A Spirit of the Sun
Cover of the first tankōbon volume
太陽の黙示録
(Taiyō no Mokushiroku)
Manga
Written byKaiji Kawaguchi
Published byShogakukan
MagazineBig Comic
DemographicSeinen
Original run2002 – 2008
Volumes17
Anime television series
Directed byMasayuki Kojima
Written byTatsuhiko Urahata
Music byToshiyuki Honda
StudioMadhouse
Licensed by
Original networkWOWOW
Original run September 17, 2006 – September 18, 2006
Episodes2
Manga
Foundation Chapter
Written byKaiji Kawaguchi
Published byShogakukan
MagazineBig Comic
DemographicSeinen
Original run2008 – 2010
Volumes9

A Spirit of the Sun (Japanese: 太陽の黙示録, Hepburn: Taiyō no Mokushiroku, lit. "The Sun's Revelation") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi. It is about a resourceful boy, Genichiro Ryu, as he survives a series of natural disasters and collapse of the economy in Japan set in the beginning of the 21st century. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic from 2002 to 2008.

It was followed by a second part, serialized in the same magazine from 2008 to 2010. The series was adapted into a 2-episode anime television special produced by Madhouse in 2006.

In 2006, A Spirit of The Sun received the 51st Shogakukan Manga Award for the General category. As well as the Grand Prize of the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

In Japan, the series of earthquakes beginning on August 10, 2002 caused the explosion of Mount Fuji, and its consequences: a Japan, where half of the population has perished and whose main island, Honshū, is cut in two, and which must to survive appeal to the United States and China. Years later; two Japans coexist and many Japanese live as refugees in makeshift camps around the world. The south area is controlled by the United States, and the north area by China, with capitals in Fukuoka and Sapporo, respectively while Tokyo is under a UN mandate. Tensions go high in various Japanese refugee camps overseas between the residents of countries that wish to help them and those who promote kicking them off due to taking local jobs and wasting resources.

Genichiro Ryu, a survivor of the Japanese earthquakes, lost his memory and was subsequently adopted by a Taiwanese couple. He tries to find a way to help Japanese refugees in Taipei from being targeted by a growing xenophobic Taiwanese populace while trying to prevent his fellow Japanese from taking a hardline path of becoming terrorists, which was secretly backed by ultranationalist Taiwanese officials operating on an anti-refugee (and anti-Japanese) agenda. Genichiro later smuggles himself back to Japan in order to find out what happened to his family with the help of Chan, a Taiwanese gangster who he befriended and later said he would join. They are accompanied by Ryoutarou Hata aka Yui Liao Ming, a naturalized Taiwanese of Japanese origin and ex-Taipei City Police Department (TCPD) plainclothes officer (whose family was stranded in Taiwan after the earthquakes) who seeks to find out what's happening after Japan was divided. From there, the trio navigate the divided Japan as they fight conspiracies that seek to prevent parties from reuniting the two Japans.

Media

Manga

A Spirit of the Sun, written and illustrated by Kaiji Kawaguchi, was serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic from 2002 to 2008, with its chapters collected in seventeen tankōbon volumes, released from May 30, 2003 to February 29, 2008.[1][2] A second part, A Spirit of the Sun 2: Foundation Chapter (太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編, Taiyō no Mokushiroku Dainibu: Kenkoku-hen), was serialized in the same magazine from 2008 to 2010. Its chapters were collected in nine tankōbon volumes, released from June 30, 2008 to January 28, 2011.[3][4]

Volume list

1st part
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 May 30, 2003[1]978-4-09-187031-5
2 May 30, 2003[5]978-4-09-187032-2
3 October 30, 2003[6]978-4-09-187033-9
4 February 28, 2004[7]978-4-09-187034-6
5 April 30, 2004[8]978-4-09-187035-3
6 August 30, 2004[9]978-4-09-187036-0
7 December 24, 2004[10]978-4-09-187037-7
8 April 26, 2005[11]978-4-09-187038-4
9 August 30, 2005[12]978-4-09-187039-1
10 December 26, 2005[13]978-4-09-187040-7
11 March 30, 2006[14]978-4-09-180220-0
12 July 28, 2006[15]978-4-09-180580-5
13 November 30, 2006[16]978-4-09-180816-5
14 February 28, 2007[17]978-4-09-181080-9
15 June 29, 2007[18]978-4-09-181258-2
16 October 30, 2007[19]978-4-09-181518-7
17 February 29, 2008[2]978-4-09-181764-8
2nd part
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 June 30, 2008[3]978-4-09-182018-1
2 October 30, 2008[20]978-4-09-182209-3
3 March 30, 2009[21]978-4-09-182416-5
4 August 28, 2009[22]978-4-09-182587-2
5 January 29, 2010[23]978-4-09-183009-8
6 June 30, 2010[24]978-4-09-183210-8
7 September 30, 2010[25]978-4-09-183417-1
8 December 25, 2010[26]978-4-09-183539-0
9 January 28, 2011[4]978-4-09-183639-7

Anime

Directed by Masayuki Kojima and written by Tatsuhiko Urahata, Madhouse produced a 2-episode TV special adaptation of the manga, which was shown on WOWOW on September 17 and September 18, 2006. The ending theme is "The Power" performed by Kanon.

In North America, Maiden Japan licensed the anime in 2018.[27]

Reception

In 2006, A Spirit of The Sun, along with Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin by Masasumi Kakizaki and George Abe, received the 51st Shogakukan Manga Award for the General category.[28] It also received the Grand Prize for the Manga Category at the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b 太陽の黙示録 1 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b 太陽の黙示録 17 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091817645.
  3. ^ a b 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 1 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091820182.
  4. ^ a b 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 9 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091836399.
  5. ^ 太陽の黙示録 2 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  6. ^ 太陽の黙示録 3 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  7. ^ 太陽の黙示録 4 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  8. ^ 太陽の黙示録 5 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  9. ^ 太陽の黙示録 6 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  10. ^ 太陽の黙示録 7 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  11. ^ 太陽の黙示録 8 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091870384.
  12. ^ 太陽の黙示録 9 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091870392.
  13. ^ 太陽の黙示録 10 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091870406.
  14. ^ 太陽の黙示録 11 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091802206.
  15. ^ 太陽の黙示録 12 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091805809.
  16. ^ 太陽の黙示録 13 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091808166.
  17. ^ 太陽の黙示録 14 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091810802.
  18. ^ 太陽の黙示録 15 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091812589.
  19. ^ 太陽の黙示録 16 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091815189.
  20. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 2 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091822096.
  21. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 3 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091824161.
  22. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 4 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091825877.
  23. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 5 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091830099.
  24. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 6 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091832105.
  25. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 7 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091834175.
  26. ^ 太陽の黙示録 第2部 建国編 8 (in Japanese). ASIN 4091835392.
  27. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (February 19, 2018). "Maiden Japan Licenses A Spirit of the Sun TV Anime Special". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  28. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (January 22, 2006). "51st Shogakukan Manga Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  29. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (December 16, 2006). "10th Media Arts Plaza Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 10, 2009.

External links

Works by Kaiji Kawaguchi
Big Comic series
Shogakukan Manga Award – General
Works directed by Masayuki Kojima
Madhouse television series
Categories