Our story begins on a day like any other day in the life of Ougi Takaya, a rather uncouth, short-tempered and smartass high schooler. There he is, playing a losing game of Street Fighter at the local arcade, when one of his equally brutish-looking friends tells him that his bestest best friend Narita Yuzuru (who just happens to be the polar opposite of Takaya in personality) is getting his virgin ass licked by some punks. Takaya, being the self-appointed guardian of Yuzuru, races to the rescue, only to find that his über-uke buddy has just wiped the street with their collective arses. As strange as that is, it seems that Yuzuru has been exhibiting quite a bit of abnormal behavior, mainly in the form of blackouts and lost time. Later on, Takaya and Yuzuru encounter a woman burning with purple flames, but the fire isn’t consuming her. If that isn’t enough paranormal activity, Yuzuru is then accosted by the ghosts of long-dead samurai warriors in his room. Luckily, an enchantingly handsome man by the name of Nobutsuna Naoe breaks in and banishes the spirits – then leaves just as abruptly. Naoe doesn’t explain what the frell is happening, but I’ll give it a try.
You see, avid reader, the Warring States Period of Japan (Sengoku) may have ended with the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu on the mortal plane, but warlords and samurai dissatisfied with defeat have not crossed over to their final, eternal rest. No, instead, they have forsaken death and their souls continue to fight for control of Japan on the spiritual and mortal plane. This Yami Sengoku (Dark Warring Period) has gone on for roughly 400 years. The most powerful of these souls are called possessors (kanshousha) and they’re usually the top dogs (lords, vassals, daimyo, etc.) while their minions simply appear as ghosts. The Kanshousha normally seize the bodies of newborns, expelling the original soul and replacing it with their own. The host body is called a yorimashi or shukutai*.
Among all of this fighting for absolute control of Japan, there stands one daimyo who fights for the peace and prosperity of the modern democratic Japan – Lord Uesugi Kenshin. 400 years ago, he appointed his adopted son Uesugi Kagetora the leader of the Meikai Uesugi, his spiritual army. Kagetora’s duty is to exorcize all of the wandering evil spirits (onryou and onshou*) who wish to wreak havoc on Japan.
Wait. I know what you’re thinking. Takaya fits into all of this because, as Naoe tries to convince him for half the frickin series, he is Lord Uesugi Kagetora, a kanshousha of great powers which exceed those of Naoe. The problem is that Takaya does not seem to remember his past lives as Kagetora and therefore his powers are not up to par. It turns out that something pretty nasty happened 30 years ago and Kagetora’s a bit reluctant to reveal himself. *glares at Naoe* Wonder why…. *sighs* Really, in the beginning, you’re thinking, “Oh, that Naoe sure is a great guy. So helpful and patient. I’m glad Takaya has him as an ally.” Then ep 7 rolls around and you’re like, “WTFH?!?!” Yes, there’s some complicated and sticky history between Naoe and Kagetora, stemming from Naoe’s abnormal love/hate obsession with Kagetora. Which I find pretty damn hoTTT. :-O Hell, it sure kept me watchin.
In the background, there’s some talk about spiritual beasts who eat souls and coup d’etats, but I really wasn’t paying attention what with all the super hot ‘n sexy bishies angsting heavily over each other.