Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the famous Onmyouji Abe no Seimei; a fact he is constantly reminded of. When Masahiro was young, he had a second sight, the ability to see ghost, spirits and demons. He believed he had lost the ability, later realizing that his grandfather had sealed his power.
One day, he meets a mononoke who refuses to tell Masahiro his name, so Masahiro names him "Mokkun". He soon learns the mononoke's true name is Touda, and that he was one of his grandfather’s twelve shikigami.
Soon after meeting him, Mokkun breaks the seal on Masahiro's second sight.
Masahiro then sets out to prove he’s more than just Abe no Seimei’s grandson and to become the greatest Onmyouji, even better than his grandfather.
Based on the synopsis by Mew1Mokuba.
Story & Characters
Shonen Onmyouji, or Shonen Onmyouji ~ The Young
Spirit Master as it is called in South East Asia, is a 26-episodes long anime about exorcism during the Heian era
in Japan based on the real character that really existed with such power, Abe no Seimei. Originally a light novel
written by Yuki Mitsuru, and was then turned into manga and anime in the year 2006 by Studio Deen.
However, this story revolves around his grandson, Abe no Masahiro. To be acknowledged and worthy the title of the
grandson of the great Abe no Seimei, Masahiro has been trained by his grandfather to master the art of exorcism or the
art of spirit. But no matter how great he sounds, he is still a normal teenager attending classes and doing work in the
Onmyou Dorms, where all onmyou apprentices gather. There Masahiro is mostly insulted by his friends, usually from the
Fujiwara clan by saying that he should work hard to be a better onmyouji, not just by clinging onto his
grandfather's fame.
This anime has a mixture of comedy, historical and supernatural elements of the Japan culture. And of course, there are
also good doses of actions and romance inside. If you're interested in Japanese history and gods, you might want to
check this anime out.
Characters
Abe no Masahiro - The third grandson of the great Abe no Seimei. As a part of the
Abe clan, Masahiro has an exceptionally strong spiritual sight ever since he was a little boy, but was temporarily
sealed by Seimei, only to be released until he is ready to become an onmyouji. He is a young, energetic 13-year-old that
thinks his grandfather is a raccoon for always pissing him off whenever he fails to do something. Despite that, Masahiro
is a very powerful onmyouji as it was shown in the anime. Being able to perform long chants and spells quickly and
perfectly is something fascinating.
Abe no Seimei - The grandfather of Masahiro that was based on the real character
in Japan. He is the legendary onmyouji who has the trust of the emperor. He may be old, but his skill as the legendary
onmyouji have yet to deter. He loves giving disappointing remarks on Masahiro's onmyouji skills, but in truth he
love him and is constantly worried about him. He is the current master of the 12 Shinshou for now, and all of them
respect him.
Touda/Guren/Mokkun - He is one of the 12 Shinshou, as is said to be most powerful
among the 12 in terms of combat skills. He has the appearance of a black-skinned demon, but still considered a God
despite the more demonic look compared to the other Gods. Has red hair, wears a golden ring on his head which is said to
control his overflowing powers. He wields a trident and hurls fire from hell for long range attack. His real name is
Touda, but Seimei gave him another name called Guren. However, he usually takes the form of a white dog/fox mononoke
known as Mokkun and is always seen around Masahiro. They share a long history of friendship which brings tear to the
eyes.
This anime has lots of characters, but of course, you have to watch the anime to know more! And oh no no, this anime is
not only about history, spells and action, they have also centered the issue of trust and friendship, and was put to
good use in the later episodes.
Rating: 8
Art
The character design of Shonen Onmyouji is good. Sadly, no, they don't
fashion themselves in the latest hairstyles or outfits of the modern world, but they keep the settings of the Heian era
with the onmyouji's clothings, matching tall black hat, squarish shoes and very baggy pants. Not overly done, but
still true to the original look. Then we have the designs of the 12 Shinshou in their traditional + fantasy mix of
clothings.
One thing of the anime that I have noticed is that there are some scenes that actually reminds me of Final Fantasy 7.
The part where Sephiroth stood in the middle of flames and slowly turning his head backwards and and stare straight into
your eyes? This anime has relive the great Sephiroth scene, for real! It does feel a little funny to share something
similar to the great game, but still, Shonen Onmyouji is a great anime with a
feature of its own that some anime might not have.
Then you have traditional Japanese houses, huge castle where the emperor resides, Shinto temples in the middle of
mountain where they pray to the Gods, carriages as transports and all kinds of Japanese demons and monsters.
Other than those, the anime is just well done. The art still sticks to the setting that it was intended, and the result
is a satisfactory art.
Rating: 7
Sound
The first thing I would like to say is the voice acting. You might not have all the famous voice actors you love in this
anime, but they definitely did a great job in making the characters alive.
Kaida Yuki, the person behind Masahiro, did well in bringing out Masahiro whether
he is chanting long, getting angry on his grandfather, trying to keep his profile low in the Onmyou dorms or talking
with Akiko. He may sound a little feminine, but that suits him best.
Just to add, since this takes place in the Heian era, you don't get to hear very obvious swearings inside. And I
find people in this era speaking surprisingly with manners, with the -dono everytime they talk to people.
The rest of the voice actors well of course, have done really well. Since when did the Japanese voice actors ever failed
us anyway? To those who really take notice of the voice actors behind every anime they watch, you have famous Ishida
Akira and Tanaka Rie working in this project as well.
The second thing would be the OP and ED. Since this anime only span 26 episodes long, the OP and ED never changed. OP
was performed by Hikita Kaori with the song Egao no Wake, The meaning of your smile. The song somehow fits the plot and the setting, with a
little fantasy touch into it. Not to racy, not to upbeat, but more of the anime fantasy type. And of course, with our
beloved Kajiura Yuki involved in the creation of this song, it is just fantastic.
Although compared to the really nice OP, the ED was not really to my liking. Sang by Kiuji Saori with the song Yakusoku, Promise, I find this song a little
funny and weird. The voice of the singer, well, she seems like she is just singing with the tip of her throat. But I
still wouldn't deny that the ED does related to the story of the anime.
Rating: 7
Presentation
If you put historical and supernatural elements with a good number of action, comedy and romance, you get Shonen Onmyouji! The actions and fighting scenes in this anime is really interesting.
With chants, beads, talismans and all kind of different hand figures that I am not known to, I get more insight to the
world of onmyouji, although there are some distorted and fantasy touch to it. You're watching Exorcist Japanese
style!
The storyline develops slowly nut nicely, and of course, we are first introduced with Masahiro and his friendship with
Mokkun, and then we move on to knowing that Seimei is the legendary onmyouji. And then Masahiro is all grown up and we
get to see him sneaking out from home at night and see him kicking some demons' butts. Interesting isn't
it?
All story has its enemy, and of coursethis anime is definitely not without it. However, there are different enemies
because this anime is divided into 2 arcs. The first is the Kyuuki Arc, which span from the 1st to the 12th episode. And
then from the 13th to the 26th episode is the Kazane Arc. Both arcs are interesting in its own way and yeaaaah, with the
second arc with much more serious and ill butts to kick into.
I give you a thumbs up for this anime. The storyline is good, the art is not bad, the sound department, well, is
satisfactory. But what makes this anime likable is mainly because the concentration on trust, loyalty, and friendship.
And they test each of these at the end it just makes you feel all stressed and suspense it nearly killed me.
If you are a fan of Studio Deen, this anime might be worth the watch for you. If you are a big fan of Kajiura Yuki, she
did get herself involved in the OP. You like Ishida Akira and Tanaka Rie? Try looking out for the characters inside.
Either way, I find this anime enjoyable with all the traditional settings and clothings, and the supernatural aspect of
the anime makes me to keep on watching. So overall, the presentation is good and is worth a thumb up.
Rating: 8
Final Verdict
7.6667 (good)
Reviewed by Ephemeral-Garden, Jul 16, 2008
