The Legend
Ayashi no Ceres is a manga that spans 14 volumes with several novels and a 24 episode anime series. The story revoles around school girl Aya Mikage whom, on her sixteenth birthday, is exposed to a shocking secret about her family bloodline. She flees from her family who are divided into two factions: those wanting to kill her, and those wanting to use her powers to evolve mankind.
The Mikage are descendants of the Tennyo, a celestial being whom was coerced into marrying a fisherman when her hagoromo, a garment needed in order to return to the heavens, was taken from her. In the legend the tennyo finds her hagaromo and is able to rest in peace. In Ayashi no Ceres, the tennyo dies on Earth and is reborn in some of her female descendants to wreak havoc on the family that bound her to the mortal world.
On the fateful ocassion of her sixteenth birthday, Aya finds out that Ceres is reborn in her.
Ayashi no Ceres focuses on several themes: the ever striving need to better ourselves and the paths we will go to to make that happen, self preserveration, courage and love. We are shown all the sides of humanity, and because of that this story will have you holding your sides in laughter and weeping from your heart. I myself spent three days in emotional turmoil after watching it. A series that impacts on you so much is one that you know is good and I recommend it to all fans of manga and anime: shoujo lovers or no.