I'll hold you like this until you stop shivering. If I'm out of line, just push me away

[dangermousie]

I have a new obsession. What is it? Ayashi No Ceres (or Ceres: The Celestial Legend), an anime based on a manga by Yuu Watase of Fushigi Yuugi fame. I just got it in the mail, watched 5 eps out of the 24 and I am hooked. I guess Yuu Watase does it for me, as she is like Joss Whedon seen through Bollywood lens.

The Plot: Aya (female) and Aki (male) are twins living a fairly normal life as members of a Mikage family. But on their 16th birthday, their grandfather throws them a surprise birthday party which is, in reality, a test. As a result of this test, Aki is determined to be the heir to the family while Aya must die. Long ago, the family ancestor found a celestial being bathing, raped her, and stole her robe so she could not return to heaven. And Aya can transform into this celestial being (called Ceres), a transformation she does not remember and has no control over. Aya manages to escape the carnage and the old family house but her troubles are just beginning. What does Ceres want? What will happen to Aya and Aki, who are surely the offspring of the nastiest family ever? And what role will be played in their story by Tooya, a man without memory who works for the Mikages but saves Aya repeatedly, and Yuuhi, Aya's new, unexpected bodyguard?

This is a very dark show. Granted, Fushigi Yuugi had enough angst by the end for ten shows, but it started out leisurely and light. AnC is...well, the whole story hinges on a rape of a heavenly being. And the heroine is faced by the fact that her family, everyone she's ever known and loved, wants to kill her. And that she herself is capable of inflicting great harm on everyone in Ceres' way, including her beloved brother, and she has no control over it. Even the opening credits are quite different: a sex scene? With nudity? I guess not having to be a virgin priestess a la Miaka really helps your love life.

The characters themselves are also walking wounded and are quite damaged. There is Aya, whose life disintegrates in front of her eyes and who literally cannot trust herself. There is Aki, whose life disintegrates just as badly and he discovers that that he and Aya must be enemies and her other form will kill him, and the twins' love gets twisted. There is Tooya, Aya's repeated savior, who works for her family and who hates the life he is made to lead. He cannot remember anything about himself and because of it, he is forced by the Mikage family into a role that he finds repugnant. There is Yuuhi, Aya's cheery bodyguard who lives with his sister-in-law because his own family doesn't want him. They are all damaged.

And the quote? That is what Tooya says to Aya. Enemies or not, they are certainly a new OTP. I love Aya who is quietly strong and I love Tooya who is messed-up and quiet and effective and rather bitter about things.


It's an interesting OTP in AnC, Tooya and Aya. They are quite different from FY's Miaka and Tamahome. Aya might have been cheerful and self-assured at the very beginning, but her experience transforms her. She is still strong-willed, but she is quiet and still and uncertain of her place in the world. And Tooya wouldn't really be my choice in RL, as mysterious, laconic and reserved (not to mention someone who would make Buffy's Angel appear chipper) isn't really my speed (now Tamahome is a rare fictional crush that would work for me in RL) but in fictional terms, I love him. I love the fact that I am not sure what he will do or say or how he will approach the situation.

I think Aya falls for him not just because he is drop dead gorgeous and he saved her life a couple of times (which would be good enough reasons in and of themselves) but because, in a twisted way, he is one constant in the world that completely shifted under her feet. In a world where she went from having a family to that family trying to hunt her down, in a world where she lives with people who were strangers just the day before, where she can't even be sure of herself, Tooya is a pre and post transformation constant: a mysterious savior. She might not know much about him, or his views or intentions or even whether he is her enemy or not, but importantly, she doesn't have to re-percieve him.

And as for Tooya? Well, Aya is pretty and he can't hep but admire her strength in the horrible situation she is in and of course he feels pity for her, but I think it's also that his interactions with her are the only semi-normal, human interactions he has because other than that he spends all his time being a virtual slave to the Mikage family, and not only do they not view him as a person, that is a family that would make the Gotti family appear wholesome.


And because I am so severely into lists, here are my Top 10 things about this anime so far (no order).

1 The scene that I quote as the subject line. Tooya brings Aya to his apartment (and I love that is apartment is so spare and looks almost unlived in. Because it's an apartment provided by the Mikage family and he hasn't really made it his because he doesn't have a 'himself' to remember) and is completely matter-of-fact. After she comes out of the shower he gives her his bed. And as she sits on the bed, he comes up and holds her gently and says "I'll hold you like this until you stop shivering. If I'm out of line, just push me away" (see subject line). And just holds her as Aya falls asleep.

2 Aki and Aya finally finding another and just holding on.

3 Tooya being unpredictable: finding Aki on the streets and saying he'll take him home. But when Aki says he wants to see Aya, he puts him in the car and drives him to the house where Aya is staying. He tells him to come back in the morning and leaves.

4 The fact that Aki left the Mikage house, even though he is still covered in a multitude of cuts and, through sheer determination, was walking the streets, looking for Aya, even if he had no idea where she was. And even when street thugs were picking on him, he just thought of getting to his sister.

5 Aya's disbelief when the whole family watches Aki bleed in her arms and then tell her she has to die. At first she desperately tries to believe it's a twisted joke.

6 Aya finding her mother and her mother having the lights off and peeling apples slowly during the whole conversation and then snapping and attacking Aya with a butcher knife, repeating over and over "Why did you kill your father? Now we both must die to atone."

7 Yuuhi telling Tooya (who's showed up outside a hospital) to stay away from Aya and that he will protect Aya. And Tooya replying: "You should protect her well. From everyone. And from me." And walking away.

8 Aya hiding in the tree as the family goons look for her and Tooya seeing her and climbing next to her. As she has a very verbal freak-out about her situation, he kisses her, and you see her eyes, which still have tears in them, widen with shock. And you see goons under the tree and he holds her mouth in the long kiss until the goons leave and says "sorry" afterwards. Tooya is certainly very...self-contained? Self-possessed?

9 Tooya opening a suitcase provided by his employers, seeing a new gun, and going sarcastically 'I love presents.'

10 The fact that Aya has nightmares.



Poster:


Aya, transforming:


Aki:


Yuuhi:


Tooya, dangermousie's new eye candy:






Aya and Aki in better times:






Aya and Tooya:














LOTS of hugging:








Yay!



The weirdest pictures of the bunch (I guess I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet):

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

There's also the fact that Toya can pull a giant sword out of his arm... Hmmm...out of context that sounds really weird.

Anyway, Toya bores me (it's spelled Tooya or Toya, either way). Aside from the fact that he's a little mentally screwed, there's nothing wrong with him. Best friend, who is a Watase whore, agrees that Toya, aside from being a total sex bomb, is the least compelling of Watase's males. She's all for Yuuhi. Toya just doesn't have a tone of personality to make him stand out. Kyo does, Limdo does, Tamahome does, but Toya is just sort of corn flakes to the Lucky Charms.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Toya can pull a giant sword out of his arm

I saw that and thought I was hallucinating :)

Ahem. Freudian much?

Aside from the fact that he's a little mentally screwed, there's nothing wrong with him.

Hee. With me, sexy and screwed up goes a long way in fiction. All the way actually :) Yuuhi is a sweetheart and in RL would make a much better SO, but in fiction world of AnC I am all about Toya :P

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Toya did luck out in the "OMG if that weren't so sexy it'd be tacky" wardrobe department. He's one of her better dressed males. Poor Yuu never would have made it in the world of fashion, I'm afraid (lor, she IS Bollywood). Yuuhi did NOT luck out. His weapons of choice didn't even luck out. Poor kid.

My personal favorite Watase males are Kyo and Frey. They're guys you'd love to actually have as boyfriends. Even Kyo with his issues is still managable. I think that's why I like the HanaKimi males too. They're just great guys. Any one of them you're just like "awww, I'll take him". Even Umeda, who is hilariously snarktastic. Watase's secondary men tend to have that characteristic, but I've got to say while I wouldn't kick Toya out of the bed for eating crackers, I wouldn't want to date him either.

Watase's new series Absolute Boyfriend is a rather clever messing around with the whole Gary Stu-ness of her mangamales. The main male of that series, Night, IS a Gary Stu because he's an android and programed to be so. The heroine is then forced to choose between him and an actual guy who has flaws, but because he does, his affection for her means a bit more. Let it not be said that Watase can't poke fun at herself.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Toya did luck out in the "OMG if that weren't so sexy it'd be tacky" wardrobe department.

I kept going "does he have a midriff baring shirt? He can't possibly? Does he? Yes he does!" throughout the first few eps. If YW ever gets bored with being a manga artist, she can become a Bollywood designer.

They're guys you'd love to actually have as boyfriends. Even Kyo with his issues is still managable.

The funny thing is, my fictional crushes and men I find attractive in RL almost never correspond (actually, Tamahome is a rare example of it matching and so was HH's Archie). I guess I work out my "undesirable male" fixations through fiction or something.

Kyo is a sweet sweet person (from what I can tell) but he is too passive for me. I am kinda pushy myself and I would definitely be Mayura (sp?) and not Alice in that scenario.

I wouldn't kick Toya out of the bed for eating crackers, I wouldn't want to date him either.

He is so very angsty and competent. Which makes him a perfect fictional crush for me, but in RL I'd get tired of the moping. He actually kinda reminds me of early Angel on Buffy: taciturn, hot, mysterious, good at fighting and there to be eye candy/heroine's SO/add mystery. I thought Angel was yummy too but would have killed him after 5 minutes of moping.

I go for fun-loving guys in RL but in fiction they largely bore me.

The main male of that series, Night, IS a Gary Stu because he's an android and programed to be so.

ROFL.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, there will be bare midriffs. Weiss Kreutz, another anime series, is also well known for its fashion disasters, so take a gander there if you want a laugh.

I tend to go for fictional males that, while a bit messed up, I could also take out into public without wanting to strangle.

he is too passive for me

Again I say just wait before making that judgement on Kyo.

The sad part is, I really like Night. He's sweet and hilarious and proof that the world isn't ready for Gary Stus to be let loose on it as he's constantly causing trouble for no other reason than that he IS perfect. He also looks a bit like Toya, which leads me to believe Watase has a sense of humor.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon! So pretty.

I tend to go for fictional males that, while a bit messed up, I could also take out into public without wanting to strangle.

LOL. No, mine are mostly dysfunctional...

Again I say just wait before making that judgement on Kyo.

I am sure he has a really good reason, and I already like him as a person, it's just unless he gets to be more assertive during the course of the series, he would still be a bad crush for me, even if his passivity is fully justified/explained/result of being screwed up. Maybe it's a pre-emptive strike on my part because someone like Kyo would probably run at 100 mi/h to get away from someone as pushy as me :)

He's sweet and hilarious and proof that the world isn't ready for Gary Stus to be let loose on it as he's constantly causing trouble for no other reason than that he IS perfect

Heee. Maybe I should look this up.

He also looks a bit like Toya, which leads me to believe Watase has a sense of humor.

I think all of YW's alpha romantic males look like they could be cousins: Tamahome, Toya, Kyo. Not that it's a bad thing, as I suppose it means the woman knows what she likes.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

That's Sano from HanaKimi. He's a manga male I seriously would take home with me.

even if his passivity is fully justified/explained/result of being screwed up

It's that AND he's not quite so passive when it comes down to it. Alice's problem is that she isn't assertive either, so the whole story is basically about the two of them finding some sort of medium. Frey's also the character who's always "oh for the love of...TELL HER YOU LOVE HER YOU BOOB" when it comes to Kyo, but at that point it's understandable too as Kyo is possibly the most confused person in the world at that point.

And when I say Toya and Night look alike, I mean Night is basically Toya with a more jovial expression. He's even got Toya's red hair.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

He's even got Toya's red hair

I keep wondering about the bizarre hair colors. Toya's hair is purple, Tamahome's is dark blue, Kenshin is bright shiny red etc etc...I wonder what is with that.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

And you haven't even gotten to Ferio yet, whose hair is a lovely emerald green.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Green? Is he a huge Irish patriot or something? I am beginning to wonder if anime isn't sponsored by hair-dye companies :)

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

I've always had a passing interest in AnC! I'll be keeping up with your posts for sure :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Did you ever see it? It's good!

*is flattered*

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Read the first few manga issues, that's it. The darkness of the story really got to me, in a good way :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's nice and dark. Granted, FY got dark as it went, but this is FUBAR right off the top (I guess since it's only half as long as FY that makes sense).

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

I laugh at the second-to-last picture. Hard. Looks like someone stole a page from Kaori Yuki's book. XD (she's the mangaka for Angel Sanctuary, which is aaaall about the giant swords and wings and black leather. And the blond sibling incest, for that matter.)

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

You know, I just brought up Angel Sactuary yesterday, but it was in reference to black leather lacing and the lack of buttons on men's clothing. Nice to know Kaori has deeply scarred everyone equally.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

in reference to black leather lacing and the lack of buttons on men's clothing

I remember. *shudder* Maybe the AS person should design for the local s&m club...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I'm not knocking Kaori because, man, talent, just the S&M-ness of the clothing designs. All of her artwork is very like that. Beautiful, but in that way you feel a need to shower afterwards. That being said, I have a picture from Angel Sanctuary hanging on one of my walls. One of the less leather bound.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Non-related but what is MeriPuri about? Sounds like an Indian dish...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

MeruPuri is actually short for Marchen Prince (just like HanaKimi is actually short for For You In Full Blossom).

Plot summary:
A young prince (Aram) accidentally gets teleported out of a magical mirror by his brother (Jeile). Aram is about 12 I think, but when it gets dark he turns into his 18 year old self (magical side effect). When he gets kissed by his true love, he turns back into his 12 year old self. The mirror's owner takes him in and looks after him thinking he's a lost 12 year old. She's of course mightily shocked when the lights go out. Aram falls for her, but she being the independent sort (and understandibly weirded by the age change thing) just befriends him. There's a whole political turmoil in their kingdom side plot and another side plot where the girl's family was apparently banished from Magical Mirror land for treason. Much angst and romantic confusion ensues.

First off, Aram is HOT. I mean the romantic panels from the manga are seriously sexy. Aram is just...dayum.

Secondly, I love Jeile. He's a bit foppish and flippant, but he's a good guy (as evidenced when he uses his limited power to get the girl out of the dungeon as one of his "women" and then apologizes that she'll have to put up with him. He's like a cross between Nuriko and Hotohori).

Third, there's a definite Bollywood feel to this one with the star crossed love, and costumes and even the cultural issues in Aram's kingdom.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sounds COOL!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

P.S.

Is it out in the US?

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Yup, first three volumes. I think the fourth one comes out this month.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What is it titled? The reason I am asking is because I did a search on amazon and didn't come up with anything...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

It's either under Marchen Prince or MeruPuri. My local bookstore carries it, so it should be there.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh. Found it under "MeruPuri"

More stuff for me to check out...

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Aram is just...I drool after the poor boy, seriously. He's just so commanding and alpha male in the best way possible. There's just an arrogance and confidence to him and he's very protective.

I love Jeile because I think his whole "witless fop" persona I think might be an act. There are moments when he's far to competent for it to be otherwise. He seriously looks and acts like he just skipped out of Louis the XV's court though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

He seriously looks and acts like he just skipped out of Louis the XV's court though.

Ooooooooh. Mmmmmm. *has Heyer flashbacks*

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like the poses and composition of most of her work--it's so beautifully gothy. Although I dislike how she does clothing wrinkles. But aside from that, it just amused me to see it being done elsewhere, too.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like her artwork too. It's all very gothic high schooler "I-hate-the-world-where's-my-Marilyn-Manson-I'm-so-hardcore". That said, I think Kira is hot and there's a picture of Setsuna hanging on my wall, so I jest with love.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

And the blond sibling incest, for that matter

I have no idea if there will be blond siblingcest in AnC but I wouldn't be surprised: there is one scene in ep 4 (I think) where the twins are asleep and then you see the silouettes through the window and Aya is astride Aki and for a few seconds I really thought it went there...it turned out she was Ceres trying to kill Aki (who is embodiment of the man who raped her and stole her robe). So even if it wasn't sibcest, I have to say the whole "twins are reincarnation of former couple one of whom raped the other" is twisted.

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

I don't really know whether there is incest between the twins themselves, technically--at least with their minds and not just their bodies, if you know what I mean--but there's definitely shades of it with the reincarnation aspect, yep.

Although the incest in AS was actually rather sweet, once you got over the whole, uh, incest bit. >_>;;

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

AS was actually rather sweet, once you got over the whole, uh, incest bit. >_>;;

For some reason this just makes me laugh and laugh...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

P.S.

You mean you prefer the second-to-last pic to the very last one where Toya is being all sexy Jesus? I think that one fills me with so much happiness and joy.

[autumnflame.livejournal.com]

I am a sucker for wings and dark night shots and intricate weapons, so yeah, I'd have to say I like the second-to-last one best. ~_~ Although it's a near thing--most of Yuu Watase's artbook shots are so very pretty.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I have a whole bunch of AnC shots I didn't use in this post, and a number of them are just as odd as these (didn't post them because a. didn't want to produce an overdose. and b. some of them are kinda spoilery for an intro post. Not that the wings pic isn't but...whatever. So pretty).

But the one of Toya semi-carrying a giant cross with bloody hands comes close to taking the cake, in both oddness and hotness. I have to say YW art is so pretty.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

CLAMP is also well known for shots sort of like that (not with the gothic overtones, but they like their dramatic poses). CLAMP has an extremely distinctive style though. You can't mistake a CLAMP piece.

[katranna.livejournal.com]

Whileas the last one reminds me of You Higuri:

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Can't see it :(

[ayn-rand-fan-13.livejournal.com]

I can't even read about more tv shows right now, that's how obsessive I am about everything. Oh, but that blonde dude (Aki, I think?) looks like one of my favorite tv show characters (sort of pictured in my icon). I'm intrigued.
Speaking of obsessions, at TWOP they've put up a recap of "Serenity", which is less funny and more in the "spiritual analysis" area. It's an interesting perspective, and the author was a Mal/Inara shipper. If you're interested. :)


Is that...a sword/cross/gun hybrid weapony thing? Because I think it might be awesome.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Aki, I think?) looks like one of my favorite tv show characters (sort of pictured in my icon). I'm intrigued

And he is nice and angsty *feeds the flame* Who is the guy in your icon btw?

at TWOP they've put up a recap of "Serenity", which is less funny and more in the "spiritual analysis" area. It's an interesting perspective, and the author was a Mal/Inara shipper. If you're interested

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Is that...a sword/cross/gun hybrid weapony thing? Because I think it might be awesome.

I think but I haven't gotten to that point of the show yet. However, if you think that's cool you would really love Nicholas Wolfwood (see icon), one of the main characters in Trigun. Wolfwood is an itinerant priest who travels with a giant cross which is not only where he stores his guns but which turns into a giant gun itself.

[ayn-rand-fan-13.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's Dr. Robert Chase (from "House"), he of the subtle character development that's subtle because the writers didn't actually mean to put it in there.

That is the coolest weapon ever. A cross gun! I should probably be totally ethically scandalized, but it's a very cool concept. Even cooler than my brother's concept of "light saber nunchucks".

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

"light saber nunchucks"

Now THAT would be cool.

[ayn-rand-fan-13.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it? If I ever make my own movie, I'm totally going to use them as a weapon, but call them something else as to avoid copyright infringements. Something like..."Spinny things that glow in the dark and cut a bitch with sheer awesomeness". I think it's catchy.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh my, I am so torn, this sounds even better then FY because I like things to be dark (the darker the better) . And I actually have a thing for quiet guys who can pull the sword out of their hand. Hmm. I think it will depend what they have in the library ( I want to check it out before I buy)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heeeee. AnC is much shorter. 24 eps v. 51. FY takes a few eps to really get started, AnC gets going right away. I prefer FY (I think it's better) and the second half of it is just amazing amazing amazing (and OMG, the levels of angst Tamahome goes through :D) but AnC is gorgeous too. Very different. Most likely under the title of 'Ceres the Celestial Legend' btw. But keep Sasha away from it at all costs. Seriously. I was a little disturbed with it now and then and I haven't been 7 for ages :)