Ceres: Celestial Legend DVD

On their sixteenth birthday, twins Aya and Aki Mikage are summoned to the family mansion — not for a party, but for a test. The Mikage clan has long carried a secret: some of their descendants harbor the blood of a tennyo, a celestial maiden, and those who carry it too strongly are considered a threat to be eliminated. Aya is one such descendant. When a mummified hand is presented as their "gift," something awakens inside her — the ancient and vengeful spirit of Ceres, a powerful celestial maiden whose heavenly robe was stolen by the Mikage ancestor Shiso thousands of years ago, trapping her on Earth. Ceres possesses Aya's body when triggered and seeks the destruction of the entire Mikage bloodline. Forced to flee her own family, pursued by her grandfather's forces and separated from her beloved twin brother Aki — who carries the spirit of Ceres' ancient captor — Aya must find Ceres' lost robe and somehow bring peace to a centuries-old grudge, all while falling in love with the mysterious amnesiac Toya who was sent to observe her.

Ceres, Celestial Legend is one of Yuu Watase's most mature and emotionally intense works — a dark, romantic, and at times genuinely harrowing shojo fantasy that followed her beloved Fushigi Yugi with considerably higher stakes and significantly more tragedy. Produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, the 24-episode series weaves Japanese tennyo mythology into a modern thriller plot involving corporate conspiracy, genetic experimentation, and family betrayal. The series was awarded the 43rd Shogakukan Manga Award in the shojo category and remains a landmark of 2000s shojo anime. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Hajime Kamegaki
Original Manga: Yuu Watase (Fushigi Yugi, Alice 19th)
Character Design: Hideyuki Motohashi
Studio: Studio Pierrot
Music: Ryo Sakai
Opening Theme: "Scarlet" performed by Junko Iwao

Cast:
- Yumi Kakazu as Aya Mikage
- Junko Iwao as Ceres
- Katsuyuki Konishi as Toya
- Susumu Chiba as Aki Mikage
- Kentaro Ito as Yuhi Aogiri
- Mayumi Asano as Suzumi Aogiri
- Tomokazu Sugita as Kagami Mikage
- Ayako Kawasumi as Chidori Kuruma

DVD Features

- Art Gallery
- Character Profiles
- Exclusive Interviews with Yuu Watase (Collector's Edition)
- New Cover Art by Yuu Watase (Collector's Edition)
- Viz Media Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: 妖しのセレス (Ayashi no Seresu)
Runtime: ~600 Minutes (Complete Series, 24 Episodes)
Director: Hajime Kamegaki
DVD Release Year: 2001–2003 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): April 20 – September 28, 2000
Publisher: Viz Media
Rating: TV-MA
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Shojo, Dark Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Themes: Celestial Maiden Legend, Reincarnation, Family Conspiracy, Forbidden Love, Ancient Mythology

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.