Demonbane

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Demonbane
Genre Mech, Sci-fi, Action, Shonen
OVA
Directed by Shintaro Inokawa
Studio
No. of episodes 1
Released Japan July 1, 2004
Runtime
TV anime
Directed by Shoichi Masuo
Studio Half H.P Studio
Network WOWOW
Original run May 18, 2006 – August 17, 2006
No. of episodes 12

Demonbane is a series by Nitroplus with mecha and Cthulhu Mythos elements. Starting as an eroge for the PC, it has a PlayStation 2 non-H remake, a sequel visual novel, a prequel novel, a TV anime adaptation and a conversion to manga.

Contents

[edit] List of Games

Zanmataisei Demonbane (斬魔大聖デモンベイン): First of the series published on April 25, 2003. The title loosely translates to "Demon-slaying Grand Saint, Demonbane".

Kishinhoukou Demonbane (機神咆吼デモンベイン): PS2 port of the first work, published on July 1, 2004. The title loosely translates to "Roar of the Machine God, Demonbane". Both the anime and the manga adaptations are under this title. The PS2 game also comes with an one-episode OVA.

Kishinhisho Demonbane (機神飛翔デモンベイン): Sequel to the two works listed above. The title loosely translates to "Flight of the Machine God, Demonbane". This time the players can control their mechas in battle.

Azathoth-D (字祷子D-妖都最速伝説): A spin-off racing game released at the 70th Comiket(C70). The title is a parody on the popular racing manga Initial D.

[edit] Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Kurou and friends

People in alliance with the protagonist.

Kurou Daijuuji
A poor detective and former magic student, his world is thrown into confusion when asked to retrieve a powerful grimoire. Although not a natural warrior and generous to the point of being manipulated, his sense of justice and will allow him to effectively wield the power of Demonbane. When accessing Al Azif's power, he gains a darker outfit, and abilities that include levitation, a shielding cloak, and enhanced strength. As he retrieves more pages of Al, he and Demonbane can use its powers, which include adhesive webbing, a magic scimitar, and the power to generate illusionary copies. His name is derived from Titus Crow.
Al Azif
The original copy of the Necronomicon, and likely the most powerful Grimoire when complete, usually takes the form of a young girl with lavendar hair and a white Gothic Lolita-style dress; she makes a pact with Kurou that allows him access to her power. Normally direct, bold and upbeat with a hint of surliness, she's also impatient with those who are slow to act in danger, yet also realizes when she or Kuro are outclassed. She sometimes refers to herself as Kurou's 'property' to tease him in front of others.
Ruri Hadou
The 16-year old head of the Hadou Financial group, which is responsible for much of the construction work in Arkham City. Her grandfather took care of her after her parents were assassinated by agents of Black Lodge, and also ordered the creation of Demonbane to defend the city. Though she maintains a public image of a responsible leader, she is especially concerned for the damage that occurs to Demonbane or the city due to Black Lodge.
Makoto, Chiaki, Sonia
Three maids who work for Ruri Hadou, and aid in Demonbane's tech support.
Kouzou Hadou
Ruri's grandfather. Responsible for the construction of Demonbane.
Winfield
Ruri Hadou's butler and personal bodyguard. Polite and well-mannered, but has boxing skills great enough to allow him to defeat four-armed samurai magicians and giant robots. His name is a homage to H. P. Lovecraft's father, Winfield Scott Lovecraft.
Raika
A blond, buxom nun at a local church, Kurou usually stops by for food due to his lack of money. Compassionate but also possesses a cunning business sense, and takes care of three orphans: George, Colin and Alison.
Laban Shrewsbury
Professor at the Miskatonic University, clad in black coat and shades. Being the author of the Celaeno Fragments, he owns the original copy which summons the Deus Machina 'Ambrose' that is much more powerful than Claudius' Lord Byakhee. Only appears in Kishinhisho.
Hatsuki
Human form of the Celaeno Fragments' original copy. Has insect-like wings. Calls her author 'Daddy'. Her name means 'August', which is probably a homage to August Derleth. Only appears in Kishinhisho.
Azrad
Former master of Al Azif, pilot of the Deus Machina 'Aeon'. A young Arabian gentleman obsessed with revenge. Only appears in the prequel novel and Kishinhisho.

[edit] Black Lodge Members

The Black Lodge is a secret group led by powerful sorcerers. Their aim is not always clear but mostly evil.

Master Therion
The head of Black Lodge, a violet-cloaked blonde youth with a continuously bored expression. He cares little about those who cannot match his mystic power, and allows Kurou to survive multiple times to provide a challenge for him. He controls the Deus Machina 'Liber Legis'.
Lady Etheldreda
Master Therion's grimoire, the Pnakotic Manuscripts. Resembles Al Azif. Unlike Al, her personality is subdued and quiet, and completely obedient to Master Therion.
Doctor West
A flamboyant and eccentric mad scientist with spiked green hair and a crimson guitar who works for Black Lodge to advance his research. Considered a low-level member due to his failure to defeat Kurou and Demonbane, he provides a source of comic relief due to his propensity for getting into accidents. Most of his weapons are non-magical, such as machine guns and rocket launchers (such as one hidden in his guitar case). His name is probably derived from Herbert West's.
Elsa
A creation of Doctor West, she is a gynoid possibly created by reanimating the deceased, or due to West's skill with robotics. She resembles a green-haired elf. After Kurou saves her from danger, she develops feelings for him, much to his confusion. Being a construct she is stronger and faster than an ordinary human, using a pair of sidearms held like tonfas, and ends most of her sentences with the word 'robo'.
The Anticross
Seven powerful sorcerers at the second highest level of Black Lodge, directly below Master Therion. Their names are taken from emperors of the Roman Empire.
Augustus
Master Therion's right-hand man; a dark-skinned individual with short white hair. He owns the grimoire The Golden Bough controls the Deus Machina 'Legacy of Gold'. Self-proclaimed Emperor of Earth.
Titus
A four-armed samurai magician. He respects Winfield's skill in combat. He owns the grimoire Cultes des Goules and controls the Deus Machina 'Ogre'.
Tiberius
A corpse clad in black and red-striped robes, his is covered by a lizard-like mask that reflects his mood: green for content, red for anger and blue for pained. Sadistic, perverted, and has a tendency to talk like a woman. He owns the grimoire De Vermis Mysteriis and controls the Deus Machina 'Belzebuth'. His appearance probably came from Lovecraft's story the Thing on the Doorstep.
Caligula
A tall, powerful individual who wears a skull mask. He owns the grimoire Cthäat Aquadingen and controls the Deus Machina 'Kraken'.
Claudius
A green-haired brat dressed in modern sports clothes. Agile but brash. He owns the grimoire Celaeno Fragments and controls the Deus Machina 'Lord Byakhee'.
Vespasian
A red-haired man dressed in grey. Has a tendency of repetitive speech. He owns the grimoire Book of Eibon and controls the Deus Machina 'Cykranosh'.
Nero
Titled 'the greatest and most wicked magician'. She owns the grimoire Unaussprechlichen Kulten and controls the Deus Machina 'Nameless One'.

[edit] Mysterious people

Some Real identity unknown.

Nya (Real Identity: Nyarlathotep, an evil God)
A bespectabled woman in black with massive breasts, or a black man in a suit with odd earrings. First appeared as the owner of an old book shop, encountered when Kurou was hired by Ruri to search for grimoires.
Metatron
A henshin heroine who fights Black Lodge. Clad in white armour with mechanic wings. Her forearms can transform into beam cannons or generate beam swords.
Sandalphon
A guy in a black angel-robot-thing suit who sort of works for Black Lodge, who is after Metatron.
Ryuuga
A mysterious boy in black.
Ennea (Real Identity: Nero)
A girl suffering from memory loss. Her hair is shaped like cat-ears.

[edit] Deus Machina

The name for mecha in the Demonbane world, these stand over 20 stories tall, and are usually named after mythological beings; the name is Latin for 'God Machine'. Many are summoned by teleporting through geometric arrays, and have energy attacks that function like spells.

Demonbane
The titular Deus Machina, a white-shelled humanoid with broad shoulders and two oversized shinguards. It is primary designed for close-combat, but also can use a pair of handguns for distance attacks. Special moves include 'Atlantis Strike', a flying kick assisted by the shinguards and 'Lemuria Impact', where a sphere of zero mass and infinite heat and pressure is created over the opponent. Due to the nature of its power source, it can function without draining energy from the pilot's life.
Aeon
The "original" Deus Machina associated with Al Azif, before its destruction at the beginning of Zanmataisei/Kishinhoukou. Has mostly black/grey armour and feather-like structures on shoulders and legs. Its weapons include heating the body to a high temperature in order to burn enemies nearby, summoning multiple Scimitars of Barzai at the same time, and a staff-cannon utilizing Cthugha's powers. Only appeared in the prequel novel and Kishinhisho.
Destroyer Robot
Doctor West's robot. Has many variations, each with its own name. Usually a barrel-like thing with lots of weapons attached all over, including huge drills, cannons, missiles and lasers, etc.
Demonpain
A copy of Demonbane made by Doctor West, with black/gold armour and the face of a destroyer robot. Technically just another destroyer robot.
Legacy of Gold
Piloted by Augustus, its gold and green stripes resemble Pharonic Egyptian designs, such as a sarcophagus or headdress. Its attacks specialize in light and heat-based blasts.
Belzebuth
Piloted by Tiberius, a heavyset humanoid with red armor and a mosquito-like head. In common with its pilot, its appearance is accompanied by a swarm of insects.
Lord Byakhee
Piloted by Claudius, a silver-green avian-themed mech. Fast and agile, it can summon a dual spell-cannon. The English name is given as 'Loadbyakhee' on official websites, but as 'Lord Byakhee' in Kishinhisho.
Kraken
Plioted by Caligula, a bulky thick-legged mech. It uses ice magic and a set of shoulder-mounted harpoons.
Cykranosh
Piloted by Vespasian, resembles a ten-pointed starfish, with five segments as legs. Specializes in rituals and enchantments.
Ogre
Piloted by Titus, uses twin scythe blades to suit the pilot's proficiency in swords. In Japanese, the mecha's name is written as 皇餓 (sounds the same as 'ogre'), which means 'emperor's hunger'.
Liber Legis
Piloted By Master Therion and Etherelda, has red/black armor and a pair of block-like wings which can fold around the body for protection. Its most powerful weapon is the 'Hyperborea zero drive' which reduces target temperature to absolute zero.
Nameless One
Piloted by Nero. The second largest of all the Deus Machina, it has a robe-like lower torso, with multiple lance-like cannons.
Ambrose
Summoned using the original copy of the Celaeno Fragments. Has mostly purple armour and a gangly appearance like the skeleton of a huge weird bird. The ability to transform into a fighter craft only adds to its speed and agility. Wields a large scythe. The head can be separated and flied at high speed as a way of transport. Only appears in Kishinhisho. It's probable that its name is derived from Ambrose Bierce, whom Lovecraft referenced in his work and correspondence many times.

[edit] Anime

[edit] Kishin Houkou Demonbane OVA

A one episode OVA which came bundled with the PS2 Game Kishin Houkou Demonbane, released 2004-07-01.

[edit] Plot

Lily Bridge, a young journalist, arrives at Arkham City, hoping to find a big scoop. However, with all the strange things occurring around the city, only the exceptional findings are news-worthy, such as the mysterious mecha known as Demonbane. However, upon finding a small piece of machinery that seemed to be connected with the Hadou Combine, Lily is determined to find the truth. Little does she know, she enters into a dark world, involving herself with Demonbane and the powerful forces that control the city.

[edit] Kishinhoukou Demonbane TV

Kishinoukou Demonbane TV is an animated adaption of Kishinhoukou Demonbane for the PS2, which began airing on 2006-05-18, and ended on 2006-08-17. The characters showcased in the TV series differ slightly from those in the PS2 Game. For example; Metatron has a few seconds of screentime in the first few episodes then never shows up again, Sandalphon is never seen, Ryuuga is seen only in the ending sequence, and Dagon's design was changed entirely.

[edit] Plot

Kuro Daijuuji is a poor detective living in Arkham City. One day, he is asked by Ruri Hado of Hado Financial Group, to search for a magic grimoire. As Kuro searches for the book, he unexpectedly runs into Al Azif, a pretty girl who turns out to be the grimoire Kuro is searching for. While being chased by the Black Lodge, Al forges a contract with Kuro, bestowing him with powerful magic. Soon afterwards, Al also activates Demonbane, a deus machina owned by the Hado Financial Group, to combat the mechanical menace from the Black Lodge. With this, the war between the Hado Financial Group and the Black Lodge begins....

[edit] Ending

Demonbane TV's ending is entirely original, made up for the TV series. It at first takes after Al's good ending, but instead of having her drift through space for aeons, it has the Elder Gods Kurou and Al-Azif (from Al's true ending) rescue her and bring her right back to Arkham.

The superior quality of the ending to most of the series is attributed to the fact that the animation staff enlisted the aid of the original work's staff for the final episode.

[edit] Episodes

# English Title Original airdate
01 I AM PROVIDENCE 2006-05-18
02 EVIL SHINE 2006-05-25
03 REANINATOR 2006-06-15
04 THE INVADERS 2006-06-22
05 THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH 2006-06-29
06 QUO VADIS 2006-07-06
07 BIG "C" 2006-07-13
08 SHADOW IN THE DARK 2006-07-20
09 THE HUNT 2006-07-27
10 METALLIC WARCRY 2006-08-03
11 THE RETURN OF THE SORCERER 2006-08-10
12 STRANGE EONS 2006-08-17

[edit] Connections to HP Lovecraft in the Anime

Miskatonic University is a fictional university in the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts created by HP Lovecraft, an author of horror from the early 20th century. The Necronomicon is also a creation of HP Lovecraft who used the book of forbidden and maddening knowledge in several of his short stories.

Eps 1 "I AM PROVIDENCE" is named after a line in one of the letters HP Lovecraft had written during his life. In 1977 fans of Lovecraft had created a headstone to mark his burial place and on it they put the line from his letter "I AM PROVIDENCE."

Eps 3, Reaninator is likely supposed to be a play on Herbert West: Reanimator a story written by Lovecraft.

Eps 5, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" is also a story of the same name by HP Lovecraft.

Eps 11 "The Return of the Sorcerer" would but a nod to Clark Ashton Smith's "The Return of the Sorcerer." Clark Ashton Smith was a correspondent of HP Lovecraft while he lived.

Eps 12, "Strange Eons" is a name taken from the book written by Robert Bloch of the same name. Bloch was a good friend of HP Lovecraft. Bloch is best known for the novel turned movie he wrote called... "Psycho."

Al Azif's name is derived from the "Arabic" name of the Necronomicon which is "Al Azif." And again, the Necronomicon is a fictional book created by HP Lovecraft.

Azrad's name was taken from the name of a previous "owner" of the Necronomicon by the name of Abd al-Azrad.

[edit] Novels

There are currently 5 novel adaptations, three of which retell stories covered in Zanmataisei/Kishinhoukou, and the rest two feature new story contents.

[edit] Zanmataisei's story retold

斬魔大聖デモンベイン　無垢なる刃 (Deus Machina Demonbane Mukunaruaiba - "The Stain-free Blade")

斬魔大聖デモンベイン　魔を断つ剣 (Deus Machina Demonbane Mawotatsuken - "The Demon-slaying Sword")

斬魔大聖デモンベイン 明日への翼 (Deus Machina Demonbane Asuhenotsubasa - "The Wing towards Tomorrow")

[edit] New stories

斬魔大聖デモンベイン 機神胎動 (Deus Machina Demonbane Kishintaidou - "The Embryonic Movements of Machine God"): Direct prequel to Zanmataisei/Kishinhoukou.

斬魔大聖デモンベイン 軍神強襲 (Deus Machina Demonbane Gunsinkyosuu - "The Assault of the War God"): Sequel to Kishintaidou, but its relationship to the games is not apparent.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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In other languages