Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato
Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato, is a Japanese media franchise by Todoroki Mihara. A manga series by Hiroshi Kawamoto was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's Shōnen King in 1988, with its nine chapters collected in two tankōbon volumes. It was followed by an anime series by Tatsunoko which ran for 38 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 6, 1989, to January 18, 1990, and also received a 6-episode OVA follow-up series named Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato: Dark Genesis, that ran from August 16, 1991, to March 16, 1992.
Set in a parallel world called "Tenkūkai", which exists alongside Earth, evil forces known as the Asura Gods threaten to overcome the forces of good, causing the magical leader of this realm to transport warriors from Earth to their world. It's loosely based on Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
Plot
The plot revolves around two boys, Shurato Hidaka and Gai Kuroki, lifelong best friends who are polar opposites of each other in appearance and personality. While fighting each other in a martial arts tournament, they are suddenly encased in a beam of light and transported to a parallel world, Tenkūkai, where modern technology does not exist and instead the people rely on Sohma, a form of spiritual energy.Shurato discovers he is actually the reincarnation of an ancient king of the same name, who once ruled this world, and one of the "Hachibushu", a group of eight legendary warriors with large quantities of Sohma, and was brought here along with Gai to fight the Asura Gods, a legion of destructive warriors. However, for unknown reasons, Gai attempts to kill Shurato repeatedly, confusing Shurato as the real Gai is a pacifist and the most compassionate person he knows.
Things quickly go wrong when Shurato and another of the Hachibushu, Ten-ō Hyūga, are framed for the petrification of Lady Vishnu, a powerful divinity and the leader of the people of Tenkūkai. The actual culprit, Vishnu's highest advisor and Asura spy Indrah, and the corrupted Gai manage to convince the remainder of the Hachibushu, as well as all of Tenkūkai's warriors and soldiers, that Shurato and Hyūga are evil and must be killed.
Although at first reluctant to get involved, Shurato eventually resolves to aid Hyūga in uncovering the conspiracy and cure Vishnu. They are accompanied by the young Tenkūkai spirit priestess Laksh, and two others of the Hachibushu, Ryū-ō Ryōma and Karura-ō Reiga. Along the way, they engage in battle with the other four of the Hachibushu, sinister Asura agents in league with Indrah, and the majority of Tenkūkai's population.
Characters
;Shurato Hidaka;Gai Kuroki
; Laksh of Hōraisan
Media
TV anime and OVA
The TV series premiered on TV Tokyo, where it ran for 38 episodes from April 6, 1989, to January 1990. It was dubbed and broadcast in Brazil, France, Spain, Venezuela, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and China. The 6-episode OVA series began release on August 16, 1991, and ended on March 16, 1992.On April 6, 2024, in celebration of the anime's 35th anniversary, Tatsunoko announced a remaster of the series for release on streaming services like Hulu and Bandai Channel.
Theme songs
; Opening theme; Ending theme
Manga and novels
The manga series was done by Hiroshi Kawamoto based on Ammonite Team's drafts; it was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's Shōnen King from July 8, 1988 to November 11, 1988, and then collected into 2 tankōbon volumes in 1989 and 1990. The manga was released in Italy in 2024 by Sprea Comics. Black Box released the series in France. Shurato also spurred two novel series written by Satoru Akahori and Mayori Sekijima, and drama CDs.Home Media Release
The original series was released on two DVD box sets in Japan, titled "MEMORY BOX", the first on February 25, 2003, and the second on May 23, 2003.On November 22, 2024, the official X account announced that the MEMORY BOX box sets would be released on Blu-ray, officially releasing it on February 26, 2025.