Kyo Kara Maoh!

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Kyo Kara Maoh!
Image:A3741-76thumbnail.jpg
Cover of Kyo Kara Maoh! anime series (Clockwise from top: Gwendal, Conrad, Yuri, Gunter, and Wolfram)
今日からマ王！
(Kyō Kara Maō!)
Genre Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Light novel
Author Tomo Takabayashi
Illustrator Temari Matsumoto
Publisher Flag of Japan Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōjo
Published October 2000
Volumes 13
TV anime
Director Jinji Nishimura
Studio Studio Deen
Licensor Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Geneon
Flag of Australia Flag of New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Network Flag of Japan Animax, NHK
Flag of South Korea Animax
Flag of the United States Imaginasian
Flag of India Animax
Flag of the Philippines Animax
Original run 3 April 2004 – ongoing
Episodes 88-ongoing
Manga
Author Tomo Takabayashi (story)
Temari Matsumoto (art)
Publisher Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōjo
Serialized in Asuka
Original run June 2005
Volumes 4
OVA: R
Director Jinji Nishimura
Studio Studio Deen
Episodes 5
Released October 26, 2007
Game: Kyo Kara Maoh! Hajimari no Tabi
Platform PlayStation 2
Released 2006

Kyo Kara Maoh! (今日からマ王! Kyō Kara Maō!?) ("Demon King From Today [Onward]") is a Japanese series of light novels written by Tomo Takabayashi, which have been adapted into an anime series released domestically by Geneon USA, a manga and a series of audio dramas. As announced on March 10, 2007, there will also be an OVA released based on the novels. The anime series was produced by Studio Deen and aired across Japan on NHK and the anime television network, Animax, which also aired the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and other regions including India, where the series goes by the name God(?) Save Our King![1]. The series has been licensed for North American distribution by Geneon under the name Kyo Kara Maoh! - God(?) Save Our King!(sic). Geneon ceased production of all titles in late 2007, leaving three volumes of the second season unreleased on DVD in North America. The story follows the adventures of 15-year old Yuri Shibuya (渋谷　友利, Shibuya Yūri), an average high school student whose passion in life is baseball, as he discovers his future in a world where demons and humans are fighting against one another.

Contents

[edit] Genre

 This section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007)

Though not explicitly shōnen-ai (boys love), the series is often mistaken for such because of its overtones (such as an early plot point that ends with two male characters becoming engaged), and calm acceptance of homosexuality in the setting, as well as because the cast is predominantly made up of good-looking young men. More accurately, the series can be called a "male harem", similarly to how one would call an anime about a young man surrounded by good-looking females a "harem anime" (ex: Love Hina or Tenchi Muyo) or a story about a female surrounded by good-looking males a "reverse harem" (ex: Fushigi Yūgi or Ouran High School Host Club). Romance is not a main theme of the series, though it has a flourishing fan-community dedicated to various romantic pairings.

The illustrator, Temari Matsumoto (松本テマリ Matsumoto Temari) however, is known for her BL (Boy's Love) illustrations in manga, assisted by Sukesaburou Barugo & Ouji Henshoku.

Kyou Kara Maoh! can also be accurately called shōjo - anime and manga written for a female audience.

[edit] Setting

Kyo Kara Maoh! takes place in an alternate world which Yuri travels to go through contact with various sources of water. The clothing of this world is similar to the clothing of medieval Europe. There are many nations in the alternate world, however, the plot centers around the nation of Shin Makoku (眞魔国? True Mazoku Land) (officially translated "Great Demon Kingdom"). The people of the kingdom are Mazoku (魔族?), a type of Japanese mythological creature similar to a demon. In the official translation, Mazoku is rendered as "demon" or "Demon Tribe", depending on context. The Demon Tribe are granted the privelege of making an agreement with an element of nature, which allows them to manipulate that element through the use of their Maryoku (魔力 Mazoku power?) controlled using Majutsu (魔術? Mazoku special discipline). In the English translation, both terms are rendered as "magic". The capital of the Great Demon Kingdom is Covenant Castle , the residence of the Maoh (マ王 or 魔王 Maō?), or "Mazoku King" (officially "Demon King"). The culture in the Great Demon Kingdom is very different from the Japanese culture Yuri is accustomed to, and the differences make for some amusing mishaps with long ranging consequences, such as an accidental proposal of marriage. The Great Demon Kingdom shows many similarities to medieval Germany. For example, the pronunciations of the names (as well as several of the names themselves) and the indications of language in the Great Demon Kingdom are derived or transliterated from the German language. Also, Conrad gives Yuri his name, which he claims means "July" in the language of the Great Demon Kingdom. In German, July is "Juli" pronounced "Yuli". Due to the lack of distinction between the Western sounds of the letters L and R in the Japanese language, this is rendered in Japanese as "Yuri." He also sometimes claim that he is nicknamed "Shibuya Yuri Harajuku Furi" and that Conrad is responsible for it. Also, it may be noted that the nobles of the kingdom are named using the traditional naming conventions of German nobility, using the preposition "von" in their surnames to denote their fiefdom, as in Günter von Christ and Wolfram von Bielefeld.

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Season One

The first season of Kyo Kara Maoh! begins when Yuri intervenes upon finding his classmate, Ken Murata (村田　健 Murata Ken?), being bullied, and gets his head dunked in a toilet by the bullies. When his head enters the water, he is sucked into the toilet, and ends up in another world. Waking on dry land, he initially assumes that he is at a theme park, because of the medieval-style clothes the inhabitants wear. He encounters Adelbert von Grantz, who uses some form of magic to unlock the local language hidden in Yuri's spirit. Conrart Weller and Günter von Christ then rescue Yuri and take him to Covenant Castle, where he is informed that he is the new heir to the throne of the Great Demon Kingdom. While spending his first night at the castle, Yuri encounters Wolfram von Bielefeld, who immediately marks Yuri as an unworthy heir to the throne, and claims that Yuri's mother was of poor breeding, as well as being human. Yuri reacts to the insult by slapping Wolfram across the left cheek, which, unbeknown st to Yuri, is the traditional way to propose marriage among the nobles of the Great Demon Kingdom. Though Yuri insists that he is not interested in men, Wolfram takes the proposal very seriously, becoming a jealous, critical fiancée, constantly complaining about how Yuri is a wimp of a fiancée, to great comic effect. Though initially hesitant to claim the throne of a nation he has never heard of at age 15, Yuri has a change of heart upon learning that the humans of the world are at odds with the Demon Tribe, and that the kingdom is on the brink of war with the humans. Yuri feels the bitterness of war firsthand when visiting a town that was burned by enemies, and he feels compelled to bring peace to the land. Just as Yuri is beginning to accept his responsibility as Demon King, another being within his soul manifests itself. This other being is known as "the Demon King" proper, and has longer hair, and more adult features as well as a deeper voice. He is extremely powerful with magic. He is brought forth when Yuri is angered, hurt, or otherwise distressed. The Demon King is always eloquent and direct when he appears, always promoting the idea of justice; in fact, whenever he punishes wrongdoers, he always creates an image of the kanji meaning "justice" (正義 seigi?) somewhere within the scene. The Demon King often appears at crucial moments to help out and to ensure justice prevails. Yuri slowly becomes the champion of peace and justice, and becomes iconic of a new era of understanding as he rules with a strict policy of peace and negotiation. He even encounters Prince Heathcrife of Cavalcade on a ship, and inadvertently forms an alliance for the Great Demon Kingdom by helping out who he believes is just a stranger in need. On one instance, Ken Murata tries to save Yuri from drowning as he is "flushed" to the other world, and is accidentally brought along. After some initial awkward caution between the friends, Ken reveals to Yuri that he is the reincarnated soul of the Great Wise Man (大賢者 daikenja?), the close friend and adviser of the original Demon King, known as the Great One (眞王 shin'ō?, True King). The Great Wise Man always remembers his past lives. After this encounter, Ken usually travels with Yuri to and from the kingdom, and the boys become closer in both worlds. Later in the season, Yuri learns that in ancient times, the Great One sealed up his greatest enemy, the Originator (宗主 sōshu?), in four wooden boxes named "End of the Wind", "End of the Earth", "Hell's Fire on Frozen Tundra" and "Mirror at the Bottom of the Sea", collectively known as the "Four Forbidden Boxes". According to Ken, peace cannot prevail until all four boxes, which can be used as powerful weapons of destruction, are brought back into the control of the Demon Tribe. Yuri begins searching for the boxes, and subsequently clashes with King Belar of Big Cimarron, who is also seeking the boxes to use as weapons against his human enemies, as well as the Demon Tribe.

[edit] Season Two

The second season begins with Yuri and his companions in Franzia with the box named "End of the Wind" in their possession. While travelling back to the Great Demon Kingdom, however, they are confronted by a group of soldiers lead by Conrad. He openly declares his new allegiance to Big Cimarron, and takes the group and the box into custody. When King Belar orders Conrad to execute Yuri, however, he reveals that he has always remained faithful to Yuri, and had been attempting to gain access to the boxes controlled by Big Cimarron. The companions escape when the armies of Cavalcade and of a newly-allied Franzia arrive and order Belar out of of Franzia, but not before Conrad is pierces by two arrows protecting Yuri. End of the Wind is successfully secured, but Yuri and Ken get pulled back to Japan before reaching the Great Demon Kingdom. Through a series of side stories, it becomes clear that Yuri's brother, Shori Shibuya (渋谷 勝利 Shibuya Shōri?)is being trained to take over the role of Demon King for the small population of Demon Tribe living in secret in our world. Throughout the progression of the early second season, viewers are presented with a slow accumulation of information about a mysterious character who apparently died three years before Yuri's birth, named Suzanna Julia von Wincott. Both Conrad and Adelbert were very close to Julia, and Adelbert was her lover and fiancée. As the season continues, it is eventually revealed that Suzanna Julia volunteered to give her life to the Great One, and was subsequently reincarnated as Yuri. Julia was chosen to become the next Demon King because she was a gentle, caring soul, and she abhorred war in every sense. Like Yuri, she did not understand what she felt was the needless sacrifice of war. It is also later revealed that the soul of the Great Wise Man was deliberately brought to Earth along with Yuri's, so that Ken Murata could be raised with the future Demon King. It is difficult to draw a broad line across the plot progressions of the beginning of the second season, as most many episodes present isolated side-stories including chasing a baby around Covenant Castle, a villain attempting to take Yuri hostage but giving up when he tastes soup similar to a recipe made by his mother, and Yuri traveling to the past to encounter Suzanna Julia. Meanwhile, the fourth box, the Mirror at the Bottom of the Sea, becomes increasingly elusive, until the Great One informs Ulrike that the box was hidden away on Earth in ancient times. Yuri, Gwendal, Conrad, Wolfram, and Ken travel to Earth and meet Yuri's parents, then begin searching for the Demon King of Earth, Bob. Bob turns away the demons, telling them to return home, and setting various obstacles in their way, which the companions overcome to finally meet with Bob in Switzerland. Bob and Yuri (as the original Demon King) battle with magic, and Bob is eventually defeated, yielding the box to Yuri, and also explaining that his ancestors had made an oath never to allow the box to return to the Great Demon Kingdom. The obstacles had been a test of Yuri's strength and worthiness. Upon returning the Mirror at the Bottom of the Sea to the Great Demon Kingdom, and thus collecting all four boxes, strange things begin to happen, such as the Fly-Bone Tribe becoming uneasy and flocking en masse to Covenant Castle, and travel between worlds becoming more difficult and less predictable. Finally, Conrad and Gwendal discover that the Originator is beginning to leak out of the boxes as the seals weaken. Yuri comes forward to help reseal the boxes, but Wolfram, possessed by the spirit of the Originator, leaps forward and distracts Yuri, who releases his hold on the Originator. Suddenly, the spirit of the Great One appears and takes Gwendals's left eye, Conrad's left arm and Wolfram's heart, three of the four keys to the boxes, and releases the trapped parts of the Originator in those three boxes, but later gives back the original body parts. Ken reveals that, before his death, the Great One had accidentally absorbed part of the Originator, and that his spirit had now combined with the Originator. The Great One takes over Yuri's body, and Ken sits aside to see who will win out. Günter and Dakaskos take Morgif back to the island where he was found, and throw him into the volcano to renew his power. The Great One tries to use Yuri's blood as the key to the fourth box, but Julia's pendant reacts to the act and transmits a vision of Julia into Yuri's soul, where she tells him that he is strong and can save everyone. Just then, Günter, Dakaskos and Morgif arrive, and Morgif rips the Great One out of Yuri's body. In the crucial moment, Ken reveals the Great One's final plan to use his soul as a vessel in which to ultimately destroy the Originator. Yuri was chosen to be the only Demon King stronger than the Great One. Yuri vanquishes the Great One and the Originator, and becomes strong enough to travel between worlds at will.

[edit] Season Three

The third season of the series, consisting of 39 episodes, began airing on April 3rd 2008 in Japan. Before Yuri returned to Shin Makoku at the end of Season 2, the Ten Noble families chooses Wolfram to become the next Demon King. Conflict arises when Yuri returns, and Wolfram is forced to call off their engagement due to Wolfram's proud mazoku uncle. In the end, Yuri becomes the Maoh to defend himself and Wolfram, and proves to the noble family that he is a responsible Maoh. This is later followed by a few individual side stories, such as the episode about bear bees being sold in Shin Makoku, in which later are proven to be fakes; and the episode of Leila's wedding to Antoine, the king of the Francia kingdom. In this episode, Yuri and his companions encounter a group of bandits that have been stealing important swords from different kingdoms, it is later revealed that they have a deeper purpose. The story continues on as Conrad and Murata travel to Big Shimaron to fulfill some somewhat hidden agendas, who are later followed by Yuri and Wolfram. A new character is introduced, the new king of Small Shimaron- Sararegi, who seems to be interested in Yuri. The Original King appears to be well as he appears to Yuri to give him advice, as well as threatened those who oppose Yuri's rule. Finally,Yuri and Wolfram back to their engagement.

[edit] Themes

Throughout the series, Yuri is constantly confronted with the results of even the smallest choices he makes. With a strange power dwelling inside of him, Yuri becomes a deliverer of justice in the world of the Great Demon Kingdom.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Kyo Kara Maoh! characters

[edit] Media

Main article: List of Kyo Kara Maoh! media

[edit] References

  1. ^ Synopsis for God(?) Save Our King!. Animax India. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.

[edit] External links