| The Summit of the Gods | |
 Cover of the first volume ofThe Summit of the Gods, as released by Shueisha | |
| 神々の山嶺 (Kamigami no Itadaki) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical[1] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Jiro Taniguchi |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Business Jump |
| Original run | 2000 –2003 |
| Volumes | 5 |
| Live-action film | |
| Everest: Kamigami no Itadaki | |
| Directed by | Hideyuki Hirayama |
| Written by | Masato Kato |
| Music by | Takashi Kako |
| Studio | Kadokawa Corporation |
| Released | March 12, 2016 (2016-03-12) |
| Animated film | |
The Summit of the Gods (Japanese:神々の山嶺,Hepburn:Kamigami no Itadaki) is a manga series written and illustrated byJiro Taniguchi. Based on a 1998 novel byBaku Yumemakura,[2][1] it follows Fukamachi, a photographer who finds a camera supposedly belonging toGeorge Mallory, a mountaineer who went missing onMount Everest, and goes on a mountain-climbing adventure along with his friend Habu Joji.[3]
In 1924, British climbersGeorge Mallory andAndrew Irvine disappeared during their attempt to become the first people to reach the summit ofMount Everest, leaving unanswered the question of whether they succeeded before dying. In 1993Kathmandu, Japanese photographer Makoto Fukamachi, accompanying an Everest expedition, discovers an old camera in a small antique shop that he believes may have belonged to Mallory. Before he can secure it, the camera is taken by a taciturn man known locally as "Bikha Sanp," whom Fukamachi suspects is actually Jōji Habu, a once-legendary Japanese solo climber who vanished from the mountaineering world years earlier.
Unable to confront Habu directly, Fukamachi begins tracing the climber's past, uncovering a life defined by obsession, isolation, and an uncompromising pursuit of the highest peaks. The narrative alternates between Fukamachi's investigation and Habu's climbing history, revealing his rise as an exceptional but self-destructivealpinist driven to test human limits. As Fukamachi's search leads him back toward Everest itself, linking Habu's fate to the enduring mystery of Mallory and Irvine.
The manga was originally serialized in the magazineBusiness Jump byShueisha between May 2000 and July 2003 issues.[4] It was collected into fivetankōbon published between December 15, 2000, and March 20, 2003,[5][6] then re-released inbunkoban between October 18, 2006, and January 18, 2007.[7][8] An English-language version was licensed by British company Fanfare/Ponent Mon in 2007.[9] On July 23, 2009, its first volume was released,[10] and the last was released on July 31, 2015.[11] It has also been published in French byKana in 2004–2005,[12] German by Schreiber & Leser,[13] and Spanish by Ponent Mon.[14]
In 2001, it was awarded a prize for excellence by theAgency for Cultural Affairs at theJapan Media Arts Festival, which praised its "powerful illustrations [that] seem to transport the reader right up into the mountains."[2] Its English adaptation received a nomination forIgnatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Series in 2010.[3] The fourth English volume also was nominated at the 2014Eisner Award in the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia".[15]
The manga was adapted into a live-action film,Everest: Kamigami no Itadaki (エヴェレスト 神々の山嶺,Everesuto Kamigami no Itadaki), directed byHideyuki Hirayama and starringJunichi Okada,Hiroshi Abe andMachiko Ono.[16][17] Distributed byAsmik Ace Entertainment andToho, it was released on March 12, 2016,[18] and grossed¥1.26 billion.[19]
In January 2015, an international co-production was announced between French Julianne Films, Belgian Walking The Dog and Luxembourg Mélusine Productions to create an animated film based onThe Summit of the Gods.[20]Éric Valli and Jean-Christophe Roger were set direct the film, with Didier Brunner as producer.[21] In June 2020, it was announced the film would instead be directed by Patrick Imbert, with scripts by Imbert, Magali Pouzol, and Jean-Charles Ostorero, and music composed by Amine Bouhafa.[22] In August 2021,Netflix announced that it will be distributing the film to select movie theaters in the United States on November 24, 2021.[23] It will then be followed by its streaming service debut on November 30.[23]