Shadar

Shadar
Character Information
Aliases	Dark Djinn ; Executor ; Lord Shadar ; Lucien
Japanese Name	ジャボー
Romaji	Jaboo
Gender	Male
Species	Human
Weapon	Staff
Occupation	Mage
World of Origin	Ni No Kuni
Japanese voice actor	Masashi Ebara (as Shadar) ; Gō Inoue (as Lucien)
English voice actor	Brian Protheroe (as Shadar); Oliver Mason (as Lucien)
Relatives
Soulmate	Oliver

"Impressive. But when despair consumes the heart, it gives birth to a power still more terrible... It is despair that will defeat you-you and all else! I am the Executor, charged with bringing destruction to this world. Behold! The power of the Dark Djinn!"
~Shadar, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Shadar (ジャボー Jaboo), also known as the Dark Djinn as well as the Executor, is the secondary antagonist of Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch. He is an evil wizard who has the power to interfere with a person's heart. This may leave them in a husk-like state or corrupt their hearts with negative emotions. This can have deadly consequences. His powers have made him feared throughout the world and it is Oliver's duty to repair the hearts that have been damaged by Shadar.

Shadar was once an idealistic magician named Lucien serving the ancient kingdom of Bellicosia. One day, the soldiers of his nation were ordered to raid Rubicon, a village bordering the neighboring kingdom of Halcyon in order to locate a sage who they perceived to be a threat and burn it to the ground, not sparing women or children. Lucien was appalled by the atrocities he saw and disobeyed his orders to attack, resolving instead to save the targeted sage's daughter, Alicia, who he encountered on the battlefield. He gave her a necklace to protect her and helped her escape. Lucien was court-martialed for disobeying orders to attack the village and allowing a valuable hostage to escape. As punishment, Lucien's home village was burned to the ground with no survivors.

After these events, Lucien wandered aimlessly filled with despair and grief. Blaming himself for the deaths that occurred and believing there is no good left in the world. He came across the Miasma Marshes , where a voice reached out to him and urged him to embrace his despair to give birth to the power of hatred. With his heart devoured by such darkness, his power grew to horrifying heights and was thus dubbed as the Executor of the World: The Dark Djinn. With this power, Shadar unleashed a reign of terror across the world, destroying kingdoms, murdering millions, and outlawing the use of Magic to prevent any from rising against him. In the end however, despite his cruel actions Shadar was still deeply dedicated to protecting the world. His decision to destroy his old kingdom and everyone who sought to wage war resulted in a more peaceful age taking hold with no other nation wishing to do anything lest they incur his wrath.

Seeing no other alternative and too engulfed in the darkness of his own despair to change now, he has accepted his destiny as the Executor of the world, awaiting its destruction and its savior.

Appearance[]

Shadar's appearance closely resembles the general wizard appearance (shown in the Wizard's Companion) albeit having major differences that set him apart from them. He wears a black colored robe adorned with turquoise colored patterns and a hood that hides his head. His neck is supported with what seems to be joint horns that protrude past his head and golden platings that are attached to his chest. His fingers and hands are thin and he bears sharp nails. His hair has a very bright orange color, spiked and flows down, covering part of his face. During the majority of his appearance, his face is covered in a black shadow that prevents anyone from seeing his face, literally blanking out any kind of details around it. However, once he is defeated his face appears wrinkled, like that of a frail old man with sharp teeth protruding from his lower lip. His eyes are dark purple and he has scruffy eyebrows.

Oliver as Shadar — The young version of Shadar

Strategy[]

Shadar is an extremely powerful magic user, but as with all dark elemental types he has a severe weakness to light-based magic and attacks. Familiars with light-based attacks will deal increased damage to him, and Oliver is obviously the biggest trump card with Arrow of Light and Mornstar, so keeping Oliver alive will be key in every fight against the Dark Djinn. Just like his Nightmares, each time he takes melee damage dark glim-like orbs will sprout from him and will damage anybody that accidentally "collects" them.

First Encounter[]

Shadar's moveset during this fight includes Bleak Midwinter (Powerful area of effect Water spell which should be defended against), Pyre (a dark version of Oliver's Burning Heart which deals Fire damage to one target) and Fell Wind (an attack that strikes foes in a fan area).

At this point in the game, it is completely impossible to win this battle, but you do need to take Shadar's HP down by 25% life before a cut-scene takes you out of battle. Don't bother with physical attacks as Shadar teleports too often for these to be effective. Stick with magic for this particular fight. There is no real tactic here, just keep all of your party members' health up and eventually, he'll retreat.

Second Encounter[]

Shadar will use Fell Wind, Evenstar (a powerful area of effect Dark spell which is telegraphed by him teleporting to the foot of his throne), and Bleak Midwinter -- all field attacks with exception to Fell Wind, so defend or find an accessory to resist the damage (dark, dark, and water/ice) while you chip him.

Remember, you don't want to expend all your MP on this round, because there are two more boss forms immediately afterward.

You can trigger a Chance! by striking Shadar with Mornstar as he is charging Evenstar. However, Mornstar takes slightly longer to cast than Evenstar, meaning Oliver should begin casting the spell before Shadar begins to charge his spell. When Shadar teleports to the foot of his throne, that's when he's about to cast Evenstar, watch for when he does so in order to counter or effectively defend against the attack.

Eternal Knight[]

The second round is against Shadar's Familiar, the Eternal Knight, but Oliver's party will be at the state of when they defeated Shadar's first phase. The knight is more straightforward, using Dark Aegis (a guard spell) and Onslaught (a field attack), but that means you have a large damage sink to chew through before he kills you. Make sure to defend Onslaught. Don't worry about Dark Aegis, just keep attacking when Eternal Knight does that move.

Resort to Oliver's Mornstar spell, and hope you committed yourself to the Jack the Giant Killer perk to boost your HP and MP totals.

Dark Djinn[]

The final form is the Dark Djinn which uses Fell Sweep (fan), Circles of Hell (multiple points; not a field), and a few other attacks ... like Despair, Blast from Beyond and World's End. Thankfully, Oliver and his company will be restored to full HP and MP during this phase. When the Dark Djinn uses Circles of Hell, do All-Out Defense and avoid the circles on the ground from the move. During Blast From Beyond, have everyone else defend while you run to the right side of the screen. Do the same thing for Despair, but run to the left side instead. These are powerful beam attacks which come from Shadar's hands, Blast from Beyond will deal a large amount of damage while Despair will apply status effects if hit. When the Dark Djinn uses Fell Sweep, have everyone else defend while you move away from the Dark Djinn.

Definitely guard against the World's End if you cannot get out of its firing aspect. Otherwise, you're probably going to have to revive a dead teammate. Slay 'em all and get the Evenstar spell.

Story[]

Beginning (Initial Knowledge):[]

During the start of the game, Oliver first learns information about Shadar through Mr. Drippy when Oliver travels to the other world. Mr. Drippy gives a very vague description of Shadar and everything known about Shadar himself is sketchy at best. The most common information known to most residents of the other world was that he defeated the Great Sages, broke the hearts of countless individuals across the world and enforced an abolishment of magic. His influence puts even the rulers of the Three Kingdoms in fear and even the mere mention of his name isn't taken lightly. In cutscenes he's portrayed as a classical villain: Confident, malicious and yet intriguing.

Conflict with Oliver:[]

As Oliver continues to travel in the other world, Shadar is tasked by the one known as the White Witch to destroy Oliver and prevent him from saving the world from being destroyed. Shadar makes numerous attempts to kill Oliver in the story. His first attempt was to unleash Moltaan upon Oliver after baiting him in his volcanic trap by making Old Smoky erupt once more. After Oliver saves Swaine from being brokenhearted and gaining Queen Lowlah's permission to use her ship, Oliver and his party board The Sea Cow and Shadar himself faces against Oliver to destroy him, however, Shadar was merely testing his power and leaves to unleash the Eye of the Storm in order to destroy the group.

Shadar returns to the White Witch after learning that Oliver is being protected by what seems to be greatly powerful magic that had been cast on him by none other than Alicia herself.

Return of Mornstar:[]

Shadar ensured that Oliver would not be able to go against him by destroying the wand known as Mornstar, as it is the only wand strong enough to go against Shadar's magic. However, unbeknownst to him, Oliver and his friends were sent back in time by Gallus to retrieve Mornstar from the past. Fortunately for Shadar, while Oliver had indeed attained the wand, the wand's power was severely weakened due to the three magic stones being separated from Mornstar itself, therefore rendering it useless against him. Gallus gives Shadar control over the three powerful guardians of the magic stones to ensure that they do not fall into the hands of Oliver, which Shadar humbly accepts.

Coming to a head:[]

When Oliver and company are about to make their way through the Miasma Marshes to reach his castle Nevermore, Shadar sends his Vileheart to meet them near the whirlpool by the entrance. Having entrusted the fiend with the Soulsnare that Oliver sought through his entire journey, Shadar aims to crush Oliver with the truth about his mother. Oliver and the party defeat Vileheart and gain the Soulsnare; however, what lies in the Soulsnare itself is not the soul of Alicia but rather her memories of the battle she and Shadar fought before she escaped to another time and another world. That world was in fact Oliver's world, and that his mother and Alicia were in fact one and the same. With the cruel truth revealed, Shadar succeeds in crushing Oliver's willpower, putting him in a comatose state.

After successfully crushing his will, Shadar waits in his castle as Oliver recovers from his coma and confronts him. When Oliver and his party arrive at the throne room, Shadar makes one last attempt to dissuade the young boy by revealing that he is in fact, and in truth, Oliver's soulmate. He also tells Oliver that he has done away with all of the other incarnations of Oliver, gaining eternal life in the process and that he should be thankful for being reborn many times over. However, Oliver gains the newfound will to protect the world from him no matter the price. Shadar's ploy fails and he is forced to fight Oliver and his party. He attacks and thus treats the player to a final-boss worthy series of battles.

Aftermath[]

Upon his defeat at the hands of Oliver, Shadar, who on the brink of death, begins to fade with Oliver into an empty, white place. There, Oliver learns of Shadar's tragic story and the events which transformed him into the Dark Djinn. Oliver feels pity for Lucien, and questions why he wanted to destroy the world when he so very much wanted to protect it. Lucien explains that it was his destined role, which has now come to an end and does not elaborate further. Oliver watches reluctantly as Lucien severs the soul-link between themselves, so that Oliver can return to the living world and live his life as his own. Afterwards, he encounters Alicia and learns the truth about their entwined past and discovers that Alicia was in-fact the young girl whom he saved many years ago when he went against orders from his superiors. He then reunites with Alicia in the hereafter, resembling his younger self, and Oliver is left Alicia's Pendant and Shadar's signature spell, the most powerful spell of the Dark element: Evenstar.

Life[]

Fall to despair — The Birth of the Dark Djinn

Shadar was originally named Lucien, an army mage from Bellicosia. He trained hard to defend his friends and family. Yet when his country went to war for selfish reasons he disobeyed the orders to attack and kill all the people in the Halcyon village of Rubicon, saving a little girl and giving her a pendant as a keepsake. For this offense, his hometown was razed to the ground and he was brutally tortured, forcing him to walk with a cane after. Believing that his efforts to protect others were in vain and that the little girl died at the merciless hands of the army, he fell into despair, throwing himself into the Miasma Marshes. In those depths, he heard The White Witch and she showed him the power of hatred, born from the blackest depths of despair. He then became Shadar, the Dark Djinn, appointed by Her Radiance and the twelve Zodiarchs as Executor of his world. Upon his rebirth, he set to work obliterating his homeland of Bellicosia and the neighboring kingdom of Halcyon, leaving only Halcyon's castle as the only proof the country and its people ever existed as he took it as his own personal fortress. Sometime in the future he was confronted by the grown-up Sage Alicia (who then used a combination of the spells Breach Time and Gateway to find his soulmate in Motorville), leveled the country of Xanadu, abolished magic, and made many people brokenhearted. He also slew several incarnations of his soulmate and attained immortality.

Though not implicitly named as the cause of the state of Miasma Marshes, the fact that they improve upon his defeat leaves one to wonder...

Powers and abilities[]

Evenstar: The ultimate spell of darkness, Shadar's most powerful spell and the second most powerful attainable spell in the game.
Teleportation: He can teleport around.
Bestow Nightmare: He can send a Nightmare creature to dwell within the brokenhearted.
Summon Familiar: He only has one, the powerful Eternal Knight.
Command the Eye of the Storm: An ability granted by the White Witch to deal with Oliver.
Sever soul link: Shadar can sever the link between him and his soulmates to avoid suffering their fate, or at the last moment to save Oliver. Although, according to the Young Woman's Diary story, the people who go to the Miasma Marshes can possess this ability.
Levitation: His ability to defy gravity. It is at a higher level than Oliver with the spell Levitate.

Relations[]

He is Oliver's soulmate. Though initially dismissive of Oliver and his role as pure-hearted one, he grows to respect him when Oliver makes it past every challenge Shadar presents.
Allie or Alicia was once his foe, but he learns that she was the little girl he saved so long ago.
The White Witch is his superior, technically. Shadar is somewhat respectful to her but confident in her presence.
The Zodiarchs do not have Shadar's respect. He pays lip service but thinks lowly of them and their scheming.
He found Drippy annoying enough to change him into a doll that Alicia took along to Motorville. He doesn't think much of Drippy though as he only has eyes for Oliver in their confrontations.

Trivia[]

Shadar's face isn't seen until after the final battle against him in Nevermore castle. Despite being immortal, his body still bears the scars of torture and he looks old and decrepit.
He managed to destroy Mornstar in the present.
Shader (also spelled Shadir) just so happens to also be the name of the brightest star in the constellation, Cassiopeia.

Shadar's "World's End" Attack
Shadar's Dark Djinn form in the final phase of his boss fight bears some resemblance to the Giant Warriors from Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind.

The Giant Warrior and its Beam Attack, of which Shadar's Final Form may take inspiration from.
- His most devastating attack; "World's End" is similar to the Giant Warrior's own beam attack, especially considering the destructive power of the two.