CREATOR

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Hirai Mari

PlOTLINE

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One moonlit night, a lonely boy ostracised by his people finds an injured cat. Boy and cat slowly get over their mistrust to find comfort and solace in each other. Yet their happiness is short-lived when the boy is taken away where his paranormal powers could be cultivated. Left behind, the cat never forgets his devotion to the boy and after many years, he finally finds his once-master, now a man. What follows is the pained, fragile and danger-fraught relationship between Arimasa, the powerful yet vulnerable shaman, and the faithful cat-spirit Kagetsu.

COMMENTS

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I labelled it very, very loosely as shounen-ai. Thing is, some of the characters aren't even human and are NOT technically male so this isn't a technically yaoi anime. However, they take on male appearances so what the hell, really. To me, it's yaoi. This OVA drops many hints, but leaves little fulfilment where the yaoi-ness is concerned. But you CAN sense the devotion and love the characters have for each other, and at any rate, whether it's yaoi or not wouldn't distract from the loveliness of the whole work. The pacing is fine and the use of flashbacks help in fleshing out the storyline.

MAIN CHARACTERS

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The main 4 characters in the OVAs. There're probably more in the manga.

TSUCHIMIKADO ARIMASA. The child of a taboo union between a human male and a female fox, he spent his childhood shunned by his people. Now an adult, he works as a shaman/see-er for a powerful Shogun. Arimasa's life takes a turn when his childhood companion returns in the form of a boy, and evil forces gather in search of his power.

KAGETSU. A child of a feline tribe of shapeshifters, he is whole-heartedly devoted to Arimasa and returns in hope of a union with him. Technically sexless, Kagetsu has reached the age of sixty, where he has to mate in order to have his gender determined. And he has decided that his mate would be Arimasa and no one else.

KORYU. Also a member of the same tribe as Kagetsu, he is mostly delusional with wanting Kagetsu. Brash and blunt, his rashness becomes a tool for the evil forces. (Windy : He's cute, but he just doesn't get things.)

MONKAN. Arimasa's evil nemesis in the OVA. He's basically like the dark version of Arimasa, and is an agent for the shadowy organisation that wants to destroy the shogunate and Arimasa as well.

MANGA DETAILS

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Number of volumes : 11
Status : Ongoing

The OVAs' design closely resembles the manga. But having read the manga only AFTER I watched the OVA, I'm biased towards animation and colours. ^^;;; That's not to say I don't like the manga, because I do! Naturally, the story is much better panned out in the manga, but on its own, I don't actually find it too attractive. Pretty, but not distinct, IMO.

ANIME DETAILS

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Episodes : 2
Status : Complete

ANIMATION

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It's one of the prettiest work of animation I've seen. The quality is good, but what really struck me was the whole landscape in the anime. The creators did a great job bringing to life the surreal, colourful, magical world - the blood moon, the sakura blossoms, the snow, the butterflies, the floating lights, yeah you get it. ^o^ I just love those fantastical elements!

SCREENCAPS

VOICE-ACTING

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Ooh, I thought Koyasu Takehito is really good. His Arimasa is austere, stern, yet troubled. And damn, I love that deep, powerful voice. ^_~ I also appreciate the work done by the other two main seiyuu. I have a healthy respect for female seiyuu who can successfully carry off that adolescent male voice, and Hidaka Noriko did really well. Shiozawa Kaneto does a good turn as the sly, taunting Monkan.

MUSIC

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One day, I WILL buy the soundtrack. The music is very sweet, very haunting and the best part is it has a very distinct Oriental feel to it. I absolutely love those flutes and angst and everything. Recommended :

• Theme (instrumental)
• Fragrance Under The Moon (instrumental)

RESOURCES

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BUY MANGA (Nippon-Export)