Golgo 13

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Golgo 13

DVD cover of Golgo-13: Queen Bee
ゴルゴ13
(Gorugo Sātīn)
Genre Action
Manga
Author Takao Saito
Publisher Flag of Japan Shogakukan
Flag of Japan Lead Publishing Co., Ltd.
English publisher Flag of the United States Flag of Canada Viz Media
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Big Comic
Original run January 1, 1969 – ongoing
Volumes 148
Live action film
Director Junya Sato
Studio Toei Company
Released 1973
Runtime 104 minutes
Live action film: Assignment Kowloon
Director Yukio Noda
Producer Callan Leung
Writer Takeshi Matsumoto
Nobuaki Nakajima
Composer Harumi Ibe
Studio Toei Company
Released 1977
Runtime 104 minutes
Animated film: The Professional
Director Osamu Dezaki
Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Released 1983
Runtime 91 min
OVA: Queen Bee
Director Osamu Dezaki
Studio BMG Victor
Released 1998
Runtime 60 minutes
TV anime
Director Shunji Oga
Writer Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Junichi Iioka
Network TV Tokyo
Original run April 11, 2008 – ongoing
Episodes 50 (scheduled)

Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13 Gorugo Sātīn?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine since 1969. The series follows Duke Togo, a professional assassin for hire.

The manga is one of the longest running adult manga in Japan and has sold over 200 million copies in various formats, including compilation books. It has been adapted into two live-action feature films, two animated films and a television series.

Contents

[edit] Character

Duke Togo is a professional assassin. His age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle. Duke's alias ("Golgo 13") is short for Golgotha, the place of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.[1][2]

The character was portrayed by Ken Takakura in the 1973 live-action film version of Golgo 13 and by Sonny Chiba in its 1977 sequel, Assignment Kowloon. The character was voiced by Tetsuro Sagawa in The Professional and Akio Ohtsuka in Queen Bee. Duke is voiced by Hiroshi Tachi in the 2008 television series.

[edit] Publication

In 1986, Lead Publishing Company released four Golgo 13 trade paperbacks translated by Patrick Connolly.[3]

In 1989 and 1990, Lead and Vic Tokai published two new Golgo 13 comic books, as part of the promotion for two Golgo 13 video games. The comics were released to the US public via a mail-in offer with the purchase of the games and were later even found packaged with the video games. Each issue contained one complete story and had nothing to do with the storylines of the video games themselves.

In 1991, Lead Publishing and Viz Media published The Professional: Golgo 13, a three part mini-series. The Professional was a re-printing of "The Argentine Tiger", a story where Golgo is hired by the British Government to assassinate the reportedly dead ex-president of Argentina Juan Perón.

In January 2006, Golgo 13 was brought back by VIZ Media in their Viz Signature collection. The stories are picked from Golgo 13 forty year history, and do not necessarily represent the original's order of publication. The volumes are advertised under the moniker "13 volumes of Golgo 13's greatest hits."[4]

The first volume is entitled Golgo 13: Supergun.

[edit] Adaptations

Golgo 13 has been adapted into two live action films, Golgo 13: The Movie and Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, and two animated films directed by Osamu Dezaki. An animated television series began on April 11, 2008.

[edit] Media

[edit] Volumes

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can (April 2008).
No. 1: Into the Wolves' Lair (August 1986)
Into the Wolves' Lair- In 1982, the Israeli government hires Golgo 13 to rescue a Mossad agent and eliminate Neo-Nazis operating in Argentina under the leadership of Nazi war criminal Martin Bormann.
Fighting Back- In 1980, Soviet commandos pursue Golgo 13 after he assassinates a Soviet general in Afghanistan.
No. 2: Galinpero (October 1986)
Galinpero- In 1980, a peasant villager hires Golgo 13 to kill the Galinperos, a group of vicious criminals hiding out in the jungles of the Amazon Basin.
The One-Ten Angle- In 1983, the Saudi royal family hires Golgo 13 to find and execute the murderer of one of their own in New York.
No. 3: Ice Lake Hit (December 1986)
Ice Lake Hit- The CIA sends Golgo 13 to Canada to assassinate a CIA double agent, while Eastern Bloc intelligence agents try to stop him.
Machine Cowboy- A horse rancher hires Golgo 13 to hunt down horse thieves in Texas.
No. 4: The Ivory Connection (February 1987)
Ivory Connection- On behalf of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Golgo 13 hunts ivory poachers in Africa and faces the FNLA.
Scandal! The Unpaid Reward- The leader of a West German political party hires Golgo 13 to assassinate his political rival, to secure his lobby's bid for a defense contract with the government of West Germany.
  • No.1: The Impossible Hit (1971)- Golgo 13 kills a financier with Mafia connections in Manhattan but is soon hounded by detectives when the single shell casing from the bullet used in the killing is found!
  • No.2: Hopper The Border (1971)- Swiss authorities hire Golgo 13 to kill a criminal who is well-known for smuggling people on the run out of Switzerland.
  • The Argentine Tiger- In 1982, in the middle of the Falklands War, the British government hires Golgo 13 to assassinate the ex-president of Argentina, Juan Perón, who was supposedly dead but is alive in Buenos Aires.

[edit] Video games

Three video games have been released: Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode, The Mafat Conspiracy and a Japan-exclusive arcade game.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Golgo 13 episodes

[edit] Reception

In 1976, the manga won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.[5]

Saito's work on the series has been compared to the novels of John le Carré and Frederick Forsyth, as the stories are "dark, meticulously constructed [and] painstakingly realistic".[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Golgo 13 profile (Japanese). TV Tokyo.
  2. ^ Washington, Darius. Anime Reviews: The Professional. EX: The Online World of Anime & Manga.
  3. ^ ゴルゴ13 英語版 (Japanese). Saito Production. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  4. ^ Japanese manga series Golgo 13 is still important after 40 years. Vanguard. Retrieved on 2008-04-16.
  5. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
  6. ^ Kimlinger, Carl (2006-09-08). Golgo 13 GN 4 - Review. Anime News Network.

[edit] External links