Manga / Blast of Tempest

aka: Zetsuen No Tempest

"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!"

— Hamlet, Act I, Scene V

Yoshino Takigawa used to have a fairly normal life. True, he had to hide his relationship with Aika Fuwa from her overprotective brother, Mahiro, but at least they were all together.

Then Aika and her parents were murdered.

Their deaths were officially ruled as a burglary gone awry and the killer never found. Mahiro swore to get revenge, mysteriously disappearing about a year later seemingly to do just that. Yoshino doesn't hear anything from or about him until a month later while visiting the Fuwa family grave; a suspicious, gun-toting woman asks after Mahiro, who was seen in two cities that were later quarantined after being hit by something dubbed "Black Iron Syndrome". When she threatens Yoshino, Mahiro makes a sudden and shocking entrance: not only does he swiftly disarm the woman, he takes her down with magic by using items given to him by a mage.

The mage in question, Hakaze Kurisabe, is the most powerful mage of the Kusaribe clan. She's been trapped on an island for the past few months and communicates with Mahiro through a wooden doll that she enchanted. Normally, she'd be able to offer up an item of civilization to the Tree of Genesis in order to use magic, but her brother, Samon, ensured that she wouldn't be able to find anything advanced enough to help her escape.

Samon wants to revive the Tree of Exodus despite its fruit's catastrophic effect on humans, morphing them all into iron statues. With no other options left, Hakaze must depend on Yoshino and Mahiro to get her off the island and stop Samon before it's too late. Yoshino is willing, but Mahiro's aid is conditional: he'll rescue Hakaze and save the world if she'll help him find Aika's killer.

What none of them know is the full truth behind Hakaze's isolation, the Tree of Exodus, or that Yoshino's secret relationship with Aika will be important enough to tip the hand of fate.

Blast of Tempest (絶園のテンペスト, Zetsuen no Tenpesuto) is an urban fantasy Shōnen manga written by Kyō Shirodaira with art by Arihide Sano and Ren Saizaki. It was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from July 2009 to March 2013, finishing with a total of ten volumes. The manga takes a lot of inspiration from William Shakespeare: the plot and some aspects of certain characters are drawn heavily from Hamlet and The Tempest, and quotes from both plays are directly stated multiple times throughout the story.

A 24 episode anime adaptation premiered in October 2012 and finished in March 2013. It was made by Studio Bones with Aniplex picking it up for an English dub and home release.

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This series provides examples of:

• Alas, Poor Yorick: Junichirou picks up and cradles Hakaze's skull after being informed of her death and shown the corpse in chapter 5. Considering the series' frequent quoting of the Trope Namer, this is most likely not a coincidence.
• All Love Is Unrequited: The only unambiguous canon couple is Yoshino/Aika, and the latter is dead. Hanemura's girlfriend broke up with him before we meet him. Mahiro had unrequited feelings for Aika that he wasn't aware of until some time after her death. Hakaze has unrequited feelings for Yoshino, who is still in love with Aika. Junichirou has a one-sided crush on Evangeline. Then Evangeline married Samon at the end.
• Badass Normal:
  • Mahiro and Yoshino. They seem to have been normal high school students before Mahiro's family died, but with the help of Hakaze's talismans they can kick serious amounts of ass.
  • The anime gives them a tendency to pick normal fistfights; they don't seem that bad off after losing a fight to 15 opponents.
• Barrier Warrior: Force fields are one of the main powers of Kusaribe mages.
• BFS: The true mage of Exodus can summon a flaming sword three times her size.
• Black Blood: Played with whenever Aika, right after her murder, is shown. The trail of blood is always depicted as a disturbingly beautiful pattern of twists and curls that could be mistaken for a carpet or a pathway, were it not for the fact that it always leads up her dress and to her throat.
• Bland-Name Product: Mahiro mentions he's hungry, and Yoshino offers him a "Znickers" bar.
• Blood from the Mouth: Played for Laughs, based on the sound-effects, when Yoshino says he thinks Hanemura broke something important when he hit him.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Tree of Genesis and, likely, the Tree of Exodus too. The former controls the logic of the world
• Brother–Sister Incest: Mahiro was in love with his adoptive sister Aika, though he doesn't admit it to himself before or after she dies.
• Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Unseasonal butterflies are the heralds of the Black Iron syndrome, since the latent magic causes their cocoons to grow in seconds.
• By "No", I Mean "Yes": "Can you kill Yoshino Takigawa?" Shortly thereafter, they admit that this would introduce even more chaos into the situation. Instead, they want Mahiro to help them gain leverage over Yoshino, eliminating the risk he poses.
• Cain and Abel: Played with through Samon and Hakaze as both siblings are Well Intentioned Extremists that only want to save the world with as little loss of life as possible, and don't show signs of bearing legitimate animosity towards one another.
• Caught the Heart on His Sleeve: A (mostly) non-romantic example: Hakaze to Yoshino. She's feeling down about the partial awakening of the Tree of Beginnings, and after she grabs his sleeve, he comforts her.

• Comically Missing the Point: Episode 17 has Samon, Junichirou, Mahiro and Hanemura hold a meeting to try and figure out the identity of Yoshino's girlfriend. It's already ridiculous to start with, but the theories Samon and Junichirou come up with just keep straying further and further from the truth. Hanemura gets increasingly disturbed by how no one can figure out what seems obvious to him.
• Convenient Coma: Yoshino seems to like the "Put on a Bus" variety of this trope. First, he theorizes that Samon used one to trick Hakaze into thinking she was stuck two years in the past, but then that turns out to be true. And then he wanted to keep Mahiro in one until they found Aika's killer... for at least a year. Geez, With Friends Like These......
• Dead All Along: Samon reveals that the Hakaze they're talking to is actually two years in the past, and he presents her skeleton as proof that she's already dead. It turns out to be more complicated than that, however.
• Deserted Island: Hakaze is trapped on one of these by Samon. It's even made invisible with magic, so that passing boats and planes can't see it.
• Deus ex Machina: The Tree of Genesis is particularly protective of Hakaze and offers her a lot of help, direct and indirect, in her escape attempt. This is most blatant when a missile lands on the island while she was struggling to find an offering to travel through time.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The anime's first ending theme, "Happy Endings", is sung by Kana Hanazawa, Aika's voice actress.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Anything to do with Aika's boyfriend. That one moment Mahiro off-handedly asks Yoshino if he thinks Aika might have been dating someone...
• Dramatic Irony: The series runs on this, with Yoshino quoting his girlfriend to Mahiro, Mahiro shooting that "little girl" down, when it's Aika all along. And there's the fact that Hakaze feels like she can't truly love Yoshino or else the Tree of Genesis might find a way to kill off his girlfriend, only to find out later that the girlfriend in question is already dead.

• Eyelid Pulltaunt: Hakaze does this to Samon and his gang when they lure her into a situation where she has no technology to sacrifice for her magic. In the process she reveals her tongue piercing, which is enough technology for her to blow up the mountain they were standing on.
• First-Episode Twist: That Aika was Yoshino's girlfriend is only revealed in chapter two of the manga, and at the very end of the first episode; it flips what we know of Yoshino's situation upside down, turning him from a normal dude who probably wants nothing else than stay normal and make sure his girlfriend is okay, to someone with a lot of personal investment in the plot and nothing to lose anymore.
• Flash Back Echo: Part of Aika's presence as a Posthumous Character. The most significant comes after Hakaze discovers she's dead in the present time. Yoshino remembers the time Aika told him about Shakespeare's The Tempest, realizes the parallels from that story and Hamlet to the current situation, and decides to ensure that the story does not end as a tragedy.
• Flash Step: One of the powers of Kusaribe magic.
• Godiva Hair: Hakaze's hair covers her when she travels through time and is Naked on Arrival (the first time).
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: With the exception of Mahiro, every single named character from all sides is actively trying to save the world from destruction. They come into conflict because they can't agree on what the correct way to go about that is, and can't take the chance that the other side is wrong - and no side is ever definitively shown to be correct.
• Imaginary Love Triangle: Hakaze falls in love with Yoshino after the first arc ends, but everyone thinks that Yoshino already has a girlfriend who's alive and well since he hid the fact that Aika was his girlfriend so well. This trope has the added bonus of Hakaze fearing that the Tree of Beginnings will kill Yoshino's girlfriend if she wants him too much, so she does her best to not like him, but only winds up discovering that he has many qualities that she really likes.
• Internal Reveal: We're told the identity of Yoshino's girlfriend very early on, but it's a very plot-relevant secret In-Universe and lots of characters have yet to discover it. It's revealed to Hakaze and Mahiro near the end of the series.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Samon's primary weapon is a pretty awesome-looking katana - also, he can use the scabbard as an offering for a quick magic-boost.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Mahiro is this for Aika. He was insanely protective of her, and demanded that she didn't get romantically involved with anyone. Probably had to do with the fact that he was in love with her without being aware of it.
• Lethal Harmless Powers: The Kusaribe clan's barriers can be used offensively. Hakaze can shape them into Combat Tentacles, and Natsumura uses them to enhance the power of his trident.
• Loophole Abuse: The Tree of Beginnings will not allow Hakaze to die or lose. She always has a chance to win. However, if she gives up or can't find the correct solution, then it's possible to defeat her.
• The Magic Goes Away: Both trees get destroyed in the ending, and magic is no longer a thing. Even Hakaze becomes completely powerless; and something of a Cute Clumsy Girl, for some reason.
• Maybe Ever After:
  • The anime ending has Mahiro & Yoshino leaving Aika's grave when they see Hakaze on the road, looking around. Mahiro tells Yoshino to go to her, and he does. The last shot of the series is them taking a step towards each other.
  • The manga's ending is a little more expanded but essentially the same. In the manga's final chapter, Hakaze is already with Mahiro & Yoshino as they are saying their final words to Aika's grave before they leave since Mahiro is planning to introduce his girlfriend to them. As they take off, Yoshino expresses hesitation at getting into a relationship with Hakaze, saying there must be other guys that would be better for her (and also implying he's not quite over Aika yet). Hakaze's answer is that he's the only guy who can handle her, and that she isn't going to give up on him. The conversation is cut short when Mahiro's girlfriend shows up, then Hanemura & his girlfriend Yu-chan arrive. The manga ends with all 6 of them walking down the street.
  • In the final volume, Yoshino is waiting for Hakaze to leave work so he can walk home with her. Granted, he was urged by Mahiro to do so, but it's a step forward in their relationship. The end scene has them holding hands walking down the street.

• Mood Dissonance: The anime's upbeat ending theme would fit better in a romantic school comedy, not a story about what is basically the apocalypse.
• Mood Whiplash: The first half of the story is very dark and is almost completely devoid of any and all light-hearted antics, but chapter 21 throws in the hilarity that is Hakaze being overjoyed at how it seems like she's on a date with Yoshino. At the same time, the plot throws in the fact that Hakaze thinks that Yoshino already has a girlfriend, and thus has to be careful about her desires to be with him. Since she isn't aware that his actual girlfriend, Aika, died before they ever met, she fears that if she wants him too much, the Tree of Genesis will act upon her desires and kill his girlfriend. This winds up making Hakaze come off as a bipolar Tsundere.
• Morality Chain: After the Tree of Beginnings partially awakens, Yoshino becomes an important figure to Hakaze, who fell for him after. So long as he's alive, Yoshino can influence Hakaze to either wake up the Tree of Beginnings or keep it partially awake.
• Mundane Made Awesome: The show features a debate between Mahiro, Yoshino, Samon and Hakaze that lasts 5 EPISODES. It is not boring for even a second.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Mahiro is extremely protective of Aika and hates the idea of anyone dating her. The reason for this is that he is in love with her himself.
• Mysterious Backer: Yoshino to Mahiro. Mahiro says that Yoshino goes against him surprisingly often, but that it's never been to his detriment; he's learned to let him be. As the one the Princess loves and trusts, he eventually takes on this role to the other members of the Kusaribe, who fear the influence he holds over her and doubt his intent.
• Naked on Arrival: Hakaze's clothes don't come with her when she sends her body through time.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Well, Anti-Villain. Though Samon meant well, and tries to pin the blame on the Tree of Beginnings whenever possible, none of any of the horrible things would have happened if he hadn't planned to wake up the Tree of Zetsuen and destroy the Tree of Beginnings, which upset the world's status quo. and woke up the Tree of Beginnings which then reacted to save itself and to instill order where the Tree of Zetsuen left chaos.
  • Subverted. The Tree of Beginnings was eventually going to cause a Reset Button and wipe out most of mankind with only a minority surviving no matter what unless the Mage of Exodus defeated it. Samon's actions along with Aika's death helped set in motion the defeat of the Tree.
• Not Blood Siblings: Mahiro and Aika are stepsiblings; Mahiro's father married Aika's mother.

• Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Hakaze names a date two years before the start of the series, but lightning ensures that only the characters get to hear exactly when that is.
• Posthumous Character: Mahiro's younger sister, Aika Fuwa, was killed a year before the beginning of the series. Her death is what kicks off Mahiro's character arc and her relationship with both him and Yoshino is very important.
• Recap Episode: The anime's thirteenth episode is mostly a recap of the story up to that point from Mahiro's perspective.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Mahiro and Yoshino are the red and blue, respectively.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Mahiro's primary motivation is to find and kill the person who murdered Aika and the rest of his family, and he couldn't care less about what else happens along the way, not even the end of the world.
• Secret-Keeper: Hakaze is the only other person who knows Aika was Yoshino's girlfriend, and Yoshino makes her swear not to tell.
• Secret Relationship: Yoshino and Aika hid the fact that they were dating, mainly because they were worried what Mahiro would do if he found out.
• Sentai: At the amusement park in episode fifteen, there are five costumed stage performers in the background that wear outfits similar to a typical sentai show's.
• Shoot the Fuel Tank: Mahiro shoots a car to make it explode in Episode 3.
• Shout-Out to Shakespeare:
  • Shakespearean themes are all over the place. Specifically, the series takes most of its motifs from Hamlet and The Tempest (which it's named after), and hardly a chapter goes by where one of the plays is not quoted from. (Yoshino and Mahiro seem to have the entirety of Hamlet memorized, probably because Aika seemed to be quite into Shakespeare.)
  • The four leads are based off Hamlet/Laertes (Mahiro), Horatio/Ariel (Yoshino), Prospero (Hakaze, in a case of Gender Flip) and Sycorax/Ophelia (Aika).

• Stable Time Loop:
  • In order to save Hakaze from the past, they have her transfer her body through time from the skeleton is was on to her bare skeleton that's in the present, which Samon found on the island because she had left it behind when moving forward through time.
  • The entire circumstances surrounding Aika's death are one big stable time loop: through information given by Hakaze, Aika killed herself in order to ensure that Mahiro and Yoshino would be motivated to help with the conflict. Of course, the only way Hakaze could even meet Aika in the first place is through traveling to the past.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Yoshino and Aika were initially a mild example of this, with them having to hide their relationship in order to avoid incurring Mahiro's wrath. Then Aika died. Now Hakaze thinks that she and Yoshino are this. Because she thinks that Yoshino still has a girlfriend, she fears that if she falls fully in love with him, the Tree of Genesis will kill whoever he's going out with in order to grant her wish.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Junichiro somehow appears between Evangeline and Natsumura as the latter is walking away from having downed the former in a duel in the middle of a wide-open dirt field. He later disappears just as mysteriously.
• Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Evangeline theorizes this is the source of the "magical" Trees. She discusses with Hakaze the possibility that the Tree of Genesis is a superweapon made by these aliens and spread across the Universe to neutralize other intelligent species, a "Civilization Blaster," and the Tree of Exodus is... something else. Both trees are destroyed in the end, and the truth of this remains unknown.
• Sufficiently Advanced Technology: Evangeline discusses with Hakaze the possibility of the Kusaribe clan's "magic" being this instead, correlating to the Evangeline's Sufficiently Advanced Aliens theory. She practically quotes Clarke's Third Law. (For all anyone without a Bilingual Bonus knows, she does quote it.)
• Super Hero: Invoked by Samon's team when they find the Magician of Zetsuen and realize that he wasn't responsible for Aika's murder. They decide to begin working against the Tree of Beginnings, as well as take advantage of the widespread unease that has built up against it by having him dress up in a fancy costume and take out the branches of the tree in the most spectacular and public way possible. It works.

• Temporal Paradox: About 7 chapters are spent debating (and with the antagonist at that) how it would be logically possible for Hakaze to return from the island when she's confirmed dead in the present with Samon holding her skeleton as evidence and she was only communicating with the cast from 2 years in the past even with the help of magic.
• Time Loop Trap: Hakaze is kept in isolation not just through location, but with time itself too. What Hakaze thinks has been four months has actually been two years; by the time Samon gets around to reviving the Tree of Exodus, Hakaze is nothing more than a bare skeleton.
• Time Skip: After Chapter 16, approximately one month (the aftermath of the Tree of Beginnings and the Tree of Zetsuen going berserk) is skipped over.
• Tricked Out Time:
  • Yoshino, Mahiro, and Hakaze figure out Samon's contingency plan to work around the event of her death. He has her skeleton and the barrel she was sent to the island with, both of which appear to prove she died there. If they do nothing, she will die. Instead, they use magic to have her teleport off of the island and leave her skeleton and the barrel behind, thereby averting Temporal Paradox and saving her life.
  • Yoshino suggests that Hakaze could save Aika by faking Aika's death in the past. It doesn't work out that way.
• Two Scenes, One Dialogue: Frequently occurs in the anime.
• Unfazed Everyman: Yoshino has this as his strength, as his great adaptability makes him able to act calmly and think things through no matter how absurd or unreasonable the situation. It is also his weakness, as he has little individuality and doesn't do anything extreme out of his own initiative.

• We Could Have Avoided All This: A variant that leads to wacky hijinks. Hakaze eventually falls in love with Yoshino, but she's under the impression that he has a girlfriend. Junichirou then tells her that if she wants Yoshino too much, then the Tree of Genesis will act upon her desires and kill his girlfriend. Naturally, Hakaze, being one of the saner members of the cast, does not want this to happen. Only Yoshino no longer has a girlfriend. This entire subplot could be avoided if Yoshino would just explain to Hakaze that he'd dated Aika behind Mahiro's back. Admittedly justified, as Yoshino does not know that Hakaze loves him and has no reason to explain this to her. When she eventually confesses and explains everything, Yoshino's reaction is pretty much the trope. "Oh, sorry to have made this so complicated for you, don't worry about my girlfriend. She's already dead, see."
• What the Hell, Hero?: Hanemura gets pissed off at Mahiro and Yoshino for claiming they're okay with Aika's death as long as it makes sense and not getting emotional over it.
• Winds of Destiny, Change!: The Tree of Beginnings will not allow a situation to develop such that Hakaze has no option but to lose. The most that can be done is to place her at a severe disadvantage. The bigger the disadvantage, the more the situation bends to help her out of it. The Tree of Zetsuen is outside the laws, however.

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