Yōtōden

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Yotoden


caption =
ja_name = 戦国奇譚妖刀伝
ja_name_trans = Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden
genre = HistoricalInfobox animanga/OVA
title =
director = Osamu Yamazaki
studio = J.C.Staff
episodes = 3
released = May 21, 1987 (ep 1) December 16, 1987 (ep 2) November 5, 1988 (ep 3)Infobox animanga/Movie
title = Wrath of the Ninja
director = Osamu Yamazaki
studio = J.C.Staff, MTV Japan
released = flagicon|Japan May 27, 1989
runtime = 87 Minutes

Nihongo|"Yōtōden"|戦国奇譚妖刀伝|Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden|lit. Legend of the Enchanted Swords is a Japanese historical fantasy direct-to-video anime created by J.C.Staff, based on a novel by Takeshi Narumi. The story takes place during Japan's Sengoku period, at the time of Oda Nobunaga's rule.

The series was released in three volumes from May 21, 1987 to November 5, 1988. On May 27, 1989, "Yotoden" was re-edited into the "Wrath of the Ninja" feature film.

Plot

"Yōtōden" is based around the historical figure of Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga is a demon warlord who slays all who stand in his way. A legend says three mystical weapons from three different "ninja" clans can end Nobunaga's unholy campaign. The story follows Kasumi no Ayanosuke, a young "kunoichi" who escaped her village's destruction, in an effort to reunite the Enchanted Swords.

Characters

Ayame - A female ninja with a tragic past. She is an impressive fighter but is very emotional at times.

Sakon the Whirlwind - A stubborn ninja who is reclusive and prefers to be left alone. He shows very little emotion and this causes friction between him and Ryoma.

Ryoma - A headstrong ninja who is probably the strongest of the three. Unfortunately, he witnesses his father and sister being killed at the hands of Nobunaga's army. He also is forced to kill the woman he loves when her body is inhabited by a demon from Nobunaga's army.

Kikyo - Ryoma's younger sister who died in Ayame's arms. Before her death, Kikyo befriended Ayame and tried to comfort her when she was upset and reminiscing about her tragic past.

Kayo - A female ninja who Ryoma has an unrequited love for. Kayo is possibly the most tragic character in the story. Her body is possessed by one of Nobunaga's henchmen, turning her against her comrades and this forces Ryoma to kill her. Afterwards Ryoma weeps for the loss of her.

Lord Momochi - Kayo's older brother. He tries to kill his sister when her body is possessed by the demon.

Nobunaga - The adversary of the main characters. He rules over the host of Oboro, the three headded demon (who destroys the three clans), and the seven Oboro ninjas.

Ranmaru - Nobunaga's right hand man. Because he wants to rule over the known world of this time, he betrays Nobunaga by making his thoughts turn against him. Nobunaga dies at the hands of Ranmaru's betrayal.

Shinoske - Ayame's brother who was killed in the attack on Kasumi. Since his and Kikyo's death, Ayame vows to destroy the three headde demon who killed her her brother and her friends. He was the one who gave Ayame the Mystical Dagger of the Kasumi Clan.

Saegusa Jinnai - One of the seven Oboro ninja. He is the first Oboro ninja to appear on the scene. He attacks Ayame and Sakon first and then sends his henchmen to do his dirty work. Ayame and Sakon slaughter his minions and then Saegusa escapes. He comes back later on and attempts to kill Ayame but fails and accidentally ends up killing Kikyo instead.

Masago - One of the seven Oboro ninja. He possesses Kayo and causes her to kill her own comrades.

Kagami - One of the seven Oboro ninja. She has the ability to reanimate dead corpses. She then uses her small undead army to kill her enemies. She makes an attempt to kill Ryoma but fails and meets her death at the hands of the man she tried to kill.

Kiheji The Quiet Doom - One of the seven Oboro ninja. He is extremely quick and this makes him a tough adversary for Ayame.

Genzo - One of the seven Oboro ninja. He calls himself "The Harpist." He attacks both Ayame and Ryoma but Kayo rescues them.

The Host of Oboro

The Host of Oboro were Oda Nobunaga's dirty workers. These demons have an appearance of a bird's face, and long, sharp talons as claws. These monsters are mostly known for killing Sakon's followers in the beginning of this movie.

Voice cast

Japanese Voice actors
* Hayami Ayame/Ayanosuke Kasumi ...Keiko Toda
* Sakon Hayate ...Kazuhiko Inoue
* Ryoma Kogure ...Takeshi Watabe
* Oda Nobunaga ...Kazuki YaoEnglish dub Voice actorsAyame - Sakon the Whirlwind - Hideo SeaverRyoma Hogure - Oda Nobunaga -

Movie version

A compilation movie, from screenplay by Shou Aikawa, was cut together by MTV Japan in 1989. It has been released in the United States under the title "Wrath of the Ninja: The Yotoden Movie".

External links

Fire And Rain [http://huoyu.tripod.com/altar/sakon/index.html] A Yotoden Websiteanime-links
title = Yōtōden
ann = 2873
imdb = 0209489
tvcom =