Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity)’s Fushi is burdened with immortality, as well as the weight of the deaths of people due to the actions of the Nokkers, the mysterious creatures that are Fushi’s natural enemy. The Nokkers have been involved in various main character deaths in To Your Eternity, and have caused Fushi a great deal of pain. However, even centuries after his first Nokker attack, there is still a lot about Nokkers that Fushi does not understand.
In the currently-airingsecond season ofTo Your Eternity, the descendants of Hayase have a Nokker that they pass down their family line and have done so for nearly two centuries after their introduction to Fushi. They remain mysterious, and their origins or objectives remain unclear. What exactly are the Nokkers?
RELATED:To Your Eternity: What to Expect From Season 2 (According to the Manga)
What Is Known
InTo Your Eternity,the overarching objective of the being that comes to be known as Fushi is the preservation of all life. Fushi’s ability to shapeshift into the forms of people who have died is effectively a record of Fushi’s experiences, and he is able to embody various kinds of living beings. Fushi experiences empathy and feels the pain that is being experienced by living creatures in his proximity, but this is a symptom of his ability to absorb the emotions of living creatures around him. The Nokkers are strange sinewy creatures that appear to be antagonistic to Fushi’s goal, and when they come into contact with him, they are capable ofstripping him of the memoriesof his experiences – effectively killing the person a second time. According to Fushi’s own observations during his travels through human towns in the decades following Tonari’s death, the timeline for Nokker attacks is around seven days, with day three after Fushi’s arrival in a certain place marking the average day of a Nokker sighting. Their creator is unknown.
Abilities
Nokker physiology generally consists of a main body or core, often in the shape of a spherical organic mass with vines emanating from it.Like Fushi, Nokkers are capable of shapeshifting, and take on various forms such as rocks, trees and animals. They are capable of stealing Fushi’s forms and assuming them for themselves, and when they do so, they steal Fushi’s memories of that form too. When March was stolen by a Nokker, Fushi completely forgot about her, not even realizing that something had been taken away from him at first. The Nokkers seem like simple lifeforms, but they are extremely intelligent, and they adapt to their environment.
The camouflage assumed by a Nokker is largely dependent on its location – when Fushi encounters a Nokker in the forest, he finds that it is made up of leaves and vines; however, on the island of Jananda, a Nokker encountered by Fushi hides itself as rock. Another aspect of Nokker behaviour that is indicative of their intelligence is that they use attacks on human settlements to lure Fushi out of hiding, as they are aware of his protective nature when it comes to human life.Their shapeshifting ability also has a sinister adaptation– they are capable of possessing inanimate objects or the bodies of the living, and can override the will of their host. This is seen to devastating effect in the first season on the island of Jananda, where various friends are forced to kill each other after a Nokker possession. Nokkers are also capable of communication via telepathy.
Weaknesses
Nokkers are incredibly dangerous, but they can be killed. If a Nokker that has stolen a form from Fushi is killed, the form and its respective memories are returned to him. These creatures have been seen to be especially weak against intense heat and fire. If a Nokker’s bulbous core is destroyed, it dies. Therefore, at this point in the anime series, the most effective way to kill one is through direct damage inflicted on the creature’s core. Other measures of protection against these creatures do arise in the originalTo Your Eternitymanga, but in a distant future within the series.
Hayase’s Nokker
After leaving the island of Jananda heavily injured, Hayase was unfortunate enough to encounter a Nokker on her escape boat; however, it is revealed that she developed a symbiotic relationship with the creature, hosting it within her injured arm. This Nokker has since been passed down Hayase’s bloodline; her descendants considering themselves to be reincarnations of Hayase herself. Hayase’s relationship with this Nokker ismade possible by her obsessionto have Fushi belong to her. Unlike the average Nokker, this one is capable of supporting the will of its host, but still has a mind of its own and can even make decisions on the hosts' behalf if threatened. It even helps the Hayase bloodline against other Nokkers; however, its true goal is unknown. Hayase’s Nokker makes Fushi greatly uncomfortable, especially when it is in the care of the first descendent introduced in the second season, the nine-year-old Hisame, who was just a little girl when forced to bear the immense responsibility of Hayase’s obsession.
