Golgo 13

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is the oldest manga still in publication, and its edition was certified by ''Guinness World Records'' as the highest number of volumes for a manga series. Before his death in 2021, Saito said that he wanted the manga to continue on without him; he had previously raised concerns that the manga may be unfinished after he passes away. The Saito Production group of manga creators will continue its publication with the assistance of the ''Big Comic''s editorial department.

The series has been adapted into two live-action feature films, an anime film, an original video animation, an anime television series and six video games.

With a cumulative total of 300 million copies in circulation in various formats, including compilation books, it is one of the best-selling manga series. The manga won the 1975 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga and the Grand Prize at the 2002 Japan Cartoonists Association Awards.

Story

Golgo 13 is a professional assassin. His real name, age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle. His most frequently used alias is , but he also goes by and .

Duke Togo has a very quiet personality and will only talk when he needs to, he shows very little to no emotion when carrying out an assassination and is willing to kill anyone who will threaten to expose him. He accepts many different assassination jobs, from anyone who can afford his services. From simply shooting a violin string to taking out powerful organized crime bosses and political figures, these killings have often attracted retaliations against Golgo 13, even at one stage having the FBI, the CIA, and even the United States military out to kill him, causing Togo to always have to watch his own back and pay attention to his surroundings in order to stop other assassins and contract killers employed to kill him in often creative ways. Golgo 13 also employs many different people himself to assist him in his assassination jobs, such as in providing extra information on his targets to modifying his weapons, vehicles, and gadgets.

The name "Golgo 13" is a reference to the death of Jesus Christ. ''Golgo'' is short for Golgotha, the place of Jesus' crucifixion, while the number 13 is considered an unlucky number. Also, Golgo 13's logo is a skeleton wearing a crown of thorns.

Duke Togo's past is a mystery. Although his Asian appearance suggests that he may be of Japanese origin, many of Golgo 13's stories have presented different speculations about his true identity while presenting contradictory information, leaving readers uncertain which information is true. It is known that he may be the biological father of many different children all over the world from the many sexual encounters he has had with women throughout the series, such as a four-year-old son named Joey from ex-Provisional Irish Republican Army fighter Catherine McCall.

With respect to the character's age, a large number of stories are dated as they are centered around current events of the time. However, Golgo 13 himself has not aged significantly to account for these events. He has also suffered multiple injuries throughout the series, leaving many different scars on his body.

Production

Early on, Takao Saito developed a system where he created the page layout based on a script written by the editorial department. He also inked the main characters' faces, while assistants provided the backgrounds and other elements. He did extensive research to provide accuracy, especially when the plot dealt with technology. Kazuo Koike was one of the writers on the series in the beginning. Author Yoichi Funado wrote approximately 30 stories for ''Golgo 13'', three of which he later novelized. Takashi Nagasaki was Saito's editor on the series in the mid-1980s, and later wrote two stories for the manga under the pen name "Keishi Edogawa".

According to Jason Thompson, several ''Golgo 13'' stories have not been reprinted for being "offensive or libelous". Thompson lists one from 1986 because of complaints from the Iranian embassy in Japan, another from 1988 about money laundering in the Vatican, and one from 1989 about a Hollywood actor blackmailed when someone discovers he has AIDS.

In 2013, Saito stated that because he often worried about his manga being cancelled, he had an ending planned out that even included the panel layout. He said he had no idea when ''Golgo 13'' would end, claiming "The manga has continued so long that it is no longer the property of the author; it belongs to the readers." Two years later, ''Big Comic''s fourth issue of 2015 announced that the series was "heading towards its conclusion."

Due to difficulties that arose from the restrictions implemented by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, ''Golgo 13'' began its first hiatus in its 52-year history in May 2020. It returned on July 7, 2020.

Saito died of pancreatic cancer at 84 on September 24, 2021. According to Shogakukan, Saito said before his death that he wanted the manga to continue on without him. The Saito Production group of manga creators continues its publication with the assistance of ''Big Comic''s editorial department.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Takao Saito, ''Golgo 13'' has been serialized in the monthly manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since its January 1969 issue, published in October 1968. The chapters have been collected into volumes by Shogakukan and Leed Publishing, a spinoff of the author's own Saito Production, since June 21, 1973. As of April 2025, 216 volumes of the edition have been published, while the edition has 173 volumes.

In 1986, Leed Publishing released four ''Golgo 13'' stories translated by Patrick Connolly: "Into the Wolves' Lair", "Galinpero", "The Ice Lake Hit" and "The Ivory Connection".

In 1989 and 1990, Leed and Vic Tokai published two further ''Golgo 13'' comic books, "The Impossible Hit" and "The Border Hopper", as part of the promotion for two ''Golgo 13'' video games. The comics were released to the US public via a mail-in offer with the purchase of the games and were later even found packaged with the video games. Each issue contained one complete story and had nothing to do with the storylines of the video games themselves.

In 1991, Leed Publishing and Viz Media published ''The Professional: Golgo 13'', a three-part mini-series. ''The Professional'' was a re-printing of "The Argentine Tiger", a story where Golgo is hired by the British Government to assassinate the reportedly dead ex-president of Argentina Juan Perón.

In 2006, ''Golgo 13'' was brought back by Viz as part of their Viz Signature collection. The stories are picked from the forty-year history of the manga, and do not necessarily represent the original's order of publication. A total of thirteen volumes were published, with the thirteenth volume being published on February 19, 2008. Each volume ends with an editorial commentary on ''Golgo 13'' as a cultural phenomenon in Japan.

Spin-offs

A spin-off manga titled and focusing on the character Dave McCartney began serialization in the August special issue of ''Big Comic'' on July 17, 2021. The spin-off ended its "first season" on May 17, 2022, and resumed on February 17, 2024. Saito and Saito Production are credited with creating the manga. Its first volume was released on September 30, 2022. As of January 30, 2025, two volumes have been released.

A second spin-off, created by Yukio Miyama, was launched on Shogakukan's ''MangaONE'' app on August 28, 2021. It is a gag comedy and follows Golgo 13 at a modern-day campsite.

A third spin-off, , was serialized for eight chapters in ''Big Comic Zōkan'' from July 15, 2022, to November 17, 2023. It focuses on the French junior high school student Fanette, who has Golgo's genes. Its chapters were collected in two volumes, released on May 30, 2023, and February 29, 2024.

Live action

Toei Company produced a live-action film simply titled ''Golgo 13'' in 1973, directed by Junya Sato and starring Ken Takakura as Duke Togo and Pouri Banayi as Catherine Morton. It was filmed entirely in the Imperial State of Iran with an entirely Persian supporting cast. It was followed by '' Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon'' in 1977, directed by Yukio Noda, which replaced Takakura with Sonny Chiba. In 2011, production company Davis Film obtained the American film rights to ''Golgo''.

Anime

1971 television series

The first ''Golgo 13'' anime series aired on TBS in 1971 for 40 episodes. In November 2023, it was reported that the series, allegedly lost for many years, was found and would be broadcast on television for the first time in over 50 years. Selected episodes were broadcast on BS-TBS, under the title ''Golgo 13 Selection'', on December 10–17, 2023. The series' episodes started streaming on Amazon Prime and other streaming services in Japan on December 29, 2023, premiering the first ten episodes. Ten more episodes have been released at the end of each month, with all 40 episodes available by the end of March 2024.

''Golgo 13: The Professional''

''Golgo 13: The Professional'', known simply as ''Golgo 13'' in Japan, is a 1983 animated featured film. Golgo 13's voice is provided by Tetsurō Sagawa in the Japanese version, and Gregory Snegoff in Streamline Pictures' English dub. It incorporates CGI animation, which was in its infancy at the time. This is most notable in the scene where army helicopters circle around Dawson Tower and attack Golgo as he climbs toward Dawson's office on the top floor.

''Golgo 13: Queen Bee''

''Golgo 13: Queen Bee'' is an original video animation that was released in 1998. Tesshō Genda provides the voice of Golgo 13 in the Japanese version, while in the English version, he is voiced by John DiMaggio.

2008 television series

A ''Golgo 13'' anime television series was produced by The Answer Studio. The series aired on TV Tokyo

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