Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato

Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato (天空戦記 シュラト) is an anime television series by Tatsunoko. It's a loose adaptation of the manga series Shurato (シュラト) by Hiroshi Kawamoto which is based on Todoroki Mihara's drafts for a line of action figures for Bandai.

It ran 38 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 6, 1989, to January 18, 1990, and also received a 6-episode OVA followup series named Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato: Dark Genesis (天空戦記 シュラト 創世への暗闘), 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 Lakshu, 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 (日高秋亜人)


 * (also Shura-Oh Shurato (修羅王シュラト))
 * The titular main protagonist of the series, Shurato, is a hot-headed, reckless, and impatient 16-year-old. He is depicted as having low tolerance and understanding of Tenkūkai's laws and inner workings, but is strong and pure-hearted. Like Gai, he is a martial arts master, and eventually becomes the most powerful of the Hachibushu and their de facto leader. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the lion, and his weapon is a vajra.


 * Gai Kuroki (黒木凱)


 * (also Yasha-Oh Gai (夜叉王ガイ))
 * A primary character and one of the main antagonists of the show, Gai was Shurato's best friend on Earth, but became his greatest enemy in Tenkūkai when he was put in a spell by Indrah. Unlike Shurato, he is cool, collected, and highly intelligent. He was a martial arts master, depicted as Shurato's equal, even though he was also a pacifist. His shakti and armor are both modeled after the wolf, and his weapon is a longsword.


 * Lakshu of Hōraisan (蓬莱山のラクシュ)
 * Based on the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, Lakshu is a young native of Tenkūkai and a fledgling spirit priestess. She is the first person to find Shurato after he is teleported to Tenkūkai, attempting to wake him up with a kiss. She then accompanies Shurato and Hyūga on their journey, and becomes a major asset to the team when her latent Sohma powers manifest.

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.

In April 2024, in celebration of the anime's 35th anniversary, Tatsunoko announced a remaster of the series for release on streaming services.

Theme songs

 * Opening theme
 * "Shining Soul" by Satoko Shimizu (epi. 01–25)
 * "Truth" by Satoko Shimizu (epi. 26–38)
 * "Keep Your Pure Love" by Satoko Shimizu (OVA 1–6)


 * Ending theme
 * "Sabaku no Meizu (Desert Labyrinth)" by Satoko Shimizu (epi. 01–25)
 * "Caravan" by Satoko Shimizu (epi. 26–38)
 * "Garasu no Shōnen (Glass Boy)" by Satoko Shimizu (OVA 1–6)

Manga and novels
The manga series was done by Hiroshi Kawamoto based on Todoroki Mihara's drafts; it was serialized in Shōnen Gahōsha's Shōnen King from January to May 1988, and then collected into 2 volumes in 1991. Shurato also spurred two novel series written by Satoru Akahori and Mayori Sekijima, and drama CDs.

Mechanical designers

 * Studio Ammonite (Hiroshi Ogawa, Hiroshi Okura, and Takashi Ono)