is a Japanese manga series written by

Garon Tsuchiya , also known as and Marginal (in '' Astral Project''), was a Japanese manga writer. In 1986 he completed his first major works in collaboration with Akyo Makata in ''Ahomansu'' and ''Meisouou Boodaa''. Afterwards, Tsuchiya collaborated with dr ...

and illustrated by

Nobuaki Minegishi is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator, whose works include '' Old Boy'', ''Aburemon'', ''Jungle'', ''Tenpai'', ''Hoozuki'', ''Joi Reika'', and ''Maboroshi No Kakero''. Minegishi's series ''Old Boy'' won the 2007 Eisner Award for Best ...

. The narrative follows the protagonist Shinichi Gotō, a man who, after a decade of incarceration in a private prison, is suddenly freed. After his release, Gotō must find his captors and discover the reason for his confinement. ''Old Boy'' was serialized in the

Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.会社概要
" Futabasha. R ...

magazine ''

Weekly Manga Action is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Futabasha. It is currently published twice a month, on the first and third Thursday. The magazine was originally formed as and began publishing weekly from July 7, 1967. It is considered the f ...

'' from 1996 to 1998, with a total of 79 chapters among eight collected volumes released during that time. The series was picked up for North American localization by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

and released between 2006 and 2007. The manga was also adapted into an award-winning South Korean film, directed by

Park Chan-wook Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. ...

in 2003. In 2013,

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

directed an American remake of the 2003

film.

Plot

Intoxicated and confused, 25-year-old Shinichi Gotō finds himself in a small room inside a private jail after being kidnapped and imprisoned during one fateful night for unknown reasons. Despite his pleadings, none of the guards will tell him who kidnapped him or why he is being held captive. As the days go by, his forced isolation slowly takes a toll on his sanity. He finds an outlet through training his mind and body for the day he will be able to wreak vengeance. After ten years of solitary confinement in a maximum security cell, with only a television for company, he is suddenly released. Once outside, he encounters a much changed world. His long imprisonment ripped him from society and kept him from having the normal life he desired. With nothing to lose, he begins his mission to hunt down the identities of his captors and uncover the reason behind his imprisonment. However, it seems that the unidentified person behind Shinichi's captivity is not finished with him just yet, and thus begins a twisted game where only the winner survives.

Characters

; :The leading

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 ...

of the story who was mysteriously captured and held hostage for a decade. ;Takaaki Kakinuma :The main villain of the story, who was once an elementary school classmate of Gotō and is now seeking revenge for Gotō inadvertently shattering his sense of self-worth. ;Yukio Kusama :A writer and former teacher. She was Gotō and Kakinuma's 6th grade teacher. ;Eri :A lady who became Goto's girlfriend. She is actually a paid actress under hypnosis placed upon her by Kakinuma. ;Kyoko Kataoka :Takaaki Kakinuma's henchwoman.

Media

Manga

''Old Boy'' was serialized in the

Futabasha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Higashigokenchō, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.会社概要
" Futabasha. R ...

magazine ''

'' from 1996 to 1998. A total of 79 chapters among eight ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' (collected volumes) were released in Japan from May 28, 1997 to October 28, 1998. Between June 19 and July 17, 2007, Futabasha re-released the entire series in five, larger volumes. In 2005,

bought the rights to make an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation of the book for its customers worldwide. All eight volumes were released from July 5, 2006 to October 10, 2007.

Volumes

Films

In 2003, it was adapted into the award-winning Korean film '' Oldboy'' by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n director

. The film was a huge international success and went on to win various awards including the Grand Prix of the Jury at the 57th

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

awards ceremony. In 2006, an Indian version titled '' Zinda'' and directed by

Sanjay Gupta Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, associate professor of neurosurgery at t ...

received flak for being an unofficial, unauthorized remake. A subsequent American film remake of the Korean film was directed by

in 2013.

Reception

In 2007, the ''Old Boy'' manga won an Eisner Award in the category of " Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan." Eduardo Chavez of Mania.com noted that "titles like ''Old Boy''... take their time to create a wonderful of paranoia and drama". Anime News Network's Carlo Santos praised the artwork, which "fits the tone of the series well" and the pacing of the story, but mentioned poorly developed characters.

References

External links

Page at Dark Horse Comics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Old Boy (Manga) Action anime and manga Dark Horse Comics titles Eisner Award winners Futabasha manga Manga adapted into films Psychological thriller anime and manga Anime and manga about revenge Seinen manga Suspense anime and manga