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A glimpse of my life in images

Mar 24, '08 11:59 PM
for everyone

One of the recent anime series I was just watching since Holy week... it's awesome!

Shōnen Onmyōji (少年陰陽師, Shōnen Onmyōji?) is a 26 episode anime television series adapted from a light novel series of the same title by Mitsuru Yuuki (結城光流). It began airing on October 03, 2006. The light novel currently has 21 volumes. Along with the anime and novel, there is also a drama CD, PS2 videogame and recently a manga series & a live play.

The anime was licensed for North American Distribution by Geneon Entertainment, however, only two volumes of the series have been released, and has yet to receive a full release due to Geneon's departure from the American market.

Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyouji Abe no Seimei, who passed his teachings on to his grandson. Masahiro lost his sixth sense and the ability to see spirits because his grandfather sealed it away for his own safety, but thanks to Mokkun (or Guren) as his guide, he now works to become the best onmyouji ever.

Little by little, Masahiro reveals his true power, with Mokkun as his protector and the other Shikigami slowly starting to acknowledge him as Seimei's successor. Trying hard to become the best onmyouji, to surpass his grandfather-"the old fox demon" or "kitsune"- he has to stop demons from China, Japan, the Underworld along with rival evil omyouji's and keep his promise of protecting the Princess Akiko of the Fujiwara Clan.

Story Arcs

Following the novels, Shounen Onmyouji is split into arcs, usually having one major nemesis per arc. The anime covers two arcs, the Kyuuki arc and the Kazane arc.

Kyuuki Arc: episode 01~12, volume 01~03

Kyuuki, a winged tiger from the West has been forced to evacuate after being defeated by another demon. He arrives in Japan and plans to eat Fujiwara no Akiko to replenish his spirit powers and heal his wounds. With him are an army of foreign demons, all unknown to the inexperienced onmyouji Masahiro who has started to use his skills.

Kazane Arc: episode 13~26, volume 04~07

A vengeful spirit has been summoned and has cursed Yukinari. A mysterious woman appears and tries to take Seimei's life. Someone is trying to open the gate to the underworld. Events from fifty years ago reoccur and Touda and Masahiro undergo the ultimate test.

House of Abe

Abe no Masahiro/Masahiro Abe (安倍昌浩, Abe no Masahiro?)

An Onmyouji in training and the grandson of the legendary Abe no Seimei. As a young child, his spiritual sight was so strong that Seimei temporarily sealed it away until he was old enough to properly use it. After meeting Mokkun (Touda/Guren), Masahiro regained his spirit sight and embraced his destiny as an Onmyouji in service to the emperor. He is friendly and kind to both youkai and people whom he seeks to protect from evil demons who had taken up residence surrounding the imperial capital. Although he is sometimes cocky and clumsy, there are moments when he utilizes powers beyond those of a mere apprentice which is why Seimei claims he is the only one who can succeed him. Masahiro greatly resents being known only as "Seimei's grandson" and trains hard to surpass his grandfather. In addition to his magic, Masahiro later receives a sword called the Gouma no Tsurugi (Devil conquering sword) which was forged by Seimei. He cares a lot about his friends, his family and his love, Princess Akiko vows to protected no matter what.
Masahiro Abe (left) and Guren/Touda (right)
Masahiro Abe (left) and Guren/Touda (right)

Abe no Seimei/Seimei Abe (安倍晴明, Abe no Seimei?)

The greatest Onmyouji in the history of Japan, Abe no Seimei is the grandfather of Masahiro. He has Twelve Shikigami called the Shinshou (heavenly summons) under his command and is able to project his soul (which takes the form of his younger self) outside of his body in order to aide Masahiro in combat. Doing so however leaves his body defenseless should an enemy attack. He constantly needles Masahiro to push him further in his journey as a sort of reverse psychology which causes Masahiro to refer to Seimei as a "sly tanuki" or raccoon. Rumor has it that Seimei's mother was not human but a powerful fox spirit which may explain why he is so powerful. Despite showing such a happy attitude, there were two moments of his life that he was sad, the first when he couldn't save his only best friend, Ryuusai and secondly the death of his wife who he loved deeply.

Abe no Yoshimasa (安倍吉昌, Abe no Yoshimasa?)

Masahiro's father and Seimei's youngest son. He is married to Tsuyuki and has three sons: Narichika, Masachika and Masahiro. He has a doctorate in star-gazing and is a prominent figure in the onmyou world. However, he is not as powerful as Seimei or Masahiro (after he realizes his potential). Yoshimasa realizes that Masahiro is the true heir to Seimei, acknowledged by Touda, as he is the only one not afraid of his aura. He is a kind and supportive father, taking holidays for Masahiro when he goes to fight and purposefully ignoring his nightly escapades.

Abe no Narichika (安倍成親, Abe no Narichika?)

Yoshimasa's eldest son and Masahiro's oldest brother. He has an easygoing personality and is, personality wise out of the three brothers, most similar to Seimei. He married into his wife's family and has two sons and a daughter. Narichika has a doctorate in calender and date studies, making him a highly recognized figure in the dorm. He cares for his family and Masahiro a lot.

[edit] House of Fujiwara

Fujiwara no Akiko (藤原彰子, Fujiwara no Akiko?)

Akiko is an imperial princess and the daughter of the minister of the left. She and Masahiro first meet in the Imperial Palace after his coming of age and the two become good friends after he saves her from a demon attack. As series progress, both of them fall in love with each other. Akiko is special as she possesses a Kenki ability (the ability to see demons) greater than even Seimei and because of this, during the beginning of the series, the foreign demons constantly attack her to deliver Akiko as a sacrifice to their master. They manage to capture her but Masahiro and his allies were able to save but not before the demons gave a curse wound on her hand. Halfway through the series, Akiko's father attempted to introduce her into the imperial court as a wife for the Emperor, thereby separating her from Masahiro forever. In her moment of sadness, Kyukki was able to put a powerful curse through her wounded hand. While the curse was eventually removed but according to Seimei the aftereffects of the curse was so seroius to Akiko that a Onmyoji was required keep the curse from overwhelming her. As a result she wasn't sent to imperial court as that wold bring bad luck to the Emperor so her half-sister Shouko, who looks exactly the same as her was sent into the palace in her place. Akiko was instead sent to live with Seimei's family to deal with the curse under the identity as distant relative of theirs. There are suggestions, that Seimei had tricked Akiko's father into thinking that so she and Masahiro could remain close since he about both their feeling with each other. At the Abe residence, Akiko remains a strong help to Masahiro and helps around the house, learning to do things what an ordinary girl does like going shopping by herself thanks to the help of Masahiro's mother.

Fujiwara no Yukinari (藤原行成, Fujiwara no Yukinari?)

The minister of the right to the Emperor whose primary duty is the management and upkeep up the imperial capital. Yukinari takes a liking to Masahiro from the moment they meet and constantly encourages him to advance in his studies because he knows he will be a poweful Onyomji like Seimei, which of course promotes a high amount of jealousy among Masahiro's peers in the Onmyou dorms. Seimei helped him long ago and because of this Yukinari offered to be Masahiro's guardian at his coming of age ceremony in return. During the series, he was cursed by vengful spirit who had mistaken him for his grandfather but the spirit was later excorised thanks to Masahiro. He also seems to be aware of Masahiro activities fighting demons.

Fujiwara no Toshitsugu (藤原敏次, Fujiwara no Toshitsugu?)

Two years Masahiro's senior, Toshitsugu works at the Onmyou dorms with him. He is a diligent worker that values effort and hard work above all else. Toshitsugu was the first person that talked to Masahiro but after a misunderstanding of seeing Masahiro at night when he was supposed to be at home on rest, Toshitsugu's attitude became harsh and critical, saying he shouldn't do as he wish just because of his family's influence. Toshitsugu shows promise as an onmyouji by 'normal' standards (not compared to Seimei or Masahiro). He does not know of Masahiro's power but gets suspicious after a cloaked Masahiro saves him. Toshitsugu was possessed by a vengeful spirit summoned by Kazane in the Kazane arc and placed a curse on Yukinari who had taken care of him since he was young. Masahiro eventually breaks the curse and Tenitsu absorbs the rebound. Toshitusgu actually saw Tenitsu and now thinks that a goddess saved him.

[edit] 12 Spirit Summons

The 12 summons have been in existence for a very, very long time and can be considered as gods of the lower rank. Currently they fall under the command of Abe no Seimei, the greatest Onmyouji of all times. Unless Seimei summons them, they usually reside in the spirit world of the gods.

These 12 summons are special as they were actually created by humans. Overtime, people's dreams and imaginations were transformed into the 12, giving them unique forms and personalities. They can be considered as the children of humans. Hence, the golden rule of the 12 is that they must never harm a human let alone kill one.

Although they are gods possessing strong powers, the summons can get injured, can feel pain and can lose their lives. When one of them dies they will be reborn instantly as people's dreams never stop giving them form but they will forget their past self and continue on as a completely different god.

Guren (紅蓮, Guren?)/Touda (騰蛇, Tōda?)/Mokkun (もっくん, Mokkun?)

Touda is one of twelve Shikigami in service to Seimei; who gave him the name Guren after Touda pledged his servitude. The form he takes most of the time is a cat/dog like mononoke whom Masahiro named Mokkun. Because he's invisible to anyone without a spirit sense, Mokkun frequently plays tricks on people who annoy him, much to Masahiro's chagrin. From the time Masahiro was a baby, Guren had watched over and protected him as Masahiro was the only person who wasn't afraid of him. Because of this, despite how they constantly bicker with each other, Masahiro and Touda share a deep sense of friendship and trust between them and both are willing to lay down their own lives for the other. In his past, a spell was cast upon Guren by Seimei's best friend Ryuusai who ordered Guren to kill Seimei and after that Guren kills Ryuusai. Also because of that incident Seimei's other Shikigami don't trust him. It is also mentioned that Guren is one of most feared summon Gods, possessing a power so great (controlling the fires of Hell) that Seimei created a golden ring to wear around Guren's head so as to keep his own strength from overwhelming him. Since Masahiro doesn't fear Guren, Seimei cites this as the proof his grandson is the only one compatible to be his successor. In the form of Mokkun, he is able to erect barriers and project crescent shaped blades of energy; in the form of Guren, he attacks with blasts of fire and a trident. At the end of the anime, Mokkun loses his memories of Masahiro after Masahiro sealed them away for his sake.

Kouchin (勾陣, Kouchin?)

Kouchin appears as a mature-looking woman, about 25, with shoulder-length black hair. She is ranked second strongest of the twelve in attack power, after Touda. Kouchin specializes in close range fighting with twin forks. Unlike the others Kouchin does not resent Touda as much and is actually his close friend (and possibly lover) as Touda refers to Kouchin as 'Kou'. When Masahiro asks him about this, he refused to respond. She has also watch over Masahiro when he was a baby together with Guren. She is very observant and has a clear grasp of all of the 12's personalities. She is also very good at noticing small details. Her second name from Seimei is Keito (慧斗).

Rikugou/Saiki (六合, Rikugō?)

Rikugou's primary role is to be the on-call bodyguard to Seimei but he will leave Seimei's side to aide Masahiro should he be ordered to. Rikugou's sense of loyalty is so strong that he was willing to put aside his doubts regarding Masahiro's abilities and accepted him as Seimei's successor on little more than his master's assurances. He differs from the other Sheishou in that he rarely use magical attacks, preferring instead to fight opponents head on with a barbed spear. Rikugou can also use his cape as a shield and create an explosive 360 degree shock wave of air by striking the ground with his weapon. He also has a chain that was used against a 'controlled' Guren but Guren overpowered him. Rikugou is a man of few words and only speaks when he must. The only way to notice any change in his emotions was through his eyes. This began to change, however, after he met Kazane whom he fell in love with. Rikugou saved Kazane's life two times. One, when she was swallowed by a demon and the other is when they're in the underworld. He began to show worry, frustration and was furious when she was killed. Just before she died, they shared an emotional embrace and he revealed to her that his name is Saiki(彩輝), and that she is the only one he told his name to. He gets along fabulously well with Mokkun.

Seiryu (青龍, Seiryu?)

Seiryu is stubborn, antisocial and has a bad temper. He holds a deep loathing for Guren due his attempted murder of Seimei and also considers Masahiro to be unworthy to be Seimei's successor. Seiryu even went as far as to say that if Guren ever harms a human again, he will personally kill him. He attacks with blasts of lightning and fights with a large two handed scythe. His second name from Seimei is Shouran (宵藍). Seiryuu cares about Seimei's wellbeing more than any of the others. However he always shows his care through anger.

Suzaku (朱雀, Suzaku?)

Suzaku is a fire user like Touda but unlike Touda's destructive flames, Suzaku's flames are used to purify evil spirits. He uses a heavybladed Zanbato to slash his enemies. Suzuku is the only one to possess the ability to kill another shikigami. Suzaku has bright red hair and wears a white strip of cloth around his forehead, which was Tenitsu's. He is very much in love with Tenitsu and is fiercely protective of her due to her wound transfer ability, going as far as to hit Masahiro after Tenitsu saved him. Tenitsu was reborn right before his eyes after she died.

Tenitsu (天一, Ten'itsu?)

A member of Seimei's Shikigami, Tenitsu has the appearance of a young woman with long blond hair. Her ear-ring is Suzaku's. Unlike the other members of the Sheishou, she specializes more in magic than combat, particularly healing and clairvoyance. When someone has a very serious wound, she heals it by transferring the wound onto herself, something her lover and fellow Shikigami Suzaku distresses over. Tenitsu has another name, Tenki (天貴), which only Suzaku calls her by. She is usually seen protecting Akiko or just keeping her company. She is the only Shikigami of the 12 that has died before. Her past self wore her hair short and was loud and energetic. She was also the best friend of Suzaku.

Taiin (太陰, Taiin?)

Taiin is a wind user who resembles a young girl with high pigtails. Fittingly she also has a childish personality despite living for so long. Said to be rash by a fair few of the Seishou, Taiin attacks with mini tornados and can also use the wind to communicate and pass messages. She can also 'read' the wind to know what's happening at other places but she's not good at it. Because of her personality she is often at the receiving end of one of Byakko's lectures with the current record lasting 8 hours. Taiin does not like slimy things and often appears with Genbu. She can create a tornado to transport people to other places but the ride is usually very rough. A recurring gag in the series is that whenever she uses this, Masahiro and Genbu falls on the ground. Only the older Shikigami remain standing.

Genbu (玄武, Genbu?)

Genbu resembles a young boy of about ten years. Although not possessing much ability in combat Genbu specialises in defence and making barriers. However, out of the four people that can make barriers his is the weakest. He is a water user and has a water mirror that allows the user to see things happening far away. He can also use this mirror to communicate with fellow water user Tenkou. Genbu is often seen with Taiin who he constaly berates on some of the things she does.

Tenkou (天后, Tenkou?) A water user like Genbu. Tenkou appears to be about the same age as Kazane and has long, light sliver hair. She gets along well with Kouchin. Tenkou is the weakest out of the eight fighting summons and is angry at herself for that. She is about as stubborn as Seiryuu but has her gentle side.

Byakko (白虎, Byakko?)

Byakko resembles a strong middle-aged man with greyish-green hair. Like Taiin, he is a wind user but his wind is more 'gentle' and travels slower than Taiin's. He treats Taiin and Genbu like his children. He is also the only one that can keep Taiin under control.

Tenkuu (天空, Tenkuu?)

A summon that resembles an old man with a long beard. Tenkuu is the govenor of the 12 and rarely leaves the spirit world. He also has the strongest barrier making and defense powers of the 12. So strong, in fact that he can immobilize enemies without leaving the spirit world. He also makes all the Shikigami's weapons.

[edit] Other Important Characters

Takaokami no kami

The Dragon goddess of Kifune Mountain. She is a very powerful god that the 12 Shikigami including Seimei respect. When Kyuuki and his demons came to Japan, he manipulated Akiko cousin Keiko to seal her so that he and his demon could hide at Kifune Mountain without interference. She was later freed by Masahiro who used his magic to break the seal. As a sign of gratitude, she save Masahiro life when he was stab by a possess Akiko. She would later help Masahiro and his companions when capital was in trouble. She usually appears as a White Dragon but would later appear as a purple haired woman in her 30's usually telling anyone to call Takao when she is in her human form. She first took over Mashiro body to talk important issues with Guren for Mashiro but later decides to tell him herself by being in her human form.

Kurumanosuke

A youkai who resembles a carriage with a wide-mouthed ogre's face mounted on the left wheel. Masahiro first encountered Kurumanosuke while patrolling the streets of the capital and almost exorcised him for allegedly attacking a human, but spared him after realizing Kuramanosuke was only trying to help a drunk who had passed out in the street. Afterwards, Kuramanosuke accepted Masahiro as his master and began serving as his personal transporter. When the capital was invaded by the Demons from the Underworld, it was Kurumanosuke who help hid the Zakki's into his carriage to save their lives.

The Zakki

The term 'zakki' is used to refer to the lower demons. Since Masahiro exorcised Ban Ban, a demon that was attacking the zakki, they now act as informants for Masahiro, telling him of any strange happenings or sightings. In the anime, the zakki are usually represented by three demons; a lizard with three eyes, a yellow skinned gremlin and a pink, round ball. The Zakki usually appear by suddenly dropping out of the sky and landing on his head and calling him "Seimei's grandson" much to his dislike, a running gag in the light novels and anime.

[edit] Kyuuki Arc

Kyuuki

The leader of the foreign demons, Kyuuki's form is that of a gigantic winged tiger with horns and saber fangs but can also assume the shape of a massive demon bull. After losing his territory in China to a rival demon, Kyuuki and his army of demons seek to establish a new territory in Japan, specifically around the imperial capital. Although possessing incredible strength and power, Kyuuki is hampered by a massive wound on his throat inflicted by the demon which chased him from China and which requires the consumption of someone possessing great spiritual power in order to heal. As Seimei is too strong for him to attack, Kyuuki targets Masahiro instead but also pursues Akiko as well for her Kenki ability and also because beautiful long haired girls are his favorite food. He usaually has his followers attack his enemies and uses his enemies desires to control them. He is eventually killed when Masahiro uses the Gouma no Tsurugi to stab him though the chest in order to transmit a spell directly into Kyuuki's body.

Princess Keiko Princess Keiko is Akikio's cousin and a member of the Fujiwara clan. She was once engage to a man she was about to marry but the man marry another woman instead. What was humiliating and angered her was the fact the woman he married was from a lower noble family and she beg the man to marry her. Heartbroken, Kyuuki use that to his advantage to possess her with the promise if she help him, he will curse the man's wife face which will force him to leave her to be with Keiko again. While the possessing made her sick and bedridden, she was able to leave her home using her cursed spirit to travel. She helped Kyuuki by sealing the Dragon Goddess of Kifune Mountain so his army could hid the mountain. She willing to do anything to be with the man even killing anyone who gets in her way & sacrificing her cousin Akiko. Her possess spirit was finally exorcise by Seimei where she woke up in her home not knowing what happen.

Ban Ban Looking like a giant body rat with a head of a turtle, he was one Kyukki's followers. He was also the demon that made Masahiro realize that the demons he was fighting were from China. He first appear in Masahiro dreams and later attack the Zakki's in their hideout where he died bleeding from his injuries from fighting Mokkun and Masahiro.

Gaku and Shun These two bird demons were Kyuuki advisor's and Lieutenant's to his followers. Both of them always look down upon all of their opponents believing all of them being weak. They were also responsible for putting a cursed wound on Akiko's hand. Due to their overconfidence, they were finally killed by Masahiro and the Shikigami's.

[edit] Kazane Arc

Kazane The 'daughter' of Ryuusai. She is a formidable fighter, able to use magic and weapons as well. She is able to stand her ground and even defeat Seiryu and Genbu in a 2-on-1 battle. She has a deep hate for Guren because she believes that he killed her father. She has a crow for a companion named Kai and cares very deeply for it. She and Rikugou seem to have feelings for each other. Rikugou has the most confrontations with her and ended up falling in love with her. Rikugou tried to talk some sense in her that Chigaeshi no Guuji is just using her to open the underworld but she replied that it is of her own free will.

It is later reveal that see is not really Ryuusai daughter but in fact the daughter of the Priestess of the Underworld. She was kidnapped by Guuji when she was young and had her memories sealed. She was trained by Ryuusai and was told a lie that Seimei and Guren were responsible for her parents death. Unknown to her, she was secretly used to open the gates of the underworld due to the fact only those related to the Priestess can open the gate. When she found out the truth and was weakened by Ryuusai/Guuji to open the gate , she tried to escape from the underworld demons where her Crow Kai sacrificed his life by teleporting her away. Sadly, it was all vain as she was killed by a demon who stabbed her through the chest. Despite being a villain, she was still a good person since did care about Princess Nagako and tried to send her back to her family as she regretted kidnapping and using her in the first place. Her last moments before dying were with Rikugou who held her in his arms where she learned his real name.

Princess Nagako The Emperor's daughter. When her baby brother was born, her parents ignored her who were joyful that they finally had a son. She felt lonely and bitter that here parents were ignoring her were she soon was befriended by Kazane who was disguised as a Nanny. Kazane use her anger to curse the capital. Despite being used by Kazane she still love her since she was the only friend she ever had as Kazane knew what it was like being lonely.. When she was sent into the underworld, she felt nobody including her mother, cared about her anymore. When Masahiro and Genbu shown her that her mother still care for her and regret not spending time with her she realize her parents still love her. She was later sent back to her family.

Chigaeshi no Miko The Priestess of the Underworld and the mother of Kazane. 50 years before the Kazane arc began, she sought the help of Onmyoji Seimei and Ryusai to help her seal the gates of the underworld since the seal was getting weaker. However Ryuusai feel deeply in love with and kidnap her instead. She later left Ryuusai to go back to the underworld but was kidnap by Guuji. He sealed her into a frozen rock since he couldn't get her to open the underworld gate, instead he used her daughter, Kazane.

Enoki Ryuusai Seimei only best friend and a powerful onmyoji. Ryuusai while was not as powerful as Seimei, had learn the Baku-kon spell, a spell that could forcefully control anyone and a spell that Seimei dislike. 50 years ago, he accompany Seimei to go to Izumo to check a disturbance there despite objection by Semei not to follow him. There he and Seimei meet The Priestess of the Underworld who he felt deeply madly in love. He was soon manipulated by Guuji to kidnap the Priestess and break the seal of underworld believing by doing so he could get the Priestess all for himself. When Guren and Seimei tried to stop him, he use the Baku-kon spell on Guren and made him tried to kill Seimei. He was finally killed by Guren but his body would be later used by Guuji soul. Guuji use his body to help him in his plan with the promise he could still get the Priestess all by himself.

Chishiki no Guuji The real villain thats been controlling Kazane and Ryuusai. Seimei and his Spirit Summons fought him once before many years ago, but now he has returned to open the Gates of the Underworld. Rikugou was the first one to realize he was back because he heard Kazane talking with him. When he was mortally injured, he transfer his soul into Ryuusai body to continue his plans. He trained Kazane & lied about what happen to her parents so she could help him open the gates of the underworld.