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Ginga Legend Weed

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Ginga Legend Weed
A blue-silver Akita dog running forward while the profiles of 5 dogs of various breeds are seen behind.
The front cover of volume 1 (Japanese edition)
銀牙伝説ウィード
(Ginga Densetsu Wīdo)
Genre Action, Adventure, Drama
Manga
Written by Yoshihiro Takahashi
Published by Nihon Bungeisha
English publisher
ComicsOne (former)
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Weekly Manga Goraku
Original run 1999 – 2009
Volumes 60
Anime television series
Directed by Toshiyuki Kato
Studio Studio Deen
Network Animax
Original run November 3, 2005 – May 11, 2006
Episodes 26
Manga
Ginga Legend Riki
Written by Yoshihiro Takahashi
Published by Nihon Bungeisha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Weed World
Original run March 31, 2002 – December 10, 2002
Volumes 1
Manga
Ginga Legend Weed: Orion
Written by Yoshihiro Takahashi
Published by Nihon Bungeisha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Weekly Manga Goraku
Original run 2009 – 2014
Volumes 30
Portal icon Anime and Manga portal

Ginga Legend Weed (Japanese: 銀牙伝説ウィード Hepburn: Ginga Densetsu Wīdo?, lit. Silver Fang Legend Weed) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi. It is a sequel to Takahashi's 1980s manga Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, and focuses on Weed, the son of Gin, the original series' protagonist. Weed, named after the English word for wild plant, leaves his birthplace to search for his father in the Ōu Mountains. Upon arriving, Weed immediately begins protecting Ōu and its soldiers from dangerous threats. As the series progresses, Weed and his allies journey throughout Japan, aiding those in need and preventing takeovers.

Ginga Legend Weed was originally serialized in the magazine Weekly Manga Goraku from 1999 to 2009. Publisher Nihon Bungeisha released 60 bound volumes and later reprinted early volumes. ComicsOne licensed the series for release in Canada and the United States, but issued only three volumes before it went out of business. Ginga Legend Weed has not been relicensed and distributed in the English language.

In addition to the main series, Takahashi authored several side stories and books relating to Weed and the supporting cast. In 2005, Studio Deen produced an anime series that aired on Animax. The show was released on several DVDs between 2006 and 2007 in Japan, and was licensed and distributed in Taiwan and several Nordic countries. Takahashi also published a prequel to Ginga Legend Weed entitled Ginga Legend Riki, which follows Gin's father. After Ginga Legend Weed's run, Takahashi began producing a sequel entitled Ginga Legend Weed: Orion, which follows Weed's four children.

Plot

Several years after the events of Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, Gin's son is born in the Japanese Alps. After the puppy's mother Sakura dies from an illness, an English Setter named GB pledges to bring him to the Ōu Mountains and reunite him with his father. GB decides to name the pup Weed, after the English word for wild plant, because he is "small but powerful".[1] Upon arriving at Ōu, the pair learn that a monstrous creature is wreaking havoc and Ōu has fallen into turmoil. Gin is away, on a desperate search for his mate. Weed, GB, and other Ōu soldiers meet a team of dogs led by the German shepherd Jerome. Jerome explains that the monster is a mutated dog that escaped from a laboratory after killing several scientists. Weed's group joins them and they succeed in killing the monster, though lose several soldiers in the process, among them Gin's old ally, Smith.

Weed and principal cast members. From top to bottom: GB, Mel, Jerome, Kyōshirō, Kagetora, Ken, Tesshin, and Rocket

The series then introduces Hōgen and Genba, Great Dane brothers who plan to create an army and overthrow Gin. When Gin and his close friends John and Akame are found by Hōgen and his troops, Akame escapes to alert Ōu, while Gin, John, and Hiro (a dog loyal to Gin) are taken as hostages. John escapes, but is killed while acting as a diversion for Hiro. Akame locates Weed and explains the situation, prompting him to search for dogs to join Ōu's army. Gin escapes and starts recruiting soldiers. Hōgen, alone after having to mercy kill Genba, launches his attack on Ōu. Weed clashes with Hōgen and is injured, but spirits of dead Ōu soldiers appear to give him strength. Weed defeats Hōgen but chooses not to kill him. Hōgen stumbles away and is found by Shōji Sudou, a policeman whose partner was killed by Genba and Hōgen. Shōji shoots and kills Hōgen.

Later, Weed encounters a dog named Yukimura, and learns that a group of monkeys have been terrorizing the area. Leading them is Shōgun, a vicious baboon that feeds on young monkeys and puppies. Shōgun had previously attacked Yukimura and his family, permanently damaging his adopted father Saheiji. Weed, his comrades, Yukimura, and several rebellious monkeys attack Shōgun and his followers. Yukimura is able to injure Shōgun enough to ensure his death, but dies in the process. Saheiji reveals that Yukimura was Weed's brother: Sakura, too sick to care for all of her children, had given two of her puppies to Saheiji to raise as foster sons.

While Jerome is in Hokkaidō, he is captured by a Russian German shepherd named Victor, who aims to conquer the island. Jerome escapes and alerts Hakurō, a former Ōu soldier who resides in Hokkaidō. Hakurō and several of his sons are attacked and killed by Victor's forces. Gin and Weed go to Hokkaidō, but are unable to defeat Victor's troops. Jerome rejoins the Ōu soldiers with Lydia and Maxim, two subordinates of Victor. Angry at Maxim's betrayal, Victor orders a friend of Maxim, Alam, to kill him. Alam feels an intense regret for following orders, but later learns that Maxim survived. Alam decides to drown Victor by dragging him underwater and entangling him in seaweed. With Victor gone, Lydia chooses to stay with Jerome while Maxim and his remaining subordinates swim back to Russia.

While traveling, Weed meets his other brother, Joe. Joe dislikes Gin for leaving Sakura unattended in the Alps. He is unaware that Sakura had left Ōu under the false impression that Gin was dead, and that Gin had been unaware of Sakura's leaving. Joe explains that a large hybrid bear has attacked and killed his mate, Hitomi. Weed's group joins Joe to defeat the animal. During the battle, GB dies saving Weed, and Weed vows to avenge him. Weed knocks himself and the bear into a river. The bear dies after hitting a floodgate and Weed manages to survive. He returns to Ōu and learns that his mate, Koyuki, is pregnant. Weeks later, she gives birth to four pups.

Media

Manga

Ginga Legend Weed was written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi. It is a sequel to his 1980s series Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, and follows the son of Gin, the title character from the original series.[2] It began serialization in Weekly Manga Goraku magazine in 1999.[2][3][4] The Japanese publisher Nihon Bungeisha released the series in collected volumes from January 2000[5] to September 2009.[6] Cumulatively, 60 volumes were published.[6] In October 2006, Nihon Bungeisha released the first volume of a reprinted edition of Ginga Legend Weed.[7] The company has released 22 volumes of the reprint edition, with the latest published in December 2007.[8] The American company ComicsOne licensed the series for release in the United States and Canada in 2000 with the first three volumes released between March and June 2001.[9][10] Additionally, they provided an Adobe Digital Editions e-book version.[4] ComicsOne later went bankrupt. American publisher DrMaster acquired the rights to some of ComicsOne's titles, but not Ginga Legend Weed.[11] While the physical copies are out-of-print, the e-book version is still available.[4]

File:Weed Gaiden.jpg
The original cover of Weed Gaiden. It was later reprinted (2007) and included in an omnibus with Ginga Legend Riki (2005)[12][13]

Under their G-Comics imprint, Nihon Bungeisha released several Ginga Legend Weed omnibus editions labeled as "specials". A series of three specials were released in April 2004 called Gajō no Kettō Hen (牙城の血闘編?).[14] Throughout 2009 and 2010, another set of eight "specials" were produced: Tabidachi Hen (September 2009),[15] Senshi no Shōmei Hen (October 2009),[16] Inuzoku no Tsutome Hen (November 2009),[17] Otoko no Yakusoku Hen (December 2009),[18] Taiman Shōbu Hen (January 2010),[19] Taishō no Utsuwa Hen (February 2010),[20] Dōshu Taiketsu Hen (March 2010),[21] and Uketsuga Reshi Kiba Hen (April 2010).[22]

Related books

Nihon Bungeisha released several books authored by Takahashi that relate to the main series. Ginga Legend Weed Gaiden (銀牙伝説ウィード外伝?), first released on August 9, 2001[23] and re-released in December 2007,[13] is a collection of four short stories, including a side-story about a Golden Retriever named Mel, who is a character in the main series, and the story of Takahashi's past dog Hanako.[24] My Dog, My Weed (ぼくの犬 僕のウィード?), a collection of art, essays, and personal experiences pertaining to the attachment between people and animals, was released in November 2001.[25] In 2002, Nihon Bungeisha released a magazine called Weed World, which centered around Ginga Legend Weed and related material. In total, 5 issues were published between March and May.[26][27] In January 2002, an art book entitled Ginga Legend Weed: Gengashū (銀牙伝説ウィード原画集?) was released.[28] Ginga Legend Weed: Meishōbu Retsuden (銀牙伝説ウィード名勝負列伝?), a book containing character biographies and statistics, was released in May 2003.[29] In November 2005, Ginga Densetsu Weed Tokubetsu Han (銀牙伝説ウィード特別版?), an omnibus volume containing the prequel Ginga Legend Riki and Weed Gaiden, was released.[12]

Anime

In 2005, Studio Deen produced a 26-episode animated adaptation of Ginga Legend Weed, directed by Toshiyuki Kato.[3][30] In Japan, the series aired from November 3, 2005 to May 11, 2006 on Animax with the SKY PerfecTV! service.[31][32][33] Dohatsuten, a Japanese band, performed both the opening and ending themes, Ginga Densetsu Weed and Tsuki Akari (つきあかり?), respectively. On December 7, 2005, Imperial Records released a single containing the themes and karaoke versions.[34][35] The full soundtrack for the series, composed by Y2 DOGS, was released by Imperial Records on January 25, 2006.[36] The entirety of Ginga Legend Weed was initially released on 13 DVDs published between February 17, 2006[37] and March 1, 2007.[38] On August 29, 2008, a complete box set containing all 13 discs was released.[39] The electronics company Sankyo created a Ginga Legend Weed pachinko game that utilizes the anime character designs.[40]

Top-Insight International licensed Ginga Legend Weed for release in Taiwan. The company released seven individual DVDs, and one complete box set.[41][42] The series aired in Taiwan on China Television.[43] Future Film licensed and released the series in Finland. The company released Ginga Legend Weed on eight separate DVDs between August 2, 2006 and December 5, 2006.[44][45] On November 14, 2007, Future Film released the entire series on a collector's edition. The release was bundled with a Weed booklet and mobile phone charm.[46] In Sweden, AudVid distributed the series in one box set on June 15, 2007. The set included an extra 16-page booklet.[47][48] The Finnish and Swedish releases included both Swedish and Finnish subtitles.[46][48] In Denmark, Scanbox Entertainment released eight DVDs containing the series in 2007,[49][50] and in 2008 produced two box sets containing episodes 1-13 and 14-26, respectively.[51][52] In addition to a Danish dub, Scanbox's release included Danish and Norwegian subtitles.[53]

Reception

The 55th volume of Ginga Legend Weed was listed as number 30 on the Oricon sales chart in Japan for the week December 9–15, 2008. Its sales numbers for the week were 20,059 copies, for a cumulative total of 21,320 since its release.[54]

Ginga Legend Weed was featured on Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga segment on Anime News Network. He praised the series for its story and took note of the "flavor" of having a combination of physically realistic dogs, "shōnen tropes", the dogs' knowledge of the human world (such as job occupations and dog breeds), and dog behavior involving honor, loyalty, honorifics, and auras.[4] However, Thompson noted that the "noble melodrama sometimes gets to be a little much", and felt that several characters, with the exception of Weed, began "to blur together" due to the difficulty of drawing a very large cast of dogs. Additionally, he commented that the fights weren't visually "exciting", as dogs are "lacking prehensile arms".[4] Overall, Thompson felt that the series was unique, stating that "no one else [is] making manga quite like this."[4] In a later installment of House of 1000 Manga, Thompson expressed his preference for Takahashi's original work, Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin, stating that it felt "more exciting and natural" than its "stiffer and more pompous" sequel.[55]

Legacy

In 2002, Takahashi began publishing Ginga Legend Riki (銀牙伝説リキ?, lit. Silver Fang Legend Riki), a prequel to Ginga Legend Weed and Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin. It was originally serialized in the Weed-centric magazine Weed World, published by Nihon Bungeisha, between March 31, 2002 and December 10, 2002.[26][27] In March 2003, Nihon Bungeisha released the collected chapters in a single book[56] and in December 2005, it was included in the omnibus Ginga Densetsu Weed Tokubetsu Han with Weed Gaiden.[12] A reprinted edition of Ginga Legend Riki was released in March 2007.[57] The one-shot follows Riki, father of Gin and former leader of the Ōu soldiers. Riki, though sired by the prized bear hound Shiro, is born a runt and never homed. After his mother Yamabuki is returned to her owner, Riki, stricken with sadness, decides to visit her.

During his trek, Riki is attacked by a pack of dogs and falls into a river. Riki is rescued by his father, Shiro, who advises him about the importance of strength and leaves, not knowing Riki is his son. Influenced by Shiro, Riki aims to become strong and continually visits his mother. On a later trip, Riki sees a young boy, Daisuke, hit by a truck on a mountain road and sent over the road railing. Riki howls for help, but instead attracts the dogs that had attacked him. Riki defends Daisuke until Shiro and his owner, Gohei, arrive. Shiro learns that Riki is his son. The book ends with Gohei and Shiro fighting the bear Akakabuto. A bullet becomes lodged in Akakabuto's brain, driving him insane. Riki watches as the bear grabs Shiro and they fall off a cliff.

Takahashi began a sequel to Ginga Legend Weed, entitled Ginga Legend Weed: Orion (銀牙伝説ウィード オリオン Ginga Densetsu Wīdo: Orion?, lit. Silver Fang Legend Weed: Orion), in issue #2173 of Manga Goraku, released on July 24, 2009.[58] The first collected volume was released by Nihon Bungeisha in November 2009.[59] 30 volumes have been published and the series as of July 2014.[60] The new series follows Weed's offspring:[4] Bellatrix, Rigel, Sirius, and, in particular, Orion. They are all named after astronomical phenomenon: Orion after the Orion constellation, Rigel after the star Rigel, Sirius after the star Sirius, and Bellatrix after the star Bellatrix. Orion bears a close physical resemblance Riki and possesses an inborn strength, but is rude and hot-headed. Rigel shares Orion's fiery personality, while Sirius, who resembles his father, is level-headed and a peace-keeper. Bellatrix, Weed's only daughter, is portrayed as immature and whiny.

An earthquake and subsequent volcanic eruption separates Orion from his parents and siblings. Joe locates Orion and brings him to safety but disappears in the process, while the other siblings are put under the charge of the Ōu soldier Sasuke. With the Ōu Mountains in complete disarray, new threats arrive to exploit its weaknesses. Three sons of the Irish Wolfhound Kamakiri, a platoon leader for Hōgen, wish to avenge their father's death. Kurohabaki Masamune, the leader of the Kurohabaki Clan of ninja dogs, aims to take over Ōu and strengthen his army. He is the adoptive son of the former Kurohabaki leader, Terumune, and was previously denied leadership of the clan, despite his striving for approval. Instead, Terumune decided that his blood-related son Yamabiko, born after Masamune's arrival, would become leader. Thereafter, Masamune banished Terumune and took control of the clan. He holds a grudge against Yamabiko and plans to find and kill him. Meanwhile, members of the Kurohabaki clan roam Ōu, gathering recruits and killing those who resist.

References

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External links

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