Under the Weather

Mirai looks out of place in the Senran Kagura series. She’s flat-chested, she dresses conservatively, and she favors an umbrella over swords in battle. Mirai is a ball of nerves who has a habit of running away in a state of panic when things get too heated, but she also hates to be ignored and will go to great lengths to make her presence known. This is where her umbrella comes into play. Even if you were to look past Mirai, it would be nearly impossible to ignore her umbrella after its true form is revealed. The unassuming accessory looks like an extension of her gothic lolita fashion sense, but it’s actually a rifle disguised to look and function like a normal umbrella. Mirai can use the umbrella as a melee weapon if she wants to, but it’s most effective when she’s firing bullets infused with her ninja energy.

Polka is a young girl who is reviled due to her ability to use magic. Although she’s looked on with fear and suspicion, Polka strives to improve the lives of those around her. Parasols are peculiar weapons, but they’re effective in Polka’s hands because she’s one of the only magic users in her party. Polka often swings her parasols around like swords or uses them like shields, and she even incorporates the umbrellas into powerful attack dances that can land multiple blows. That said, the parasols are most useful when used in conjunction with her magic abilities. By raising an umbrella into the air and opening it up, Polka can heal her allies with an extravagant shower of sunlight and flower petals. She can also cause columns of water to crash down on her enemies or create small meteorites in the sky!

The parasol is one of Kirby’s most versatile copy abilities since it can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. Kirby can swing the parasol in front of him or turn it into a makeshift drill. It also lets Kirby glide through the air, and it can even be used underwater! The parasol can also be used as a shield to block projectile attacks, and it passively protects him from falling objects without requiring any direct input. The parasol power-up has been upgraded many times over they years. In some games, it can fire star-like projectiles. In other instances, it can spray water at enemies or put out fires. The most adorable use of Kirby’s parasol involves his hamster friend, Rick. When Rick holds the umbrella in the air, Kirby will roll into a ball and balance on the top of it in a spectacular display of teamwork.

When a powerful monster called Trillion threatens to destroy his kingdom, the ruler of the underworld seeks the assistance of beautiful maidens representing the seven deadly sins. As the Overlord of Pride, Ruche is defined by her selfish and domineering personality. She tends to look down on others, but she received an advanced education at a young age and her pride isn’t entirely misplaced. To her credit, she does her part to stop the menacing Trillion and uses a living umbrella named Beholder as a weapon. (Oddly, Beholder is adorned with a larger crown than the one Ruche wears.) Beholder looks like a giant mouth lined with sharp teeth, but the haughty little princess usually just ends up swinging him like a baseball bat. Ruche is a bit of a brat, but Beholder still obeys her every command.

Parasol Stars is the oft-overlooked sequel to Rainbow Islands, and Bubby and Bobby are the human names of the dragons that first appeared in Bubble Bobble. Although their attacks seem tame in comparison to the other individuals on this list, Bubby and Bobby deserve recognition since no game puts a brighter spotlight on umbrellas than Parasol Stars. The game mechanics revolve entirely around multi-purpose parasols that can be deployed in a number of ways. They can stun or hurl enemies, they can be used as shields or makeshift parachutes, and they can also capture water droplets that fall from above. (These captured water droplets can then be thrown at the enemies.) If you removed parasols from the equation, poor Bubby and Bobby would have no way to proceed in Parsol Stars.

Okuni is a beautiful priestess who unknowingly wanders onto battlefields and tries to solicit money by dancing. Although she’d prefer to avoid violence altogether, her umbrellas accentuate her gracefulness whenever she’s drawn into a fight. Okuni can use her umbrella to float across the countryside like Mary Poppins, but she can be downright lethal when she needs to be. She can swing her umbrellas like swords or throw them like boomerangs, and she can even unleash powerful whirlwinds simply by opening up an umbrella! Her attacks are delayed somewhat since she tends to open and close her umbrellas after each hit. That being said, her skills are so advanced that she’ll often toy with her opponents by spinning them around on the top of her umbrella.

Hat Kid looks like a typical child, but she lives by herself on a spaceship and is resourceful enough to find a solution when the ship’s fuel supply is compromised. When she winds up on a hostile planet that’s run by gangsters, the debutante finds many ways to fight back. She can obtain various hats that grant all kinds of magical abilities, but she’s usually content with walloping her enemies with an umbrella. Her umbrella can naturally be used like a parachute in certain situations, and it can also be upgraded to a veritable grappling-hook pistol. Hat Kid even takes a page out of Scrooge McDuck’s playbook by using the umbrella as a makeshift pogo stick! The pint-sized heroine can literally travel through space and time, so the fact she relies so heavily on an umbrella speaks volumes about its versatility.

Rachel is the head of the Alucard vampire family and a stereotypical aristocrat. She’s arrogant and condescending to those around her, but her apathy is largely informed by the overwhelming power she wields. Rachel’s trademark umbrella fits nicely with her frilly dress, but it’s no ordinary fashion accessory. The umbrella is an effective weapon for attacking enemies from various angles, and it’s especially useful against airborne opponents. Rachel can also use the umbrella to slowly float back to the ground. What’s interesting about her umbrella is that it’s actually a shape-shifting cat named Nago who is every bit as snobby as Rachel is. Nago can morph into other objects (including a cannon), but he’s usually seen in umbrella form. I guess it kinda makes sense for a vampire to carry an umbrella around.

Princess Peach has been equipped with parasols in a number of games. They were used as weapons in Super Mario RPG, they allow her to glide in Super Smash Bros., and they pretty much made her invulnerable in Super Paper Mario. The parasol she used in Super Princess Peach was especially notable since it was actually alive. After a young child named Perry was transformed into a parasol by evil magic, he was sold by a merchant and given to the princess. The magical parasol acts as a voice of encouragement and aids Peach in many ways. Perry can sweep enemies aside, break through bricks, float through the air, and ferry Peach across water like a boat. The princess has been using parasols since infancy, and Baby Peach even uses one in Yoshi’s Island DS to improve Yoshi’s flutter jump.

A number of living umbrellas have already been discussed in detail, but Kogasa Tatara is an unusual case because she’s an umbrella herself. Kogasa was an umbrella who was discarded by her owner. After being blown away in the wind, the spirit residing in the umbrella became enraged. Unwanted and undesired, Kogasa modified her appearance to look more like a typical yōkai and decided to extract her revenge against humanity by sneaking up on them and surprising them. (She usually fails in this regard, but bless her heart for trying.) Since Kogasa is an umbrella, all of her maneuvers can technically be described as umbrella-based attacks. In some cases, she even throws spinning umbrellas at her enemies! As a living umbrella who throws other umbrellas, Kogasa perfectly exemplifies the spirit of this list.