BLUE SEED

A Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuzo Takada. The plot is based on the Izumo cycle of Japanese mythology and the tale of the god Susanoo and the eight-headed monster Yamata no Orochi. The main character, Momiji Fujimiya, is a descendant of the mythical Princess Kushinada (奇稲田姫 Kushinada-hime?). When Japan is menaced by Aragami (荒神 Aragami?, lit. "angry gods") spawned by Yamato-no-Orochi, Momiji is intended to be sacrificed to appease the Aragami. She instead, however, becomes a member of the Terrestrial Administration Center (TAC), a secret agency charged with fighting them. Ashi Productions and Production I.G. created an anime adaptation for broadcast on Japan's TV Tokyo. The anime series ran for 26 episodes, originally airing from October 5, 1994, to March 29, 1995. An original video animation (OVA), Blue Seed Beyond (or Blue Seed 2 in Japan), was released in three episode between 1996 and 1998. Both the anime and OVA were licensed by ADV Films in the United States.

Plot
Momiji Fujimiya thought she was just an ordinary high school student. One day, she is confronted on her way to school by a cat-eyed man with blue magatama beads embedded in his hands, who then attempts to kill her. Momiji is confused and terrified this strange man's sudden desire to kill her; he also refers to her as Kushinada, confusing her even further. Momiji is saved by the sudden appearance of two government officials, one of whom shoots the man in the arm and sends him fleeing. Momiji is intrigued as to why she was referred to as "Kushinada". She discovers that "Kushinada" refers to an ancient princess whose blood holds the power to stop the ancient monsters known as Aragami by sending them to an eternal sleep. Momiji dismisses the idea that she could be such a person, despite the fact she lives with her mother and grandmother in a shrine in Izumo. However, she soon changes her mind after vines begin to appear from every crack and opening attempting to capture her as they whisper "Kushinada". Momiji tries to escape, not knowing that the vines are being employed by a powerful Aragami known as Orochi. Fortunately, she is saved by the man with the magatamas embedded into his hands, who introduces himself as Mamoru Kusanagi. He confronts Orochi using Momiji as bait. The plan fails and the government officials appear again. They reveal themselves to be members of the Terrestrial Administration Center (TAC for short), and manage to subdue Orochi. However, with the last of its strength, it makes a final attempt on Kusanagi. Momiji saves Kusanagi by taking Orochi's blow. Impaled by the Aragami, instead of dying, she is instead fused with the magatama, more specifically identified as a mitama, which gives Momiji the ability to sense the presence of other Aragami. The TAC agents explain that they are an organization dedicated to defeating the Aragami, who seek to destroy humanity. The current Kushinada, Momiji, must aid them because the other Kushinada, Momiji's twin sister, is now dead. Momiji, wishing to discover more about the twin sister she never knew and also to fulfill her destiny, agrees to join the TAC under the protection of Kusanagi, who wishes to destroy his former masters, the Aragami. The story becomes increasingly complex with the appearance of Murakumo, a man with eight mitamas who kills any Aragami he comes across for his own personal reasons. Kusanagi repeatedly attempts to kill Murakumo. Kaede Kunikida reappears along with a strange energy field in Tokyo, and Murakumo and Kaede's plans soon become clear - they intend to resurrect the god Susanoo and purify the world of humanity's influences, with Kaede acting as the leader of the movement. There is also a three episode OVA, Blue Seed Beyond, which takes place two years after the end of the TV series. It concerns what seems to be a resurgence of aragami (actually created via biotechnology), and introduces a new character, Valencia Tachibana. Like Kusanagi, she was implanted with a mitama without turning into a full aragami.