| Spriggan | |
Spriggan Japanese manga cover by Shogakukan |
|
| スプリガン (Supurigan) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure, history, military |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hiroshi Takashige |
| Illustrated by | Ryōji Minagawa |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | VIZ Media[1] Chuang Yi |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday Shōnen Sunday Super |
| Original run | 1989 – 1996 |
| Volumes | 11 |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Hirotsugu Kawasaki |
| Produced by | Kazuhiko Ikeguchi Kazuya Hamana Haruo Sai Eiko Tanaka Ayao Ueda |
| Music by | Kuniaki Haishima |
| Studio | Studio 4°C |
| Licensed by | ADV Films |
| Released | 1998 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Game | |
| Spriggan: Lunar Verse | |
| Developer | From Liquid Mirror Software |
| Publisher | From Software |
| Genre | Action, adventure |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Released | June 17, 1999[1] |
Spriggan (スプリガン Supurigan) is a manga series written by Hiroshi Takashige and illustrated by Ryōji 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.[2]
Spriggan takes places in the last years of the Cold War where mysterious and unknown artifacts called out-of-place artifacts (OOPArt) are discovered in various parts of the world, leading to a secret war between various forces against the ARCAM Corporation, an organization that placed itself the guardians of the OOPArts in order to prevent them from being used as weapons.
Spriggan was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazines Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Shōnen Sunday Super. The manga was adapted into an anime film by Studio 4°C in 1998. A PlayStation game called Spriggan: Lunar Verse was also based on the manga with some material created for the game.
Contents |
Many years ago, an ancient civilization known for their advanced technology once ruled Earth, but were destroyed in the end by their misuse. So, they 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 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. The ARCAM Corporation and their military arm, the ARCAM Private Army, can stop these forces from destroying themselves with their elite secret agents known as Spriggans (or Strikers).
The manga was initially published in Japan by Shogakukan in eleven full volumes from July 1991 to April 1996,[4][5] with reprints in both 2001 and 2006 (including the unpublished stories "First Mission" and "Gold Rush").[6][7][8] Shogakukan Productions Co., Ltd.'s licensing arm in North America, VIZ Media, translated and published three out of eleven volumes as Striker after it was first serialized in Manga Vizion, before the company curtailed further translation.[9]
In Europe, two volumes were published in France and in French-speaking countries and territories by Glénat under the name Striker[10][11] in the Netherlands by Big Balloon, eleven volumes in Germany by Planet Manga,[12] and three full volume in Spain and in Spanish-speaking territories and countries by Planeta DeAgostini in 1993 followed by a reprint from 1996 to 1997.[13]
In Asia, the manga was released in Hong Kong by Jade Dynasty,[14] in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo,[15] in Malaysia as part of an installment in a fortnightly comic magazine, Komik Remaja (but was cancelled during the Noah's Ark story arc due to 'inappropriate religious elements'), in Singapore with all 11 volumes fully translated by Chuang Yi in English,[16] in South Korea by Daiwon C.I. with the first 11 volumes followed by the 8 volume bunkoban[17][18][19] and in Taiwan as eleven full chapters translated into Mandarin by Tong Li Comics under the Youth Comic series label and was released as 轟天高校生.[20][21]
A film adaptation of the manga, using the Noah's Ark story, was released to Japanese audiences by Studio 4°C.[22] The movie was directed and story boarded by Hirotsugu Kawasaki,[23] written by Kawasaki and Yasutaka Itō,[23] and supervised by Katsuhiro Otomo.[24] Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa had a hand in assisting the director through production.
ADV Films released the film in all English-speaking countries on April 23, 2002 with a special edition released on February 15, 2005,[25][26] with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, where the film was distributed by Madman Entertainment.[27] A Japanese release of the film was on DVD on April 25, 1999.[28]
The film was distributed in Japan by Toho,[23] in Hong Kong and other Asian countries under Neovision.[29] The film was released in Taiwan by Proware Multimedia International.[30] In Europe, it was produced in German by Anime Connection of Germany,[31] in Russian by MC Entertainment, [32] in Dutch by Dybex,[33] Italian by Dynit,[34] in Polish by IDG[35] and in Swedish by Sandrew Metronome.[29]
Spriggan has been recently released in Japan in Blu-Ray disc format on November 11, 2007[36] with another release on July 25, 2008.[37]
On June 16, 1999, From Software released a video game adaptation in Japan and Asia of Spriggan for the PlayStation named Spriggan: Lunar Verse[1] with an initial street price of ¥6,090.[38] It can be played by either one or two players.[38]
A soundtrack of the game, composed by Keiichiro Segawa, Tsukasa Saito, and Yuji Kanda, was also released by Absord Music Japan on November 26, 1999.[39]
According to Wilma Jandoc, she criticizes Spriggan for its Anti-American theme when she remarked that any other "country could have been put in its place -- Russia, China, North Korea -- and still it would have just been a nation's name, nothing more. If the issue were more relevant, perhaps it could have said something about America's lust for power. Instead, it comes off as a convenient plot device."[9]