Utsu no Miko

Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko (Heaven Chapter: Prince of the Skies), commonly called just Utsu no Miko, is a well-known OVA series, released in 13 installments between 1990 and 1992 and fully subtitled. Less well known is its prequel movie, actually titled Utsu no Miko (and unofficially subtitled Earth Chapter), released in 1989. Both are based on a series of light novels by Fujikawa Keisuke, published between 1984 and 1998. Orphan is pleased to present the first English-subtitled version of this movie.

Utsu no Miko is set in Japan's Asuka period, just after the Jinshin War in the late seventh century. It mixes mythical events with actual history, and supernatural characters with real ones. The hero is a divine or semi-divine creature born with a horn in his forehead. He is the son of the god of the northern sky. 

Because of his parentage, he becomes known as Utsu no Miko. He joins En no Ozuna's monks on Mount Kongo and trains as an Oni (demon), warriors who fight on behalf of the common people, along with his friends Tsuri, Takara, Kusuri, and Kagami. The last named has a crush on Miko.

The Imperial government, led by the sinister Fujiwara no Fuhito and his henchman, a renegade Oni with psychic (wizardly) powers named Karakuni no Hirotari, is trying to consolidate control over the countryside by oppression and violence. 

The bandit warlord Uokai and the Oni of Mount Kongo oppose Fujiwara and his minions. 

Miko tries to assassinate Fujiwara, but the attempt backfires. Fujiwara's soldiers attack Mount Kongo. To prevent a bloodbath, Ozuna surrenders himself as a hostage and is exiled to Izu no Shima.

As a result of Ozuna's departure, evil spirits in the old capital escape and run rampant. Fujiwara makes Miko an offer he can scarcely refuse: if he expels the spirits, his assassination attempt will be forgiven, and Ozuna's term of exile will be reduced. 

At the old capital, Miko and his friends dispel most of the spirits, but one is a fallen god, Kijimuna, who had hoped to create a country for spirits. 

This inspires Miko to organize a country for the landless peasantry, known as wanderers, inciting Fujiwara's wrath yet again.

But during the climactic battle, he crosses paths with the Moon Princess, Kaguya, whose flute playing entices and beguiles him, much to Kagami's dismay. 

When she departs for the heavens, he concludes that must realize the powers implicit in his divine origins. (Whether to bring peace to the land or to pursue Kaguya is not clear.) 

Cue the sequel series.

The use of the term Oni for the fighting monks of Mount Kongo is a bit confusing, because an actual oni has a horn on his forehead, just like Utsu no Miko. However, our hero is not a demon, even though he's known as one. Go figure.

The voice cast is large and distinguished.

• Furuya Tohru (Utsu no Miko) played the lead male roles in Kimagure Orange Road and Sailor Moon, the title roles in Casshern Sins and Kyojin no Hoshi, and recurrent roles in the Dr. Slump, Dragonball, and Mobile Suit Gundam franchises. He also starred as Kosaku  in One Pound Gospel, Niimi in Nine, Kosaku in Stop!! Hibari-kun, Beat, aka the Rabbit, in Choujikuu Romanesque Samy: Missing 99, and the title role in Bavi Stock, all Orphan releases.
• Yamada Eiko (Kagami)  played Yamazaki Tarou in Okama Hakusho, Syril in Cool Cool Bye, and Vee in Al Caral no Isan, all Orphan releases, as well asTarou in the Captain Tsubasa franchise and numerous other featured roles.
• Kinoshita Hiroyuki (Kusuri) played Ikuya in Ajin, Mugensai in Bakumatsu, Ken in Glasslip, Heizaemon in House of Five Leaves, and Fujimaki in Megalo Box.
• Yamadera Kouichi (Tsuri) played many leading roles, including Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, Sukeroku in Shouwa Ginroku Rakugo Shinju, Ryouga in all the Ranma 1/2 properties, and the nameless hero of Otaku no Seiza. He played the title role in Hashire! Melos, Benten in Oedo ga Nemurenai!, Almarick Aswaer in Nana Toshi Monogatari, Happyaku in Wild 7, Chiryuu in Bakuen Campus Guardress, Matsu in Koiko no Mainichi, and Ryouan in Hidamari no Ki, all Orphan releases.
• Hamura Kyouko (Takara) played John in Peter Pan no Bouken and appeared in Starship Troopers, Toraemon, and Hitomi no Naka no Shounen: 15 Shounen Hyouryuuki, all Orphan releases.
• Ikeda Masaru (En no Ozuna) had major roles in Yatterman and Sakura Taisen. He appeared in Don Dracula, Bagi, Greed, Kasei Yakyoku, Every Day Is Sunday, Bakumatsu no Spasibo, Techno Police 21C, Tobira o Akete, and the first Sangokushi TV special, all Orphan releases.
• Isobe Tsutomu (Karakuni no Hirotari) played Dutch in the Black Lagoon franchise, Vincent in the Cowboy Bebop movie, Harry in Gungrave, Ivan in King of Thorn, Dimsdale in Mardock Scramble, Inspector Runge in Monster, and Emperor Hadrian in Thermae Romae.
• Sakamoto Chika (Kijimuna) played Campanella in Night on the Galactic Railway, the title role in Tsuruhime, Nonoko in Tobira wo Akete, Tendonman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, and Agumon in the Digimon franchise. She appeared as Miko in Ohoshi-sama no Rail, Yasuda Yumiki in Nine, and Suzume's erstwhile love interest, Katagiri-kun, in Stop!! Hibari-kun!, all Orphan releases.
• Ishida Gentarou (Fujiwara no Fuhito) played Shikishima in Akira, Seijuurou in BIoHunter, Hanzui in Giant Robo, Wotan in Harlock Saga, Red Beard in Life of Guskou Budori, and Duke Red in Metropolis.
• Ikeda Shuichi (Uokai) played Char in Mobile Suit Gundam, Gilbert Durandal in Gundam Seed, Ulrich Kessler in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the Dragon in Naki no Ryuu, Alex in Dallos, and Azuma in Starship Troopers. The last three are Orphan releases.
  
• Hidaka Noriko (Tatarame)  played Satsuke in My Neighbor Totoro, Minami (the female lead) in Touch, Akane (the female lead) in Ranma 1/2, Peter in Peter Pan no Bouken, Mrs. Yamada (the mother) in the first two Chii anime series, Near in Death Note, and Kikyo in the Inuyasha franchise. She also played Seiko in Ichigatsu ni wa Christmas, Haruo in Senso Douwa: Yakeato no, Okashi no Ki, Yuuki in Boyfriend, Noriko in Yuukan Club, and Harumi in Mikeneko Holmes, all Orphan releases.
• Shimamoto Sumi (Nayotake no Kaguya-hime) debuted as Clarisse in The Castle of Cagliostro. She starred as Sara in Princess Sara, Nausicaa in Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Otonashi Kyouko in Maison Ikkoku, and Dayan in Neko no Dayan. She also played Shokupanman in the Soreike! Anpanman franchise, Tinkerbell in Peter Pan no Bouken, Antoinette in Reporter Blues, and Big Mama in Bakuretsu Hunter. She also played Sue in Maris the Choujo, Elice in Fire Emblem, Miss Akiko in The Girl with Blue Eyes, Suzuko and Suzu in Fire Tripper, the female lead in volume 3 of the original Heart Cocktail, the unnamed female lead in Heart Cocktail Again, and the mother in Kiku and the Wolf, all Orphan releases.
• Katou Seizou (Doushi Houki) played Nanni Spannu in Tottoi, Jashinsai in Tengai Makyou, Admiral Putyatin in Bakumatsu Spasibo, Ii Naosuke in Hidamari no Ki, Abraham in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, Norbert in Apfelland Monogatari, Hatsutori Juuzou in Kage, Billy Bones in Shin Takarajima, the old stationmaster in Sotsugyou: Graduation, and Jeigan in Fire Emblem, all Orphan releases.
• Kaneuchi Yoshio (Narrator) played President Gibson in Future War 198X, Dr Shikishima in Shin Tetsujin 28, Kouichi in Wonder Three, and the Japanese voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The director, Yoshida Kenji, has only one other credit, Cutta-kun Monogatari, which has pretty much vanished.

The impetus for this movie actually came from finding and ripping the sequel movie, Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, which summarizes the first five volumes of the OVA series. (Orphan has released it as a raw.) Perevodildo translated and timed. ninjacloud fine-timed. I edited and typeset. ImAWasteOfHair, Paul Geromini, and Topper3000 QCed. The raw is an HD Kids Station rip from heponeko. It is watermarked and, frankly, it looks like an upscale. If we find a laserdisc source (there's no DVD or Blu-ray release), we'll do a second version.

Utsu no Miko didn't really grab me. It shows its light novel origins. The characters are flat. Utsu no Miko is brave, straightforward, and rather naive. Fujiwara no Fuhito is a villain who all but twirls his mustache. The presence of Princess Kaguya is an intrusion from another story and only confuses the plot. But it has lots of action, which helps, I guess. You can get the movie from the usual torrent site or from channels #nibl or #news on irc.rizon.net.