TV-Series
Description
"Ayashi no Ceres" is a supernatural romance anime based on the manga by Yuu Watase. The narrative centers on Aya Mikage, a teenage girl who discovers on her 16th birthday that she is the reincarnation of Ceres, a celestial maiden from Japanese mythology. Ceres was betrayed by her mortal lover and sealed away by the Mikage family, who sought to harness her divine powers. Aya’s twin brother, Aki, is revealed to be the reincarnation of Ceres’ betrayer, and he becomes a vessel for the malevolent spirit of the celestial maiden’s enemy, seeking to eliminate Ceres once again.
The Mikage family, a powerful and secretive organization, aims to exploit Ceres’ powers for their own gain, leading to a conflict between Aya and her family. Aya is determined to protect her identity and resist the family’s control, while Ceres, who occasionally takes over Aya’s body, seeks vengeance against those who wronged her. The story explores themes of identity, betrayal, and the struggle for autonomy as Aya navigates her dual existence and the dangerous forces surrounding her.
Key characters include Toya, a mysterious young man with a tragic past who becomes Aya’s protector and love interest. His connection to Ceres and his own supernatural abilities add complexity to the narrative. Other significant figures include Yuuhi, a childhood friend of Aya and Aki, who becomes entangled in the family’s schemes, and Suzumi, a member of the Mikage family who aids Aya in her fight. The series blends elements of mythology, romance, and action, with a focus on the emotional and psychological struggles of its characters as they confront their intertwined fates.
The Mikage family, a powerful and secretive organization, aims to exploit Ceres’ powers for their own gain, leading to a conflict between Aya and her family. Aya is determined to protect her identity and resist the family’s control, while Ceres, who occasionally takes over Aya’s body, seeks vengeance against those who wronged her. The story explores themes of identity, betrayal, and the struggle for autonomy as Aya navigates her dual existence and the dangerous forces surrounding her.
Key characters include Toya, a mysterious young man with a tragic past who becomes Aya’s protector and love interest. His connection to Ceres and his own supernatural abilities add complexity to the narrative. Other significant figures include Yuuhi, a childhood friend of Aya and Aki, who becomes entangled in the family’s schemes, and Suzumi, a member of the Mikage family who aids Aya in her fight. The series blends elements of mythology, romance, and action, with a focus on the emotional and psychological struggles of its characters as they confront their intertwined fates.
Episodes
Staffel 1
1The Nameless Child
Aya Mikage and her twin brother Aki turn sixteen,the age at which their wealthy grandfather, Mikage, summons them to the family estate under the guise of a birthday celebration. Upon arrival, the siblings witness the Mikage family’s ritualistic reverence for a preserved celestial robe, a relic their grandfather claims descended from a celestial maiden. Mikage orders Aya and Aki to submit to a genetic examination, revealing his true intent: the family has awaited a generation with sufficient celestial blood to unlock the robe’s power. When Aya touches the robe, it disintegrates and merges with her, triggering a violent transformation. Mikage immediately orders her death, but Aya manifests superhuman abilities, shielding herself and injuring several guards. Fearing her newfound power, Aki steps between Aya and their grandfather, trying to defuse the situation. Mikage seizes Aki and stabs him, using the injury to coerce Aya into surrendering. Desperate to save her brother, Aya agrees to enter a sealed chamber where Mikage plans to extract the celestial DNA from her body. The episode closes with Aya imprisoned in the laboratory, her brother’s life hanging in the balance, and Mikage’s scientists preparing invasive procedures on her.
2The Power
Aya Mikage awakens inside the Mikage estate under constant surveillance. Her grandfather,Shinichiro Mikage, orders scientists to run tests on her body, seeking to extract the celestial power she inherited from Ceres. Aya’s mother, Aki’s mother, and the household staff treat her as a specimen rather than family. Aya repeatedly demands to leave, but guards block every exit. During a medical examination, a nurse’s needle triggers Aya’s defensive instincts; her hand releases a burst of energy that shatters the equipment. Shinichiro witnesses the event and intensifies the security around her. That night, a young man named Tooya appears at her window and offers to help her escape. He explains he works for a group that opposes the Mikage family’s pursuit of celestial powers. Aya hesitates but follows him when guards breach her room. They flee through the compound’s underground passages, but Shinichiro’s men corner them at the exit. Tooya reveals he possesses a similar supernatural ability, using it to disable the guards. Aya’s own power activates again, lashing out uncontrollably and wounding one of the attackers. The escape succeeds, but Aya sees the destruction she caused and realizes her abilities pose a direct threat to anyone nearby. Shinichiro, watching from a monitor, calmly declares that he will retrieve Ceres’ vessel by any means necessary. The episode closes with Aya and Tooya reaching a temporary hideout, where Tooya states that the group opposing the Mikage family now expects her to fight alongside them.
3Episode 3
Aya Mikage remains confined within the Mikage estate under her brother Aki’s supervision. She attempts to flee but security personnel intercept her. Yuuhi,a guard assigned to her, provides food and conversation, yet he follows Aki’s orders. Aki visits Aya and reveals his intent to extract the celestial robes that Ceres once wore, believing the power will secure the Mikage family’s legacy. When Aya’s distress triggers Ceres’ emergence, she attacks Aki with supernatural force. Aki activates a handheld device that emits a piercing frequency, forcing Ceres to recede. Aya regains consciousness to find herself restrained and her brother unharmed. Yuuhi watches the event with a conflicted expression, hinting at his own hidden motives. Aya recognizes that Aki has abandoned their sibling bond in pursuit of control over Ceres. The episode closes with Aya trapped in her gilded prison, uncertain whether she can trust Yuuhi or resist Aki’s escalating demands.
4Episode 4
Aki arrives at the Mikage family estate,where his sister Aya remains imprisoned inside a suspended cage. The family head, Aki’s grandfather, orders Aya’s confinement to prevent the celestial maiden Ceres from manifesting again. Aki demands Aya’s release, but his grandfather refuses, citing Ceres as a danger to the family’s survival. Aki’s determination to protect Aya overrides his grandfather’s authority. Aki reveals he carries a dragon’s claw, a family heirloom, and attempts to use its power to break the cage. The grandfather activates a security barrier, and guards move to surround Aki. When Aki tries to free Aya, the barrier’s energy injures him, causing Aya to transform into Ceres in response to his pain. Ceres tears through the guards and charges at the family head, who retreats behind his barrier. Tooya, a C-Project agent, steps in and applies a seal that forces Ceres back into Aya’s unconscious body. Aki escapes the estate carrying Aya. The family head orders Tooya to pursue them, and Tooya accepts with an unreadable expression.
5Unmei no Akai Ito
Aya and Yuuhi enter the Mikage estate at night to find Aki. Tooya intercepts them in the garden and declares he will not allow them to leave. He reveals a red thread connecting his finger to Aya’s,stating it binds them as destined partners. Aya’s celestial robe activates without her control, forming a barrier that repels Tooya’s attack. Yuuhi slashes the thread with a knife, breaking the connection and freeing Aya from its influence. Tooya retreats but warns that the bond will reform and that Aya belongs to him. Inside the mansion, Aki undergoes an examination by Mikage scientists who confirm his C-Genome status. Suzumi, the Mikage matriarch, orders Aki transferred to a secure research facility. Aya and Yuuhi flee the estate with Aki’s location unknown, their alliance with Tooya shattered. Aya realizes her power remains unpredictable and that Tooya now considers her an enemy. The red thread re-emerges on her finger as Yuuhi looks on, signaling Tooya’s claim remains active.
6Akira's Feelings
Akira Tokiwa deactivates the surveillance system in the Mikage Corporation’s C-Project facility and leads Aya to a restricted archive room. He retrieves files detailing his own past as a test subject and the death of his sister during a failed experiment. Aya listens but presses him for information about her twin brother Aki’s location. C-Project agents mobilize to recapture Aya,triggering a facility-wide lockdown. Akira destroys the experimental data servers, severing his ties to the organization, and escapes with Aya through a maintenance shaft. Outside, agents corner them; Aya tries to summon Ceres’s power but fails to control it. When an agent points a gun at Akira, Aya’s fear and rage unleash a burst of celestial energy that violently throws the agents back. Akira witnesses the uncontrollable force emerging from her and recognizes the same danger that consumed his sister. He vows to remain beside Aya, not only to shield her from the Mikage family but also to prevent her power from destroying her. They resume their search for Aki, now hunted by a reinforced C-Project unit and a newly assigned investigator who specializes in eliminating rogue agents.
7Celestial Awakening
Aya experiences disturbing visions that show her a girl trapped in a burning building. She follows these images to a school where she rescues a student named Urakawa from a fire and takes her to the nurse's office. Toya appears there,disguised as the school doctor, having infiltrated the facility under orders from the Mikage family. Aya expresses joy at seeing him, but Toya responds with cold detachment, stating he only came because his masters commanded it. Urakawa reveals herself as a C-Genome, an artificial being created by the Mikage family using celestial maiden genetic material. The Mikage designed her to serve as a weapon. Urakawa loses control over her implanted celestial powers and engulfs the school in flames. Aya becomes trapped in the spreading smoke and loses consciousness. Toya abandons his mission protocol and rushes into the fire to pull Aya to safety. His actions place him in direct opposition to the Mikage family's objectives. The incident confirms that the Mikage family continues to manufacture C-Genomes as disposable tools to capture Ceres, forcing Aya to confront the full extent of her enemies' resources and cruelty.
8The Mikage conspiracy
9The angel's promise
10The Light of Reunion
Aya and Aki take refuge at a rural temple,but Aki’s C-Genome spirals out of control, twisting his body into a monstrous form. Mikage patriarch Hiroshi Tokimiya dispatches armed agents to seize the siblings, intending to use Aki as the final vessel for the progenitor. Tooya arrives ahead of the Mikage forces and confronts Aki, striking to subdue him without killing. Aya throws herself between them, activating her own tennyo powers to create a barrier that calms Aki’s transformation. Aki regains lucidity long enough to see the danger he poses to Aya and voluntarily surrenders to the Mikage agents in exchange for her safety. Hiroshi accepts the exchange and orders Aki bound and transported to the Mikage main house. Aya collapses from the strain of using her power, and Tooya carries her away from the temple grounds. After regaining consciousness, Aya resolves to infiltrate the Mikage estate alone, but Tooya insists on accompanying her. They approach the main gate, where security forces open fire. Tooya deflects the bullets with his sword, and they advance into the compound. Aya now faces the task of penetrating the family’s inner stronghold to rescue Aki before the progenitor’s transfer is completed.
11Episode 11
Aki and Ceres hide in an abandoned church to evade the Mikage family’s search teams. Toya Mikage arrives with a squad of armed agents and demands Ceres’s immediate surrender. Aki steps forward and engages Toya in hand-to-hand combat. Toya reveals that he knows Aki’s identity as the former Mikage heir who fled the family years ago. Aki lands several strikes,but Toya’s enhanced body absorbs the blows without injury. Toya pins Aki to the ground and orders his men to seize Ceres. Ceres’s C-Genome activates spontaneously, releasing a concussive blast that hurls Toya across the church and shatters the surrounding walls. The explosion gives Aki the opening to break free and pull Ceres away. They escape into the forest while Toya regains his footing and commands a pursuit. Aki understands that Toya intends to deliver Ceres to the family’s research division for genetic experimentation. Ceres remains disoriented from the involuntary activation of her powers, forcing Aki to carry her. Their flight ends at the edge of a cliff where Toya and his agents corner them with no path left.
12Fated Reunion
Aya locates Aki inside the Mikage compound and demands he leave with her. Aki refuses,stating he chose to join the Mikage family to gain control over Ceres and inherit its power. He attacks Aya with a knife, revealing his willingness to kill her. Ceres takes over Aya’s body to protect her and accuses Aki of betraying their celestial lineage. Aki counters by expressing his hatred for the celestial maiden whose legacy has cursed them. The two engage in a brutal fight, with Aki using Mikage’s anti-Ceres technology to wound Ceres. Aki lands a critical strike on Aya’s body, forcing Ceres to retreat and leaving Aya gravely injured. Yūhi and Chidori find Aya and transport her to safety. Aki returns to the Mikage headquarters, reaffirming his resolve to destroy Ceres and secure his position as the family heir. Aya’s physical recovery begins, but her internal conflict with Ceres intensifies as the celestial maiden’s power grows closer to full awakening.
13Shining Wings
Aya and Yūhi infiltrate the C-Project headquarters to retrieve Aki. Dr. Mikage reveals Aki’s body has completed its transformation into the true vessel for Ceres’s genes. Aki emerges from a tank with white wings and eyes devoid of recognition. He refers to Aya as a descendant but shows no familial affection. When Aya steps forward to embrace him,Aki blasts her away with an energy wave. Yūhi intercepts a second attack, sustaining injuries to his arm. Dr. Mikage explains that Aki now possesses the full power of the celestial maiden, making him the ideal specimen for the project. Aki declares he no longer needs Aya or human connections. He shatters the facility’s ceiling and flies into the night sky. Aya collapses in shock, unable to reconcile the brother she knew with the being he has become. Yūhi vows to stop Aki before he causes further harm. The episode closes with Aki heading toward the Mikage estate, his intentions toward the family who manipulated him unclear.
14Tōma no Ketsui
Tōma returns to the Mikage mansion and confronts Yūhi. He demands that Yūhi stop using Aya for the family’s pursuit of the celestial robe. Yūhi refuses and reveals his intention to capture Ceres by any means,including killing Aya. Tōma attacks Yūhi with his own C-Genome abilities, but Yūhi’s superior power forces Tōma to retreat. Yūhi orders the security forces to hunt down Tōma and tighten surveillance on Aya. Tōma meets with Aya and tells her he will leave her side permanently. He explains that staying with her only gives the Mikage family more reason to target her. Aya protests, but Tōma insists that his presence endangers her more than it protects her. He walks away, leaving Aya with his bodyguard, Kagami, who now acts as her sole protector. Meanwhile, Yūhi accelerates the search for the celestial robe’s location, believing Aya’s emotional vulnerability will soon force Ceres to emerge. The episode closes with Aya isolated, Tōma gone, and Yūhi’s trap tightening around her.
15Episode 15
Aki Mikage confines Aya to a laboratory within the Mikage Corporation facility. He orders the extraction of the Ceres gene from her body,a procedure that will kill her. Yuuhi, acting as Aki’s subordinate, oversees the preparations but hesitates when he sees Aya’s deteriorating condition. Tooya, accompanied by his sister Suzumi, infiltrates the facility to reach Aya. Aki deploys security forces and activates barriers to delay them. Yuuhi confronts Aki about the lethal nature of the extraction. Aki dismisses Yuuhi’s objections, revealing that Yuuhi exists only as a clone created from Aya’s cells and therefore holds no independent value. This disclosure shatters Yuuhi’s loyalty. He releases Aya from her restraints and leads her through the facility’s maintenance tunnels. Tooya encounters them mid-escape. Aki triggers a self-destruct sequence in the laboratory wing to eliminate them. The group narrowly escapes the explosion. Outside, Aki watches from a distance, vowing to retrieve Ceres by any means. Aya and Tooya reunite, but Aya collapses from the partial gene extraction performed before Yuuhi intervened. Aki mobilizes the full resources of the Mikage family, forcing the group to flee with a weakened Aya while preparing a more direct assault.
16Shukumei no Saikai
The Mikage Corporation holds Aki and Ceres in separate containment areas. Dr. Mikage injects Aki with a serum to force his celestial lineage to manifest. Aki experiences violent convulsions and flashes of memories from a previous existence. Ceres senses his distress and attempts to break free from her restraints,using her powers to fracture the containment field. Toya arrives at the facility and confronts the security forces to reach Aki. Dr. Mikage explains to Aki that his birth was engineered to produce a vessel for the original celestial being. Aki resists the mental intrusion but begins to lose his sense of self as the celestial personality takes over. Ceres reaches Aki’s chamber moments before the transformation completes and calls out to anchor his human identity. Toya engages Dr. Mikage in a physical struggle, disrupting the control systems. Aki’s body transforms, his eyes turning gold as he fully awakens as the celestial being. The newly awakened Aki rejects both Ceres and Toya, declaring his intent to reclaim the celestial robe and destroy the Mikage lineage. Dr. Mikage escapes in the chaos, leaving the group to face the transformed Aki.
17Episode 17
Aya Mikage returns to the Mikage estate after Aki’s death,demanding answers about her twin brother’s final moments from her grandfather. Toya, Aki’s elder brother, arrives at the estate and confronts Aya, accusing her of causing Aki’s death. His hostility drives Aya to summon Ceres’s powers defensively, but she halts the fight and refuses to accept blame for Aki’s sacrifice. Toya’s grief shifts into grudging respect as he witnesses Aya’s determination to uncover the family’s secrets. Inside the C-Project laboratory, Dr. Watari pressures Yūhi to extract more data from the celestial robe fragments, forcing Yūhi to weigh his protection of Aya against the organization’s demands. Aya experiences a vision of Aki’s spirit, who warns her that the Mikage family’s true agenda remains hidden and that trusting anyone carries risk. The vision hardens Aya’s resolve to confront her grandfather directly, abandoning passive waiting. Toya, now convinced of Aya’s sincerity, agrees to assist her, forming an uneasy alliance rooted in shared loss. Mr. Mikage responds by dispatching a new agent specialized in capturing Ceres, raising the immediate danger. The episode ends with Aya and Toya moving to infiltrate the family’s inner circle just as the agent begins tracking them.
18Episode 18
Aya remains confined within the Mikage compound under constant surveillance. Tooya breaches the estate’s security and moves through the corridors to reach her. Aki intercepts Tooya in a narrow passage and blocks his path. Aki states his intention to use Aya’s Ceres lineage to revive the family’s former power. Tooya counters by revealing his own origin as a synthetic being created to neutralize Ceres. Aya,overhearing the confrontation from her room, struggles against the restraints binding her. The struggle triggers a partial emergence of Ceres, who shatters the physical bonds. Ceres takes control and confronts Aki directly, demanding answers about the family’s past crimes. Aki retreats under the pressure of Ceres’s released power, but warns that the entire Mikage organization will now mobilize. Tooya regains his footing and leads Aya away from the compound as she slips back to consciousness. The two escape into the city, yet Aya now knows Tooya was designed as a weapon against her kind. Aki reports the failure to the Mikage elders, who authorize the deployment of a specialized retrieval squad with orders to eliminate both targets.
19Chidori's confession
20Toya's death
21The ancient tennyo
22Chikai
Aki reveals to Ceres that he is the offspring of the angel who killed Ceres’s husband,Kaguragi, and that his body already houses a celestial robe. He intends to absorb Ceres’s power to become a complete angel, which would annihilate Aya’s consciousness along with Ceres. Tooya intervenes, engaging Aki in combat to shield Ceres. During the fight, Tooya’s own celestial robe emerges partially, marking him as another descendant of the angel lineage. Aki gains the upper hand, critically wounding Tooya and forcing Ceres to choose between fighting Aki or saving Tooya. Ceres attacks Aki but hesitates when Aya’s voice surfaces, pleading not to harm him because Aya still loves Aki despite his betrayal. Aki seizes the moment to strike Ceres, but Tooya shields her, taking the blow. As Tooya collapses, Ceres’s rage peaks, and she unleashes a powerful blast that destroys Aki’s physical form, leaving only his celestial robe. Aki’s consciousness merges with the robe, and he retreats, vowing to return. With Aki gone, Ceres reverts control to Aya, who finds Tooya barely alive. Aya carries Tooya to safety, determined to prevent further deaths. Meanwhile, Aki, now reduced to a robe, encounters Aya’s mother, Aki’s former ally, and absorbs her to regain a body. Aki then sets his sights on Aya directly, abandoning his previous goal of taking Ceres alone.
23Episode 23
Aki brings Aya to the Mikage compound’s inner sanctum and reveals the preserved body of their grandfather. He admits to killing the old man to prevent interference with the Mikage family’s plans. Aki explains that he intends to use Aya’s C‑genome to create a new generation of Mikage heirs,completing the family’s centuries‑long ambition. Aya refuses, but Aki immobilizes her with his supernatural abilities and begins the ritual. Yuhi breaks into the sanctum after overcoming multiple guards and wounds Aki with a concealed blade, forcing Aki to release Aya. Aki’s body begins to break down from the accumulated strain of using his powers without a proper vessel. Ceres surfaces within Aya and attacks Aki, attempting to destroy him for the murders he committed. Aki counters by revealing that his own body is already disintegrating and that killing him will also kill Aya because of their twin bond. Aya stops Ceres from delivering the final blow, choosing to spare Aki despite his crimes. Aki retreats deeper into the compound, and the ceiling collapses, separating Aya from Yuhi. Yuhi discovers a hidden chamber where Mikage’s original mummified body lies preserved, and the episode ends with the seal on that chamber breaking, releasing an unknown threat.
24Eien no Yume
Aki Mikage activates the C-Project chamber to absorb Ceres’s celestial power. Ceres lunges to kill him,but Aya halts the strike, asserting her own will against Ceres’s hatred. Aki reveals that his body hosts the vengeful spirit of the man who attacked Ceres a thousand years ago. He explains the Mikage family’s centuries-long pursuit of celestial maidens as atonement for that original crime. Ceres recognizes the spirit and renews her assault, determined to end the cycle permanently. Aya forces a complete separation: she emerges as a human individual while Ceres materializes as a distinct celestial entity. The spirit inside Aki begins consuming him as he loses control. To prevent the spirit from destroying Aki entirely, Ceres merges with it, sacrificing her existence to neutralize both. The fusion collapses the C-Project facility and extinguishes the spirit. Aya awakens in the ruins without Ceres’s power, her celestial abilities gone. Yūhi, freed from captivity, finds her, and they discover Aki’s lifeless body among the debris. The survivors leave the destroyed compound, and Aya returns to ordinary life. She and Yūhi walk forward knowing that the price of ending the bloodshed was the loss of Ceres and the supernatural world she represented.
Cast
- Alexander O. Howell
- Miori Sahara
- Chidori KurumaAna María Camps
- Shiso MikagiRamón Rocabayera
- Alexander Howell
- Ceres
- TooyaOscar Redondo
- Oda Kyuu
- Yuuhi Aogiri
- Kyuu Oda
- Chidori Kurumi
- Aki Mikage
- Aya Mikage
- Kagami Mikage
- Yuhi Aogiri
Comment(s)
Staff
- DirectorHajime Kamegaki
- ScriptYukiyoshi Ōhashi
- Episode DirectorHajime KamegakiJōhei MatsuuraSusumu NishizawaJunko MatsushitaSaeko AokiSetsuo TakaseHarume KosakaTakashi Yamazaki
- Original Manga
- Art DirectorShigenori Takada
- Chief Animation DirectorHideyuki Motohashi
- Sound DirectorHideo Takahashi
- Executive producerShigeru WatanabeYūji NunokawaAkito Yamashita
- Series CompositionYukiyoshi Ōhashi
- StoryboardHajime KamegakiJun KamiyaSusumu NishizawaSaeko AokiHarume KosakaJyoichi Masuda
- MusicRyo Sakai
- Character DesignHideyuki Motohashi
- ArtShigenori TakadaMio IsshikiSawako TakagiIzumi WadaTakafumi Mizaki
- Animation DirectorHideyuki MotohashiMasayuki HiraokaJunko Matsushita
- Director of PhotographyTomoyoshi IshizukaKazuyoshi Ishizuka
Production
- ProductionShogakukan-Shueisha ProductionsStudio PierrotBandai VisualEmotion
Relations
Manga overview
Music
Ending
Ep. 1-15
“One ~ Kono Yo ga Hatete mo Hanarenai”
Ep. 16-23
“Cross My Heart”
“Scarlet Ver.II”