The Over Soul represents the ultimate form of furyoku manipulation for a Shaman

AboutEdit

An Over Soul is the metaphysical construct of an apparition using a shaman's furyoku and a medium to gain corporeal properties. An Over Soul 'actualizes' the knowledge and memories of an apparition and allows their memories to manifest essentially as magical powers. They are composed entirely of furyoku and being so, there is no actual matter. An Over Soul can only be damaged by another, this renders all form of conventional weaponry useless, as there is no matter to interact with. While any spirit can be molded into an Over Soul, their attributes depend solely upon the spirit's ego--or identity. Depending on their ego, the ghost can be molded by the shaman into any shape or form the shaman desires, enabling the direct display of their abilities to protect the shaman.

Human ghosts usually make poor choices for an Over Soul due to their ego's, but can evolve over time into higher spirits - spirits whose souls have been refined for over hundreds of years and attained their purest form. While the exact design of an Over Soul depends entirely on the shaman's imagination, it's also important that the shaman uses a medium which best symbolize the spirit's abilities, such as a Katana for Amidamaru who is a samurai.

In regards to strength & integrity, an Over Soul's durability is proportionate the amount of furyoku charged as well as the shaman's level of concentration. It is important for the shaman to keep in mind that although the mass of an Over Soul remains constant, furyoku is consumed anytime it is used to create matter, like ice, which consumes furyoku in itself. Furyoku is only consumed when the "body" of the Over Soul is compromised. At this juncture, the Over Soul is charged with the proportionate amount of furyoku necessary to maintain its integrity, depending on the degree of damage sustained. If an Over Soul absorbs enough damage, it breaks and dissolve along with all furyoku used in its creation. Therefore, a shaman must consider how much furyoku to charge their Over Soul with during each engagement.

The sizes and shapes of certain character's O.S. often change since their introductions, some without any explanation. This could be attributed to the mental imagery a shaman uses to envision the form, size and ability of the Over Soul. Yoh's Spirit of Sword, for instance, has changed throughout the series since being introduce in volume 15 of the manga, with a defined blade and the inclusion of a large hilt.

Spirits themselves have three sub-categories

• Ghost-type: Normal-class spirit ally
• Seirei-type: Sacred-class spirit ally
• Kami-type: God-class spirit ally

Types of OversoulsEdit

Generally speaking, O.S. (Over Souls) can be divided into three (3) categories: Spirit-types, Weapon-types, and Armor-types. Strictly speaking in terms of praticality, the classification of an O.S. doesn't necessarily determine their effectiveness in live combat, but the higher the quality of the O.S. determines their range of abilities and manitenence, making the overall effectiveness of any O.S. is largely based on the shaman's individual talent.

Spirit-type OversoulEdit

Spirit-type O.S. ususally manifests an apparition corporeally in such a manner as to fully utilize their unique abilities. (ie. O.S. Bason, O.S. Kororo-Snowboard).

Weapon-type OversoulEdit

Weapon-type O.S. manifests an apparition in their purest form, usually as a supernatural armament (ie. O.S. Spirit of Sword, O.S. Kororo-Ikupasuy, O.S. Super Bushin), usually to compliment the shaman's personal fighting style. Weapon-type are incredibly versatile and are possbile once an apparition ascends to the Seirei-class.

Armor-type OversoulEdit

Armor-type Over Souls are the most efficient type. Armor-types represent the pinnacle of O.S. magic and are the most practical type of Over Soul because of their resilient, highly densified furyoku construction. This method makes them equally formidable in terms of raw power.

Unity-type Oversoul/Oversoul MergeEdit

This the Over Soul merge which the Shaman make sure they and the ghost are one and the same. The only example of this was Chocolove McDonell and Mic the Jaguar. It is very difficult to pull off since both the ghost and the shaman must be synced the entire time the Over Soul is used. The advantage is that the ghost is fully used in the battle and a direct use of all abilities of both shaman and ghost.

ReferencesEdit