, also known as , is a Japanese

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Fuyumi Soryo is a Japanese manga artist. Life Soryo was born in Beppu, Oita, Japan. She is a graduate of the Oita prefectural Geijutsu Midorigaoka High School. She was born into the home of a master of the Kanze school of Noh. In her childhood she liked ...

. The story follows the early life of

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

, a 15th-century Italian

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

, politician, and mercenary leader. In creating ''Cesare'', Soryo collaborated with

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

scholar Motoaki Hara to bring

Renaissance Italy The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

to life in great and accurate detail. The manga was serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

's (young men's) manga magazine ''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...

'' from March 2005 to November 2021 and collected into 13 (compiled volumes). The manga also inspired a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

adaptation, which was canceled before its debut in April 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Instead, a live concert was held in July 2020.

Synopsis

''Cesare'' is about the life of one of history's most enigmatic figures:

, an Italian

, politician, and mercenary leader during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. The

takes an intimate look at Cesare's life during his matriculation at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

, at the age of 15, in the years preceding his appointment as a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

Characters

: Installed at Pisa by his father

Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

, a

, purportedly to earn his doctorate in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. However, it is soon made obvious that Cesare's presence in Pisa is engineered by his father in order to support the rise of the Borgia family in power and the impending ascension of Rodrigo Borgia to the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. * Michelotto da Corella: Cesare's faithful right-hand man. An orphaned

Sephardi Jew Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

who was taken into Rodrigo Borgia's household, and of an age with Cesare. * Angelo da Canossa: A new student at Pisa, Angelo proves to be a fish out of water. Having lived a sheltered life with his grandfather in a remote province, he retains a social clumsiness that gets him in trouble at his first day in school. It is only through Cesare's timely intervention that Angelo begins to realize his awkward and lackadaisical upbringing. It is through the eyes of Angelo that we primarily learn Cesare's multifaceted motivations and the beginnings of his ambitions. Cesare's life and world overlaps with the politics of his father and his father's allies and enemies. *

: The Borgias, who were based in Valencia, Spain, were known to be ruthless in the pursuit of their ambitions. Although a cardinal of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and by rule forbidden to marry or have children due to the clerical vow of celibacy, Rodrigo acknowledged Cesare as well as some of his illegitimate children and used their talents to perpetuate the power of the Borgias throughout Europe and support him in his rise as Pope Alexander VI. *

Giuliano della Rovere Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

: A cardinal and chief rival of Rodrigo Borgia for the papacy. Related to the Pazzi Conspiracy, of which a prominent member of the Medici family was murdered. *

Raffaele Riario Raffaele Sansoni Galeoti Riario (3 May 1461 – 9 July 1521) was an Italian Cardinal of the Renaissance, mainly known as the constructor of the Palazzo della Cancelleria and the person who invited Michelangelo to Rome. He was a patron of the ...

: Related to the Roveres through ties of marriage, he is allegedly one of Guiliano's supporters and a key conspirator in the Pazzi Conspiracy. *

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

: A wealthy Italian statesman. He is a patron of scholars, artists, and poets. Such was his role for Angelo da Canossa's grandfather, a sculptor. Angelo's tuition at the University of Pisa was likewise sponsored by Lorenzo de' Medici. *

Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...

: An Italian Dominican priest who harbors great enmity toward the Medicis and the Borgias.

Media

Manga

''Cesare'' was written and illustrated by

and supervised by

scholar Motoaki Hara. The manga premiered in the 17 issue of

's (young men's) manga magazine ''

'' in March 2005. It was serialized irregularly and, at one point, went on a four-year hiatus that lasted from October 2014 to November 15, 2018. The manga ended after 16 years of serialization in the No. 52 issue of ''Morning'' on November 25, 2021. Its chapters were collected into 13 (compiled volumes) published by Kodansha's KC Deluxe imprint from October 23, 2006, to January 21, 2022. ''Cesare'' has also been published in Italian by

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint f ...

and French by

Ki-oon Ki-oon is a French manga publisher founded in October 2003 by Cécile Pournin and Ahmed Agne. It released its first manga in March 2004, the first volume of ''Element Line''. The name "Ki-oon" comes from an onomatopoeia meaning "having the heart ...

Volume list

Stage musical

On June 14, 2019, Kodansha announced a

adaptation of the manga directed by Yūna Koyama, with a script written by Kōichi Ogita and a score composed by Ken Shima. The musical's cast included

Akinori Nakagawa is a Japanese singer, songwriter and actor. In 2001, he debuted as a singer with " I Will Get Your Kiss". In 2002, he appeared in the musical ''Mozart!'', in which he played the leading role and received a Rookie of the Year Award in the drama d ...

as Cesare Borgia, Shuntarō Miyao as Michelotto da Corella,

Ryo Matsuda , born September 13, 1991, in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency, Cast Corporation. Biography During high school, Matsuda appeared in the stage play, ''Urasuji3'', and decided to beco ...

as Angelo da Canossa,

Tetsuya Bessho is a Japanese actor and radio presenter. Since 2014, he hosted the Miss International pageant. Filmography Films * '' Solar Crisis'' (1990), Ken Minami * ''Godzilla vs. Mothra'' (1992), Takuya Fujita * ''Parasite Eve'' (1997), Yoshizumi Takat ...

as Rodrigo Borgia, Kōjirō Oka as Giuliano della Rovere, Haruki Kiyama as Raffaele Riario, Takuya Kon as Lorenzo de' Medici, Masaaki Fujioka as Dante Alighieri, and Daisuke Yokoyama as the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII, among others. The musical was originally scheduled to run at the

Meiji-za The is a theatre in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally constructed in 1873. It presents ''kabuki'' and Western stage plays. History The theatre first opened in the district of Hisamatsu-chô as the Kishô-za in 1873. Six years later it reop ...

theater in Tokyo from April 13 to May 11, 2020. However, on April 8, 2020, the production canceled all shows due to the

. Nakagawa hosted a 90-minute concert at the Meiji-za on July 11 and July 12, 2020, after the theater re-opened. The concert featured six songs from the ''Cesare'' musical and other songs from Nakagawa's career.

Other media

Kodansha launched a multilingual ''Cesare'' website called ''Cesare Academia'' on April 27, 2013. The website featured video interviews with Fuyumi Soryo; behind-the-scenes information about the manga's production; and a user-edited

wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...

called ''Cesarepedia'', a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsguidebook A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

titled on August 29, 2013. Supervised by Soryo and Motoaki Hara, the book introduces readers to Italian history and culture during the

. It also contains an Italy travel guide and a summary of the ''Cesare'' manga's first ten volumes.

Reception

''Cesare'' was nominated for the Best Comic award at the 41st

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...

in 2014. The manga has over 1.4 million copies in circulation as of 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesare (manga) 2005 manga Biographical comics Comics based on real people Comics set in Italy Comics set in the 15th century Comics set in the 16th century Cultural depictions of Cesare Borgia Fuyumi Soryo Historical anime and manga Kodansha manga Seinen manga