| Spriggan | |
 Manga volume 1 cover, featuring Yu Ominae | |
| スプリガン (Supurigan) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hiroshi Takashige |
| Illustrated by | Ryōji Minagawa |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics Special |
| Magazine |
|
| Original run | February 22, 1989 –February 5, 1996 |
| Volumes | 11 + 1 extra |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Hirotsugu Kawasaki |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Kuniaki Haishima |
| Studio | Studio 4°C |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | September 5, 1998 (1998-09-05) |
| Runtime | 91 minutes |
| Video game | |
| Spriggan: Lunar Verse | |
| Developer | From Liquid Mirror Software |
| Publisher | FromSoftware |
| Genre | Action, adventure |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Released | June 17, 1999 (1999-06-17) |
| Original net animation | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Kobayashi |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by | Hiroshi Seko |
| Music by | Taisei Iwasaki |
| Studio | David Production |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Released | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Episodes | 6 |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Spriggan (Japanese:スプリガン,Hepburn:Supurigan) (stylized inall caps) is a Japanesemanga series written byHiroshi Takashige and illustrated byRyōji Minagawa. It was serialized inShogakukan'sshōnen manga magazinesWeekly Shōnen Sunday andShōnen Sunday Zōkan from 1989 to 1996, with its chapters collected in 11tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga was first licensed byViz Media, under the titleStriker; it was serialized inManga Vizion and only three volumes were released in the late '90s. The manga was licensed bySeven Seas Entertainment, with its original title, in 2022.
Spriggan takes place in the last years of theCold War where mysterious and unknown artifacts calledout-of-place artifacts (OOPArt) are discovered in various parts of the world, leading to a secret war between various forces against the ARCAM Corporation, an organization that placed itself as the guardians of the OOPArts in order to prevent them from being used as weapons.
The manga was adapted into ananime film byStudio 4°C in 1998;Katsuhiro Otomo was involved in adapting. APlayStation game calledSpriggan: Lunar Verse was also based on the manga with some material created for the game. Anoriginal net animation (ONA) series adaptation byDavid Production was released in June 2022 onNetflix.
An ancient civilization known for their advanced technology once ruled Earth, but were destroyed in the end by their misuse. They left messages for later generations in the form of indestructible message plates written in ancient Hebrew, informing them that if they could not find a good use for their creations, they should be destroyed.
Various paramilitaries, national armies, and armed private forces began to secretly search for these "mysterious artifacts" in order to be used for their own good and against their enemies. The ARCAM Corporation and their military arm, the ARCAM Private Army, aim to stop these forces from destroying themselves with their elite secret agents known as Spriggans (or Strikers).
Written byHiroshi Takashige and illustrated byRyōji Minagawa,Spriggan was first serialized inShogakukanshōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Sunday from February 22 to December 6, 1989.[2][3][4] The manga was then transferred toShōnen Sunday Zōkan (renamedShōnen Sunday Super in 1995), where it ran from August 15, 1992, to February 5, 1996.[5][6][2] Eleventankōbon volumes were released from June 18, 1991,[7] to June 18, 1996,[8] with eight-volume reprints from April 18, 2001,[9] to June 18, 2002,[10] and from June 15, 2006,[11] to January 13, 2007.[12] The reprints included the previously unpublished stories "First Mission" and "Gold Rush" in the first and last volumes, respectively. The original volumes were republished in a three-box set edition, which includes never before published illustrations. The first box set (including the first four volumes) was released on April 18, 2022.[13] The third box set includes a 12th volume, which features the "First Mission" and "Gold Rush" stories, and was published on June 17, 2022.[14]
In North America, the series was first licensed byViz Media, under the titleStriker, and serialized inManga Vizion.[15] Three volumes were published from November 5, 1998,[16] to May 6, 1999,[17] before the company curtailed further translation.[18] In February 2022,Seven Seas Entertainment announced they acquired the rights to publish the series in English, with its original title.[19][20] They released the series in four volumes from June 16, 2022, to June 27, 2023.[21]
In Europe, two volumes were published in France and in French-speaking countries and territories byGlénat under the nameStriker[22][23] in the Netherlands by Big Balloon, eleven volumes in Germany by Planet Manga,[24] and three full volume in Spain and in Spanish-speaking territories and countries byPlaneta DeAgostini in 1993 followed by a reprint from 1996 to 1997[25] with another reprint announced on July 15, 2021 via its Spanish Twitter account.[26] Together withRanma ½, it was the first manga published in Portugal, byTexto Editora in 1995.[27]
In Asia, the manga was released in Hong Kong byJade Dynasty,[28] in Indonesia byElex Media Komputindo,[29] in Singapore it was released byChuang Yi in English,[30] in South Korea byDaiwon C.I.,[31][32] in Taiwan byTong Li Comics,[33][34] and in Thailand bySiam Inter Comics.[35]
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 18, 1991[7] | 4-09-122591-8 |
| 2 | August 9, 1991[36] | 4-09-122592-6 |
| 3 | September 18, 1992[37] | 4-09-122593-4 |
| 4 | March 18, 1993[38] | 4-09-122594-2 |
| 5 | August 10, 1993[39] | 4-09-122595-0 |
| 6 | May 18, 1994[40] | 4-09-122596-9 |
| 7 | August 10, 1994[41] | 4-09-122597-7 |
| 8 | March 18, 1995[42] | 4-09-122598-5 |
| 9 | August 10, 1995[43] | 4-09-122599-3 |
| 10 | March 18, 1996[44] | 4-09-122600-0 |
| 11 | June 18, 1996[8] | 4-09-122836-4 |
| 12 | June 17, 2022[45] | 4-09-943108-8 |
| No. | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 16, 2022 (digital)[21] August 30, 2022 (print)[21] | 978-1-63858-579-4 |
| 2 | December 6, 2022[21] | 978-1-63858-749-1 |
| 3 | February 28, 2023[21] | 978-1-63858-917-4 |
| 4 | June 27, 2023[21] | 978-1-68579-527-6 |
A film adaptation of the manga, using the Noah's Ark story, was produced byStudio 4°C[46] and released byToho. The movie was directed and story boarded by Hirotsugu Kawasaki,[47] written by Kawasaki and Yasutaka Itō,[47] and supervised byKatsuhiro Otomo.[48]Hiroshi Takashige andRyoji Minagawa had a hand in assisting the director through production. It made around 350 million yen during its debut in Japanese theaters.[49]
A Japanese release of the film on DVD was released byBandai Visual under their Emotion label on April 25, 1999.[50]ADV Films released the film in a limited theatrical release in the United States on October 12, 2001[51] and on DVD in all English-speaking countries outside Asia on April 23, 2002, with a special edition released on February 15, 2005,[52][53] with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, where the film was distributed byMadman Entertainment.[54]
The film was distributed in Hong Kong and some other Asian countries under Neovision[55] and released in Taiwan by Proware Multimedia International.[56] In Europe, it was produced in German by Anime Connection of Germany,[57] in Russian byMC Entertainment,[58] in Dutch by Dybex,[59] Italian byDynit,[60] in Polish byIDG[61] and in Swedish bySandrew Metronome.[55]
Spriggan was released in Japan on Blu-ray Disc format on November 11, 2007,[62] with another release on July 25, 2008.[63]
On June 16, 1999,FromSoftware releasedSpriggan: Lunar Verse, a video game adaptation for the PlayStation in Japan.[64] It can be played by either one or two players.[64] It was a 3Daction-adventure game, and it anticipated design elements which were later popularized byaction games such as theDevil May Cry series and modernNinja Gaiden games.[65]
A soundtrack of the game, composed by Keiichiro Segawa, Tsukasa Saito, and Yuji Kanda, was released by Absord Music Japan and distributed byKing Records on November 26, 1999.[66] It has a total of 27 tracks.[66]
In September 2023,Sega announced a collaborative event with the series for thePhantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis update on October 18 of the same year, which includedSpriggan-related items.[67]
Anoriginal net animation (ONA) series adaptation was announced in March 2019.[68] The series was animated byDavid Production,[69] directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi, withHiroshi Seko handling series' composition, Shūhei Handa designing the characters, andTaisei Iwasaki [ja] composing the music.[70][71] Shōhei Miyake serves as the assistant director.[72] Originally set for a release onNetflix in 2021,[70] it was moved to a 2022 premiere on the streaming platform.[73] The six-episode series' debuted on Netflix on June 18, 2022;[74] it is part of a partnership with Netflix to have the anime streamed worldwide.[75] The opening theme is "Seeking the Truth feat. YAHZARAH", while the ending theme is "Ancient Creations feat.Shing02", both by Taisei Iwasaki.[71] The series was broadcast in Japan onTokyo MX andMētele starting in July 2023.[76]
A special screening for the ONA will be held on June 17, 2023, at the Toho Cinema Hibiya in Tokyo, where Chiaki Kobayashi, Yohei Azakami and Mariya Ise will appear for the event.[77]
The original soundtrack, composed by Iwasaki, was released byMilan Records on the same date of the series debut, on June 18, 2022.[78][79] A guidebook for the ONA was released on July 20, 2022. The guidebook features interviews with the cast, staff and authors Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa, detailed information of the series and various artworks.[80]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Flame Serpent" | Shouhei Miyake | Hiroshi Kobayashi | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| 2 | "Noah's Ark" | Shouhei Miyake | Shouhei Miyake | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| 3 | "The Forest of No Return" | Toshiyuki Katou Shingo Tanabe | Toshiyuki Katou | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| 4 | "Berserker" | Shimoriko Nagai | Hiroshi Kobayashi | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| 5 | "The Crystal Skull" | Shouhei Miyake Shigeki Awai Hisashi Sugawara Shinji Osada | Shinji Osada | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
| 6 | "The Forgotten Kingdom" | Shinji Osada | Hiroshi Kobayashi Koichi Chigira | June 18, 2022 (2022-06-18) |
Wilma Jandoc, reviewing the film adaptation in theHonolulu Star-Bulletin, wrote that it primarily stands out through its portrayal of the United States, which plays an antagonistic role. Jandoc described the depiction of "the U.S. leadership" as "at once so mismatched and perfect that it's funny," approving of their portrayal as power-hungry but expressing disbelief at the concept of the U.S. government being deeply concerned about the environment. At the same time, Jandoc remarked that "any other country could have been put in its place—Russia, China, North Korea—and still it would have just been a nation's name, nothing more," feeling that an opportunity for more substantial criticism was missed.[18]
On June 23, 2022, Netflix Japan reported that theSpriggan ONA ranked first on their "Today's Top 10 TV Shows".[81]
Kenneth Seward Jr. ofIGN said that the ONA "has the potential to be a great anime", praising the voice acting, action and premise, but commented that "its open-ended nature might not win over newcomers", and that its "[i]nconsistent animation also hinders what could’ve been one of the better Netflix-produced anime released this year."[82]
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