Engulfed in Night

Welcome to Setting Sun, a shrine dedicated to the manga Dream Saga (Mugen Densetsu Takamagahara) by Megumi Tachikawa. This shrine aims to be an introduction to the series and to provide a comprehensive look at its themes and story elements, including its Japanese mythology background.

The great sun goddess Amaterasu locked herself away in the heavenly rock cave. At that, the plain of high heaven Takamagahara darkened, and the middle country of reed beds Nakatsukuni became engulfed in darkness…

Megumi Tachikawa is best known for Kaitou Saint Tail, perhaps even Cyber Idol Mink, but her name along with Dream Saga have largely been forgotten by time. The German and English publications of the series have long since gone out of print (fortunately, scans of the latter are still available on the internet), and I can’t remember it ever having had a public fandom of its own. And yet, over a decade after I’ve first read it, the concept behind the series still remains vastly intriguing to me, the what-ifs and the yearning to see something similar again in another narrative never entirely leaving me. Even as I revisit the series and realize it’s aimed at a fairly young audience, it still holds a special place in my heart after all these years.

In part, that fondness stems from the fact that Dream Saga entered my life at the perfect moment: The rise of Magical Girl series and young girls celebrating those series via fansites; my age of exploration, with Sailor Moon and manga in general fostering my interest in mythology, while JRPGs and series such as Fushigi Yuugi instilled me with an insatiable thirst for adventure; the rising awareness for the world around and beyond me, and how series such as Magic Knight Rayearth drew attention to matters concerning the world, not just the individual. Although Dream Saga is not a Magical Girl series, it shares some elements with them, making it easy to get into.

The bigger part of my love lies in certain fictional elements that have always fascinated me, whether in books, manga or video games: parallel worlds, dream dimensions, adventures within a fantasy setting and journeys to many different places, mythology-inspired stories, alter egos (usually an element of reincarnation or, again, Magical Girl narratives), parallel stories across time or space, and the search for comrades, each with their own talents — all the more so if they gather around a female lead. I am also still very fond of Dream Saga’s love story, and adore the final confrontation at its climax.

Dream Saga is a series that’s been with me for a long time, and with this shrine, I hope to keep its memory alive while conveying some of my fascination for its setting to those already familiar with it and those who may be interested in a new adventure.

Note that there are spoilers all across the site. Everything but Revelations and a big part of Mythology is safe to read if you’re interested in checking out the series yourself, and individual spoiler warnings are on the respective pages. There isn’t a formal review of the series on this shrine; what comes closest to it is Responsibility, which is a thorough look at the series’ themes and how it conveys them. You may also be interested in Parallels, a page that points out where the series is lacking and lists a few series that resemble Dream Saga.

The is based on the German publication by Egmont Manga & Anime (2002–2003). The English publication by Tokyopop (2004–2005) is consulted secondarily.

The site is intended to be viewed at a minimum resolution of 1024x768.

If there are any thoughts you’d like to share, I’d be delighted about any feedback in my guestbook. Thanks a lot for your visit!

listed at: Emotion
last update: June 2022