Hippo is simply known as Hippo, and that's that. Personally, I always thought that it was a rather unfortunate name, or perhaps even an allusion to Hippo's, er, pudginess. But the name makes sense once you read chapter 17...
Image: 'Hippocampus' written in Japanese characters.
In chapter 17, Hippo's true name, Hippocampus, is revealed. A hippocampus is a creature from
Greek mythology with the head, torso, and front legs of a horse, but with a fish tail for the lower part of its body. Poseidon's chariot is said to have been drawn by a hippocampus.
Hippo does not have an official profile.
Hippo
Hippo is Lucia's guardian penguin. From the beginning of the manga, he doesn't seem like much of a useful guardian. Hippo is basically used as slave labor around Pearl Waters - he cooks, cleans, does the laundry, and constantly nags at Lucia. He serves only two useful functions. One is that he has the Pearl Radar, which can detect the presence of the pearls of the other mermaid princesses. The other is that he is an important source of knowledge about the mermaid world, and he and Nikora often find themselves lecturing Lucia about things that she should already know.
Hippo is your typical, old-fashioned Loyal Retainer in every sense of the word. He speaks very politely, even when he's angry at Lucia, he is always careful to observe the social distance between himself, a mere servant, and Lucia, a royal princess. Hippo was most likely raised around royalty, and was probably trained to be a servant from the moment of his birth.
Despite all of his self-professed humility, however, Hippo is actually quite full of himself. He considers his penguin body to be quite handsome, and the extreme lack of attractive female penguins in and around Japan is a constant source of misery for him.
Hippo seems to have born beneath an unlucky star, which would explain why in almost every chapter he ends up being punched by Lucia, smacked in the head with a towel, assaulted by other penguins, or thrown across a room by Kaito. Hippo is quite possibly the most unfortunate penguin ever to grace the surface of the Earth (or the floor beneath the ocean, for that matter).
It is only much later in the series that the secrets of Hippo are revealed. First he can assume a human form, and second, he can assume the shape of a mythical Hippocampus. The Hippocampus is Hippo's "true" form, although at the same time, the Hippocampus seems to have a different mind, and a different personality, than the Hippo that we normally know and love. In his simple human form, however, Hippo is still very much the same person that he always is, and he also has the command of substantial magical powers.
Hippo's Forms
penguin Hippo
This is Hippo's most basic shape, and also his most powerless form (first appearance: chapter 01).
human Hippo (1)
Hippo transforms into a human because he's "been living on dry land for too long." Because Hippo initially bursts out of his penguin clothes and is left naked, Rina and Hanon decide to dress him in an adorable sailor suit. Afterwards, every time that Hippo assumes his human form, he is automatically dressed in the same sailor suit.
human Hippo (2)
Hippo appears in this form during the final battle within Gakuto's castle
Hippocampus
Hippo's true form, and "the sacred guardian beast of the gate of the seal"
Hippo's Powers
transformation
Hippo can transform himself from a penguin into several different shapes.
wings
In his human form, Hippo has a pair of tiny wings on his back, normally kept hidden beneath his shirt. However, when Hippo is threatened or in danger, his wings burst out of his back and unfurl to a much larger size.
"Key Rod Release!"
Hippo's magical attack.
Magical Items
Pearl Radar
I don't know if this counts as "magical" or not, but whatever. Hippo uses the Pearl Radar to detect the presence of the pearls of the mermaid princesses. However, he drops the Pearl Radar in chapter 11, and Caren picks it up. Caren loses the Pearl Radar to the Black Beauty Sisters in chapter 13. Finally, in chapter 15, Sara crushes the Pearl Radar with her bare hands.
key to the seal
This was the seahorse-shaped key that Sara used to unlock the seal placed on Gakuto's clan. When the key is "awakened" in chapter 17, it plays a sad, somber melody, and sprouts wings. The awakening of the key allows Hippo to transform into his final form, Hippocampus.
key rod
When Hippo appears inside Gakuto's castle in chapter 19, his key has been transformed into a powerful rod. Hippo uses this rod to perform his magical attack, Key Rod Release. Later, Hippo hands the rod over to Hanon. She, of course, uses it like a baseball bat to break down a door.
Image: 'Hippocampus' written in Japanese characters.
In chapter 17, Hippo's true name, Hippocampus, is revealed. A hippocampus is a creature from
Greek mythology with the head, torso, and front legs of a horse, but with a fish tail for the lower part of its body. Poseidon's chariot is said to have been drawn by a hippocampus.Hippo does not have an official profile.
Hippo
Hippo is Lucia's guardian penguin. From the beginning of the manga, he doesn't seem like much of a useful guardian. Hippo is basically used as slave labor around Pearl Waters - he cooks, cleans, does the laundry, and constantly nags at Lucia. He serves only two useful functions. One is that he has the Pearl Radar, which can detect the presence of the pearls of the other mermaid princesses. The other is that he is an important source of knowledge about the mermaid world, and he and Nikora often find themselves lecturing Lucia about things that she should already know.
Hippo is your typical, old-fashioned Loyal Retainer in every sense of the word. He speaks very politely, even when he's angry at Lucia, he is always careful to observe the social distance between himself, a mere servant, and Lucia, a royal princess. Hippo was most likely raised around royalty, and was probably trained to be a servant from the moment of his birth.
Despite all of his self-professed humility, however, Hippo is actually quite full of himself. He considers his penguin body to be quite handsome, and the extreme lack of attractive female penguins in and around Japan is a constant source of misery for him.
Hippo seems to have born beneath an unlucky star, which would explain why in almost every chapter he ends up being punched by Lucia, smacked in the head with a towel, assaulted by other penguins, or thrown across a room by Kaito. Hippo is quite possibly the most unfortunate penguin ever to grace the surface of the Earth (or the floor beneath the ocean, for that matter).
It is only much later in the series that the secrets of Hippo are revealed. First he can assume a human form, and second, he can assume the shape of a mythical Hippocampus. The Hippocampus is Hippo's "true" form, although at the same time, the Hippocampus seems to have a different mind, and a different personality, than the Hippo that we normally know and love. In his simple human form, however, Hippo is still very much the same person that he always is, and he also has the command of substantial magical powers.
Hippo's Forms
penguin Hippo
This is Hippo's most basic shape, and also his most powerless form (first appearance: chapter 01).
human Hippo (1)
Hippo transforms into a human because he's "been living on dry land for too long." Because Hippo initially bursts out of his penguin clothes and is left naked, Rina and Hanon decide to dress him in an adorable sailor suit. Afterwards, every time that Hippo assumes his human form, he is automatically dressed in the same sailor suit.
human Hippo (2)
Hippo appears in this form during the final battle within Gakuto's castle
Hippocampus
Hippo's true form, and "the sacred guardian beast of the gate of the seal"
Hippo's Powers
transformation
Hippo can transform himself from a penguin into several different shapes.
wings
In his human form, Hippo has a pair of tiny wings on his back, normally kept hidden beneath his shirt. However, when Hippo is threatened or in danger, his wings burst out of his back and unfurl to a much larger size.
"Key Rod Release!"
Hippo's magical attack.
Magical Items
Pearl Radar
I don't know if this counts as "magical" or not, but whatever. Hippo uses the Pearl Radar to detect the presence of the pearls of the mermaid princesses. However, he drops the Pearl Radar in chapter 11, and Caren picks it up. Caren loses the Pearl Radar to the Black Beauty Sisters in chapter 13. Finally, in chapter 15, Sara crushes the Pearl Radar with her bare hands.
key to the seal
This was the seahorse-shaped key that Sara used to unlock the seal placed on Gakuto's clan. When the key is "awakened" in chapter 17, it plays a sad, somber melody, and sprouts wings. The awakening of the key allows Hippo to transform into his final form, Hippocampus.
key rod
When Hippo appears inside Gakuto's castle in chapter 19, his key has been transformed into a powerful rod. Hippo uses this rod to perform his magical attack, Key Rod Release. Later, Hippo hands the rod over to Hanon. She, of course, uses it like a baseball bat to break down a door.
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