Ayakashi Ayashi
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese anime
series, created and written by Shō Aikawa
and produced by Bones
. Directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, it featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto
and premiered across Japan on October 7, 2006 on TBS
's 6:00 pm doroku timeslot, which has previously occupied other noted anime Blood+
, Fullmetal Alchemist
and both series of the Gundam Seed franchise.
It received its satellite television
premiere across Japan on Animax
on November 14, 2006, and also received its English language
television premiere on Animax's English networks across Southeast Asia
and South Asia
, Animax Asia
, from January 2009. While originally scheduled to air for 52 episodes, the series' length was shortened to 25 due to its low ratings and ended its run on March 31, 2007.
Era, ten years before the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry
and the Black Ships
, Edo
is under attack by beasts from the underworld, known as . Members of the Bansha Aratamesho, called the , are assembled to repel the emergence of these yoi.
Fifteen years ago, he met and befriended a man named Kumoshichi, who goaded him into a fight until Yukiatsu was forced to kill him in self-defense. The event was so traumatic that Yukiatsu blocked out the memories, and unconsciously summoned a Yoi in Kumoshichi's form. At some point he was brought to the vagrant camps, escaped, was recaptured, and escaped again; his arm and shoulder are still tattooed from this.
Prior to Kumoshichi's death, Yukiatsu was very reckless and rambunctious. He started fights, tricked people and even sexually harassed Oshino because he was desperate to feel alive. After losing his friend, he became much more quiet and restrained. Because of his status as an eternal outsider, from society and from the human race, Yukiatsu tends to be extremely sympathetic to people who fall outside the bounds of society, whether they are vagrants or foreigners.
He fights using several different firearms, ranging from a large gun to a bazooka and grenades, and seems to function more as a munitions expert than as a priest. He frequently works alongside Abi, and the two seem to be very close friends (even drinking and partying together).
She fights using a paper fan which unfolds to become a long rope of paper, which can be used to temporarily tie up Yoi. She was also born with the power to perform a mysterious dance which attracts Yōi, which is said to be the dance performed to draw the goddess Amaterasu from her cave.
There were literal evidence that she's around fourteen years old when she said she wasn't even born fifteen years ago, and she turned thirteen at the same time when her father started turning on other actors and the theatre burned down, which was a year ago.
However, Atl was reviled for being a foreigner, and had to artificially tint her bronze skin with makeup to pass for a Japanese person. She and her horse Quetzl (whom she called Yukiwa) performed together in a circus, until her status as a foreigner was revealed. After this, Genbatsu arranged for her to be a ward of the geishas he knew in the red light district, although she herself would not become one.
For reasons that are never fully explored, Atl is able to see Kumoshichi, and is able to correctly identify him as a Yoi despite his human appearance. No one other than Yukiatsu is able to do so.
Yuki was shocked when he realized that he had killed the real Shikiji, and that his longtime friend was actually a Yoi he had created. When the horse/dragon Quetzl began running wild, Kumoshichi merged with him and successfully calmed the Yoi until it was no longer dangerous. As a result, Kumoshichi only existed after that as a part of Quetzl - a talking horse.
, also known as
, took over the timeslot, starting in April 2007.
Ending theme:
manga magazine Young Gangan in October 2006, published by Square Enix
. The last chapter was serialized on year 2007's 15th issue of the magazine. The second and last volume was released in Japan on October 25, 2007.
The manga series has been licensed for distribution in North America
by Bandai Entertainment.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, created and written by Shō Aikawa
Sho Aikawa (screenwriter)
is a Japanese screenwriter. His writing credits include Jikuu Senshi Spielban, Mister Ajikko, Dangaioh, and Urotsukidōji. He has recently written the anime adaptations of Love Hina and the first Fullmetal Alchemist series, as well Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Decade...
and produced by Bones
Bones (studio)
is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...
. Directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, it featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto
Toshihiro Kawamoto
is a Japanese animator. He is co-founder and director of the anime studio Bones. He was character designer and animation director of Cowboy Bebop.-Early period:...
and premiered across Japan on October 7, 2006 on TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
's 6:00 pm doroku timeslot, which has previously occupied other noted anime Blood+
Blood+
Blood+, pronounced as "Blood Plus", is an anime series produced by Production I.G and Aniplex and directed by Junichi Fujisaku. The series premiered in Japan on Sony's anime satellite channel, Animax, as well as on terrestrial networks such as MBS, TBS, and RKB on October 8, 2005. The final episode...
, Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist
, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
and both series of the Gundam Seed franchise.
It received its satellite television
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
premiere across Japan on Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
on November 14, 2006, and also received its English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
television premiere on Animax's English networks across Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, Animax Asia
Animax Asia
Animax Asia is the Japanese anime TV network Animaxs English language feeds in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as its feeds across other regions of mainland Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan...
, from January 2009. While originally scheduled to air for 52 episodes, the series' length was shortened to 25 due to its low ratings and ended its run on March 31, 2007.
Plot
In 1843, the fourteenth year of the TenpōTenpo
was a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
Era, ten years before the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (naval officer)
Matthew Calbraith Perry was the Commodore of the U.S. Navy and served commanding a number of US naval ships. He served several wars, most notably in the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854...
and the Black Ships
Black Ships
The Black Ships was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries.In 1543 Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki...
, Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
is under attack by beasts from the underworld, known as . Members of the Bansha Aratamesho, called the , are assembled to repel the emergence of these yoi.
Ayashi of the Bansha Aratamesho
- The protagonist, a 39-year-old drifter with the power of Ayagami. He goes by the name of "Yuki". Originally a son of a HatamotoHatamotoA was a samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as gokenin. However, in the Edo period, hatamoto were the upper vassals of the Tokugawa...
Samurai, he left home 25 years ago, after having visited the "Other World". He is the only person known to have visited it and returned. However, he found himself unable to appreciate normal non-Yoi food, and felt dissatisfied with the normal world. Most importantly, he was left with the power of Ayagami, which allows him to draw out a creature's true name and turn it into a weapon.
Fifteen years ago, he met and befriended a man named Kumoshichi, who goaded him into a fight until Yukiatsu was forced to kill him in self-defense. The event was so traumatic that Yukiatsu blocked out the memories, and unconsciously summoned a Yoi in Kumoshichi's form. At some point he was brought to the vagrant camps, escaped, was recaptured, and escaped again; his arm and shoulder are still tattooed from this.
Prior to Kumoshichi's death, Yukiatsu was very reckless and rambunctious. He started fights, tricked people and even sexually harassed Oshino because he was desperate to feel alive. After losing his friend, he became much more quiet and restrained. Because of his status as an eternal outsider, from society and from the human race, Yukiatsu tends to be extremely sympathetic to people who fall outside the bounds of society, whether they are vagrants or foreigners.
- The 20-year-old leader of the Ayashi of the Bansha Aratamesho. He is also a scholar in . He often finds himself torn between his Ayashi work and the government's political schemes.
- A cross-dressing Shinto priest. His appearance and mannerisms are so convincingly feminine that despite his masculine voice, he is often mistaken for a girl. His cross-dressing is not due to his sexuality or preference, but rather to an enduring family tradition of having priests who dressed as women during rituals. Genbatsu apparently frequents the geisha district, and has many female friends there.
He fights using several different firearms, ranging from a large gun to a bazooka and grenades, and seems to function more as a munitions expert than as a priest. He frequently works alongside Abi, and the two seem to be very close friends (even drinking and partying together).
- A young girl who dresses as a boy because of her background in the theatre, where women are not allowed to perform. Saizo was also raised to be as masculine as possible by her homosexual father, who died in a fire after Saizo accidentally walked in on him and his lover. She believed her father hated her because her name is seemingly related to the word for "sin." As a result, she is secretly tormented by the belief that she herself is inherently sinful.
She fights using a paper fan which unfolds to become a long rope of paper, which can be used to temporarily tie up Yoi. She was also born with the power to perform a mysterious dance which attracts Yōi, which is said to be the dance performed to draw the goddess Amaterasu from her cave.
There were literal evidence that she's around fourteen years old when she said she wasn't even born fifteen years ago, and she turned thirteen at the same time when her father started turning on other actors and the theatre burned down, which was a year ago.
- A man from the mountains, fights using a spear which can split mid-throw into four lesser, seemingly magical spears. He seems to have a close relationship with Genbatsu, perhaps because of their similar temperaments. He is extremely tall, muscular and darker-skinned than his friends, and tends to be dressed more roughly.
South Edo Magistrate
- The South Edo Magistrate, Lord of "Kai". A strong supporter of the Chief Elder Mizuno Tadakuni Tenpo Reforms.
- A retainer of Torii Yōzō. He works under him as spy.
- A Rangaku scholar.
- A relative of Honjō Tatsusuke. She is revealed to have gone to the Other World and returned, giving her the ability to breed the Yokai-like creatures the Magistrate use as a task force against other Yokai.
Shogunate government
- Biological brother of Mizuno Tadakuni, the financial magistrate and political opponent of Torii Yōzō. Ogasawara's superior.
- Appointed as Elder at age 25. He negotiated on behalf of the Shogun government with Matthew Perry.
- Recently been dismissed from the post of North Edo Magistrate and has been transferred to the post of Chief Censor. Political opponent of Torii Yōzō.
Other characters
- An Aztec girl who works in a circus alongside her massive horse, . Atl was born in Mexico and was orphaned while living in Texas with her family; when she prayed to the Aztec god Quetzacoatl, she summoned a Yoi in the form of a horse that could also become a dragon. Since she had heard from some samurai stranded in North America about Japan, she decided to go there in hopes of finding a peaceful home.
However, Atl was reviled for being a foreigner, and had to artificially tint her bronze skin with makeup to pass for a Japanese person. She and her horse Quetzl (whom she called Yukiwa) performed together in a circus, until her status as a foreigner was revealed. After this, Genbatsu arranged for her to be a ward of the geishas he knew in the red light district, although she herself would not become one.
For reasons that are never fully explored, Atl is able to see Kumoshichi, and is able to correctly identify him as a Yoi despite his human appearance. No one other than Yukiatsu is able to do so.
- Yuki's friend, whom nobody except Yuki can see. The real Kumoshichi was Shikiji, a man who Yuki knew about fifteen years ago. However, he attempted to snap Yuki out of his self-destructive haze by tricking and goading him into a life-or-death fight, and forcing Yuki to stab him in self-defense. Yuki blocked out the entire incident, and unconsciously created a Yoi in Shikiji's form. After this, Kumoshichi followed Yuki everywhere and often would give him advice.
Yuki was shocked when he realized that he had killed the real Shikiji, and that his longtime friend was actually a Yoi he had created. When the horse/dragon Quetzl began running wild, Kumoshichi merged with him and successfully calmed the Yoi until it was no longer dangerous. As a result, Kumoshichi only existed after that as a part of Quetzl - a talking horse.
- A youngster offered in sacrifice to a Yōi, but escaped with his mother. Ota was supposedly going to be a sacrifice to the mountain god near his village, but it seems to be implied that his father intended to kill and eat him instead (having done the same to the boy's sister). When the mountain god appeared and absorbed Ota's father, the boy was exposed to the Other World. His mother Tae took him on the run to escape the Yoi, but the boy kept searching for the Other World because of the hardships of this one; after meeting and talking with Yukiatsu, he decides to stay with his mother in the real world.
- Ōta's mother, who goes on the run to avoid the mountain god that wants her son. She is attracted to Yukiatsu and seems hopeful of marrying him at one time, but eventually settles down in another city with her son.
- A bumbling auxiliary policeman (Okappiki) obsessed with catching Yuki.
- A group of masked bandits whose goals are a mystery. Like Ryūdo, they can use Ayagami and often create Yōi. They are led by a man called Akamatsu, who has an X-shaped scar on his face.
, also known as
- A young painter with remarkable talent. He was once sent briefly to the Other World after he grabbed a severed head which was floating down the river and nearly drowned. He is confident and self-assured beyond his years. He often visits brothels despite being underage, claiming (perhaps truthfully) that he is there to practice his observational art, and because he developed some interest on Atl. He proved to be useful to the Ayashi providing reliable information and protecting Atl from harm in their absence.
Media
Tenpō Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi was first created as an original anime series which was later adapted into a manga.Anime
The Tenpō Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi anime series first aired in Japan on October 7, 2006 in the 6pm Saturday primetime slot on MBS and TBS. It was originally slated to be 52 episodes; however, due to low ratings during its broadcast run, the series' length was cut in half, to 25 episodes. A new anime series, Toward the TerraToward the Terra
is a Japanese science fiction manga series by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in Asahi Sonorama's Gekkan Manga Shōnen magazine, between January 1977 and May 1980...
, took over the timeslot, starting in April 2007.
Theme music
Opening theme:- "Ryūsei MiracleRyūsei Miracle"Ryūsei Miracle" is Ikimono-gakari's 4th single. The song was the opening theme of the anime Ghost Slayers Ayashi. "Kaze ni Fukarete," the third track of the single, is their cover version of Elephant Kashimashi's 1997 song...
" by Ikimono-gakariIkimono-gakariis a Japanese pop rock band that debuted in 1998. They record on Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Epic Records label.The band was formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in February 1999 by Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, and was later joined by lead vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in December the same year...
(eps 1-12) - "Lone Star" by Captain Straydum (eps 13-25)
Ending theme:
- "Winding Road" by Porno GraffittiPorno Graffitti, also known as is a Japanese male rock band from Innoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The band got their name from the album Pornograffitti by the band Extreme...
(eps 1-12) - "Ai Toiu Kotoba" by Saki (eps 13-25)
Manga
The Tenpō Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi manga written by Yaeko Ninagawa was first serialized in the Japanese seinenSeinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
manga magazine Young Gangan in October 2006, published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
. The last chapter was serialized on year 2007's 15th issue of the magazine. The second and last volume was released in Japan on October 25, 2007.
The manga series has been licensed for distribution in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Bandai Entertainment.