Kaze to Ki no Uta

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The Poem of Wind and Trees

Cover (Partial) of Volume #1 of Flower's comic's "Kaze to Ki No Uta"
風と木の詩
(Kaze to Ki no Uta)
Genre Shōnen-ai, Drama
Manga
Author Keiko Takemiya
Publisher Flag of Japan Shougakukan
Demographic Shōjo
Serialized in Shōjo Comic
Original run January 1976 – 1984
Volumes 17
OVA: The Song of Wind and Trees: Sanctus
Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Episodes 1
Released November 6, 1987
Runtime 60 minutes

Kaze to Ki No Uta (風と木の詩? lit. The Poem (Song) of the Wind and the Trees) is a shōjo manga by Keiko Takemiya. It was first published by Shougakukan from 1976 to 1984 in the magazine Shōjo Comic. In 1979, it was awarded the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen/shōjo manga.[1] The series is widely regarded as a shōnen-ai classic, being one of the first in the genre.

Contents

[edit] Summary

Kaze to Ki No Uta is the story of Serge Battour, the son of a wealthy man and a Roma woman. Taking place in the late 19th century, the story is a recollection of his memories of Gilbert Cocteau at Laconblade Academy in Provene, France. The story has themes of class prejudice, racism, homophobia, homosexuality, incest, paedophilia, rape, prostitution, and drug abuse.

Gilbert Cocteau is a promiscuous student who has a reputation for being a boy of corrupt morality since he frequently misses classes and engages in relations with older male students. However, Gilbert is a tortured young man who has been treated like an object all his life rather than a human being. The primary antagonist in the story - Gilbert's uncle, Auguste Beau - is a respected society figure who manipulates and sexually abuses his young nephew. Auguste's influence is so great that Gilbert actually believes that the two are in love, and Gilbert remains enthralled with Auguste, even to the bitter end when he finds out that Auguste isn't quite who he thought he was.

Golden-hearted Serge becomes fascinated with Gilbert, and tries to win his friendship despite being threatened with ostracism and even violence. Gilbert himself even rejects Serge's offer of friendship, although it seems that Serge may be Gilbert's only hope to escape this hellish life.

Serge perseveres and eventually the two boys become friends and lovers. Faced with a violent rejection by members of the faculty and student body, Gilbert and Serge flee to Paris and live for a short while as paupers. Gilbert, however, cannot escape all of the demons of his past, and finds himself dragged into a life of hard drugs and prostitution. The story ends when Gilbert thought he saw Auguste, under the influence of drugs, and he ran joyfully towards a fast moving carriage.... and died under the hooves and wheels. Some of the pair's few friends - who have recently rediscovered the couple - take care of the traumatized Serge.

[edit] Characters

Gilbert Cocteau
Protagonist, 14 years old. A son of adultery between Auguste Beau and Anne Marie who is a wife of the elder step-brother of Auguste.
Serge Battour
Protagonist, friend of Gilbert, 14 years old. A son of young viscount Batoule and a beautiful Roma woman. Successor of the house of viscount Batoule. Serge is a musical prodigy at piano.
Auguste Beau
Poet, and Gilbert's real father, though posing as Gilbert's uncle. Auguste is an adopted son of the house of Cocteau. He sexually abuses Gilbert at a young age. Auguste himself had been raped by his elder step-brother in his young age.
Jean-Pierre Bonnard
Famous painter, paedophile. He kidnaps and rapes the child Gilbert, who in turn attempts to commit suicide but is rescued by Auguste.
Pascal Biquet
Friend of Serge. A classmate of Serge and Gilbert.
Aryon Rosmarinay (Rosmariné)
Student superintendent general in the school. He hates Gilbert and Auguste Beau since his pride was degraded by the power of Auguste. Rosmarinay was raped by Auguste, while he was still a vulnerable child.

[edit] The Vision

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (July 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

It is said that the author, Keiko Takemiya, got an inspiration of this grand story and designed the total plot one night. She then, next day, told her imagination and construction of the story to her friend Norie Masuyama. The finished manga was half of her first vision. The second part of story was written in form of a novel, Kami no Kohitsuji (神の子羊? lit. Agnus Dei or the Lamb of the God), by Noris Haaze, which is a pen name of Masuyama.

[edit] Media

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Please improve this article if you can (August 2007).

There is one anime adaptation of this manga, about 1 hour story version, made in VHS tape and LD, and five music albums (LP records). Two of the records are image albums, that is, LP records, named 1) /Kaze to Ki no Uta/, Part 1, and 2) Part 2, /Requiem for Gilbert/. Two more are 3) synthesizer version of 1) and 4) Music collection LP of the OVA /Kaze to Ki no Uta/. 5) The last one is coupling album. Its Side 1 is the Side 1 of 1) and Side 2 is a selected music collection from the other image album of Takemiya, /Natsu e no Tobira (The Door to Summer) /.

[edit] OVA

  • 1. Kaze to Ki no Uta - SANCTUS - , OVA, 6 Nov., 1987 (VHS/Beta tape) / 21 Nov., 1987 (LD)
Herald Enterprise Inc. and Shougakukan
Total time: 60 minutes
Staff
Director : Yasuhiko Yoshikazu
Producer : Utagawa Touju, Asami Isamu et al.
Pictures by : Takemiya Keiko, Sugino Sachiko, Futagi Makiko and others.
Music : Nakamura Nobuyuki
Cast (Voice actors)
Sasaki Yuuko (Gilbert)
Ohara Noriko (Serge)
Sakakibara Yoshiko (Rosmarinay)
Shiozawa Kaneto (Auguste)
Takemura Taku (Pascal)

[edit] Music albums

  • 1) Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Poem of Wind and Trees). image album, 1 July, 1980
Nihon Columbia (Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.).
Side 1
1. Main Theme
2. Theme of Gilbert
3. Theme of Serge
4. Dialogue
5. The Poem of the Wind and the Trees
Side 2
1. Piano Cocerto, Kaze to Ki no Uta
  • 2) The World of Takemiya Keiko - Aesthetics of Love. combined album, 25 Oct. 1981
Nihon Columbia (Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.).
Note: Side 1 is same as that of LP /Kaze to Kino Uta/, and Side 2 is music collection selected from the LP /Natsu e no Tobira (The Door to Summer) /, which is the album of music collection from the OVA /Natsu e no Tobira (夏への扉) /.
Side 1 (from the Poem of Wind and Trees)
1. Main Theme
2. Theme of Gilbert
3. Theme of Serge
4. Dialogue
5. The Poem of the Wind and the Trees
Side 2 (from the Door to Summer)
1. Theme of Marion
2. Theme of Ledania
3. Theme of Love
4. The Burning Summer
5. Main Theme
  • 3) Kaze to Ki no Uta, Jiruberu no Rekuiemu (Requiem for Gilbert), image album, 21 July, 1984,
Nihon Columbia (Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.).
Side 1
1. Ave Maria
2. In the Course of Waking from Dreams
3. A Bird is Made of Snow
4. Invitation to Travel
Side 2
1. Now, Just into the Dreams
2. The Dream
3. Plaited Strings of Love
4. My Angel, I Pray...
5. Ave Maria
  • 4) Kaze to Ki no Uta - the Digital Trip, synthesizer fantasy, 21 May, 1985
Nihon Columbia (Columbia Music Entertainment, Inc.).
Note: Entries are same as /Requiem for Gilbert/. This is the synthesizer version.
  • 5) Kaze to Ki no Uta - SANCTUS -, OVA soundtrack LP, 6 Nov., 1987
Pony Canyon (Pony Canyon Inc.）
Note: This is the music collection from the OVA /Kaze to Ki no Uta - SANCTUS - /. This album was published in the form of CD and cassete tape at the same time.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 小学館漫画賞：歴代受賞者 (Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.

[edit] External links