is a

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

series written and illustrated by

Toshio Maeda is an erotic manga artist who was prolific in the 1980s and '90s. Several of Maeda's works have been used as a basis for original video animations (OVA) including '' La Blue Girl'', '' Adventure Kid'', '' Demon Beast Invasion'', ''Demon Warrior ...

, published by Wani Magazine. The series was adapted into a six-part

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

of the same name in 1990, followed by in 1995.

Plot

Millions of years ago,

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

was inhabited by a race of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

giant

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and ...

s that can grow tentacles. Following an ecological disaster, the Earth's atmosphere had started to become inappropriate for their

cellular respiration Cellular respiration is the process by which biological fuels are oxidised in the presence of an inorganic electron acceptor such as oxygen to produce large amounts of energy, to drive the bulk production of ATP. Cellular respiration may be des ...

and they migrated to the planet Quasar PHL-5200. Nevertheless, they did not forget about Earth and have started to send successive vanguards. Referred to as Demon Beasts by the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency operatives that try to stop them, the aliens are seeking to create a race of human/alien hybrids which would adapt to the Earth's atmosphere and to rule the Earth by proxy. The story is centred on Muneto Ungyōsai and Kayō Asakura, two college students living in Tokyo.

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

is presented as an eschalotogical opponent to the end-days to be brought by the alien invasion.

Main characters (anime)

Episode 1 *Muneto Ungyōsai: A timid college student and the son of a Buddhist temple master, Muneto is a junior operative of the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency. *Kayō Asakura: The high school love interest of Muneto, Kayō had started a relationship with Tsutomu Kawai, Muneto's high school friend. Her body is exceptionally suitable to create human/alien hybrids. *Shin'ichi Kasu: A former school teacher of modest means, Kasu is the veteran operative of the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency. *The Vanguard: A demon beast who after several "unsuitable" women, he has sex with Kayō in Tsutomu's guise and impregnates her. Episode 2 *Jun'ichi Yagami: The ambitious Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency operative assigned to Muneto as a partner after Kasu's death. *The Hybrid: Son of Kayō with the Vanguard, he grows to an adult alien in half a day and starts to implement the invasion plans. *Miki: A friend of Kayō, she mutates into an alien minion after she is seduced by the Hybrid. Episode 3 *Ash: The leader of the all-female extraterrestrial task force assigned by the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency after Muneto and Yagami fail to kill the Hybrid. *Ms. Satomi: A teacher of Kayō, she is kidnapped and used by the Hybrid to lure her. Episode 4 *Miyuki: Kayō's cousin who is under training at Ōyama to become a

miko A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform ...

but she is possessed by the Hybrid. *Mr. Ungyōsai: Muneto's father and a temple master, he thinks that the alien presence is the result of the family

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

. *Munechika Ungyōsai: Muneto's

yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints o ...

uncle who helps him to fight the Hybrid. Episode 5 *Mei Ling: A Chinese girl who escapes

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

Triad henchmen and takes refuge in Hong Kong. *G7: An Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency operative with the mission to abort Triad plans of joining forces with the Hybrid. Episode 6 *Iyō: A local girl who mutated into the minion of the Hybrid and helps him to find Kayō. *Irimote: Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency Demon Beast Buster sent to save Kayō and Muneto from the Hybrid. *Professor: The teacher who leads the school trip to a remote Ryukyuan island.

Demon Beast Resurrection

Purgatory (Episodes 1 & 2) *Miki: A sukeban chosen to give her body for the resurrection of Ash who was killed by the Hybrid. *Dee & BB: The lieutenants of Ash in the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency task force. *Captain O: The commander of the Interplanetary Mutual Observation Agency spaceship's all-female crew. Soul Survivor (Episodes 3 & 4) *"The Mailman": A member of Miyuki's Demon Beast cult that seeks to resurrect the Hybrid, he is assigned to kidnap Kayō. *The Slave: A loyal female minion of Miyuki.

Allegations of promoting obscenity

In 1999, Jesus Castillo, a clerk at Keith's Comics in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, was accused of promoting

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...

for selling an issue of the ''Demon Beast Invasion'' manga to an undercover officer. He was fined $4000 and sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation after the original six-month prison term sentence was suspended.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Official website, http://urotsukidoji.jp, Toshio Maeda official website—contains the original Demon Beast Invasion manga, as well as all Maeda's other works 1989 manga 1990 anime OVAs 1995 anime OVAs Anime 18 Japanese disaster films Hentai anime and manga Horror anime and manga Seinen manga Supernatural anime and manga Wanimagazine manga