Moonlight Lady

Moonlight Lady (顔のない月) is the American release title for No Surface Moon The Animation; a 2001 Japanese OVA anime series adapted from the 2000 Japanese visual novel eroge of the same name. It was created by Orbit Co., Ltd., animated by IMAGIN and produced by Pink Pineapple and later licensed by Media Blasters, English dubbed by Wave Form Solutions and distributed by Kitty Media.

Synopsis
Suzuna Kuraki is a beautiful young woman apprenticing to become a priestess of her wealthy, matrilineal family's Shinto faith. As part of her initiation, she must not only practice consecration, but also enter marriage by arrangement and subsequently participate in the decadal Tsukimachi ceremony; an esoteric ritual held to welcome a new clergywoman. However things starts to get complicated when her fiance, Koichi Hayama, is brought to her estate and a mysterious paranormal energy begins making her act somewhat strangely.

Primary characters

 * Suzuna Kuraki (倉木 鈴菜)
 * (Ep. 1-4), Janet Moltow (Ep. 5)
 * A typical high school student, Suzuna Kuraki is the protagonist of the series. She is a delicate, beautiful young woman, training to become a priestess of her Shinto ancestry so that she may properly consecrate her family shrine; a job traditionally bestowed upon the women of her lineage. Outside of her religious services, Suzuna generally behaves in a very aristocratic, conceited and fastidious manner, even though she is in fact the most apprehensive and solicitous person in the house. Suzuna is the obligatory fiancée of Koichi Hayama by arranged marriage, sister of Mizuna and daughter of Yuriko.


 * Koichi Hayama (羽山 浩一)
 * Koichi Hayama is the fiancé of Suzuna Kuraki. He was subconsciously chosen as her fiance and subsequently brought to the estate to live while the Tsukimachi ceremony approaches. A tall and handsome university student, Koichi tends to clash with Suzuna, but this can be regarded as evidence of a tsundere love affair. By the effects of an unexplained illness, he is unable to recollect any of his past, including his childhood or parents. He also could not recognize the faces of women before coming to the Kuraki estate. Koichi is a frequent smoker and has a elongated scar across his chest.
 * Koichi Hayama is the fiancé of Suzuna Kuraki. He was subconsciously chosen as her fiance and subsequently brought to the estate to live while the Tsukimachi ceremony approaches. A tall and handsome university student, Koichi tends to clash with Suzuna, but this can be regarded as evidence of a tsundere love affair. By the effects of an unexplained illness, he is unable to recollect any of his past, including his childhood or parents. He also could not recognize the faces of women before coming to the Kuraki estate. Koichi is a frequent smoker and has a elongated scar across his chest.

Secondary characters

 * Tomomi Harukawa (春川 知美)
 * Employed maidservant and childhood friend of Suzuna Kuraki. Despite her noticeably sizable bust, Tomomi is a very slow, gentle, soft-spoken girl who often meticulously strives to please those being served; particularly Suzuna, who ironically is her foil. She is the only bespectacled member of the household and the most bisexually promiscuous. Tomomi is a niece to Gohei Harukawa and granddaughter to Ippei.
 * Employed maidservant and childhood friend of Suzuna Kuraki. Despite her noticeably sizable bust, Tomomi is a very slow, gentle, soft-spoken girl who often meticulously strives to please those being served; particularly Suzuna, who ironically is her foil. She is the only bespectacled member of the household and the most bisexually promiscuous. Tomomi is a niece to Gohei Harukawa and granddaughter to Ippei.


 * Sayaka Kurihara (栗原 沙也加)
 * (Epi. 1-4), Sharon Simpson (Epi. 5)
 * The second maidservant of the household, Sayaka Kurihara is roughly the opposite of Tomomi in that she is upbeat, playful, talkative, and at times childish. Although she is unable to ever clearly remember, Sayaka did in fact used to be a renowned promotional model and actress by the name of Ruri Yamato; acquired when she was found wandering the estate grounds by Gohei Harukawa.


 * Io Azuma (東 衣緒)
 * Voiced by: Laddy McFarren (English)
 * Friendly yet inept, Io Azuma is a distant cousin of Suzuna and is good friends with Tomomi. He was originally chosen to be a suitor for Suzuna, but much to her disappointment, he matured somewhat effeminate instead of into the charming gentleman she was expecting. A devout otaku, Io frequently spends most of his leisure in the house library reading manga; playfully extending his obsession to Suzuna who, much to her chagrin, he tends to address with the Japanese honorific title Chan. He and Koichi have no sexual contact in the anime, unlike in the original game.


 * Yuriko Kuraki (倉木 由利子)
 * (Epi. 1-4), Molly Walters (Epi. 5)
 * Yuriko Kuraki is the biological mother of both Suzuna and Mizuna, widow of her late husband Zenzirō and matriarch of the house. A mysterious and voluptuous woman, Yuriko is by far the most influential figure over the household and the paranormal force that manifests within it; exhibiting this position with formality in both her voice and clothes.


 * Gohei Harukawa (春川 五平)
 * Voiced by: Michael Johnston (English, epi. 1-4), Brian Drewberry (Epi. 5)
 * Ominous and inscrutable, Gohei Harukawa is the great-uncle of Tomomi, older brother of Ippei and estate landscaper; even though he is rarely ever seen doing garden work. While he does not have supernatural powers of his own, Gohei frequently assists Yuriko with her endeavors; such as triggering events in preparation for the Tsuki Maki ceremony.


 * Mizuna Kuraki (倉木 水菜)
 * First daughter of Yuriko and monozygotic twin sister of Suzuna. Unlike her younger sister, Mizuna is very taciturn, yet cheerfully playful; living silently and peacefully in the water caverns beneath the mansion. She was once the shrine maiden for the Kuraki family, but when Suzuna was born she was cast away.


 * Chikako Sawaguchi (沢口 千賀子)
 * Chikako Sawaguchi is a professor of psychology who visits the estate in response to sensing paranormal activity. Besides that, not much else is known about her except that she is a past teacher of Koichi.


 * Ippei Harukawa (春川 一平)
 * Older brother of Gohei, grandfather of Tomomi and family physician. Has no significant role in the series.

Music

 * Closing theme: "Cruel Moon" by Arca, 2001 (Epi. 1 - 5)


 * We used to walk all through the night
 * Looking for something we could never find
 * Now I alone sit in the deep
 * And talk to ghosts I can't see


 * I hear the wind calls my name
 * Oh, where can I find a trace
 * Cruel Moon, I cry for you
 * To bring him back to my place


 * I used to feel magic in the night
 * Gazing at your eyes to find there the light
 * Now left alone out in the cold
 * Hearing the goodbye you told


 * I hear the wind calls my name
 * Oh, where can I find your trace
 * Cruel Moon, I cry for you
 * To bring him back to my place


 * I hear the wind calls my name
 * Oh, where can I find your trace
 * Cruel Moon, I cry for you
 * To bring him back to my place

Goofs

 * The First Night: Camellia
 * English dub: In the beginning when Suzuna is explaining about her participation in the Tsuki Maki ceremony, she mispronounces her own family last name, saying "Kasaki" instead of "Kuraki"


 * Japanese and English dub: When Tomomi visits Suzuna in the shower room, she brings with her a folded paper sheet piled with small crimson fruits. Suzuna happily leans in close to take one calling them strawberries when they are in fact, raspberries.


 * The Second Night: Sunflower
 * Art inconsistency: In the beginning, while Suzuna is being raped by Koichi, her open bra disappears and reappears in-between shots. Later during the same scene, her stockings disappears briefly and reappears later.


 * The Third Night: Peony
 * Art Inconsistency: Towards the end of the episode, when Suzuna and Tomomi are having intercourse, Tomomi's arm disappears for a single frame.


 * The Fourth Night: White Lily
 * Art inconsistency: During a scene where Tomomi and Suzuna are having intercourse, there is a moment where Suzuna's eyes are green when in fact, Suzuna's eyes are orange.

Japanese staff

 * Original Story 顔のない月 No Surface Moon


 * Planning Piston Horaguchi
 * Assistant Planning Endo Kei


 * Producer Oruga Susumu


 * Original Plan and Supervisor Carnelian
 * Composition and Script Arakawa Masanobu


 * Animation Studio Imagin Co.,Ltd
 * Character Design and Chief Animator Ishihara Megumi
 * Assistant Animator Hattori Noritomo
 * Director and Storyboards Sato Toshiharu


 * Production Pink Pineapple


 * Music Hiroshi Igarashi

American staff

 * Producer Gary Sierra


 * Production Supervisor Jharmoni Nagasaki
 * Production Assistant Roller Girl


 * Editor Scottie Mack


 * Translation J. Yoshizawa


 * Design Temper-Tantric

Trivia

 * Yuriko Kuraki was born in 1963 while both her daughters, Suzuna and Mizuna, were born in 1982. This would have made Yuriko 19 that year. Assuming Suzuna and Mizuna are 18 years old, the age they would likely have to be for an erotic video portrayal, this would make Yuriko a current 37 years old in 2000; the same year the original PC game was released.


 * Although viewers are never told what institution Chikako Sawaguchi is a professor at, the character profiles of her on both the game website and Japanese wikipedia article mention the Motoyama district as her area of employment ; which is situated the closest to Nagoya University.

Spin-offs
On April 3, 2007 Studio Deen released 桃華月憚 (Touka Gettan); an animated adaption of the 2007 Japanese visual novel eroge and manga of the same name. All three versions are the same spin-off of 顔のない月 (Kao no nai tsuki). The animation aired from April 3, 2007 to September 24, 2007 on BS Asahi, SUN TV, Tokyo MX TV. The series was directed by Yuji Yamaguchi.

Official sites

 * Moonlight Lady (Japanese)
 * 顔のない月 No Surface Moon (Japanese)

Informative sites

 * Moonlight Lady review at the Anime News Network
 * Moonlight Lady review at HentaiNeko.com

Kao no Nai Tsuki 얼굴없는 달 顔のない月 Moonlight Lady 无颜之月