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Devil Hunter Yohko (魔物ハンター妖子, Mamono
Hantā Yōko
?) is an anime series created by Madhouse,
produced by Toho, and published in
North America by
ADV
Films. Devil Hunter Yohko was ADV Films' (then A.D.
Vision) first VHS release. ADV co-founder, Matt
Greenfield, said the reason Yohko was chosen as the
first release was because "we wanted something that was really very
unique, that people were going to say 'Whoa! What was that?',
because at the time no one in the US had seen anything like
this."[1] Toho reluctantly licensed Devil
Hunter Yohko to ADV, making the title ADV's first; even though
Shozo Watanabe, the general manager of the Los Angeles office of Toho, expressed
concern that ADV would not be able to handle the distribution of
the film, Toho was unable to find another distributor, so it
selected ADV.[2] The
story was adapted into a manga
by Gaku Miyao. The
anime was re-released to DVD in
2002, commemorating the tenth anniversary of its original release
by ADV.
Plot
Devil Hunter Yohko is about a boy-crazy
sixteen-year-old girl named Yohko Mano who
banishes demons from the Earth. Yohko is voiced by Aya Hisakawa in the
original Japanese dialogue. In the English dubbed version she is portrayed by
Amanda
Winn-Lee.
For centuries, the Mano family has been slaying demons. Yohko's
grandmother, Madoka, is the 107th Devil Hunter, and Yohko's mother,
Sayoko, would have been the 108th, but for a small hitch: A Devil
Hunter must be a virgin to take on the power and responsibility.
Sayoko became pregnant before Madoka could reveal the family's
secrets, and so the job fell to Yohko Mano, Sayoko's daughter, who
is placed as the 108th Devil Hunter. Now as a Devil Hunter,
Yohko must face off against demons while trying to live her life as
a boy-crazy schoolgirl.
Characters
- Yohko Mano (真野 妖子 Mano Yōko) Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa
(Japanese), Amanda Winn Lee (English)
- The heroine of the anime. Yohko Mano is your
typical schoolgirl who is crazy for handsome guys. Her grandmother
gives Yohko the responsibility to be the 108th Devil Hunter and
continue their family's legacy of Devil Hunters. She now fights as
a devil hunter against demons that appear and interrupt her life
and ruin her chances of ever getting with the guy of her dreams. As
the story goes on, Yohko appears younger. In part 1, she was drawn
with a lot of detail, giving her a mature look. By part 6, less
detail and a younger look were used.
- Azusa Kanzaki (神崎 あづさ Kanzaki Azusa)
Voiced by: Konami
Yoshida (Japanese), Kimberly Yates (English)
- A sidekick, or apprentice under Yohko. She is a devil
hunter in training. Azusa is from a mountain village and came down
seeking Yohko to be trained. Although she is not a skilled fighter
and can be a klutz, Azusa fights alongside Yohko where she can and
continues to learn to become just like her master, Yohko.
- Madoka Mano (真野 マドカ Mano Madoka)
Voiced by: Yuji Mitsuya
(Japanese), Sharon Shawnessey (English)
- Grandmother to Yohko Mano and mother of Sayoko Mano, Yohko's
mother. She was the former 107th Devil Hunter but now is too old to
continue being a devil hunter, although she still has some skill
and fight in her. She passes the title of Devil Hunter to Yohko to
continue the family legacy.
- Sayoko Mano (真野 小夜子 Sayoko Mano)
Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru
(Japanese), Carol Amerson (English)
- Daughter of Madoka Mano and mother to Yohko Mano. She was
supposed to be the 108th devil hunter but became pregnant with
Yohko (Only virgins can become Devil Hunters). She had a very frank
and open opinion on sex and even gave Yohko a package of condoms in
the first episode. This attitude, like most things in the series,
was later toned down greatly in subsequent episodes.
- Chikako Ogawa (小川 千賀子 Ogawa Chikako)
Voiced by: Chieko Honda
(Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English)
- Yohko's best friend. Chi (her nickname) seems to have an
extensive information gathering network and tends to know about
most of the events going on at the school. She usually supplies
Yohko with info (sometimes pictures) on the most handsome guys. She
employs herself as Yohko's "manager" and assist Yohko where she
can, although she does tend to get herself caught in the line of
fire.
Secondary
characters
- Haruka Mano (真野 ハルカ Mano Haruka)
Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka
(Japanese), Sue Ulu (English)
- The very first Devil Hunter from the Mano Family. She is very
skilled as a devil Hunter and is able to fend and defeat any demon,
even the most powerful of all demons, Tokima. In several artworks,
she is portrayed with a white devil hunter outfit with pink hair.
In the anime however, she wears a red devil hunter outfit and has
light green hair.
- Tokima Voiced by: Issei
Futamata
- The strongest of all demons, Tokima is one of the first
formidable demons and enemy of the Mano Family. Tokima is very
powerful and has the ability to manipulate time and space. He was
responsible for allowing demons to enter the human world and almost
brought the world to the brink of hell, until the first Devil
Hunter, Haruka Mano, defeated and sealed him. Every generation,
Tokima manages to free himself, only to be beaten and sealed again
by that generation's devil hunter. Not only is he extremely
powerful, he is extremely clever and cunning.
- Twin sister of Madoka Mano and Grandmother to Ayako Mano.
Chiaki competed against Madoka to see which of the two would hold
the title of the 107th Devil Hunter. Chiaki lost to her sister and
because of this, she grew bitter of Madoka and left the family
house, stealing the Whip of Destruction in the process. She now
trains Ayako and Azusa 2 to defeat the 108th Devil Hunter, Yohko
Mano, to prove that Ayako is the true 108th Devil Hunter.
- Ayako Mano Voiced by: Aya
Hisakawa
- Granddaughter of Chiaki Mano and cousin to Yohko Mano. She was
trained by Chiaki Mano to defeat Yohko and become the true 108th
Devil Hunter. Ayako shares a very similar appearance to Yohko, thus
making them look like twins. However, Ayako has lighter hair and
her eyes are a bit more narrow than Yohko's, and her Devil Hunter
uniform is black, not red. She is the wielder of the Whip of
Destruction, which she uses at its full potential. Together with
Azusa 2, she had planned to take the Devil Hunter title from Yohko
and claim it as her own. However, they joined forces to fight a
very powerful demon, one Ayako had accidentally released, which
temporarily shook her confidence. Afterwards, Ayako decided she
needed more training and left to improve herself, parting with her
cousin on more amiable terms.
- Sidekick to Ayako Mano. She looks very much like Azusa Kanzaki.
Since she never mentioned her actual name, Madoka dubs her with the
name "Azusa 2." She is very much like Azusa, both in appearance and
in skill, which means that she too is a klutz at times and not very
skilled in fighting. She does seem to have a bit more experience in
combat, although not much of a difference compared to Azusa
Kanzaki.
Items and
weapons
- The Yoma Ring been handed down through generations of the Mano
family, and has been worn since the time of the very first Devil
Hunter: Haruka Mano. The ring is required for the bearer to
transform into a devil hunter. The ring actually holds some
bindings of the demon Tokima's power, the power to manipulate time
and space. The Yoma ring seems to be able to sense or detect other
supernatural phenomena.
- Yohko wears clasps of red stone, called shimi-seki, in her
braids; they seem to react to other shimi-seki stones, and Yohko
can use them in conjunction with her ring to bind demons with ropes
of red light. It could be they hold some reserves of power, as they
shattered when Yohko poured everything she had into defeating a
demon in "Devil Hunter Yohko 3". It is said to be customary for
Devil Hunters to wear them in some way.
- Yohko's primary weapon as a Devil Hunter. Yohko transforms into
her outfit first, and then calls upon the Soul Sword to fight
demons. It also seems very likely that there is some sort of
connection between the Yoma Ring and the Soul Sword. The sword is
able to disengage the hilt from the blade, after which the
remainder can be used like a short ax. Devil Hunters also have the
ability to recall the blade to their hand should they drop or
become separated from the sword. It is also the traditional weapon
of most Devil Hunters.
- Ayako Mano's primary weapon. When Madoka's sister, Chiaki, lost
to Madoka in the fight to become the 107th devil hunter, Chiaka
disappeared the next day, never to be seen again, but in the
process, she stole the Whip of Destruction, another weapon
belonging to the Mano family and the line of Devil Hunters. The
handle of the whip is very similar to the Soul Sword. At the tip,
there is a ball with three claws attached. The exact power of this
item is never really stated, but Ayako Mano, Yohko's cousin, seems
to be able to use the weapon to its full potential.
- Azusa Kanzaki's primary weapon. No special attributes are shown
from this weapon because Azusa is still inexperienced and currently
in training. It does seem to have the same feature as the Soul
Sword when it needs to be recalled to the owner.
Episodes
- Yohko Mano is introduced. Yohko goes about her daily life; day
dreaming about a cute guy named Hideki. Yohko learns that her
family has a long history of being devil hunters. But this time the
demons decide to take out the next devil hunter before she can
fight back. After a failed attempt to take Yohko's virginity (so that she
can't become a devil hunter), the demons decide to use Hideki as
bait. Yohko must become the 108th devil hunter and rescue the man
of her dreams. The English-dubbed "Special Edition" of this episode
restores approximately 30 seconds of assorted footage that was cut
from the final Japanese print of the film.[1]
- Yohko trains to become a good devil hunter. Nearby a local
construction site destroys a forest in which sleeping spirits lie.
The spirits are disturbed by this and start harassing the
construction workers. Azusa Kanzaki, a Devil Hunter in training, is
introduced. Azusa came to become an apprentice to Yohko. The two
team up to fight against the spirits that are harassing the
workers.
- Yohko has a dream about a man named Master Biryu. Yohko is
transported to another dimension and learns that Biryu has been
imprisoned. Yohko learns that she must save Master Biryu (although
she develops a crush on him). Meanwhile, Azusa saw Yohko disappear
and attempts to get Yohko back with Yohko's friend, Chi. They
manage to get to where Yohko is, but fail and manage to get
themselves back where the started. She must fight the demon holding
Master Biryu captive in order to free him.
- Devil Hunter Yohko 4-Ever
- A tribute to Devil Hunter Yohko, with a collection of music
videos. These videos feature songs from the series(including three
new songs), put to scenes from the anime, colored manga picture, an
original animated video featuring chibified versions of Yohko and
Azusa, and two live videos.
- Devil Hunter 5: Hell on Earth
- Madoka, Yohko's gradmother, senses the return of Tokima: the
demon who from the time of the first devil hunter has been the
enemy of the Mano family, is approaching. Tokima appears and
possesses Ryuichi Asakura, a man who Yohko has a crush on. Tokima
tricks Yohko and gets near the clock where Tokima is sealed, but is
repelled by special talismans. The next day, Madoka ends up with
her past youthful body! Tokima possesses Azusa who takes the clock.
Yohko fights Azusa trying to stop her from destroying the clock.
Yohko is tricked and "killed". The clock is destroyed and the
demon's power released. Yohko is taken to the time of the very
first Devil Hunter, Haruka Mano. The two go back into the future
and fight against Tokima.
- Devil Hunter Yohko 6: Double Jeopardy
- Ayako Mano, who is nearly identical in appearance to Yohko, is
introduced; she has spent her life training and honing her
abilities so that one day she may defeat Yohko and become the devil
hunter of the Mano family, and now she is ready for the final
confrontation. Yohko continues to live her life and is unaware of
Ayako until she starts stealing away every guy that Yohko has a
crush on. Then one night while taking a bath, Yohko hears something
outside and gives chase. She then meets up with an Azusa
look-alike. She and Ayako attack the unsuspecting Yohko with
crushing attacks, while Yohko parries the onslaught. The fight
stops, but Ayako vows to finish the fight. Madoka reveals a certain
part of her past that relates to the encounter. Yohko's teacher,
whom she has a crush on, is used as bait to lure Yohko. Ayako and
Yohko meet face-to-face for the showdown. The fight awakens a demon
who sleeps deep within the earthand the two must learn to fight
together to fend off this powerful creature.
Theme
music
- Episode 1 End Theme: "Go, Go! Love Coup (Koi
de Coup d'État Go Go; 恋のクーデター・ゴーゴー)" by Aya Hisakawa
- Episode 2 End Theme: "Not So Fast, Sexy Girl
(Tokoro ga Dokkoi! Sexy Musume; ところがどっこい! セクシー娘)" by Kaori
Honma
- Episode 3 End Theme: "So Bad Boy" by Aya Hisakawa
- Episode 5 End Theme: "I Like the Way I Don't
Give Up on Myself (Ganbaru Watashi ga Suki; 頑張る私が好き)" by Aya Hisakawa
- Episode 6 End Theme: "Touch My Heart" by Aya Hisakawa
Video
games
The series was adapted into a number of video games by Masaya (a division of NCS
Corporation); Mamono Hunter Yohko: Makai Kara no Tenkosei
for the Sega Mega Drive, Mamono Hunter Yohko:
Distant Voice and Mamono Hunter Yohko: Exchange
Student for the PC Engine.
Fan Site
Fans of Devil Hunter established a website http://www.devilhunter.net ..... Actually it's
the Devil Hunter's Community
References
- ^ a
b
Greenfield, Matt; Williams, David; Williams,
Janice.. (2008). Devil Hunter Yohko Complete Collection.
[DVD]. US: ADV Films.
- ^
Helman, Christopher. "Why Grow Up?." Forbes. September 6, 2004.
Retrieved on September 14, 2009.
External
links
ADV Films
Wikis
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