Spirit Warrior
Spirit Warrior | |
å”雀王 (Kujaku ÅŒ) | |
---|---|
Genre | Horror, Occultism |
Manga | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Weekly Young Jump |
Original run | 1985 – 1989 |
Volumes | 17 |
Original video animation | |
Directed by |
Ichiro Itano (epi. 1) Katsuhito Akiyama (epi. 2-3) Rintaro (epi. 4-5) |
Written by |
Sho Aikawa Leo Natsuki (epi. 1-3) Kazuhiro Inaba Tatsuhiko Urahata (epi. 4-5) |
Studio |
AIC (epi. 1-3) Madhouse (epi. 4-5) |
Licensed by | |
Released | 1988 – 1994 |
Runtime | 50 minutes (each) |
Episodes | 5 |
Live-action film | |
Peacock King å”雀王 | |
Directed by | Lam Ngai Kai |
Written by |
IzÅ Hashimoto Kazuki Sekizumi |
Music by | Micky Yoshino |
Studio | Toho, Golden Harvest |
Released | December 10, 1988 |
Runtime | 96 minutes |
Manga | |
Kujaku ÅŒ: Taimaseiden å”雀王 退é”è–ä¼ | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Young Jump |
Original run | 1990 – 1992 |
Volumes | 11 |
Live-action film | |
Saga of the Phoenix å”雀王アシュラä¼èª¬ | |
Directed by | Lam Ngai Kai |
Written by | Hirohisa Soda |
Music by | Philip Chan Fei-Lit |
Studio | Toho, Golden Harvest |
Released | 1990 |
Runtime | 93 minutes |
Manga | |
Kujaku ÅŒ: Magarigamiki å”雀王 曲神紀 | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Young Jump |
Original run | 2006 – 2010 |
Volumes | 12 |
Manga | |
Kujaku ÅŒ Rising å”雀王ライジング | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Monthly Big Comic Spirits |
Original run | 2012 – ongoing |
Volumes | 6 |
Manga | |
Kujaku ÅŒ: Sengoku Tensei å”雀王-戦国転生- | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Leed |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Comic Ran Twins |
Original run | 2012 – ongoing |
Volumes | 2 |
Spirit Warrior, known in Japan as Kujaku-Oh (å”雀王 Kujaku ÅŒ, lit. Peacock King), is a manga by Makoto Ogino. It began serialization in 1985, total 17 volumes and has been spun off into anime, two live action movies, Peacock King and Saga of the Phoenix, and video games.
Story
Kujaku is a Buddhist monk who specializes in exorcism and devil hunting. He is a member of Ura-Kouya, a secret organization in Japan that specializes in demon hunting. In the first 3 volumes, Ogino wrote independent short stories about Kujaku's demon hunting. But in volume 4, it evolves into an epic saga against Rikudoshu (å…é“衆), a secret evil organization led by The Teachers of Eight Leaves (八葉ã®è€å¸«). The goal of The Teachers of Eight Leaves is to revive Peacock King and Snake Queen, and allow them to fight each other to give birth to the ultimate Dark Vairocana (é—‡ã®å¤§æ—¥å¦‚æ¥). During the main story, The Teachers of Eight Leaves tried various methods to achieve their goal but were ultimately defeated by Kujaku and his friends.
Characters
- Kujaku (å”雀)
- A young KÅya Hijiri monk of Ura-KÅya. Real name is Akira (明), the son of a monk named Jikaku and Ksitigarbha (地蔵è©è–© JizÅ Bosatsu). He is the reincarnation of Mahamayuri (å”雀明王 Kujaku MyÅ-Å), Lucifer, and Melek Taus. Uses a Vajra in exorcisms.
- Kujaku is portrayed as non-conventional monk, he likes porn, seafood, etc.
- Played by: Toshihiko Seki (OVA 1–3), KÅji Tsujitani (OVA 4–5), Hiroshi Mikami (Movie 1), Hiroshi Abe (Movie 2), Yuen Biao (Movies, character KÇ’ngquè)
- TarÅja Onimaru (王ä»ä¸¸ 太郎邪)
- Half-demon half-human JukondŠmaster. His guardian god is Mahakala (大暗黒天 Daiankokuten).
- Played by: Hiroya Ishimaru (OVA 1), TesshŠGenda (OVA 2–3), Yūsaku Yara (OVA 4–5)
- Ashura (阿修羅)
- A girl who can control fire. Her guardian god is Asura King (阿修羅王 Ashura Ō).
- Played by: Arisa AndŠ(OVA 1–3), Miki ItŠ(OVA 4–5), Gloria Yip (Movies)
- JikÅ« Acarya (慈空阿é—梨 JikÅ« Ajari)
- Kujaku's master.
- Played by: GorŠNaya (OVA 1–3), IchirŠNagai (OVA 4–5), Ken Ogata (Movie 1), Shintaro Katsu (Movie 2)
- Huáng HÇŽifÄ“ng (黄海峰 KÅ KaihÅ)
- Master of Huáng-jiÄ XiÄndà o (黄家仙é“). Carries the sword Shikoken (ç…咬剣).[1] He loves Kujaku's sister Tomoko.
- Played by: Kazuhiko Inoue (OVA 2), Norio Wakamoto (OVA 4–5)
- NikkŠ(日光)
- Head priest of Ura-KÅya. His guardian god is MahÄvairocana (å¤§æ—¥å¦‚æ¥ Dainichi Nyorai).
- Played by: Akira Kamiya (OVA 2), Ken Yamaguchi (OVA 4–5)
- Tsukuyomi (月èª)
- The mistress of the women's prayer room at Ura-KÅya. Loves Kujaku. Her guardian god is Candraprabha (月光è©è–© GakkÅ Bosatsu)
- Played by: Miina Tominaga (OVA 2), Hiromi Tsuru (OVA 4–5)
- Tomoko (朋å)
- Kujaku's sister. Incarnation of the Rahu (天蛇王 TenjaÅ)
- Played by: Noriko Hidaka
Religious reference
Makoto Ogino used many religious references in Peacock king, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism. The Bible is referenced multiple times, including Jesus, The Holy Grail, Satan, 666, Lucifer. In the manga, the Holy Grail is the skull of Jesus Christ, if it is filled with blood from Peacock King or Snake Queen, it would give birth to the dark Buddha. In Christianity, the general belief is Lucifer the fallen Angel became Satan. Lucifer, Peacock King and Snake King were fallen angels. Satan was reincarnated by another demon hunter from Ura-Koya, named HÅÅ.
Adaptations
Films
The manga has been adaptaed into two live action films, Peacock King and Saga of the Phoenix, both directed by Lam Ngai Kai. The former, released in 1988, stars Hiroshi Mikami and Yuen Biao as the two monks (Kujaku/Small Fruit and a new character Kông Chùe/Peacock, respectively), and Gloria Yip as Ashura. Gordon Liu and Philip Kwok appear in supporting roles.
Video games
Family Computer
- Kujaku ÅŒ (å”雀王 Peacock King)
- The first of two Family Computer (Famicom) adventure games. In it the player takes the role of a band of heroes fighting against evil demons. The player interacts with the story by selecting actions from a list of options on screen (look, take, talk etc) and by a simple 'point-and-click interface. The game was released only in Japan for the Famicom on September 21, 1988 by Pony Canyon.
- Kujaku ÅŒ II (å”雀王Ⅱ Peacock King II)
- A graphic/point-and-click adventure. The player interacts with the story by selecting actions from a list of options on screen (look, take, talk etc) and by a simple 'point-and-click interface. The graphics have been improved over its predecessor. It is also available on the MSX Japanese computer. Released on the Nintendo Famicom by Pony Canyon in Japan on August 21, 1990.
Sega
- Kujaku ÅŒ (å”雀王 Peacock King)
- Sega Mark III, September 23, 1988 (Released as SpellCaster in western markets)
- Kujaku ÅŒ 2: Gen'eijÅ (å”雀王2 幻影城 Peacock King 2: Castle of Illusion)
- Mega Drive, November 25, 1989 (Released as Mystic Defender in western markets)
References
External links
- (Game console): Kujaku Ou at MobyGames
- Kujaku Oh (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Spirit Warrior 1 (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Spirit Warrior 2 (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia