Kekkaishi

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Kekkaishi
結界師 (Barrier master)
Genre	Action, Supernatural, Comedy
Manga
Author	Yellow Tanabe
Publisher	Shogakukan
[show]Other publishers: VIZ Media Ivrea PCM Comics Elex Media Komputindo Tong Li Comics Kim Dong Rightman Publishing Limited
Demographic	Shōnen
Serialized in	Shōnen Sunday Shonen Star
Original run	18 February 2004 – Present
Volumes	20 (as of April 18, 2008) 19 (as of April 18, 2008) 17 (as of January 8, 2008) 13 (as of March 5, 2008) 11 (as of November 18, 2007)
TV anime
Director	Kodama Kenji
Studio	Sunrise (company)
Network	Nippon Television/Yomiuri TV/nationwide on NNN stations Taiwan Television 8TV NTV7 Cable TV
Original run	October 16, 2006 – February 12, 2008
Episodes	52

Kekkaishi (結界師, Kekkaishi^?) is a manga series by Yellow Tanabe. It is published in Japan by Shogakukan and in North America in English by Viz Media. It has been adapted into an ongoing anime series by Sunrise beginning in October 2006. Kekkaishi is translated as “Barrier master”. Kekkashi received the 52nd Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga in 2007. ^[1]

 

Plot

Five hundred years ago, a feudal lord was attacked by demons wanting to retrieve his mysterious inner power, the invincible power that can help them take over the human world. The famous mage, Tokimori Hazama, was called upon, and with his 2 students, managed to save the whole land. But they fell ill, the feudal lord was killed, his power was also buried with him at a site called Karasumori.

In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, became the kekkaishi protecting the land and the power. They use a technique called Kekkai, a form of magical barrier, used to capture and destroy Ayakashi (monsters/demons) that are drawn to this land. Any demons that come near the power will become stronger and therefore Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from intrusion of the Ayakashi.

But some of the demons form a powerful organization to take over that mysterious power. Yoshimori plans to destroy not only the demons, but also to gain the power to completely save the world from being controlled by demons. To do that, he first needs to know what the power actually is, and also strengthen his poor kekkai skills.

 

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Kekkaishi

Yoshimori Sumimura

Yoshimori Sumimura (墨村良守, Sumimura Yoshimori^?)

• Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino

The main character. Yoshimori is a 14-year old middle school boy who is the 22nd kekkaishi of the Sumimura family. In the series, Yoshimori is portrayed to be a lazy, stubborn headstrong person who strives his best to protect his friends and his family. The younger Yoshimori was different from the current Yoshimori, in the fact that he likes to cry a lot more and who heavily dislikes executing his duties as a Kekkaishi. The situation that had brought about the change in Yoshimori was when Tokine was injured by an ayakashi which he could have dispatched, but did not do so due to his kindness, allowing the ayakashi to become more powerful and escape his barrier. Tokine had moved to protect him, destroying the creature but getting mauled in progress. After the incident, Yoshimori has changed drastically his attitude towards being a Kekkaishi.

Tokine Yukimura

Tokine Yukimura (雪村時音, Yukimura Tokine^?)

• Voiced by: Rie Saitou

Yoshimori’s friend. Tokine is 16 and she is the 22nd Kekkaishi of the Yukimura family. She has a scar on her right hand, which was the consequence of protecting Yoshimori in their childhood. She has great accuracy and precision, but her kekkai are very weak and can only be maintained for short periods of time; lacking the ‘brute’ power of Yoshimori’s kekkai. She has been shown to be able to use her kekkai as spears, ‘piercing’ an enemy. She has also an affection towards Yoshimori shown by her protecting him various times when he was younger. She also likes to tease him and isn’t aware of his feelings for her, although throughout the series she shows signs of interest towards Yoshimori. Tokine is clearly impressed by the power and potential Yoshimori has, but is constantly frustrated by his poor control and lazy attitude. In the series, it is stated that whilst she is the weakest Kekkaishi, she is also the most ruthless.

Shishio Gen

Gen Shishio (志々尾限 , Shishio Gen^?)

• Voiced by: Eiji Miyashita

First appears in volume 6 of the manga. Shishio aids Tokine and Yoshimori in hunting ayakashi and protecting Karasumori. He is considered an “integrated half ayakashi”, meaning he can transform part or all of his body into that of an Ayakashi. When his power first fully awakened when he was ten, he almost killed his older sister. Afterwards he was taken in by Masamori and the Yagyou, where he was taught by Atora. Shishio and Yoshimori were good friends because they were very alike in a lot of ways. They were the same age and went to the same school. Masamori, Yoshimori’s older brother, sent him there to help protect Karasumori with Tokine and Yoshimori. Was mortally wounded by Kaguro.

 

[edit] Hazama-Ryu Kekkai Technique

Both Sumimura and Yukimura families use this technique when they are faced with Ayakashi. It is said by Shigemori Sumimura that this technique integrates utility and effectiveness.

Hazama-ryu Kekkai Technique (間流結界術, Hazama-Ryū Kekkai Jutsu^?)

• Hoi （方囲 Hōi, Engulf) : Designates a target.

• Joso (定礎 Jōso, Cornerstone) : Determines where to create the kekkai.

• Ketsu (結 Bind) : Creates and activates the kekkai.

• Kai (解 Release) : Dispels the kekkai without injuring the target trapped inside.

• Metsu (滅 Destroy) : Compresses a kekkai, destroying what is trapped inside.

• Tenketsu (天穴 Heavenly Hole) : Opens the door to the other world and send the shards of the enemy through to prevent regeneration. This technique seems to require you use a Shakujo, a Buddhist ringed staff, to perform it.

• Zekkai (絶界 Severing boundary) : A technique that allows the user to either dispel another’s kekkai or repel the attack of an enemy. Depending on the strength of the user, it varies in appearance (e.g. “black aura”). It is recommended that it not be used excessively.

• Nenshi (念糸 Thread) : A technique that creates an energy·thread. It is used for binding, capturing and torture by squeezing. The “Nenshi” comes out from the palm of the user. The seal around Madaro’s neck is made of beads strung together with nenshi.

 

Released manga volumes

 

English

The English manga volumes are published by VIZ Media in North America.

Name	ISBN	Released date
Kekkaishi Volume 1	ISBN 1-59116-968-2	2005-05-03
Kekkaishi Volume 2	ISBN 1-59116-970-4	2005-08-16
Kekkaishi Volume 3	ISBN 1-4215-0067-1	2005-11-15
Kekkaishi Volume 4	ISBN 1-4215-0253-4	2006-02-07
Kekkaishi Volume 5	ISBN 1-4215-0486-3	2006-05-02
Kekkaishi Volume 6	ISBN 1-4215-0487-1	2006-08-15
Kekkaishi Volume 7	ISBN 1-4215-0488-X	2006-11-21
Kekkaishi Volume 8	ISBN 1-4215-0828-1	2007-02-20
Kekkaishi Volume 9	ISBN 1-4215-0829-X	2007-05-15
Kekkaishi Volume 10	ISBN 1-4215-0909-1	2007-08-28

 

Game

Namco Bandai released an “action based” game for the Nintendo DS, on May 24, 2007.
A Wii game was announced^[2]. This game entitled “Kekkaishi: Kokubourou no Kage” was released in December 2007 in Japan. Currently, there are no plans to release the game for Wii systems outside of Japan.