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Japanese manga series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (Japanese: 超神伝説うろつき童子, Hepburn: Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji, lit. "Super God Legend: Wandering Child") is a Japanese erotic horror manga series written and illustrated by Toshio Maeda.[2]
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (June 2024) |
| Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend | |
.jpg) Cover of the 2004 reprint of the first manga volume | |
| 超神伝説うろつき童子 (Choujin Densetsu Urotsukidouji) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Erotic horror,[1] horror,[2] supernatural[3] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Toshio Maeda |
| Published by | Wanimagazine |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Manga Erotopia |
| Demographic | Hentai |
| Original run | 25 July 1985 – 24 July 1986 |
| Volumes |
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| Original video animation | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Masamichi Amano |
| Studio |
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| Released | 21 January 1987 – 28 December 1996 |
| Episodes | 13 |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Hideki Takayama |
| Produced by | Yasuhito Yamaki |
| Written by | Shō Aikawa |
| Music by | Masamichi Amano |
| Studio |
|
| Released | 18 March 1989 |
| Runtime | 108 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| The Urotsuki | |
| Directed by |
|
| Produced by | Yasuhito Yamaki |
| Written by | Kensei Date |
| Music by | Masamichi Amano |
| Studio |
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| Released | 3 May 2002 – 15 November 2002 |
| Episodes | 3 |
First serialized in Manga Erotopia from 1985 to 1986, Urotsukidōji marked a departure from Maeda's earlier works, with its focus on erotica, dark humor, and the supernatural. Starting in 1987, the manga was adapted into a series of original video animation (OVA) anime releases by director Hideki Takayama. The adaptations deviate significantly from the manga, adding elements of violence, sadomasochism, and rape not present in the source material.
Urotsukidōji has been credited with popularizing the trope of tentacle rape, and The Erotic Anime Movie Guide calls it a formative work in the hentai genre.[4] In 2005, it was voted as one of the 100 greatest cartoons in a poll by Channel 4.[5]
Amano Jyaku, a mischievous, sociopathic demon/human hybrid, is banished to Earth and ordered by The Great Elder to find the Chōjin: the unbeatable god of the demon world who is hiding within the body of a man.
A group of reptilian/amphibian/insectoid demons want to find the Chōjin and use his power on behalf of the Queen of Demons. Under the leadership of Suikakuju, the Elder's rival and lover of his estranged wife, the Queen of Demons, they hatch a series of plots to try to capture the Chōjin, most of which go horribly wrong.
Amano is sent to protect the Chōjin, but after his lecherous friend Koroko and then later his nymphomaniac sister Megumi come to find him, this proves to be more difficult.
Every 3,000 years the human world (人間界, Ningenkai) is united with the demon world (魔界, Makai) and the man-beast world (獣人界, Jūjinkai) by the revival of the Super God (超神, Chōjin, known as the Overfiend in the English version). The saga follows Jyaku Amano—a man-beast—and his quest to find the Chōjin and to ensure the safe future of all three worlds. However, he finds his beliefs put to the test when he encounters numerous demons, who plan to destroy the Chōjin and prevent the three worlds from joining.
As the Urotsukidōji saga spans over a number of years it incorporates a wide variety of characters. Below is a list of the main characters, which are split into their races:
| Character Role | Original Japanese version | English Dubbed version |
|---|---|---|
| Jyaku Amano | Tomohiro Nishimura | Christopher Courage (I-II) Mark Blackburn (Inferno Road) Michael Sinterniklaas (New Saga) |
| Kuroko | Tsutomu Kashiwakura | Sonny Weil B.G. Good (New Saga) |
| Tatsuo Nagumo | Hirotaka Suzuoki | Bill Timoney Jake Eisbart (New Saga) |
| Norikazu Ozaki | Kenyuu Horiuchi | Bick Balse Dan Green (New Saga) |
| Takeaki Kiryū | Yasunori Matsumoto | Jake La Can |
| Akemi Ito | Youko Asagami | Rebel Joy Rebecca Handler (New Saga) |
| Megumi Amano | Maya Okamoto Yumi Takada | Lucy Morales |
| Suikakujyu | Norio Wakamoto | Jurgen Offen |
| Yuichi Niki | Kouichi Yamadera | Bill Timoney |
| Münchhausen II/Faust | Demon Kogure Ken Yamaguchi | Bick Balse |
| Great Elder | Daisuke Gori | Greg Puertolas |
| Alector | Yumi Takada | |
| Buju | Yasunori Matsumoto | |
| Gashim | Yoshio Kawai | |
| Idaten | Tsutomu Kashiwakura | |
| Caesar | Ryuzaburo Otomo | |
| D9 | Ken Yamaguchi | |
Urotsukidōji was first serialized in four special editions of the erotic manga magazine Manga Erotopia from 25 July 1985 to 24 July 1986.[6][7] It was later released into six tankōbon volumes from 1 December 1986 to 1 April 1987.[8]
Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend was first published in English with the launch of the adult label of CPM Manga in July 1998. It ran in a black-and-white 32-page format priced at $2.95 per issue.[9] It was later released into six volumes from 1 September 2002 to 15 October 2003.[8]
On 12 December 2014 English-language hentai publisher Fakku announced plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign to publish a remastered edition of the manga, which would include color pages and chapters omitted from the previous English versions.[10] The campaign was launched on 20 June 2016.[11] The campaign met its goal, and the first of four volumes was released on 8 December 2016.[12]
There are four main chapters in the original Urotsukidōji saga, along with an unfinished fifth chapter that has so far only been released in Japan and Germany, as well as a complete remake of the first chapter.
The first series was released as part of an anthology video series distributed by JAVN (Japan Audio Visual Network). The anthology series was part of the international Penthouse Magazine brand and featured international and domestic pornographic movies (such as The Devil in Miss Jones, Behind the Green Door and The Opening of Misty Beethoven to name a few).
The first three-volume series within the larger Penthouse series was named Legend of the Demon God Urotsukidōji (超神伝説うろつき童子, Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji). These three episodes were adapted from the original manga but skip over much of the comedic sub-stories and subplots and instead shift the focus to the apocalypse and the battle between Suikakuju and Jyaku.
The three OVAs were later edited into a theatrical film known as Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (超神伝説うろつき童子, Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji). The removal of certain explicit material resulted in the film being given a Limited General Film (R) (一般映画制限付, Ippan Eiga Seigen-tsuki, currently known as "R15+") rating from Japan's Film Classification and Rating Organization. Shochiku-Fuji distributed the film to theaters while Shochiku Home Video distributed the film to VHS with the tagline Original Theatrical Version (オリジナル劇場公開版, Orijinaru Gekijō Kōkai-ban).
Legend of the Over-Fiend was shown at the Toronto Festival of Festivals on 16 September 1989.[13] A critic credited as "Suze." wrote in Variety the film was a "sci-fi-horror schlock extravaganza verging on porno. Films like this are why the word misogynist was invented."[13]
The theatrical film was released in North America on VHS on 11 August 1993 by Central Park Media under the "Anime 18" label - it was their first title to be released with the label and it was rated NC-17. The film was also released in the UK and Australia, with additional cuts being made by the BBFC and OFLC.
Planet Earth is not all it seems. It is revealed that humans are not alone and that there are unseen realms running parallel to our own: the realms of the Demons (Makai) and the Man-Beasts (Jyujinkai). To further that, there is a 3000-year-old legend that foretells the coming of the Overfiend (Chōjin)—a being of unimaginable power that will unite all three realms into a land of eternity.
The story follows the exploits of the protagonists—man-beast Jyaku Amano, his nymphomaniac sister Megumi and their companion Kuroko—as their 300-year search for the Overfiend takes them to a high school in Osaka, Japan. Their discoveries led them to two students: shy, lecherous Tatsuo Nagumo and school idol Akemi Ito. But as the film plunges deeper into the dark and gruesome, Jyaku discovers that the Legend of the Overfiend is not what it seems and that the future of the three realms may be strikingly different from what he is led to believe.
The Perfect Collection from Anime 18 is the only English-friendly uncut version of the first OVA available outside Japan. Other versions such as the one on the "Hell on Earth" boxed set and the Australian Madman release with both Legend of the Overfiend and Legend of the Demon Womb have been cut for 45 minutes in total, which included a total of 24 minutes of sexually-oriented scenes. The U.S. DVD releases are now out-of-print. The Movie Edition, licensed by Kitty Media in 2010 and released in 2011, is the first time any of the anime has been released on Blu-ray, though it is reformatted for widescreen (the DVD version released alongside it retains the original aspect ratio).
The second OVA series was named The True Legend of the Demon God Urotsukidōji: Connections with the Devil (真・超神伝説うろつき童子 魔胎伝, Shin Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji: Mataiden). This series was not based on the manga, but elements from it were used, with Negumo's cousin Takeaki taking on a character similar to the character of Saburo in the manga and Münchhausen II taking after the character of Suikakuju.
The second part of the saga created an ongoing controversy among Urotsukidōji fans as to where it fits into the saga as a whole. One main theory is that the two chapters happen between "Birth of the Overfiend" and "Curse of the Overfiend" of the first OVA. Another main theory is that since the characters and tone are fairly unfaithful to the first three OVAs, it ought not to be considered part of the canon in the first place.
The two OVAs were again later recut into a theatrical version, known as Urotsukidōji II: Legend of the Demon Womb; however, whereas the original two OVA episodes in this case censored sexual acts with blurring throughout, the movie edit was fully uncensored and even featured additional scenes with new animation and effects added to improve existing scenes. No material was taken out in the process—the time difference arising due to redundant credits and recaps—so the movie is to be considered the most complete version.[14]
Unbeknownst to Jyaku and Megumi, in 1944, the Nazis attempted to summon the Overfiend's nemesis: the Lord of Chaos (Kyō-Ō). Top scientist Dr. Münchhausen and his son invented a perverse death-rape machine to summon the Lord of Chaos—but the machine overloaded; and helped to destroy half of Berlin—leaving Münchhausen II alive, but psychologically scarred.
During his adolescence, Münchhausen II discovers his father's journal and tries to uncover the secrets of the Jyujinkai and the Makai. He finally succeeds and reawakens Kohoki—a demon banished to hell for eternity—into the human realm and the two form an infamous partnership.
Cut to the present day and Münchhausen II is trying to fulfill his father's work—to summon the Lord of Chaos—but to make sure it will work this time, he needs a human sacrifice. And it just so happens Tatsuo's cousin Takeaki Kiryu is on the next plane to Osaka...
The Perfect Collection from Anime 18 is the only uncut version of the second Urotsukidōji OVA available outside Japan—however, even the Japanese version was censored, and this censoring was carried over. As mentioned above, this was rectified for the movie version which is uncensored and contains more original material than the OVAs. Anime 18's DVD release is uncut though others (such as Manga UK's) have again been censored with cuts made.[14] Both Japanese and English-language tracks are included on Anime 18's DVD of the movie, but there are no subtitles. Like the Perfect Collection, it is not region-coded. Other versions such as the one on the "Hell on Earth" boxed set and the Australian Madman release with both Legend of the Overfiend and Legend of the Demon Womb have been cut for 14 minutes in total, which included a total of 7 minutes of sexually-oriented scenes. The U.S. releases are also now out-of-print.
The third OVA series was named Legend of the Demon God Urotsukidōji: The Future (超神伝説うろつき童子 未来篇, Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji: Mirai-hen). This is where the saga begins to focus less on the remaining central characters and introduces other secondary characters, none of whom are present in the manga. The four parts were edited for western audiences as Urotsukidōji: Return of the Overfiend, in some cases cut into a pair of films.
Twenty years have passed and the Chojin has been prematurely born. He summons Jyaku Amano to protect him and to help to discover what has happened, sending Jyaku forth to search for the evil born in the east. Unfortunately, a new race called the Makemono (Demon-Beasts) have arisen following the apocalypse, ruled over by the fanatical cyborg Caesar and his mysterious comrade "Faust". It is apparent they are the cause behind these events and intend to resurrect the Kyō-Ō. Jyaku, along with the Makemono Buju and Caesar's traitorous daughter Alector, need to stop the two dictators from ruling the land of eternity. The question is, who will succeed?
The fourth OVA series was named Legend of the Demon God Urotsukidōji: The Wandering (超神伝説うろつき童子 放浪篇, Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji: Hōrō-hen). It was banned outright in many countries (including Britain), but was edited again for the west under the title Urotsukidōji: Inferno Road.
Continuing straight after the climax of Return of the Overfiend, Jyaku and the survivors head for Osaka to help the Overfiend after his climactic battle. On the way they find a kingdom where children rule over adults (OVAs 1 and 2). Jyaku's problems are furthered when an old nemesis shows up at the wrong time (OVA 3).
The third OVA in this series, "The End of the Journey", stands alone plot-wise (wrapping up the story arc from Urotsukidoji: Return of the Overfiend, on which the first two OVA have no bearing), and was originally intended to be a theatrical release.
NOTE: Inferno Road was originally intended to have another ending, which was fully completed but ultimately discarded. This ending was to have revealed that the apparent Chōjin as seen at the start of Urotsukidoji: Return of the Overfiend was not in fact the real Chōjin, but yet another Makai. This alternate ending was to have set up the abandoned The Final Chapter.
The fifth OVA series was named Legend of the Demon God Urotsukidōji: The Final Act (超神伝説うろつき童子 完結篇, Chōjin Densetsu Urotsukidōji: Kanketsu-hen), also known as Urotsukidōji: The Final Chapter in the west. Only one episode of this was partially completed, the released version containing numerous examples of animation that is missing in-between frames.
A century after the merging of the three worlds, the real Chōjin is born and creates a new hermaphroditic race to wipe out all remaining life on Earth. Akemi reawakens in a hospital, along with Jyaku, who had barely survived a recent confrontation with the Chōjin (whose form constantly mutates between male and female). Destroyer God Tatsuo also reappears (after supposedly being killed by Kyō-Ō in Urotsukidoji: Return of the Overfiend) and continues his ravaging of Earth. Still in love with Tatsuo, Akemi runs out to find him.
Meanwhile, Jyaku is confronted by some of the Chōjin's new 'children', and engages them in battle. However, his efforts prove almost futile, as they are constantly regenerated by the Chojin. Akemi eventually finds Tatsuo, still in his God form, and pleads with him. He clutches her in his hand (similarly to the end of the first episode) and prepares to kill her. However, she is rescued at the last minute by Jyaku, although she condemns him for doing so. By the end of the series, Amano Jyaku becomes dissillusioned with the Chōjin and declares war on it.
This series was named The Urotsuki (ザ・うろつき, Za Urotsuki), also known as Urotsukidōji: New Saga in the west, and was released in North America on 9 March 2004. This three-disc collection is a retelling of the first episode in The Legend of the Overfiend. It has the same basic plot as Birth of the Overfiend, the main differences being that Ozaki is now one of the main characters, and the story focuses more on him, while Nagumo is now a supporting character. Furthermore, Megumi is completely absent, Akemi is a clairvoyant leader of a biker gang, Nikki is gender swapped and the queen of Makai is given a more active role.
After the popularity of the anime version of his work, Maeda sought to redo the Urotsukidoji series.[citation needed] Inspired by the post-apocalyptic story in the anime version, Maeda fleshed out the story and also took it into the realm of the post-apocalyptic.
The Urotsuki video series and the Urotsukidoji horror film are the only anime works which have borrowed from this series.
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