"I'm home!"
Matsuura Ichiro returned home, placed his shoes by the entrance, and jogged into the house.
"Okay, go wash your hands quickly. There's a freshly bought small cake in the refrigerator. Dad will be home soon for dinner."
His mother's voice came from the kitchen.
"Wow! There's cake! How happy!"
Matsuura Ichiro happily opened the refrigerator door and indeed saw a beautifully packaged small matcha-flavored cake. He eagerly took it out.
This cake looks expensive, probably around 2000 yen, right?
Thinking this, Matsuura tidied the coffee table, placed the cake on it, turned on the TV, and began to enjoy it.
...
Matsuura Ichiro, 14 years old, is currently a middle school student. He finishes school promptly at 4 PM every afternoon and doesn't have any particular hobbies.
He was reluctantly pulled into the Shogi club, and through Shogi, he developed a strong interest in some ancient history during this period.
However, there was no club activity this afternoon.
Rather than no activity, the club president required everyone to go home and watch TV.
Because this afternoon, Tokyo Television would broadcast two animated films. The first was "first cherry blossom battle chronicle" produced by Sunrise Animation. Although it heavily adapted history, it still allowed people to learn about events and figures from the Warring States period.
The other was "onmyoji" produced by Kyoto Animation.
It was said to be adapted from a game, but Matsuura was not old enough to buy the onmyoji game cartridge. He only heard that its plot was quite good.
In short, he was quite looking forward to both animated films.
At 5 o'clock, TV Tokyo officially began broadcasting "first cherry blossom battle chronicle."
On the screen, cherry blossoms danced, swords clashed, and lightning flashed...
The theme song began, and numerous characters appeared one after another on the screen: the male protagonist, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi...
Even without knowing the general plot direction yet, seeing the passionate battle scenes, Matsuura could roughly guess what kind of animated film this would be.
After the theme song ended, the animation officially began.
On the screen was a kendo dojo.
Two teenagers, wearing masks and kendo uniforms, attacked each other.
The bamboo swords clacked loudly.
"Men!"
A bamboo sword slashed down fiercely, and the other teenager followed with a swing, their two bamboo swords crossing.
"Men!"
"Men!"
Both sides' attacks were incredibly fierce, with no yielding. Their feet constantly shifted on the ground, and the battle was exceptionally intense.
It was clear that both teenagers' sword skills were very refined.
During an advance and retreat, one of the teenagers stumbled backward, and the opponent found a slight opening, immediately following with a flash of light from the bamboo sword.
"Men!"
Clang!
It struck the mask hard.
The two fell to the ground, and the one who was hit in the head lay on the ground with a sigh.
"I lost."
After taking off their masks, two delicate faces were revealed.
One had shorter hair, a Hedgehog head, thick bangs, and a round face, clearly the male protagonist.
The other had slightly longer hair and a leaner face, appearing softer by comparison.
In the 90s, male protagonists in Japanese animation generally looked the same: round faces, big eyes, and short hair, to embody steadfastness and kindness, allowing viewers to feel the passion of youth in them.
Correspondingly, handsome, fox-like characters with triangular eyes often played the second male protagonist in TV animation.
(No, this is not referring to Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede.)
Sure enough, the round-faced boy was the male protagonist, named Sanada Ippei, while the handsome, soft-faced one was named Yasutani Kiyoshi.
The two had been good friends since childhood, studying at the same school and joining the kendo club together, having been learning kendo for some Time.
This was quite similar to Matsuura Ichiro, except he admitted he didn't possess such superb skills as those in the animation.
After an intense fight, both were covered in sweat on their foreheads, sitting at the kendo dojo's entrance with tea, watching the fiery sunset sky outside.
It was still March, and the cherry blossoms outside were in full bloom, scattering and fluttering like snowflakes.
The two chatted, talking about their favorite Warring States figures.
"Of course, it's Oda Nobunaga!" Ippei laughed heartily. "The Sixth Heavenly Demon King, if he hadn't died at Honno-ji Temple, he should have been the one to unify the world, and then there would have been no business for the 'monkey' and others."
The other teenager smiled gently, "My favorite... should be the 'monkey.'"
"Toyotomi Hideyoshi could rise from the lowest, most insignificant person to the top ruler of the world step by step. I truly admire his perseverance and courage."
"For someone like me, I might never be able to achieve what he did."
Yasutani looked down at his palms.
The twilight light gathered in his palms, and the surrounding light was soft. Although it was golden-toned and in spring, it always gave a feeling of approaching autumn.
Seeing this, Matsuura couldn't help but feel envious.
How happy it must be to have such a good friend in life.
"Hey, Ippei." The long-haired second male protagonist looked up.
"Hmm?"
"No matter what happens in the future, we'll always be the best of friends."
"Mm." Ippei nodded seriously.
Just then, both their expressions suddenly changed—
The surrounding light also changed, from the recent twilight to an even brighter glow, though this brightness came from a more vivid red.
Because the kendo dojo was engulfed in a raging fire.
The flames lit up the night sky, turning the whole world red.
The two quickly headed for the main gate, but to their surprise, it was locked.
Cherry blossoms were burning in the flames, scattering throughout the courtyard, and the lawn was covered in sparks.
"No! We must get out!"
The two quickly looked for something to try and break open the gate.
In the process, the long-haired second male protagonist's hand was severely burned, leaving a large scar.
Ippei selflessly exerted all his strength to ram into the courtyard gate.
Bang!
The male protagonist used too much force, and as he broke open the courtyard gate, his body also tumbled out.
As the camera moved, when he stood up, everything around him had changed.
Flames raged.
Around him, fierce shouts of battle echoed, along with the crackling sound of wood burning.
There were ruined walls, and the clashing of various swords.
Sparks flew everywhere, resembling cherry blossom petals.
The camera pulled back, and the male protagonist was no longer in the modern kendo dojo but in the courtyard of a temple.
"Akechi Mitsuhide!"
"It's Akechi Mitsuhide's army!"
"Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed Lord Oda!!"
"Huh? What... what's happening?"
...
This is...
Matsuura Ichiro immediately became alert, sitting upright, watching the animation playing on the TV, his lips moving as he murmured to himself—
The Honno-ji Incident.
In the early morning of June 2, 1582, Oda Nobunaga's trusted subordinate Akechi Mitsuhide raised a rebellion at Honno-ji Temple in Kyoto, killing his lord Nobunaga.
Japanese history was rewritten by this event.
This incident is known as—
The Honno-ji Incident.
The male protagonist had transmigrated.
From 1990s Japan, he transmigrated to Honno-ji Temple in 1582, witnessing history.
At this Time, Oda Nobunaga was already heavily surrounded by Akechi Mitsuhide. After the tide turned against him, his subordinates suffered heavy casualties, and seeing no hope of escape, he committed seppuku.
When the protagonist appeared, Nobunaga had already passed away.
However, the two eventually met, and as their eyes met, Nobunaga's eyes showed unwillingness and shock.
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, hitting above Honno-ji Temple.
The sky outside was torn open, illuminating everything as if it were day.
Oda Nobunaga told the male protagonist to break through with Mori Ranmaru and not to die there.
After his last breath, he handed his personal sword to the male protagonist.
Thus began a journey of escape to join Shibata Katsuie.
The two broke through a section of the ruined wall, and after much difficulty crossing the river, they encountered Yasuda Sakubei, a general under Akechi Mitsuhide.
Just as the two were at their wit's end, seemingly about to die there, a shadow suddenly appeared behind the male protagonist—
The soul of the Sixth Heavenly Demon King, Oda Nobunaga, held the male protagonist's hands, and their souls merged.
Immediately after, the male protagonist's eyes opened.
An astonishing and terrifying aura instantly surged forth, like a fierce tiger.
The surrounding enemies' eyes narrowed, and they retreated in shock.
Seeing this, Matsuura Ichiro felt his blood boil.
But at this point, the first episode ended, and the ending song began to play.
Ah!
Damn it!
It ended at such a crucial moment!
Matsuura Ichiro narrowed his eyes, feeling an itch in his heart.
It wasn't enough, not nearly enough.
It must be said, Sunrise Animation truly is an expert in producing mecha and passionate anime. The first episode flowed smoothly with the action, and the storyline was very rich, with sharp conflicts and contradictions between the characters.
And stopping at a life-or-death moment, just before the counterattack, was truly unbearable.
...
A moment later, his father, Matsuura Koyo, also returned home.
He took off his shoes upon entering and saw his son watching an anime.
"Ichiro, why are you watching anime as soon as you get home? Doesn't your club have any activities?"
"Hmm, the club didn't schedule any activities today, and I don't watch anime every day," Matsuura Ichiro retorted, "Today's anime is very interesting, it can help us learn."
"Huh? Is there such a thing?"
Matsuura Koyo was stunned for a moment.
Just then, his mother came running out of the kitchen, wiping her hands as she said, "Dear, go wash your hands first."
"Dinner is ready, you know."
...
Meanwhile, at Pokeni Co., Ltd.
"Ah~" Chikawa Hirokazu covered his chest, letting out a sigh.
"Sunrise Animation did an amazing job, didn't they?"
"This opening plot is even more captivating than I imagined, and to end it at such a point, isn't that just inhuman?"
"To see him defeat Yasuda Sakubei, we'll have to wait until next week."
Hearing his words, Xiao HR blinked rapidly, signaling him.
Chikawa, do you have a death wish?
Don't you know that Sunrise Animation's 'first cherry blossom battle chronicle' is directly competing with our company's investment, 'onmyoji'?
If you praise Sunrise Animation so much, what if onmyoji doesn't perform well later? Won't you be scolded by the President?
However, she turned her head to look at Aoki Haruhi's expression beside her, trying to understand his inner thoughts.
But Aoki Haruhi sat there, his face completely calm.
There was even a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth.
You can actually smile?!
Xiao HR felt that the President's mind was truly broken.
"Hmm, it's well done," Aoki Haruhi nodded, "That's exactly what we want. I hope Sunrise Animation's 'first cherry blossom battle chronicle' becomes more and more popular, and its ratings get higher and higher."
Huh?!
Is the President really stupid?
"Where do you cheer for a competitor, President!"
"Hmm, you don't understand, do you?" Chikawa gently poked Xiao HR's shoulder, chuckling, "This means we're doing even better. The President clearly has more confidence in Kyoto Animation's 'onmyoji'.
If Sunrise Animation didn't do well, how could they be worthy of being our opponent?
Right, President?"
"Hmm..." Aoki Haruhi smiled and shook his head, "That's not quite it."
"Huh?!" This Time, it was Chikawa's turn to be dumbfounded.
...
At the same Time.
The atmosphere at Kyoto Animation was unusually heavy.
Kiue Masaharu, the Director of this 'onmyoji', silently swallowed his saliva.
He felt his heart tighten to the extreme, as if it was about to burst out.
After watching Sunrise Animation's 'first cherry blossom battle chronicle', his expression was unusually grave.
The company was in a small apartment rented by the President. The lighting wasn't particularly bright, but it certainly wasn't dim, yet Kiue Masaharu's face was ashen at that moment.
As if shrouded in shadow.
"Sunrise Animation is indeed an old established company. From storyboards to scripts, to LOs, and now to the finished animation, they are a cut above us," Kiue Masaharu said.
The others wore solemn expressions and remained silent.
President Hatta Hideaki didn't feel very good in his heart either.
But Kiue Masaharu was exaggerating a bit too much, at least from the storyboards, Kiue Masaharu's storyboards were still of top-tier quality.
It's just...
There was indeed a gap in strength in other areas.
"Thinking too much is useless. We still have a chance. If we do well with the later content, we still have a chance."
"Hmm." Everyone nodded.
Ever since they were 'motivated' by Aoki Haruhi last Time, their hearts were actually quite at ease now.
Just as the President said, Kyoto Animation's only opponent has always been themselves.
...
At 7 PM, 'onmyoji' officially began broadcasting.
After dinner, Matsuura Ichiro sat back down in front of the television.
His father, Matsuura Koyo, looked surprised, really wanting to slap his son on the back of the head, "Have you finished your homework before watching TV?"
"I've finished my homework, and watching TV is my homework."
Matsuura Ichiro's eyes were fixed on the screen.
The academic burden in Japan was not as heavy as in China; there was hardly any homework from elementary school to junior high school.
So, hearing his words, Matsuura Koyo could only turn a blind eye.
"After this anime, it's my turn, you know." Matsuura Koyo looked at his watch, there was still 'Intimate Lovers' coming up.
"Okay." Matsuura Ichiro nodded.
He found his father really annoying.
...
The opening theme of onmyoji was quite beautiful, with a lot of budget spent on it. Whether it was the character designs, the special effects, or the combination of the music's melody and the lead singer's sweet and gentle voice, they all transported the audience into that ancient yet romantic Time.
After the opening ended, the anime officially began.
In the midst of heavy snow, a young boy carried a heavy bamboo basket, trudging forward with difficulty.
However, even in such cold weather, the boy's face was full of smiles.
"Macang, can you handle buying so many things?" The uncle in town asked with a smile.
"Hmm, these are all things the guests at the hot spring inn need. If the service isn't good, we'll get scolded, you know."
The male protagonist's name was Masakura Haruka, the male protagonist of the game 'onmyoji' with the same name. He lived in a Time where humans and monsters coexisted, making a living by running a hot spring inn with his aunt.
However, his true dream was to become a true onmyoji.
After walking for a while, a group of people wearing tall hats appeared on the hill ahead.
Masakura Haruka couldn't help but excitedly chase after them.
Sure enough, they were onmyoji from Kyoto.
After exchanging greetings.
"The village hasn't been peaceful recently, young man. You'd best not go out."
"Huh? Why?" Masakura Haruka didn't quite understand.
The leading onmyoji with a long beard raised a hand and pointed to the distant forest.
"Do you see that?"
A sika deer walked through the snow, sinking deep with each step.
There was a black hole in its body, but not a single drop of blood flowed out.
The deer's eyes glowed red.
"That sika deer was bitten by a demon and has now turned into a monster.
Of course, humans are the same. We must find that demon, or this village will be destroyed sooner or later."
After speaking, one of the onmyoji raised a bow, and with a whoosh, an arrow pierced into the deer's body.
Immediately, a cluster of blue flames flickered from the wound, instantly burning it to ashes.
Only a streak of blue light remained in the snow.
...
...
On his way back, Masakura Haruka saw a long trail of blood at the entrance of the inn, and a ominous feeling rose in his heart.
Sure enough, when he entered the inn and pushed open the door, he found many people dead.
Kijo came around from behind the house, tilting her head, smiling as she looked at Masakura Haruka.
She licked her tongue.
"Next, it's your turn."
"Ah!"
The camera pulled back, and a scream echoed through the inn.
...
The onmyoji arrived in Time, saving the male protagonist's life.
For this, he even learned some simple onmyoji techniques.
But in this situation, his aunt was severely injured and on the verge of death.
The onmyoji thought she wouldn't live long, comforted the male protagonist a few Times, telling him to bury his relative properly, and then continued on to the next place.
Just as the male protagonist was in utter despair, a strange-looking man appeared behind him.
He gripped Masakura Haruka's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "If you want to save your aunt, you must go to Fairy Spirit Island. There are fairies there, and their elixir can bring the dead back to life."
Hearing his words, Masakura Haruka's expression froze, then hope rekindled, and he resolutely embarked on the journey to Fairy Spirit Island.
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