Shadow Skill (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Megumu Okada. The series has been adapted into four original video animations released from 1995 to 1996 and an anime adaptation produced by Studio Deen aired on TV Tokyo in 1998.
In North America, the OVAs have been released by Manga Entertainment and the anime television series was distributed by ADV Films.
Plot
Shadow Skill takes place in the warrior kingdom of Kuruda, where Elle Ragu has recently become the 59th Sevaar, a title awarded to their most elite warriors. She often leaves a trail of destruction when she fights and along with a drinking habit. Elle is constantly followed by debts and throughout the series takes on jobs to work off these debts. One of these such jobs leads her to the Green Octopus Inn on an island outside the city, which eventually becomes the protagonists' base of operation.
Throughout the series, Elle travels along with her adopted younger brother Gau Ban, who is studying Elle's fighting skills so that one day he could become the greatest Sevaar in Kuruda. Also in Elle and Gau's life is Faulink Maya (Faulee), a Sui Rame talisman sorceress, and Kyuo Liu, a Septia beast-catcher and grandniece of Eva Stroll, the king of Kuruda.
Warriors in Kuruda fight using the Kurudan-style Kōsappō (交殺法) which has two general divisions: Hyōgi (表技), which emphasize punches and throws, and Eigi (影技), which focus on kicks and the user's footwork.