Ajin (亜人, Demi-Human) are the main species of the series. They are very like humans except for the fact that they are immortal and can summon IBMs.
Overview
Seventeen years before the beginning of the series, the Ajin were first discovered in Africa, when a soldier fighting on the battlefields rose from the dead countless times.[1] This earned him the name "Soldier of God (神の兵 Kami no Hei?)", and he soon became famous throughout the country he was fighting in. When word got out, an American government organization captured him and confirmed his immortality. While they tried to suppress this information from the public, it was simply too big, and it quickly became public knowledge.
There are no known method to discern Ajin from humans apart from them dying. However, it's possible for one Ajin to discover another Ajin if that person sees IBM. It is also possible for Ajin to make their Black Ghost visible to humans when Ajin feel extreme emotions such as rage and bloodlust.[2]
Abilities and Powers
Immortality
The defining trait of all Ajin is their immortality. They are unable to die under any circumstances, such as being completely crushed, decapitated, or even due to malnutrition. The exact mechanism of this is unknown but Ikuya Ogura suggested that the only way it is possible would be because they possess an unknown matter in their body which replaces any body tissues or nutrient lost. They only begin to heal after dying or "resetting" otherwise their injuries will not heal immediately and will only heal at a natural rate. Ajin's wounds begin healing immediately after a revival and only takes a few seconds. This immortality doesn't heal physical deformities that the user was born with however, as shown in Okuyama's case. This reinforced the statement that Ajin always return to their original state, even if that state is not 100% functional.
It was shown that if the head is far enough away a new head will grow. The old head will be concious of what is going on. The new head will have all the memories and personality of the person but technically the old head will have “died” this is the closest known way an Ajin can come to death.
Paralyzing Scream
Ajin can also use a paralyzing scream that seizes the nervous system, paralyzing everyone in their immediate vicinity (its range is still unknown). Researchers think that this is a type of thanatosis reflex, which is why it works better on people who don't know about Ajin. Its effects on the affected person can also be neutralized by the user if he/she wishes to (as in the case of Nagai and Kaito). However, this is easily countered by wearing ear plugs or other noise dampeners.[3]
Invisible Black Matter
- Main article: Invisible Black Matter
Theorised by Ogura to be the main cause of the Ajin's powers, all Ajin shown so far possess Invisible Black Matter (インビジブルブラックマター Inbijiburu Burakku Matā?) which cannot be seen by normal humans. This matter is what allows the Ajin to replace any lost body tissues or nutrients, but there is a more lethal way in which it can be used. Created using the IBM, a Black Ghost (黒い幽霊 Kuroi Yūrei[4]) is an entity which is manifested by an Ajin and most commonly used for combat purposes. However, it should be noted that not all Ajin are able to materialize a Black Ghost (Nakano being one, though shown to temporarily do so in the OVA). There are also no known method how an Ajin can properly materialize a Black Ghost although most of the characters in the series managed to manifest their Ghosts.
Known Ajin
- Kei Nagai
- Kōji Tanaka
- Izumi Shimomura
- Satō
- Shinya Nakamura
- Kō Nakano
- Takeshi Kotobuki
- Masumi Okuyama
- Takahashi
- Gen
- Reiji Akiyama
- Jim
- Jun Suzuki
- Smith
- Carley Myers (anime only)
- Kimura (anime only)
Trivia
- It is interesting to note that the anime has opted to give most Ajin red or reddish-brown eyes (such as Kei, Izumi, Kou and Shinya).
- Although there are 47 recorded Ajin in the world, it is speculated that the number is in actuality much higher as most Ajin are not discovered before they die or are in hiding from the government.
- An Ajin uses the largest piece of flesh as a base and collects the smaller pieces for regeneration. However, pieces that are too far away are not collected, but replaced instead.[5]
- An Ajin's body will always return to their original state, no matter the situation. If an obstacle is in the way (for an example a wall) the obstacle is broken apart.[6]