As they talk, the city officials close the inner canal gates to protect their harbor, not caring that it puts the refugee section in danger of being flooded.

Taitou tells Ryuukou to break the flood gates to release the pressure, because he can control his ki.

Taitou, in a reckless attempt to save his friend, leaps from the gate walls and smashes the debris, unfortunately forgetting to attach himself to something, and so falls into the canal.

Ryuukou jumps in after him, and pulls him onto a floating piece of wood, where he then starts to berate him for almost sacrificing himself, saying he should have left him.

They are joined by Laila and Koyou, who directs their attention to his "modest ship", a massive barge he calls "Touga".

Because of the cruelty of the previous rulers of the Empire, and many corrupt officials still in power, Keiro has chosen to act with the prophecy and try to become Emperor himself.

The other Stars are Ryuukou, who grew up in the same village as Taitou; Hosei, who trained under a strong woman warrior who had learned much about the prophecy of the Stars; Koyou, who spends most of the story on his barge ship; Rinmei, a woman who loves Ryuukou and has anger management issues; and Shoukakou, a mysterious man in the capital city who at first seems to be working for Keiro.

The story also involves dealing with grief, loss, responsibility, and starting over even when you feel the weight of your sins means you cannot take another step.

In doing this he massacres dozens of the ascetic monks that were living out their vows of protection and love behind the Tian Long temple's walls, but also, Keiro is confronted by the plucky Taito for the first of their 4 face offs over the 26 episodes.

There are some differences between the plot of the manga and the anime, including which characters live or die, who fights when and where, and how the final battles play out.

For example, in the anime, Keiro actually manages to absorb Shimei inside of himself, and gains supernatural powers, controlling Ryuukou against his will and turning some people into demons.

[13] A 26-episode anime television series, produced by Studio Flag, directed by Osamu Sekita, with character designs by Hiromu Arakawa, titled Jūshin Enbu: Hero Tales (獣神演武 -HERO TALES-), was broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 8, 2007, to March 31, 2008.

[21] The second opening and ending themes are "Flashback" (フラッシュバック, Furasshubakku) and "Komorebi no Uta" (木漏レビノ歌, "Song of Filtering Trees"), respectively, both performed by High and Mighty Color.