Shounen Onmyouji

Title:Shounen Onmyouji
Shonen Onmyoji
Shonen Onmyouji
Shounen Onmyoji
少年陰陽師 (Japanese)
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Studio DEEN
Music - KAJIURA Yuki
R1 License - Geneon (Defunct)
In the middle of the Heian Period of Japanese History (about the year 1000AD), the mystical arts of the Onmyouji were held in high esteem. But for Abe no Mashashiro, it is the cause of a lot of trouble. Constantly being referred to as the grandson of the great Onmyouji Sage, Abe no Seimei, he is also known as the boy with no Kenki (or spiritual power or awareness). But the sudden appearance of a mononoke – a floppy eared magical dog-creature – changes his luck for the better, at a time with the capital is being attacked by strange and powerful demons.

Based on a novel by Yuuki Hikaru.

Animation by Studio DEEN.
Series first aired in Oct '06.
R1 License by Geneon.
26 TV Episodes.

Read the translated manga online at MangaFox
"少年" means Shonen.
"陰陽師" ("onmyouji") means "diviner" or "Yin/Yang master".

(1:31min) Series Opening - YouTube Video
Episode Details 
00, 01, 02
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 10 aoneish [series:1452#1615]
completed.

a fairly simple and straightforward anime. it's the characters that drive it and makes it a worthwhile anime to watch. there's also no short of demons and spell casting to supplement in between. i still want a second season. and i still want to find the novels to continue where the anime stopped at. ~.~

Last updated Tuesday, August 05 2008. Created Tuesday, August 05 2008.
Buy Jan-Chan [series:1452#967]
Before I get started, I want to call your attention to three other anime series that are similar to and/or equally as good as Shounen Onmyouji.

There are two series that center on a group of spiritualists (or craft-users), who confront strange mystical opponents. Sharing a similar story line, Kaze no Stigma and Kekkaishi both involve stories that mixes the veil of the real and the mystical .

The series, Wagaya no Oinari-sama is a story in which the spiritual world intersects with the common or ordinary world. The main characters are ‘ordinary’ people who have an ability to see magical or mystical creatures, similar to the story told in Shounen Onmyouji.

For those of you that may not have heard of the term Onmyouji, it is something that is very Japanese and very Buddhist. Dating back to the 5th Century, there were professional practitioners of the Onmyouji mystical arts, who were part priests, part shamans and part magicians. Using a mixture of cosmology, natural sciences and occult arts, they are credited in having the ability to defeat demons and spirits, break curses and foretell the future. They were held in high esteem by the Japanese nobility, who relied on them to protect the capital and royalty from harm, (one might say that they were loosely similar in social status to that of the sorcerer, Merlin in King Arthur’s court).

Much to Mashashiro’s dismay, he is the great grandson of the highly esteemed Onmyouji, Abe no Seimei (or Seimei of the Abe clan). With no Kenki abilities (Kenki is the ability to sense the otherworldly or spiritual phenomena), Mashashiro is struggling to find himself. The sudden appearance of a wisecracking and friendly mononoke, whom Mashashiro takes to calling Mokkun, changes his fortunes. But it is also at a time when strange and powerful demons appear. The end result is a coming-of-age story of a young 14-year-old mystic of the ‘Onmyouji arts’ who finds himself relying on other spiritual companions and creatures to help protect the capital from a foreign (Chinese) daemon army. While doubting his own abilities, his determination and dedication earn him the respect of those who help him in his struggles, and his efforts to protect his ‘princess’ and the kingdom from danger.

And the story told is both charming and fun. While I might be faulted in rating this as a RENT+ or BUY-, I can find myself wanting to watch this series again sometime soon, just because I enjoyed it too much! And if you can enjoy a story of magic and monsters and mystical abilities, you might agree with me too.

I have posted some snapshots to the EPISODE DETAILS section - Chapter One and Chapter Two.

Last updated Monday, September 29 2008. Created Thursday, November 16 2006.

Other Sites
NameURL
Official Japanese Series Web Site http://seimeinomago.net/web/anime/index.html
Wikipedia entry for the Onmyoji arts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onmyouji
Wikipedia entry for Abe no Seimei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-Seimei_Abe
Wikipedia entry for Japanese Mythology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_mythology
US R1 Geneon Web Site http://www.geneonanimation.com/

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