "jewel" (琳). Her surname, Kuo, literally means "city wall."
- Shenlin's surname may be a reference to the real-world architect Kaku Morin (The character 郭 is pronounced "Kuo" in Taiwanese and "Kaku" in Japanese.)
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Shenlin's original character design, by Yaegashi Nan -
Shenlin's design in Assault Lily: Bouquet -
Shenlin's design in Last Bullet -
Shenlin's character design sheet for Last Bullet
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assault Lily Setting Materials: Special Feature on Radgrid, pg. 13
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mentioned in Assault Lily: Lily's Time #12 (video archive unavailable.) Summarized by twitter user @kirarinmaiyuyu.
- ↑ @assault_lily twitter, March 14, 2020.
- ↑ Assault Lily: Bouquet episode 4
- ↑ Assault Lily: Last Bullet, Blue Strike of the Soulmates event story (scene 1-3)
- ↑ Assault Lily Setting Materials: Special Feature on Radgrid, pg. 12
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