Shun is one of the Bronze Saints. He is arguably one of the strongest characters in the series, although his gentle disposition and kind nature tend to hold him back from using his full power, until he is forced to do so. Shun is also the younger brother of Phoenix Ikki, a fellow bronze saint. Shun is the Purest soul and Chosen One.
Storyline
Perhaps the most reluctant of the Bronze Saints when a situation must be resolved by violence, Shun is the official Bronze Saint of the Andromeda constellation. He is a merciful soul by nature, and a firm believer in solving problems without causing bloodshed. This creates a sharp contrast between himself and the rest of the Saints: Whereas they will not hesitate to battle when the situation demands it, Shun only allows himself to fight if it's an absolute necessity, or when his almost endless patience wears out. When this is the case, Shun can become an extremely skilled and deadly fighter.
Shun is portrayed rather weak in the first 4 movies and the anime-only 'Asgard' arc: In almost every fight scene, he is almost always defeated, and needs his brother Ikki to rescue him except against Mizar Zeta Syd, the one time Shun defeated a foe in either of the first 4 movies or the 'Asgard' anime-only story. This has led to a misconception among certain fans that Shun is a 'weakling', but it is important to remember that these stories were not written by Masami Kurumada and therefore are not canonical, and are out of Kurumada's true continuity and plot.
However, in the 'Sanctuary', 'Poseidon' and 'Hades] storylines of the original manga (which were written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada), Shun is shown as a competent and tough, if unwilling, fighter and opponent. In 'Sanctuary', he manages to hold his own against Gemini Saga, and even manages to kill Pisces Aphrodite, both of them Gold Saints. In the Poseidon arc, he acquits himself very well, defeating Io, the Southern Pacific Mariner Scylla Io, and Siren Sorento, the Southern Atlantic Mariner General of Siren. In the Hades arc, he manages to dispatch various opponents, like hurting Cerberus. His kindness also lets Acheron Charon abandon the attack and his sorrow distracts Balron Lune unintentionally so Gemini Kanon|Kanon can mind control Lune. He is the second of the Bronze Saints to achieve his God Cloth. As a result, he comes off looking much better in these arcs than in the movies or 'Asgard'; though he may be adverse to fighting, he will fight when he is required to, and is just as powerful or skilled as any of the other main Bronze Saints.
Techniques and abilities
To fight, Shun normally relies on the Andromeda chain, as he does not want to use his full power because he does not want to kill the opponents. During the Sanctuary Arc, Shun awoke the 7th sense in his fights against the Gold Saints. Although a reluctant fighter, Shun is one of Kurumada's characters with the larger technique arsenals at his disposal.
His known techniques are:
- Nebula Chain: The Andromeda Saint's signature technique which allows him to manipulate the chains of his Cloth however he pleases. At the most basic, the Nebula Chain is a straight-forward attack where the chains rapidly slice and wrap themselves around the enemy. This attack can be improved by using the Thunder Wave of the chain.
- Nebula Stream: A defensive attack that links directly to Shun's Cosmo. It entangles the foe with streams of the Andromeda cosmos in an attempt to paralyze them. As Shun becomes more determined to use his true power, the stream will eventually transfigure into the Nebula Storm technique.
- Nebula Storm: By the time Shun has chosen to execute it, his Cloth and chains are abandoned (either voluntarily or destroyed by his opponent) to allow him full access to his cosmos. The attack is dispelled as a single burst from the summit of Shun's Cosmo. Because of its extreme destructive nature, Shun will only use it as a last resort.
