Golgo 13

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is the oldest manga still in publication, and its ''tankōbon'' edition was certified by ''Guinness World Records'' as the highest number of volumes for a manga series. Saito said before his death in 2021 that he wanted the manga to continue on without him and previously raised concerns the manga may be unfinished after he passes away. The Saito Production group of manga creators will continue its publication with the assistance of the ''Big Comic''s editorial department.

The series has been adapted into two live-action feature films, an anime film, an original video animation, an anime television series and six video games.

With a cumulative total of 300 million copies in circulation in various formats, including compilation books, it is the third best-selling manga series and the top selling ''seinen'' manga series in history. The manga won the 1975 Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga and the Grand Prize at the 2002 Japan Cartoonists Association Awards.

Story

Golgo 13 is a professional assassin. His real name, age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle. His most frequently used alias is , but he also goes by and .

Duke Togo has a very quiet personality and will only talk when he needs to, he shows very little to no emotion when carrying out an assassination and is willing to kill anyone who will threaten to expose him. He accepts many different assassination jobs, from anyone who can afford his services. From simply shooting a violin string to taking out powerful organized crime bosses and political figures, these killings have often attracted retaliations against Golgo 13, even at one stage having both the FBI, CIA, and even the United States military out to kill him, causing Togo to always have to watch his own back and pay attention to his surroundings in order to stop other assassins and contract killers employed to kill him in often creative ways. Golgo 13 also employs many different people himself to assist him in his assassination jobs, such as in providing extra information on his targets to modifying his weapons, vehicles, and gadgets.

The name "Golgo 13" is a reference to the death of Jesus Christ. ''Golgo'' is short for Golgotha, the place of Jesus' crucifixion, while the number 13 is considered an unlucky number. Also, Golgo 13's logo is a skeleton wearing a crown of thorns.

Duke Togo's past is a mystery. Although his Asian appearance suggests that he may be of Japanese origin, many of Golgo 13's stories have presented different speculations about his true identity while presenting contradictory information, leaving the audience uncertain which information is true. It is known that he may be the biological father of many different children all over the world from the many sexual encounters he has had with women throughout the series, such as a four-year-old son named Joey from ex–Provisional Irish Republican Army fighter Catherine McCall.

With respect to the character's age, a large number of stories are dated as they are centered around current events of the time. However, Golgo 13's age has not increased significantly to account for these events. He has also suffered multiple injuries throughout the series, leaving many different scars on his body.

Production

Early on, Takao Saito developed a system where he creates the page layout based on a script written by the editorial department. He also inks the main characters' faces, while assistants provide the backgrounds and other elements. He does extensive research to provide accuracy, especially when the plot deals with technology. Kazuo Koike was one of the writers on the series in the beginning. Author Yoichi Funado wrote approximately 30 stories for ''Golgo 13'', three of which he later novelized. Takashi Nagasaki was Saito's editor on the series in the mid-1980s, and later wrote two stories for the manga under the pen name "Keishi Edogawa".

According to Jason Thompson, several ''Golgo 13'' stories have not been reprinted for being "offensive or libelous." Thompson lists one from 1986 because of complaints from the Iranian Embassy in Japan, another from 1988 about money laundering in the Vatican, and one from 1989 about a Hollywood actor blackmailed when someone discovers he has AIDS.

In 2013, Saito stated that because he often worried about his manga being cancelled, he had an ending planned out that even includes the panel layout. He said he had no idea when ''Golgo 13'' would end, claiming "The manga has continued so long that it is no longer the property of the author; it belongs to the readers." Two years later, ''Big Comic''s fourth issue of 2015 announced that the series was "heading towards its conclusion."

Due to difficulties that arose from the restrictions implemented by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, ''Golgo 13'' began its first hiatus in its 52-year history in May 2020. It returned on July 7, 2020.

Saito died of pancreatic cancer at 84 on September 24, 2021. According to Shogakukan, Saito said before his death that he wanted the manga to continue on without him. The Saito Production group of manga creators will continue its publication with the assistance of the ''Big Comic''s editorial department.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Takao Saito, ''Golgo 13'' has been serialized in the monthly manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since its January 1969 issue, published in October 1968. The chapters have been collected into ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan and Leed Publishing, a spinoff of the author's own Saito Production, since June 21, 1973. As of December 2022, 207 volumes of the ''tankōbon'' edition have been published, while the '' bunkoban'' edition has 167 volumes.

In 1986, Leed Publishing released four ''Golgo 13'' stories translated by Patrick Connolly: "Into the Wolves' Lair", "Galinpero", "The Ice Lake Hit" and "The Ivory Connection".

In 1989 and 1990, Leed and Vic Tokai published two further ''Golgo 13'' comic books, "The Impossible Hit" and "The Border Hopper", as part of the promotion for two ''Golgo 13'' video games. The comics were released to the US public via a mail-in offer with the purchase of the games and were later even found packaged with the video games. Each issue contained one complete story and had nothing to do with the storylines of the video games themselves.

In 1991, Leed Publishing and Viz Media published ''The Professional: Golgo 13'', a three part mini-series. ''The Professional'' was a re-printing of "The Argentine Tiger", a story where Golgo is hired by the British Government to assassinate the reportedly dead ex-president of Argentina Juan Perón.

In 2006, ''Golgo 13'' was brought back by Viz as part of their Viz Signature collection. The stories are picked from the forty-year history of the manga, and do not necessarily represent the original's order of publication. A total of thirteen volumes were published, with the thirteenth volume being published on February 19, 2008. Each volume ends with an editorial commentary on ''Golgo 13'' as a cultural phenomenon in Japan.

A spin-off manga titled and focusing on the character Dave McCartney began serialization in the August special issue of ''Big Comic'' on July 17, 2021. The spin-off ended its "first season" on May 17, 2022. Saito and Saito Production are credited with creating the manga.

A second spin-off, created by Yukio Miyama, was launched on Shogakukan's ''Manga One'' app on August 28, 2021. It is a gag comedy and follows Golgo 13 at a modern-day campsite.

A third spin-off, , began serialization in the August issue of ''Big Comic Zōkan'' on July 15, 2022. It focuses on the French junior high school student Fanette, who has Golgo's genes.

Live-action

Toei Company produced a live-action film simply titled ''Golgo 13'' in 1973, directed by Junya Sato and starring Ken Takakura as Duke Togo and Pouri Banayi as Catherine Morton. It was filmed entirely in the Imperial State of Iran with an entirely Persian supporting cast. It was followed by '' Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon'' in 1977, directed by Yukio Noda, which replaced Takakura with Sonny Chiba. In 2011, production company Davis Film obtained the American film rights to ''Golgo''.

Anime

''Golgo 13: The Professional''

''Golgo 13: The Professional'', known simply as ''Golgo 13'' in Japan, is a 1983 animated featured film. Golgo 13's voice is provided by Tetsurō Sagawa in the Japanese version, and Gregory Snegoff in Streamline Pictures' English dub. It incorporates CGI animation, which was in its infancy at the time. This is most notable in the scene where army helicopters circle around Dawson Tower and attack Golgo as he climbs toward Dawson's office on the top floor.

''Golgo 13: Queen Bee''

''Golgo 13: Queen Bee'' is an original video animation that was released in 1998. Tesshō Genda provides the voice of Golgo 13 in the Japanese version, while in the English version, he is voiced by John DiMaggio.

TV series

A ''Golgo 13'' anime television series was produced by The Answer Studio and aired on TV Tokyo and other stations from April 11, 2008, to March 27, 2009, for 50 episodes. Hiroshi Tachi provides the voice of Golgo 13. The series was licensed by Sentai Filmworks, with the first DVD released on July 13, 2010. In English, Golgo is voiced by David Wald.

The anime aired in North America on the Anime Network on Demand channel. It is also aired on television in the Philippines by TV5 and in South Korea by Animax Korea.

The first opening theme song is "Take the Wave" by Naifu for the first 25 episodes, and the second is "So Far Away" by Pinc Inc for the remaining. The first ending theme song for the first 12 episodes is "Garasu no Haiwei (Highway of Glass)" by doa, while "Yume no Hitotsu" by Garnet Crow is used for episodes 13–25. The third ending theme is "Sono Egao Yo Eien ni" by Kitahara Aiko for episodes 26 to 38, and the final ending song is "Mou Kimi wo Hitori ni Sasenai" by U-ka Saegusa in dB from 39–50.

Video games

There was also an LCD game based on ''Golgo 13'' released only in Japan by Popy in 1982. Nine video games have been released: the first one, released for the Sega SG-1000, followed by ''Golgo 13: Oi no Su'' only in Japan for the MSX'' in 1985, followed by Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode'' on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, ''The Mafat Conspiracy'', also for the NES, was released in 1990, two digital mangas were released only in Japan for the PlayStation in 1998 and three Japan-only lightgun arcade games, similar to the ''Silent Scope'' series, but with a few differences. The rifle only contained a magnifying lens, not a small monitor like ''Silent Scope''. The screen itself would close up on the target only when the sensor on the underside of the rifle base was activated by the player leaning their shoulder into it. Each mission was preceded by an 8-10 panel manga briefing. The first two releases, ''Golgo 13'' in 1999 and ''Golgo 13: Kiseki no Dandou''(''Golgo 13: Miraculous trajectory'') in 2000, ran on Namco System 12 hardware, with the third, ''Golgo 13: Juusei no Chinkonka''(''Golgo 13:Requiem of a gunshot'') in 2001, on Namco System 10 hardware. A ''Golgo 13'' Golgo 13 pachislot simulator was released only in Japan for the PlayStation in 2002. A ''Golgo 13'' game, ''Golgo 13: File G-13'', was released for the Nintendo DS on June 18, 2009, by Marvelous Entertainment. From initial reports, the game appears to consist of a large quiz mode, featuring questions spanning the 40-year history of ''Golgo 13'', as well as several mini-games, including the "Don't Stand Behind Me" game, in which the player, as Golgo 13, must punch people who walk up behind him. At the end of each episode of the anime, the tagline was "Do not stand behind him, if you value your life." The game is played holding the DS on its side, also known as "book style" and surprisingly seems to be rated the Japanese equivalent of General/All Ages, which suggests the game won't feature much or any graphic violence or adult/mature subject matter, some of ''Golgo 13''s trademarks. A version of Golgo 13's signature weapon, the scoped M16, was released in the Japanese version of ''Alliance of Valiant Arms'' as a usable weapon. There have also been several pachinko and pachislot machines released in Japan between 2001 and 2017.

Other media

In addition, the title character has appeared in a number of TV commercials in Japan, including NEC and Lotte Black Black. There was also a radio drama featuring Masane Tsukayama as Golgo 13.

An Airsoft gun has been made by Tokyo Marui based on the rifle Golgo 13 uses. A figure based on Golgo 13 was released on August 25, 2009.

Reception

''Golgo 13'' won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category in 1975, the Grand Prize at the 2002 Japan Cartoonists Association Awards, and the Special Judges Award at the 50th Shogakukan Manga Awards in 2005. With the publication of volume 201 in July 2021, ''Golgo 13'' was certified as holding the ''Guinness World Record'' for "Most volumes published for a single manga series." ''Golgo 13'' is one of the works credited with popularizing the '' gekiga'' movement in Japanese comics, which strives for more realistic and dramatic works. Saito himself is surprised by his series' popularity overseas, because it is firmly rooted in Japanese culture and samurai. He cited the timing of when Golgo actually takes his shot as an example; "It evokes ''iaidō'' he martial art of drawing one's sword and mimicking a deadly blow It is the same movement and the same shape. I love Japanese samurai stories and that is why, unconsciously, Golgo moves like a samurai. That is why I thought foreigners wouldn't understand the story."

As of March 2021, ''Golgo 13'' had over 300 million copies in circulation in various formats, including compilation books, it is the third best-selling manga series and the top selling ''seinen'' manga series in history.

''Anime News Networks Carl Kimlinger compared Saito's work on the series to the novels of John le Carré and Frederick Forsyth, as the stories are "dark, meticulously constructed ndpainstakingly realistic". Leo Lewis of the ''Financial Times'' wrote that "Unsmiling, misogynist and inexorable, he characteris a literary cousin of James Bond without the scene-softeners of Moneypenny, M, Q or exploding fountain pens." The ''Daily Vanguard'' called Duke "a badass, something like a cross between Dirty Harry and ''Metal Gear Solid''s Solid Snake." Jc DuBois of Dragon's Anime has criticized those who say that most of Golgo 13's hits are impossible to do since there are problems that would prevent him from shooting straight such as the wind or with the coriolis effect, saying that the "whole mystique of ''Golgo 13'' is that he's just that damn good. He CAN make those shots—and he can do it with one shot."

References

External links

Official website


''Golgo 13'' Viz Media's ''Golgo 13'' website


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{{Authority control

Golgo 13
2008 anime television series debuts
Fiction about assassinations
Gekiga
Manga adapted into films
Seinen manga
Sentai Filmworks
Shogakukan manga
Thriller anime and manga
TV Tokyo original programming
Viz Media manga
Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga
World record holders