Genma Wars
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Genma Wars | |
幻魔大戦 | |
---|---|
Genre | |
Manga | |
Written by | Kazumasa Hirai |
Illustrated by | Shotaro Ishinomori |
Published by | Kodansha |
Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Published | 1967 |
Volumes | 2 |
Manga | |
Genma Wars: Rebirth | |
Written by | Kazumasa Hirai |
Illustrated by | Shotaro Ishinomori |
Published by | Tokuma Shoten |
Magazine | Monthly Comic Ryū |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | 1979 – 1984 |
Volumes | 6 |
Anime film | |
Harmagedon | |
Directed by | |
Released | March 12, 1983 |
Runtime | 135 minutes |
Game | |
Bega's Battle | |
Interactive movie, shooter game | |
Platform | Arcade |
Released | June 1983 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Tsuneo Tominaga |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Shōzō Uehara |
Music by | Hiroshi Motokura |
Studio | E.G. Films |
Original network | AT-X |
Original run | February 2, 2002 – May 11, 2002 |
Episodes | 13 |
Genma Wars (
Plot
The series tells the story of the battle between the Earth's defenders and a demonic entity named Genma Daioh. Its first protagonist is Jo Azuma, a Japanese highschool student of the 1970s who suddenly finds out he has
After the premature end of the manga, the story was expanded upon by other series of the franchise, featuring
The story is taken then to True Genma Wars, after Kagawa's exploits rewrote reality. In a new version of 1979, Jo Azuma, now an adult paranormal researcher and writer, is hired by a powerful woman known as Moonlight to expose the existence of psychics to the world. After several events, Jo gains the knowledge of the previous timeline destroyed by Genma, only to disappear mysteriously. His mantle is taken by his secretary Yuri Sugimura, who travels to the 7th century to meet the mystic
The next installment is Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology Chapter, though it takes place again in the original timeline, where the world was conquered by Genma. Humans now live in primitive societies, while the planet is ruled by a race of intelligent Genma beasts serving Maoh King, who now plans to give birth to an heir by raping a human woman. However, said woman, Non, manages to run away with the resultant children, two male twins named Loof and Jin, who swear to stop their father. After defeating Maoh, they travel to the past in an attempt to prevent the existence of their terrible world, but agents of Genma from the past spoil their plan by provoking a
A Hirai novel of 1979 similarly named Genma Wars takes a new route from New Genma Wars. being set on a timeline created there. A young version of Jo discovers in 1967 he has psychic powers which predict the coming of Genma, so he initiates a resistance movement from his school's literature club, named "Genken". As in the previous story, Joe disappears mysteriously, and the members of Genken are left to advance by themselves. In a sequel named Harmageddon, a member named Keisuke Takatori gives birth to a totalitary global movement based on his messiah complex.
Harmageddon Girl is a
The entire franchise is revisited in a 2014 manga named Genma Wars Rebirth and written by Kyoichi Nanatsuki. In it, Luna and Stella (Luna's daughter with Jo) travel to the past in order to try to prevent the war.
Characters
- Vega
- Voiced by: Tōru Emori (Japanese); John Hollywood (English)
- A 2000-year-old warrior robot who fought several times against Genma in the past. He was summoned by Princess Luna to help defend Earth from evil. His name is written as Bega in international releases.
- Luna
- Voiced by: Mami Koyama (Japanese); Wendy Walker (English)
- A Transylvanian princess with telepathic powers to see the future.
- Jo Azuma
- Voiced by: Tōru Furuya (Japanese); Eric Lamp (English)
- Jo has been repeated in countless anime, but was not really a prevalent archetype before Harmagedon. He can move objects with his psychic powers.
- Yogin
- Voiced by: Ryūji Saikachi (Japanese); B. Jaye Driscoll (English)
- An elderly psionic warrior from India who is wise and shows no fear of destruction.
- Tao
- Voiced by: Tomoyo Harada (Japanese); Sky Watkins (English)
- A psionic warrior from China; a female child disciplined in martial arts who is friends with Joe.
- Sonny Lynx
- Voiced by: Yasufumi Hayashi (Japanese); Nefta Perry (English)
A psionic warrior and a teenaged gang boss from New York City who has the power to teleport and phase through walls.
- Asanshi
- Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese); Michael Donovan (English)
- An adult psionic warrior from Saudi Arabia.
- Salamander
- Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (Japanese); Richard Epcar (English)
The final psionic warrior, an adult Native American from Nevada.
- Junko
- Jo's girlfriend, who breaks up with him early in the movie.
- Shiro
- Jo's best friend at school, who is skeptical on the existence of ESP.
- Michiko
- Jo's older sister, and apparently his guardian. Joe is very attached to her.
- Zamedi
- Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japanese); Russell Arendt (English)
- An evil servant of Genma Daioh.
- Zambi
- Voiced by: Ichirô Nagai(Japanese); Matt Black (English)
- Another evil servant of Genma Daioh.
- Genma Daioh
- Voiced by: Masaharu Sato (Japanese); Ward Perry(English)
- The story's villain.
Anime film
Harmagedon: Genma Wars (幻魔大戦 ‒ハルマゲドン‒, Genma Taisen: Harumagedon) is a
Keith Emerson was hired as the music director and composer of the ending theme. "Children of the Light"[5] is the ending theme for Harmagedon, composed and sung by Rosemary Butler, Keith Emerson and others.[6]
The Genma Wars movie has been available in the US as Harmagedon on
Reception
It was 1983's
Katsuhiro Otomo, who was previously known for the manga Akira (1982), was inspired to become an anime film director after his work on Harmagedon. This led to him making his directorial debut with the anime film Neo Tokyo (1987), before directing the influential 1988 anime film adaptation of Akira.[10]
Capcom artist and designer Akira Yasuda said the initial inspiration for Chun-Li in the fighting game Street Fighter II (1991) came from the anime film Harmagedon: Genma Wars. The Chinese female character Tao was the initial basis for the character design of Chun-Li.[11]
Anime series
Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology Chapter (幻魔大戦 ‒神話前夜の章‒, Genma Taisen: Shinwa Zen'ya no Shō) is an anime television series that aired in Japan in 2002. It has been released in the US under the name Genma Wars by Media Blasters on DVD, later re-released in a box set of the entire series. The release experienced controversy, as the licensor Enoki Films edited some footage to remove panning camera shots of female nudity, but strangely left rape and sex scenes intact.[12]
Unlike the Harmagedon movie, which adapted the original manga, the series adapts the Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology Chapter manga by Ishinomori published in Tokuma Shoten from May 1979 to November 1981. It ran for four volumes and was Ishinomori's last work in the franchise.
Plot
Genma Wars is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where mankind has been subjugated by a demonical tribe known as Genma. The humans are reduced to little more than slaves for the Genma, who employ
In one case, in exchange for the safety of her village, a girl called Non submit to the Maoh King, and give birth to male twins, Loof and Jin. Loof is taken to grow up among the Genma, while Jin grows up under his mother' care, however she is labelled as a whore by her fellow kinsmen. Eventually, Loof and Jin encounter each other and plan revenge against their hated father. However, their father reveals he only created them, and the whole hybrid Human-Genma, to bring the war across the Earth, out of boredom. He throws his sons in a time portal, back to the present time, when the war was initiated, in order to stop their dystopic world.
Characters
- Loof
- Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (Japanese); Bryce Papenbrook (English)
- One of the main protagonists, he is one of the twins, child to the Maoh King and Non. He is relatively cool-headed and reasonable. In the beginning, he acts very cold towards humans but his attitude softens after falling in love with Meena.
- Jin
- Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese); Bryan Moran (English)
- One of the main protagonists, he is the Loof's younger twin brother. Unlike Loof, Jin is impulsive, violent and prone to lash out against anyone at any time. This is because he grew up persecuted by both her mother's own people and the Genma's mutant army. Jin develops the desire to become his father's successor as a punishment of his persecution early in his life.
- Maoh King
- Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (Japanese); Richard Epcar (English)
- Jin and Loof's father, and Earth's ruler. He is also a rapist, prone to order the kidnapping of several females to rape and impregnate them with his child, but he abandons both his child and estranged wife.
- Meena
- Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)
- Loof's human female companion and later romantic interest. He falls in love with her and saves her from several perils. Meena is also a Hito like Loof's mother, although is shown to have mysterious powers. She becomes pregnant with Loof's child. However, she dies after saving Loof from a mutant enemy.
- Parome
- Voiced by: Tomoko Hirasuji (Japanese); Ellyn Stern (English)
- The Maoh Queen, she is some kind of a stronghold, Parome is presumably destroyed, but returns when the Maoh King appears to have the upper hand in the fight against his children, and she uses the last of her forces to impale the King in the chest using a sword, destroying them both.
Bega's Battle
Similar to
In Japan, Game Machine listed Bega's Battle on their November 1, 1983, issue as being the third most-successful upright arcade/cockpit unit of the month.[19] In North America, the game was not commercially successful, with a number of arcade cabinets later converted into the more successful Cobra Command (1984).[20] Even among laserdisc games, Bega's Battle has become somewhat rare, because many of the machines were converted into Cobra Command machines as part of a discount deal offered by Data East in exchange for the internals of the Bega's Battle arcade cabinet.
Notes and references
- ^ a b Ross, Carlos. "Genma Wars". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ 石ノ森章太郎「幻魔大戦」が全2巻のオリジナル版で刊行、新発掘された資料も収録. Natalie (in Japanese). February 6, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Overseas Readers Column: Deco Unveiled LDP Game Tied Up With Sony And Kadokawa" (PDF). Game Machine. No. 210. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 April 1983. p. 26.
- ^ "Animation Legend Rintarô - les Utopiales 2022". 4 December 2022.
- ^ Children of the Light -YouTube
- ^ Children of the Light (song details)
- ^ Central Park Media's Official Harmageddon Homepage[permanent dead link]
- ^ "1983年(1月~12月)". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "日本国内 1983年 年間邦画興行収入ランキング". Eiga Ranking. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "Katsushiro Otomo On Akira and More". Tripwire Magazine. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- Siliconera. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Anime Prime
- ^ a b "ライセンス一覧表". Data East. Archived from the original on 2001-04-23. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-4990251215.
- ^ "Bega's Battle, Arcade Video game by Data East USA, Inc. (1983)".
- ^ Travis Fahs (March 3, 2008). "The Lives and Deaths of the Interactive Movie". IGN. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
- ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7, retrieved 2011-04-10
- ISBN 1-887472-25-8. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 223. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 November 1983. p. 33.
- ^ "1984—Even Orwell Couldn't Predict How Bad It Was". Play Meter. Vol. 10, no. 23. December 1984. pp. 23–8.
External links
- Media Blaster's Homepage
- Central Park Media's Homepage
- Madhouse Studio: Harmagedon Genma Taisen (Japanese)
- Ken Media: Genma Wars (Japanese)
- Harmagedon: Genma taisen at IMDb
- Genma Wars (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia