Spriggan (manga)
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| Spriggan | |||
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 Spriggan Japanese manga cover by Shogakukan |
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| スプリガン (Spriggan) |
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| Genre | Action, Adventure, History, Military | ||
| Manga: Spriggan | |||
| Author | Hiroshi Takashige (story) Ryōji Minagawa (art) |
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| Publisher |  Shogakukan |
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| English publisher |   VIZ Media (Defunct) Chuang Yi (English) |
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| Demographic | Shōnen | ||
| Serialized in | Weekly Shonen Sunday Shonen Sunday Super Komik Remaja (Defunct) |
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| Original run | 1989 – 1996 | ||
| Volumes | 11 | ||
| Animated film: Spriggan | |||
| Director | Hirotsugu Kawasaki | ||
| Producer | Kazuhiko Ikeguchi Kazuya Hamana Haruo Sai Eiko Tanaka Ayao Ueda |
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| Composer | Kuniaki Haishima | ||
| Studio | Studio 4°C | ||
| Released | 1998 | ||
| Runtime | 90 min. | ||
Spriggan (スプリガン Supurigan?) is a manga series created by Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa during the early 1990s. It was initially released as Striker in the North American English translation as it is the English translation of the word Spriggan from Celtic.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Story Synopsis
Many years ago, an ancient civilization once ruled Earth. They were known for their advanced artifacts and machines, but were destroyed in the end due to the misuse of their creations. These people left messages for later generations in the form of indestructible message plates written in ancient Hebrew, informing them that if they could not find a good use for their creations, they should be destroyed.
Various entities such as paramilitaries, national armies and armed private forces began to secretly search for these "mysterious" artifacts in order to be used for their own good and against their enemies. Only the ARCAM Corporation can stop these forces from destroying themselves with these "advanced" machines. With the help of its military arm, the ARCAM Private Army and their elite secret agents known as Spriggans (or Strikers), ARCAM plans to turn the tides of battle against those who would threaten the safety of humanity by using the dangerous artifacts.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main
- Yu Ominae
- A Japanese Spriggan agent stationed in Japan. He is extremely young and is the protagonist in the manga and in the animated film.
- Jean Jacquemonde
- A French Spriggan agent stationed in France. He is a fierce lycanthrope, only being able to transform if he sees his own blood and revert to his human form if people are dead, wounded or gone from his area of sight.
- Tea Flatte
- A British Spriggan agent stationed in Britain. She has mystical skills, including the ability to summon Calling Beasts. She also happens to have secrets of her own.
- Oboro
- A Japanese Spriggan agent stationed in Japan alongside Yu. He uses Qigong and Dim Mak attacks to disable or kill his opponents.
- Yamamoto
- The head of the ARCAM Corporation's Japanese headquarters. He is also believed to be an ex-Spriggan agent.
- Rie Yamabishi
- A Japanese American linguistics expert who has graduated from Cornell University and works as a professor before returning to her native Japan and assist the ARCAM Corporation in several events.
- Yoshino Somei
- A teenaged mercenary and thief who steals out-of-place artifacts to the highest bidder.
- Iwao Akatsuki
- A Japanese operative working for the Trident Corporation.
- Bo Brantz
- A German Neo-Nazi fanatic and agent who works for Kutheimer's Neo-Nazi faction based in Egypt.
- Larry Markson
- The American head of the Trident Corporation, serving as its de facto leader while using Campbell Company, the Clovers Heavy Industries and Takasumi Zaibatsu as legal cover.
- Henry Garnum
- The British ARCAM Corporation official who was secretly in league with Larry Markson after gaining some influnce over the company.
- Sho Kanaya
- A brainwashed COSMOS child soldier of Japanese origin.
[edit] Minor
- See also: List of minor Spriggan characters
[edit] Organizations
- ARCAM Corporation
- Founded in the United States, it has branches covering all countries from across the globe. Its mission is to covertly secure and/or destroy all ancient artifacts (whether they would be items, machines, ruins, etc.) from all known enemies that may use them for their own benefit.
- Its breakthrough was the refinement of Omihalcon, a strong metal that was used for ARCAM's Armored Muscle Suit and on Yu Ominae's Omihalcon combat knife. MJ-12 and Trident Corporation were able to refine their own Omihalcon suits, mostly based/stolen from ARCAM's research.
- ARCAM Private Army
- The ARCAM Corporation's paramilitary wing, its duties vary but their main purpose is to conduct offensive and defensive operations on various out-of-place artifact locations and its aggressors, ranging from private corporate military wings to national militaries.
- Trident Corporation
- Founded by NATO originally as an R&D Division, it soon went rogue and broke away for unknown reasons and was soon declared as an illegal organization. Currently, it stands as an artifact-recovering corporation and it is heavily funded by the Campbell Company (European Corporation, possibly British), the Clovers Heavy Industries (American Corporation) and the Takasumi Zaibatsu (Japanese Corporation).
- Its greatest breakthrough was with the creation of the Omihalcon Armored Machine Suit. One of its users was worn by Japanese Trident Corp. operator Iwao Akatsuki, apparently based on ARCAM's Armored Muscle Suit. They use discovered ancient artifacts in order to refine them as potential military weapons.
- COSMOS (Children Of Soldier Machine Organic System)
- A black-ops unit of the US Army and sponsored by the Pentagon, most of its soldiers are child soldiers who were kidnapped by CIA agents/US Army soldiers from around the world and brainwashed.
- Spriggans
- Part of the ARCAM Private Army's divisions, consisting of special agents recruited by the ARCAM Corporation in order to do covert work in hostile areas without compromising the company.
[edit] Mystical Artifacts
(This list is incomplete)
- Fire Orb
- Discovered near Mount Fuji in Japan by an ARCAM archaeological expedition, it soon became the "apple" of the CIA and the KGB as it possessed extraordinary powers. ARCAM made its first move and had sent for Rie Yamabishi in order to get more details on the artifact.
- The orb allows the user to control any active volcano anywhere from around the world.
- After the Russians have failed, COSMOS stepped up its attempts to locate it and kidnapped Rie and Akiha during a COSMOS-led operation on ARCAM's Japanese branch in order to secure details on the location of the Fire Orb.
- Instigators: U.S. (CIA), Russia (KGB and Spetsnaz)
- Location: Mount Fuji, Japan
- Status: Sealed by lava after Koichi Moroha had used the orb to unleash the lava from Mount Fuji.
- Mask of Palenque
- An ancient Mayan mask discovered by Professor Sasakura from the ruins of Palenque in Mexico. It was said that it belonged to an old Mayan ruler who had come from outer space. His coffin depicted a pilot aboard a spaceship.
- It briefly possessed Kagaho Sasakaura, giving her psychic abilities such as levitation and fireball projection. It was accompanied by 10 rings.
- Instigators: Ironarm, Professor Sasakura (Under influence of Tezcatlipoca)
- Location: Palenque, Mexico
- Status: Destroyed after Tezcatlipoca's spirit was sealed in the Itlachiayaque mirror by Ominae Yu and Hatsuho Sasakura.
- Noah's Ark
- Believed to be an ancient transport that held various lifeforms, including dinosaurs and other, unknown types of creatures. It was thought to be a life-creation system. It also served as a weather control device that could bring another Ice Age by using an inverted triangle message plate on its controls.
- Colonel MacDougal in an act of desperation committed suicide by activating the Ark's self-destruct mechanism, taking the Ark and its sleeping occupants with him.
- Instigators: Machiner's Platoon
- Location: Mount Ararat, Turkey
- Status: Destroyed after Colonel MacDougal had used the Ark's self-destruct device.
- Berserker
- An ancient killing robot created several centuries ago. It was known that two Berserker robots were activated. One was in India, where it killed several ARCAM employees in its Indian facility before some of its personnel activated the base's self-destruct device, killing it and its occupants.
- In Britain, British military scientists had reactivated a second Berserker by applying several electric charges before it went on a rampage. Yu fought it to the death and destroyed it by slicing its head off, activating a self-destruct device that had the force of a single bomb.
- Instigators: British Army scientists, British SAS, Professor Mauser
- Location: Rural Britain
- Status: Destroyed when Yu decapitated the robot, activating its self-destruction mechanism.
- Crystal Skull
- Made from an ancient substance, it uses a strong degree of power when the right amount of energy is applied to it. Used in Alexandria's Lighthouse as a source of light and as a weapon.
- Yu Ominae and Oboro recovered the artifact from Kutheimer and his Neo-Nazi terrorists after overpowering them in Egypt.
- Instigators: Neo-Nazis led by Kutheimer
- Location: Egypt
- Status: Stored in ARCAM's US Headquarters
- Program YAMA
- A set of computer input codes discovered by ARCAM scientists during an expedition in an ancient temple, the programming turned against the employees when it sealed off an ARCAM facility in the US and flashed the words "YAMA" at various computer screen around the world.
- When Yu, Jimmy and an ARCAM Special Private Army (ASPA) tactical team proceeded to recapture the compound, they found out the virus brainwashed its occupants by flashing the words "KILL THEM ALL!" before they arrived. In fact, one of the ASPA soldiers became a YAMA pawn when he saw the words on a computer screen, turning against his comrades and firing his weapon before he was disabled by Yu with a karate chop to the neck.
- During the infiltration to the facility's main computer room, the virus turned the tables against the infiltrators by using deadly steam, electrified water and extreme heat that killed an ASPA trooper when he tried to fire his Steyr TMP in a hallucination that resulted in his death from burns.
- Program YAMA, before it wiped itself off the facility's mainframe, told Yu that he captured the facility in order to show the changing attitudes of humans towards their own planet from his initial intent to destroy humankind.
- Instigators: YAMA Virus text codes
- Location: United States
- Status: None, wiped itself off facility's mainframe system
- Holy Grail
- Used in the Last Supper and believed to been used by Joseph of Arimathea, it was said that it had Adolf Hitler's soul in it when some of his blood was collected to the chalice before it was kept in Britain. Kutheimer and his Neo-Nazi cohorts used it to bring back Hitler's soul into one of his cloned bodies in order to access their storehouses in Britain.
- Instigators: Neo-Nazis led by Kutheimer
- Location: Britain
- Status: Unknown, last seen in the hands of Yoshino Somei. Possibly taken away by Yu and Tea.
- Vajrayana
- Also known as Indra's Lightning Bolt, it was discovered by the Nazis during World War II and was sealed off in one of their safehouses in Britain after discovering its true potential.
- The resurrected Hitler used it against Yu Ominae, primarily as a test subject to show off his weapon's potential before an overload killed him and most of the Neo-Nazi officials and soldiers in Kutheimer's faction. Bo Brantze was the only survivor.
- The weapon was known to channel a certain amount of a person's psychic energy (if he or she had psychic powers) and changed into energy blasts.
- Instigators: Neo-Nazis lead by Kutheimer
- Location: Britain
- Status: Destroyed when Hitler accidentally overused the artifact
- Ark of the Covenant
- Found in the S.S. Eugenio E by Yu Ominae and Tea Flatte after Yu went onboard the ship, infiltrating it as a Campbell Company employee.
- Instigators: Trident operatives lead by Iwao Akatsuki
- Location: Onboard the S.S. Eugenio E
- Status: Taken away by Sidewinder, a Trident operative who was assumed to be a double agent.
[edit] Fictional Locations
(This list is incomplete)
- Fire Shrine
- A temple that houses the Fire Orb and located at the base of Mount Fuji. It was built during the Fuji Civilization.
- Forest of No Return
- A mystical forest in India. In Indian folklore, it was said that the god/hero Rama had cursed the forest when he found out that Sita was kidnapped by Ravana. In revenge, he uttered a curse throughout the entire forest. In the Spriggan world, the forest was still cursed and civilians would never go inside the area, fearing that something would happen to them.
- Rumors have abounded that a hidden tablet was inside the forest, which detailed the "recipe" for the nectar of eternal life. Rulers have waged war against one another in order to find the so-called tablet and in modern times, Trident and ARCAM had sent their operatives to the Forest of No Return so as to locate the tablet. In a short of time, the parties have turned into zombies and lay in wait for new prey to come and find them. Iwao Akatsuki of Trident was lucky to escape after most of his squad was converted into zombies by various spirits in the forest.
- Yu Ominae, Yoshino Somei and Iwao Akatsuki were forced to team up in destroying the curse by locating the center of the forest, which was the "God Tree". Destroyed by using a statue of Rama and Yu's psychic powers drawn from his Armored Muscle Suit, the curse was lifted and the forest returned to its original state.
- Phantom Island
- Located east of the Philippines and to the south of Japan in the Pacific, it had never showed up in any maps or in any geographic textbook due to its mystical nature. Numerous ships and planes have made their landing into the eerie island, but have been lost over time due to an anti-space/time continuum that envelopes the entire island when it disappears once in a few years.
- Located on satellite by ARCAM researchers, Yu Ominae and Steve Foster manned the S.S. Rosinante in order to head to the remote island. Yoshino Somei, unfortunately, tagged along after hearing news that ARCAM had an expedition there and joined in via hangglider. Trident also got word of the appearance and has deployed one of its warships to the area so as to get ahead of ARCAM and finding the island's secret. The island was closely guarded by Curly statues, the mysterious six-armed guardians of the island that were immune to firearms, but vulnerable to brekage from martial arts.
- It was probable that the authors were inspired by the case of the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon.
- Reverse Babel Tower
- Built in Iraq as a way of summoning demons in the old days by ancient demon worshippers, it was largely forgotten until cult members of the Magier Heunri Balez rediscovered it after one of Balez's bodyguards used a psychic cyclone to unearth the entire ruins during infighting between Iraqi and Western soldiers in northern Iraq. Inside was a pentagram called the Magical Circle of Chaos, which was the only way that demons could be contacted. American, British and French special forces have been secretly deployed to the north of Iraq, since it was a UN-controlled territory, to locate it. Unknown to them, the Iraqi army had also deployed its soldiers in order to ward off any foreign soldiers, as well as to secure the ruins of the Reverse Babel Tower. The Balez cult had tried to kidnap Kate in order to obtain the Apokryphe before traveling to Iraq to secure the tower.
- Gathering the corpses of dead commandos as a catalyst for using the circle, Balez wanted to use Yu Ominae by trying to brainwash him, but resisted and injured him when he punched the cult leader in the face. He died when the tower collapsed.
[edit] Title List
(This list is incomplete)
- Volume 1
- Fire-Snake (Chapter 1-4)
- Legend of the Mask (Chapter 1-5)
- Volume 2
- Legend of the Mask (Chapter 6-11)
- The Book of Noah's Ark (Chapter 1-4)
- Volume 3
- The Berserker
- The Forest of No Return
- Volume 4
- The Crystal Skull (1st & 2nd Half)
- The Dragon Veins Map (Ominae Extermination Plan I-IV)
- Volume 5
- Tower of Chaos (Scene 1-4)
- The Lycanthrope Legacy (Part 1-2)
- Volume 6
- The Lycanthrope Legacy (Part 3)
- Final Program (Part 1-3)
- The Holy Grail (1st & 2nd Half)
- Volume 7
- The Forgotten Kingdom
- Advent (Episode I-III)
- Volume 8
- Trafficking Immortality (Part 1-3)
- Field Trip (1st & 2nd Half)
- Volume 9
- Spirit Planet
- The Lycanthrope Legacy 2
- Artificial Evolution
- Ark of the Covenant (1st Half)
[edit] Media
[edit] Translation issues
[edit] End of North American English translation
VIZ Media stopped the translation project of Striker in North America.
There were a number of possible reasons on why it was done:
- contained lots of anti-Western subjects; most of them were directed to the United States.[2][3]
- Excessive violence since it has little on plot and more on fighting with scenes that have depicted blood.[4]
- Questionable subject matter (e.g. using teenagers for the most part as Striker operatives and killing adults with firearms, psychic skills or martial arts)
As such, the only English translation commercially available on the market is Chuang Yi's ongoing translation of Spriggan [5]. Currently, 9 volumes have been released in English.
[edit] End of translation in other languages
Aside from the VIZ translation that was curtailed, Spriggan was also abruptly halted in translation in France by Glénat and in the Netherlands by Big Balloon. However in Italy and Germany the series was completely translated and published by the Planet Manga subdivision of Panini Comics. In Asia, Komik Remaja of Malaysia had halted the translation of Spriggan after a few chapters.
[edit] Themes
Some of the themes mentioned in Spriggan mostly include the Cold War, and the fight between various superpowers in maintaining their status from the Cold War via covert and sometimes, black operation-style actions. The manga also mentioned Out-of-place artifacts and the question on whether they can be used for military weapons.
Other themes seen include the use of mercenaries, genetic engineering and the existence and use of mystic arts (e.g. immortal allies/enemies, supposed use of magic, etc.). The presence of the paranormal is in certain parts of the manga when Yu encounters paranormal/supernatural enemies such as evil ghosts and enigmatic spirits.
[edit] References
- ^ Trigunometry's Spriggan Manga Review. Retrieved on January 28, 2007.
- ^ Anime News Network's Spriggan Page. Retrieved on January 28, 2007.
- ^ Anime tackle world conquest, order. Retrieved on January 2, 2008.
- ^ Manga Obsession's Spriggan Review Page. Retrieved on January 28, 2007
- ^ Chuang Yi's Spriggan Page. Retrieved on December 4, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Spriggan Fansite
- Official US Website (English)
- Spriggan Mailing Fan Site
- Spriggan OVA (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Spriggan Manga (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
- Spriggan Volume 1-6 Manga Summary in German
- Spriggan Volume 1-11 Manga Summary in German
- Spriggan Glossary Site (Japanese)
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