Hoshin Engi (manga)
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| Hoshin Engi | |
|---|---|
| 仙界伝 封神演義 (... The Investiture of the Gods) |
|
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Novel | |
| Authored by | Tsutomu Ano |
| Publisher | Kodansha |
| Publish date | |
| No. of volumes | |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Ryu Fujisaki |
| Publisher |  Shueisha  VIZ Media |
| Serialized in | Weekly Shonen Jump |
| Original run | 1996 – 2000 |
| No. of volumes | 23 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Junji Nishimura |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | 3 July 1999 – 25 December 1999 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
See also: Mystic Heroes - video game based off of Hoshin Engi
Hoshin Engi, also known as Soul Hunter, known in Japan as Senkai-den Hōshin Engi (仙界伝 封神演義 Senkai-den Hōshin Engi?) is a Japanese anime and manga series by Ryu Fujisaki.
The manga, titled Hoshin Engi in English, was inspired by a series of novels by Tsutomu Ano, which were in turn based on the ancient Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi. The story involves the legendary history of China, in particular the last members of the In (Yin Dynasty) and the plot to overthrow them.
The manga series, Hoshin Engi, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1996–2000 and compiled in 23 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. VIZ Media has acquired the rights to the manga, with bimonthly releases starting June 5, 2007. [1]
The anime series was broadcast on Japanese TV in 1999 and released in North America on DVD as Soul Hunter in 2001. It is 26 episodes in length.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story is set in legendary China. A beautiful female fox spirit named Dakki So is controlling the emperor Chuu-oh and the ruling In (Yin) dynasty, and is using her power over him to do evil in the nation. An immortal-in-training named Taikoubou is chosen by the great immortal sages for the Houshin Project — to seal away or destroy the evil demons that infest the world. In the course of his adventures, Taikoubou gathers other powerful companions and sets out to seal away the demons and eventually destroy Dakki herself.
There are significant plot differences between the novel, manga series and anime.
[edit] Anime plot
The 26-episode storyline follows the young (73 years old) "doushi" (Apprentice to a Sennin) Taikoubou as he is told to go from the Sennin (Immortal) world to Earth (and specifically Yin China) to hunt down 365 renegade evil spirits in order to bring down the fall of Queen Dakki, a Fox spirit who has enslaved the Emperor.
Taikoubou recruits Nataku, a human/weapon hybrid, and Raishinishi, a would-be vigilante, in his quest to hunt down Dakki. He also rides a talking hippopotamus named Sibuxiang, who remains the most popular character of the series.
Ki Shou, the Lord of the West, is a man who is unwittingly destined to found the Shou dynasty. Imprisoned for trying to stop Dakki's evil, he suffers a grevous wrong when his son is murdered and served to him as a meal. Escaping from his captors, he returns with an army to overthrow the Yin with the help of Taikoubou.
In the midst of this historical drama, the Immortal High Council is plotting some form of magical spell that requires the capturing of many souls that they deliberately lie about the purpose of to young Taikoubou.
[edit] Manga Plot
The 23 manga book series of Houshin Engi starts off similar to the Anime episodes but later diverts off into a more complicated and intricate plot line with far more characters. Once again, it follows the adventures of Taikoubou and his trusty "Reijyu" ('Spirit Beast' or 'Riding Beast') Shibuxiang. Taikoubou was given a mission by Geishitenson (Taikoubou's mentor and the leader of the Sennin World - Kunrun) to complete the Houshin Project.
The goal of the Houshin Project, as explained by Geishitenson, is to trap Dakki and her minions in a 'middle' world between the Sennin World and the Human world, renamed 'Shin' (Deity or Gods) World. Taikoubou's mission is to hunt down the 365 people whose names were written on the Houshin Scroll. As Taikoubou defeats and seals off each of the 365 people on the scroll, their souls are instantly transported to the Houshin Dai (a floating island made to trap souls) and sealed there for all times.
At first, Taikoubou refused to take up such a troublesome mission but when threatened with expulsion from Kunrun, he quickly relented. After that, he was given a "Paopei" (magical weapons that harnest spiritual energy and environmental elements) - Daishinben (打神鞭) (a Wind element weapon) as well as Shibuxiang (a flying, talking Hippopotamus).
Upon leaving Kunrun, Taikoubou and Shibuxiang immediately met up with the first person listed on the Houshin Scroll, the all powerful Shinkohyo and his Riding Beast - Kokutenko. After a short battle between the two Doushi, in which Taikoubou was easily defeated, Taikoubou came to a realisation that there was no way he could take on all 365 minions on his own. That's why he set off searching for strong fighters to join him on his quest to rid the world of Dakki. Taikoubou soon met up and joined forces with Nataku, Raishinshi, Ko Tenka and Youzen.
As the series progress and due to several failed attempts at killing Dakki, Taikoubou slowly realises that there is no hope in disrupting Dakki's strangle hold on the Yin Dynasty or her influence over Chuuoh. As such, he abandoned the kingdom and requested that Ki Sho form a new Monarchy to rival the Yin, renamed the Sho Dynasty with their new emperor - Buoh. Taikoubou then became the Military advisor to Ki Sho, helping the Western Army conquer the lands once owned by Yin.
Bunchuu, the senior advisor to the emperor Chuuoh in the country of Yin and also a Doushi, sees Taikoubou as an obstacle and sent out some of his best Doushis companions to attack Taikoubou and company. The ensuing fights between the two groups eventually lead to the involvement of almost all members of the 2 Sennin Worlds - Kunrun (where Taikoubou originates) and Kingoto (where Bunchuu learnt his arts). At the climax of the Sennin war, both worlds were completely destroyed with hundreds of souls sealed into the Houshin Dai. And though Bunchuu was eventually defeated, Taikoubou lost many friends and his home in the process.
Eventually, after Taikoubou and the Sho army successfully defeated Chuuoh and officially declared the fall of the Yin Dynasty, Taikoubou and company decided to leave the Human world and return to what's left of the Sennin world. It is then revealed to him that there is possibly a third Sennin World, one that belongs to Dakki, and is probably where she and the last of her minions fled to when the Yin country was finally conquered.
Geishitenson also reveals to Taikoubou that the real goal of Houshin Project isn't just about defeating Dakki, it is about defeating the eternal being supporting Dakki throughout all her chaos years - Jyoka, one of the ancients.
The ultimate enemy of Houshin Engi - Jyoka is a "Jui Que", one of 5 aliens which landed on the Earth millions of years ago. Jyoka had a dream to recreate her home world on Earth (which had self-destructed some time ago), but the other aliens disagreed and enclosed her in a glass cage. Later, she was able to move about in her "soul" form and direct the trend of history to her liking. This is when she met up with Dakki and the two started working together to make Jyoka's dream come true. Each time history diverts from what Jyoka wants it to become, she completely destroys the civilisation that existed and started all over again, like a child moulding a perfect sand castle. No one really knows how many civilisations Jyoka had destroyed throughout time in her pursuit to perfectly replicate her old home, but when asked why she's trying to do this, Jyoka simply wonders if her home planet had not made those simple mistakes that led to its own destruction, what would have happened then.
After hearing the ultimate truth, the Sennins retaliated against Jyoka. Soon, she finally decided to destroy Earth once and for all, and find another world in order to replicate her old home. The battles raged for a while before the deceased Taikoubou (who had 'died' recently) reappeared in front of his combrades again. This time, it is revealed that he was once one of the "Jui Que" as well, the last of the 5 aliens and was left on this earth for the sole purpose of killing Jyoka once and for all. Using the energy of his friends as well as those souls trapped in the Houshin Dai, Taikoubou (now renamed 'Fukki') was finally able to defeat Jyoka and release the world from her influences.
Just prior to this happening, Dakki somehow managed to take over Jyoka's body for a time and merged with the life energies of the Earth, becoming the mother of all life. In Taikoubou's second dying stage, Dakki came and saved his life.
[edit] Notes
Contrary to the title, very little Soul Hunting actually goes on in the series; Taikoubou mostly hunts down allies for the eventual defeat of Queen Dakki. Much of the anime is consumed with watching the more serious players try and prepare for their ultimate historical role in overthrowing the Yin Dynasty.
The series is noteworthy for its peculiar anachronisms, mixture of outrageous humor and deathly serious drama, plus bizarre character designs that range from the realistic to the most deeply cartoonish.
Also of note is that the manga has been re-released and re-compiled into fewer larger volumes with new cover art, a rare practice. The 18 Kanzenban volumes were released periodically between July 2005 and June 2006.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Konron
Taikoubou- The main character of the series. He is a disciple at Konronsan and Genshitenson's best pupil. He received the Houshin project from Genshitenson, and became a strategist to defeat the collapsing Yin Dynasty and to help the Buou of the Shuu. Although he wears very strange clothes, he has the sharpest mind in Konron. Taikoubou was the son of the leader of the Kyou tribe, and was named Ryo Bou, but he lost his parents in a Yin human hunt. After twelve years on earth, he became a disciple, and with 30 years of study, attained Senin level power. Though, Taikoubou is still an average Senin with a low rank, he is the personal disciple of the leader of Konronsan, Genshitenson, so his position in the Senkai (spirit world) is high. At the beginning of the story, he receives an antennae shaped Paopei called 'Dashinben.' (Later, because of the Orb of Revival, the Dashinben gets an upgrade, a larger shape and improved abilities.) Eventually, he gets the paopei 'Kyokouki' that can absorb Konronsan's energy for recovery, and the super paopei, 'Taikyokuzu,' that negates all other paopei's power and can heal injuries. Basically, his speciality is fighting by wits, and using cleverness to swindle his enemies, so that sometimes even his allies boo him. His constant companion, main ally, and mode of transportation is the spirit beast, Suupuushan. Taikoubou's real age is at least 72 years old, and contrary to his boyish appearance, love of peaches and sweet things, and dislike of shots and medicine, his speech and mannerisms are that of an old man. His personality is aloof, and he has a strong belief in a peaceful human world. Additionally, he is left-handed, but during the fight with Inkou (the older) he lost his left arm up to the elbow. Soon after, he received an artificial arm created by Taiitsu Shinjin.
Although Taikoubou is often criticized by other characters for being very 'un-protagnoist-like,' he was voted first in a Jump magazine character poll twice. From time to time, the author changes his drawing into a simple shape, with a circle and two points for a head and a stick figure like body. The last volume of the Kanzenban came with a limited edition plush toy of this form.
Suupuusyan (Sibuxiang)- The long suffering flying mount of Taikoubou, Suupuusyan is his servant and a faithful follower of the Immortal despite all of their troubles. He is genuinely good-hearted and often speaks of his family's folk wisdom. His name for the Mexican translated episodes is Spuchan. He looks like a hippopotamus with gray hair and a yellow cape who is always holding a blue sphere during the whole anime, except for the last 2 episodes when it's revealed the purpose of it.
Nataku A living human-paopei (divine superweapon) hybrid, he has once been dead and revived with the aid of Taiitsu built via lotus plant. Possessing little emotion and a cold personality (although he does have a bit of a soft spot for his mother and Tensyou whom he watches over after Tenka died), he exists largely to fight and is more "directed" by Taikoubou than lead, albeit at times that became hazardous to Taikoubou's health as Nataku has no qualms about shooting his weapons at people. In the Mexican translation, his name is Nasa. He can fly thanks to his special boots which have a metal wheel under each one. His weapons are his iron bracelets which work as homing missiles and hit the target with tremendous impact. Throughout the manga Nataku gets several "up grades", namely from Taiitsu who gives him new weapons. Nataku has a serious grudge against his father who was responsible for destroying the grave his mother made for him when he died.
Youzen A disciple at Konronsan. Actually, he is the son of the leader of Kingoutou, Tsuutenkyoushu and a youkai senin. He surpassed his teacher and has power equal to a senin, but because he does not want to take a student, remains one himself. His senin name is Kenseijirou Shinkun. He is a person of extreme confidence and takes great pride in his appearance. At first, he doubted Taikoubou's strength, and proposed a test, but finally approved of his means and became an ally. He has the ability to change into the body of any living thing, although his favorite transformation is that of Dakki. When transforming into a doushi or senin, he can use the other's paopei, but if they are a higher level, he cannot copy them perfectly. Because of his ability to transform without using paopei, even the Seninkai call him the genius disciple. Halfway through the series, he learns how to use a partial transformation and only change part of his body. This way, he can use a number of paopei at one time. When he becomes hanyoutai, his strength is increased. His own paopei are 'Sansentou,' a giant fork shaped weapon that can release a shock wave, and 'Koutenken' a paopei with the appearance of a dog which lives in his sleeve and can be called to attack enemies or used as a riding mount to fly. Towards the end, he obtained the super paopei 'Rikukonhan,' which wraps up enemies so that not even their soul escapes. After the final battle, he founded the new Seninkai.
Bukichi A tennendoushi who used to be a woodcutter in Seiki. He proclaims himself as Taikoubou's disciple. His aspiration to become Taikoubou's disciple was quickly refused, but later, he saves Taikoubou's life, and eventually travels together with him. His personality is natural and true to himself. His eyesight is 10.0, can perceive infra-red light, and can see in the dark. He has the ability to run on water. When he is overly emotional, his fighting strength increases a surprising amount, even enough to injure senin. He has had an abundance of unusual part time jobs, including elephant trainer and bird breeder. Although no one except sendou should be able to touch paopei, Bukichi is seen many times coming into contact with them.
Raishinshi As an infant, he was saved by Ki Shou and became his 100th child. He only had one senin bone, however, he became the disciple of the eccentric Konronsan senin, Unchuushi. Under his modifications, Raishinshi's skin became black, and he grew the wind and lighting controlling, wing-shaped paopei, Tensouyoku, from his back. With that power, he successfully escaped from Unchuushi's tyrannical experiments, and thought to return to his father, but concerned with his current form, he instead gained fame as thief for the people, during which he fought and lost to Taikoubou. At this chance, he disbanded his group of thieves, and after training in Konronsan, he participated in the Shuu revolution.
Because he was busy having his wings remodeled (increasing power and upgrading to three pairs), he has proportionately less screen time than other characters. However, toward the final battle, his number of appearances increase. In the manga version, by the time of his father's, Ki Shou's, death, they had not met, but in the anime they are reunited. Raishinshi is a comedy relief type character with a hot temper.
Ko Hiko Originally, the Yin's Chinkoku Buseiou. He is the father of Kou Tenka and Kou Tensyou. His superhuman is strength is such that he can destroy even paopei with his bare hands. His body can endure very strong poisons, and he has the force of will to withstand mind control by a super paopei, as he is a tennendoushi (a human with senin bones). For generations, his ancestors served the Yin, so he was loyal to Chuuou, but could not withstand Dakki's conniving. He met Taikoubou who came to defeat Dakki, and they immediately trusted and respected one other. Some years later, Hiko lost his wife, Kashi and his sister, Koushi, to Dakki's schemes and decided to leave the Yin. After which, he was appointed Kaikoku Buseiou by Ki Shou of the Shuu. He has a rough and cheerful personality. Before he left for the Shuu, he was friends with Bunchuu, however, afterwards, they were irreconcilable and ended up fighting during the Senin war, during which Hiko was houshined.
Kō Tenka A disciple at Konronsan, and Kou Hiko's second son. One of the Juunisen, Seikyo Doutoku Shinkun, discovered and recruited him as a doushi. He appeared to save his father, who was being chased by pursuers from the Yin rebellion. He has his father's upstanding spirit and fighting skills, but his mother's, Kashi's, black hair. He uses the inflection, "~sa" at the end of a sentence, and is always smoking a cigarette. He is master of the lightsaber like paopei, 'Bakuya no Houken,' and later receives a fire-emitting, boomerang paopei called 'Karyuuhyou,' and the tiny 'Sanshintei.' Lastly, he could use the 'Bakuya no Houken 2,' which has a blade on either side of the handle. Because of his absolute self confidence in close combat, and too much of a warrior's spirit, he extremely hates to lose. As a result of a cursed wound received from one of Chou Koumei's youkai senin subordinates, his life was shortened. He fought Chuuou in order to avenge his mother, but the moment he defeated him, he lost his resolve. Immediately after, he was run through by the sword of a nameless soldier and houshined. He has a rough attitude and would jump to conclusions.
Ko Tensyou Kou Hiko's fourth and youngest son, a Tennendoushi who inherited his father's strengths. He is friends with Nataku. At first, he used a spear for a weapon, but after his father's death, switched to using Hitou.
Tou Sengyoku Originally a doushi from Kingoutou, she was dispatched by Bunchuu as a spy. As a result of falling in love with Dokouson, she turned traitor and joined with the Shuu along with her father, Toukyuukou. The wrong impression is a violent, wholeheartedly bright young girl. She is not good at telling things like hippos or Capybaras, but she gets along with Suupuushan and calls Dokouson 'Honey.' Her Paopei, 'Gokouseki,' has the ability that once thrown, it will always hit its target, and give them the appearance of wearing too much make-up, but there was a limiter that suppressed its power to 1/5. When the limiter was cancelled, its destructive power increased. After the final battle, she got her wish and married a reluctant Dokouson.
Igo The disciple of one of the Juunisen, Doukou Tenson. There is little known about him before he came to the Seninkai. He likes bad puns and sake. However, he is more serious than he appears. His sense of touch is finely attuned, and he uses that in order to fight. His paopei, 'Goumasho' is a boring, blunt weapon, like a rounded club, which transforms into a sharp edged sword. The side of him that comes out from being around Taikoubou is mercenary like and lazy.
Suu Kokuko He does not have a paopei, as he trained in martial arts while in Konron (although he did use a sword to duel Buseiou), and his reijyu, Shinyou, is the leader of all birds, therefore, he also has the power to control them. He has a strange way of talking, and is a character that goes at his own pace.
[edit] Shuu (Zhou)
Ki Shou A benevolent and decent man who rules the West of China. He had 26 wives and 100 children. He is reluctant to turn on his Emperor, despite the absolute evil that the man engages in until his son's murder. He died of self induced starvation because he could not bring himself to eat after his son's brutal death.
Ki Hakuyuukou Ki Shou's oldest son. He is true to himself, capable and handsome, but in order to save Ki Shou, he went to the capitol of the In, Chouka, and was killed by Dakki and made into hamburgers.
Nan Kyuukatsu A general of the Shuu. After Kou Hiko came to the Shuu, he dropped to the No. 2 position, so they clashed all the time, but after Hiko's death, Nan Kyuukatsu became depressed and missed their competition. He is a very hot blooded man.
Yinshi Wife of Li Sei and mother of Nataku, Mokutaku and Kentaku. She is pictured as a somewhat beautiful woman, but with no spectacular intellectual abilities. In fact, we could say Yinshi is air headed and doesn't think much. She loves Nataku but refuses to understand both her son's and her husband's mistakes. She doesn't seem to be bothered by Li Sei's hatred towards Nataku, nor to the latter's attempts at killing his father. She is Nataku's weak point and some enemies took advantage of this weakness on various occasions. Not much is seen of Yinshi during the anime or the manga.
[edit] In (Yin)
Chuu Ou The last Emperor of the Yin dynasty. Chuu Ou, originally a good emperor with only weakness in woman, obeys almost all of Dakki's whims. His moments of sanity are rare and only Bunchuu's influence managed to have an effect upon him. He is the husband of Kyouhi and Koushi (actually, his harem consists of almost 200 women)and father of Inchao and Inhon. Before Dakki put him under his control, the Emperor cared about the people and his family but after the misfortunate marriage with the fox youkai, he lost all his senses.
Dakki Overtaking Dakki So's body (a young woman who was brought to the imperial palace to be Chuu Ou's 200th wife) Dakki the Sennyo bewitched the Emperor with the aid of her spell of Temptation. Chuu Ou became nothing but a puppet in her hands, doing exactly as Dakki pleased and having very rare moments of sanity. The vixen demon is 5000 years old, very beautiful and intelligent to the point when she could be labeled as "genius". In the manga, her character is more complex, but in the anime, she is pictured as the evil, selfish Empress who wants nothing but power and cares only about herself and her two sisters (not blood related, however) Ou Kijin and Kou Kibi. She is capable of using multiple paopeis at once (ex: two fans, the Veil of Temptation). Her most important paopei is the Veil of Temptation and she is rarely seen without it. It emits a strong scent which affects all men and bring them under control. In order to resist the spell, one needs an iron will. After her descend into the Human World, she took many names (Ou Shi, Bakki) and seduced the leaders, living in luxury. At first, she was content to throw extravagant and expensive parties, but after several hundreds of years, she mastered the Temptation spell and began her reign of cruelty. Dakki obviously enjoys other people's torment. She even built torture devices like the Houraku or the Taibon (a pit full of poisonous snakes). She is a very good actress and is capable of hiding her emotions. Another ability would be her good knowledge of human psychology. In the manga, when Chuu Ou's first wife was imprisoned, Dakki knew the woman couldn't stand the pressure any longer and allowed the guard to give the true empress anything she wished for, knowing that she'll ask for a dagger in order to commit suicide. She predicted Bunchuu's reaction when Kou Hikou left Chouka. Bunchuu and Hikou were friends and Bunchuu would rather kill Hikou himself than let Dakki decide how and when it would be done. She shows sympathy only to her sisters and to her adopted son, Ou Eki/Ou Tenkun. Cruel as Dakki might be, she is not be entirely evil in the end. In the manga the reason Dakki worked for Jyoka was at first due to her desire for power. But after she learned about the Ancients and that they fused with the planet, she was deeply affected and so her secret goal became to obtain Jyoka's body so she too may become one with the world. In this way she was able to save Taikoubou at the end.
Ou Kijin The youngest of Dakki's sisters, she is 1000 years old and a youkai sennin. Her true form is that of a stone lute. Ou Kijin can be hot headed and this gets her into trouble twice in the manga. The youkai sennin is smart, but she's eventually outwitted by Taikobou. She has an older sister, Kou Kibi, to which she shows affection, especially in the anime, where they can often be seen together. Kijin has the Shiju Hagoromo, made by Tsuuten Kyoushu from the silk of a poison moth. In the anime, she has a foul-smelling green dust, which she can ignite and cause great damage (she has the hagoromo in the anime too, but it seems it's for decorative purposes only, because she doesn't use it at all).
Kou Kibi One of Dakki's sisters. Although she's far older than Kijin, she's very childish to the point of being creepy. Her real form is that of a bird (a time bird, whose feathers can turn anyone they touch younger and younger until they are nothing). She acts silly most of the time and doesn't understand much, but is caring towards her elder and younger sister (in the manga, she saves Ou Kijin after she lost a battle and returned to her original form). She has a major crush on Suupuusyan and even surrendered her Nyoi Hagoromo to Taikobou in order to prevent him from hurting Suupuu (of course, that was one of Taikobou's tricks). She has a transformation ability which rivals Youzen's. With the aid of her Hagoromo, she can transform into anyone, even Dakki.
Bunchuu (Chinese name: Wen Zhong) The Yin military strategist, he has been protecting the Yin because of a promise he made to his comrade Shuushi, a lively young woman he once trained with. Bunchuu has been the Yin's strategist and protector for 300 years and he had 30 emperors under his care. He was a disciple of T-san and became the second strongest under T-san. Determined to protect the Yin Dynasty, he was a formidable enemy. In the anime, he was the first who killed Dakki, after the Yin dynasty had fallen. His only close friend was Hiko, whose death prompted him to render his obsession meaningless and subsequently chose to end his own life. Bunchuu's end is very impressive in the manga: his spirit travels back to Chouka and he bows one last time to Emperor Chu Ou. Then, he travels to the Yin burial grounds and sees the spirit of Shuushi, who thanks him for "doing such a great job" with the dynasty. Bunchuu's spirit is seen later in the Houshindai, when he told to his follower Chou Kei to find his own path. In the anime however, Bunchuu doesn't die. After Dakki is defeated, he flies off on his spiritual beast. When asked where are they going, he answers: "Who knows?"
Kashi(Jia Shi-original name, Chasier-Italian name) Wife of Buseiou and mother of his four children. Kashi is considered to be one of China's most beautiful and graceful women. Her beauty is renowed and reached even Chuu Ou's ear, triggering the unfortunate events that led to her tragic death. She loves her husband deeply and takes great pride in being his wife. In the anime, she took care of the princes while their mother was imprisoned and even went out to face Dakki, in hope of getting Kyouhi freed. She is pictured as being a kind, loving and at the same time strong woman, who endangered herself for the sake of the princes, whom she considered "the country's future". In the manga, her character gets less scenes and her most important one is when she visits her sister-in-law and falls into Dakki's trap (chapter 26). Unlike the manga, in the anime her soul is sent to the Houshindai.
Koushi In the novel, she was called "Concubine Huang" and was one of many Chuu Ou's wives. She is the younger sister of Buseiou Kou Hikou. In the manga, she was confided to the imperial harem, but in the anime, she seems to be free to go wherever she wants. Koushi is an admirable character: she tried (in vain) to save the Empress from the soldiers who came to arrest her and even blocked their way in a desperate attempt to prevent them from taking away the Empress. She was the one who took the two princes and placed them in Kashi's care. She is very close to Kashi and tried to protect her from the Emperor's eyes; she was outraged when she died because Chuu Ou violated the rite between an Emperor and his vassals. Realising that Dakki will hold her as a hostage against her brother, she threw herself off the balcony and granted Kou Hikou his freedom. Unlike the manga, in the anime her soul was sent to the Houshindai.
Kyouhi (Italian name: Chiang; Chinese name: Jiang Fei) The beautiful daughter of the King of the East, she was considered the most beautiful woman in the empire by her husband (that is, before he saw Dakki and Kashi). Mother of the two princes and legal wife of the Emperor. After Dakki appeared and took over the Emperor's mind, the Empress became very depressed and could often be found crying. After her father was killed, she was accused of treason and imprisoned. Her royal pride and perhaps desperation determined her to commit suicide in her cell. In the anime, Kyouhi not only looks totally different from her manga counterpart, but she's a more lively character. Described by Buseiou as being one of "the most refined ladies of the country" she was a kind, fair and generous person, loved by her people. At the end of Houshin Engi, there are some family scenes from the life of the royal couple. She always stood by her husband's side and they were shown having a happy marriage. But after Dakki showed up, Kyouhi became sad and placed a lot of pressure on her son, Inchao's shoulders, because she wanted him to become a good emperor and an honorable man, "just like his father". After Dakki accused her of plotting to kill the Emperor, she is imprisoned. Meanwhile, Kashi takes care of her children, thus becoming Dakki's next target. When she found out about Kashi's summoning, Kyouhi foresaw Dakki's plan and tried to stop her by ordering her servant to go and call Buseiou immediately. Buseiou and Bunchuu tried to make a plan to save the Empress, but failed to present something viable in time. She convinced the Emperor to set his wife free and summoned her to the throne room. Kyouhi defies Dakki, but in the end, she is forced by the Emperor to accept her gift. The gift proves to be a dagger that sticks to the hand magically. Scared, Kyouhi hides the dagger from the inquiring Emperor, but eventually she unwillingly revealing the dagger. Framed, she sees no other way out and stabs herself with the dagger. Her last request was for Buseiou to take care of her children. Both the manga and the anime Kyouhis were sent to the Houshin Dai. The only difference was that the manga Kyouhi's human soul flew to the platform of souls, determining Taikobou to return to the Sennin World to investigate. Also, in the manga, her name changes into Kyoushi after the first half of the manga.
[edit] References
- Hōshin no Mikos' Houshin Engi Site
- Anime News Network: Soul Hunter TV Series
- Reflections: Ou Eki and Taikoubou Shrine
