MAO

MAO is a Japanese manga series created by Rumiko Takahashi and serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The story follows Nanoka Kiba, a girl who survived a shopping-street cave-in as a first-grader and is cursed by a cat spirit, and Mao, a young onmyoji who carries the same curse. When Nanoka is transported to the Taisho era, she meets Mao, and together they investigate the truth behind the collapse of the Onikura family, a powerful onmyoji clan destroyed in the Heian period. The series blends Taisho-era occult romance with time-travel and supernatural mystery. The official Shogakukan page presents MAO as a current Weekly Shōnen Sunday serial, with character profiles for Nanoka, Mao, Otoya, Byoki, Kamon/Kuchinawa, Hyakka, Shiranui, Sana, Yurako, Hakubi, Masago, Natsuno, Renji, Mitazono Mei, Hosho Kagari, Daigo, Kagami Soma, and Sasuga. The page also promotes the TV anime adaptation, which airs on NHK General TV on Saturdays at 23:45, with an official anime site and X account. The anime is described as running for two consecutive cours starting April 4, 2026. As a commercial property, MAO is part of the Rumiko Takahashi brand ecosystem, alongside her other works such as Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura, which are also promoted on the same official page. The manga is published by Shogakukan, and the anime adaptation is produced for NHK. The property spans manga, anime, and related merchandise, with the official website serving as the primary hub for news and updates.

MAO is a manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, one of Japan's most prominent manga artists, known for works such as Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and Inuyasha. MAO is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday. The official Shogakukan page for the series presents it as an ongoing serial and provides story and character information. The narrative centers on Nanoka Kiba, who as a first-grader survived a shopping-street cave-in that killed her family, and who was cursed by a cat spirit called Byoki. As a middle school third-year, she is transported to the Taisho era when she passes the accident site again. There she meets Mao, a young onmyoji who also bears the curse of Byoki. Mao was a sacrifice used in a succession dispute within the Onikura family, a distinguished onmyoji house that collapsed in the Heian period. Mao and Nanoka investigate the truth of that collapse, uncovering a darkness hidden for nine hundred years. The series is described as a Taisho-era occult romance where two worlds intersect. The official page lists a large cast, including Nanoka, Mao, Otoya (a shikigami child working for Mao), Byoki (the cat spirit that continues to curse Mao and can possess human bodies), Kamon/Kuchinawa (Mao's former senior disciple who uses the alias Kuchinawa in the Taisho era), Hyakka (another former senior disciple skilled with fire), Shiranui (an onmyoji claiming the Onikura name in the capital, skilled with water), Sana (the daughter of Mao's master, possibly killed by Mao), Yurako (a woman with Shiranui who is the Onikura family's 'vessel of curse' and shares Sana's face), Hakubi (a senior disciple skilled in metal who sides with Shiranui and plots the Onikura revival), Masago (a powerful water user and one of the Onikura heirs, who died in the Heian period but whose remains are held by Shiranui), Natsuno (a former senior sister disciple skilled with earth, who made medicine in the Heian period), Renji (an assassin hired by Shiranui, known as 'Renji of the Send-off Fire', who carries a yueqin and can use the Onikura secret technique Kakachu), Mitazono Mei (a girl entrusted by Shiranui with the 'Garden of Longevity' and who uses suspicious life-extension techniques), Hosho Kagari (a schoolgirl and daughter of a 'curse seller' who uses needle curses and follows Hakubi), Daigo (a former senior disciple and earth user who was supposedly cursed to death but...), Kagami Soma (from a family whose heads have housed beasts for generations, following Hakubi), and Sasuga (a water user working under Shiranui, descended from the Mizumari family that served the Onikura). The series has been adapted into a TV anime. According to the official page, the anime airs on NHK General TV on Saturdays at 23:45, and the official anime website and X account are provided. A news item dated 2026/03/25 states that the anime began airing on April 4, 2026, for two consecutive cours. The page also promotes other Rumiko Takahashi anime, such as Ranma 1/2 season 3 (starting October 3, 2026, on Nippon TV) and Urusei Yatsura, indicating that MAO is part of a broader Takahashi franchise presence managed by Shogakukan and its partners.

• MAO begins serialization in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday.

• TV anime adaptation of MAO begins airing on NHK General TV for two consecutive cours.

A supernatural Taisho-era romance manga by Rumiko Takahashi, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday and adapted into an NHK anime.

• MAO manga

  Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, published by Shogakukan.

• MAO TV anime

  Anime adaptation airing on NHK General TV on Saturdays at 23:45.

1. 1『MAO』 高橋留美子 | 少年サンデーwebsunday.net