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Peacock King

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Spirit Warrior
孔雀王
(Kujaku Ō)
GenreAction, fantasy[1]
Manga
Written byMakoto Ogino
Published byShueisha
English publisher
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original run1985 – 1989
Volumes17
Original video animation
Directed byKatsuhito Akiyama (ep. 1 and 3)
Ichirō Itano (ep. 2)
Written byShō Aikawa (ep. 1-2)
Leo Natsuki (ep. 3)
StudioAIC (eps 1, 3)
Studio 88 (ep 2)
Licensed by
Released1988 – 1991
Runtime50 minutes (each)
Episodes3
Live-action film
Peacock King
孔雀王
Directed byLam Ngai Kai
Written byIzō Hashimoto
Kazuki Sekizumi
Music byMicky Yoshino
StudioToho, Golden Harvest
ReleasedDecember 10, 1988
Runtime96 minutes
Manga
Kujaku Ō: Taimaseiden
孔雀王 退魔聖伝
Written byMakoto Ogino
Published byShueisha
MagazineYoung Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original run1990 – 1992
Volumes11
Live-action film
Saga of the Phoenix
孔雀王アシュラ伝説
Directed byLam Ngai Kai
Written byHirohisa Soda
Music byPhilip Chan Fei-Lit
StudioToho, Golden Harvest
Released1990
Runtime93 minutes
Original video animation
Directed byRintaro
Written byKazuhiro Inaba
Tatsuhiko Urahata
Music byToshiyuki Honda
StudioMadhouse
Licensed by
Released1994
Runtime50 minutes (each)
Episodes2
Manga
Kujaku Ō: Magarigamiki
孔雀王 曲神紀
Written byMakoto Ogino
Published byShueisha
MagazineYoung Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original run2006 – 2010
Volumes12
Manga
Kujaku Ō Rising
孔雀王ライジング
Written byMakoto Ogino
Published byShogakukan
MagazineMonthly Big Comic Spirits
DemographicSeinen
Original run2012 – 2019
Volumes6
Manga
Kujaku Ō: Sengoku Tensei
孔雀王-戦国転生-
Written byMakoto Ogino
Published byLeed
MagazineComic Ran Twins
DemographicSeinen
Original run2012 – 2019
Volumes2

Spirit Warrior, known in Japan as Kujaku-Oh (孔雀王, Kujaku Ō, 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 films, 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-Kōya, 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 (六道衆), a secret evil organization led by The Teachers of Eight Leaves (八葉の老師). 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 (闇の大日如来). 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 (孔雀)
Played by: Toshihiko Seki (first OVA series); Edward Morrisson Garland (English; first OVA series), Kōji Tsujitani (second OVA series), Hiroshi Mikami (movie 1), Hiroshi Abe (movie 2), Yuen Biao (movies, character Kǒngquè)
A Kōya Hijiri monk in his twenties and the hero of the story. His real name is Akira (明), the son of a monk named Jikaku and a female pilgrim or Ksitigarbha (地蔵菩薩, Jizō Bosatsu). He is the reincarnation of Mahamayuri (孔雀明王, Kujaku Myō-ō), Lucifer, and Melek Taus, which grants him an immense spiritual power. Most of the time, however, Kujaku behaves like the young man he is, being carefree, lecherous and a glutton. He uses a vajra in exorcisms.
  • Ashura (阿修羅)
Played by: Arisa Andō (first OVA series); Alissa Stein (English; first OVA series), Miki Itō (second OVA series), Gloria Yip (movies)
A girl chosen by the god Asura King (阿修羅王, Ashura Ō). She was found by Ura-Kouya in a village, where she was hated and feared by her spiritual powers. Being 12 to 15 years old through the story, Ashura is usually rebellious and feisty, and also has a crush on Kujaku, which makes her jealous in several instances. She also loves fashion and often changes her appearance from her natural blond hair. She has pyrokinetic abilities and can generate a great amount of spiritual energy to transfer to her allies.
  • Tarōja Onimaru (王仁丸 太郎邪)
Played by: Hiroya Ishimaru (first OVA series, episode 1), Tesshō Genda (first OVA series, episodes 2-3); Michael Schwartz (English; first OVA series), Yūsaku Yara (second OVA series)
Kujaku's greatest rival, a half-demon half-human Jukondō master who works as a mercenary. He is superhumanly strong and has regenerative abilities, and specializes in controlling evil spirits. Although he and Kujaku were enemies in their first encounter, they quickly became friends, which turned Onimaru into somewhat of a recurrent reinforcement ally for Kujaku and his friends. His guardian god is Mahakala (大暗黒天, Daiankokuten).
  • Huáng Hǎifēng (黄海峰, Kō Kaihō)
Played by: Kazuhiko Inoue (first OVA series); Dan Truman (English; first OVA series), Norio Wakamoto (second OVA series)
Kujaku's second rival, the young heir of a Chinese clan of sorcerers named Hakka Sendo. He is a master of Huáng-jiā Xiāndào (黄家仙道) and uses the sword Shikoken (獅咬剣).[3] Like Onimaru, he started as an enemy to Kujaku before joining forces with him and developing an uneasy friendship with him. He later falls in love with Kujaku's sister Tomoko, which causes him to give in to darkness in order to try to save her from her fate. After being saved by Kujaku, he marries Tomoko and has a son with her.
  • Jikū Ajari (慈空阿闍梨, Jikū Ajari)
Played by: Gorō Naya (first OVA series); Matthew Harrington (English; first OVA series), Ichirō Nagai (second OVA series), Ken Ogata (movie 1), Shintaro Katsu (movie 2)
Kujaku's old master. He knew Kujaku's father and was entrusted with him. Despite his wisdom and age, he is a bit of an alcoholic and as perverted as his apprentice.
  • Nikkō (日光)
Played by: Akira Kamiya (first OVA series); Ed Kissel (English; first OVA series), Ken Yamaguchi (second OVA series)
Head priest of Ura-Kōya and Kujaku's senpai. He tries to be much more serious about their work. His guardian god is Mahāvairocana (大日如来, Dainichi Nyorai).
  • Tomoko (朋子)
Played by: Noriko Hidaka
Kujaku's sister, an incarnation of the Rahu (天蛇王, Tenjaō). She became separated from Kujaku as a child and was brought up by a Neo-Nazi cult, which tried to wake up her spiritual power to use her as a weapon.
  • Tsukuyomi (月読)
Played by: Miina Tominaga (first OVA series); Denise Gottwald (English; first OVA series), Hiromi Tsuru (second OVA series)
The mistress of the women's prayer room at Ura-Kōya. She is in love with Kujaku. Her guardian god is Candraprabha (月光菩薩, Gakkō Bosatsu)

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 Hōō.

Adaptations

Films

The manga has been adapted 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 Ō (孔雀王, 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 Ō II (孔雀王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 Ō (孔雀王, Peacock King)
Sega Mark III, September 23, 1988 (Released as SpellCaster in western markets)
  • Kujaku Ō 2: Gen'eijō (孔雀王２ 幻影城, Peacock King 2: Castle of Illusion)
Mega Drive, November 25, 1989 (Released as Mystic Defender in western markets)

References

  1. ^ Jake L Godek. "Spirit Warrior: Peacock King". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Mateo, Alex (July 29, 2020). "Manga Planet Licenses Salary Man Kintaro, Charge!! Men's School, Peacock King More Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  3. ^ 武器
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