Psychic Academy

Psychic Academy (サイキックアカデミー煌羅万象) is a Seinen manga published by Kodansha. The manga was licensed in 2003 by Toykopop for North American release and adapted by Nathan Johnson.

Plot summary
Psychic Academy follows the life of Ai Shiomi, a boy with psychic powers, also known as "aura power" in modern day Japan. This ability has emerged in the world, but not all people have it. Aura power itself allows certain elements such as fire, water, ice, wind, lightning, earth, and light to be used by those who have the ability. Which type of power they can use depends on their aura and what they are taught. Ai agrees to attend the Psychic Academy School after being pressured by his brother. The school is where the elite students go to learn how to use their elemental aura power. Ai knows that somewhere within the Academy is his childhood friend Orina. At school however, she is known as Sahra, after her aura code. On his way to his first day at school, Ai encounters a girl named Myuu. She is another student at the Academy and is a very quiet, seemingly moody girl. Ai also learns that his older brother Zero, a legend amongst those with aura powers, will be one of his teachers.

As Ai struggles with his new school, a life he is not sure he wants; a crazy rabbit takes him as his student. His feelings for Orina and Myuu begin to develop and contrast as the school year progress. Ai also makes discoveries about his rare light aura. To further complicate things, a group of researchers try to artificially awaken the dormant aura genes within all humans, heedless of the danger and damage to society it might cause.

The book series consists of 11 volumes.

The anime series consists of 24 10-minutes episodes. It was first release on the Web, then later sold on DVD on 2 volumes with the purchase of first two volumes of the book.

Characters
Ai Shiomi (汐見 愛) Aura: Light

Ai believes he does not belong at Psychic Academy and is unsure of how to fit in, or what his special power is (which is later revealed to be the rare Light Aura). Though along with being reunited with his childhood friend, Orina, he also makes some new friends, such as Myuu (Mew) and "Master Boo (Buu)". His brother took him and ran away from their original home to hide the fact that Ai possesses a Light Aura. That Aura appears to have potential to grow far beyond other Auras, although Ai still has not been able to figure out more than two words of his Aura Code. This has had little to no bearing on his overall aura strength. At the peak of his power, he is able to use the light aura to show an opponent's deepest secrets as he did with Tokimitsu in their final battle.

Myuu (ミュウ) Aura: Fire

Myuu (or Mew) wields the aura power of fire. She is afraid of the rain to the point she will miss days of school when it is raining and possibly suffer panic attacks if forced to be out in the rain. She is distant, even to the point of slight rudeness, because of a traumatic experience in her past: during her childhood, she accidentally killed her mother during an Aura experiment. The explosion caused the lab sprinklers to go off, showering her shocked self with water; this caused her dislike for rain.

With her friendship with Orina and Ai she slowly begins to warm up. Myu shares a bond from childhood with Ai, though neither of them realize this bond at first. It has also been revealed later on that at least one reason for her enormous aura strength is that her father, an ambitious Aura scientist, has artificially altered - possibly even artificially awakened - her Aura code. These make her stronger but also make it dangerous for her to use her powers, because when she uses them, she risks possibly dying. She both fears and dislikes her father intensely for it. In the final volume of the series, she passes away after admitting to Ai her feelings for him. Though she is dead, she is still able to visit Ai in the Para Dream.

Orina (織奈) Aura: Water

Orina, also known as Saara (which is her Aura code name), is a childhood friend of Ai who still holds strong feelings for him. The two have shared a romantic relationship which sometimes shows as a love triangle between Orina, Ai and Myuu. Orina's Aura is Water, which she usually employs for healing. Orina has a generally sweet demeanor, though she can be somewhat overbearing and pushy when she wants to be. She seems quite immature sometimes, but she handles Ai's moods much easier than everyone else, and can even calm him down when other people cannot. Despite Mew's feelings for Ai, Orina is close friends with her and rarely displays jealousy toward Mew. She was initially rather mistrustful of Fafa however.

Zero Aura: Steel

Zerodaimu Kyupura Pa Azaraku Vairu Rua Darogu is a famous psychic known as the "Vanquisher of the Dark Overlord". Zero's real name is Yuu Shiomi. He is the older brother of Ai Shiomi. Zero is also an instructor for Psychic Academy, though he seems to spend more time acting as protector for his little brother than he does teaching classes. He seems to have a habit of being hit by the girls. His biggest downfall would be when he starts telling and showing people Ai's deepest darkest secrets on top of all that he has an appalling taste in neck ties. His Aura specialty is Steel. At the end of the story, together with Shiomi, he travels around the world to awaken the children of the Aura.

Faafa/Ren Aura: Ice/Magma

A brother and sister sharing the same body. Faafa was incarcerated at the Aura Development Center in the United States. Ren, in an attempt to free Faafa, attacked the center. In the ensuing destruction, Ren died and Faafa was critically injured. A heart transplant from Ren's body allowed Faafa to survive, while implanting a piece of Ren's aura in her body. As a result, the two share one body, similar to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. However, in the para-dream, both Ren and Faafa have their own unique bodies. Fafa's Aura is ice, while Ren's is magma.

Boo Velka Receptor Arba (ブウ) Aura: Crystal

Also known as Buu in the manga. Boo is a demented rabbit with very strong Aura powers who attaches himself to Ai as Ai's "Master", believing Ai to be one of the next great "Aura Masters", and it is through "Master Boo's" training and help that Ai first starts to discover how to use some of his own Aura power, and learn it rather quickly and expertly. Boo's Aura specialty are Crystals.

Tokimitsu Shinano (unknown) Aura: Gravity(Dark)

Tokimitsu shares much in common with Ai in that both of their aura codes start off undefined. Later, it is revealed that Tokimitsu carries the gravity, or "dark" aura. Tokimitsu later takes on the name Gyurazu after his aura code. He is capable of drawing aura energy out of aura carriers, sometimes killing them outright and leaving their bodies as dried mummies.

Tokimitsu is a pet project of the Aura Development Center. He currently is without aura power after facing the full power of Ai's aura. He is the only one to have done so, and it is he that first names Ai as an aura master.

Dr. Watabe

Aura: Plant

Dr. Watabe is head of Aura Development Center. His main goal is to discover the Aura code and create the same powers as those born with Aura. On the public front they want to better understand and control Aura, but Dr. Watabe motive in doing this seem to stem from his hatred toward Aura and the threat they pose. His earliest research he uses his own daughter Mew, unforunately this resulted in Mew losing control of her power that created a lab explosion that killed his wife.

Several years later, he seem successful in creating copying Zero's power and creating a unique Aura of Plant that he apply to himself.

Music
Opening theme "Say Over" by Rie Tanaka & Tsugumi Higasayama

Ending theme "Love Angel" by A-my with MION

Reception
"For fans of the anime it's an easy thing to check out and recommended, but for casual fans, your mileage may vary." — Chris Beveridge, Mania. "A lightweight, but still reasonably enjoyable series that isn't anywhere as original as its release format. My guess is that the manga is better." — Carlos Ross, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.