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 written and illustrated by Ryu Fujisaki, inspired by the Chinese literary classic ''

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese titles () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major Written vernacular Chinese, vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Min ...

'', a novel. The manga was serialized in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...

'' from June 1996 to November 2000, with its chapters collected in 23 volumes. The story involves

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

and history of China, in particular the last members of the

Yin dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou dyn ...

, and the plot to overthrow them. In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

. Fujisaki also wrote a short manga, titled ''Hoshin Engi Gaiden: Senkai Dōsho'', serialized in ''

Weekly Young Jump is a Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha. Launched in 1979, it is published under Shueisha's '' Jump'' line of magazines. The chapters of series that run in ''Weekly Young Jump'' are collected and published in volumes under the "Y ...

'' from April to June 2018. A 26-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, released in English under the title ''Soul Hunter'', was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...

in 2001; it was later acquired by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

in 2016. The ''Hoshin Engi'' manga has had over 22 million copies in circulation.

Synopsis

Setting

Set in a fictional ancient China, during the

, the fantastic world of ''Hoshin Engi'' encompass both the pre-historical world—in which primitive human society coexist with the revered divine gods and goddesses—and the futuristic world—in which highly technological weaponry, combat strategy, as well as futuristic visions, are employed. The are a group of powerful immortals or hermits with extraordinary abilities and knowledge, who have gained immortality through various means. They possess great wisdom, longevity, and often exhibit exceptional magical or supernatural powers. Each Sennin has their unique skills and abilities, which they use to navigate the world and influence events. The humans who undergo training to become Sennin are known as . Both Sennin and Doshi use the sacred weapons , versatile instruments that absorb the spiritual energy of their beholders and from their surroundings to amplify their power.

Plot

A female

fox spirit Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charact ...

, named Dakki, is controlling King

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

and the Yin dynasty, using her power over him to do evil in the nation. A Doshi named Taikobo was given a mission by Genshi Tenson, Taikobo's mentor and the leader of the , to complete the , whose mission is to trap Dakki and her minions in a "middle" world between the Sennin World and the Human World, called . Taikobo's mission is to hunt down the 365 people whose names were written on the Hoshin List. As Taikobo defeats and seals off each of the 365 people on the scroll, their souls are instantly transported to the —a floating island made to trap souls—and sealed there until all the 365 souls are gathered. Alongside his trusty , Supushan, Taikobo encounters numerous allies and enemies, each with their own motivations and powers. They engage in battles and form alliances, unraveling the complex web of politics and power struggles among the immortals. Along the way, Taikobo uncovers Dakki's influence over the Human World, as she manipulates King Chu and orchestrates chaos and suffering. As the story progresses, Taikobo learns more about the true nature of the Sennin and their connection to the heavens. He discovers the existence of a celestial battle between gods and immortals, and the consequences it has for the Human World. Taikobo becomes embroiled in this conflict, as he finds himself torn between his duty as an immortal and his compassion for humanity. At the climax of the Sennin war, both worlds were completely destroyed with hundreds of souls sealed into the Hoshindai. After defeating King Chu, and officially declaring the fall of the Yin dynasty, Taikobo and company decide to leave the Human World and return to what is left of the Sennin World. However, Taikobo learns that there is possibly a third Sennin World, one that belongs to Dakki, and is probably where she and the last of her minions fled to when the Yin dynasty was finally conquered. It is later revealed that the real goal of the Hoshin Project is not just about defeating Dakki, but the eternal being behind her and the corruption of the Human World, the powerful Joka, one of the ; aliens who landed on the Earth millions of years ago. Joka had a dream to recreate her home world on Earth (which had self-destructed some time ago), but the other aliens disagreed and enclosed her in a glass cage. Later, she was able to move about in her "soul" form and direct the trend of history to her liking. This is when she met up with Dakki, and the two started working together to make Joka's dream of recreating her home world on Earth come true. Each time history diverted from what Joka wants it to become, she completely destroyed the civilization that existed and started all over again. The Sennin retaliate against Joka, and she finally decides to destroy Earth once and for all, and find another world in order to replicate her old home. The battles rages for a while before the deceased Taikobo (who had "died" recently) reappears in front of his comrades again. It is revealed that Taikobo was once one of the First Persons. Using the energy of his friends as well as those souls trapped in the Hoshindai, Taikobo (now renamed Fukki), is finally able to defeat Joka and release the world from her influences. Prior to this, Dakki manages to take over Joka's body for a time and merges with the life energies of the Earth, becoming the mother of all life. After the fight with Joka ends, Joka selfishly asks Taikobo to disappear together with her, afraid of being left alone again. Taikobo complies, feeling that he had done what he had set out to do. However, when Taikobo was about to fade away, Dakki emerges to protect him and prevents his vanishing. In the epilogue, when Supushan goes to the Human World to report on the events of the Sennin World, he finds out that Taikobo is still alive and start looking for him to no avail, as Taikobo seems keen on avoiding his friends, to the extent of following them behind their backs without them knowing, and somehow preventing the people he meets from revealing his whereabouts. After lazing around for a while, Taikobo decides to start a new journey to unknown places.

Media

Manga

''Hoshin Engi'', written and illustrated by Ryu Fujisaki, is based on the novel of the same title by , which is a Japanese translation of the Chinese literary classic ''

'', published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

between 1988 and 1989. The manga was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from June 24, 1996, to November 6, 2000. Shueisha collected its 204 individual chapters in 23 volumes, released from November 1, 1996, to December 22, 2000. The manga was re-released in a 18-volume edition from July 4, 2005, to April 4, 2006. In North America,

announced at the New York Comic Con 2007 that they had licensed the manga. The 23 volumes were published from June 5, 2007, to June 7, 2011. Fujisaki wrote a short manga, titled , serialized Shueisha manga magazine ''

'' from April 26 to June 14, 2018. A volume was released on July 19, 2018.

Anime

''Soul Hunter''

''Hoshin Engi'' was adapted into an

television series, titled , produced by

Studio Deen is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1975 by former Sunrise producer Hiroshi Hasegawa, along with a team of ex-Sunrise animators. The studio owns three subsidiaries: Danny Donghua (), a Chinese sub-contracting studio; Megumi (め組), a di ...

and directed by

Junji Nishimura is a Japanese anime director and producer currently residing in Karatsu, Saga. After graduating from Meiji Gakuin University in 1980, Nishimura entered into the anime studio Nishiko Production. Nishimura had his first job as a producer for '' Ba ...

. The 26-episodes series was broadcast on

in 2001 under the name ''Soul Hunter''. In the United States, the series was broadcast on International Channel. In 2016,

re-licensed the series for a single DVD collection release on June 28.

''Hakyu Hoshin Engi''

A 23-episode anime television series adaptation titled , produced by

C-Station is a Japanese animation studio established in 2009 as an extension of Bee Train Production and chaired by Ryoji Maru, a former producer and production manager for Bee Train. In 2012, C-Station split from Bee Train and in 2013, it was announced t ...

and featuring a new cast aired from January 12 to June 29, 2018. The series was directed by Masahiro Aizawa, with

Natsuko Takahashi is a Japanese anime screenwriter. After learning about the profession of screenwriting in middle school, in university she entered a contest. Although her entry did not fit the theme of the contest, the examiners liked it so much that they gave ...

in charge of the series scripts, characters design by Yoshimitsu Yamashita and music composed by Maiko Iuchi.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

streamed the series, while

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

produced a simuldub.

Video games

Four video games published by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

have been released: two for the

WonderSwan The is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. Developed in collaboration with Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory, it was the final piece of hardware Yokoi worked on before his death in 1997. Launched in March 1999 during the ...

on February 24 and December 21, 2000, respectively; and two for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

on June 29, 2000, and March 29, 2001. respectively. A video game published by

Banpresto (formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Ba ...

was released for the

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

on November 24, 2000. Characters from the series were also featured in the ''

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

game ''

Jump Ultimate Stars ''Jump Ultimate Stars'' is a 2006 crossover fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS.Tor Thorsen, "Jump! Ultimate Stars details dished", GameSpot, September 28, 2006, It is the sequel to '' Jum ...

'', released for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

on November 23, 2006.

Stage play

A stage play musical adaptation titled was performed in EX Theater Roppongi in Tokyo and ran from January 13–20, 2019. The play, directed by Kōtarō Yoshitani, included casts such as Shōhei Hashimoto playing as Taikobo, Yuya Asato as Yozen, and Ryū Kiyama as Nataku.

Reception

By May 2018, the manga had over 22 million copies in circulation. On

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, ''Hoshin Engi'' ranked 68th.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{C-Station 2000 comics endings 2018 comics endings 1999 Japanese television series endings 2018 Japanese television series endings ADV Films Adventure anime and manga Anime and manga set in China Anime series based on manga C-Station Chinese mythology in anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Funimation Historical fantasy anime and manga NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan Science fantasy anime and manga Seinen manga Shang dynasty in fiction Shōnen manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Studio Deen Television shows based on Investiture of the Gods Television series set in the Shang dynasty Television series set in the Zhou dynasty TV Tokyo original programming Viz Media manga Works based on Investiture of the Gods Works set in the 11th century BC Zhou dynasty in fiction