OVA
Description
Yasunori Katō is a supernatural entity born from the resentful spirits of ancient Heian-era mystics, an oni forged by a 2,000-year grudge against the Japanese imperial court. He embodies a curse placed upon Tokyo by the executed samurai Taira no Masakado, though Katō remains initially unaware of this connection and believes his mission is to awaken Masakado's spirit.
Driven by vengeance for his conquered and oppressed ancestors, Katō seeks the destruction of Tokyo across all narratives. A practitioner of onmyōdō mysticism, he employs this art through diverse methods: awakening Masakado's spirit, manipulating earth dragons to trigger earthquakes, and unleashing advanced spiritual attacks.
In the late 19th century, Katō enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army, rising to First Lieutenant as part of a long-term strategy to infiltrate and weaken the empire from within. His schemes involve manipulating history and its figures, such as causing the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 by disturbing an underground dragon, orchestrating the assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 via a Buddhist curse, and guiding author Yukio Mishima toward his ritual suicide in 1970.
Katō commands a vast array of supernatural abilities rooted in onmyōdō. He extensively uses black shikigami—often inscribed with the Doman Seiman symbol—that take forms like crows, tar-like blobs, or a giant manta ray. He summons a goho doji, a child-like or biomechanical creature, and employs kodoku, or worm toxins, to control his victims. Additional powers include flight, teleportation, telekinesis, mind control, shape-shifting, and a potent healing factor that allows him to survive dismemberment and impalement. He prolongs his life through the shijie technique and is fluent in Mandarin and Korean.
His physical appearance is that of a tall, ageless man with an unnaturally long face. He is most often seen in a dark green Imperial Japanese Army officer's uniform with a cape and white gloves bearing the red Doman Seiman symbol. In later appearances, such as in *The Great Yokai War*, he wears a modern black suit and longcoat.
Katō's portrayal varies across adaptations: the original novels depict him as verbose and strategic, while cinematic versions often emphasize his monstrous and physically resilient nature. His relationships are primarily adversarial, particularly with the Tsuchimikado family, descendants of Abe no Seimei, who are dedicated to protecting Tokyo. Key opponents include onmyōji Yasumasa Hirai and the priestess Keiko Tatsumiya (née Mekata).
A central element of his schemes involves the women of the Tatsumiya family, descendants of Masakado. In 1908, he kidnaps Yukari Tatsumiya to use as a medium for Masakado's spirit and employs dark magic to impregnate her. He later targets her daughter, Yukiko, for the same purpose, believing her to be his own child due to the magical conception—though in the novels, she is actually the product of Yukari's consensual relationship with her brother Yoichiro, a detail changed to non-consensual in the anime adaptation.
Katō's defeat varies by narrative. In the *Doomed Megalopolis* OVA, he is overcome when Keiko Tatsumiya channels the bodhisattva Kannon, whose compassion appeases the hatred that fuels him, causing his dissipation. In other stories, such as the novel series, he is defeated through direct confrontation. Yet as a manifestation of a curse, he often returns, as seen in the spin-off film *The Great Yokai War* (2005), where he commands an army of yōkai in another failed attempt to destroy Tokyo. There, he survives his defeat with azuki bean-like pupils, implying his plans will continue.
Beyond his own narrative, the character has influenced other figures in Japanese popular culture, inspiring the design and abilities of characters such as General Washizaki from *Riki-Oh* and M. Bison from the *Street Fighter* series.
Driven by vengeance for his conquered and oppressed ancestors, Katō seeks the destruction of Tokyo across all narratives. A practitioner of onmyōdō mysticism, he employs this art through diverse methods: awakening Masakado's spirit, manipulating earth dragons to trigger earthquakes, and unleashing advanced spiritual attacks.
In the late 19th century, Katō enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army, rising to First Lieutenant as part of a long-term strategy to infiltrate and weaken the empire from within. His schemes involve manipulating history and its figures, such as causing the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 by disturbing an underground dragon, orchestrating the assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 via a Buddhist curse, and guiding author Yukio Mishima toward his ritual suicide in 1970.
Katō commands a vast array of supernatural abilities rooted in onmyōdō. He extensively uses black shikigami—often inscribed with the Doman Seiman symbol—that take forms like crows, tar-like blobs, or a giant manta ray. He summons a goho doji, a child-like or biomechanical creature, and employs kodoku, or worm toxins, to control his victims. Additional powers include flight, teleportation, telekinesis, mind control, shape-shifting, and a potent healing factor that allows him to survive dismemberment and impalement. He prolongs his life through the shijie technique and is fluent in Mandarin and Korean.
His physical appearance is that of a tall, ageless man with an unnaturally long face. He is most often seen in a dark green Imperial Japanese Army officer's uniform with a cape and white gloves bearing the red Doman Seiman symbol. In later appearances, such as in *The Great Yokai War*, he wears a modern black suit and longcoat.
Katō's portrayal varies across adaptations: the original novels depict him as verbose and strategic, while cinematic versions often emphasize his monstrous and physically resilient nature. His relationships are primarily adversarial, particularly with the Tsuchimikado family, descendants of Abe no Seimei, who are dedicated to protecting Tokyo. Key opponents include onmyōji Yasumasa Hirai and the priestess Keiko Tatsumiya (née Mekata).
A central element of his schemes involves the women of the Tatsumiya family, descendants of Masakado. In 1908, he kidnaps Yukari Tatsumiya to use as a medium for Masakado's spirit and employs dark magic to impregnate her. He later targets her daughter, Yukiko, for the same purpose, believing her to be his own child due to the magical conception—though in the novels, she is actually the product of Yukari's consensual relationship with her brother Yoichiro, a detail changed to non-consensual in the anime adaptation.
Katō's defeat varies by narrative. In the *Doomed Megalopolis* OVA, he is overcome when Keiko Tatsumiya channels the bodhisattva Kannon, whose compassion appeases the hatred that fuels him, causing his dissipation. In other stories, such as the novel series, he is defeated through direct confrontation. Yet as a manifestation of a curse, he often returns, as seen in the spin-off film *The Great Yokai War* (2005), where he commands an army of yōkai in another failed attempt to destroy Tokyo. There, he survives his defeat with azuki bean-like pupils, implying his plans will continue.
Beyond his own narrative, the character has influenced other figures in Japanese popular culture, inspiring the design and abilities of characters such as General Washizaki from *Riki-Oh* and M. Bison from the *Street Fighter* series.