Shigurui
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is a Japanese
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 Takayuki Yamaguchi, based on the first chapter of the novel ''Suruga-jō Gozen Jiai'' by Norio Nanjō. An
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 adaptation, aired on Wowow from July to October 2007. The series was directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, written by Seishi Minakami, and produced by Madhouse. Compared to the novel, the manga and the anime have been substantially adapted. The anime was licensed in North America by
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 ...
under the fully translated title ''Shigurui: Death Frenzy''. The licensing was announced in May 2008 and the full series was released in March 2009, on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
. The manga and anime are both known for their graphic violence and sexual content.


Plot

The story begins in 1629
Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...
during
Tokugawa Tadanaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. The son of the second ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada, his elder brother was the third ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemitsu. Life Often called ''Suruga Dainagon'' (the major counsellor of Suruga), ...
's rule. The ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' staged a tournament where the participants fought with real steel
Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794 – 1185) to the ...
s rather than ''
bokken A ''bokken'' (, , "wood", and ''ken'', "sword") (or a ''bokutō'' ) is a Japanese wooden sword used for training in kenjutsu. It is usually the size and shape of a ''katana'', but is sometimes shaped like other swords, such as the ''wakizashi'' ...
'' ("wooden sword"), against his vassals' strong objection. The story revolves around the first match between the one-armed swordsman Fujiki Gennosuke and the blind samurai Irako Seigen and deals with the circumstances that led the two to participate in Tokugawa's tournament.


Characters

; : :The stoic star pupil of the Kogan
dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...
. In the present time in his duel with Seigen he has only one arm but it is noted that his back muscles could theoretically make up for lost strength. Fujiki is very loyal to Kogan (his master), and is said to be most likely to succeed as the school's master. ; : :An ambitious man who seeks to raise his status; unlike Gennosuke, who has genuine love and respect for the school and its fortunes, Seigen cares for very little besides the wealth that will come his way if he can rise through the ranks. In the present time, he is blind and has a deep cut in one of his feet. Years before, he joined the Kogan-Ryuu school afterwards and was eventually picked to become the successor over Gennosuke Fujiki, but he and Kogan had a falling out which resulted in his present-day blindness. ; : :A master of the Kogan-Ryuu school and Gennosuke's senior. A hulk of a man, Ushimata uses an immensely large wooden sword (Seigen comments that it appears to be a ''
suburitō A is a type of ''bokken'', a wooden practice sword originating in Japan and used in Japanese martial arts. ''Suburi'' (素振り; literally, "basic or plain swing") means "practice swing"; a ''suburitō'' is therefore used to practice sword-swin ...
'') which he wields with ease. ; : :The Grandmaster of the Kogan-Ryuu school. Mentally unbalanced most of the time, he regains his sanity most often in the period between fall and winter. Kogan cares nothing for his daughter, Mie, seeing her only as a tool to continue his bloodline. He has a small deformity, a sixth finger on one of his hands. His technique "Nagare Boshi" (Shooting Star) is known and feared by many Samurai. ; : :The daughter of Kogan Iwamoto. Betrothed to Seigen Irako, she instead wants to be with Gennosuke Fujiki; however, she seemingly has little to no value to her father—who greatly resents that he had a daughter instead of a son—except as breeding stock. ; : :The long-suffering concubine of Kogan. She has been consistently taunted with a Children's Song and the masses would flee at her approach. Early on, she appears resigned to her life with him.


Media


Manga


Anime

The series was adapted into a 12-episode anime series based on the first 32 chapters (or the initial six and a half volumes) by Madhouse and broadcast on Wowow from July 19 to October 12, 2007. The series was directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and written by Seishi Minakami.
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 series for release in North America. The series was later added to
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. Novel ''Suruga-jō Gozen Jiai''


Reception

''Shigurui'' was nominated for the 15th annual
Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...
in 2011. The series ranked fifth and fourth on
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 of best manga of 2007 and 2008 for male readers.


References


External links


''Shigurui''
at
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 ...
* {{Madhouse 2003 manga 2007 anime television series debuts Akita Shoten manga Anime and manga based on novels Funimation Madhouse (company) Samurai in anime and manga Seinen manga Wowow original programming