Bought this series because of its pretty covers, so call me shallow, but you'll understand why after you see them yourself in the gallery page. This series isn't completed, the last tankoubun was released last June (98), and I don't think it would end until a few more volumes. I'm going to include a detailed volume by volume summary soon, so make sure you check this page soon.

Okily, historical background to get you started, sit up nice and straight while I lecture on. This manga was based on the legend of Ushiwakamaru. If any of you are a fan of Urusei Yatsura, you might remember seeing a scene where there was a battle on a bridge, anyway this was where the base of that particular scene comes from, but I digress... In the legend, Ushiwakamaru fought on top of a bridge with Benkei, a famous warrior monk. Benkei planned to challenge 1000 warriors who come across the bridge and took their sword as trophy as well as to pay his own crusade against the Taira family. He managed to obtain 999 swords when he came across Ushiwakamaru who defeated him. From then on Benkei became Ushiwakamaru's faithful servant for the rest of his life.

In the manga, Ushiwakamaru was a girl, from the books I can get my hands on, Ushiwakamaru did possessed feminine features, so it was only convenient (and extremely interesting) that Ueda sensei turns this character into a female. The fight between Benkei and Ushiwakamaru was never fully concluded, in the manga Ushiwakamaru fell from a cliff, and was transported into the hip and happening 1990's. Benkei in hot pursuit went down the same cliff and found himself in the future as well. Meanwhile the unconscious Ushiwakamaru was found by a detective who adopted her and renamed her Ryo, replacing his dead daughter of the same name who died in accident at a young age. Ryo never questioned the validity of her own identity, as she lost her own memory. For two years Ryo lived a normal teenage girl's life, it wasn't until a school excursion to Kyoto to see ironically enough the famous bridge and statues of Ushiwakamaru and Benkei that she met Benkei for the second time.

Benkei followed her and challenged her a second time, this time being at Ryo's grandfather's dojo. Benkei still believed that Ushiwakamaru was a man, it came as a shock to him to discover that Ryo was in fact female. It came as an even bigger shock when she defeated him. From that, time on Benkei had pledged himself to be her faithful follower much to Ryo's initial dismay. Benkei tried to convince Ryo that she in fact was the legendary Ushiwakamaru. It wasn't until a guest came over to Ryo's house that the truth of her past was finally told by Ryo's family. Ryo gradually realised that she could no longer belong to her new world and decided to return to the cliff in order to return to the past ie the Heian period. This was really, where everything starts, Ryo must return back to her life as a boy, trying to help her family fight against the Taira family, while hiding the fact she was female.

I'm still waiting for the story to unfold so check here for further update, I think I'm going to put a short description of each volume soon. The plot is incredibly complex and finely detailed, this is perhaps the most ambitious project Ueda had eever done. I'm falling in love with each of the charachters and I have no idea what's going to happen next.

For extra information please take a look at the following link:

http://www.sirius.com/~cowpunk/JCDAMm.html#anchorMINAMOTONOYOSHITSUNE

Ryo
Otherwise known as Ushiwakamaru or later on Yotshisune no Minamoto. Had to hide her gender or risk being killed as a child. Ushiwakamaru was a very repressed girl, who adopted a macho attitude to live, unlike the gentler Ryo. The conflict between the two characters in one person tore Ryo apart, to a point where she find herself acting like Ushiwakamaru before shifting to Ryo again.

Benkai
A warrior monk who went on a journey as a penance for not being able to protect his betrothed Uta during a raid by the Taira family. Pledged his life to protecting Ryo. He's almost 2 metre tall with a built to match, his favorite weapon being his trusty nagigata.

Aoi
Ryo's childhood friend, he was shocked to discover the real "Ryo" died, since his family moved away when it happened. He helped protect Ryo and Benkai from Ryo's father during their flight to the cliff. Followed Ryo loyally to the past, as a friend.

Torako
Benkai's ex-lover in the future, did I mention since he couldn't collect swords in the future he aimed for collecting 1000 women instead? :) Torako's very fond of Benkai, enough to follow his down the cliff and into the past anyhow. A lovely lady with a nasty temper she becomes a good companion to Ryo.

Koremori
Comes from the Taira clan, extremely handsome and charming. He meet Ryo by accident when she was still wearing boys clothes. Koremori is a rather complex charachter, I think he's genuinely in love with Ryo to the point of obsession, and it's sad to see she doesn't return his affection. He's perhaps the only noble man in his whole family. In the first few scene of the manga his hair was black, then suddenly it turned blond and stayed blond for the duration of the manga..hmmm.
There are heaps more minor charachters but I think I'll include it later.

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