Miki Kuroda (黒田美樹 Kuroda Miki?) simply better known as Miko (巫女 Miko?), was a supporting character in the anime series of Devilman Crybaby. Miko is part of the running track team along with Akira Fudo and Miki Makimura of Kamigaku High School. She is later changed into a Devilman due to the jealousy she felt of her own teammate, Miki, but was able to retain her humanity and fight alongside Akira.
Appearance
Miko was of average height for a teenager and had a slim figure, including a large bust. While she had long auburn hair that she usually kept loose and occasionally had tied in a ponytail.
After her transformation into a Devilman, Miko gains a sturdier, curvier figure, with large breasts. Her hair gained a dark auburn color now pulled back in a braided ponytail style, and her eyebrows that look thick and assertive, which change in her personality. Her skin tone also becomes of a darker shade.
After becoming a Devilman, Miko has gained spider-like form and features. Her Skin tone has now darkened and her eyes split into four, her plaited hair spikes up and large mandibles form around her mouth. Her chest twist round to her back and chest extend into spikes, she has four long and twisted legs with spikes protruding from them and a large thorax at the back.
Personality
At the beginning of the series, Miko had a kindhearted personality and showed respect and kindness to her childhood friends, Akira and Miki. But deep down, she had a deep jealousy of Miki due to her being better than her in track and outshining her. Even the nickname Miko felt like a burden as anyone who used her given name would confuse or mistake her for Miki Makimura. She also had a unquenched sexual thirst and found herself attracted to both Akira and photographer Koji Nagasaki, who crudely seduced her during a photoshoot. She passionately watered the flowers outside her home daily, which brought her to the attention of Kukun, who she quickly tragically only briefly made a few close friends with and may or not may had liked back after his heartfelt rap. After his death she kept his distinctive glasses to mourn him. She also seems to have a strained relationship with her grandmother, resenting being called Miki by her due to her resentment of Miki.
After becoming a Devilman, Miko became arrogant, brash and even quite tomboyish, blinded by the desire to beat Miki no matter what. Her sexuality would reakened even more and she found herself taking joy in exerting her power and humiliating other girls. She also became negligent and even stopped watering her flowers, to the point where they would dry up. The influence of her transformation as well as the subsequent mass chaos unleashed by demons being made public by Ryo eventually became so extreme that she was able to callously kill of an old man threatening her at gunpoint into having sex with him, while continuing to have sex with his corpse after crushing his head with her barehands. The death of her grandmother during this time period also had little visible effect on her demeanor.
However, after reacquainting herself with both Moyuru Koda and Akira Fudo, she would begin to act more like her old former self, helping to treat Akira when he was injured, repairing her relationship with Miki and even begging for Miki's life to be spared until her very last moments. She would additionally question her attackers perspective on good, justice and humanity before shooting herself with one of their weapons to deprive them of the chance to do do it kill her.
Abilities
Before becoming a Devilman, Miko was place in third in the Track and Field Club, and everyday after school or on weekends, she would practice her running everyday.
After becoming a Devilman, just like Akira and Koda, Miko's body was enhanced giving her superhuman abilities, such speed, agility, endurance, and strength. In her Devilman form, she can jump and use her sharp claws for combat.
History
Miki Kuroda has been friends with Miki Makimura and Akira Fudo ever since their childhood. However, as the three got older, Miki got better at the track and field and got overshadowed by Makimura, she gained the nicknamed Miko to differentiate between two. however In high school, as still part of the track and field team as the third best runner, the comparisons she had with Miki caused some bad tension that Miko had kept to herself.
Trivia
- Miko's nickname comes from the manga character named Mikiko Kawamoto, who made a cameo role at the end of the of Devilman Crybaby series. However her actual name, Miki Kuroda, originally belongs to a character from the Go Nagai manga Susanoo.
- Her personality, sexuality and overall character seems to be strongly indicative of Aoi Kurosaki from the Devilman Lady manga series, who likely served as a basic for her.
- Before her transformation, Miko was usually seen watering Snapdragons, which was the symbolize both graciousness and deception/concealment; referring to how she doesn't seem to mind always being second to Miki, but however deep down she is actually resentful of never being able to surpass her, while the withering of these flowers can be interpreted as the loss of her initial virtue due to her jealousy and Devilman transformation as well as her eventual overcoming of her jealousy when she and Miki reconcile.
- With her having Kukun's glasses in her purse and the scenes of his dismembered hand being shown around scenes of her at home moving about dispassionately despite even her own grandmother being dead, it is implied Kukun was killed by Miko at some point due to her transformation, leaving her in possession of his glasses as a means to commemoration him, just as Moyuru Koda keeps his lover Junichi's necklace as a keepsake after killing him while not in control of his demonic side.
Gallery
