Shutendoji (Japanese: 手天童子, Hepburn: Shutendōji), also known as Legend of Shutendoji, is a Japanese manga series created by Go Nagai which combines elements from Japanese folklore with science fiction. An OVA series was released beginning in 1989 and ending in 1991, for a total of 4 episodes.

Legend of Shutendoji
Cover of volume 1 of Legend of Shutendoji by Fusosha, art by Akemi Takada (1998)
手天童子
(Shutendōji)
Manga
Written byGo Nagai
Published byKodansha
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runSeptember 5, 1976April 30, 1978
Volumes9
Novel series
Written byYasutaka Nagai
Illustrated byGo Nagai
Published byKadokawa Shoten
ImprintKadokawa Novels
Original runJuly 1986June 1989
Volumes6
Novel series
Written byShigekazu Kitamura
Published byJICC
ImprintAdventure Novels
Original runOctober 1987December 1987
Volumes2
Original video animation
Directed byJunji Nishimura (1-2)
Jun Kawagoe (3)
Masatomo Sudo (4)
Written byMasashi Sogo
Music byFumitaka Anzai
StudioStudio Signal
Licensed by
Released December 21, 1989 December 21, 1991
Runtime50 minutes (each)
Episodes4
Video game
PublisherEnix
GenreRPG
PlatformNEC PC-9801
ReleasedOctober 1990
Manga
Gomaden Shutendoji
Written byGo Nagai
Illustrated byMasato Natsumoto
Published byAkita Shoten
MagazineChampion Red
DemographicSeinen
Original runOctober 2002December 2005
Volumes7

In 2002, a remake/sequel titled Gomaden Shutendoji (降魔伝 手天童子, Gōmaden Shutendōji) started being published in the magazine Champion Red, being one of the series that were released in the first issue of the magazine.

Plot

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Artist and writer Ryuichiro Shiba and his wife, Kyoko, are visiting a temple to make a promise of marriage to their ancestors. At that moment, however, two oni appear before them and fight to death; one of them carrying a baby on his mouth. After defeating his opponent, the oni gives Ryuichiro and Kyoko the baby and declares that he will return for him after 15 years. After said period of time, strange events start happening around the baby, now a teenager named Jiro Shutendo.

Characters

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Main characters

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Jiro Shutendo (手天童子郎, shutendou jirō)
Voiced by: Ryo Horikawa

The fifteen-year-old protagonist of the story, he is an oni.

Miyuki Shiratori (白鳥美雪, shiratori miyuki)
Voiced by: Sumi Shimamoto

Jiro's schoolmate and love interest.

Ryuichiro Shiba (柴竜一郎, shiba ryūichirō)
Voiced by: Michihiro Ikemizu

Jiro's adoptive human father.

Kyoko Shiba (柴京子, shiba kyōko)
Voiced by: Sanae Takagi

Jiro's adoptive human mother.

Goki (護鬼, goki)
Voiced by: Tessho Genda

One of the two oni created to protect Jiro. He looks relatively humanoid, unlike most oni, and acts as a mentor for Jiro.

Senki (戦鬼, senki)
Voiced by: Daisuke Gori

One of the two oni created to protect Jiro. He brought him as a baby to his parents.

Allies

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Yusuke Shiratori (白鳥勇輔, shiratori yūsuke)

Miyuki's older brother and Jiro's first and best friend.

Naojiro Oyama (大山 直次郎, oyama naojiro)

A friend of Yusuke who is a descendant of ancient oni. He's the heir of a yakuza family trained through generations to protect Jiro.

Riki Muso (無双 力, muso riki)

A human descendant of ancient oni and another friend to Yusuke. She is a strong female oni who hides under the guise of a rowdy, masculine-looking girl with a love for professional wrestling. Her nickname is "Ricki".

Kosaku Kaji (梶 工作, kaji kosaku)

Another descendant of an oni, a timid, bookish boy with psychic abilities.

Yashi Koya (小谷 椰子夫, koya yashi)

Another descendant of an oni and the last member of Yusuke's gang. He is a plump boy with superhuman strength that practises sumo wrestling. He's nicknamed "Koyatashi".

Enemies

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Yonen Majari (魔邪利 妖念, majari yonen)

The high priest of Ankoku Jashin Kyo ("School of the Evil God from Darkness"), an evil cult who worships demons. His goal is killing Jiro.

Kukai Jawanbo (邪腕坊 苦海, jawanbo kukai)

Majari's lieutenant, a powerful priest who wields a double kusarigama.

Iron Kaiser (アイアンカイザー, aion kaisa)
Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka

Kukai's son, who grew and became a military cyborg in order to avenge his father.

Original manga publication

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Prototype

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Before starting serialization, Nagai created a 57-page oneshot titled Shutendoji, published in the issue of February 1975 (1975-02) in the Shōjo magazine Princess, published by Akita Shoten.[1][2][3] While this manga has some similarities, it is a completely different story, as well as being a Shōjo manga instead of Shōnen. It would later be renamed as Jashin Senki (邪神戦記) or Princess Han Shutendoji (プリンセス版手天童子).[2][3]

Original serialization

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Shutendoji started being published as a serialized series from September 5, 1976 (1976-09-05), to April 30, 1978 (1978-04-30), in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha.[2][4]

The manga was originally compiled in 9 volumes, and would later be re-published several times.

  • Kodansha (KC Magazine, 1977–1978)
Japanese release date Vol.
April 5, 1977 (1977-04-05) 1
May 10, 1977 (1977-05-10) 2
July 20, 1977 (1977-07-20) 3
August 20, 1977 (1977-08-20) 4
March 25, 1978 (1978-03-25) 5
June 25, 1978 (1978-06-25) 6
July 25, 1978 (1978-07-25) 7
September 20, 1978 (1978-09-20) 8
November 25, 1978 (1978-11-25) 9
  • Kodansha (KC Special, 1985)
Japanese release date Vol. ISBN
August 6, 1985 (1985-08-06) 1 4061011529
August 6, 1985 (1985-08-06) 2 4061011537
September 6, 1985 (1985-09-06) 3 4061011545
October 5, 1985 (1985-10-05) 4 4061011553
November 6, 1985 (1985-11-06) 5 4061011561
  • Kodansha (Goka Aizoban, 1988–1989)
Japanese release date Vol. ISBN
September 17, 1988 (1988-09-17) 1 4061769081
September 17, 1988 (1988-09-17) 2 406176909X
October 17, 1988 (1988-10-17) 3 4061769111
November 17, 1988 (1988-11-17) 4 406176912X
December 17, 1988 (1988-12-17) 5 4061769138
January 17, 1989 (1989-01-17) 6 4061769146
  • Fusosha (Fusosha Bunko, 1996–1997)
Japanese release date Vol. ISBN
August 30, 1996 (1996-08-30) 1 4594020534
September 30, 1996 (1996-09-30) 2 4594020755
October 30, 1996 (1996-10-30) 3 4594021042
November 30, 1996 (1996-11-30) 4 4594021204
December 30, 1996 (1996-12-30) 5 4594021476
January 30, 1997 (1997-01-30) 6 4594021719
  • Fusosha (Legend of Shutendoji, 1998)
Japanese release date Vol. ISBN
April 1, 1998 (1998-04-01) 1 4594024580
April 1, 1998 (1998-04-01) 2 4594024599
May 10, 1998 (1998-05-10) 3 4594024696
June 10, 1998 (1998-06-10) 4 459402470X
July 10, 1998 (1998-07-10) 5 4594025064
August 10, 1998 (1998-08-10) 6 4594025072
  • Kodansha (Kodansha Manga Bunko, 2001)
Japanese release date Vol. ISBN
October 12, 2001 (2001-10-12) 1 4063600971
October 12, 2001 (2001-10-12) 2 406360098X
November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12) 3 4063600998
November 12, 2001 (2001-11-12) 4 4063601005

Besides the printed volumes, the manga has also been published in 10 ebook format volumes by ebookjapan.[5] The series has also been published in some compilations of other Nagai's manga.

Publications outside Japan

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d/visual published the full series in Italy from 2004 to 2005.

Italian release date Vol. ISBN
July 23, 2004 (2004-07-23) 1 4902751046
October 15, 2004 (2004-10-15) 2 4902751097
December 17, 2004 (2004-12-17) 3 4902751151
February 18, 2005 (2005-02-18) 4 4902751399
April 15, 2005 (2005-04-15) 5 4902751402
April 29, 2005 (2005-04-29) 6 4902751410
June 30, 2005 (2005-06-30) 7 4902751429
September 2, 2005 (2005-09-02) 8 4902751437
October 26, 2005 (2005-10-26) 9 4902751445

Novels

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Two series of novels based on the manga were released during the 1980s. The first one was written by Yasutaka Nagai and was released in 6 volumes from 1986 to 1989 by Kadokawa Shoten.[6][7][8]

  • Kadokawa Shoten (Kadokawa Novels)
Release date Vol. Subtitle Pages ISBN
July 1986 (1986-07) 1 Oni no Kechimyaku (鬼の血脈) 218 4047740217
March 1988 (1988-03) 2 Oni Tenshi (鬼天使) 204 4047740225
June 1988 (1988-06) 3 Jakyo no Wana (邪教の罠, jakyō no wana) 188 4047740233
October 1988 (1988-10) 4 Ankoku tera no Shito (暗黒寺の死闘, ankoku tera no shitō) 194 4047740241
February 1989 (1989-02) 5 Samayo Eru Oni Tachi (彷徨える鬼たち) 198 404774025X
June 1989 (1989-06) 6 Saraba Itoshiki Oni Tachi (さらば愛しき鬼たち) 201 4047740268

The second one was written by Fusamichi Kitamura and published in two volumes published in 1987 by JICC under the label Adventure Novels.[6][9][10]

  • JICC (Adventure Novels)
Release date Vol. Pages ISBN
October 1987 (1987-10) 1 282 4880633062
December 1987 (1987-12) 2 250 4880633070

OVAs

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The manga was adapted into 4 OVAs released from 1989 to 1991.[11] The OVAs were originally released on VHS and later on laserdisc, both times by Nippon Columbia.

# Title Length Director Original release date
1"Chapter of Hyoki"
"hyōki no shō" (憑鬼の章)
50 mins.Junji NishimuraDecember 21, 1989 (1989-12-21)
2"Chapter of Goma"
"gōma no shō" (降魔の章)
50 mins.Junji NishimuraJuly 1, 1990 (1990-07-01)
3"Chapter of Tekki"
"tekki no shō" (鉄鬼の章)
48 mins.Jun KawagoeMarch 1, 1991 (1991-03-01)
4"Chapter of Ongoku"
"ongoku no shō" (鬼獄の章)
54 mins.Masatomo SudoMarch 1, 1991 (1991-03-01)

They were re-released in DVD format also by Columbia in 2001.[12][13][14][15]

Releases outside Japan

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The OVAs were released in the US by ADV Films[16] in VHS (4 tapes) and later on DVD (2 discs).

They were also released in Italy by Dynamic on VHS and in Latin America on TV by Locomotion.

Staff and production notes

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Source(s)[11] [17][18]

Video game

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Along with the OVAs, a Role-playing game for the NEC PC-9801 was released by the Japanese company Enix in October 1990 (1990-10).[19][20][21]

Gomaden Shutendoji

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Gomaden Shutendoji (降魔伝 手天童子, Gōmaden Shutendōji) is a manga created by Go Nagai and Masato Natsumoto, which was originally published from August 19, 2002 (2002-08-19) (cover date October 2002 (2002-10),)[22] to October 19, 2005 (2005-10-19) (cover date December 2005 (2005-12)),[23] in Akita Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Champion Red. While it has a similar setting, the story is different from the original series.

No. Release date ISBN
1 April 17, 2003 (2003-04-17)978-4-253-23063-6
2 September 25, 2003 (2003-09-25)978-4-253-23064-3
3 April 15, 2004 (2004-04-15)978-4-253-23065-0
4 September 22, 2004 (2004-09-22)978-4-253-23066-7
5 February 19, 2005 (2005-02-19)978-4-253-23067-4
6 August 20, 2005 (2005-08-20)978-4-253-23068-1
7 December 20, 2005 (2005-12-20)978-4-253-23069-8

References

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  1. ^ 神保町裏通り日記. Carrot Museum (in Japanese). Japan: Kudan Shobo. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  2. ^ a b c 手天童子 [Shutendoji] (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  3. ^ a b "Go Nagai works list 1971-1975". Nagai Go Special Corner (in Japanese). Japan: eBOOK Initiative Japan Co. Ltd. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  4. ^ "Go Nagai works list 1976-1980". Nagai Go Special Corner (in Japanese). Japan: eBOOK Initiative Japan Co. Ltd. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  5. ^ "TV anime list". Nagai Go Special Corner (in Japanese). Japan: eBOOK Initiative Japan Co. Ltd. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  6. ^ a b 小説イラスト関係(永井豪) (in Japanese). Japan: Go book quest. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  7. ^ 永井 豪イラスト単行本リスト(PART1) [Go Nagai - Illustration book list (part 1)]. Nagai Go (in Japanese). Japan: Dynamic Land. Archived from the original on 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  8. ^ 『手天童子』二部作. Adventure Novels (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  9. ^ ゲームブック倉庫番 @ ウィキ - JICC出版局(宝島社) (in Japanese). Japan. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  10. ^ a b "Original Video Ka Sakuhin List" [Original Video works list] (in Japanese). Japan: The World of Go Nagai. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  11. ^ "手天童子(1) <憑鬼の章・降魔の章> [DVD]" (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.com, Inc. 17 March 2001. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  12. ^ "手天童子 Vol.1 「憑鬼の章」 「降魔の章」" (in Japanese). Japan: Seven and Y Corp. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  13. ^ "手天童子(2) <鉄鬼の章・鬼獄の章> [DVD]" (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.com, Inc. 17 March 2001. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  14. ^ "手天童子 Vol.2 「鉄鬼の章」 「鬼獄の章」" (in Japanese). Japan: Seven and Y Corp. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  15. ^ "Catalog". USA: ADV Films. Archived from the original on March 31, 2001. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  16. ^ "Shutendoji" (in Japanese). Japan: allcinema. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  17. ^ "Shutendoji (OVAs)" (in Japanese). Japan: Go-mania. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  18. ^ "Shuten Doji". United Kingdom: Anime Video Games. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  19. ^ "Shuten Doji Release Information for NEC PC98". USA: Gamefaqs. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  20. ^ "Shuten Douji Fiche RPG". Carrot Museum (in French). France: Legendra. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  21. ^ "Champion Red #2002-10". Magazine Box (in Japanese). Japan: Akita Shoten. Archived from the original on 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  22. ^ "Champion Red #2005-12". Magazine Box (in Japanese). Japan: Akita Shoten. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
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Note 3