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Crest of the Royal Family
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Carol Reed
王家の紋章
(Ōke no Monshō)
GenreHistorical fantasy
Manga
Written byChieko Hosokawa
Published byAkita Shoten
MagazinePrincess
DemographicShōjo
Original run1976 – present
Volumes69

Crest of the Royal Family (王家の紋章, Ōke no Monshō) is a shōjo manga by Chieko Hosokawa. It has run in the monthly magazine Princess since 1976. In 1991, it received the 36th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo.[1] As of 2015, the collected volumes had sold 40 million copies in Japan, making it the fourth best-selling shōjo manga ever.[2] With 68 volumes (as of January 2023), it is one of the longest-running manga series of all time. The manga has been adapted into 2 anime drama CD's released in 1990 by Pony Canyon (reprinted in 2004) and an anime OVA produced by Toei Animation.[3] It was adapted into a stage musical in 2016.[4][5]

Story

The main character, Carol, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American teenager from a wealthy family who has an interest in Egyptology and is studying in Cairo. When her mentor discovers the tomb of a young pharaoh, a curse is put on the excavation team and Carol. The curse sends her back in time to ancient Egypt, where she becomes embroiled in the affairs of Egypt and other ancient countries such as Assyria and Babylonia. Carol meets Memphis, a handsome young pharaoh whose tomb she excavated in modern times. Despite his headstrong, at first violent nature, they fall deeply in love. This angers Memphis's half-sister, the Priestess Isis, who has longed to marry him. Carol, due to her exotic looks and curious ability to tell the future, becomes a major player in ancient history.

Characters

Main characters

Voiced by Keiko Han (OVA)/ Miyuki Sawashiro (Drama CD)
The heroine of the story—a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American teenager who studies archaeology in Cairo. When she got cursed, she was sent back 3000 years ago and meets the cruel but handsome Pharaoh, Memphis. Due to her vast knowledge of ancient Egyptian history, Carol is able to help Egypt through difficulties and because of that, the people of Egypt hail her as the Daughter of the Nile, Guardian of Egypt. Due to her beauty and intelligence, Carol is constantly surrounded by danger in the ancient world, since people either want to kill her or keep her for themselves.
Voiced by Akira Kamiya (OVA)/ Yūki Kaji (Drama CD)
The 17-year-old pharaoh of the ancient Egypt 3000 years ago. At first, Memphis is shown as a cruel and spoiled Pharaoh, but later, we see his softer side as he develops feelings towards Carol. His name is based on the ancient capital of the Egyptian Empire, Memphis.
Voiced by Kazuko Sugiyama (OVA)/ Romi Park (Drama CD)
The Princess and High Priestess of ancient Egypt (she rules Lower Egypt) and elder sister of Memphis. She is madly in love with her brother and wants to kill Carol to take her place as Egyptian Queen (by her brother's side), believing that she will make Egypt stronger and more prosperous. Isis hides her cruelty and hatred of Carol behind her beauty and is always plotting to kill Carol in numerous ways. Her name is based on the Egyptian goddess Isis.

Supporting characters

Modern Days

Ancient World

Kingdom of Egypt
Kingdom of the Hittites
Voiced by Kaneto Shiozawa / Takahiro Sakurai
The young, handsome crown prince of the Hittites (present day Turkey). He distinguishes himself in the story as a valiant warrior, and at the same time, a wise, intelligent, cunning strategist of the Hittite army. Believing that Memphis killed his beloved younger sister Mitamun, he decides to disguise himself as a Palestinian merchant and secretly enters Egypt. There he falls in love with Carol at first sight. Besides Memphis, no one else in the story loves Carol as much as Ismir does.
Empire of Assyria
Voiced by Seizō Katō
The sly emperor of Assyria who is known to use dirty tactics and lowly tricks. He longs for Carol, the Daughter of the Nile river, who is well known for her beauty, intelligence and her position as the future queen of Egypt. Aside from wanting Carol for her beauty and intelligence, he plans to use her to conquer Egypt.
Empire of Babylonia
Kingdom of Minoa
Other factions
The Amazones
Kingdom of Libya
Empire of the Abyssinians
Media Kingdom
Kingdom of Indus

References

  1. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 5 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  2. ^ 「月刊プリンセス」にて1976年〜現在まで連載を続け、累計発行部数4000万部を誇る 『王家の紋章』がついに帝国劇場の舞台に登場します (in Japanese). Akita Shoten. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Historic Shōjo Manga Circulation Numbers". ComiPress. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  4. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (14 July 2015). "Ōke no Monshō Shōjo Manga Gets Stage Musical With Mamoru Miyano, SNH48/SKE48 Idol Sae Miyazawa". animenewsnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  5. ^ "浦井健治主演で「王家の紋章」がミュージカル舞台に". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2020.

External links

Shogakukan Manga Award – Shōjo
Categories