is a Japanese
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 u ...
written and illustrated by Hiroki Ugawa. The manga was serialized in
Shōnen Gahōsha
is a Japanese publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printe ...
's ''
Young King Ours''. It was licensed in North America by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
and in Australia and New Zealand by
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
. The manga was adapted into an
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series, directed by
Yuji Moriyama
is an anime character designer, animator, animation supervisor and director. He is a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association and a winner of the 4th Japan Animation Awards in the Animation Director category.
Career
Moriyama started ...
. The anime was licensed in North America by
Media Blasters
Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment corporation that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American ...
.
It tells the story of Yuzu Hieda, a high school freshman and one of three sisters, all of whom are ''
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 ...
'' at the local
Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
. When her childhood love returns, it is discovered that dark gods have a great interest in him, and Yuzu is recruited to gather fellow students into a "Miko Council" to fight off a full-scale mystic assault. The priestesses have
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
s that focus their powers and are used when attacking the dark
kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
.
Characters
The Miko Council
In the Media Blasters anime English adaptation, the Miko Council is referred to as the "Priestess Club".
;
:
:She is the middle sister of the Hieda clan, all of whom have trained to be Shinto priestesses. She is a powerful mystic, but naive. She is fixated on her childhood friend Tadahiro, believing they are destined to be together. Her talisman is a ceremonial dagger. Her attack is called "white light beam." She is the leader of the priestess club.
;
:
:Yuzu's best friend and first recruit to the Miko Council. She is enthusiastic but unlucky with boys. She pretends to be more worldly than Yuzu when in reality she is just as naive. Her talisman item is a spear. Her attack name is "brave girl spear" but Izumi Sakibara thought it was "brave spear girl".
;
:
:Although she is the same age as the other girls, she has a body that resembles that of a ten-year-old. She has a cutting, nasty streak and never hesitates to speak her mind. Her talisman is a
tamagushi
is a form of Shinto offering made from a ''sakaki''-tree branch decorated with shide strips of washi paper, silk, or cotton. At Japanese weddings, funerals, miyamairi and other ceremonies at Shinto shrines, ''tamagushi'' are ritually presented ...
, a ritual wand made of a branch with leaves. Her attack is called "lyrical flash," but before that it was "moon tornado defusion."
;
:
:A bespectacled girl who is obsessed with
UFOs
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
and
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
, and convinced there is a connection between UFOs and the demon invasion. She thinks Chika is extremely cute and loses no opportunity to glomp her, much to Chika's disgust. Her talisman item is a set of
ofuda
In Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, an is a talisman made out of various materials such as paper, wood, cloth or metal. are commonly found in both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and are considered to be imbued with the power of the deities ...
. Her attack is called "secret weopon tachiyon plasma boomerang."
;
:
:A quiet, demure and extremely wealthy girl who hero-worships Yuzu. She tries very hard to be the epitome of Japanese femininity. Her talisman is a ceremonial fan. Her attack is called "tornado blast."
The Hieda Clan
;
:
:The Asagiri Shrine's head priestess, the Miko Council's mentor, and Yuzu's homeroom teacher and older sister. She is extremely knowledgeable and intensely disciplined. She puts the council (including her sister, who is already a priestess) through continual, rigorous training that borders on the sadistic. Her talisman items are a bow (she is a skilled archer) and a large ring that can encircle foes.
;
:
:The youngest Hieda sister and a priestess-in-training. She takes a perverse glee in teasing her sister about Tadahiro but is basically kind and loving. Her talisman items are a pair of hand
chimes.
;
:
:The father of the Hieda sisters. He lives at the shrine but does not appear to be a priest; his job is unknown but apparently exhausting. His principal problems are a distrust of Tadahiro's intentions towards Yuzu and the tendency of the rest of the family to almost completely ignore him.
;
:
:The cousin of the Hieda sisters. A boy Yuzu's age, he is her childhood friend and they have been carrying a torch for each other for five years. Tadahiro has the power to see the spirit world through his left eye, which is a different color from the right, and is a target of the demons by consequence.
;
:
:A
bakeneko
The (, "changed cat") is a type of Japanese , or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a , or supernatural cat. It is often confused with the , another cat-like . The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest difference ...
or "demon cat" who protected Tadahiro's grandfather. She normally appears as an ordinary black cat but can take human and cat-woman forms to fight. She has an alarming fondness for cake.
Yagarena
;
:
:An ancient
sorcerer who serves Yagarena, a dark god who wishes to return to the Earth and plunge Japan into darkness. He has the power to summon demons from just about anything, which he uses to menace Tadahiro and Yuzu.
;
:Are three
"dark miko" recruited by Michimune to fight the Miko Council. Their spiritual powers are roughly equal to those of the Miko Council, but their skill is greater.
:
:*
:
:*
:
:*
;
:
:A handsome student in Yuzu and Tadahiro's class. Although popular, he is arrogant and cutting and does everything in his power to hamper and humiliate Yuzu. Chika took some pictures that led her to believe he was having a romance with Tadahiro. In reality, Kusugi is a disguise used by Michimune to
infiltrate the school and hamper his enemies.
Setting
The real-life city of
Miyoshi, Hiroshima
is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on March 31, 1954. As of May 2017, the city has an estimated population of 53,616 and a population density of 69 persons per km2. The total area is 778 km2.
On April 1, ...
was used as the basis for the location of the anime. Miyoshi has an abundance of mist in the morning (hence the series' title), and the folktales recorded in Inō Mononoke scroll (which inspired much of the anime's story) took place on a mountain near Miyoshi City. The mountain appears prominently in ''Shrine of the Morning Mist''.
Media
Manga
''Shrine of the Morning Mist'' is written and illustrated by Hiroki Ugawa.
Shōnen Gahōsha
is a Japanese publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printe ...
released the manga's nine ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes between January 2001 and April 30, 2013.
The manga was licensed in North America by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
, which released the manga's first four ''tankōbon'' volumes between May 9, 2006 and May 1, 2007 as of July 2009.
The series is licensed in France as ''Asagiri - Les prêtresses de l'aube'' by Editions Ki-oon.
Volume listing
Anime
The episodes of ''Shrine of the Morning Mist'' anime series are based on the manga written by Hiroki Ugawa. The anime series was directed by
Yuji Moriyama
is an anime character designer, animator, animation supervisor and director. He is a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association and a winner of the 4th Japan Animation Awards in the Animation Director category.
Career
Moriyama started ...
. There were 26 episodes broadcast by
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
and
AT-X between July 4, 2002 and December 26, 2002. Media Blasters licensed and released the series for a Blu-Ray Disc release.
Reception
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's A.E. Sparrow criticises the manga for making Tadahiro "possibly the most boring character written in the history of manga. He looks and behaves with all the emotional range of a
Ken doll
Kenneth Sean Carson is a fashion doll and fictional character invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by American toy company Mattel in 1961 as the counterpart of Barbie, who was introduced two years earlier. Ken was named after Kenneth Handle ...
, despite being the core character around which the action revolves."
T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews' Jeremy A Beard comments that comedy of the anime "employs a lot of silly school life misunderstandings and visual gags that reminded me of something like ''
Azumanga Daioh
is a Japanese ''yonkoma'' comedy manga series written and illustrated by Kiyohiko Azuma. It was serialized from February 1999 to May 2002 in the monthly magazine ''Dengeki Daioh'' by MediaWorks; three additional chapters were published i ...
''."
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
's Sean Broestl commends the anime for its "great character design, catchy opening
nd thecomedy isn't overdone" but he criticises the episodes for feeling "rushed" and the "mediocre plot."
Mania.com's Chris Beveridge comments on the anime's "half-length episodes" due to it being aired on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
as the second half of ''Nekketsu Denpa Club'', saying, "the show makes decent use of the format and the pacing is certainly much better than a lot of shows that were trying out this format a few years ago, but there's still something slightly off about how it plays out and roughly half of the episodes feel like they're either a bit rushed or they don't end in what you'd consider an appropriate place."
References
External links
Official website for the animeHiroki Ugawa's blog
*
{{Chaos Project
2000 manga
2002 anime television series debuts
Comedy anime and manga
Madman Entertainment manga
Magical girl anime and manga
Media Blasters
Seinen manga
Shinto in fiction
Shōnen Gahōsha manga
Tokyopop titles
TV Tokyo original programming