stab him so that neither of them will spread more hatred for the yōma. Majumi no Miko The demon king of the sea, Majumi is a yōma that takes the form of a flesh-eating white horse. He plans on merging with his fellow terrestrial demon lord, Kikuga no Miko, so that all the monsters in the world can be revived. Majumi battles Hikage on a beach and in an ocean but is killed. He is later revived during the final confrontation between Kikuga and Hikage and stomps on Aya, giving her a scar. The two demons merge into a wolf-centaur-like creature powerful enough to control the world, but still are killed by Hikage during their final showdown. Shiratsuyu A yōma that takes the appearance of a white snake, Shiratsuyu is approved by Kikuga to kill Hikage after the latter kills Majumi. Along with Mai and Yoki, he plans a trap by taking Aya and Kotone hostage. However, it fails when Mai and Yoki are killed by Hikage and Kotone possess Shiratsuyu's body, destroying his soul and only reappearing when she reincarnates Marou. Music The series uses two pieces of theme music: by Mami Nakizoto is the series' opening theme, while by Midori Karashima is the series' ending theme. Releases In Japan, the series was released on VHS on May 1, 1989. ADV Films released the VHS on November 11, 1998. The OVAs two episodes were released on May 1 and June 1, 1989, respectively in North America by ADV Films and aired on Encore Action, in France by Manga, in Germany by OVA Films and in Russia by MC Entertainment. The OVAs were rebroadcast in an anime marathon by Encore Action on November 4, 2000. Reception DVD Verdict criticised Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma for its "limpid animation and static imagery" and quality of the DVD release. Mania.com's Chris Beveridge compared Blood Reign: Curse of the Yoma with Wrath of the Ninja for its ninja protagonists. THEM Anime's Carlos Ross criticizes the characterization but commends the dated graphics and the action. Sequential Tart's Sheena McNeil commends the OVA with "Blood Reign is a delightfully eerie movie. The mythology it provides gives some meat to the story while the well-developed characters give it life." Otaku USA's Paul Thomas Chapman commends the OVA, stating that he "[loves] the sense of psycho-geography that pervades Blood Reign, for in these OVAs the world