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Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou
Shou (遙かなる時空の中で
～八葉抄～
?) is a Neoromance anime series based on the PlayStation 2
romantic adventure video game developed by
Ruby Party and published by Koei.
The series features the characters from the original Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
game, whilst the PlayStation 2 game is an enhanced remake of the original game.
Release History (Manga
and Anime)
To date, fifteen volumes of Harukanaru Toki no Naka De manga
have been released in the original Japanese. The series is still
ongoing, with chapters continuing to be printed in Japan's
bimonthly LaLaDX magazine. The manga is released simply under the
name Harukanaru Toki no Naka De whereas the anime
adaptation is released as Harukanaru Toki no Naka De ~Hachiyou
Shou~. The song and drama releases from this series are also
categorised depending on whether they are based on the game
incarnations or the anime/manga incarnations and storylines of the
characters.
Harukanaru Toki no Naka De's manga has begun to be
printed in English. Chapters have featured in Shojo Beat magazine,
and two volumes of the manga have also been produced in English.
The animated series concluded in Japan at episode twenty six,
although the final DVD featured omake optional endings for each of the
characters. This was so that, in keeping with the game's Neoromance
theme, viewers could choose for themselves which of the Hachiyou
Akane liked the best. The anime and manga have recently begun to be
released in English under the name Haruka: Beyond the Stream Of
Time: A Tale of the Eight Guardians.
Historical
Setting
Although an exact time period is not given for Akane's arrival
in Heian Kyou, it seems likely that the story is set in the earlier
part of the era, when families such as the Tachibana-ke, Fujiwara-ke and Minamoto-ke were all in
some prominence. Though the Fujiwara-ke and Minamoto-ke continued
to hold significant position through till the Genpei war, the
Tachibana-ke faded out of favour during the ninth and tenth
centuries. This suggests that Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 1 is set
sometime in the ninth or tenth centuries. This would also fit with
later continuations of the Harukanaru Toki no Naka De plot, since
Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 2 is set a century later, and features
prominently once more the Fujiwara-ke and Minamoto-ke, as well as
the Taira-ke. The third installment, Harukanaru
Toki no Naka De 3 is set in the period of the Genpei War, which came to an end in 1185. If
it can be considered that the third installment is set a century on
from the second, this would indicate that the original Harukanaru
Toki no Naka De storyline is most probably set in the latter half
of the tenth century.
Plot
On her walk to school, ordinary Kyoto High school student Motomiya Akane hears a
voice calling to her from an old well in an abandoned historical
estate. The voice is that of the oni leader Akuram, and Akane finds
herself summoned into another world that resembles the city of Kyoto during the Heian
Period (approx. 800-1200 C.E.). Here she is asked to be the
Ryuujin no Miko (龍神の神子, Priestess
of the Dragon God
?), a legendary figure who possesses the
power of the gods. Akane is told that she must defend this world,
called Kyou (京
?), from the encroachment of the Oni
Clan (鬼の一族
?) before she can return home.
Fortunately, her school friends Tenma and Shimon are on hand to
help her out and along with six Kyou natives they become members of
the Hachiyou (八葉, Eight
Leaves
?), a group of specially chosen men who
act as the Miko's protectors.
Characters
Main
Characters
- Akane
Motomiya (元宮あかね, Motomiya
Akane
?)
Voiced by: Tomoko
Kawakami
- A modern high school girl, Akane is transported to the Heian
era and recognized as the Ryuujin no Miko, or Priestess of
the Dragon God. She carries the power of the Dragon God within her
body such that she can purify impurities from contact. Though
reluctant to use her powers as priestess, Akane is determined to do
the right thing. She is innocent and kindhearted, which sometimes
leads her into trouble.
The Eight
Guardians
- Minamoto no Yorihisa (源頼久
?)
Voiced by:
Shinichirou Miki
- One of Princess Fuji's bodyguards, who comes to protect Akane
as well. He becomes one of the Eight Guardians, as Seiryū of Heaven
(天の青龍
?). He is the strong, silent type and
will do anything his mistress asks of him.
- Tenma
Morimura (森村天真, Morimura
Tenma
?)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu
Seki
- A little bit of a tough guy, Tenma is Akane's close friend from
school. He is one of the Eight Guardians, as Seiryū of Earth (地の青龍
?). He cares deeply for Akane and loves
her, but doesn't really show it in the beginning. As the series
progresses, he begins to reveal his feelings. He has a sister named
Ran, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
- Inori (イノリ
?)
- Voiced by: Naozumi
Takahashi
- A hotheaded young man whose one goal in life is to destroy
demons for ruining his and his sister's lives. He is Suzaku of
Heaven (天の朱雀
?), one of the Eight Guardians.
- Shimon
Nagareyama (流山詩紋,
Nagareyama Shimon
?)
- Voiced by: Kouki
Miyata
- One of Akane's good friends from school, Shimon is a smart,
cute, and very loyal. Along with Akane and Tenma, he is transported
to the Heian era. He is recognized as one of the Eight Guardians,
Suzaku of Earth (地の朱雀
?).
- Fujiwara no Takamichi (藤原鷹通
?)
- Voiced by: Shigeru
Nakahara
- Hardworking, studious, and chivalrous to all women, Takamichi
works in the palace archives in Kyou. He becomes one of the Eight
Guardians, as Byakko of Heaven (天の白虎
?).
- Tachibana no Tomomasa (橘友雅
?)
- Voiced by: Kazuhiko
Inoue
- Tomomasa is a general in Kyou, known for being flirtatious,
nonchalant, and popular with the ladies. He is one of the last to
become a Guardian, as Byakko of Earth (地の白虎
?).
- Eisen (永泉
?)
- Voiced by: Soichiro
Hoshi
- Eisen is the younger brother of the current emperor of Kyou.
Though he had been eligible to inherit the throne, Eisen gave up
his position to become a monk. He is an accomplished musician and
is a sweet, thoughtful, timid man. He is Genbu of Heaven (天の玄武
?), one of the Eight Guardians.
- Abe no
Yasuaki (安倍泰明
?)
Voiced by: Akira
Ishida
- A cool,intense guy and one of the Eight Guardians as Genbu of
Earth (地の玄武
?), Yasuaki is a gifted apprentice to
the famous sorcerer Abe no Seimei.
Oni Clan
- Akuram (アクラム
?)
- Voiced by: Ryoutarou
Okiayu
- The leader of the Oni Clan, who summoned Akane to Kyou in order
to utilise her power to gain full domination over the city. Akuram
is said to be the most powerful of recent leaders of the Oni Clan,
and his power stretches to such a level that even his close
associates aren't sure how to deal with it. Akuram inherited the
mask of the Oni Clan, allowing him to lead them, because he had the
greatest potential to do so as a young boy. Even now he is still
young despite his position. On one occasion the mask is shattered,
breaking his spell and forcing him to retreat, and it seems that
the mask itself is a way of focusing the magic of the Oni.
- Akuram's motivation is not always clear. Sometimes it appears
that he simply wants to dominate all of Kyou, however on occasion
he suggests that part of his motivation is revenge for the deaths
of many of his kinsfolk over the past generations of conflict
between the Oni and the people of Kyou. His interest in Akane seems
to be predominately a matter of obtaining power, although he often
refers to her as 'his' Miko, and gets quite angry when any of his
subordinates bring harm to her without his permission.
- Ikutidaru (イクティダール
?)
- Voiced by: Koji
Ishii
- Ikutidaru is Akuram's right hand man and probably the oldest of
the surviving oni. Of all of the oni clan he has the greatest sense
of conscience, and is often torn between his loyalty to his people
and his love for Inori's older sister Seri. In the anime, he once
disobeyed Akuram and had his eye removed as punishment for the
crime (although in the manga it is not yet explained how he came to
lose his eye). Despite the fact he does not always agree with the
things Akuram orders, he often carries them out with resolute
seriousness, even though at times it makes Kyou's predicament
worse. He has a strongly protective - almost paternal - instinct
where Sefuru is concerned (although Sefuru is rarely appreciative
of that fact). In the ongoing manga, Ikutidaru is currently working
with Akane and Yorihisa against Akuram as they try to break the
curse Akuram has placed over them. His defection was inspired
largely by the way in which Sefuru was injured by Akuram when he
was discarded.[1]
- Shirin (シリン
?)
- Voiced by: Maria
Kawamura
- The only female among the surviving members of the Oni Clan,
Shirin holds a strong affection for Akuram which will allow her to
do pretty much anything he tells her to do. She is very jealous of
Akane because of Akuram's interest in her, and on one occasion goes
behind Akuram's back and assaults the Miko because of this
jealousy. Akuram seems to have no affection for her, discarding her
from the clan towards the end, however in the anime conclusion
Shirin offers to exchange her life for Akane's in order to be with
Akuram in the afterlife. Although this ending only occurred in the
anime, not in the manga. Shirin's key power is the ability to use
her beauty to seduce and then manipulate the actions of men, and
therefore she is angered by Takamichi who refuses to submit to her
seduction spell. She and Takamichi maintain a chemistry throughout
the story on account of this, with Takamichi once saving her life
despite her attempts to kill him. Shirin's physical attacks often
involve a rose, whose vines and thorns she can manipulate at
will.
- Sefuru (セフル
?)
- Voiced by: Yuu
Asakawa
- Sefuru is the youngest surviving Oni, probably no more than
fourteen or fifteen years old. He is technically half and half,
since his mother was a normal resident of Kyou. Sefuru is bitter
and hates the people of Kyou because his mother abandoned him based
on his appearance when he was just a small child. It was at this
time that Akuram took him in and began to train him to use him for
his own purpose. For this reason, despite his half blood, Sefuru
has been accepted as an Oni by the rest of the clan. However, he
has a deep rooted fear of being abandoned and alone again, which
often drives him to desperate acts. At one point he befriends
Shimon, thinking that he's an Oni in the same situation, though he
becomes indignant when he thinks that Shimon has betrayed the Oni
by joining up with people in the city and is even more perturbed
when he discovers that Shimon is one of the Hachiyou. Despite his
aggression, however, Shimon is sure that Sefuru is more hurt than
anyone by the encounter, and refuses to bear him a grudge. In the
end, Sefuru is shown with Ikutidaru, Seri and their new baby,
indicating that his hatred is based in his loneliness, and all he
really needed was a proper place to belong. In the manga, which is
still ongoing, Sefuru is discarded by Akuram and taken in in his
injured state by Inori's sister Seri on Ikutidaru's request.[2]
- Morimura Ran (森村蘭
?)
- Voiced by: Hoko
Kuwashima
- Technically not a blood member of the oni clan, Ran is actually
Tenma's long lost sister from modern day Kyouto. She was summoned
into Kyou by Akuram some time earlier, but was too frightened to be
able to connect with Ryuujin and become Ryuujin no Miko. In her
despair, she reached out instead to the black dragon Kokuryuu (黒龍
?) and became engulfed by its power,
erasing her memories of her past life and putting her under
Akuram's control. Ran continues to battle with her alter-ego
throughout both manga and anime, though perhaps more significantly
in the manga. Probably on account of her association with the oni
clan, Ran's name is also occasionally written in Katakana as 「ラン」
and features this way on the anime credits. However, in the manga
it is given with its correct kanji, as shown above.
Others
- Fuji-hime (藤姫
?)
- Voiced by: Ikue
Otani
- The descendant of the Star Clan (星の一族
?) who assists the Ryūjin no Miko. She
looks very young, and is in fact only ten years old, but she's also
very wise for her age. She is the daughter of the Minister of the
Left, an important ranking figure at the imperial court, and
therefore speaks very formally at all times. The 'hime' in her name
indicates that she is the daughter of a wealthy and influential
individual. She is the first person Akane meets when she enters
Kyou, appearing as she does in the Star Clan's mansion house.
- Kotengu (小天狗
?)
- Voiced by: Junko
Shimakata
- Kotengu (literally, "little tengu[3]") is
the nickname given to the Tengu
of Mount Funaoka (船岡山｜Funaoka-zan
?), one of the northern mountains around
Kyou. Although originally a fearsome creature, Kotengu's power was
sealed by Yasuaki and he was confined to a miniature form in which
he could do no magic (but plenty of eating and complaining). He is
semi-adopted by Akane and the Hachiyou and although he is
constantly threatening revenge on Yasuaki, he settles down to quite
often run errands for the group. In the anime, Kotengu's magic is
unsealed by Yasuaki to let him fight against the possessed Byakko,
and though defeated, he survives the encounter and returns to his
miniature form at the end of the series.[4] In the
manga, his fate is more decisive. It appears that he was killed
after a similar battle with Ikutidaru, in which Eisen mistakenly
prevented Kotengu from attacking the oni, therefore leaving him
defenceless.[5]
- Seri (セリ
?)
- Voiced by: Aya
Hisakawa
- Inori's sister, who is in love with Ikutidaru despite knowing
that he is a member of the oni tribe. Seri is weak physically, but
mentally very strong. It is hinted (though not openly said) at
several points in the anime that Seri is pregnant with Ikutidaru's
child - and at the close of the anime it is shown that they have a
newborn baby.[6] In the
manga, Seri is shown as a very sympathetic person who, despite her
own weak health, has been secretly nursing the injured Sefuru on
Ikutidaru's request.[7]
- Kyou no Mikado (京の帝
?)
- Eisen's older brother and the current ruler of Kyou. A
well-reasoned man, the Emperor is usually calm and composed even in
the face of his subjects' panic about the future of the city.
Although his position means that certain formalities must be
observed, the Emperor is very close to his young brother and seeks
to protect him, as he feels it's somewhat his fault that Eisen has
been driven to hide himself in a religious life. He is also close
friends with Tomomasa as far as their difference in status allows,
and occasionally they can be found sharing a joke at Eisen's
expense. Though he takes an active interest in Ryuujin no Miko's
progress, the Emperor is entirely detached from her activities and
often wishes he could be more involved in saving his people from
harm. His name is never given - and even by Eisen he is only
referred to as either 'okami' (a formal manner of addressing a
King) or 'aniue' (a polite term for older brother). Other cast
members refer to him as 'mikado' or 'okami'.
- Minamoto no Sanehisa (源実久
?)
- Voiced by: Horiuchi
Kenyuu
- Yorihisa's elder brother, who is deceased by the time Akane
arrives in Kyou. There is a significant age gap between Yorihisa
and Sanehisa and it appears that Sanehisa was largely involved in
Yorihisa's training and his upbringing. The way in which Sanehisa's
role in proceedings is portrayed varies from anime to manga,
although he appears in flashback quite often when a situation
relates closely to Yorihisa (for example his memories of the Nue).
In the anime, Yorihisa and Tenma both receive a brief dream message
from Sanehisa telling them to go East to find the Eastern Seal.
This is then followed by a scenario surreally sinister to the
events that led up to Sanehisa's death, for which Yorihisa holds
himself responsible.[8] By
defending Tenma in a similar way to how Sanehisa defended him,
Yorihisa feels he has somewhat 'atoned' and can at last share the
story with his companions (Akane and later Tenma[9]). In
the manga, Yorihisa is afraid to face Sanehisa and receive the
dream message because he feels to blame for Sanehisa's death, which
is recounted as happening the same way as the anime depicts.[10]
- Unlike Yorihisa, who is generally quite serious and focused in
how he deals with situations, Sanehisa is a lot more light-hearted
and is willing to tease both Akane and Yorihisa in the manga when
he visits them in dreams. It is clear that he and Yorihisa shared a
close bond and that he does not hold his brother responsible for
his death - rather he sacrificed his life to ensure that Yorihisa
survived.
- Though Sanehisa's name appears briefly in the anime, it is
screamed rather than spoken, thus causing it to have been mis-heard
and mis-written as a result. However on both anime credits and in
the manga it is written as above, with the reading as given.
Episodes
The twenty-six episode anime series has been licensed by Bandai Visual and
will be released in a series of nine volumes under the title
HARUKA: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight
Guardians. A new volume will be released monthly with the
first volume being released April 22, 2008 and the final volume due
January 13, 2009.[11]
Other
Animated Releases
O.V.A
Releases
There have also been OVA releases relating to the original
'Harukanaru Toki no Naka De' characters. These include the two
episode 'Ajisai Yumegatari' (紫陽花ゆめ語り
?) as well as omake episodes for the
'Ten' and 'Chi' Hachiyou respectively. 'Ajisai Yumegatari' follows
its own canon, describing briefly Akane's coming to Kyou and her
involvement with the Hachiyou. The 'Ten' and 'Chi' OVAs are within
the timeline of the animated Hachiyou series, though they are not
chronicled in the manga or referenced in the anime . As yet there
has been no indication of an English language release.
Gekijouban: Maihitoyo
A further movie release, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
- Maihitoyo (遙かなる時空の中で
～舞一夜～
?) featuring the Harukanaru Toki no Naka
De original characters was produced and released in Japan in 2007.
As yet there have been no indications of an English language
release.
References
External
links
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