Shigure

Officer Shigure is a minor character in the 07-Ghost anime and manga series. He is an officer in the Barsburg Military Academy and acts as an overseer of the Begleiter exam, but also has a hidden agenda of searching for potential candidates for the Eye of Mikhail. He makes an appearance in the pilot chapter: Begleiter.

Etymology
Shigure's name may come from the Japanese Shiratsuyu-class destroyer (Japanese battleship) of the same name.

The tenth month in the Japanese lunar calendar is called 'Shigurezuki'.

Physical appearance
Shigure is a rather unintimidating person. He is rather short, appearing almost two heads smaller than Ayanami, which puts him roughly at 5 foot 5 inches. His weight is unknown, but his build is very stocky. His jaw is strong making his face is almost a square, and he has a large, Roman nose, a large mouth with large lips, and eyes that are always seen closed. His skin is tanned with a yellowish tint. Shigure has maroon-coloured hair, parted in the middle with the bangs hanging over his forehead, and a pencil mustache of the same colour.

Clothing
Officer Shigure wears the standard military uniform: a black, or dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with golden trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck guard. He wears black trousers and knee-length, black, buckled boots and white gloves. It is thought that he wears a plain white shirt under his overcoat. He also has gold shoulder boards on his right shoulder and a small version of the Barsburg Military insignia over his left shoulder.

Personality
He appears to be optimistic, as he brightly remarks to Miroku that he (Shigure) heard the candidates were excellent. He can also been seen as cruel and sadistic, as he looks to be enjoying himself at the sight of the cadets being beaten, and laughs when he sees Shuri in trouble, mockingly commenting "and here's the heir to the honourable Oak family".

Relationships
Shigure freely chats with the other officers, suggesting he is on good terms with them. He politely welcomes Ayanami and talks with him calmly, not showing any signs of fear that others display, suggesting he has met and spoken to the Chief of Staff before.

Oak family
"Ha! And here's the heir to the honourable Oak family!"

- Shigure's scathing attack on the Oak family.

Shigure's thoughts on Shuri, and by extension the Oak family, are different in the anime and manga. In the manga, Shigure appears to think a lot of Shuri, saying "Shuri-kun is always so reliable" as Shuri gives his graduation speech, and says it's to be expected from the Oak family, suggesting he thinks highly of them. However, in the anime, Shigure shows a lack of respect for the Oak family, laughing and mocking the Oaks as Shuri panics during the exam.

History
Little is known of Shigure's past other than he is an exam overseer at the Military academy. It is likely that he went to a similar academy when he was younger, and he appeared to have worked at there for a while, as he was shown to be familiar with Miroku and the officers around him.

His secret agenda, scouting for potentional Eye of Mikhail candidates, suggests he has risen to be a very high ranking officer, as only a select few soldiers know of the circumstances surrounding the Eye of Mikhail.

Begleiter exam
"Shuri-kun is always so reliable. I'd expect no less from the son of the noble Oak family."

- Shigure

Shigure is first see watching the assembly and the graduation speech, and he talks to Lloyd about the candidates, saying that he heard the candidates this year were very good.

Shigure is later seen in the examination room, waiting outside the area, where he watches team A take the exam. When he spots the Black Hawks approaching he welcomes Ayanami, possibly being the one who invited him.

In the anime, Shigure is speaking to Ayanami when Teito attacks him. In the manga, Shigure is not present when this happens.

Post-Begleiter exam
It is unknown what happened to Shigure after Teito's escape, as his job was to scout for potential candidates for the Eye of Mikhail, and Teito has it. In the Begleiter chapter, his job was to assign cadet begleiters to their superior officers, so he could have done this to the remaining students. As he has not been seen since the first episode/chapter, his status is unknown.

Teito's assassination attempt
In the anime, Shigure is present when Teito attempts to kill Ayanami. In the manga, he is not there.

Early 07-Ghost
An early version of Shigure appears in the second pilot chapter, Begleiter. He was entrusted with the cadet begleiters, and 'punished' Yukinami for arriving late by putting him under Ayanami's supervision. He then shouts at the other cadets for throwing Yukinami in the air in excitement.