Battle of Demons

Japanese media franchise

Battle of Demons

Cover of the vol. 1 of first edition novel, first published on July 31, 2007

(Hana Oni)
Genre| Fantasy,[1][2][3] romance[1]
Serial novel
Hana Oni
Written by| Risa
Illustrated by| Yone Kazuki [ja]
Published by| East Press [ja]
Imprint| Regalo
Demographic| Shōjo
Published| 2004
Volumes| 4 (+1 side story)
Live-action film
Directed by| Kōtarō Terauchi [ja]
Written by|

* Kōtarō Terauchi
* Yoshitsugu Sagami
* Takeshi Furusawa

Music by| Akiyuki Kubota
Studio| Tornado Film
Licensed by| AsianCrush
Released|

* November 24, 2009
* November 28, 2009 (2)
* December 5, 2009 (3)

Runtime|

* 95 mins.
* 80 mins. (2)
* 80 mins. (3)

Video game
Hana Oni: Koi Someru Koku Eikyū no Shirushi
Developer| Idea Factory
Genre| Dating simulation
Platform| PlayStation Portable
Released|

* JP: March 17, 2011 (2011-03-17)

Anime and manga portal

Battle of Demons (Japanese: 華鬼, Hepburn: Hana Oni; lit. "Demon of Floral Beauty") is a Japanese novel series written by Risa and illustrated by Yone Kazuki [ja].

As of 2010, the original novel series has sold over 300,000 copies in print. It was adapted into a trilogy of live-action films in 2009, and later a stage play in 2010. It was also adapted into a video game in 2011.

## Plot

[edit]

As male demons cannot produce offspring, they choose their mates by turning human girls into demons. One such girl, Kanna Asagiri, is taken to Kigasato High School on her 16th birthday to eventually become the bride of its most powerful demon and student council president, Kaki Kito. In order to protect Kanna, Mitsuaki Shizuma, Minaha Hayasaki, and Reiji Takatsuki assume the roles of her "guardian wings" and court her for her hand in marriage.

## Characters

[edit]

Kanna Asagiri (朝霧 神無, Asagiri Kanna)
Portrayed by: Rina Aizawa (film),[1] Ai Hazuki (stage play)[4]
Kanna is a 16-year-old girl forced to relocate to Kigasato to be wedded to Kaki. Though bullied throughout her life, she has managed to survive without a guardian wing since birth. By the end of the story she has a son named Tatsuki with Kaki

Kaki Kito (木籐 華鬼, Kitō Kaki)
Portrayed by: Hirofumi Araki (film),[1] Akihiro Hayashi [ja] (stage play); Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno[5]
Kaki is a 93-year-old demon with the appearance of an 18-year-old boy, and he is a student at Kigasato High School.[6]

Reiji Takatsuki (高槻 麗二, Takatsuki Reiji)
Portrayed by: Kei Hosogai (film),[1] Atsushi Arai [ja], Hiroki Suzuki (stage play); Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima[5]
Reiji has the appearance of a 24-year-old man, and he is a nurse at Kigasato High School.[6] His real age is unknown,[6] though he is approximately 400 to 500 years old.[2] He is known as the "beauty of the school infirmary" at school and is described to have beauty that surpasses gender.[6] He serves as one of Kaki's guardian wings.[6]

Mitsuaki Shizuma (士都麻 光晴, Shizuma Mitsuaki)
Portrayed by: Daisuke Watanabe (film),[1] Keisuke Hasebe [ja] (stage play); Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu[5]
Mitsuaki is a 218-year-old demon with the appearance of an 18-year-old boy, and he is a student at Kigasato High School.[6] He serves as one of Kaki's guardian wings.[6]

Minaha Hayasaki (早咲 水羽, Hayasaki Minaha)
Portrayed by: Rakuto Tochihara (film),[1] Shō Kubo [ja], Shion Tsuchiya [ja] (stage play); Voiced by: Yuki Kaji[5]
Minaha is a 34-year-old demon with the appearance of a 15-year-old boy, and he is a student at Kigasato High School.[6] He is Kanna's classmate and serves as one of Kaki's guardian wings.[6]

Hibiki Horikawa (堀川 響, Horikawa Hibiki)
Portrayed by: Ryota Murai (film),[1] Ryota Ozawa (2010), Motoki Ochiai (2011) (stage play); Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura[5]
Hibiki is a 132-year-old demon with the appearance of a 17-year-old boy, and he is a student at Kigasato High School.[6] He plans on killing Kaki and intends on using Kanna to manipulate him.[6]

Kuniichi Mitsugi (貢 国一, Mitsugi Kuniichi)
Portrayed by: Riki Miura (film),[1] Takaya Miyadera [ja] (2010), Kōsuke Kujirai (2011) (stage play); Voiced by: Kentarō Itō[5]
Kuniichi is a 221-year-old demon with the appearance of an 18-year-old boy, and he is a student at Kigasato High School.[6] He is one of Kaki's former guardian wings.[6]

Moegi Sahara (佐原 もえぎ, Sahara Moegi)
Portrayed by: Yukie Kawamura (film);[1] Voiced by: Saya Shinomiya [ja]
Moegi is Reiji's current bride, and they have been married for the past 20 years with no children.[2] She is caring and supportive towards Kanna. In the video game adaptation, she is the bride of Reiji's son, and she has a father-daughter relationship with Reiji instead.

Momoko Tosazuka (土佐塚 桃子, Tosazuka Momoko)
Portrayed by: Ai Kago (film),[1] Haruna Mitamura [ja] (stage play); Voiced by: Jun Miruno [ja]
Momoko is Kanna's classmate and only friend.[3] She was also originally the bride of a demon, but the demon rejected her in favor of her more attractive sister.[3] Because of this, she resents Kanna for what she perceives as her being pampered and courted by four of the top demons at school. Momoko teams up with Hibiki with the intention of hurting Kanna, but she later learns the error of her ways.[3] She eventually falls in love with Hibiki and they have a son named Kyoya together.

Shikiko Ejima (江島 四季子, Ejima Shikiko)
Portrayed by: Yukari Taki (film), Yui Miura [ja] (stage play); Voiced by: Naomi Iida [ja]
Shihiko is Kanna's classmate who resents her for capturing Kaki's attention.

## Media

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### Novels

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Hana Oni is written by Risa. It was originally serialized on the original fiction website, Koheya no Komado (小部屋の小窓; lit. "The Little Window in the Little Room"), since 2004.[7] It later received a print publication by East Press [ja] under the Regalo imprint, with illustrations provided by Yone Kazuki [ja] from Design Factory.[8] In 2017, Kodansha re-released the series in bunkoban format under the Kodansha Bunko imprint.[7]

No. | Japanese release date  | Japanese ISBN

|
|

1|  July 31, 2007 (2007-07-31) (East Press)[8]
September 13, 2017 (2017-09-13) (Kodansha)[7]| 978-4-87-257795-2 (East Press)
ISBN 978-4-06-293637-8 (Kodansha)
2|  October 18, 2008 (2008-10-18) (East Press)[9]
October 13, 2017 (2017-10-13) (Kodansha)[10]| 978-4-87-257983-3 (East Press)
ISBN 978-4-06-293752-8 (Kodansha)
3|  April 16, 2009 (2009-04-16) (East Press)[11]
April 13, 2018 (2018-04-13) (Kodansha)[12]| 978-4-78-160103-8 (East Press)
ISBN 978-4-06-293873-0 (Kodansha)
4|  July 16, 2009 (2009-07-16) (East Press)[13]
May 15, 2018 (2018-05-15) (Kodansha)[14]| 978-4-78-160181-6 (East Press)
ISBN 978-4-06-293874-7 (Kodansha)

#### Spin-off

[edit]

In addition to the main series, Risa released a spin-off novel titled Hana Oni: Shūen to Hajimari no Otome.[15]

No. | Title  | Japanese release date  | Japanese ISBN

|
|
|

1| Hana Oni: Shūen to Hajimari no Otome (華鬼 終焉とはじまりの乙女)| March 9, 2011 (2011-03-09) (East Press)[15]| 978-4-78-160583-8 (East Press)

### Film

[edit]

In 2009, Tornado Film produced a trilogy titled Hana Oni: Trilogy (華鬼 三部作, Hana Oni: Sanbusaku). The first film, subtitled Kaki × Kanna (華鬼×神無編, Kaki to Kanna-hen), premiered on November 24, 2009 at Odaiba Cinema Mediage.[16] The second film, subtitled Reiji × Moegi (麗二×もえぎ編, Reiji to Moegi-hen), premiered on November 28, 2009 at Marunouchi Toei 2.[17] The third film, subtitled Hibiki × Momoko (響×桃子編, Hibiki to Momoko-hen), premiered on December 5, 2009 at Marunouchi Toei 2.[18]

In 2019, AsianCrush licensed the films under the title Battle of Demons in English for non-Asian regions. The second and third films were retitled Battle of Demons 2 and Battle of Demons 3 respectively.[citation needed]

### Stage play

[edit]

A stage play adaptation ran in July 2010, starring then 14-year-old Ai Hazuki.[4] The play had a second run in March 2011, with Hiroki Suzuki, Shion Tsuchiya [ja], Motoki Ochiai, Kōsuke Kujirai as new cast replacements.[19]

### Video game

[edit]

A video game adaptation titled Hana Oni: Koi Someru Koku Eikyū no Shirushi (華鬼 ～恋い初める刻 永久の印～; lit. "Demon of Floral Beauty: The Time When You Start Falling in Love") was produced by Idea Factory under their Otomate label. Yone Kazuki [ja], who provided the illustrations to the original novel series, also provided artwork for the game. The game was released on the PlayStation Portable on March 17, 2011 as a visual novel dating simulation.[20][21] A fan disc sequel titled Hana Oni: Yume no Tsuzuki (華鬼 ～夢のつづき～; lit. "Demon of Floral Beauty: The Dream Continues") was released on March 22, 2012 for the PlayStation Portable.[6] Hana Oni: Yume no Tsuzuki sold 8,023 copes on its first week of release.[22]

An audio drama CD featuring an original story was released on May 18, 2011, with the game's cast reprising their roles.[20] A second drama CD was released on January 18, 2012.[5][23]

## Reception

[edit]

As of April 2010, over 300,000 physical copies of the book series have been sold.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "華鬼 三部作～華鬼×神無編". Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
2. ^ a b c "華鬼 三部作～麗二×もえぎ編". Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 28, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
3. ^ a b c d "華鬼 三部作～響×桃子編". Cinema Today (in Japanese). December 5, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
4. ^ a b c Kawaguchi, Midori (April 16, 2010). "舞台『華鬼』キャスト発表ファン交流イベントを開催". Animate (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
5. ^ a b c d e f g "『華鬼 ～恋い初める刻 永久の印～』ドラマCD最新作が発売". Animate (in Japanese). January 18, 2012. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "華鬼 ～夢のつづき～". PlayStation (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
7. ^ a b c "華鬼". Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
8. ^ a b "華鬼". East Press [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.+[ja]&rft.atitle=華鬼&rft_id=https://www.eastpress.co.jp/goods/detail/9784872577952&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Demons" class="Z3988">
9. ^ "華鬼2". East Press [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.+[ja]&rft.atitle=華鬼2&rft_id=https://www.eastpress.co.jp/goods/detail/9784872579833&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Demons" class="Z3988">
10. ^ "華鬼2". Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
11. ^ "華鬼3". East Press [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.+[ja]&rft.atitle=華鬼3&rft_id=https://www.eastpress.co.jp/goods/detail/9784781601038&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Demons" class="Z3988">
12. ^ "華鬼3". Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
13. ^ "華鬼4". East Press [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.+[ja]&rft.atitle=華鬼4&rft_id=https://www.eastpress.co.jp/goods/detail/9784781601816&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Demons" class="Z3988">
14. ^ "華鬼4". Kodansha (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
15. ^ a b "華鬼". East Press [ja] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.+[ja]&rft.atitle=華鬼&rft_id=https://www.eastpress.co.jp/goods/detail/9784781605838&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Battle+of+Demons" class="Z3988">
16. ^ "注目イケメン荒木宏文、「ロリコンじゃないので……」発言にファンも爆笑！". Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
17. ^ "川村ゆきえ、妖艶なお色気発散！バラ柄ミニスカドレスで登場し共演イケメンにツッコミまくり！". Cinema Today (in Japanese). November 28, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
18. ^ "加護亜依、調子にのるイケメン俳優を「バッカじゃないの！」とバッサリ！". Cinema Today (in Japanese). December 5, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
19. ^ "フレッシュな面子が勢揃い！舞台「華鬼」全出演者決定！". DHE (in Japanese). February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021 – via PR Times.
20. ^ a b "「華鬼 ～恋い初める刻 永久の印～」ドラマCD発売。キャストコメント到着". 4gamer (in Japanese). May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
21. ^ "華鬼 ～恋い初める刻 永久の印～". PlayStation (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
22. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 28, 2012). "Kid Icarus, Latest Yakuza Game Sell 100,000+ in 1st Week". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
23. ^ "『華鬼 ～恋い初める刻 永久の印～』ドラマCD最新作が発売――キャストコメントも掲載". Famitsu (in Japanese). January 18, 2012. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.

## External links

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* Official website of the film adaptation (in Japanese)
* Hana Oni: Koi Someru Koku Eikyū no Shirushi

*[lit.]: literal translation
*[No.]: Number