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Akado Suzunosuke

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Akado Suzunosuke
赤胴鈴之助
(Akadō Suzunosuke)
GenreJidaigeki,[1] swashbuckler[2]
Manga
Written by
  • Eiichi Fukui (Episode 1)
  • Tsunayoshi Takeuchi (Episode 2 onwards)
Published byShōnen Gahōsha
MagazineShōnen Gahō
Original runAugust 1954 – December 1960
Volumes22
Radio drama
  • Akado Suzunosuke (1957-1959)
Live-action
Television drama
Original networkOTV
Original run September 20, 1957 – October 3, 1958
Episodes55
Television drama
Original networkKRT
Original run October 2, 1957 – March 25, 1959
Episodes55
Anime television series
Directed byShigetsugu Yoshida
Written by
  • Mon Shichijo
  • Haruya Yamazaki
  • Yoshitake Suzuki
  • Yutaka Kaneko
  • Tatsuo Tamura
Music by
Studio
Original networkFuji Television
Original run April 5, 1972 – March 28, 1973
Episodes52
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Akado Suzunosuke (赤胴鈴之助, Akadō Suzunosuke, lit. 'Suzunosuke the red breastplate') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichi Fukui and Tsunayoshi Takeuchi.[3] It ran serially for six years from 1954 to 1960.[1][3]

It is a jidaigeki story where a young swordsman stands up to villains. At the time, it was perceived as uniquely higher quality so it quickly gained support from children and became extremely popular.[1][3][4] The popularity of the work led to the production of a radio drama in 1957, followed by a film adaptation and two TV drama adaptations in the same year.[1][5] As popularity subsided, the manga series ended. An anime adaptation was produced in 1972.[1]

Plot

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Akado Suzunosuke tells the story of Suzunosuke Akado, a young boy who aspires to become the best swordsman in Japan. He joins the Chiba Dōjō[a], run by Shūsaku Chiba, a renowned Hokushin Ittō-ryū in Edo, where he spends his days training and trying to perfect the Akado Vacuum Slash, a special technique left by his father.[1] Suzunosuke faces a variety of events, including a feud and reconciliation with senior disciple Rainoshin Tatsumaki, and a confrontation with the Kimento, which is plotting to overthrow the Edo Shogunate. However, Suzunosuke is undaunted by any hardships he faces, and he continues to follow his own path.[1]

Production

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Akado Suzunosuke was created by Eiichi Fukui, a popular manga artist comparable to Osamu Tezuka at the time, who remade Yowamushi Suzunosuke (よわむし鈴之助, Yowamushi Suzunosuke, lit. 'Suzunosuke the Coward'), a one-shot that he wrote in the past, for serialization. However, following the publication of the first episode in the magazine and the drafting of the second episode, Fukui tragically passed away. As a result, Tsunayoshi Takeuchi, a newly debuted manga artist from the previous year, was unexpectedly tasked with continuing the manga. Takeuchi assumed responsibility for Fukui's work and proceeded to write from the second episode through its finale.

Characters

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Suzunosuke Akado (赤胴 鈴之助, Akadoō Suzunosuke)
A boy who trains at the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Chiba Dōjō[a] to become the best swordsman in Japan. His real name is Suzunosuke Kinno, but he is called Suzunosuke Akadō because he wears a Akadō (red breastplate), a memento of his father.
Shūsaku Chiba (千葉 周作, Chiba Shūsaku)
Founder of Hokushin Ittō-ryū. A master swordsman who founded Chiba Dōjō[a] in Edo, Suzunosuke's master. He is modeled after a real swordsman with the same name.
Sayuri Chiba (千葉 さゆり, Chiba Sayuri)
Daughter of Shūsaku. She is a skilled swordsman and is good with a naginata.
Osuzu (お鈴, Osuzu)
A woman who makes her living as a tailor. She is actually Suzunosuke's mother.
Rainoshin Tatsumaki (竜巻 雷之進, Tatsumaki Rainoshin)
A disciple of Chiba Dōjō[a] with a natural talent for swordsmanship. He was Suzunosuke's senior disciple and rival, but after losing to Suzunosuke, he became desperate and was excommunicated.
Oshinosuke Yokoguruma (横車 押之助, Yokoguruma Oshinosuke)
Head instructor of Chiba Dōjō[a]. He is a close friend of Suzunosuke's father.
Gakurinbo (岳林坊, Gakurinbō)
Rainoshin's elder brother. He is a spear user and a dojoyaburi. He later joins the Kimentō, but Rainoshin persuades him to change his mind.
Matsunosuke Ooki (大木 松之助, Ōki Matsunosuke)
Suzunosuke's friend. He mistakenly identifies Suzunosuke as the murderer of his father and targets him along with his uncle.
Banyoken Ooki (大木 蛮洋軒, Ōki Banyoken)
Matsunosuke's uncle and a master of kusarigama. He targets Suzunosuke with his nephew to avenge his younger brother's death.
Tetsunosuke Kinno (金野 鉄之助, Kinno Tetsunosuke)
Suzunosuke's late father.
Kimento (鬼面党, Kimen-tō, lit. 'Demon mask group')
An evil organization that schemes to overthrow the Edo Shogunate and rule the country. All members wear the masks of demons. They plan to recruit the skilled Suzunosuke and Rainoshin into their ranks.

Media

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Manga

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Akado Suzunosuke was serialized in Shōnen Gahō, a monthly shōnen manga magazine published by Shōnen Gahōsha, from the August 1954 issue to the December 1960 issue, and was collected in 22 tankōbon volumes.[1][3]

It was reprinted in 2007 by Shōnen Gahōsha and Shogakukan.[5] Shonen Gahosha faithfully reprinted the original in every detail, while Shogakukan reprinted it in A5 format, which is slightly larger than the original B6 format, for easier reading.[5]

It was made into an Ebook in 2014 and eBookJapan began distributing it.[6]

Anime

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The anime adaptation was broadcast on Fuji Television Network from April 5, 1972 to March 28, 1973 for a total of 52 episodes.[2] It was co-produced by Fuji Television and Tokyo Movie[b], with the actual production of the animation outsourced to A Production[c].[7]

The anime was well composed with a total of 52 episodes, utilizing the essence of the original manga while introducing characters who do not appear in the manga and interspersing an anime original road movie-like storyline in the middle of the episodes.[2] Each 30-minute episode was produced in just over a month with an animation director and two to four key animators, which is nearly impossible today.[7]

Many of the staff members are from Mushi Production and Tōei Dōga[d], so they all have a solid foundation, and the quality of the animation is high throughout the 52 episodes, and every episode is well produced.[7] The main staff consists of former Tōei Dōga members: Shigetsugu Yoshida as director, Daikichiro Kusube as animation director, and Yōichi Kotabe as assistant animation director.[7] This group included many animators who would later go on to show their unique talents, such as Yoshinori Kanada and Yoshifumi Kondo.[7] The staff working on the storyboards are all people who have done epoch-making work in Japanese animation, such as Toshio Hirata, Hayao Miyazaki, and Noboru Ishiguro.[8] Among them, the work of Osamu Dezaki, who joined under the name Kuyo Sai, was outstanding, and he worked on 14 episodes, a quarter of the total.[8]

Live-action films

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Nine film adaptations produced by Daiei Film were released from 1957 to 1958.[1] The lead actor was Shoji Umewaka for the first seven films, and was replaced by Taro Momoyama for the eighth and ninth films.

Filmography

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Radio drama

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Radio Drama Adaptation aired on Radio Tokyo[e] from January 7, 1957 to February 14, 1959. Total of 42 episodes.[1] The theme song, which would be used in subsequent film, TV dramas, and anime series, was created for the program.[1]

Live-action TV drama series

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Two TV Drama Adaptations were aired in 1957 on separate TV stations using the then-predominant live broadcast format.[1] The Osaka Television Broadcasting[f] version aired a total of 55 episodes from September 20, 1957 to October 3, 1958. The KR TV (Radio Tokyo Television)[g] version aired a total of 55 episodes from October 2, 1957 to March 25, 1959.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e It is modeled after Genbukan, a dōjō founded by the real-life Shūsaku Narimasa Chiba.
  2. ^ Currently TMS Entertainment.
  3. ^ Currently Shin-Ei Animation.
  4. ^ Currently Toei Animation.
  5. ^ Currently TBS Radio.
  6. ^ Currently Asahi Television Broadcasting.
  7. ^ Currently TBS Television.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hongo, Mitsuru (June 26, 2012). "DVD-BOX発売記念 アニメ『赤胴鈴之助』の話 (1)" [DVD-BOX release commemoration The story of the anime "Akado Suzunosuke" (1)]. Web Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. p. 1. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Hongo, Mitsuru (June 26, 2012). "DVD-BOX発売記念 アニメ『赤胴鈴之助』の話 (2)" [DVD-BOX release commemoration The story of the anime "Akado Suzunosuke" (2)]. Web Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. p. 2. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Suzuki, Toshio (January 1, 2023). "｢ぼくらは立派な大人ではなく､立派な少年になることを目指した｣鈴木敏夫が考える日本のアニメ文化のルーツ『赤胴鈴之助』から宮﨑駿につながる戦後日本の漫画史 (1)" ["We were not trying to be respectable adults, we were trying to be respectable boys" Toshio Suzuki on the Roots of Japanese Anime Culture: The History of Postwar Japanese Manga from "Suzunosuke Akado" to Hayao Miyazaki (1)]. President Online (in Japanese). PRESIDENT Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "押井守がコンテンツ語り尽くす「赤胴鈴之助」からYouTubeまで" [Mamoru Oshii talks about all the contents from "Akado Suzunosuke" to YouTube]. Yorozoo (in Japanese). Daily Sports. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "マンガ「赤胴鈴之助」2社から復刻" [Manga "Akado Suzunosuke" reprinted by two companies]. komimi kuchikomi (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. November 4, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "少年画報社が70周年、「赤胴鈴之助」「まぼろし探偵」など昭和作品を電子化" [Shōnen Gahōsha celebrates its 70th anniversary by digitizing "Suzunosuke Akado," "Maboroshi Tantei," and other Showa works]. Internet Watch (in Japanese). Impress Corporation. October 28, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Hongo, Mitsuru (June 26, 2012). "DVD-BOX発売記念 アニメ『赤胴鈴之助』の話 (3)" [DVD-BOX release commemoration The story of the anime "Akado Suzunosuke" (3)]. Web Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. p. 3. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Hongo, Mitsuru (June 26, 2012). "DVD-BOX発売記念 アニメ『赤胴鈴之助』の話 (4)" [DVD-BOX release commemoration The story of the anime "Akado Suzunosuke"]. Web Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. p. 4. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
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