Moonlight Lady

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Moonlight Lady, or 顔のない月 (Kao no Nai Tsuki), is a five-episode Hentai anime based on an Eroge of the same name by ROOT with art done by Carnelian, who also did the art for Touka Gettan and Yami to Boushi To Hon no Tabibito.

The story follows Koichi Hayama, a mysterious man who enters the Kuraki mansion as the fiance of Suzuna Kuraki. Suzuna is a priestess preparing for the Expecting Moon Ceremony, a ritual meant to welcome new clergywomen. Koichi also meets two maids, the obediently loyal Tomomi Harukawa and the cheerful Sayaka Kurihara, who both hide a strange past. Not everything is at it seems though, as something starts to cause people to act in odd ways.

The series' plot is a bit hard to follow (due to Compressed Adaptation and cutting out extra information), and has a Mind Screw ending.

=== This show provides examples of: 

===

below), Koichi's scar reacts when Mizuna interferes with Yuriko's plans in episode 4. [[Intimate Healing The scar is completely healed after Suzuna's final orgasm during the ceremony in episode 5]].

    • Gohei also has tons of scars on his body, [[Squick not that we

needed to know either!]]

romp in the shower room]], Suzuna wakes up in bed the next day. When Suzuna confronts Tomomi about what happened, Tomomi is quick to convince her that she had actually passed out from the heat of the shower, and that their intimate goings-on never actually happened. The trope is invoked again in episode 3, though in a much more subtle way.

present within the Eroge.

mentions that she was set to marry Io, only "he turned out to be a total pretty-boy instead of a hunk!"

Unfortunate Implications abound, however: it's never clear if Suzuna and Koichi are really falling for each other, or they're being conditioned into it. [[spoiler: The ending leans toward the latter being true]].

Ceremony for this purpose.

large, it has a massive garden, a nearby [[Meditating Under a Waterfall waterfall]], a hot spring, walk-in showers, and a basement furnished with chains for those special occasions.

  • Bishounen: Io is so feminine for a boy that both Motoyama and

Koichi sometimes have a hard time believing he is one. Koichi even wonders if Io was accidentally born with the wrong gender!

occasionally, though by episode four Sayaka has taken total control. The series also implies Tomomi went through the same thing.

  • Brother Chuck: Io disappears by episode 3, and Chikako disappears

during episode 4.

    • Most specifically, Chikako [[spoiler: is literally swallowed by the

Earth.]]

any, explanation for anything that's going on.

They both know Suzuna and Chikako are watching, but thanks to the camellia flowers' influence, they don't really care.

though, and we're not talking about Kuraki Manor!

Ceremony.

having either gone missing or having died; in either case, it's part of Yuriko's justification for moving forward with the Arranged Marriage that sets the rest of the series into motion.

hands on Suzuna. Also present when Sayaka gets her turn with Suzuna.

when Tomomi forces herself upon Io, [[Double Standard in stark contrast to when Koichi forces himself upon Suzuna]]. The fact that Io might be gay makes this worse.

gets drunk upon Koichi's will before entering a threesome with Tomomi, where he has anal sex on two occasions. Also, [[spoiler:during the Expected Moon Ceremony, he is also forced into anal sex by the men from the village helping with the ceremony]].

  • Dream Sequence: Suzuna has a number of these in early episodes.
  • Ear Cleaning: Tomomi does this for Hayama in one episode, much to Io's

dislike.

twintails. Once she's fully under the power of whatever magic is flying around, she lets her hair down. This also means [[Les Yay trouble for Suzuna]] and some fun for Kouichi.

    • In the Eroge, Tomomi has a similar image change, and begins

wearing contacts with her new hairstyle to impress Koichi.

    • Also done with Sayaka: we normally see her with her short,

Mahoro-style, but before she was [[spoiler: kidnapped and raped]], it was longer.

as though Ruri Yamato had simply gone missing. To the people at the manor, however, it's as though Ruri Yamato simply never existed.

and the series in general pays a lot of attention towards Tomomi's and Suzuna's breasts (a point lampshaded by Chikako in the second episode). Episode 5 throws several fetishes at the viewer in quick succession: blindfolds, bondage, threesomes, and orgies.

"Hayama", until after admitting their feelings for each other and consummating at the end of episode 4. Io and Tomomi go through a similar procedure in the Io sub-route of the visual novel.

  • Foot Focus: Between Suzuna and Mizuna, a surprising amount of attention

is paid to their feet.

there are two big differences between them. This sounds like Fridge Logic, until you learn via That Other Wiki that Hayama suffers from prosopagnosia [[hottip:*: i.e., he has difficulty recognizing people's faces--women, in his case]]. The Kuraki sibling's difference in bust helps him tell them apart!

hole, so if anyone has the background information, feel free to correct things]], but according to The Other Wiki, Mizuna Kuraki is the monozygotic twin sister of Suzuna, and was the shrine maiden. However, she was cast away when Suzuna was born. But, if she was the twin sister, wouldn't they both have been born at about the same time?

released in Japan]], they weren't separated until a few years after birth; having spent so much time away from her sister is part of what made Suzuna distant from other people.

  • Gag Boobs: Tomomi. Lampshaded by Koichi, no less.

  Koichi: Your breasts could drive any man crazy!

  • Gag Penis: Kouichi grows a giant shadow-penis during the Expecting Moon

Ceremony, strong enough (and long enough) [[Mood Whiplash to lift Suzuna ]] clear over his head. Thankfully, no distension is involved...

  • Gaiden Game: The visual novel, Kao no Nai Tsuki, was given one in

the form of Suzuna's Diary, which detailed what daily life between Suzuna and Koichi was like. Apparently, Kouichi really likes [[Naughty Nurse Outfit cosplay]].

  • Gainax Ending: Many of the endings in both the anime and the visual

novel end this way. Although the anime is somewhat Lighter and Softer, it's still a total Mind Screw.

    • Tomomi's good ending follows this trope hands-down.

[[spoiler:Chikako periodically warns Koichi not to get close to Tomomi because she may not be what she seems, and eventually tries to kill him to save everyone. Tomomi, however, saves Koichi and also shoots Chikako [[Psychotic Smirk while smiling throughout the whole thing as if nothing happened]]. Chikako makes a Last Stand to push Koichi into the well, where he hears the real Tomomi tell him that she was the embodiment of lust who gained her own body. Time Skip forward and Koichi finds himself in Tomomi's Stripperiffic clad lap where she tells him she's happy to be with him because she doesn't know unhappiness.]]

Yuriko, who was Dead All Along, from being possessed when she starts Fighting From the Inside. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after having a last sexual encounter, she [[Died in Your Arms Tonight Dies In His Arms Tonight]]. Years later, Io has grown up and is now the head of the Kuraki household (retitled the Azuma household) while Koichi finds a camellia flower, Yuriko's favorite flower, growing in the garden.]]

elopes the mansion with [[spoiler:her manager, Urushibara, despite not fully remembering her true self]], but Gohei catches them in the act. [[spoiler:Koichi tries to help them escape, but Gohei won't go down easily even when both Urushibara and Sayaka threaten him with a gun. When Urushibara actually does shoot Gohei twice, Sayaka has an epiphany and takes the third bullet, which instantly kills her.]] [[Flat What What kind of good ending is this.]] [[spoiler:Subverted after the Pan Up to The Sky Ending and Time Skip that occurs shortly afterwards, where Sayaka/Ruri is giving her acceptance speech on winning an acting award, but it really depends on whether you think Sayaka recovered from her injuries or not.]]

    • Downer Ending: Present in many of the endings in the game and also the

ending to the anime adaptation, if the Expecting Moon Ceremony is carried out, [[spoiler:[[Rocks Fall Everyone Dies everyone except for Koichi and Suzuna are spirited away]]. Suzuna, who has become more frequently Brainwashed upon the coming ceremony, will never return to her original self and the beast inside of Koichi (who is probably Brainwashed as well) is revealed.]] There are some variants of what goes on depending on what route you take, including [[spoiler:ominous-looking vortex opening above the mansion]], but all you need to know is that the whole shebang is either an Apocalypse Wow or a Dystopia.

Koichi escapes the mansion and lives Happily Ever After with Tomomi and Io moving in with him. However, when you consider what happens to [[spoiler:Suzuna, Yuriko, and everyone else]], [[Was It Really Worth It you really wonder if it was worth it]].

[[spoiler:Yuriko disappears, nothing is said of the servants at the mansion... while Koichi and Suzuna lead a relatively normal life.]]

game, including the alternate sub-route, [[spoiler:[[Doomed Protagonist Koichi]] will end up either being [[Perfect Poison poisoned by Ippei]] and left to die or stabbed by Chikako. He will then wake up in a hospital room, believing it was {{All Just A Dream}} until he hears some of the medical staff discussing his memory loss.]]

that's when he first became possessed with the demon.]]

to start]]...

    • Koichi is voiced by Akira Ishida, who also voiced [[Gundam Seed Athrun

Zala]], Kaworu, and a [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=443 lot of other people]].

    • Suzuna's seiyuu also has an extensive back-list, most notably, the

titular character from Madlax.

Lingling]].

voiced by Naoko Takano.

    • This also spreads into the English dub, in a minor form--Yuriko's

voice actress previously was Di-Gi Charat.

  • Hime Cut: The women of the Kuraki family all have this hairstyle.
  • Ho Yay: Koichi enjoys teasing Io, while Io often blushes around him.

[[spoiler:Koichi briefly scores with him in the game during a threesome with Tomomi.]]

hypnotized yet again, but snaps out of it in the middle of it.

residence at the manor, though this is only ever really mentioned in the preview for episode 2 and never brought up in the series itself.

type of flower that really doesn't explain anything the episodes themselves.

that Yuriko also likes it when Tomomi does this.

but he wasn't too comfortable when Tomomi made her move on him.

for the Ceremony, Koichi has to have sex with Tomomi, Sayaka, and several other women. Contrast that with Suzuna, who must be left alone and resorts to helping herself.

"Suzuna-chan".

was arranged to get married to Io, who is her cousin. That was shot down when Io grew up to be a "pretty-boy" instead of a "hunk". [[spoiler:In the game, Io is forced to have sex with Suzuna during the Expecting Moon Ceremony.]]

cousins, and both of them deny attraction to the other, yet [[spoiler:Io and Suzuna have sex during the Expecting Moon Ceremony]]. Similarly, Mizuna is Suzuna's twin sister and they, too, do it in the game.

when Tomomi forces herself upon Io. Also present when Tomomi forces herself on Suzuna.

hoping she'll reciprocate. As Suzuna grows closer with Koichi, Tomomi eventually settles for being friends.

  • Les Yay: Plenty between Suzuna and Tomomi, and a bit between Suzuna and

Sayaka.

any sex scenes; she basically just lies back and lets her partner do all the work.

a rat, Yuriko and the maids are quick to point people towards the camellia tree that's in the garden.

Suzuna and Io loves Tomomi [[spoiler:(though it seems so until Tomomi points out that Io likes Koichi)]].

  • Male Gaze: In the fifth episode, Koichi can't help but have his eyes

wander between Sayaka, Tomomi, and Suzuna's cleavage after a rainstorm gets everyone wet.

  Suzuna: "What are you looking at?"

[[spoiler:he's not really taking care of Sayaka/Ruri each time she has a fainting spell, but continues to hypnotize her into thinking she is Sayaka Kurihara and that he saved her life. In addition to that, he repeatedly makes her "return the favor" by forcing her into having sex with him.]] Though, it really depends on what route you decide to undergo because [[spoiler:he does help you out in Tomomi's route and kills Ippei when he tries to hurt you.]]

in the first episode by Tomomi. Koichi helps himself to some in the second episode (See the Gag Boobs entry). Even Suzuna engages in this briefly in episode four, and inadvertently causes this (combined with Funbag Airbag) with Sayaka in episode 2.

  • Mass Hypnosis: Pretty much everyone living in the Kuraki household is

hypnotized sooner or later.

brainwashing and, upon being found by Suzuna, repeats her dialogue exactly as she had when she was first discovered by Suzuna in episode 1 as Ruri Yamato. By this point though, Suzuna has no idea what Sayaka is talking about due to being brainwashed herself.

  • Meganekko: Tomomi, though she trades them for contacts later on.
  • Meido: Tomomi and Sayaka. As for what "job" the maid really

entails...

  • Mental Affair: Played somewhat literally; early in episode 3 Suzuna is

hypnotized by her mother, and she later imagines Koichi having his way with her, only for him to suddenly stop and run right back to Tomomi. Suzuna would later forbid Koichi from seeing Tomomi if he ever needed anything.

of Yuriko or the camellia flowers. [[spoiler:Suzuna sports them at the very end of the fifth episode.]]

  • Mind Screw: The ending of the series.
    • Similarly, the Bad Endings of the game essentially qualify for this

trope.

you do things like stopping Gohei while he is raping Sayaka.

Someone Who Is Likely Being Possessed By Dark Powers Fueled By Lust]]: Chikako learns this lesson, the hard way.

since a lot of key plot elements are explained in there.

his chest.

even in her sex scenes, probably to make up for her [[Pettanko lack of bust]].

  • Otaku: Io, justified in the fact that he's a scholar and is

constantly in the mansion's library studying. Motoyama, on the other hand, is a better version of this trope.

doesn't bother her at all.

  • Pettanko: Again, Sayaka, especially when compared to the rest of

the female cast.

played for comedy, has Tomomi and Sayaka servicing Koichi after they find him with morning wood. The second variant occurs during the Expecting Moon Ceremony, which can best be described as being induced through magical Viagra.

(See the Un Cancelled entry), a recap-OVA was released some time before the fifth episode.

Suzuna's twin sister]]: she's tied to a shrine under Mount Kuraki by a long, red ribbon.

  • Rich Bitch: Suzuna has some elements of this at first, seeing as she

doesn't really mingle with other students, as well as some of her attitude with Koichi.

although this is mostly due to the sudden nature of his nightly ventures, what with the camellia flowers and all that.

through her robes]].

Through]] Her Skirt in the second episode.

  • Scenery Porn: In the games, especially. Even Koichi's nightmare scenes

had a fitting ambience.

Koichi discovers that [[spoiler:Io has been jacking off to videos of Tomomi]], he makes Io come clean with his feelings for Tomomi ? [[spoiler:or more like sexual desire, as he repeatedly makes Io have sex with Tomomi]] by threatening to tell Suzuna.

by the camellias, however, she pulls a '180'.

episodes 1 and 4. In episode 1, this quickly leads to Shower of Love between Suzuna and Tomomi.

titles was Moonlight Lady 2

the actress, Ruri Yamato, was going to play in an upcoming film. The character was nothing like her. Somehow, however, Ruri got lost in the forest around the Kuraki estate, and was subsequently kidnapped, raped, [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking and set to work as a maid]]. She eventually hid her 'true' self behind the 'Sayaka' persona.]]

    • [[spoiler:Also, Tomomi is actually a physical manifestation of lust

and is more dangerous than she appears to be.]]

fundoshi (traditional Japanese loincloths) and Oni-masks. They help out with the Expecting Moon Ceremony.

episode. It even creates shockwaves.

she's in the garden with Kouichi.

good endings route, if you choose [[spoiler:Tomomi's route and complete Io's sub-route]].

basement evokes this mood very well. As for [[This and That what goes on in there]]...

  • Tsundere: Suzuna.
  • Twincest: Averted in the anime, but played straight in the visual

novel.

  • Un Canceled: When the series was first released, the fourth episode

was originally cited as being the final episode, released in 2002. After just over a year, episode five was finally released.

the garden, talking about the Moon. Meanwhile, with all of the subtlety and quietness of a jet engine, Kouichi is raping Suzuna not too far away.

re-released several times, adding in additional plotlines for Chikako and Yuriko. Eventually, the whole smack was re-released as one game in 2005.

  • Wall Bang Her:
    • Or rather, "Tree Bang Her"--with Yuriko between Koichi and the tree.
    • Suzuna goes through a Window-Banger in the first episode.
  • We Named the Monkey Jack: Suzuna's stuffed teddy bear is named Mizuna,

though Suzuna doesn't realize it's also the name of her twin sister.

  • Weird Moon: Averted. The moon visibly grows larger over the course of

the five episodes, leading up to the Expecting Moon Ceremony.

professor of psychology, possibly at Nogoya University]].

she's not above sleeping with someone in order to further her goals.

Koichi, and wears again in episode 4.

casual clothes.

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