is a Japanese fantasy
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
Nakaba Suzuki
is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his fantasy series ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (2012–2020), which has over 37 million copies in circulation. He began a sequel, ''Four Knights of the Apocalypse'', in 2021.
Life and career
The fir ...
. It 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 ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine
is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' from October 2012 to March 2020, with the chapters collected into 41 ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. Featuring a setting similar to the
European Middle Ages
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500).
The first earl ...
, the story follows a titular group of knights representing the
seven deadly sins
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
. The manga has been licensed by
Kodansha USA
Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...
for English publication in North America, while the chapters were released digitally by
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
in over 170 countries as they were published in Japan.
In 2015 ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' won the 39th
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...
for the ''
shōnen'' category. In March 2020 the manga had over 37 million copies in circulation, making it one of the
best-selling manga series
The following is a list of the best-selling Japanese manga series to date in terms of the number of collected ''tankōbon'' volumes sold. All series in this list have at least 20 million copies in circulation. This list is limited to Japanese ...
.
A-1 Pictures
is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex.
History
The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...
adapted the series into a three-season
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, 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 Japane ...
television series that ran from October 2014 to June 2018, and one theatrical film: ''
Prisoners of the Sky''.
Studio Deen
is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa and ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (丹尼動画), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a digital work sub-c ...
produced two further seasons that ran from October 2019 to June 2021, and a second theatrical film: ''
Cursed by Light''.
Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
licensed the home video rights to the first season. Finally,
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
acquired the exclusive English streaming rights to the anime, while releasing the third (two-part) anime film: ''
Grudge of Edinburgh'' during 20222023.
Premise
The Seven Deadly Sins are a band of knights in the land of who had disbanded ten years earlier after being framed for plotting a coup of the , the Holy Knights who sequestered them before taking control in the wake of a rebellion they organized. Liones' third princess, Elizabeth Liones, finds the Seven Deadly Sins' leader-Meliodas, before they search out his comrades so they can clear their names and liberate Liones from the Holy Knights, who were manipulated by a demon named Fraudrin into unsealing the Demon Race from their prison.
Production
''The Seven Deadly Sins'' began as a
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
that was published 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 ''
Weekly Shōnen Magazine
is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...
'' on November 22, 2011.
Nakaba Suzuki
is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for his fantasy series ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' (2012–2020), which has over 37 million copies in circulation. He began a sequel, ''Four Knights of the Apocalypse'', in 2021.
Life and career
The fir ...
drew more than twenty versions of the pilot chapter. One of these manuscripts, "Chapter X", was released in English on
Kodansha USA
Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...
's website in 2015. For the series, Suzuki borrowed the names of characters from tales about
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
, but used his original ideas for their personalities and the story itself. The relationship between Meliodas and Elizabeth was decided on from the beginning, but the author thought up everything else weekly as he went in order to keep it unpredictable.
In order to surprise readers, he purposely made the appearances of some of the titular group of knights very different from their wanted posters that appear in the first chapter and had others look the same as their poster, but gave them "horrible" personalities.
Although it was decided to make the protagonist of the series a "child", Suzuki struggled with designing Meliodas' profile because the character is actually an adult. He said the most difficult part was his hair; ultimately deciding on "fluffy" hair like a boy from a foreign country, which he had never done before. In the pilot chapter, the character had long, straight hair, which the author said was not as cute.
Suzuki said he always made sure to show the subtly different relationships between the members of the titular group of knights. For example, he said that while Ban is Meliodas' best friend, King is only a teammate with whom he does not talk. All seven have such relationships, which the author called realistically human.
Publication
Main series
Written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 10, 2012, to March 25, 2020. Kodansha collected its chapters into 41 individual ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, released from February 15, 2013, to May 15, 2020. Suzuki created the three-chapter manga that was included in limited editions of the anime adaptation's first three home video sets in 2015. A book compiling the ''Vampire of Edinburgh'' and side stories, and the pilot one-shot was published on July 17, 2018 under the title . Suzuki mentioned that he had plans for additional side stories that would be published after the main series finished. , a one-shot following Ban's son, was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on August 5, 2020. In January 2021, Suzuki began ''
Four Knights of the Apocalypse
also known as is a Japanese adventure and fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It is a sequel to Suzuki's previous series, ''The Seven Deadly Sins''. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen M ...
'' as a sequel to ''The Seven Deadly Sins''.
In 2013, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was licensed for English language release in North America by Kodansha USA. They published the first volume on March 11, 2014, and the 41st and final volume on January 26, 2021. As the manga was serialized in Japan, it was released simultaneously in English digitally by
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
in over 170 countries. Kodansha USA published the ''Original Sins'' book on October 26, 2021, and began re-releasing ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' in an omnibus format that compiles three of the original volumes into one on February 1, 2022.
Spin-offs
A special issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', published on October 19, 2013, featured a small crossover between Suzuki's ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' and
Hiro Mashima
is a Japanese manga artist. He gained success with his first serial ''Rave Master'', published in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1999 to 2005. His best-selling work, ''Fairy Tail'', published in the same magazine from 2006 to 2017, ...
's ''
Fairy Tail
''Fairy Tail'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 '' ...
'', where each artist drew a ''
yonkoma
, a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...
'' (four-panel comic) of the other's series. An actual crossover chapter between the two ran in the magazine's combined 4/5 issue of 2014, which was released on December 25, 2013. Suzuki wrote a one-shot for the November 2014 issue of the
''shōjo'' manga magazine ''
Nakayoshi
is a monthly ''shōjo'' manga magazine published by Kodansha in Japan. First issued in December 1954, it is a long-running magazine with over 60 years of manga publication history. Notable titles serialized in Nakayoshi include ''Princess Knight ...
'', released on October 3, 2014. He also created a comedic one-shot depicting how Meliodas and Hawk first met that ran in the October 20, 2014 issue of ''
Magazine Special
was a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha and first launched with a cover date of September 5, 1983. Its audience demographic is geared toward younger teenage boys, and contents tend to be predominantly sports stories and high ...
''. From February 24 to May 10, 2015, two more spin-off manga by Nakaba were available on the smartphone and tablet application ''
Manga Box
is a manga magazine mobile app developed by DeNA. It was launched on December 4, 2013 as free app foiOSanAndroiddevices and as a website platform. The app hosts manga by Kodansha, Shogakukan, and other manga publishers. Mangaka Shin Kibayashi s ...
''. is about Hendrickson and Dreyfus' younger years, while is set after the Vaizel Fight Festival arc and follows Gilthunder. Suzuki created an original 40-page manga that was distributed during screenings of the ''
Prisoners of the Sky'' film.
A comedic spin-off series by Juichi Yamaki, titled and imagining the characters as high school students, ran in ''
Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine
is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Kōdansha. The magazine was started in September 2009 as a spin-off of another Kōdansha magazine, ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine''.
Currently running manga series
Past series
* '' ×××Holi ...
'' from August 9, 2014, to October 8, 2016. It was collected into four ''tankōbon'' volumes. , a comedic spin-off by Chiemi Sakamoto that imagines the characters as actors performing in a live-action TV show, ran in ''
Aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
'' from November 28, 2015, to October 28, 2017. It was collected into four ''tankōbon'' volumes.
A comedic ''yonkoma'' titled and written by Masataka Ono that depicts King as an aspiring manga artist, began on February 20, 2016, in ''Magazine Special'' before transferring to the ''Manga Box'' app on February 1, 2017, and ending later that year. Its chapters were collected into three ''tankōbon'' volumes. Yō Kokukuji's ''The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days ~The Thief and the Holy Girl~'', a manga adaptation of Mamoru Iwasa's novel ''
The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days'', was serialized in ''Shōnen Magazine Edge'' from January 17 to September 2017 and shows how Ban and Elaine met in more detail.
Media
Anime
In April 2014, the 20th issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' announced that ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was being adapted into an anime television series.
The series aired on
MBS
MBS may refer for:
People
* Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia
* Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician
Places
* MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US
* Mari ...
,
TBS and other
JNN stations from October 5, 2014, to March 29, 2015.
The staff was revealed in the combined 36/37 issue of the year: created by
A-1 Pictures
is a Japanese animation studio founded by ex-Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata and it is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex.
History
The studio was established by SMEJ's animation production division, ...
, directed by
Tensai Okamura
, born on December 13, 1961, in Fukushima Prefecture, is a Japanese anime director and animator. Okamura grew up in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a graduate of Waseda University's department of science and engineering. In 1991, he chang ...
, written by Shōtarō Suga, with Keigo Sasaki providing character designs, and
Hiroyuki Sawano
is a Japanese composer, arranger, lyricist, pianist, and Music Producer best known for his work on many anime series, video games, Japanese television drama, television dramas, and movies. His works include the Soundtrack, musical scores for ' ...
composing the music. The show's first opening theme song is performed by
Ikimono-gakari
The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock musical duo, duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka. The group starte ...
for the first twelve episodes and the second opening theme is "Seven Deadly Sins" performed by
Man with a Mission
Man with a Mission, stylized as MAN WITH A MISSION or sometimes as MWAM, is a Japanese rock band which was formed in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, in 2010. The band currently consists of five band members, with stage names of Tokyo Tanaka (vocals, lead ...
, while the first ending theme titled "7-Seven" is a collaboration between
Flow and
Granrodeo
Granrodeo (stylized as GRANRODEO) is a Japanese rock band, specializing in creating anime soundtracks.
Career
In 2005 voice actor Kishō Taniyama ("Kishow") and musician Masaaki Iizuka ("E-Zuka"), known for his collaborations in creating anim ...
, the second ending theme from episode thirteen onwards is "Season" the major label debut of
Alisa Takigawa
is a Japanese musician from Tokyo who is signed to SME Records. She made her music debut in 2015 with the release of her first single "Season", the title track of which was used as an ending theme to the anime series ''The Seven Deadly Sins''. H ...
.
A second anime series was confirmed on September 27, 2015, to air in 2016. This turned out to be a four-week anime television special featuring an original story by Nakaba Suzuki, titled , that aired from August 28 to September 18, 2016, on
MBS
MBS may refer for:
People
* Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia
* Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician
Places
* MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US
* Mari ...
and
TBS. The special was produced by A-1 Pictures, directed by
Tomokazu Tokoro
is a Japanese animator and director, best known for directing the anime series '' Haibane Renmei'' and ''Hellsing Ultimate''.
He has also directed ''NieA_7'', '' Maria†Holic Alive'', and was assistant director on ''Macross Zero''. He has worke ...
, and written by Yuniko Ayana and Yuichiro Kido, featuring character designs by Keigo Sasaki. The music was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano and
Takafumi Wada
is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. He has provided the music for several anime series, television dramas, movies and video games. He is best known for his role on the soundtrack of '' The Seven Deadly Sins'', '' Seraph of the ...
. Its opening theme song is "
Classic
A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...
" by the rock band
Mucc
is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in Ibaraki Prefecture in 1997. The classic line up of Tatsuro on vocals, Miya on guitar, Yukke on bass, and Satochi on drums was solidified in 1999 following the departure of original bassist Hiro. Af ...
and its ending theme is by Alisa Takigawa. A commercial following the final episode confirmed a second anime series has been green-lit.
The first ''Seven Deadly Sins'' anime series was licensed for English release by
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
as its second exclusive anime, following their acquisition of ''
Knights of Sidonia
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Nihei. It was serialized by Kodansha in their ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' between April 2009 and September 2015, with its chapters collected in 15 ''tankō ...
''. All 24 episodes were released on November 1, 2015, in both subtitled or English dub formats. The ''Signs of Holy War'' arc, labeled as "Season 2", has also been licensed by Netflix and was released on February 17, 2017. On February 14, 2017,
Funimation
Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
announced that they acquired the first anime for home video distribution for US and Canada and released the series on Blu-ray and DVD later in the year. Part One of the first season was released on Blu-Ray on May 15, 2017, with Part Two being released June 20 the same year. The complete entirety of the first season was released on August 14, 2018.
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
is importing Funimation's release into Australia and New Zealand, with a release scheduled for January 2019.
A third season, titled , was announced at the "Nanatsu no Taizai FES" event in July 2017 and aired from January 13 to June 30, 2018. Jōji Furuta and Takao Yoshioka replaced Tensai Okamura and Shōtarō Suga as director and series composer, respectively, while the other main staff members returned from the first season to reprise their roles. The ''Revival of the Commandments'' arc, labeled as "Season 3", was released on October 15, 2018, on Netflix. The first opening theme song of the series titled "Howling" is a collaboration between Flow and Granrodeo, and first ending theme song is "Beautiful" performed by Any. The second opening theme titled "Ame ga Furu kara, Niji ga Deru" (雨が降るから虹が出る) by Sky Peace and second ending theme titled "Chikai" (誓い) by
Sora Amamiya
is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She is affiliated with the talent agency Music Ray'n. After passing an audition held by Music Ray'n, she made her voice acting debut in 2012. She played her first main role as Kaori Fuji ...
.
A fourth season, titled aired from October 9, 2019, to March 25, 2020, on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
and
BS TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
. The third season is animated by
Studio Deen
is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa and ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (丹尼動画), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a digital work sub-c ...
with Susumu Nishizawa and Rintarō Ikeda replacing Jōji Furuta and
Takao Yoshioka
is a Japanese anime screenwriter. After leaving Shin-Ei Animation, he debuted as a screenwriter with '' Happy Lesson''. Since ''Happy Lesson'', he has been in charge of screenwriting for many series, some of which are '' Elfen Lied'', '' Your Lie ...
as director and series composer, respectively. Hiroyuki Sawano, Kohta Yamamoto, and Takafumi Wada are returning to reprise their roles as the music composers. The first opening theme song is "Rob the Frontier" by
Uverworld
Uverworld (stylized as UVERworld) is a Japanese rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide.
"Uverwo ...
, and the first ending theme song is "Regeneration" by Sora Amamiya. The second opening theme song is "Delete" by
Sid and the second ending theme is "Good day" by Kana Adachi.
A fifth season, titled was slated to premiere in October 2020 on TV Tokyo and BS TV Tokyo, with the main cast members reprising their roles. However, it was delayed to January 2021, 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 ...
. A special program that celebrated the "charm" of the anime TV series was released on January 6, 2021, while the fourth season aired from January 13 to June 23, 2021. The main staff and cast members, from the previous season, reprised their roles. The opening theme is by
Akihito Okano, while the ending theme is "Time" by
SawanoHiroyuki ">ZkReoNa
Reona ( ; stylized as ReoNa, born October 20, 1998) is a Japanese singer who is signed to Sacra Music. Having been active as a cosplayer and independent musician, she made her major debut in 2018 as the singing voice of the character Elza Kanzak ...
. The second opening theme is performed by Sora Amamiya, while the second ending theme is "Namely" by
Uverworld
Uverworld (stylized as UVERworld) is a Japanese rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide.
"Uverwo ...
. The first twelve episodes of the ''Dragon's Judgement'' arc, labeled as "Season 5" on Netflix, was released on June 28, 2021, on the streaming service. Episodes 13-24 were released globally on September 23, 2021.
Original video animation
An
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
(OVA) titled was included with the limited edition of volume 15 of the manga, released on June 17, 2015. A second OVA composed of nine humorous shorts was shipped with the limited edition of the sixteenth volume of the manga, released on August 12, 2015.
Light novels
Four
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 ...
s based on ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' have been published; by Shuka Matsuda on December 17, 2014; ''
The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days'' by Mamoru Iwasa on December 26, 2014; by Shuka Matsuda on October 16, 2015; and by Shuka Matsuda on October 17, 2016.
Vertical
Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
* Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down
* Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...
released ''Seven Scars They Left Behind'' in North America in May 2017, with ''Seven-Colored Recollections'' following in March 2018.
Films
An anime film, titled ''
The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky'', premiered in Japanese theaters on August 18, 2018. Directed by Yasuto Nishikata, with
Noriyuki Abe
Noriyuki (written: 紀之, 紀行, 敬之, 記之, 徳行, 憲幸, 範之 or 範幸) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese anime director
*, Japanese musician
*, Japanese motorcycle racer
*, Japanese ...
serving as chief director, it was written by
Makoto Uezu
is a Japanese anime screenwriter.
Filmography Anime television 2000s
*''Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan'' (2002), Script
*''Bottle Fairy'' (2003), Script
*'' Maburaho'' (2003–04), Script
*'' Yumeria'' (2004), Series composition (with Yōsuke K ...
and based on an original story by Nakaba Suzuki. The other main staff members returned from the anime series to reprise their roles on the film.
A second anime film titled ''
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by Light'' premiered on July 2, 2021.
Takayuki Hamana
is a Japanese animator and director known for directing ''The Prince of Tennis''.
Career
Upon graduating high school, Takayuki Hamana joined Ajia-do as an in-between animator for four years. Hamana left Ajia-do and joined I.G Tatsunoko, where ...
directed the film at Studio Deen, with Rintarō Ikeda writing the film's script.
A two-part anime film, titled ''
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh'', was announced during Netflix's "Festival Japan" virtual event in November 2021. The film revolves around Meliodas' son, Tristan Liones. Bob Shirahata serves as director, with Noriyuki Abe as supervising director, and Rintarou Ikeda as scriptwriter. It is animated by Alfred Imageworks and Marvy Jack.
The first part of the film was released on Netflix on December 20, 2022, with the second part set for a August 2023 release.
Video games
A video game titled was developed by
Bandai Namco Entertainment
is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...
and released for the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
on February 11, 2015.
A game titled was developed by Bandai Namco for the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
. It was released in North America and Europe on February 9, 2018. A mobile game titled was developed by
Netmarble
Netmarble Corp. (Hangul, Korean: 넷마블 주식회사) is a South Korean mobile game developer. It is South Korea's largest mobile-gaming company which was founded in 2000 by Bang Jun-hyuk.
Overview
Netmarble developed ''Lineage 2 Revolution ...
and released in Japan and Korea on June 4, 2019. On March 3, 2020, the game was released globally for
Android and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
. The series will also be part of the King of Fighters game as of March 30 in collaboration with Netmarbles's franchise. In January 2022, Netmarble announced an open-world game titled ''The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin''.
It will be released for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
via
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
,
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
,
Android, and consoles.
Other media
An illustration collection titled and an official fan book were both released on February 17, 2015. A guidebook for the anime titled was released on April 17, 2015, while a second fan book was published on August 17, 2016. Three character guidebooks each focusing on a different couple from ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' have been released; Meliodas and Elizabeth on October 17, 2016, Ban and Elaine on July 14, 2017, and King and Diane on November 16, 2018. A book where Suzuki discusses the completed series and its creation in depth was released on May 15, 2020, while a character directory profiling over 200 characters from the manga was published on May 17, 2021.
A stage play adaptation, ''The Seven Deadly Sins The Stage'', was performed in August 2018.
A second stage play, was announced to be performed in June 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reception
Manga
''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was named Best Shōnen Manga at the 39th
Kodansha Manga Awards
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...
alongside ''
Yowamushi Pedal
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Wataru Watanabe. It began serialization in the 12th issue of Akita Shoten’s ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Champion'' in 2008, and as of October 2022, the ser ...
''. The 2014 edition of
Takarajimasha
is a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is known for publishing subculture-oriented fashion magazines aimed at teens, fashion magazines in general, as well as guide books.
History
The company was founded on September 22, ...
's ''
Kono Manga ga Sugoi!
is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying people in the manga and publishing industry. The series is part of Takarajimasha's ...
'' list, which surveys people in the manga and publishing industry, named ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' the fifth best manga series for male readers. It was also nominated for the 2014
Manga Taishō
The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...
award and as Best Youth Comic at the 42nd
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 France.
Rebecca Silverman of ''
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
'' gave the first volume a B grade, calling the art interesting and the story a "neat take on the basic knights-in-shining-armor." She saw influence from
Akira Toriyama
is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...
in Meliodas and 1970s
''shōjo'' manga in the female characters. However, Silverman felt the art had issues with
perspective and commented that Elizabeth lacked character development.
Both Silverman and Danica Davidson of ''
Otaku USA
''Otaku USA'' is a bimonthly magazine published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle (such as anime, manga, video games, cosplay and Japanese popular music) from an American perspective. The issues were acc ...
'' warned that Meliodas' perverted actions towards Elizabeth, which are used for comedic relief, could possibly be misinterpreted by some readers.
As of August 2014, the collected volumes of ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' had 5 million copies in circulation.
By January 2015, this number had grown to 10 million sold. As of June 2018, the series had 28 million copies in circulation, and over 37 million copies in circulation as of March 2020. The first collected volume of the series sold 38,581 copies in its first week, ranking number 13 on the
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
manga chart. Its second volume ranked 5 selling 106,829 in its first week, while its third debuted at number 4 with 135,164 copies. The thirteenth volume had the manga's best debut week to date, selling 442,492 for first place on the chart. The series was the ninth best-selling manga of 2014, with over 4.6 million copies sold that year. For the first half of 2015, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was the number one best-selling series. It finished the year in second place with over 10.3 million copies sold, behind only ''
One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...
''. It was the sixth best-selling of 2016, with over 5 million copies sold, and the seventh of 2017, with close to 3.6 million copies sold. With 32,762 copies sold of the five volumes released at the time, ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' was the 30th best-selling anime of the first half of 2015. The novel ''The Seven Deadly Sins -Gaiden- Sekijitsu no Ōto Nanatsu no Negai'' was the 33rd best-selling light novel of the first half of 2015, with 61,939 copies sold. The North American releases of volumes two and four charted on
''The New York Times Manga Best Seller'' list at number seven and nine respectively.
Anime
Reviewing the first anime for ''Anime News Network'', Theron Martin felt that the series has a slow start with typical action fare but the storytelling picks up significantly in the second half. He had strong praise for the music and enjoyed the main cast and their interactions, but not the common archetypal villains. Martin noted that the art has a "semi-cartoonish look" that one would expect in a series that "skews a bit younger," but ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' graphic violence and minimal
fan service prove it's "anything but a kiddie show."
In October 2017, Netflix revealed that ''The Seven Deadly Sins'' anime was the fourth most
binge-watched show within its first 24 hours of release on their platform. The first DVD volume of the anime debuted at number one on Oricon's Japanese animation DVD chart with 3,574 copies sold.
Notes
References
External links
Official page at ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine''Official anime websiteOfficial video game website*
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The Seven Deadly Sins
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Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen)