On yet another next episode of Why Hasnt This Been Translated Yet!?: MAKAI TENSHO en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makai_Tensho Ive mentioned this one in several posts, but I dont think Ive ever devoted a whole entry to it. What can I say? MAKAI TENSHO (sometimes transcribed as MAKAI TENSEI) is Futaro Yamadas classic occult ninja saga featuring Jubei Yagyu going around fighting a whole bunch of historical swordsmen who have been raised from the dead by dark magic. If for some inexplicable reason, youve never heard of it, read the Wiki page for a minor introduction. On the other hand, how could you have possibly never heard of this work? Its got so many adaptations, I dont even know where to begin. Stage plays, several manga, no fewer than four film adaptations, a PS2 game, etc. In the anime world, you certainly should have heard of it. Specifically, its renowned for inspiring the greatly despised, incomplete OVA series NINJA RESURRECTION. Honestly, all the controversy DOOMED MEGALOPOLIS has gotten from anime fans in the West doesnt even begin to compare to the mass contempt for NINJA RESURRECTION. Unlike most of DMs criticisms though, the attacks against NR were more justified given that a) the series was blatantly unfinished and b) Western distributors attempted to market it as a sequel to NINJA SCROLL even though the series had nothing to do with one another (although the Jubei of MAKAI TENSHO did inspire the protagonist of NINJA SCROLL): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Resurrection Of course the most well known adaptation in Japan, just like TEITO, was a big budget live action adaptation starring martial arts superstar Sonny Chiba and directed by Kinji Fukasaku, the director of the cult hit BATTLE ROYALE. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Reincarnation The 80s was a good time for Japanese fantasy films. Fukasakus MAKAI TENSHO was memorable primarily due to Sonny Chibas imposing performance as Jubei Yagyu and Fukasakus fantastic directing. Also, just like Kyusaku Shimada influenced M. Bison in STREET FIGHTER, the popularity of this adaptation of MAKAI TENSHO inspired an entire fighting game series, which you may have heard of: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Shodown_(series) Needless to say, this is one fantasy book me and a lot of other enthusiasts would like to read one day. Hopefully it will get translated, but given the current state of affairs its tough to say. Futaro Yamadas ultimate ninja classic KOUGA NINJA SCROLLS was translated in English, published by Del Ray, and released to middling sales. Since then, I havent heard about any other plans to translate his works. But as always, I hope that spreading the news can at least make people aware of the situation: amazon/Kouga-Ninja-Scrolls-Futaro-Yamada/dp/0345495101
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:03:52 +0000
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