is a Japanese

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

series written and illustrated by Yuuho Ashibe. Set in Ireland and

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

, the story follows a black-haired girl named

Arianrhod Arianrhod () is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the '' Mabinogi''. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr.Tri ...

and her fight against Balor Evil-Eye, the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

warlord who destroyed her home tribe. Joining her in the fight are Henruda, the daughter of a

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...

ic chieftain, and Legion, the Silver Knight. ''Crystal Dragon'' began serialization in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bi ...

's monthly (girls') manga magazine ''Bonita'' in 1981, later transferring to its sister magazine ''Mystery Bonita''. The series went on hiatus from 2007 to 2014, during which Ashibe resumed her other long-running manga series, '' Bride of Deimos''. Text: Translation: "The legendary masterpiece that sent people into a frenzy more than 20 years ago is finally back in ''Mystery Bonita''! The story of the beautiful Deimos and Minako begins again!!" It went on hiatus again in summer 2020 due to unspecified circumstances. In April 2021, Ashibe announced that the series is nearing its climax. Akita Shoten has published 30 (compiled volumes) of ''Crystal Dragon'' under the Bonita Comics imprint as of November 2020; the company also published 12 (paperback novel-sized volumes) under the Akita Bunko imprint from July 2003 to July 2007. Internationally, the series is licensed in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo.

References

1981 manga Akita Shoten manga Historical fantasy anime and manga Shōjo manga {{manga-stub