Devil Hunter Yohko

Devil Hunter Yohko
Devil Hunter Yohko
Genre	Horror, Action, Magical Girl
Anime
Directed by	Katsuhisa Yamada, Hisashi Abe, Akiyuki Shinbo
Studio	Madhouse

Devil Hunter Yohko (魔物ハンター妖子, Mamono Hantā Yōko) is an anime series created by Madhouse, produced by Toho (the company famous for the Godzilla franchise), and published in North America by ADV Films.

Plot

Devil Hunter Yohko is about a boy-crazy sixteen year-old girl named Yohko Mano who banishes demons from the Earth. Yohko is played by Aya Hisakawa in the original Japanese dialogue. In the English dubbed version she is portrayed by Amanda Winn-Lee.

File:Mamonohunteryohko01.jpg

Devil Hunter Yohko

For centuries, the Mano family has been slaying demons. Yohko's grandmother, Madoka, is the 107th Devil Hunter, and Yohko's mother, Sayoko, would have been the 108th, but for a small hitch: A Devil Hunter must be a virgin to take on the power and responsibility. Sayoko became pregnant before Madoka could reveal the family's secrets, and so the job fell to Yohko Mano, Sayoko's daughter, who is placed as the 108th Devil Hunter. Now as a devil hunter, Yohko must face off against demons while trying to live her life as a boy-crazy schoolgirl.

Characters

• Yohko Mano

The heroine of the anime. Yohko Mano is your typical schoolgirl who is crazy for handsome guys. Her gradmother gives Yohko the responsibilty to be the 108th Devil Hunter and continue their family's legacy of Devil Hunters. She now fights as a devil hunter against demons that appear and interrupt her life and ruin her chances of over getting with the guy of her dreams.

• Azusa Kanzaki

A sidekick, or apprentice under Yohko. She is a devil hunter in training. Azusa came from a mountain village and came down seeking Yohko to be trained. She fights alongside Yohko where she can and continues to learn to become just like her master, Yohko.

• Madoka Mano

Grandmother to Yohko Mano and mother of Sayoko Mano, Yohko's mother. She was the former 107th Devil Hunter but now is too old to continue being a devil hunter, although she still has some skill and fight in her. She passes the title of Devil Hunter to Yohko to continue the family legacy.

• Sayoko Mano

Daughter of Madoka Mano and mother to Yohko Mano. She was suppose to be the 108th devil hunter but became pregnant with Yohko (Only virgins can be Devil Hunters).

• Chikako Ogawa

Yohko's best friend. Chi (her nickname) seems to have an extensive information gathering network, and tends to know about most of the happenings around the school. She usually supplies Yohko with onfo on the most handsome guys. She employs herself as Yohko's "manager" and assist Yohko where she can, although she does tend to get herself caught in the line of fire.

Items and Weapons

• Yoma Ring

The Yoma Ring been handed down through generations of the Mano family, and has been worn since the time of the very first devil hunter: Haruka Mano. The ring is required for the bearer to transform into a devil hunter. The ring actually contains with in it some bindings of the demon Tokima's power, the power to manipulate time and space. The Yoma ring seems to be able to sense other super natural phenomena.

• Soul Sword

Yohko's primary weapon as a Devil Hunter. Yohko transforms into her outfit first, and then calls upon the soul sword to fight demons. It also seems very likely that there is some sort of connection between the Yoma Ring and the Soul Sword. The sword is able to disengage the hilt from the blade, after which the remainder can be used like a short ax. Devil Hunters also have the ability to recall the blade to their hand should they drop or become separated from the sword.

• Whip of Distraction

Ayako Mano's primary weapon. When Madoka's sister, Chiaki, lost to Madoka in the fight to become the 107th devil hunter, Chiaka disappeared the next day, never to be seen again, but in the process, she steals the Whip of Distraction, another weapon belonging to the Mano family and the line of Devil Hunters. The handle of the whip is very similar to the Soul Sword. At the tip, there is a ball with three claws attached. The exact power of this item is never really stated, but Ayako Mano, Yohko's cousin, seems to be able to use the weapon to its full potential.

• Spear of Fuma

Azusa Kanzaki's primary weapon. No special attributes are shown from this weapon because of Azusa is still inexperienced and in training. It does seem to have the same feature as the Soul Sword when it needs to be recalled to the owner.

Episodes

• Episode 1

Yohko Mano is introduced. Yohko goes about her daily life; day dreaming about a cute guy named Hideki. Yohko learns that her family has a long history of being devil hunters. But this time the demons decide to take out the next devil hunter before she can fight back. After a failed attempt to take Yohko's virginity (so that she can't become a devil hunter,) the demons decide to use Hideki as bait. Yohko must become the 108th devil hunter and rescue the man of her dreams.

• Episode 2

Yohko trains to become a good devil hunter. Nearby a local construction site destroys a forest in which sleeping spirits lie. The spirits are disturbed by this and start harassing the contstruction workers. Azusa Kanzaki, a Devil Hunter in training is introduced. Azusa came to become an apprentice to Yohko. The two team up to fight against the spirits that are harrasing the workers.

• Episode 3

Yohko has a dream about a man named Master Biryu. Yohko is transported to another dimension and learns that Biryu has been imprisoned. Yohko learns that she must save Master Biryu (although she develops a crush on him). Meanwhile Azusa saw Yohko disappear, and attempts to get Yohko back with Yohko's friend, Chi. They manage to get to where Yohko is, but fail and manage to get themselves back where the started. She must fight the demon holding Master Biryu captive in order to free him.

• Episode 4

A tribute to Devil Hunter Yohko, with a collection of music videos.

• Episode 5

Madoka, Yohko's gradmother, senses the return of Tokima: the demon who from the time of the first devil hunter has been the enemy of the Mano family, is approaching. Tokima appears and possesses Ryuichi Asakura, a man who Yohko has a crush on. Tokima tricks Yohko and gets near the clock where Tokima is sealed, but is repelled by special talesmen. The next day, Madoka ends up with her past youthful body! Tokima possesses Azusa who takes the clock. Yohko fights Azusa trying to stop her from destroying the clock. Yohko is tricked and "killed". The clock is destroyed and the demons power released. Yohko is taken to the time of the very first Devil Hunter, Haruka Mano. The two go back into the future and fight against Tokima.

• Episode 6

Ayako Mano, who is nearly identical in appearance to Yohko, is introduced and has spent her life training and honing her abilities so that one day she may defeat Yohko and become the devil hunter of the Mano family, and now she is ready for the final confrontation. Yohko continues to live her life and is unaware of Ayako until she starts stealing away every guy that Yohko has a crush on.. Then one night while taking a bath, Yohko hears something out side and gives chaise. She then meets up with an Azusa look alike. She and Ayako attack unsuspecting Yohko with crushing attacks, while Yohko parries the onslaught. The fight stops, but Ayako vows to finish the fight. Madoka reveals a certain part in the past that relates to the encounter. Yohko's teacher, whom she has a crush on, is used as bait to lure Yohko. Ayako and Yohko meet face to face for the showdown (and yes, even Ayako's transformation is more naughty than Yohko's ). The fight awakens a demon who sleeps deep within the earth. The two must learn to fight together to fend off this powerful demon.

Trivia

• In the first volume, it was clearly shown that it was made for a mature audience but as it went on, it got more and more suitable for teens ( because of the occasional nudity between transformation scenes ). The original rating was 17+ but for volumes 2 and over, it changed to 13+

• As the story goes on, Yohko appears younger. In part 1, they drew her with a lot of detail, giving her a mature look. But in part 6, they use less detail and make her look more carefree.

• Devil Hunter Yohko was ADV Films' (then A.D. Vision) first VHS release. ADV co-founder, Matt Greenfield, said the reason Yohko was chosen as the first release was because he and those involved thought it would be a "solid seller" because of how racy the show was. The fact Toho had an American licensing branch was another major reason that Yohko was the first anime to be released by ADV.