King of Bandit Jing

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Jing: King of Bandits
王ドロボウJING (King of Bandit Jing)
Genre	Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Kaitō, Science Fiction, Shounen
Manga
Authored by	Yuichi Kumakura Nakamura
Publisher	Kodansha
Serialized in	Comic BonBon, Magazine Z
Original run	1995-11-06 – 1998-06-05
No. of volumes	7
TV anime
Directed by	Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio	Studio DEEN
Network	NHK
Original run	15 May 2002 – 14 August 2002
No. of episodes	13

King of Bandit Jing (王ドロボウJING, Ō Dorobou Jing^?), also known as Jing: King of Bandits, is a seven volume manga series by Yuichi Kumakura about the adventures of the bandit Jing and his partner Kir.^[1] The manga was adapted into a 13 episode anime series produced by Aniplex and directed by Hiroshi Watanabe. The anime series aired from 15 May 2002 to 14 August 2002 on NHK in Japan.^[2] The manga is licensed in English in North America by TOKYOPOP. ADV Films licensed the King of Bandit Jing series.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Characters 3 Names 4 Anime Episodes 5 Manga Volumes 5.1 original series 5.2 Twilight Tales 6 Anime and manga differences 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Synopsis

King of Bandits Jing is a series of short, usually disconnected stories starring the young boy who calls himself Jing, the Bandit King. It is evident from the beginning of the series that Jing has begun to make a name for himself; even Cognac, Mayor of the infamous City of Thieves, has heard of (and recognizes) Jing upon his entrance to the city. This is not normally the case, however, as Jing's reputation seems to extend throughout the series and many enemies underestimate him, not expecting the "great" King of Bandits to be a "little kid".

The stories vary a great deal, especially between the initial manga series and the sequel series, King of Bandit Jing: Twilight Tales. In the initial series, stories often border on comical and cartoonish. Each arc includes a new treasure or object that Jing is seeking, a woman or girl (affectionately referred to as "Jing girls") who accompanies him somewhere along the way on his quest for this item, and an enemy that either wants to protect what it is he intends to steal, or get to it before he does. Settings also vary; Jing solves riddles in order to journey to the lost immortal city of Aquavitae, and deliberately gets himself arrested to steal something from inside a maximum security prison. He always escapes in the end of each arc, and always manages to steal his target, although not always in the way that the characters or the reader expects. Each arc also features the upset of some restrictive societal norm thanks to Jing's intervention; rulers are dethroned, prison riots are caused, an entire corrupt religion is reduced to shambles. This could be taken as a look at the "benefits" of lawlessness and chaos when faced with corrupt and stagnant law, but it is left up to the reader to decide--at no time is Jing described as anything other than a thief. There is no doubt that Jing leaves the lives of more than one person shaken in his wake, often inverting their world views. Additionally, none of the Jing girls ever follow him out of their specific arc--but there are occasionally implications of continued contact, such as the end of the Pompier arc when Fino receives a letter from Kir via post mail.

Twilight Tales, a series of six volumes, takes a great leap in terms of both art and writing for Kumakura. The alcohol-themed names are more obscure, the stories take a more serious tone, and the art is much more mature and highly contrasted and dramatic. There are far fewer super deformed expressions, and Jing seems more composed. Ages are never given for any of the characters, so it is impossible to tell how much time passes between the original series and TT, if any at all. While there is still typically a Jing girl in each arc, they are no longer as prominent as they were before, and Jing's relationships with his 'enemies' become more complicated and are no longer so clear-cut (many are "redeemed" rather than defeated). The theme of disrupting corrupt social structures, however, remains, which is interesting considering that Jing no longer manages to steal every treasure he sets out after in the arcs. In Twilight Tales, more often than not, Jing actually winds up fighting the sought object, or having to destroy it in some way. There is also a short arc featuring Jing's past that contains no Jing girl at all, nor a treasure, unlike the other "childhood" arc in the original series that featured both. In both these childhood arcs, Jing is already calling himself the King of Bandits.

There is no fixed ending for either series. Presumably Jing continues about his life much as he has throughout the series, and the reader is left with the feeling that the storyteller simply chose to stop narrating at that point, and that there is no "real" ending to Jing's tale.

Both childhood arcs, in both the original series and in Twilight Tales, seem more for the purpose of developing Jing's character than for providing any concrete information on his history. It is discovered that he has lost his mother in some fashion that is never explained, although it can be assumed from various bits of Jing's dialogue throughout both series that she is dead. His father is never mentioned. The original series arc does contain the story of how Kir and Jing met, but also contains a confusing event that seems to involve Jing having been born with a crippled right arm that is mysteriously restored to a fully-functioning limb with the help of a gun. The gun is delivered by Postino, who was told by Jing's mother to bring it to him on his tenth birthday "at any cost", "not one day late," and that it "will be needed for your right hand." How exactly the gun restores his arm, however, is unclear.

Jing also carries around with him a crystal, imbedded with the image of a woman's head with long hair, already in his possession from the beginning of the series. The crystal, too, is never explained. All that is known is that it is of great importance to Jing--when robbed by another thief in the first volume, Jing corners him and allows him to keep the jewels he stole, provided he returns the crystal. Fans have speculated that the crystal may be connected to his mother somehow, but as the series has ended with no explanations, there is no way to confirm any suspicions.

[edit] Characters

Jing is the protagonist of the series. A dashing young thief in a flowing yellow trenchcoat, his exceptional skills and dedication are seemingly contradicted by his laid-back manner. He approaches life with a disarming, confident cheerfulness, selecting his targets seemingly on a whim. Because he is such a legendary figure, many people are surprised when they meet him in person, as he is rather small and unassuming at first glance. His skills as a thief, however, are without equal. He travels the world with his best friend, Kir, a talking albatross with whom he can combine to unleash the deadly Kir Royale attack.

Kir is Jing's sidekick, a feisty talking albatross with a big mouth. Despite being a bird, he is constantly chasing human women, and usually hits on each episode's Jing Girl at every opportunity. Nonetheless, he is always rejected (curiously, the rejection is always due to his mannerisms and personality, and not the fact that he is a bird.) Kir is a bit greedier than Jing and often wonders why the latter doesn't go after targets with more monetary value. Nonetheless, he is a steadfast friend and invaluable partner to Jing.

Postino, the only other regular character, is a good example of the series' surreal tone. He is a mail carrier who travels by motorcycle whose route seems to include the entire world. He appears, seemingly on cue, at some point in each episode just as Jing is in need of help. He drives up, delivers a clue or plot exposition, and then drives away, and is not seen again for the remainder of the story. Postino is both a parody of Deus ex machina plot devices, and an example of the surreal and sometimes illogical world which Jing inhabits. Postino appeared only once in the original manga, in the "Amarcord" story. He appears twice in the Twilight Tales series, once in volume one, and once in volume five.

[edit] Names

Throughout the story, Jing encounters everyone from a crooked, dried up old thief to a young girl with a legendary painting on her entire body. For each story in the manga (the manga is compromised of several shorter stories) features a bad guy, a good guy, and a girl. Most notable of these characters are the famed Jing girls-several lovely ladies who serve either as friend or foe to Jing and Kir throughout any given adventure.

Each character in the series is named after some sort of alcoholic beverage (the exception being the explosive PorVoras and loyal postman Postino. Both of these are Spanish, obviously).

Each town/city is named after a cocktail.

Jing and Kir’s "Kir Royale" attack is also a cocktail.

More information about the specifics of each name can be found in the TokyoPop releases (Volume 5&7).

[edit] Anime Episodes

#	Title	Original Airdate
01	"1st Shot: The Capital of Thieves" (1st SHOT: ドロボウの都)	2002-05-15
The first episode takes place in a town called the Capital of Thieves, as Jing and Kir attempt to steal the mysterious Double Mermaid jewels, which in actuality are living beings. The Double Mermaid is kept at the top of a large tower that the tyrant in charge of the town has constructed. Many thieves have died trying to get to the top of this tower. Eventually Jing is able to make a giant bird angry enough to grow wings and fly him to the top of the tower. The item that Jing steals is the jewel that was created by the mother's and daughter's tears mingled together.
02	"2nd Shot: The Ghost Ship of Blue Hawaii" (2nd SHOT: ブルーハワイの幽霊船)	2002-05-22
The second episode involves a trip to a town called Blue Hawaii and a rumored Ghost Ship that lies off its coast. The ship in reality is a casino powered by greed and desire, whose power source Jing steals. The Jing girl in this episode is Rose the daughter of Chief Police in the city, and whose father is trapped in the Casino of Greed. In the casino/boat Jing and Kir amass a lot of money, winning every game they participate in. Eventually the operator of this casino takes notice to them. Jing ends up figuring out that the casino's inhabitants are in reality lost souls consumed by greed and trapped in the gold coins. He defeats the gold coins because as the King of Bandits he is able to control his own desires and not fuel their power. This is apparently the source of Jing's true power as the bandit king. At the end of the episode Rose gives Jing a kiss. Postinos Riddle: The Ghost Ship runs on Greed and Desire.
03	"3rd Shot: The Adonis Capital of Time (Part 1)" (3rd SHOT: 時の都アドニス 前編)	2002-05-29
The third episode involves the town of Adonis. The town is run by time. Jing and Kir defeat the guards at the entrance and rescue a girl named Mirabelle from being executed. The main crime in this town is being late. If you are 5 seconds late, the punishment is execution. After they save Mirabelle they are chased by the Master of the town. Mirabelle saves them by showing them to a place called Neverland for refugees.
04	"4th Shot: The Adonis Capital of Time (Part 2)" (4th SHOT: 時の都アドニス 後編)	2002-06-05
This is the second part of the two-part chapter in King of Bandit Jing. Mirabelle brought the two to the Neverland and as turns out, are being hunted by Adonis, wanted for many time-related crimes. Jing devised a plan to infiltrate the castle and stop the time clock, thus, stealing Adonis's "time". In the end Adonis was put to an end and Jing got to try the Pure "Clockwork Grape".
05	"5th Shot: The Little Girl from Technicolor Town" (5th SHOT: 色彩都市の少女)	2002-06-12
The fifth episode has Jing and Kir help a young daughter of an artist complete his final work of art before his death.
06	"6th Shot: The Eternal City Of Reviva (Part 1)" (6th SHOT: 不死の都リヴァイヴァ 前編)	2002-06-19
Jing and Kir start off by crashing the party of a baby prince at his castle and soon hear about a city, Reviva, whose people hold the secret to eternal life. The two set off with this episode's Jing-girl, Vermouth, to find the city. They are pursued the entire time by a duo also seeking the secret to eternal life, a scholar called Pernod (eerily similar to Malcolm MacDowell in the movie Clockwork Orange) and his well-built lackey, China Lilet. They pursue the three at a distance most of the time and more often than not just follow in the footsteps of Jing when solving puzzles or overcoming obstacles. The episode closes, to be continued in episode 7, shortly after Jing and his companions battle a skeleton who is cursed to drink wine for all eternity, only to have it spill back into the barrel again. The skeleton thanks them for freeing him from his curse and goes to spread his cape and stand on a small boat to act as a sail. Postino's Riddle: "Yeah, I deliver letters for them sometimes. But you know, I've never seen an obituary come out of that town."
07	"7th Shot: The Eternal City Of Reviva (Part 2)" (7th SHOT: 不死の都リヴァイヴァ 後編)	2002-06-26
Jing, Kir and Vermouth continue on their sail boat to the city of Reviva, which has long been abandoned by its citizens and is inhabited only by the king, who still guards the water of eternal life. He congratulates Jing, whom he calls "The Minstrel," for coming so far and tells him of his plan to make Jing the new king of Reviva. Vermouth is injured in a battle with Leviathon, a giant fish that the king has been pursuing for ages, and is, to the great surprise of Jing and Kir, repaired by the king. The king apparently constructed her for the purpose of finding a new king. Jing and his companions are then drawn into battle with the scholar and his lackey, who has been modified by the scholar with robotic parts and a remote-control. In the end, the scholar and his lackey are tangled up and forced into becoming part of a perpetual motion machine and Jing pours out the water of eternal life, stating that shining for only a second is better than living a dull grey life for all of eternity. Postino's Riddle: None, this episode is the second in a series. See Episode 6.
08	"8th Shot: Don't Drop the Por Vora" (8th SHOT: 爆弾生物ポルヴォーラ)	2002-07-03
Jing and Kir go on a quest to find the lost Sun Stone and pick up a shipment of two Por Vora along the way. In addition to dangerous and magical environments, the Por Vora are explosive. Jing and Kir hook up with this episode's Jing-girl, Izarra, and just narrowly make it to their destination, Sungria, with just one Por Vora. The other sacrifices itself to save the others. Jing uses his typically inexplicable knowledge of treasure to reveal the Sun Stone using the Mercury Stone to activate it. Izarra adopts the Por Vora as Jing and Kir vanish into the clouds, hitching a ride on the rising Sun Stone. Postino's Riddle: "I'm not permitted to handle dangerous creatures like the Por Vora. I'm prohibited from delivering radioactive or poisonous cargo." This is not necessarily a riddle, but reinstates what has already been mentioned about the Por Vora's dangerous nature.
09	"9th Shot: The Musical Island of Coco-Oco" (9th SHOT: 調べの島ココ・オコ)	2002-07-17
Jing and Kir travel to the musical island of Coco-Oco. At the beginning of the episode, Kir becomes irritated with Jing and goes off on his own. Kir almost drowns but is saved by Mimosa, this episode's Jing girl. Jing goes off on his own to investigate the rumor of the Ocarina of the Moon. Mimosa goes to a cave on the island to watch the guy she likes called Russian playing a flute. Most of the rest of the episode is spent developing her character and their relation. At the end of the episode, Kir gets Jing to show up to save Russian from the collapsed cave, where all four find that the Ocarina of the Moon was in fact the moon shining beautifully through the cave like music. Mimosa and Russian have a cute little scene at the end and Kir and Jing settle their argument. Jing reflects that "this is one thing we can never steal". Jing and Kir leave on the train heading for Zaza.
10	"10th Shot: The Lullaby of the Por Vora" (10th SHOT: ポルヴォーラの子守歌)	2002-07-24
Postino's Riddle: None. He does however make a brief appearance at the beginning of the episode waiting for a passing trolly which Jing is riding.
11	"11th Shot: The Masquerade Ball of ZaZa (Part 1)" (11th SHOT: ザザの仮面舞踏会 前編)	2002-07-31
Jing and Kir are in ZaZa planning to attend what was thought of as a masquerade ball, but it turns out the sign read "Mas Corrida", and corrida is a bullfighting term. Suddenly, Jing and Kir are in the middle of a nationwide masked gladiator tournament to determine the new Earl of ZaZa and receive the Vintage Smile, a pearl white mask Jing came to steal. Jing finds out from Angostura Sr., that Madame DuBonnet didn't mourn for the loss of her husband, but was severely crushed when her only son, Lemon, was murdered by his uncle. The Madame grew cold and heartless, and ordered these tournaments to force everyone to fight until no warrior is left standing. Her main targets are the D'Ice Brothers: Baffle, Crash and Cube, the three who assassinated Lemon. After humiliating an opponent in true bandit fashion, Jing witnesses Cube's devastating defeat at the hands of a mysterious warrior in blood-red armor and demon motifs.
12	"12th Shot: The Masquerade Ball of ZaZa (Part 2)" (12th SHOT: ザザの仮面舞踏会 中編)	2002-08-07
Jing has advanced into the Black Corrida, which is the final stages of battle. During the time, more plotting from the D'Ice Brothers are in the works to take the role of Earl by force, while Jing plots his own caper. Miss Stir unexpectedly comes across Jing while walking through the palace, but she didn't notice him as the King of Bandits. After defeating Crash, Jing finds himself surrounded by all three D'Ice Brothers, but one Kir Royale later and the brothers get blasted. Having escaped the D'Ice Brothers' wrath, Jing finds himself face to face with the demonic warrior who brutalized Cube who is simply known as "The Warrior of the Rising Son".
13	"13th Shot: The Masquerade Ball of ZaZa (Part 3)" (13th SHOT: ザザの仮面舞踏会 後編)	2002-08-14
The fight continued on until the night with Jing and the red-armored warrior matching each other blow for blow. Just as Jing disarms the warrior's sword, Cube smashes the warrior to gain vengeance. The armor shatters and to everyone's shock, it revealed Miss Stir! Before anyone can act, Jing carried Stir and jumped towards the Madame's balcony so she can rest. Baffle suddenly captures Jing and hopes to execute him, but Angostura halts Baffle letting him know the law in ZaZa. Jing, ever so crafty, decides to have one more battle with Baffle. However, before the match, he switched masks and clothes with Angostura in order to reach Stir and the Vintage Smile. During Stir's rest, the cold-hearted Madame cried and took off her mask revealing her face. Then, everything in ZaZa was back to normal. Jing got the Vintage Smile while his friend Ginjou got everything else. However, Baffle was on Jing's trail and Jing finally put an end to the D'Ice Brothers' evil with a Kir Royale blast. Afterwards, Kir started to get that look in Jing's eye that something happened between him and Stir. When the masquerade ball was back to dancing instead of fighting, Stir put off every man who wanted to dance with her so she can save the first dance for Jing.

[edit] Manga Volumes

[edit] original series

Volume 1 - Chapters: 1st shot - in the City of Thieves, 2nd shot - Mystery of the Phantom Ship, 3rd shot - the King of Bandit's Test, 4th shot - No Time for Adonis, early design collection.

• Summary: Jing enters the City of Thieves with the intent of stealing the Double Mermaid, but Mayor Cognac is dead set on standing in his path. Afterwards he travels to Blue Hawaii, and with the "help" of Rose, law-enforcer-in-training, investigates a ghost ship that has been plaguing the town. It's actually the secret casino Morte Calon, and the proprietor, Grappa, is deadset on trapping the King of Bandits with his own desire. Then Jing visits Adonis, the city of tyrannical time, with the intention of stealing the fabled clockwork grapes. When Kir saves a girl named Mirabelle from execution for being tardy, he arouses the anger of Mastergear, ruler of Adonis, who has an integration partner of his own--a fox by the name of Sherry, comparable in power to Kir.

Volume 2 - Chapters:

• Summary:

Volume 3 - Chapters: 10th shot - the Goddess of Sungria, 11th shot - Country of Tears, 12th shot - Town of Eternal Life, 13th shot - Lips of an Old Woman, 14th shot - Seven Colors of Ascension, initial set-up collection (3).

• Summary: Jing shows up at a Sungrian mine with the PorVora baby in tow and decides to poke through Baron Goblet's library for information on the Sun Stone--but Izarra has her own agenda that might interrupt Jing's plans. Then the City of Corpse abruptly loses the crown of its new king to the King of Bandits, but in his escape Jing meets Vermouth, an eccentric girl with promises of immortality in an undying city. To find it he has to solve the riddles leading to its location, before the pedantic Pernod and China Lilet can beat him to it.

Volume 4 - Chapters: 15th shot - Seventh Heaven, 16th shot - Prison of Dreams, 17th shot - A Sneeze From the Sun, 18th shot - the Hometown's Whereabouts, Extra Shot 1 - Amarcord First Volume, Extra Shot 2 - Amarcord Last Volume, initial set-up collection (4).

• Summary: Jing gets arrested and incarcerated in the infamous prison known as Seventh Heaven--in order to talk to Campari, a conjuror who discovered a dream orb that could crystallize dreams. But when he finds himself sucked into a dream world of Campari's own making, a little more than Jing's freedom is on the line. In the Extra Shot, the story of how Jing and Kir met for the first time is told.

Volume 5 - Chapters: 19th shot - ZaZa's Masquerade, 20th shot - Vintage Smile, 21st shot - the Warrior of the Rising Sun, 22nd shot - At the End of a Desperate Struggle, 23rd shot - Tears of an Unmasked Face, 24th shot - Waltz of the Wind, King of Bandits Crime Report.

• Summary: The city of ZaZa is famous worldwide for its annual masquerade, but when Jing arrives it's been turned into the infamous mascorrida, thanks to the callous bitterness of Countess Dubonnet. Jing is more intent on stealing the Duchess' Vintage Smile than the throne of Zaza, but when a mysterious warrior enters the masked competition, it may be all Jing can do to hold on to his life.

Volume 6 - Chapters: 25th shot - Electricity Killed the Cat, 26th shot - the Sea in the Sky, 27th shot - the Navel's True Nature, 28th shot - A Colossus of Clouds, 29th shot - Lights Out, 30th shot - Mother Ocean, initial set-up collection (5).

• Summary: A gambling game with batteries instead of chips, a smoke bomb, and Jing's on his way with a map to the fabled Fuzzy Navel, the "reputed residence of God Himself." But when Kirsche, leader of a feline band of rebels against the city's restrictive electricity laws, decides Jing is in her way, things get tricky. And Pesca Luminosa does not appreciate the thought of someone disrupting his godly kingdom, especially not Jing. After all, only girls are good for sacrifices in Fuzzy Navel . . .

Volume 7 - Chapters: 31st shot - Girl On Auction, 32nd shot - Black Market, 33rd shot - Crimson Lake, 34th shot - the Fifth Element, 35th shot - Burning House of Ice River, 36th shot - Full Color Cemetery, 37th shot - White Tapestry, Crime Report - Second Edition.

• Summary: When Jing and Kir kidnap a forty-thousand dollar girl in the city of Pompier they wind up on the run from Monsieur Drambuie, an avid art collector determined to get his "merchandise" back. However, Fino is the daughter of the famous artist Vin Quart as well as one of his works, and with her help Jing and Kir might be able to find the famous Le Chef-d'Ouvre Inconnu, Quart's final piece.

[edit] Twilight Tales

Volume 1 - Chapters:

• Summary:

Volume 2 - Chapters:

• Summary:

Volume 3 - Chapters:

• Summary:

Volume 4 - Chapters:

• Summary:

Volume 5 - Chapters: 25th shot - Crime of Passion, 26th shot - the Graveyard of Memories, 27th shot - the Answer to the Riddle, 28th shot - the Wind of Time, 29th shot - the First and Last Question, Extra Shot - Jing el Sur.

• Summary: Lord Borus is pushed closer and closer to confronting the past he kept hidden behind the Parfait d'Amour as Jing continues to run wild through Moulin Rouge. Anisette has been charged as Jing's accomplice in theft and love tax evasion, and everything comes to a head in the city's fog. In the Extra Shot, Jing reflects on an old friend he met in New Alcohol Bottle City, and the impact they had on each other's lives.

Volume 6 - Chapters: 30th shot - the Merry Widow Banquet, 31st shot - the Silent Flower, 32nd shot - Melody of Malady, 33rd shot - Rhapsody in Blue, 34th shot - Optimum Variation.

• Summary: Merry Widow has been a place of music and song since the Grammar War, but Jing's intent on an instrument that's heard but not seen--the Invisible. Rumour is the composer Eyguebelle is connected to it somehow, and Alize promises she can help them get to it. But is it really the best idea to pair up with a girl who wants to assassinate the man they're trying to find?

[edit] Anime and manga differences

• Jing is calmer and more collected in the anime than he is in the manga. He and Kir also get along a lot better in the anime.
• In the anime, Mayor Cognac didn't realize Jing's identity as the King of Bandits until the end of the episode. In the manga, he recognized Jing the moment he set foot in the city.
• In the manga, Jing got the aged dragon to fly by having Kir take the egg up there. In the anime, Jing taunted the dragon by saying how Cognac must be eating her egg right now.
• In the anime, Jing got the "Mermaid's Tear" from Cidre at the end of the episode. In the manga, he just stole a number of Cognac's jeweled gold goblets before leaping out of the tower.
• In the manga, Rosé's father was hiding in his bed at night with charms to protect him from ghosts. In the anime he was drained completely of his desire and left a wreck. Because of this he doesn't come out to save his daughter after the Ghost Ship explodes.
• In the manga, when Jing was delivering Por Vora, he had been delivering a full family (A father, mother, and two children). In the anime, he was only delivering a mother and one child.
• The entire Coco-oco arc, including Mimosa and Russian, never appear in the manga. The manga's Seventh Heaven arc, including Campari and Benedictine (though they do appear in the OVAs) , and the Fuzzy Navel arc, including Kirsche, never appear in the anime.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ADV Films King of Bandit Jing website
• Sony Music King of Bandit Jing website
• King Of Bandits Jing manga review at MangaReviewer.com