Amaterasu

From WikiGuides - Wiki on Neoseeker

Amaterasu

The Great Mother Okami Amaterasu, is the main character in this game. Her name often shortened to Ammy (by Issun) is the white wolf you control, a reincarnation of Shiranui (who died shortly after defeating Orochi 100 years earlier). In appearance, Amaterasu is a pure white wolf to the naked eye, but other spiritual beings and those who truly believe in the legend of Shiruani can see her red markings on her and the divine instrument on her back. If she uses up all of her ink then her markings and weapons will disappear until her ink powers return. Throughout the game, other characters give Amaterasu nicknames (such as Snowy or Chalky), mainly from people who believe that she is just a white wolf and cannot see her spiritual markings.

[edit] Role in the plot

As Amaterasu is the main character it is her job to restore light to the land after the Orochi's curse has taken effect. She is called upon by Sakuya to travel the lands and revive her Guardian Saplings. However as she is only a reincarnation of Shiranui she needs to relearn all of the Brush Techniques and figure out her true powers. A Poncle named Issun accompanies her on the journey as he too wants to master the brush techniques. On her journey to restore peace and nature to the lands Amaterasu must put herself to the test as she battle demons and solves problems all in the build up to defeating the ultimate evil and making her way back home to the Celestial Plain

[edit] Brush Stroke

Amaterasu is the Sun God, meaning that after the player discovers this, by drawing a circle in the sky, a red sun will appear. If it is nighttime, a small cut-scene will play showing the sun rise and a rooster crow, and the night will turn to day. Some things are only possible in the day (eg most people will go inside to sleep at night so if you must talk to them, it can only be done in the day). There are also some events that require the sun to progress further, ranging from putting a missing sun into the sky to drying someone's washing.

[edit] Attributes

Amaterasu has five attributes which can be improved via the fan menu using Praise. Each of these attributes help Amaterasu in her journey in a different way.

[edit] Solar Energy

This is how much health Amaterasu has. She can improve this attribute with Praise or by collecting Solar Fragments. If Ammy is damaged this stat will replenish itself over time however she can also use Holy Bones,Solar Orbs and the Wood Mat to speed it up. When swimming one of Ammy's Solar Units will drain after time and when this happens she will drown and return to land. If all of Ammy's Solar Energy runs out she will die however the Astral Pouch will revive her.
Ammy's amount of Solar Energy is displayed on the top left corner of the screen.

[edit] Astral Pouch

This is a small bag that stores food for Amaterasu, the first one is found in River of Heavans. This pouch holds 200 pieces of food and when the maximum amount is reached it will revive Amaterasu when she dies. Praise can be used to buy more Astral Pouches with four being the maximum. Any extra food collected when all your pouches are full will be converted into Yen. A Golden Peach will automatically refill the Astral Pouch however if needs to be activated first. Amaterasu will still die if her Astral Pouch empties no matter how many Golden Peaches she has in her possession. The amount of Astral Pouches and the capacity of food they are holding shows up in the bottom left corner.

[edit] Ink Pots

This is how much Ink Amaterasu has for her Celestial Brush. Each technique uses a certain amount of ink. If she runs out of ink she will not be able to use her brush, however she will also loose use of her Divine Instrument and her Divine Markings will also disappear. The ink regenerates itself at the speed of one pot per 9 second however the Golden Ink Pot can speed this up to three seconds. An Inkfinite Stone will give Amaterasu unlimited ink for a period of time. Ammy can increase the amount of ink pots by using Praise. The amount of Ink Pots an how full they are appears in the top left corner.

[edit] Yen

This is how much money Amaterasu holds. The name of the currency is of course Yen. Amaterasu needs Yen to buy Items, learn Dojo Techniques and donate for Secret Brush Techniques. Yen can be found in lots of various ways but Amaterasu can only carry so much of it, any Yen that she gets when she cannot carry anymore will just disappear. The amount of Yen can be seen on the bottom right hand corner and Amaterasu can use Praise to improve the amount she can carry.

[edit] Godhood

Amaterasu's level of Godhood decides how many attacks she can take without being damaged. Godhood has five levels and Amaterasu will gain more by doing well in battles and avoiding being damaged. However she will drop levels by getting hit and being a coward. She can also use the Traveler's Charm or Godly Charm to boost her Godhood. The level of Godhood can be seen lower left corner of the screen.

[edit] Nature

Amaterasu is good willed and lovable, yet can also be lazy and arrogant at times. She shows these faults by giving the Fox Rods to Rao even though she was warned not to. She has been described by other people as "Thick", often taking insult to this, and described as "All brawn no brains".

[edit] Based on

Amaterasu is based on the Japanese deity of the same name. Like our Amaterasu the Amaterasu of legends was the Sun Goddess. Many of the other well known Okami characters are also part of this story, with Susano and the great sword Tsukuyomi being based off her Brothers. Like our Ammy, Amaterasu later becomes the ruler of the Celestial Plain.
One of her legends is quite like the story of our Ammy. In this story, Amaterasu's brother Susanoo goes on a drunken rampage and destroys many of Amaterasu's belongings and kills her hand maidens. Out of fury Amaterasu seals herself up in a cave and because of this the world falls to darkness. However the Gods lure her out and she returns to the Celestial Plain after defeating her brother.
The main theme of Okami is also similar to Amaterasu's duty. Ammy must restore nature to the land and cast out the darkness just like the real Sun Goddess.

[edit] Trivia

Amaterasu as a dolphin (note her markings and Rosary)

Early ideas for Amaterasu's character included her turning into a falcon while jumping and a dolphin while swimming. These concepts were soon scrapped but drawings of them appear in the art book and art collections.

Amaterasu's gender is unsure. The Brush Gods refer to her as "...mother to us all..." however during the technique Golden Fury she urinates on her enemies in a way that is associated with male wolves. She also seems to be quite attracted to female characters, especially Rao. Issun also never specifies her gender. However due to who she is based on she is known by fans as female.