is a Japanese
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
series written by Usagi Nakamura and illustrated by Takeru Kirishima. The light novel was first serialized by
Kadokawa Shoten in their light novel magazine
Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Kadokawa may refer to:
*Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group
**Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker
**Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...
. It was later adapted into a manga in 1995 and released in
Dengeki Daioh magazine. An
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
adaptation was produced by Trans Arts and aired on from 2 April 1999 to 24 September 1999, with a total of 26 episodes.
Enoki Films holds the United States anime license under the name ''Jester the Adventurer''. In 2001,
AnimeWorks translated and released the anime on DVD as simply ''Gokudo''. On 18 July 2016,
Discotek Media
Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...
announced it had licensed the anime from Enoki Films. A DVD collection was released on 27 September later that year.
Story
The story focuses on an adventurer named Gokudo. Unlike most protagonists he is an
antihero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
, willing to resort to violence to fulfill his agenda. He does not hesitate to abuse the needs of people, sell out his friends to save himself, run away from any dangers, or ditch others who helped him if he does not have any more interest in them. His life starts to change when he finds a magical Genie named Djinn who wants to grant him three wishes. While people would benefit from having three wishes, in his case it leads him to a lot of trouble, and it doesn't take long before he tries to escape from Djinn, and every other person he meets.
Other important characters are the Old Seer (or the Queen of the Magic World), who constantly appears out of nowhere, seemingly only to make Gokudo suffer more; Rubette La Lette, a noble girl with a tomboy attitude who sees Gokudo as a rival; and Prince (called Niari by the Old Seer), a mage much better at handling women than Gokudo will ever be.
Characters
* is the main character of the series. He isn't the stereotypical hero, but more of an anti-hero. Gokudo is rude, cowardly and lazy. He would only go on quest just for his personal gain and he is known for skipping out on paying for food, stealing, and ripping people off their gold whenever he sees fit. Next to that he's always the first person to turn tail during a dangerous situation. He is voiced by
Akira Ishida in the Japanese version and by
Daniel Kevin Harrison in the English dub.
* is a supporting character that appears near the end of the first episode in the anime and joins Gokudo near the end of the second. She has a tomboy attitude and comes from a noble family. She is quite adept at using ranged weapons and is mostly seen wielding a magic bow she received from the old seer. She is also seen to be a lousy singer. Her voice is done by
Sayuri Yoshida in Japanese and
Debora Rabbai
Debora Rabbai (born January 14) is an American voice actress based in New York City.
Biography
Rabbai is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
She is best known as the voice of Aika Sumeragi from ''Agent Aika'', Rika Sena fr ...
in English.
* is a genie that Gokudo acquired by stealing a small money bag from the old seer in which Djinn was contained in the form of a stone. After promising Gokudo three wishes, Djin gave him a long winded lecture about how Money, fame and girls are not responsible wishes. After this, instead of fulfilling Gokudo's wishes, Djin stayed by his side in order to teach him more about responsibility. Djinn is a very upbeat character who always lectures people (mostly Gokudo) about responsibility, though he himself is prone to getting drunk and partaking in other activities that lead Gokudo into trouble. In the Japanese version, Djinn is voiced by
Yutaka Shimaka
was a Japanese actor and voice actor affiliated with Production Baobab, and subsequently with Production Aigumi. He was the Japanese voice of the Disney character Goofy.
Filmography Film
*''Kagemusha'' (1980) – Hara Jingorō #2
Television a ...
in his male form and by
Mami Kingetsu
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Akashi, Hyōgo. She is currently affiliated with Aoni Production. She is best known for her role as Shiori Fujisaki in the ''Tokimeki Memorial'' series. Other notable roles include Izumi Himuro in '' Pr ...
in his female form. In the English dub, he is voiced by
Greg Wolfe Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname.
People with the name
*Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people
*Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...
as a male and first by
Stacie Lynn Renna in episodes 1-2 and for the rest of the series by
Jessica Calvello
Jessica Calvello is an American voice actress and production assistant primarily known for her anime voiceover work, particularly with ADV Films, Seraphim Digital/Sentai Filmworks, DuArt Film and Video, Media Blasters, Funimation, Central Par ...
as a female.
* is the name Gokudo often uses to address the Seer/Queen of the Magic World. She is the first character to show up in the anime series, when she warns Gokudo about his life being in danger. Instead of listening to her, Gokudo scams the old woman into paying his bills and makes off with her money bag. Following this first encounter Granny often appears again, sometimes to help out Gokudo and the gang but usually she causes them to get into more trouble in the end. She is voiced by
Junko Hori
is a Japanese actress and voice actress represented by Production Baobab.
She is known as the voice of the protagonists in 3 Fujiko Fujio works, ''Obake no Q-tarō'', ''Ninja Hattori-kun'', and '' Chimpui''. As a dub artist she is known for the ...
in the Japanese version and by
Sonny Weil in the dub.
* , is the Prince of the Magic World. This makes Granny his mother. Prince has a very outgoing personality, flirting with every pretty girl he finds on his way. Next to that, he's also very vain. He has the habit of using giant robots during battles. After losing his first fight against Gokudo, Granny stripped him of his powers and forced him to join Gokudo and Rubette on their travels. His Japanese voice is done by
Shinichiro Miki
is a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo.Doi, Hitoshi.Miki Shinichirou. ''Seiyuu Database''. July 13, 2010. He is a member of 81 Produce.
Miki is known for his distinctively smooth voice and often calm delivery in the roles he has landed. He often ...
and his English voice is supplied by
Ted Lewis.
References
External links
*
* {{ann, anime, 250, Gokudo-kun Manyuki
1991 Japanese novels
1993 Japanese novels
1995 manga
1999 anime television series debuts
Action anime and manga
Anime and manga based on light novels
Dengeki Bunko
Dengeki Comics
Discotek Media
Kadokawa Shoten manga
Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko
Kadokawa Dwango franchises
Light novels
Shōnen manga
Television shows based on light novels
TV Tokyo original programming