is a Japanese

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by

Yū Koyama is a Japanese manga artist. After graduating from Shizuoka Prefectural Shimada Commercial High School he moved to Tokyo and in 1968 took a job with Saito Productions, the company run by Takao Saitō. In 1971 he worked with Kazuo Koike at Studio ...

. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's manga magazine ''

Big Comic Superior is a semimonthly seinen manga magazine published since July 1, 1987, by Shogakukan in Japan. Its target audience is somewhere between the audience for ''Big Comic Original'' and '' Big Comic Spirits''. The magazine has published works by a numb ...

'' from 1994 to 2008, with its chapters collected in 48 volumes. A sequel series with the same title (rendered in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

Latin-script) was serialized in the same magazine from 2008 to 2014, with its chapters collected in 14 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The story follows the title character, a young woman, brought up as part of a team of assassins charged with killing the

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

s that threaten the uneasy peace in

Feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

in the aftermath of its long

Sengoku The was the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as the period's start ...

civil war period. The series has been adapted into two feature films starring

Aya Ueto is a Japanese actress, singer and television personality. In 1997, Ueto participated in the seventh Japan Bishōjo Contest, where she won the special jury prize. Soon thereafter, Ueto joined the talent agency Oscar Promotion and began taking s ...

, ''

Azumi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Koyama. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic Superior'' from 1994 to 2008, with its chapters collected in 48 volumes. A sequel series with the same title ...

'' in 2003 and '' Azumi 2: Death or Love'' in 2005, and a video game and a stage play in 2005. ''Azumi'' received the Excellence Prize at the 1997

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

and won the 43rd

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the general category in 1998.

Plot

Azumi is a young female assassin operating after the

Battle of Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was an important battle in Japan which occurred on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu Prefecture, ...

. She eliminates supporters of the

Toyotomi clan The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period. Unity and conflict The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...

at the behest of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

, with these killings historically recorded as natural deaths. Raised in isolation by instructor Gensai Obata in Kiridani valley, Azumi trains with nine male students unaware of basic societal concepts. Their training culminates in two brutal initiation missions: first killing their closest companions (Azumi slays Nachi), then massacring an entire ninja village. As one of five surviving operatives, Azumi conducts political assassinations. Her work brings her into conflict with bandits, later revealed to be displaced samurai forced into criminality by Tokugawa policies. Throughout her missions, Azumi demonstrates exceptional survival skills compared to other warriors driven by singular motivations.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by

, ''Azumi'' was serialized in

's manga magazine from 1994 to 2008. Shogakukan collected its chapters in forty-eight volumes, released from January 30, 1995, to February 27, 2009. Shogakukan re-released the series in a twenty-four volume '' bunkoban'' edition, from January 14 to December 15, 2012. A sequel series, also titled ''Azumi'' (Latin-script title in

), was serialized in the same magazine from December 26, 2008, to February 28, 2014. Shogakukan collected its chapters in eighteen ''tankōbon'' volumes, released from June 30, 2009, to April 30, 2014.

Film series

''Azumi'' was loosely adapted into an

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by

Ryuhei Kitamura is a Japanese film director, producer, and screenwriter. Kitamura relocated to Sydney, Australia at age 17 and attended a school for visual arts for two years. In 1997, Kitamura directed and produced the short film ''Down to Hell'', which receiv ...

in 2003. A sequel, ''Azumi 2: Death or Love'', directed by

Shusuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. H ...

, followed in 2005.

Video game

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, based on manga's original story, was developed by Gargoyle Mechanics and released in Japan only by

Entertainment Software Publishing (ESP) was a Japanese video game publisher headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1997 as a publisher for games developed by the Game Developers Network (GD-NET). GD-NET, which included companies such as Treasure (company), Treasure a ...

in 2005. The game was also re-released as part of the budget-range

Simple series The series is a line of budget-priced video games published by Japanese company D3 Publisher, a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment. Games in the series have been developed by several different companies, including Sandlot, Success, Irem, a ...

(Vol. 32).

Stage play

The theatrical version, directed by Okamura Toshikazu, premiered on April 3, 2005, starring

Meisa Kuroki Satsuki Shimabukuro (Japanese: 島袋さつき, ''Shimabukuro Satsuki'', Born on 28 May 1988 in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan), better known by her stage name Meisa Kuroki (Japanese: 黒木メイサ, ''Kuroki Meisa''), is a Japanese actress, mod ...

as Azumi.

Merchandise

''Azumi Original Soundtrack'' containing music from the film was released by

For Life Music is a Japanese record label founded in 1975.Official site
of FLME Inc.'

Sub-divisions

*Güt Records *Anri * < ...

in 2003. Azumi figure line based on the manga version was released by figuAX in 2006.

Reception

''Azumi'' received an Excellence Prize at the 1997

, and won the 43rd

in the general category in 1998.

References

*Gifford, Kevin. "Azumi". (November 2006) ''Newtype USA''. p. 154.

External links

* * {{Shogakukan Manga Award - General 2005 video games Action games Fictional assassins in comics Comics characters introduced in 1994 Japan-exclusive video games Manga adapted into films Ninja in anime and manga Orphan characters in anime and manga PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Samurai in anime and manga Seinen manga Shogakukan manga Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga Yū Koyama