Akuryo Taisan

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Sailor Senshi Attacks
akuryotaisan.jpg
Akuryo Taisan in the manga
Attack Name: Akuryo Taisan
Attack Name (kanji/kana): 悪霊退散
North American Dub Name: Mars Fireball Charge, Evil Spirits Disperse, Evil Spirits Begone (dub); Akuryo Taisan (Mixx manga, Viz dub: Sailor Moon Eternal); Evil Spirits, Be Exorcised (Viz dub, Kodansha manga); Evil Spirit Begone (Kodansha manga)
Performed by: Rei Hino/Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus (once; manga only)
Item Required: Ofuda
First Used (anime): Cursed Buses! Fire Senshi Mars Appears
First Used (manga): Act 3 Rei SAILORMARS (Rei Hino/Sailor Mars), Chapter 3 Rei's and Minako's Girls School Battle? (Sailor Venus)
First Used (PGSM): Act 3 - The Third Senshi is Miko Rei
First Used (musical): Sailor Moon - Gaiden Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen

Akuryo Taisan was one of Rei's powers as a miko. It was also one of her first attacks as Sailor Mars in most versions of Sailor Moon. "Akuryo Taisan" is a Japanese phrase used to exorcise demons, which translates into "Evil Spirit, Begone."

Anime[edit]

In the anime, since Rei learned the chant as a miko and not as a Sailor Senshi, she could also use it while untransformed. She first used it on Usagi in episode 10, when she felt an evil spirit. She first used it as Sailor Mars in the subsequent episode to dispel Murido's poison and keep her arm from turning to stone.

To perform this attack, Rei called out, "Akuryo Taisan!", then placed an ofuda on the enemy. Sometimes she would also chant the names of the kuji - "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!" (臨、兵、闘、者、皆、陣、列、在、前!; when combined into a sentence, it literally means "all warriors have been lined up in formation here") - while holding up the ofuda before performing the attack. Usually it was used to immobilize an enemy, giving the Senshi time to attack, but could also be used to purify people of an evil influence.

Manga[edit]

This attack appeared in many forms in the manga. When Rei first used it in Act 3, it looked similar to the anime in that she threw an ofuda at Usagi when she felt an evil presence. When she used the attack later after transforming into Sailor Mars, the attack did not seem to include the use of any ofuda, but rather appeared as a ball of fiery energy, similar to Youma Taisan. At that point she used the attack to surround Jadeite with flames which burned him to death. When she used Akuryo Taisan against Nephrite's shadow in Act 4, it looked like a wall of flame. This was the only attack Rei ever used during the Dark Kingdom arc.

After that arc she used it only one more time in the main manga storyline: during the Dream arc in Act 41, she used Akuryo Taisan with a single ofuda in order to repel Tiger's Eye. She also used it against Zoisite in the manga side story "Casablanca Memory," where Sailor Mars performed the attack by using numerous ofuda.

In the third Exam Battle story, when Rei was possessed by Ghost Cistern, Sailor Venus had to use this attack to destroy the spirit, leading Rei to become annoyed at her later.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon[edit]

This attack first appeared in Act 3 of the live-action series, when Rei threw a single ofuda at floating leaves; this was the only time she used the attack as a civilian. She first used the attack as Sailor Mars against a Youma in Act 4. To perform the attack, she would first hold her hand to her chest, then circle her arms, bring them to her stomach, and finally extend her arms in front of her, releasing a stream of fire and ofuda from her hands.

Sailor Moon Crystal[edit]

This attack was portrayed inconsistently in Sailor Moon Crystal. When Rei first performed the attack as Sailor Mars, she conjured an ofuda out of thin air and used it to draw a circle made of blue energy. The blue energy then turned into fire which Sailor Mars collected in her hand, then sent against her target, in a manner similar to Burning Mandala in the original anime.

In Act 4, the attack looked like a regular blast of fire that was shot from her hand, and in Act 5, Sailor Mars threw multiple red ofuda that exploded upon contact with Nephrite's Youma's flower petal attack.

Musicals[edit]

This attack first appeared in the very first musical, Gaiden Dark Kingdom Fukkatsu Hen. It was used by Rei against Haruna Sakurada in order to force her to reveal her true identity as the Youma Manegin.

Video Games[edit]

This attack was used in two video games. In the game Sailor Moon for the Super Famicom, it was the second attack which the player could activate by simultaneously pressing the attack and jump buttons. When she performed the attack in this game, Sailor Mars just raised her arm, making ofuda fly around her from bottom to top before they disappeared, hurting opponents on each side of her in the process. When the attack was successful in making contact with an enemy, however, some of Sailor Mars' life meter would be lost.

In the Sailor Moon arcade game, Sailor Mars required three crystals to perform this attack. During the attack's full-screen animation, she swirled around with two ofuda in her hands.

Trivia[edit]

  • Michie Tomizawa, the voice actress who played Rei Hino/Sailor Mars, confessed in an interview that she had mispronounced the character "Jin" (陣) as "Chin" (陳) in the first two episodes in which this incantation was used, until a member of the staff noticed the error and corrected her.
  • In the DiC English dub the attack was renamed to "Mars Fireball Charge," and bore no relation to her status as a miko. This led many fans to wonder why Rei could use her attack while untransformed. Also, the scenes of a figure surrounded by flames that appeared between each word of the chant were replaced by a fireball. These changes were later corrected in the Viz dub.
  • In the French and Spanish manga, this attack was called "Vade retro, Satanas," which is a Latin exorcism usually translated as "Get thee behind me, Satan."