Melody (センリツ, Senritsu) is a Music Hunter and a bodyguard for the Nostrade Family. She is currently working as a bodyguard for Prince Kacho Hui Guo Rou.
Appearance
Short and stocky, Melody is balding and has straight hair that falls to her shoulders. Her front teeth are pronounced and protrude much like a rodent's. In public, Melody typically wears hats. Her clothes are simple and usually of earthy colors, though occasionally with pale pink accents. She always wears long sleeves and leggings, as the Sonata of Darkness has changed her appearance dramatically; her exposed flesh is warped and lurid enough to make Kurapika flinch. Her appearance before the Sonata changed her is unknown. Given that she asked whether Kurapika wanted to see a photo of her previous appearance and her longing to restore it, it is hinted that she was a beautiful young woman before the Sonata deformed her. Furthermore, she takes offense of Kacho calling her an "old maid". As a Royal Bodyguard, she wears a black suit and tie.
Personality[]
Melody is a kind person and typically of a calm disposition. Due to her extraordinary hearing as well as natural astuteness, she is very perceptive and caring when it comes to the feelings of others. Her goal is to find and destroy the Sonata of Darkness so that no one else will have to suffer the fate that she and her friend have. She also wishes that she could return to her original appearance. She has a special affection for Kurapika and watches out for him, not swayed in the least by his determination to kill her should she reveal his secret.
Melody is offended to be called old, as she glares at a smirking Kacho for calling her such.
Background[]
Melody is a Music Hunter. Her life changed as the result of one night of drinking with a friend. Having listened to a single movement of the violin solo of the Sonata of Darkness, she was deformed. Her friend, who had played the piece, had his entire body severely mutated and died as a result. Subsequently, Melody gained supernatural hearing; she can hear things as quiet as heartbeats. Her goal is to find the sheet music for the Sonata and destroy it, so that none have to suffer the same fate.
Plot[]
Yorknew City arc[]
Along with five other applicants, Melody applies for the bodyguard position in the Nostrade Family. The head bodyguard Dalzollene discusses the nature of the position, such as retrieving items for their boss. After the introduction, hooded assailants suddenly break into the room and attack Melody and the other applicants.
After the applicants find out that Shachmono Tocino is behind the attack, Melody and the others look for the second infiltrator. She confirms that Squala is the one by simply listening to his heartbeat. The applicants take turns interrogating Squala by revealing their Nen abilities.
Melody, Basho, Baise, and Kurapika, return to the mansion and deliver the specified items to Dalzollene (with Melody handing over skin from a patient with Dracoderma). Impressed by their work, Dalzollene starts to discuss the journey from the mansion to the Hotel Beitacle in Yorknew City. Melody and the others follow the head bodyguard as he introduces to them their boss, Neon Nostrade.
During the first night of the Underground Auction, Dalzollene partners Melody and Kurapika together to keep watch on the Cemetery Building's front entrance. During their surveillance, Melody asks for Kurapika's goal while she shares hers, explaining that she wants to destroy the Sonata of Darkness, which caused her drastic change in appearance and killed her friend. Furthermore, she admits that she wants to return to her original form and destroy all versions of the Sonata.
Sometime after the auction begins, it's revealed that the auction items have been stolen. Dalzollene orders all the remaining bodyguards to pursue the thieves until they eventually make their escape to the Gordeau Desert. Melody and the others witness the Phantom Troupe member Uvogin massacring dozens of Mafia members. Melody hears a faint heartbeat from underground, as the Shadow Beasts members Worm, Porcupine, Leech, and Rabid Dog arrive to confront Uvogin, but all four are quickly defeated.
Melody uses her ability to calm the enraged Kurapika and her anxious comrades. Although everyone is now in a calm state of mind, Kurapika still insists on capturing Uvogin and manages to do so. They escape in two car, but Melody notices a needle attached to Uvogin's leg. Due to the sudden interference of the remaining Shadow Beasts, the Nostrade bodyguards escape back to Yorknew safely. After she and the other guards torture Uvogin for information, the other Troupe members learn of their location and proceed to rescue their captured comrade. With the exception of Dalzollene, Melody and the other bodyguards manage to escape.
Melody then contacts Kurapika and tries to contact Dalzollene, but to no avail. She suggests contacting Neon's father about the situation at hand. She nominates Kurapika to be the new leader of the bodyguards, which Kurapika accepts. Later that night, Melody informs Kurapika that Light will arrive that night. Upon Light's arrival, he orders Melody and Basho to escort Neon until she is safely back home. Melody and Basho then accompany Neon and her attendants on a shopping spree at Lingon Airport, and subsequently lose sight of her. She informs Kurapika of the situation immediately.
After the ensuing battle at the Cemetery Building, Light assigns Basho and Melody to take Neon on another shopping trip the following day, much to their chagrin, especially Basho's. She informs Kurapika the next day that the hunt for the Troupe has been canceled after the Mafia found out that they are from Meteor City. When Kurapika decides to hunt down the rest of the Troupe, he contacts Melody, who later joins Killua Zoldyck in trailing the Spiders.
Melody tracks the Troupe's movement across the city and notes that Killua's steps are the most silent she has heard, which makes him reliable for Kurapika. They briefly lose track of the Troupe after exiting the station and update Kurapika about the situation. After Gon and Killua are taken hostage instead of Kurapika, Melody regroups with him and scolds him for his reckless behavior. She tries to get in contact with Squala, who has the Scarlet Eyes, but does not receive any reply from him.
Kurapika successfully captures Chrollo and escapes by car with Melody and Leorio. She tries to keep Kurapika from harming Chrollo, but nearly mentally breaks down upon hearing Chrollo's dark heartbeat. At Lingon Airport, Melody confirms that Pakunoda is telling the truth about her identity and assures Kurapika that she can tell by his heartbeat whether Killua is being manipulated. During the negotiation with Pakunoda, Melody thinks about Kurapika's uncertainty.
Later during the hostage exchange, Melody confirms that Killua is not being manipulated after he holds the phone to his heart. Along with Kurapika, Leorio, Gon, and Killua, Melody returns to the city after the exchange is successful.
Greed Island arc[]
On September 6th, Zepile asks Melody about Kurapika's fever as he lies asleep in bed with a towel on his forehead. Melody explains that her flute had no effect on him and deduces that his condition is not due to simple fatigue. Zepile suggests taking Kurapika to a hospital if he doesn't get better and offers to call a doctor he knows if visiting a hospital is too dangerous, which pleases Melody. Once Kurapika wakes up, Melody tells him everything that has happened while he was out. As Melody and Kurapika prepare to leave the city from Lingon Airport, Melody promises Leorio that he will look after Kurapika, telling him that his heartbeat sounded the nicest in the city and that he would make a great teacher or doctor. Melody briefly appears again telling Kurapika that Light wishes to speak with him.
13th Hunter Chairman Election arc[]
Melody votes in the first round of the 13th Hunter Chairman Election and also visits Gon at the hospital. As Leorio screams into his cellphone and demands to speak with Killua, Melody is distraught by Leorio's voice. When Killua arrives at Gon's location with Alluka, Melody stands guard outside next to Goreinu. She and the others all feel Nanika's tremendous power as it's used to heal Gon. She then accompanies Gon and the others as Gon goes to meet Leorio in the auditorium where all the Hunters are voting for the new Chairman of the Hunter Association.
Succession Contest arc[]
Melody is recruited by Kurapika to be hired as a bodyguard by one of the Kakin Princes. She is eventually employed by Prince Kacho. When the Black Whale 1 departs, she overhears Kacho's plan to form an alliance with Prince Fugetsu to take down the other Princes and learns that her entire self is a lie. She is later contacted by Kurapika, who asks her if she has spotted any Guardian Spirit Beasts, but she claims that she hasn't. As Prince Kacho throws a tantrum over the food she's being served, Melody listens to all the negative things the other bodyguards and maids are whispering about the Prince. Melody worries that Kacho is putting on an act to protect herself and that it will backfire.
On the second day of the voyage, she watches over Queen Seiko as an investigator from the ship's Justice Bureau questions her about the incident involving Barrigen. That night, she hears Prince Kacho's pulse accelerate and rushes to her side, but sees her unharmed and calm through the bed's canopy. Kacho puts on a cold front again, leading Melody to encourage her to rely on her bodyguards more. The Prince coldly replies that it's just a job for her, telling her to keep working and pretending to be concerned until she gets paid. From her heartbeat, Melody understands that she feels obligated to act the way she does, and tells her that she does not have anyone she wants to protect as much as her employer, but that she is ready to stake her life on her mission. Kacho replies that she cannot understand her, as she is not forced to kill her siblings and put her own life at risk against her will. She then asks Melody why she thinks she is doing it for someone else, and Melody prepares to tell Kacho about Nen.
The next day, Kacho orders Melody to help her with her studies. While seemingly chastising the bodyguard, she uses a high-frequency device to communicate with her in Morse code, instructing her on how to find one for herself. Following her directions, Melody finds it in the kitchen cupboard. She thinks to herself that Kacho has really thought things through in order to survive, resolving once more to protect her.
After a conversation with her mother, Kacho informs Melody their plan to perform at the banquet will probably work and that she just needs to wait for her father's reply. Melody sends a message back that she will make sure that she and her sister can wait in the last passageway. She has Kacho tell her father to make sure that the performance is played through the speakers on Black Whale#Tier 1 and to keep it a secret. While Kacho plans to meet with Fugetsu, Melody says that he will investigate the routes.
Melody then silently wishes that Kacho would stop playing the villain so that the guards would choose to save Fugetsu if they were forced to save one of them. She also worries that Kacho's kindness will end up causing her sister to suffer. Keeney approaches Melody and tells her that he sensed someone appeared in Kacho's bed the night before as if coming out of a manhole. Based on Kacho's behavior, they surmise it must be Fugetsu and her Guardian Spirit Beast. Melody says they have everything they need to organize their escape, but is worried that Kacho's Nen beast has not appeared once and might not want to withdraw from the contest if it's belligerent. She tries to think of a way to make sure that Kacho will be unable to summon it.
At 13:44 on Wednesday, Melody is called to the phone by a fellow bodyguard. She is informed by an assistant of Mizaistom's that Fugetsu was found on Tier 3 of the ship, which confirms her suspicions about her Guardian Spirit Beast and makes her wary of the word spreading. She is tasked with preventing Fugetsu and Kacho from escaping, with Keeney as her superior. She relays Mizaistom's message to Keeney. After they decipher Mizaistom's code, Keeney shows Melody a picture of his late wife and daughter that he keeps in his pocket watch. He tells her that since their deaths two years earlier, he has been looking for a place to die and will commit suicide after Kacho and Fugetsu escape to make it seem like the Association was not involved.
Distraught, Melody resolves to carry out the plan nonetheless. She plays Hyle's Requiem for Seiko and an investigator, earning enthusiastic praise from the Queen. Melody states that she has prepared a more fitting piece for the banquet, and Seiko excitedly replies that she will take care of the broadcast. As they walk away, the investigator claims to have been swayed by her music and gives her suggestions on how to help the two Princes and change the King's mind. However, his heartbeat sounds strange to Melody, too calm even for a professional, leading her to suspect that he is being manipulated or trying to thwart the twins' escape plan.
On the eighth day of the voyage, Melody attends the banquet with Kacho and Fugetsu. She is scheduled to perform second to last, right before the twins. She is relieved to hear that despite the changes to the schedule, the twins will still go after her and that Princes Benjamin and Camilla, both Nen users, are absent. When Keeney finishes his piano performance, Melody bows to King Nasubi and begins to play, putting all listeners into a trance for three minutes. While she does, she realizes that Kacho's Guardian Spirit did not appear even at the very end and reminisces about Keeney, which spurs her to keep playing so as not to hear his heartbeat as he shoots himself in the head.
Melody is subsequently detained by the Justice Bureau, where she spends the night. The following morning, the detective who offered her his help a few days earlier brings her a bottle of water and tells her that the length of her stay will be determined by her willingness to cooperate. He tells her that according to his suicide note, Keeney seems to have acted alone in the Princes' escape attempt. He also reveals that a few of the Princes (with Tserriednich being one of them, unbeknownst to Melody) were impressed by her performance and want to invite her to their suites. Melody surmises that she is being detained for her own protection and that the Justice Bureau is a truly impartial branch. She asks about the two Princes, and the investigator reveals that they are also in custody to discover how involved they were with the escape attempt (with both claiming that Keeney forced them onto the lifeboat). When he states that he will have to question them thoroughly, Melody silently thanks him and resolves to use that time to prepare a new plan.
Equipment[]
Flute: Melody's main medium for her ability is a flute, similar to a Western concert flute. She uses it mostly to emit relaxing sounds to calm agitated people around her.
Mosquitone Device: Melody owns a communication device which produces high-pitched sounds, similar to the buzzing of a mosquito, that only people below a certain age can hear. It is activated with the press of one's thumb and used to send coded messages (through Morse code, for example).
Abilities & Powers[]
Melody has all the benefits granted by her status as a Hunter. She has considerable prowess as proven by the fact that she successfully retrieved an item as part of a test required to be hired as a Nostrade bodyguard. Contrary to her petite appearance, she is agile enough to fend off attacks from Tocino's Nen puppets, although her astonishment at Killua's acrobatic skills suggests that hers are not nearly as developed. She also knows Morse code.
Unfathomable Hearing: After listening to the Sonata of Darkness, Melody acquired extra-sensitive hearing and uses this ability in many useful ways. She is able to track targets or eavesdrop on conversations from hundreds of meters away. By listening to a person's heartbeat, she can discern their emotional state and whether they are lying or being manipulated. She can even differentiate among hundreds of people's footsteps, enabling her to determine the number of people in a crowd whilst picking out the distinctive sound of her target's strides. Her hearing also enables her to ascertain the skills of others from the sounds they make, such as knowing that Killua is a former assassin from his silent steps.
Masterful Musician: Melody is said to have mastered all manner of musical instruments, with the flute being the one that she can play best. It also serves as a medium to project her aura. Her skill with it left Queen Seiko astounded. Melody's musical talent also plays a part in allowing her to distinguish subtle changes in heartbeats and other sounds with her superhuman hearing.
Nen[]
Melody is an Emitter who projects her aura when she plays her flute. Besides Hatsu, she is also able to use Zetsu.
| Melody's Nen Type: Emission | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type: Emission | Enchanting Music* | |
| By channeling her aura into her music, Melody can play songs with various effects. She can alleviate the listener's fatigue and cure related illnesses. When she plays a piece titled A Field in Spring (, No no Haru), she can placate the emotions of the listeners while causing them to hallucinate a meadow in bloom for as long as she plays. When she pours all her heart into her performance, she can enchant all listeners to the point that they become completely oblivious to anything happening around them for up to three minutes. The ability can work on hundreds if not thousands of people at the same time, even if Melody's music is broadcast. | ||
Battles[]
| Battles |
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Quotes[]
- (To Kurapika) "I chose this job because I hoped one devil would know another."
- (To Kurapika) "His heartbeat is normal. He isn't upset or agitated. There's no dissonance caused by fallacy... no fear of death. It's not that he doesn't think he may die... This is the sound... of full acceptance of death...!! He enjoys the fact that death is always by his side... I've had enough! I don't want to hear it anymore! His heartbeat -- or yours!!"
- "Kurapika... You haven't realized the inconsistency in your own heartbeat...! No... the hint of dissonance is there, so you're aware of the conflict somewhere in the back of your mind...!! But you're refusing to acknowledge it..."
- "You see loathing when you face this woman. But she's here for the same reason you are... to get her friend back!"
- (To Leorio) "You know, you're very uplifting. You have the nicest heartbeat in this city. It's warm and gentle. I'd bet you'd make a great teacher or a doctor."
- (To Kacho) "I... feel pride in my work. I don't have anyone close to me I'd want to protect with my life like you do... but if protecting someone is my mission, I'm prepared to offer my life."
- "She's racking her brains in order to survive... I'll save her. I swear...!!"
- "After I heard his heartbeat... how could I stop him?"
Trivia[]
- Viz translated Melody's name literally: when written as "旋律", "senritsu" means "melody".
- In the Crunchyroll translation of the 2011 anime adaptation, the music that Melody plays using her ability is entitled "Wild Flower".
- In the manga, one of Melody's casual outfits (e.g., in Chapters 109-111, 114, and 116-118) is similar to the uniform typically worn by Japanese kindergarten students.
Anime and Manga Differences[]
- In the 1999 anime adaptation, Melody first meets Kurapika on a train rather than in the Nostrade's Mansion.
- In the same adaptation, it's shown that she can play the piano.
- Unlike in the manga where she brings a piece of Dracoderma skin in order to become a Nostrade bodyguard, in the 1999 anime adaptation she brings a piece of brain tissue from an assassinated dictator named General Sharman.
- In the 2011 anime adaptation, Melody first encounters Kurapika after he receives a job from the Sengi Guild.
Intertextuality and References[]
- In Volume 11, the author (Yoshihiro Togashi) revealed that Melody was inspired by the character Nausicaä and possibly Yupa from Hayao Miyazaki's manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Ashitaka from the film Princess Mononoke.
- Melody's ability of listening to people's heartbeat is reminiscent to Shigeru Murota's tapping ability in YuYu Hakusho. The similarity is strengthened by Melody's reaction to Chrollo's dispassionate heartbeat before death, which parallels Murota's upon sensing Shinobu Sensui's thoughts, a character with whom Chrollo shares similarities.
