Makai

is a Japanese word meaning "world of spirits, hell." It is commonly found in anime, manga, and video games. It a phenomenon of some interest as Makai is rarely portrayed completely the same twice by two different stories. Sometimes Makai is a more traditional version of Hell (as seen by Judeo-Christian perspective) but often it is merely a darker shade of the spirit world for different yokai. In the case of the former, Makai often has an angelic/celestial counterpart called Tenkai while in the case of the latter the world of the gods (Shinkai) is considered its counterpart. In almost all portrayals of Makai, the "human world" of Ningenkai (Earth) has a role to play, often as a hunting ground for Makai's residents. Natives of Makai are sometimes referred to as Mazoku, and their leader often boasts the title "Maou" ("Demon King").

YuYu Hakusho
Makai is a fictional world in the manga and anime series YuYu Hakusho. The saga of the "Three Kings" takes place in Makai. Makai, although home to demons, is in fact a world similar to Ningenkai (human world). The world is divided up into three kingdoms, belonging to Raizen, Yomi, and Mukuro. Each kingdom has inhabitants that are either good and noble, or evil and murderous. The supporters of each king are war torn against the other, and it has become a murderous land.

Makai is a vast, self-contained universe, nearly or entirely endless. It is composed of something akin to floors. The deeper in Makai a floor is, the stronger the demon residents are. Reikai (Spirit World E.V.) controls only half of the first floor, even though the attempt to control Makai has lasted for centuries. The first floor contains the Saint Beasts and Maze Castle (J.V. names not available), the relatively powerful demons Yusuke Urameshi and his allies faced shortly before the Dark Tournament. The demons inhabiting this level of Makai considered these Demons to be almost godlike, although they are merely rank D+ through C in power. As a point of comparison, the 3 rulers of Makai are all S+ ranking, including Raizen,who although comparable to Yomi and Mukuro, is at that point severely weakened. He is thought to have been at his prime to be something inexpressible in the ranking system

Makai locations
*City of Ganderra
*Koorime City

Nippon Ichi games
Makai is the main location of the video game Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. It is a more traditional version of Hell, complete with opposition to Tenkai and ruled by an Overlord (Atlus', a translation of "Maou"). There are several Makais, each with their own Overlords, such as the Dark World in La Pucelle: Tactics.

In Makai Kingdom (also known as "Phantom Kingdom" in Japan), the story involves how Maou Zetta lost his Makai and became trapped in the Sacred Tome. The player takes the role of Zetta's minions as they retake what he had lost. The pluralistic diversity and radically dynamic, if not chaotic, nature within Makai is best explained by the characters' Pram and Zetta, respectively:

There is, of course, more than one universe. In one such world, in the corner of a backwater galaxy, humans rule over a senseless planet... However, that's about as important as a speck of dust in this pluralistic cosmos. Well, here in the Netherworld, things work the same way.

There's more than one world in the universe, so of course there are many netherworlds. I have mine, but it's not the only one. Of course, with all these netherworlds floating around, Overlords try to conquer other nearby netherworlds. In fact, they pounce on any chance to do so.

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In the anime and game series (developed by Navel), ruins open gates to Makai and Shinkai. Surprisingly, it is found that the natives of both worlds (Mazoku and Shinzoku) aren't unlike humanity and the three maintain a peaceful relationship. Even the rulers of the two respective realms -- traditional enemies in some stories -- share a warm relationship. Some of the comedy stems from how the main character (Rin Tsuchimi), a mostly normal high school student, has both a powerful Kami and the Maou for next door neighbors.

Darkstalkers

The world of Darkstalkers in which the characters of the game series fight in is also known as Makai, Makai is the demon world, also known as the location of the Aensland Clan in which Morrigan and Lilith Aensland originated from.

GARO
This is a live action tokukatsu series. The main character of the story is a Makai Knight. His duty is to slay demonic creatures called Horrors and protect humanity. Makai is used often for warriors, priests, and various tools. It's interesting since they are fighting hell-like minions and they themselves used the term Makai.

Shin Megami Tensei
Within the Shin Megami Tensei games, there is often the Makai, where the various demons found throughout the games call home. In some games, like Shin Megami Tensei If... and Demi Kids, the main characters physically enter the Makai, while in others it is implied to exist.

Samurai Shodown
Makai is the demon world, governated by the god Ambrosia (probably she would be Yuga the Destroyer), and where Gen-an Shiranui and various demons or possessed humans (like Amakusa Shiro Tokisada or Mizuki Rashojin) are come from.

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See Also

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