Wayback Series - Ceres: Celestial Legend

Aya Mikage's destiny is about to be unfold...

*plays the piano in a few seconds (the piano intro of the anime's OP)*

"What is a man? What is a woman? Why are men and women attracted to each other? Why do they desire each other? Love...what is it?" -Yuu Watase

Ending the first half of 2015 seems to be really impressed when it comes to drama anime. I remember watching this series on AXN (in English subs) many years ago perhaps in late 2001 as I watch some lovey-dovey scenes of Toya and Aya. Ladies and gents, I am going to talk about the most-celebrated drama anime of the 2000s, Ayashi no Ceres aka Ceres: Celestial Legend.

From the creator of Fushigi Yuugi, it is a fantasy/action/romance shoujo manga series. Originally serialized in Shōjo Comic from May 1996 to March 2000, and it was later reprinted by Shogakukan in fourteen tankobon volumes. In North America, the manga series is licensed by Viz Media in English. The manga, then won the coveted Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo (girls) category in 1998. In 2000, Studio Pierrot (the studio behind some anime hits including Naruto, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho and Tokyo Ghoul) adapted the series into a 24-episode anime that premiered on WOWOW on the April 20th to September 28th of the same year. The anime was also licensed by Viz Media, and since last year, Discotek Media announced that the series has been re-licensed, and thus it will be re-released this year.

Aki (left) and her fraternal twin sister, Aya (right) at their grandfather's home, because little they didn't know that they will change their lives forever.

Our story follows the fraternal twins, Aya (the main heroine) and Aki Mikage. As they celebrate their 16th birthday, they are headed to their grandfather's home, unaware that it was actually a test to see if they have enough celestial maiden or angel in them. To much surprise, Aya is the reincarnation of Ceres, a supremely powerful celestial maiden. As a result, Aya obtains many supernatural abilities including flight, long-distance teleportation, telepathy, incredible strong and powerful telekinesis, premonition, superhuman speed and more when she is transformed into the blue-haired beauty. 

Ceres will kill the entire Mikage clan for revenge upon stealing her prized possession, the hagoromo (celestial robe), thus preventing her from returning home in Heaven, so to do this, Aya's family attempts to kill her. However, she is saved by another Tennin descendant with supernatural abilities named Suzumi Aogiri, and Yūhi, her brother-in-law. Aya then tries to control the power of Ceres and hold over her, and Aki, who then is eventually taken over by the vengeful spirit and soul of 'Mikage', the original ancestor of the entire clan who first stole the celestial robe, thus forcing her to stay with him on Earth. Aya also wrestles with her strong romantic feelings for a servant of the Mikage who attempts to kill her, but losing his memory named Toya. However, Toya begins to fall deeply in love with her, who reciprocates his feelings, and thus they conceive a child together. Throughout the story, Aya promised Ceres to help her find the robe in exchange for not killing her family (excluding her fraternal twin brother) who hunts her down, ever since she still loves them as family. Toya, then regains his memories and learned that he was the immortal living humanoid organism that Ceres' celestial robe (known as 'The Manna') had been created to it reunite and become one with her. Aki, then having resisted the spirit of Mikage, sacrificed himself to save his fraternal sister, and in order to save Aya and their unborn child, Toya ultimately sacrificed his own manna and immortality. Toya and Aya await the birth of their child months later, although they know that Toya still has limited time left with Aya.

The main heroine of the series, Aya Mikage, is voiced by Yumi Kakazu, who is known for her roles in Bleach (as Ririn and Gina), Descendants of Darkness (as Maki), Gantz (as Sadayo Suzumura), D.I.C.E. (as Marsha Rizarov), Fullmetal Alchemist (as Lyra/Dante) and MegaMan NT Warrior Stream (as Medi). Ceres, who is known as the powerful celestial maiden or Tennin from the legend, is voiced by Junko Iwao (she is also performed the opening song of the anime), who is known for her career as the one who voiced Tomoyo Daidouji in Cardcaptor Sakura. Iwao also played in roles in Macross 7 (as Sally Saint Ford), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Hikari Horaki), Puella Magi Madoka Magica (as Kazuko Saotome), and the 2011 remake of Hunter x Hunter (as Kikyo Zoldyck). Katsuyuki Konishi, who played Aya's love interest in the series and the officially beloved person, is popularly known in Axis Powers Hetalia (as America and Canada), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (as Kamina), Beelzebub (as Tatsumi Oga), The King of Braves GaoGaiGar (as Volfogg, his breakout role), D.Gray-man (as Komui Lee) and finally he landed his current role in Arslan Senki (as Shapur). Susumu Chiba, who is known for playing Aya's fraternal twin bro, is known for his career roles in Digimon Tamers (as Mitsuo Yamaki), Gintama (as Isao Kondo), SD Gundam Force (as Bakunetsumaru), and Kaleido Star (as Yuri Killian). Mayumi Asano, who played her role as Suzumi, is known for such roles including in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (as Rina Toin), Last Exile (as Claus Valca), F-Zero GP Legend (as Lisa Brilliant), Eureka Seven (as Hilda), and Flame of Recca (as a young Tokiya Mikagami).

Other voice actors are starred in the series including Kentarō Itō (as Yūhi Aogiri), Kujira (as the reckless driving and ridiculously ugly gnome-like woman Kyū Oda aka Mrs. Q), Ayako Kawasumi (as Chidori Kuruma, a C-Genome from Tochigi), Akiko Kimura (as Yuki Urakawa), Akiko Yajima (as Aya's distant cousin and a C-Genome from Shizuoka, Miori Sahara), Shizuka Sasaki (as Shuro Tsukasa), Tomokazu Sugita (as Kagami Mikage, the director of the C-Project aka Celestial Project), Tomokazu Seki (as the Scottish scientist Alexander O. Howell/Alec), Yuko Nagashima (as Alec's American colleague Gladys Smithson), Kōichi Tōchika (as Wei Fei Li) and Shinichiro Miki (as Shiso Mikagi).

Relive the drama, the romance, and witness the powerful incredible story with Toya and Aya. And to end my post here, here's a quote from Ceres in the 14th and final volume of the manga:

"Freeing itself from the bonds of fate, love lets life, even with all its burdens, go on. And as the future is entrusted to all the children who are to come... ...let them know the joys of transcendent bliss." -Ceres