Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase (Japanese: 月詠, Hepburn: Tsukuyomi) is a Japanese manga series by Keitarō Arima. The manga was serialized in the monthly manga magazine Comic Gum from March 2000 to March 27, 2008. The series spanned sixteen manga volumes that were published by Wani Books in Japan. The manga series was later adapted into a 25 episode anime television series by Shaft, and aired on TV Tokyo from October 5, 2004 to March 29, 2005. An additional OVA episode dubbed "Episode 26" was later released only on DVD on February 22, 2006. Moon Phase is about a young vampire girl named Hazuki and a Japanese freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka whom Hazuki attempts to make into her servant.

Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase
Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase Volume 1
月詠
(Tsukuyomi)
GenreComedy, Romance, Supernatural
Manga
Written byKeitarō Arima
Published byWani Books
English publisher
MagazineComic Gum
DemographicSeinen
Original runMarch 2000 – March 27, 2008
Volumes16
Anime television series
Directed byAkiyuki Shinbo[lower-alpha 1]
Produced by
  • Hiroshi Yoshida (Flying Dog)
  • Hiroyuki Birukawa (Nippon Victor)
Written byMayori Sekijima
Music byDaisaku Kume
StudioShaft
Licensed by
Original networkTV Tokyo, TV Osaka
English network
Original run October 5, 2004 – March 29, 2005
Episodes25 + OVA

While there are differences in adaptations, the main theme of Kouhei protecting Hazuki from harm is present in both. The OVA storyline though has very little to do with the original series outside of having some of the same characters, and has a completely different storyline which does not fit into anything which came before it. Tokyopop published an English-language version of the manga but stopped at volume 12 due to the company shutting down its North American publishing division which left the series unfinished. For the anime, Funimation released an English-language version under the name Moon Phase.

Plot
Main article: List of Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase characters

The story is about the relationship between freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka and Hazuki, a young girl who descends from a royal vampire lineage. At the beginning of the story, Kouhei travels to a castle in Germany to take photographs of paranormal phenomena for his friend Hiromi, who is the editor of an occult magazine. At the castle, Kouhei meets Hazuki, who feeds on Kouhei's blood and claims him as her unwilling servant. Although this "blood pact" is supposed to bind Kouhei to Hazuki as her obedient slave, her act has no effect on Kouhei. Following an action-packed sorcerers' battle in which Kouhei and his cousin manage to free Hazuki from her captivity in the dreary castle, Hazuki travels to Tokyo, and takes up residence with Kouhei in his grandfather's house in Japan. Hazuki claims that, because she fed on his blood, Kouhei is now her servant, but Kouhei continually refuses to obey her, especially when he thinks her requests are unreasonable. Despite their fighting, the relationship between the duo progresses over time—even in the face of repeated attacks by opposing vampires—until Kouhei becomes determined to protect Hazuki from the vampire servants of her family, who are determined to retrieve her by whatever means necessary.

Manga

Tsukuyomi Moon Phase was written by Keitarō Arima, and originally published by Wani Books. The manga series ran from March 2000 to March 24, 2009 in which sixteen volumes were published. The manga was later licensed in Taiwan by Sharp Point Press.[1] Tokyopop and Madman Entertainment both had English releases for the manga but due to financial trouble, Tokyopop postponed some of the dates. On May 31, 2011 Tokyopop announced that all of their licensed titles would revert to their Japanese owners leaving the series incomplete.[2]

VolumeJapaneseEnglish
ISBNRelease DateISBNRelease Date
1ISBN 4-8470-3342-6March 2000ISBN 1-59532-948-XDecember 12, 2005
2ISBN 4-8470-3361-2September 2000ISBN 1-59532-949-8March 7, 2006
3ISBN 4-8470-3395-7April 2001ISBN 1-59532-950-1June 13, 2006
4ISBN 4-8470-3423-6December 2001ISBN 1-59532-951-XSeptember 12, 2006
5ISBN 4-8470-3432-5June 2002ISBN 1-59532-952-8December 12, 2006
6ISBN 4-8470-3443-0February 2003ISBN 1-59532-953-6March 13, 2007
7ISBN 4-8470-3457-0October 24, 2003ISBN 1-59532-954-4June 12, 2007
8ISBN 4-8470-3469-4May 22, 2004ISBN 1-59532-955-2September 11, 2007
9ISBN 4-8470-3486-4December 24, 2004ISBN 1-4278-0163-0December 11, 2007
10ISBN 4-8470-3509-7July 25, 2005ISBN 1-4278-0164-9April 8, 2008
11ISBN 4-8470-3535-6March 25, 2006ISBN 1-4278-0726-4August 8, 2008
12ISBN 4-8470-3578-XOctober 25, 2006ISBN 1-4278-0727-2November 4, 2008
13ISBN 4-8470-3597-6April 25, 2007ISBN 978-1-4278-1161-5Postponed By Tokyopop and never released.[3][4]
14ISBN 4-8470-3619-0November 24, 2007——
15ISBN 4-8470-3647-6July 24, 2008——
16ISBN 4-8470-3677-8March 24, 2009——

Anime
Main article: List of Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase episodes

Theme music
See also: Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase CD collections

Opening
  1. "Neko Mimi Mode" by Dimitri from Paris (eps 1–8, 10–13, 15–24)
  2. "Tsuku Yomi Mode" by Dimitri from Paris (eps 9, 14)

Ending
  1. "Kanashii Yokan"
  2. "Nami no Toriko ni naru you ni" (ep 7)
    • Lyrics: Kenzō Saeki
    • Composition and Arrangement: Naruyoshi Kikuchi
    • Vocals: Noriko Ogawa
  3. "Pressentiment triste" by Marianne Amplifier featuring Yuka (ep 19)
  4. "Neko Mimi Mode" by Dimitri From Paris (ep 25)

Reception

Hyper commends the anime for its "character design and animation which are uniformly quite good and the series boasts some very nice Gothic background art". The scripting is criticised for being "too cluttered to allow any immersion".[5]

Notes
  1. Credited as Chief Director (総監督, Sō Kantoku).

References
  1. "月詠Moon Phase (01)" (in Chinese). Sharp Point Press. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  2. "Tokyopop License Updates". Anime News Network. August 5, 2005. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  3. "TokyoPop Moon Phase #13 Release Information". Animenewsnetwork. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  4. "TokyoPop licenses revert back to Japanese owners". Animenewsnetwork. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  5. "Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase". Hyper. Next Media (166): 84. August 2007. ISSN 1320-7458.
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