Mana

A mana (真名（マナ）; literally "true name") is a unique secret name possessed by spiritual creatures, such as elves and merrows, which governs their true forms. An astral being occupying a form atypical of its true astral nature can chant its mana to manifest its true form. If a person of ill intent learns an astral being's mana, they gain control over that being.

A more specific notion of a mana exists in the form of a "evil name" or 'demon name (魔名), which is bestowed upon members of the God Hand. During the Eclipse, when Griffith is reborn as one of the God Hand, Void christens him with the mana of "Femto".

Notes

• Isma's mother knows her daughter's mana, but exerts no control over her.

Trivia

• Dark Horse Comics mistranslated the episode 86 introduction of a mana as an "evil/demon name", rendering it instead as "mantle of evil" and omitting any explicit mention of "mana". Furthermore, in episode 324, where the concept is introduced in general terms as a "true name", Dark Horse replaces "mana" with "true name", despite the term appearing in katakana (マナ) to indicate it should be read as "mana"; this is literal but imprecise, given that Miura specified "mana".
• In Dark Horse Comics' translation of episode 324, Puck cites "Justin Bayley" and "Opop Daundaun Lefryte" as examples of mana. In the Japanese version, he instead recites "yuute imiya oukimu kouho riiyu ujitori yamaa kirape pepepepe pepepe pepepe pepepepe pepepe pepepe pepepepe pepe". Both sets of phrases allude to video game passwords: Metroid, the Konami Code (first used in Gradius), and Dragon Quest II, respectively.