Beyond the Heavens - S01

Souten Kouro is loosely based on events from China's Three Kingdoms period, during the life of Cao Cao (155 - March 15, 220),the last Chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who is also the main character. The Three Kingdoms period has been a popular theme in Japanese manga for decades, but Souten Kouro differs greatly from most others in several ways. One major difference is its highly positive portrayal of Cao Cao, who is traditionally the antagonist not only in Japanese manga but also in most novel versions of the Three Kingdoms period, including the original 14th-century version, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guanzhong. Another significant difference is that the story mainly uses the original historical account of the era, "Records of Three Kingdoms" by Chen Shou, as a reference rather than the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" novel. As a result, Liu Bei, the traditional hero of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", takes on relatively less importance in the story and is portrayed in a less positive light. Yet several aspects of the story are in fact based on the novel version, including the use of original characters such as Diao Chan, as well as anachronistic weapons like Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Zhang Fei's Viper Blade. A consistent theme throughout the story is Cao Cao's constant desire to break China and its people away from old systems and ways of thinking and to focus on pragmatism over empty ideals. This often puts him at odds with the common customs and ideas of Confucianism and those who support them.