Demons, sorcerers, ninjas...explaining the origins of Japan’s dark heroes from the perspective of Japanese art.

In many "dark fantasy" manga and anime, which are hugely popular today, characters use extraordinary abilities to carve out their destiny.

In Japanese art, too, characters who can be seen as prototypes of those manga and anime characters with extraordinary abilities, such as sorcerers or samurai who control magical beasts, have often been depicted. There are also works here and there, such as giants who slay demons and eat humans, or people whose hands stretch, that are reminiscent of world famous artworks. This timeless collection focuses mainly on creatures with “extraordinary abilities” who appear in ghost stories and legends from the Edo period and explains the current trends behind anime and manga.