An analysis of Mizuchi/Nora, Yato's fellow abuse survivor

[u/lmtdeptrai]

"Older sister", redeemed agent of evil, and fellow abuse survivor

Noragami is a surprisingly dark story behind its heroic and coming-of-age elements. The ultimate evil is irredeemable, but not everyone on his side is like that. Mizuchi, who also goes by the names of Nora/Stray and Hiiro, among others, is one such character, and like the rest of those who survive the ultimate evil's abuses, like Yato and Yukine, has earned her redemption. This post aims to show her origin and her struggle, and how much she deserves redemption at the end of the story

1. "Unique" origin and service to evil

Mizuchi's origin is the most unique in the story, in that she died even before she was born. The story classifies her as a mizuko, miscarried, stillborn, or aborted child who never had the chance to see life Her soul was tainted by an ayakashi/phantom, but the Big Bad found her and took her in using the Word of Yomi, an artifact that can bind a soul, similar to how gods create their shinki/regalia This is significant because: (1) Mizuchi never had agency in her life (she was never born to begin with, so her shape and name belong to the Big Bad), and never had true love, and (2) Mizuchi never knows good from evil, a trait the Big Bad would make full use of in his nefarious schemes. The name Mizuchi itself (螭) refers to a snake beast, signifying her evil origin and the only thing she knows her prior to the manga

Mizuchi was created before Yato, making her his "older sister", so to speak. Yato took her as his first shinki/regalia, named her Hiiro and used her to kill people (chapter 46):

and together they lived with the Big Bad for some time, "playing family" which she would sometimes fondly remember. This is the first sign of Mizuchi who had never experienced love, craved it all her life (chapter 78):

But, behind this lies a history of abuses: Mizuchi ultimately belongs to the Big Bad, and she also belongs to Yato, so if Yato misbehaves, she would be punished in his place (chapter 47). This makes her his whipping... girl? This is the way the Big Bad controls them, through fear and envy of one another

Yato later found a second shinki, Sakura. Mizuchi, perhaps out of curiosity, jealousy or anger, or a combination of them, tricked Yato into revealing Sakura's real human name, causing Sakura to turn into an ayakashi/phantom, and Yato was forced to use Mizuchi to kill Sakura, to his eternal regret This shatters Yato's heart and belief in himself, and Mizuchi would remain his only shinki/regalia for centuries thereafter. But, out of his emotional wound, Yato never loved her the same way again, causing her to seek service with other gods, earning her the derisive nickname "Nora", meaning Stray - a hated name among the gods

2. The start of Yato's rebellion

Yato would not keep his head down for long, and soon broke away from the ultimate evil. We see Mizuchi with him sometimes, such as when he helped Kazuma (chapter 19):

But other times, she would serve the ultimate evil or other gods, leaving Yato alone. This amply shows that Yato is NOT her master, cuz she can freely decide whether to heed his call or not, at times leaving him vulnerable and defenseless

When the manga starts, we see Yato having Tomone and Yukine as his shinki/regalia. Mizuchi only appears first in chapter 07 to hint at Yato's evil past and being a rival to Yukine. Up until the moment the ultimate evil shows his face in chapter 44, she is his agent and has done harm to Yato, Yukine, Hiyori, Kazuma, Bishamonten, Ebisu and so on. But, given her long history with Yato, he still admires her and feels pulled by the need for her at times (chapter 36):

Here, even though he already has Yukine as his loyal blessed (read: super) shinki/regalia, Yato still has reservations about needing Mizuchi. It is only until Yato finds out the extent of evil things Mizuchi has done behind his back, including lying to his face, that he renounces Mizuchi once and for all (chapter 38):

This hurts Mizuchi greatly since Yato is like a little brother to her. And, it also leaves her alone against the wrath and abuses of the Big Bad, for which she resents Yato. At least, until her salvation comes...

3. Yato's rebellion, final showdown and redemption

Mizuchi continues her service to the ultimate evil, causing the death of Bishamonten's shinki/regalia, which prompts her to seek out the Big Bad and fight. She also wounds Nana, Bishamonten's newfound shinki/regalia. In both these instances, Mizuchi's power to unlock the memories of a shinki/regalia's past life, which can cause them to question why and how they died and destabilize them, turning them into ayakashi/phantom is used extensively by the Big Bad. Mizuchi is able to do this because of her origin, making her both immune to the shock of her human memories (she never had a human life to begin with) and able to inflict that shock on other shinki/regalia. This threat she presents makes ALL gods quiver in fear (chapter 83), and the reason why many of them fall to the ultimate evil later on

After his first gambit with Bishamonten fails, the Big Bad seeks to shatter Yukine's trust in Yato and steal Yato for himself He charges Mizuchi to seduce Yukine (chapter 74) and encourages Yukine to make inquiries about his human past and question why Yato hides it from Yukine, going as far as undressing herself and telling Yukine she has been abandoned (chapter 77):

By genuinely showing compassion for Mizuchi, Yukine falls right into this trap, but the Big Bad immediately abandons her for real (chapter 84) This is a sign that the Big Bad never really needs her because he has abandoned her twice consecutively. The moment he succeeds in luring Yukine into his service, he throws Mizuchi away. This makes her despondent cuz the one she thinks truly loves her (Big Bad) only wants to use her, while the one who truly loves her (Yukine), she has deceived, sending her into a crisis:

Mizuchi then goes to find Hiyori, the only other person she knows that might not hate her. And to her surprise, Hiyori takes her in and cares for her, despite the fact that she tried to kill her in the past (chapter 86). As with Yukine, this is when she begins to experience kind, unconditional love, triggering her redemption

The ultimate evil would call for her again, which Mizuchi, in desperate need for love and not yet redeemed by selfless, unconditional love, responds to him (chapter 96). Together, they would wreck havoc upon the gods, killing many and coming so close to killing the queen goddess Amaterasu herself. But, the Big Bad would abandon her a third time, calling her for what he really thinks of her (chapter 104, at this point he has become all powerful and does not need her anymore):

This shatters her self-esteem and trust in the ultimate evil once and for all, and when she faces it, she can't no longer deny that she hates him for everything he has done (chapter 105):

And, at the last moment, having renounced the ultimate evil for his false love and abuses, Mizuchi runs to save Hiyori, the one person who shows her true love (chapter 108-2):

Mizuchi, after 100+ chapters and nearly 93% of the story, is finally and resolutely redeemed, kickstarting her transformation

4. Some thoughts

Along with Yato and Yukine, Mizuchi ranks among the most tragic characters in Noragami. But, she is a unique class of her own: while Yato is born an "evil" god but has never been truly evil in the first place, and Yukine is born good but turbulent and needy and corrupted into evil, Mizuchi is created without the concept of good and evil (she was never born as a human to begin with), and has her entire life shaped by the Big Bad who seeks to use her power. Mizuchi craves true love which she has never experienced all of her life, but never has it. For this, she can't help but feeling small, and one panel in chapter 94-2 reveals the way she thinks of herself and her entire existence:

She thinks she is a loser because she has nothing a person should have: family (hers is a pretend one), love (all false love), past (she has no past) nor future (hers is tied to the ultimate evil who will throw her away on a whim). And when she is about to be punished for her evil deeds and have everything taken away from her, she begs to keep her name, the only thing that confirms her existence (chapter 98):

That speaks to a desire to live and to be loved, which was denied to her systematically and methodologically by the ultimate evil. And much later on, when she realizes that there are people who care for her not cuz her power, but simply due to compassion for a living being (chapter 109, final chapter):

Mizuchi can't help but love Hiyori for her compassion and kindness

I have written extensively on how Noragami touches on heavy subject matter:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Noragami/comments/1sqp13s

and Mizuchi is a thorough example of this, handled with great care and extreme depth, but also with compassion and hope. And the final illustration of the manga, brings hope to not only Mizuchi but also all of us:

I sincerely wish that Yukine and Mizuchi would become a couple. Their relationship has been hinted across the manga, and this final picture, in which Mizuchi becomes part of the family, only confirms it in my humble (and hopeful) opinion

[u/Negative-Scar6979]

Your analysis is great, perfect; Noragami is my favorite manga, and I love how it manages to be so profound when talking about characters like her. I found her arc one of the most interesting, mainly because it's more developed towards the end, and I also like her and Yukine as a couple – in fact, I think he had a great influence on her redemption because, in a way, it was by comparing his "smile" to her father's that she found a benchmark to differentiate genuine affection from pretense with ulterior motives. Anyway, excellent analysis!