Tamaokuri
Yami no Matsuei is often referred to it's American title "Descendants of Darkness"
Yami no Matsuei began as a manga series by the wonderful author and artist Yoko Matsushita. It was originally published as a serial in the Japanese magazine Hana to Yume, and has been released onto currently 11 graphic novel volumes. The series is currenly unfinished, but with the exception of a Tatsumi side story released late 2004, there have been no new chapters in a year or so, and there is no news about new chapters being released in the future. I've heard rumors that Matsushita had a falling out with her publishers and will no longer write, or she has grown tired of the series, or that she has had recent health problems. But no one really knows why the Yami no Matsuei manga has grown silent as no official announcements were ever made. Currently the manga series has been licensed in the US and is being translated and distrubuted by Viz.
In 2000, Yami no Matsuei was turned into a 13 episode TV series by J.C.Staff. The anime series follows volumes, 1, 2, 3 and 8 of the manga volumes. The series was licensed in 2001 and released in the United States in 2003 by Central Park Media.
The Plot:
When someone dies, their soul must crossover into Meifu, the land of the dead, for judgment before being sent on to their eternal rest. But sometimes,
things don't go as planned and souls don't cross over when they should, lingering in the world of the living. And when that happens, it
clogs the system and creates huge amounts of paperwork and stress. Thats where the Shinigami come in. They are a small, very underpaid and underappreciated
group of deceased individuals with a strong attachment to the living world. It is their job to travel between worlds to find the souls that have not
passed on and return them to Meifu for their judgement.
Tsuzuki Asato is one of the most powerful but also most lazy Shinigami on the force. When he is teamed up with a hot-heeded empathic teenager named Hisoka Kurosaki, their polar opposite personalities will either hurt or help their partnership. Soon after teaming up with Tsuzuki, Hisoka finds himself face to face with the man who killed him, the evil and demented (but oh so sexy) Dr. Kazutaka Muraki. Now Tsuzuki has to keep Hisoka safe from the evil doctor, while at the same time try to keep the lustful man from getting into his own pants as well. XD
Dictionary:
Here are some common words you will hear in Yami no Matsuei. Words in parenthesis are what the English versions of the anime/manga call them.
Shinigami (Guardians of Death): Literal translation "God of Death", similiarly seen in Japanese Folklore and religion that bare a resemblance to the American Grim Reaper.
Shikigami: Guardian beasts that the Shinigami can call upon in battle.
JuOhCho (Ministry of Hades): The name of the building and general location where the Shinigami work.
Meifu (Land of the Dead): Pretty much what the English version calls it. Can also call it Purgatory. ^_^
Ofuda: Seen a lot in anime, they are little slips of paper with Japanese lettering on them. In most series they are placed in areas to ward of evil spirits. In Yami no Matsuei, Ofuda are used as magical items, and can be used to create forcefields, exorcise demons and more.
