| Shadow Skill | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Phantom of Shade /Black Howling /Black Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Written by | Megumu Okada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Demographic | Shōnen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Original run | 1992 –1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Manga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by | Megumu Okada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Published by | Kodansha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Demographic | Seinen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Original run | 2000 –2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volumes | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Shadow Skill is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byMegumu Okada. The series has been adapted into fouroriginal video animations released from 1995 to 1996 and ananime adaptation produced byStudio Deen aired onTV Tokyo in 1998.
In North America, the OVAs have been released byManga Entertainment and the anime television series was distributed byADV Films.
Shadow Skill takes place in the warrior kingdom of Kurda, where the main character Elle Regu has recently become the 59th Sevaar, a title awarded to their most elite warriors. She often leaves a trail of destruction when she fights and along with a drinking habit. Elle is constantly followed by debts and throughout the series takes on jobs to work off these debts. One of these such jobs leads her to the Green Octopus Inn on an island outside the city, which eventually becomes the protagonists' base of operation.
Throughout the series, Elle travels along with her adopted younger brother Gau Ban, who is studying Elle's fighting skills so that one day he could become the greatestSevaar in Kurda. Also in Elle and Gau's life is Faulink Maya (Faulee), a Sui Rame talisman sorceress, and Kyuo Liu, a Septia beast-catcher and grandniece of Eva Stroll, the king of Kurda.
Warriors in Kurda fight using the Kurdan-style Kōsappō (交殺法, lit. "combining kill methods",ADV dub: "annihilation techniques") which has two general divisions:Hyōgi (表技, lit. "bright skills"), which emphasize punches and throws, andEigi (影技, lit. "shadow skills"), which focus on kicks and the user's footwork.
TheShadow Skillmanga series was originally created byMegumu Okada as a self-publisheddōjinshi.[1] In 1992, it was picked up byTakeshobo for serialization in itsshōnen magazineComic Gamma. The magazine ceased publication in 1996; a total of fourtankōbon (bound volumes) collecting the manga's chapters were released during that time.Shadow Skill was carried over by publisherFujimi Shobo in its magazineMonthly Dragon Jr. until 1998; another four volumes were released by that publisher.Kodansha then gained the rights toShadow Skill and released the existing chapters in three largeaizōban volumes from 1999 to 2000. The following year, Okada began regularly publishing new chapters in the publisher'sseinen magazineAfternoon Season Zōkan [ja], and later inMonthly Afternoon. Okada took a hiatus from the manga in 2006, but continued in 2009, submitting new chapters every other month, until finishing the series in 2014.[1] In total, the Kodansha released the entireShadow Skill manga in threeaizōban and an additional 11tankōbon.
There have been a number ofanime productions based on theShadow Skill manga. It was first adapted into anoriginal video animation (OVA) by Zero-G Room and released in Japan on October 25, 1995. Three additional OVA episodes were produced and released from September 21 to November 21, 1996. The first volume was officially numbered "volume 2.5" in Japan due to its chronological place among the four episodes.[2] All four OVAs were licensed in North America and the United Kingdom byManga Entertainment.[3] The latter three episodes were compiled and released in English-speaking regions asShadow Skill: The Movie, while the first OVA was later released asShadow Skill: The Origin. Finally, a singlecel shaded,CGI animation OVA[4] titledShadow Skill — Kurdan Style: The Secret of the Lethal Martial Art (影技 ～クルダ流交殺法の秘密～,Shadō Sukiru Kuruda-ryū Kōsatsu-hō no Himitsu) was produced by Tandm and released in Japan on October 2, 2004.
A 26-episode television series titledShadow Skill: Eigi (SHADOW SKILL—影技—) was produced byStudio Deen and aired onTV Tokyo from July 2 to December 24, 1998.ADV Films licensed the series in the United States.[1][5][6]
Anime News Network praised the series' Japanese and English voice acting, saying they did a good job capturing the light-hearted tone of the series. However, they felt the series stuck to the conventions of the martial arts genre with the plot focusing on fight scenes and the elaborate named moves being shouted aloud as they "powered up". As such, they thought thatShadow Skill appeals primarily to fans of the genre, but it was unlikely to appeal to viewers outside that fanbase.[6] THEM Anime Reviews described the OVA series as "well executed" and "fun to watch". But they advised thatShadow Skill would mainly appeal to fans of the martial arts genre and that it lacked the story development and characterization needed to truly become a great anime.[7]
