History Manga / AyashiNoCeres

* LoveTriangle: Aya, Touya and Yuuhi. We're talking about YuuWatase after all.

''Ayashi no Ceres'' (''Ceres, Celestial Legend'' in English), a 1996-2000 manga by YuuWatase, draws on ancient Japanese myth and mixes it with a cynical modern perspective to produce a dark yet compelling tale of a young girl caught up in supernatural events beyond her control or understanding. It is also one of Watase's darkest, most violent works, featuring several characters with varying degrees of insanity, from Aya and Aki's mother who was brainwashed into killing her daughter, to Kagami, who's more than willing to attempt to rape Aya in order to release Ceres -- ForScience All in all, not recommended for the easily shocked.

* KatsuyukiKonishi: Touya, one of his first popular roles along with Maxima from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'', before there was [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kam]][[StarMakingRole ina.]]

* FreudianExcuse: Kagami and several members of his team of specialists have this. Wei wants to rid the world of poverty and class differences. Rurik lost his wife and wants to prevent similar tragedies. Assam was raised as a ChildSoldier. Kagami himself was [[WellDoneSonGuy driven too hard by his ambitious mother]] and despised by the Mikagi family for not being a blood relation.

* FateWorseThanDeath: The fate of the non-Tennyo woman who put on a hagoromo. She became [[BodyHorror grotesquely disfigured]] and immortal, meaning that she spent hundreds of years locked in the underground tunnel [[spoiler:until Ceres puts her out of her misery.]]

* SickAndWrong: Aya thinks this as [[spoiler:Kagami, who is possessing Aki's body, tries to rape her in Volume 10.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Celestial Maidens in the anime. In the manga they have black hair. And Touya's crimson locks in the anime (black in the manga).

* RestrainedRevenge: Even after [[spoiler: Alec]] openly defies the Mikages and lets Aya and Touya go, Kagami needs his work and lets him stay on the team. His only punishment is having his anime and video games confiscated. (Of course, he's enough of an [[OccidentalOtaku otaku]] that he legitimately suffers from that punishment.)

* FreudianExcuse: Kagami and several members of his team of specialists have this. Wei wants to rid the world of poverty and class differences. Rurik lost his wife and wants to prevent similar tragedies. [[TykeBomb Assam]] was raised as a ChildSoldier. Kagami himself was [[WellDoneSonGuy driven too hard by his ambitious mother]] and despised by the Mikagi family for not being a blood relation.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: "Let me bestow joyful bliss upon you."

''Ayashi no Ceres'' (''Ceres, Celestial Legend'' in English), a 1996-2000 manga by YuuWatase, draws on ancient Japanese myth and mixes it with a cynical modern perspective to produce a dark yet compelling tale of a young girl caught up in supernatural events beyond her control or understanding. It is also one of Watase's darkest, most violent works, featuring several characters with varying degrees of insanity, from Kagami, Aya and Aki's mother who was brainwashed into killing her daughter, and Kagami, who's more than willing to attempt to rape Aya in order to release Ceres -- ForScience All in all, not recommended for the easily shocked.

* CoolBigSis: Suzumi to Yuuhi (though siblings-in-law), and eventually to Aya (though not blood related, of course).

Along the way she meets Tōya, an amnesiac, crimson-haired young man in her family's employ, who helps her seek refuge in the household of Yūhi Aogiri, a boy from a well-to-do clan of her age, together with his sister-in-law Suzumi and their retainer Mrs. Q. Suzumi, realizing Aya has the same power as hers (albeit stronger), explains her situation -- her clan descended from a ''tennyo'' ("celestial maiden")... in particular, Ceres, who was trapped on Earth after losing her ''hagoromo'' ("celestial robe") and forced into a marriage, now hell-bent on avenging her misfortunes through her {{reincarnation}}: Aya herself. Though initially at odds with each other, Aya strikes a deal with Ceres -- she will help the latter find her ''hagoromo'' in order to return to heaven, provided she doesn't harm any more people than is necessary. But whereas Aya and Ceres learn to cooperate, Aki is being taken over by his [[{{Reincarnation}} past-life self]]: Mikagi, the ancestor of the Mikages from thousands of years past, who married Ceres, then went insane over trying to protect her and is now on the hunt for her. To make things worse, the rest of the Mikages, led by Aya's cousin Kagami, are trying to create their own army of ''tennyos'' through various scientific methods.

* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:On top of a large pile of dead mooks and minor characters, most of the maidens end up dead by the end of the story, including Chidori and Shuro. Then there's majority of the Mikages (save Aya; Kagami's mother doesn't count, seeing she's an outsider). Bonus points for Tōya, who manages to die ''twice'' -- one onscreen, and one implied to happen sometime after the series ends.]]
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Aya for Tōya.
* AllMenArePerverts: Played with. [[WordOfGod Watase said]] in one of her freetalks that all of Yūhi's behaviour towards Aya is totally normal and that he is not a pervert. He is a teenager, after all, and at the end of the day he never crosses any moral lines, not even when [[spoiler: Aya offers herself to him out of sheer spite]] (although there are times when he gets very damn close). However, in another one, explaining Mikagi's actions and [[spoiler: the intent of a group of schoolboys who try to rape Aya]], she said that [[UnfortunateImplications "the desire of raping women was part of the male instinct to preserve the species"]]. Make out that what you will.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Yūhi and Suzumi pick on each other so much that they seem more like actual siblings than brother and sister-in-law. However, when [[spoiler:the Mikages try to force Suzumi to reveal her ''tennyo'' form]], we see that... well... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they really do love each other]].
* {{Badass}}: Tōya and, to a lesser degree, Yūhi.

* BettyAndVeronica: Yūhi and Tōya to Aya.
* BigFancyHouse: Yūhi and Suzumi's house, TheThingThatGoesDoink included.

* BirthDeathJuxtaposition: [[spoiler:Aya found out that she was pregnant with Tōya's child right when he was about to be killed by Mikagi. [[SubvertedTrope Only]] he got better. [[YourDaysAreNumbered Sort of.]]]]
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of the series, Aya and Tōya survive with their unborn child, while the Aogiris return to a normal life. However, most of the ''tennyos'' are dead, and so are the Mikages, their name sullied beyond repair by a record of their criminal activities disclosed at Kagami's request. Aki also has to die in order to stop Mikagi's rampage. And the kicker -- without Ceres's Mana from which he grew, Tōya apparently only has a few years to live, but not before entrusting Aya and their child to Yūhi's care.]]

** Tōya evolves his SugarAndIcePersonality to a more empathetic persona.
** Yūhi starts as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and ends up being a pretty mature young man [[spoiler:and soon-to-be father-figure for Aya and Tōya's unborn child in the event Tōya dies]].
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: At the end [[spoiler:Tōya knows that he will die soon, so he trusts Aya to Yūhi, who has apparently hooked up with a clone-daughter of Chidori carrying her memories.]]
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Aya particularly, but it also applies to Yūhi.

* CoolBigSis: Suzumi to Yūhi (though siblings-in-law), and eventually to Aya (though not blood related, of course).

* DeclarationOfProtection: Played straight with Tōya and Aya, and also with Yūhi and Aya. [[spoiler:Horrifyingly deconstructed in the case of Mikagi and Ceres, as Mikagi's desire to help his wife and not just be the UnderstandingBoyfriend makes things go worse when he gets power to do so.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Suzumi]] attempted this in the past following [[spoiler:the death of her husband and her subsequent miscarriage, but was stopped by Yūhi]]. Later, in a much more malicious case, [[spoiler:Aya's cousin and fellow ''tennyo'' Miori kills herself in a ''very'' gruesome manner, [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning purposefully traumatizing Aya]] as revenge for her mother's death at the hands of Ceres.]]

* {{Expy}}: Tōya inherited the looks and the fighting skills of his cousin [[Manga/FushigiYuugi Tamahome]].
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Wei Fei-Li gets one eye ''sliced'' by Tōya's dagger in his ''first appearance''.]] Perhaps even more wince-inducing is [[spoiler:the scene near the end of the manga where, ironically enough, Tōya ''restores'' Wei's eye.]]
* FakeMemories: This happened to Tōya during his [[spoiler:time with Miori]].

* FingerSuckHealing: Yūhi to Aya.
* FirstGirlWins: [[GenderFlipped Male version]]: Tōya was introduced before Yūhi, during which time he had already [[ShutUpKiss stolen]] [[FirstKiss a]] [[SacredFirstKiss kiss]] and indefinitely her heart. First ''Guy'' Wins seems to be [[AuthorAppeal a recurring theme throughout Watase's works]].
** This also applies somewhat to Aya, since Chidori could never fully win over Yūhi since he was always pining after Aya.
** [[spoiler:The mini-sequel shows that yes, Chidori (or at least a clone with her memories) does get Yūhi.]]
* ForcefulKiss: Aya and Tōya's first kiss. How Yūhi changes Ceres back to Aya...and the majority of Yūhi and Aya's kisses. Poor Yūhi.

* ForgottenFirstMeeting: While trying to retrieve the ''hagoromo'' as well as Tōya's memories, Aya and Tōya find out that [[spoiler:they had met years ago on a beach when Aya was just a little girl and Tōya had finished developing from the mana. She gave him a sea shell and then they parted ways, and after that, Tōya went off to find her, leading him straight to the Mikages.]]

* {{Gonk}}: Mrs. Q/Kyū

* HeroicBastard: Yūhi.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[PapaWolf The fathers do this a lot.]] First Aya's father [[spoiler: [[TakingTheBullet took a bullet for her]] [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight when he defied his family]] instead of shooting her.]] Then, Yūhi's estranged father [[spoiler: took a bullet for him when the Mikages were after them, [[SubvertedTrope but he survived]].]] Toward the finale, [[spoiler: Tōya]] made the ultimate sacrifice of [[spoiler: giving the mana to the pregnant Aya when Mikagi fatally stabbed her, [[YourDaysAreNumbered meaning that he sacrificed his own immortality in order to restore the lives of Aya and their unborn child.]]]]

* HumansAreFlawed: Kagami literally thinks this, believing that normal humanity is at its end. Ceres is introduced into the series thinking that HumansAreTheRealMonsters, but realizes that humans are just flawed, and that her kind weren't exactly perfect either. By the end of the series, Ceres admits that by being reborn in Aya, [[LoveRedeems feeling the love she had for Tōya]], and getting to know [[TrueCompanions Yūhi, Suzumi, Chidori, and Shuro]] had restored her hope in the human soul.

* ImportantHaircut: [[spoiler:Aya gets one of these when she gets depressed over the idea of Tōya leaving her for Miori.]]

* JustFriends: Aya and Yūhi. In this case, Yūhi falls for Aya, but she just can't love him back for being already in love with Tōya. However, Aya cares for him deeply, and considers him, as she herself says out loud, "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming his best friend in the entire world]]".
** The exact same happens with Yūhi and Chidori, with the genders reversed: Chidori loves Yūhi, Yūhi doesn't love her back because he's already in love with Aya, but cares for her as a friend (point drove home when [[spoiler:[[TearJerker Chidori dies in Yūhi's arms]]]]). Boy! [[FirstGirlWins First Girl/Guy Wins]] indeed!
* KatsuyukiKonishi: Tōya, one of his first popular roles along with Maxima from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'', before there was [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kam]][[StarMakingRole ina.]]

* LoveTriangle: Aya, Tōya and Yūhi. We're talking about YuuWatase after all.

** MacGuffinGirl: [[spoiler: Tōya is a male version. And a very literal one since he IS Ceres's Mana evolved into a human form.]]

* MustMakeHerLaugh: A non-comical version concerning Mikagi and [[StepfordSmiler Ceres]], in which Mikagi just wanted to make Ceres smile from her heart. Aya has shades of this when it comes [[TheStoic to Tōya.]]

* MyGirlIsNotASlut: To begin, the celestial maidens' sole purpose is [[SingleGenderRace to procreate with human men]] in order to sustain their species, requiring them to bed several men and produce lots of children. [[spoiler: Ceres was no exception, and when she revealed the truth to [[CrazyJealousGuy Mikagi]] -- at the same time egging him on by saying that Tōya was a much better lover than he was -- [[WouldHitAGirl he was]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown NOT happy.]]]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Aya and Yūhi both react like this during their almost [[spoiler: SexForSolace]] moment. Aya was ashamed at herself for [[spoiler: seducing Yūhi]] and Yūhi felt equally ashamed at himself for [[spoiler: taking advantage of her emotional vulnerability in the wake of Tōya leaving Aya.]]
* MysteriousProtector: Tōya

* NothingUpMySleeve: Quite literally, as Tōya's dagger isn't really in his sleeve...

* ParentalAbandonment: Aya is actually [[OffingTheOffspring set up for death]] by her parents to stop Aya's awakening as a Maiden. Logically, it fails ''big'' time: [[spoiler: the father is killed and the mother is comatose]]. Yūhi, being an illegitimate son, was abandoned by his mother because she couldn't face Yūhi's father's family. Chidori lost her parents in a bus crash in her backstory. [[spoiler: Miori]] is driven [[{{Yandere}} pretty much insane]] with grief when Ceres kills her mother.

* PluckyComicRelief: Yūhi, quite often.

* RealMenCook: Yūhi, of course.

* RescueRomance: Aya and Tōya's relationship started out like this. Same goes for Mikagi and Ceres.
* TheReveal: Tōya's true origin: [[spoiler:He is Ceres's Mana evolved into a human form]].
* SexForSolace: Subverted with [[spoiler: Aya and Yūhi.]]

* TheStoic: Tōya, though he [[NotSoStoic softens up over time.]]

* TakingTheBullet: Aya's father does this for her early on. Much later, [[spoiler:Chidori does the same for Yūhi.]] Both cases are fatal. And near the finale, [[spoiler:in the manga, Gladys died shielding Ceres from Mikagi]].

* TrueCompanions: The friends that Aya meet -- Tōya, Yūhi, Suzumi, Chidori, Shuro and Mrs. Q -- not only helped her through the most tumultuous time of her life, but it also made Ceres [[RestoredMyFaithInHumanity realize that humanity wasn't a lost cause]].
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Deconstructed during the story arc involving [[spoiler:Miori]]. Since she and [[spoiler:Aya were cousins and therefore had a strong physical resemblance, she was the perfect implement to [[FakeMemories screw up Tōya's mind]]]].

* WhatMeasureIsAHumanoid: As stated by Ceres, the ''tennyo'' don't really know what their true form is suppose to be, but they assume a human body for obvious reasons. [[spoiler:Tōya]] himself was [[spoiler:made into a human by the mana (sorta making him a [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]]).]]
* WhatTheHellHero: At the finale, [[spoiler:as Aya and Tōya mourn Aki, Kagami gets a punch from Yūhi, tearful with rage, chewing him out for the tragic consequences of his experiments]].

* WorthLivingFor: [[spoiler:Suzumi's suicide attempt following her husband's death and her subsequent miscarriage was stopped by her husband's brother Yūhi. At this point she realized that had to keep living for Yūhi's sake, and has since warmed up to him like a real sibling.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Celestial Maidens in the anime. In the manga they have black hair. And Tōya's crimson locks in the anime (black in the manga).

* YourDaysAreNumbered: Tōya, at the end.

* DeclarationOfProtection: Played straight with Tōya and Aya, and also with Yūhi and Aya. [[spoiler:Horrifyingly deconstructed in the case of Mikagi and Ceres, as Mikagi's desire to help his MagicalGirl wife and not just be the UnderstandingBoyfriend makes things go worse when he gets power to do so.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Yūhi and Suzumi pick up on each other so much that they look more like actual siblings than brother and sister-in-law. However, when [[spoiler:the Mikages try to force Suzumi to reveal her ''tennyo'' form]], we see that... well... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they really do love each other]].

* HumansAreFlawed: Kagami literally thinks this, believing that normal humanity is at its end. Ceres is introduced into the series thinking that HumansAreBastards, but realizes that humans are just flawed, and that her kind weren't exactly perfect either. By the end of the series, Ceres admits that by being reborn in Aya, [[LoveRedeems feeling the love she had for Tōya]], and getting to know [[TrueCompanions Yūhi, Suzumi, Chidori, and Shuro]] had restored her hope in the human soul.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Celestial Maidens in the anime. In the manga they have black hair.