Customer Reviews

Ceres, Celestial Legend - Destiny (Vol.1)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ahh, the glory that is Watase Yuu... All hail her..

This is Watase at her best, and Studio Peirrot brings her story great honor (especially since they successfully condensed a 14 volume manga into a 26 episode tv series). The animation style is much like that of Fushigi Yuugi (if you're familiar with that series, you know what I mean), based on the fact that the bishounen (gorgeous "pretty" boys) of the series look remarkably like those of FY. But in Ayashi no Ceres (Celestial Legend to us) the animation "quality" is much nicer and more outstanding. The storyline is more mature, violent, and graphic than that of FY, and the overall mood is much darker. An extremely compelling series!

If you're familiar of the story of the tennou (nymph) bound to earth because of her stolen hagoromo (robe), then Ayashi no Ceres is right up your alley because that is what it is based on. If you do not know the story, it is a very famous legend told in Asia and around the world about a nymph who's robe was stolen by a man. The loss of this robe meant that she could not return to heaven. She marries the very man who had stolen her robe, and bears him children, although eventually (according to Ayashi no Ceres' version) she returns to heaven declaring that every generation she will return to seek her revenge on the one who had taken her robe. In Ayashi no Ceres, the chosen one of the present generation is Aya, the main character.

The story starts out right away, and soon becomes so complex that it grips your mind as well as you heart. Having some of the same themes as Fushigi Yuugi (i.e. two people who once were so close are torn apart because of destiny, as well as romantic triangles), Ayashi no Ceres not only succeeds as a outstanding anime, it also far exceeds any storyline that you could see in many anime now-a-days...

Viz releases Ceres, Celestial Legend (Ayashi no Ceres), by famed manga story and artist, Watase Yu! There are 8 DVDs that will be released, 3 episodes each.

Watase Yu is probably most famous for her first long running manga series spanning 18 volumes, Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play). All of the Fushigi Yuugi anime has finally been released here in America by Pioneer. Ayashi no Ceres is a manga series that spans 14 volumes but only 24 animated episodes. How they fit 14 volumes into 24 episodes will be interesting to see.

Ayashi no Ceres is about faternal twins, Aya (girl) and Aki (guy) Mikage, who on their 16th birthday must accept their twisted fate that is in their bloodline. Aya and Aki thought they both had a normal life but that all changed after Aya went with her friends to get her fortune told. A prophecy of darkness and power that comes when the 16th star and mood come together. When getting home, their parents retain a cold attitude telling them that they had to go to their grandfather's house the next day (their birthday). Naively going, all their relatives dressed in black sat a long table with Aya and Aki at one end. A wooden box is placed in front of them asking them to open it. At first afraid, the two open it revealing a severed hand. Suddenly, Aki gets all these scars over his body and goes unconscious. Aya gets scared and starts to panic. Her family starts to attack her. The truth was that her family wants her killed. Why? You'll just have to find out about the secret of the Mikage family and about Aya's destiny with Ceres.

This is a fairly new anime (2000) with really nice animation. The animation is basically those of Fushigi Yuugi but with finer lines etc. The Japanese voice actors are mostly new voice actors. Watase Yu thought it would be a good idea because she thought it would be better not to go, "Oh, he's so and so from so and so anime!"

The opening song is really nice, it's called Scarlet and is performed by Iwao Junko, the voice actress of Ceres. It's a slow, smooth song. The ending song is called ONE and features a rock beat. The DVDs are said to feature picture galleries, intereviews and such so look out for good extras along with them.

Final Note: DVDs are awesome, and with all these recent animes on DVDs, I cannot wait to see the visual quality. This is an amazing series. Expect more twists and turns as can be expected from the stories that Watase Yu makes. Fushigi Yuugi fans will not be disappointed.

Ayashi no Ceres (a.k.a. Ceres: Celestial Legend) is a beautiful and captivating anime. I wouldn't expect anything less from Yuu Watase; the creator of the famous shoujo (girl's) anime: Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play). The animation quality is superior to that of Fushigi Yuugi even though it carries tha same characteristics like the pointed faces and very circular eyes. But Ayashi no Ceres's story line is more mature and 'dark' than Fushigi Yuugi's.

Ayashi no Ceres is another anime-turned-manga and was 14 volumes long. Like past reviewers have said, they did a good job in fitting the 14 volumes into only 24 episodes. The anime does have many differences from the manga though.

Ayashi no Ceres revolves around the story of the Tennyo (heavenly maiden or fairy) whose hagoromo (feathered robe) which enabled her to return to the heavens, was stolen. Ceres is the tennyo which lives in the bodies of the Mikage family's females. She wants revenge and to kill the whole Mikage family. Some of the women have very strong tennyo power, while others have very little. Aya just happens to be unlucky, and inherits the strongest power.

Aya is the 15-year-old heroine of the story. She loves to karaoke and do things every normal teenage girl does. On the day before her sixteenth birhtday, she is out with her twin brother and a couple of friends, and gets her fortune told. What the fortune teller says surprises her and is completely unbelieveable. She says quote: "When the sixteen stars and moons come around, you will know where your fate will lead you. What I can foresee are blood, anger, and tragedy. Everything in the society will be off-balanced. Your fate will be strongly influenced by a dark star. Your energy and strong will might change the course of your fate. It all depends on you."
Aya becomes upset because of this.

Later on, Aya sees a robber trying to steal someones purse. She immediately rushes in to help, but ends up falling off the side of the bridge. But as she is about to hit the ground, she floats and lands softly. Unfortunately, a car is speeding towards her at this same moment. But in the knick of time, a man appears and saves her and disappears afterwards.

The next day, Aya and Aki go to their grandfather's house to celebrate their birthday. When they get there, what they find is not a party, but the anticipated death of the threat to the Mikage family. What is this new power that Aya obtains? Why does Aya's family want to kill her suddenly? What do they want from Aki? And how is that mysterious man who saved her associated with her family? Watch the series and find out. It's definitely worth the money.

I fell in love with this series as soon as I popped it in the dvd player!! The characters are beautifuly drawn, the story line is awesome! Romantic and tragic, this leaves you on the edge of your seat! Full of bishounen guys too! Who could ask for more!? There's some neat extra's on here, including a short interview with Yu Watase herself about how she feels about the support of her fans. There's also a nice character profile on here, along with a clip of Yu Watase drawing. You have the option of English or Japanese audio with subtitles. "Scarlet" the opening song, is sooooo gorgeous, I just wish that it had the translation on there since it has a text-less opening and ending, the only down side. But other than that this is a great title to get, full of action, romance, and just an awesome series! The story starts out with Aya (girl)and Aki (boy), 2 normal twins who are about to turn 16. But on the day of their birthday they are summoned to their Grandfathers estate, along with the whole extended family!! They recieve a mysterious gift that determines their fate, and turns Aya's family against her! Can she find out the truth before her family kills her? Could she really be the descendent of an angel? You won't want to miss this series, I guarantee it will quickly become one of your favorites!

The review below really gives you the low-down on what this series is about. I'm up to episode 17 and the series hasn't slowed down yet. Though this is Watase Yuu, I think she has matured a lot in her work since Fushigi Yuugi. While Fushigi Yuugi could, at least until the latter episodes, be shown to childen, Ayashi no Ceres in my opinion if for an older audience.

This series has a lot more blood in it (like splatter all over the pavement and onto someone's face) and a lot more pain, especially in regard to Aya and Aki's relationship as the story goes on. There is a little humor throughout, but nothing like Fushigi Yuugi. This is a more serious drama. The relationships and characters are a lot more complex and realistic. Oh, and so far, the "MIAKA!!!" "TAMAHOME!!" name-calling has been kept at a minimum.

I reccomend it to anyone! (There's action, love, pain, and humor!)

Honestly, I have not heard of Ceres until my friend lent me this DVD. It had a VERY interesting storyline; tennyo angels are somewhat appealing, thanks to Ceres. Ceres might not be as popular as Fushigi Yuugi, but it's a great series nonetheless. The characters are well-written (Kagami is your typical villain, but he is also related to Aya...), romance is obvious and often leads to very sensual situations, and action is mostly bloody or imagined. Suspense is chilling and often kept me guessing (since I had absolutely no idea Ceres existed until then). However, Ceres is not for the young. Blood and violence, curses, and sensual scenes were a little surprise to myself, even though I was 16, the recommended appropiate age for this DVD. Buy Ceres if you don't mind such things, but definitely check it out if you liked FY or any romantic-heavy shoujo for that manner.

Plot: Average teenager Aya Mikage finds out on her 16th birthday that her family wants to kill her because she's the reincarnation of the family's ancestor, a Celestial maiden, Ceres. Ceres wants to destroy the Mikage, so the Mikage want to destroy Ceres (who is sharing a body with Aya) first. Ceres especially wants to kill Aya's twin brother Aki. This results in a lot of trouble and heartache, then add Aya falling in love with Toya (who works for the Mikage) and Yuuhi (who's sister helps Aya) falling in love with Aya.....

My thoughts: Very different from Fushigi Yugi, Yu Watase's other popular work, which is funny and for the most part light hearted. Ceres is somewhat dark and it's dramatic. My mini-plot doesn't really do it justice, there's a lot that goes on in Ceres, I had to know what happens next and couldn't stop watching it (I have an imported boxed set). If only Yuuhi were real, I'd marry him in a second! I recommend watching the dubbed first so it's easier to pay attention to plot and animation, and then watch the subbed to get a real feel for the emotion of the show. There is just something about the Japanese language that expresses emotion better than English. Toya's Japanese voice seems to fit him better, while Yuuhi's English voice seems to fit better. The music is very good, recycled a lot, but very good.

Not for kids, I would say at least 13 and up. There's some nudity, violence, blood, and adult situations/themes.

Volume 1 is an amazing start to the series as you are thrown into a anime about Aya and Aki, who are a brother and sister who get along. It is there 16th birthday and they must go to there family, the Mikage Clan. When they go they notice that the WHOLE family is there and they are acting all strange. The family then reveals the truth about Aya and Aki. I won't spoil anything but episode 1-3 is simply engaging and jawdroppings.
The animation is, first off, wonderful. It is some of the cleanest animation you will ever see. The music is also perfect. As it is as good, if not better, than Fushigi Yugi (The creator, Yuu Watasse's, other work.) The characters are very vibrant. Aya is sweet and mature, much like Aki. Yuuhi is a goof, Suzumi is serious and protective, Toya is quiet and serious, and Mrs. Q is simply comic relief.
If you like Yuu Watasse or Fushigi Yugi then get this. The two are not very similar but still they are equally epic.
CONTENT: Though DVD 1 says 16+, all you basically see is blood spurt out of a person, a person get shot in the head, brief detailed nudity, and a women chases another with a knife. There are a few curses also. It could be rated 13+ but after DVD 3 it will be a bloodbath of a anime.

hahaha yes the only reason I love this anime are the beautiful bishounens (beautiful anime boys) in Ceres. Eenie meenie miney moe, Aki, Yuuhi or Tooya??? AAAACK... no i'm kidding... *but i do adore them*

ok, seriously... WOW... what can i say? I've watched this until the last episode and I just have to say... again... WOW... the animation quality is so great, the characters are beautifully drawn, and the background scenes are so realistic. I agree, Watase Yuu had definitely matured so much in this anime since Fushigi Yuugi! (or maybe she just decided to go with a different mood this time) :)

Wonderful wonderful work. The storyplot is AMAZING! Bringing the Japanese legend of a tennyo (heavenly maiden) and her hagoromo (celestial robe) into the modern world of present day Tokyo, carrying a 5000 year curse passed on and on within the bloodline of the Mikages. I tell you, you're all in for a twist! There's so much more in the real story behind what really happened between Ceres and Mikage in the end!!! And lets not forget another big thing you'll find out in the end, the unsolved mystery of TOOYA's existence!!! I'm not going to tell you, you have to watch by yourself.

The storyline is kinda tragic, I'd say. Some scenes make me cringe because there's so much blood and violence. But thats what I love!!! The tragedy even made it more dramatic!!! And again, Watase Yuu-sama ALWAYS, ALWAYS delivers such a satisfying ending. You'd be sitting back, finally able to breathe freely when the anime ends... although you don't want it to really end because it's so great... but you would be so completely satisfied with the end. I, for sure, didn't go, "aaah THIS or THAT should've happened!"

Simply, simply beautiful. Beautiful characters, beautiful storyline, beautiful music, beautiful animation scenes (did you see the Opening credits scene!? WOW WOW WOWWWW) The music... ah.. beautiful opening song... it's just such a beautiful song... and the ending songs... very nice and upbeat. When the ending music started indicating the episode is about to end... you're just on the edge of your seat. I absolutely loved the music!!! I'm quite surprised. I didn't really liked Fushigi Yuugi's songs...

You will not regret this. It's light hearted, and at the same time, deep with emotional-involving scenes and storylines and the characters' relationship... *sigh*...

so back to the first issue... Aki...? Yuuhi...? or Tooya...? eenie meenie miney moe... hmmm still can't decide... someone help me? :D

Ceres is one of my favorite anime. The beginning of the series is very strange, so just stick with it until it gets a little more normal (well, I don't know if you could really call this series normal). The music is beautiful, and I especially like the opening theme, "Scarlet." The Ceres soundtrack is great, and in my mind, second only to Yoko Kanno's wonderful Cowboy Bebop score. There are two ending theme songs, the second one replacing the first in the middle of the series. Try to be mature about the opening theme animation; it includes some nudity. There is very little nudity in the series itself, though.
I'm hesitant to tell anything about the plot for fear it might spoil other episodes, so I won't say much. Aya, her twin brother Aki and their friends are at a karaoke bar. Upon returing home, Aya and Aki are told that they are to spend their 16th birthday at a "party" at their grandfather's house. This party begins a rather confusing sequence of strange (and sometimes creepy) events that you won't really understand until you see some more episodes, so, like I said before, just try to be patient with the plot.
The dubbing is pretty good. I really like Aya's voice actress (I've forgotton how to spell her name- it's pretty complicated), who also played Lime in "Saber Marionette J" and Meifon Li in "Angel Links."
Ceres is an awesome anime and I highly reccomend it.