Kuis Panta is a character in Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, an increasingly important character in the novelizations of Tenchi Muyo! GXP. She was created as a perfect double of Seto Kamiki Jurai, having completely identical memories and the ability to assume her form at will. Only upon meeting Seina Yamada did she start having an ego and identity unique from Seto's.
Background
The first time Seto Kamiki Jurai unleashed her ZZZ attack, which stands for surrender or die, she killed so many people it caused Mikagami to be badly injured, because of all the death it caused. Because of this, Seto went into a coma-like state. In Jurai there are agents called shadow warriors (kagemusha), spies that can perfectly copy any person's appearance and general personaility. When Seto went into a coma, Jurai needed someone to take her place and make sure spies and other powers did not realize the fleet commander was incapacitated. But in the case of Seto, they went a step further and made a rare "Mirror Warrior." Mirror Seto was in almost every way the exact same as Seto, had the same memories, acted in the same fashion. After Seto recovered, Mirror Seto remained, allowing Seto to be in two places at once, with periodic memory synchronization. When not acting as Seto, she could also act as a normal shadow warrior, a spy able to assume anyone else, under the name (really just an alias) Kuis Panta. And Seto would occasionally assume the identity of Kuis, with Mirror Seto acting in her place when needed. But the entire time they shared the same ego, one truly was the indistinguishable mirror of the other. It gives Seto the impression of being tireless and ever present. One can be active while the other half rests. One reason to choose a Mirror rather than a Shadow is that a shadow is essentially a "fake" and a fake Seto could not partner with Mikagami. A Mirror, being a complete copy, can.
This arrangement remained flawless until Mirror Seto, acting as Seto, encountered a young Seina Yamada while visiting Yosho and his family. Since then, she has kept her memories of Seina to herself. (Seto, having regained her memories as Naja Akara, has found those memories have not been shared with Kuis, creating another difference ). This eventually caused Mirror Seto to begin to have the beginnings of her own identity. If Seina had never left Earth there would still be little difference, but with each new experience she shares with Seina and keeps to herself, the more unique her own ego becomes. It is actually becoming a slight danger that outsiders may recognize the difference and the subterfuge will be undone.
When Seina became master of Zinv, a first generation tree seed, it became possible for Seina to discover the secrets of any lower generation trees (such as Mikagami) and their masters. Although Seina isn't the type to go rummaging for others secrets, Seto and her Mirror decide it best to tell him all about the situation. In a meeting in which they swap bodies in front of Seina and drink (Seto drinks quite a lot), they tell him that It is possible for the two of them to be permanently separated into two completely separate individuals, but it is a very rare thing to happen. It would take a miracle, the discovery of some sort of unknown key to separate them. Before they let Seina go, Kuis asks Seto to move away for a moment, and she asks him to give her a name, a fitting name that is a reflection of her true self. As Seina is the one that triggered her ego to emerge, she wants him to be the one to give her the name. When he leaves, Kuis tells Seto that it doesn't matter how long it takes, hundreds or thousands of years, she knows Seina has the key that will free her.
It can be assumed that the majority of times that Seina has interacted directly with Seto before this point, he was actually dealing with "Mirror Seto." The first incident of Seina gathering the pirates and the Mikagami capturing the pirates was probably Kuis acting as Seto. The Seto that took the vacation on Imuim with his other likely romantic partners was almost definitely Mirror Seto. Kuis has romantic feelings for Seina, Seto does not. As the memories are not shared, it is likely that Kuis has to give formal reports to Seto about what happens between them. But she can be selective about what she shares.
Side by side, OVA cover for the 26th episode of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki.
Using the identity of Kuis, she snuck onto Racepshi to join Seina in Renza.
The existence of Mirror Seto is extremely classified, Seina was told that only he and Azusa have been told up to that point, and they plan to tell Yosho eventually. Utsutsumi, oddly, is not mentioned. However, In the fifth season of Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oki, Kuis, acting as Kuis, meets with Ayeka, Sasami, and Noike and when she does, she realizes that they know her secret, that she is basically another Seto. When confronted, they reveal that they have learned it from Ryu-Oh and Kyoko (Noike's experimental 3rd generation Royal Tree Ship). Tenchi has "ascended" Ryu-Oh (It is unclear what this means) and Kyoko, has matured to the level of a 2nd generation tree. Together, they have been able to discover Mikagami's secrets.
Acting as Kuis, she is also central to the plan to buoy the Tabletop Island Treeship in the ocean south of Japan, as seen in Tenchi Muyo! GXP Paradise Starting.
Trivia
- In some translations, "Mirror Seto" is translated as "Kagami Seto" or just Kagami. Kagami is a literal translation for "Mirror" that is also a proper name. Note, "Mikagami" means "mirrored pool."
- Many different spellings of Kuis' name have been used by different translators. These include, Quiz, Quis, Qwis, Kwis, or the very English, Chris, or Kris. This page uses the version used by the official North American streaming company, Crunchyroll.
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