Kai Doh Maru
2001 original video animation
Kai Doh Maru (怪童丸, Kaidōmaru) is an original video animation (OVA) anime directed by Kanji Wakabayashi and produced by Production I.G. and SME Visual Works. It was released on December 19, 2001, in Japan and on July 29, 2003, in the United States by Manga Entertainment. In Australia, it is distributed on DVD by Madman Entertainment.
Plot
Set in the Shōryaku and Chōtoku eras of Japan's Heian period, Kai Doh Maru is set against a background of a capital under threat from disease, outlaws, and political plots. The story reworks themes from Japanese folklore, focusing on the relationship between Sakata no Kintoki (Kintarō) and Minamoto no Raikō, one of the first military Minamoto and "monster hunters" of folklore. The story replaces the traditional image of Kintaro - a strong, ruddy-cheeked man - with that of a determined, tomboyish girl, while retaining much of the traditional character such as the carrying of an axe. Other historical figures from the period who have also become objects of folklore, such as Fujiwara no Michinaga and the rebel Taira no Masakado also make an appearance.
The story begins at Mount Ashigara in Sagami Province in the Shōryakuera, where the young Kintoki is caught in a bloody family feud. Disguised as a boy by her father to protect her from her uncle's ambitions to take over the family, Kintoki's memories of her childhood indicate that she was intended as the next head of the family. She is almost killed by her uncle when he kills her family in a coup, but is rescued by the arrival of the warrior Minamoto no Raikō, who takes her back to the capital.
“Kai Doh Maru” enters the record as 2001 original video animation. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Maru, original and video can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4042037. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2001 and 2003.
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