Ceres, Celestial Legend, known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. It was originally serialized in Shōgakukan's magazine Shōjo Comic from May 1996 to March 2000, with its chapters collected in 14 volumes. The manga was licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. The series follows a high school girl, who learns on her sixteenth birthday that she is the reincarnation of an ancient and supremely powerful celestial maiden or angel (tennyo) named Ceres, and her twin brother Aki the reincarnation of Ceres' former husband, Mikagi, is the progenitor of the Mikage family, who had stolen Ceres' robe. Ceres' spirit begins manifesting in Aya, and to save her brother she must find Ceres' long-lost celestial robe, while fighting against her family members who want to use Ceres's supreme celestial abilities for their own personal gain.
Pierrot adapted the series into a 24-episode anime television series, broadcast on Wowow from April to September 2000. The anime series was also licensed by Viz, but has since been re-licensed by Discotek Media.
In 1998, Ceres, Celestial Legend won the 43rd Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōjo category.
Plot High school siblings Aya Mikage and her older twin brother, Aki, are forced to go to their grandfather's home for their sixteenth birthday, unaware that it is actually a test to see if they have angel or celestial maiden blood possess within them. Aya learns she is one of many reincarnations of a vengeful and supremely powerful celestial maiden named Ceres who takes over her mind and body only when under intense stress or fury. When she transforms into Ceres, Aya obtains supernatural abilities of flight, teleportation, telepathy, powerful telekinesis, premonition, and superhuman speed. She can also project destructive pink energy blasts from her hands, and create impenetrable shields of bright pink-colored celestial energy. According to legend, Ceres will ultimately exterminate the entire Mikage family in retaliation for stealing her hagoromo (celestial robe), thus preventing her returning home to Heaven. Because of this, Aya's paternal grandfather and his clan attempt to kill her, but she is saved by Suzumi Aogiri, another descendant of a heavenly maiden with incredibly strong celestial and mental abilities of her own, and Suzumi's teenage brother-in-law, Yūhi. Aya struggles to control Ceres' influence over her and appease her spirit once and for all. Her brother Aki is eventually completely taken over by the vengeful spirit of "Shiso Mikagi", the original ancestor/progenitor of the entire Mikage family and Ceres's former lover who stole Ceres' celestial robe (or "mana"), forcing her to stay with him on Earth. Aya promises Ceres that she will help her find the celestial robe in exchange for not killing those who hunt her, especially Aki, since Aya still loves them as family. It is revealed (in Episode 7, "Celestial Awakening") that "The Hagoromo Legend" exists in not just Japan, but also in Europe, Africa, all three regions of Oceania, Germany, China, Korea, Russia, and even the United States.
Toya, a former servant of the Mikage family and with no recollection of his past for whom Aya has strong romantic feelings is also trying to kill her as well. However, the two eventually begins to have romantic feelings for each other and they conceive a child together. Toya regains his memory and learns that he is an immortal humanoid organism, also known as the "manna", that the celestial robe created to help itself reunite with Ceres and enable her to reach her full evolution as a celestial maiden. In the end, Aki, having resisted Mikagi's spirit, sacrifices himself to save Aya, and Toya sacrifices his own manna and immortality to save Aya and their unborn child. Months later, Aya and Toya await the birth of their child, knowing that Toya will have to live the remainder of his life as a mortal, although Toya reveals that he will live longer, for his new family's sake.
Characters
A sixteen-year-old high school girl. She is a direct descendant and reincarnation of a Tennin named Ceres, who uses her as a medium for existence. The Mikage family considers Ceres a threat and continuously tries to take Aya's life. Aya is horrified but determined to right the past wrongs of her family and recover Ceres' hagoromo so that her family will no longer suffer in fear of her. She falls in love with Toya, and they conceive a child together. In the sequel Episode of Miku, Aya gives birth to a girl named Miku and, three years later, a boy named Aki-(Miku's younger brother), who is the look-alike reincarnation of her late twin brother. She initially has long blonde hair, light blue eyes and wears a small pair of red earrings that she had given to her brother. During her depression and her confrontation with Miori, her long hair is cut short but later grows into shoulder-length until the end of the anime; her last name-(Mikage) stands for "honorable shadow".
A powerful Tennyo (celestial maiden or "angel") from myth who had hesitantly married Mikagi, the founder of the Mikage family. While she is supremely powerful and volatile, she needs her hagoromo (celestial robe) to recover her true form and full abilities. She has repeatedly attempted to manifest herself through certain female descendants of her bloodline when they reach the age of sixteen. Because her tragic past was misinterpreted by her descendants, her female reincarnations are relentlessly killed by the Mikage family.
Aya's main love interest in the series. He is a mysterious young man who has absolutely no memory of his past or his true nature; his only clues are two names: "Toya" ("ten nights", his name), and "Mikage"-(which according to episode 8 means "honorable shadow"). He originally works for Mikage International until he fell in love with Aya, rebelling against them to protect her. It is later revealed that he met Aya when she was a six-year-old child. Toya is the embodiment/offspring of the hagoromo of Ceres. He sacrifices the manna bestowed upon him by the celestial robe to give him immortality, saving Aya and protecting their two young children, Miku and Aki. He has pale white skin, brownish red hair, green eyes and is often seen wearing clip-on earrings on both his ears. His fighting outfit is a long forest green coat with a navy blue crop top, along with matching pants and black monk strap shoes; his weapon of choice is a gold and silver Victorian styled dagger capable of shooting out a power red beam that can destroy anything in his path, and a small MP5K machine gun. Towards in the end of the anime after being revived by the celestial robe and protecting Aya from Mikagi, Toya wears the same button shirt and jeans when he meets Aya as a child but is black and gray.
Aya's twin brother. He is a gentle and caring person who becomes a medium for the spirit of Mikagi, the founder of the Mikage family. Mikagi in Aki's body aggressively pursues Aya and Ceres, and almost rapes Aya. In the end Aki sacrifices his life to destroy the violent and hateful spirit. In the sequel Episode of Miku, he is reborn as Aya and Toya's second child Aki, and Miku's younger brother. The uniform at his and Aya's previous school-(Sarashina High School) was a white polo shirt with an aqua marine vest and a grey skirt/pants.
A widow and a C-Genomer (Tennin descendant) from the Kansai region, Suzumi is the head of a branch of one of the Aogiri family's schools of Japanese dance. She welcomes Aya into her household when she discovers Aya has become Ceres' latest medium. Suzumi cannot become a Tennin like Aya, though she does possess some psychic/psionic abilities, such as clairvoyance, premonition, and powerful telekinesis. She is capable of making protective celestial amulets that possess enormous power.
The adopted younger brother of Suzumi's deceased husband Kazuma. Early in the series, he wears a red colored headband enhanced with strong Tennin magic made by Suzumi, designating him Aya's bodyguard. He has a strong unrequited love for Aya. Though attracted to Yūhi, Aya ultimately comes to see him as a close friend on a strictly platonic level, and Yūhi is able to accept the fact that Aya only loves Toya. Later, he begins to care deeply for Chidori Kuruma. A notable martial arts expert, he is also an extraordinary cook which had learned from his mother. His two main outfits are a grey and yellow gakuran school uniform, and a grayish blue judogi, his main weapon is a pair of silver combat chopsticks.
The Aogiri's household help, "Mrs. Q" is a gnome-like woman known for her reckless driving and ridiculously ugly appearance, despite her consistent claims that she is a beautiful woman. She's convinced that she and Toya are made for each other.
A C-Genomer from Tochigi Prefecture, Chidori is a cheerful high school girl who looks and acts childlike until she transforms into a Tennin. She cares very deeply for her younger brother, Shota, who was hospitalized upon her introduction into the story. She can transform into a Tennin at will or whenever she gets mad or upset. She seems to have developed deep romantic feelings for her crush Yūhi, and later dies for his sake just as she is about to confess that she had always cared for him. The Mikage scientists identify Chidori's Tennin type as Pallas. She has wavy salmon pink hair that is often worn in two pigtails; her school uniform is a periwinkle colored blazer with a red tie, a navy blue skirt, and wears black socks with brown shoes.
A high school girl and a C-Genomer who goes the same school as Yūhi and Aya. She is quiet and has a weak constitution, so she can't transform into a Tennin, but she can manifest pyrokinesis. She has a relationship with her teacher Mr. Hayama, who is actually an agent sent by Mikage International to capture and eliminate Aya and Ceres. In the end, Urakawa burns the agent with her powers and hugs him, causing the fire to kill her as well. She wears a sailor styled school uniform that is red and yellow, complete with a grey bow tie, white socks and black shoes.
Aya's distant cousin and a C-Genomer from Shizuoka Prefecture. She was Toya's lover in a fake past that Kagami implanted in him who was mostly known as . She is an ordinary high school student of the co-ed Kaisei High School living a normal, happy life with her mother, until her mother was summoned by the Mikages and killed at the main house when Aya first transformed into Ceres. She pretends to be a friend of Aya when she transfers to her school, and transforms into a Tennin to take on Aya (as Ceres) and avenge her mother's death. She later kills herself in front of a huge crowd, to make a final act of "revenge" against Aya. Miori is identified by the Mikage scientists as possessing the same Tennin type as Aya. Her school uniform has a silver colored blazer with a black skirt, and a red ribbon.
An Okinawan C-Genomer, Shuro was raised as a man by her family out of a fear that she would one day take away the family's heirloom, Ceres' hagoromo, and ascend to heaven. She is GeSANG's famous pop star alongside her cousin Kei Tsukasa, who she is in love with. She dies near the end of the series during her "farewell" concert while attempting to free the C-Genomes. Shuro has the ability to magnify her voice to an amplitude that can rupture a person's heart when she transforms into a Tennin. Mikage scientists identify her as Tennin type Juno.