When I first started to watch manga series, I was surprised to find out there were a lack of certain mythological creatures. Fans of anime know that we seldom come across creatures such as dragons and unicorns.
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Did Unicorns And Dragons Exist?
I believe that both dragons and unicorns used to exist. Dragons are mentioned in folklore from all over the world. The Welsh have a tradition of unicorns and so does China and Japan. As a matter of fact, different species of dragons may have existed.
Chinese dragons are depicted with five toes on each of their four paws while Japanese dragons have three toes on each paw.
Unicorns in anime are even more rare than dragons. While there is little proof that unicorns did once roam the earth, many cultures have a unicorn or two firmly embedded in their folklore. According to Greek mythology, unicorns lived in India.
The Magical Powers Of The Unicorn
Unicorns are rumoured to have had magical powers. They could heal wounds, detect poisons and purify water. You would have thought they would make the perfect companions for many anime heroes. Their horn could also be used for defence. According to Scottish mythology, they used their horns to defend themselves against tigers. As we all know, tigers do exist in India.
There are other examples of animals with horns including narwhals. They also used to be thought of mythological by sailors. Maybe the poor unicorns were hunted to extinction for their horns just like we hunt the rhino.
Unicorns, or at least unicorn concepts, have started to turn up in anime series. Here is a list of anime unicorns you can check out:
Helios from Sailor Moon
Unimon from Digimon
Unita from The Time Detective
Unico from Unico
Unicolyon from Beyblade
Rapidash from Pokemon
I for one would like to think that unicorns did exist. Maybe they will come back one day or we will be lucky enough to find some unicorn DNA.
Now I am off to begin my search for the Yeti or Sasquatch depending on what flights I can find. Wish me luck...
From The Mind Of YaYa