Mirage of Blaze
Reviewer: Wiggle [website] [email]Overall Rating: A+
Media Reviewed: DVD
Creator: Kiwabara Mizuna
U.S. Licensed: Yes
Released by: Media Blasters
Run time: 13 episodes
BL Content: Very soft (emotional, touching)
Genre: Drama/Historical/Fantasy
Other media:
English OAV DVD: Rebels of the River's Edge [review]
Japanese novels
Japanese manga
A desperate, tragic love story; a thrilling adventure of spirits and magic; a Japanese history lesson in dramatic form; Mirage of Blaze is all of this and more. A wonderfully rich story of love and betrayal is woven on the larger tapestry of warring spirits, past lives and centuries of conflict. To a Japanese viewer, the series is likely steeped in familiar history; to a Western viewer, it's a fascinating tangle that ties you up in the strands of mystery and history.
Only 13 anime episodes were created from an over 30-volume series of novels by Mizuna Kuwabara, so the extremely complicated and detailed world of Mirage of Blaze is not fully revealed. What little that is explained practically requires a degree in Japanese history to understand. In this world, ghosts from Japan's Warring States period still fight the battles in which they died, hundreds of years ago. Some special spirits, called possessors, are able to possess the bodies of newborn children and continue their lives, generation after generation, possessing new bodies when the old ones die. All of the main characters are possessors, whether or not they know it, and whether or not the audience knows it. These possessors all have special psychic abilities, but there are five who are given the power to exorcise the wandering feudal spirits who cause trouble for the living. Among these five are the two central characters: temple monk and all-around creepy guy Naoe Nobustuna, and "typical" high school degenerate Ougi Takaya.
The twist is that Takaya doesn't remember any of his past lives, as most possessors are able to do. When Naoe finds him and insists that he is really Uesugi Kagetora, the adopted son of one of the powerful feudal clans, Takaya spends several episodes insisting that Naoe must have the wrong man. However, Naoe would know Kagetora anywhere, for he has harbored a deep and rejected love for the master of his clan for 400 years.
Early in the series, Naoe and Takaya join together with other possessors to rescue Narita Yuzuru, Takaya's best friend, who continues to play a major role in the series. Though it looks like the beginnings of a love triangle, Takaya and Yuzuru never hint at an affection more than friends. The main focus is the relationship between Naoe and Takaya, and the twisted love triangle that develops between only two.
Though he does not remember his life as Kagetora, Takaya still manifests all the exorcism powers of a true possessor. Because of this, he agrees to work with Naoe, and the two become closer. Takaya's father abuses him, and he starts to turn to Naoe as a kind of father figure, and perhaps more. Naoe, however, thinks of the boy as Kagetora, the leader of his clan and his master. Kagetora never accepted Naoe's love for him, but he never allowed Naoe to leave his side, either. The festering of 400 years of this love-hate relationship drives Naoe to rash actions which Takaya cannot understand or forgive.
The 13 Mirage of Blaze episodes are a slow, complex dance in the relationship of Takaya and Naoe, and Takaya's relationship with the Kagetora personality inside himself. The roots of this relationship are hardly explored, but the traitorous, devestating event of 30 years previous -- the event that caused Kagetora to block out his memories when he became Takaya -- is teased and hinted at, giving the audience a true example of the level of twisted devotion between Naoe and Kagetora.
In my opinion, Mirage of Blaze is the best yaoi anime available, bar none. The yaoi relationship is even more complicated and intense than Ai no Kusabi or Zetsuai, the characters are deep and sympathetic, the plot completely captures your attention, and the animation is as clean, clear and lush as X. It isn't easy to watch, and requires a lot of thought and concentration, but every minute of Mirage of Blaze is worth it.
In an interesting change of pace, I actually enjoy the dub version. It makes a few things clearer since the English is more natural than the subtitle translation. However, the original Japanese is far more preferable due to the talents of its leads. Hayami Sho, also known as Nanjo Koji in Zetsuai 1989, Muraki in Yami no Matsuei and Raoul in Ai no Kusabi, brings his considerable talent for voicing deep, tense, controlled emotion to the role of Naoe. Toshihiko Seki, famous for his roles as Duo of Gundam Wing, Riki in Ai no Kusabi and Watari of Yami no Matsuei, does his passionate, fiery best as the emotional Takaya.
Do not miss Mirage of Blaze. This series is utterly fantastic, and gives the yaoi fan everything she could ever possibly want... except one good, real kiss.
