is a Japanese

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series authored by

Hiroyuki Yoshino is a Japanese voice actor and singer. On leading roles, he played Yoshimori Sumimura in '' Kekkaishi'', Hibiki Tokai in '' Vandread'', Yuji Kagura in ''Tona-Gura!'', Takumi Nishijō in '' Chaos;Head'', Yusuke "Bossun" Fujisaki in '' Sket Dance ...

featuring art by Kenetsu Satō. The series is notable for its violence,

fan service , fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...

, and the use of milk-like vital energy coming from women's

breasts The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...

(referred to as ''

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

'') as a central

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...

. The manga series was published in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the manga magazine ''

Champion Red is a monthly Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine published on the 19th of each month by Akita Shoten since August 19, 2002 (cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the ...

'' from 2006 to 2016, and the chapters collected into 24 ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. A 24-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

was produced with the same title as the manga series and broadcast in Japan on Biglobe in 2010. An OVA adaptation titled was also produced and released on DVD with the manga series volume 10. A 12-episode second season was produced with the title and was broadcast in Japan between April and June, 2011.

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC (or simply Sentai) is an American entertainment company. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sentai Studios. The ...

licensed both seasons and the OVA for digital distribution and home video release in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, releasing English subtitled DVD sets in 2012 and 2013.

Plot

The story chronicles the school lives of Mafuyu Oribe and Tomo Yamanobe at the Japanese

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

school St. Mihailov Academy, where they have endured persecution and isolation from other students led by the daughter of the current dean, Miyuri Tsujidou. and her second-in-command Hana Katsuragi. Mafuyu and Tomo's lives take a drastic turn when they nurse the silver-haired Russian-born Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell back to health upon encountering him unconscious one day during their commute home. Almost immediately, Sasha begins to repay Mafuyu and Tomo's kindness as he repels their tormentors; however, this does not change Sasha's background as a throw-away Qwaser from the Adepts, and that the Adepts have no qualms about making an absolute war zone of the academy in order to acquire the Theotokos of Tsarytsin from Athos, who wishes to keep the icon's existence a secret from the world.

Media

Manga

The manga is written by Hiroyuki Yoshino and illustrated by Kenetsu Satō. ''The Qwaser of Stigmata'' was serialized by

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita in 1948. As of May 2023, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. The company is known for publishing the manga magazine '' Weekly Shōnen Champ ...

in ''

'' magazine and the chapters collected in

. The first volume was released on December 20, 2006. The series ended on July 9, 2016, and was collected into 24 volumes. The manga series has been licensed internationally, translated, and published in several countries outside Japan. The series is licensed in France by

Kazé Kazé was a French publishing company that specializes in anime and manga. Its head office was in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1994, the company debuted by publishing ''Record of Lodoss War'' on VHS. It was owned by Sony through t ...

, listing the first 14 volumes in their online catalog. In Italy the manga series is licensed by J-Pop Edizioni. and

Ever Glory Publishing is a Taiwanese publisher of manga. It was founded in June 1991. In October 1992, the company obtained the Chinese license for Akita Shoten's ''Weekly Shōnen Champion''. However, the magazine stopped publication in 1998. Controversy There wer ...

in Taiwan.

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...

licensed the series for the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

market and published the first four volumes; however, since resuming business in December 2012, the title has not been listed in their online catalog.

Anime

A 24-episode anime television series titled was adapted from the manga series of the same name and broadcast as a censored version on Biglobe. An uncensored version of the series was streamed online. The first season was followed by a single episode OVA with the title that was released on DVD with the manga series volume 10. A 12-episode second season titled was broadcast in Japan in 2011. The first and second seasons were also released on DVD in Japan.

licensed both seasons and the OVA in

and released three English subtitled DVD sets between 2012 and 2013. * ''The Qwaser of Stigmata: Collection 1'', 3 DVDs, episodes 1–12, released 2012-12-31. * ''The Qwaser of Stigmata: Collection 2'', 3 DVDs, episodes 13–24, released 2013-02-26. * ''The Qwaser of Stigmata II: Complete Collection'', 3 DVDs, episodes 1–12 plus the OVA, released 2013-04-30.

Anime Network Anime Network was an American video on demand (VOD) network dedicated to anime owned by AMC Networks. History The network was launched in North America in late 2002 and is marketed to multi system operators (MSOs) as both a free and subscr ...

posted the Season I and II episodes for online streaming (uncensored).

Internet radio show

Lantis has taken the opportunity presented by the ''Seikon no Qwaser'' anime to produce an Internet radio show starring

Aki Toyosaki is a Japanese actress and singer. She had her first major voice acting roles in 2007, voicing Amuro Ninagawa in '' Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō'' and Su in ''Shugo Chara!''. She was named "Best New Actress" at the 4th Seiyu Awards in 2010 f ...

as Tomo Yamanobe and

Yōko Hikasa is a Japanese voice actress and singer, known for voicing characters such as Yoh Asakura in ''Shaman King'', Atom in Pluto (manga), Kyoko Kirigiri in '' Danganronpa'', Mio Akiyama in '' K-On!'', Rias Gremory in ''High School DxD'', Tomoe Udag ...

as Hana Katsuragi alongside commercially releasing the five theme songs as indicated in the table below. They released also an original soundtrack composed by Tatsuya Kato on June 7, 2010.

Reception

Reviewer Chris Beveridge gives the series' grades in the "B" range in The Fandom Post. Theron Martin, an anime reviewer for

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

who reviewed the DVD release collections 1 and 2 of the first season, gives the series grades from C+ (story) to A− (music).

References

External links

Official website of the anime
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qwaser of Stigmata, The 2006 manga 2010 anime OVAs 2010 anime television series debuts 2011 anime television series debuts Akita Shoten manga Adventure anime and manga Bandai Namco franchises Hoods Entertainment Japanese LGBTQ-related animated television series Romance anime and manga Sentai Filmworks Seinen manga Supernatural anime and manga Television shows written by Makoto Uezu Tokyo MX original programming Ecchi anime and manga