Kekkaishi

Kekkaishi (結界師) is an ongoing supernatural manga series by Yellow Tanabe. It is serialized in Japan by Shogakukan in the manga magazine Shōnen Sunday, and licensed for an English release in North America by Viz Media. It was adapted as a fifty-two episode anime series by Sunrise, which was broadcast between October 2006 and February 2008. The series is about Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs to rival clans of kekkai (barrier magic) users, who must defend their school from the spirits drawn to the sacred land upon which it is built. Kekkaishi received the 2007 Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga.

Plot
Five hundred years ago, a feudal lord was attacked by demons who wanted to retrieve his mysterious inner power to take over the human world. The famous mage Tokimori Hazama was called upon and, with his two students, managed to save the whole land. But they fell ill, and the feudal lord was killed. His power was also buried with him at a site called Karasumori.

In the present day, Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, heirs of the Hazama clan, are the kekkaishi that protect the land's power. They use a technique called Kekkai, a form of magical barrier, to capture and destroy Ayakashi (monsters/demons) that are drawn to this sacred land. Any demons that come near the power become stronger. Yoshimori and Tokine are to guard the land from the intrusion of Ayakashi.

Hazama-ryu kekkai technique
The Sumimura and Yukimura families use the Hazama-ryu Kekkai Technique (間流結界術) when they are faced with ayakashi (demons). It is said by Shigemori Sumimura that this technique integrates utility and effectiveness of kekkai abilities. Elements of this technique include:


 * Hōi (方囲): Designates a target.


 * Jōso (定礎): Determines where to create the kekkai.


 * Ketsu (結): Creates and activates the kekkai.


 * Kai (解): Dispels the kekkai without injuring the target trapped inside.


 * Metsu (滅): Collapses a kekkai, destroying what is trapped inside.


 * Tenketsu (天穴): Opens a door to another world and sends the shards of the enemy through to prevent regeneration. This technique requires using a shakujo, a Buddhist ringed staff, to perform it.


 * Zekkai (絶界): A technique that allows the user to either repel an attack or harm an enemy. Depending on the strength of the user, it appears as a black aura that varies in form. Because it is created by the domination of negative feelings, it is recommended that it not be used excessively.


 * Shinkai (真界): A technique to create a new world and consumes much more power than Zekkai. Tokimori Hazama stated that it's a technique close to the power of a god.


 * Nenshi (念糸): A technique that creates an energy thread. It is used for binding, capturing, and torture by squeezing. The nenshi comes out from the palm of the user. The seal around the neck of Madarao, Yoshimori's spirit familiar, is made of beads strung on a circle of nenshi.


 * Sekkai: A technique used to destroy foreign kekkai. Tokine attempts to use this to dispel Yoshimori's kekkai in Kokuborou but could not because his kekkai was too strong.


 * Shūfuku (修復): Restoration art, repairs an object.


 * Shikigami (式神): Paper dolls that obey the commands of a kekkai user.


 * Musō (無想): A state of mind where the user is not influenced by any force, it increases speed, power, and effectiveness of kekkai.

Manga
Kekkaishi is written and drawn by Yellow Tanabe. It has been serialized in Japan by Shogakukan in the shōnen (aimed at teenaged boys) manga magazine Shōnen Sunday since 2003 issue 47, with publication on-going. Serial chapters have been collected in 29 tankōbon volumes. The series is licensed in English in North America by Viz Media. It is also licensed in France by Pika Édition, in Germany by Carlsen Comics, in Hong Kong by Rightman Publishing Limited, in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo which serializes it in Shōnen Star, in Italy by Planet Manga, in Malaysia by PCM Comics, in South Korea by Bookbox, in Spain by Editorial Ivrea, in Taiwan by Tong Li Comics, and in Vietnam by Kim Dong.

A guidebook to the series called a "teacher's guide" (結界師 指南之書) was published as a Shōnen Sunday special on 16 December 2006 (ISBN 4-09-120710-3).

Anime
Kekkaishi was adapted by Sunrise as an anime television series directed by Kenji Kodama with character designs by Hirotoshi Takaya and music by Taku Iwasaki. The opening theme for all episodes is Sha la la (Mysterious Night) (Sha la la -アヤカシNIGHT-) by Saeka Uura. There are four different ending themes: Red Thread (赤い糸) by Koshi Inaba (episodes 1–15, 38, 40), Sekaijū Doko o Sagashite mo (世界中どこを探しても) by Aiko Kitahara (episodes 16–23, 39, 44), My Future (マイミライ) by Saeka Uura (episodes 24–30, 41), and 10 Minute Break (休憩時間10分) by Saeka Uura (episodes 31–37, 42–43, 45). The series was broadcast for 52 episodes in Japan between 16 October 2006 and 12 February 2008 on Nippon Television, Yomiuri TV, and Nippon Television Network System, in the "golden" timeslot of 7 p.m. Monday.

The anime has been licensed in North America by Viz Media, which began broadcasting episodes online through Hulu.com in January 2010. The series premiered on TV on May 29, 2010, on Adult Swim. It has also been broadcast in Taiwan on TTV and Videoland Television Network, in Malaysia on 8TV (Cantonese dubbing with Malay subtitles) and NTV7 (Malay dubbing), in Hong Kong on Cable TV, in the Philippines on HERO and GMA-7, and in Indonesia on antv.

Games
Namco Bandai released two "action based" games for the Nintendo DS, the first on 24 May 2007. A Wii game Kekkaishi: Kokubourou no Kage was released in December 2007 in Japan.

Reception
In 2007, Kekkaishi received the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen manga. The series is among the best-selling manga in Japan; for example, volumes 19, 20, and 21 all reached number 3 or 4 on the Tohan best-seller list.

The English edition of Kekkaishi was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as among the best graphic novels for teens for 2007.

During its initial broadcast, episodes of the anime series were frequently among the top ten rated anime television shows, sometimes as the only original (non-sequel) show to do so.