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Japanese manga series by Yoshinori Natsume From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Togari: The Sword of Justice (トガリ, Togari) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshinori Natsume. The story follows orphan Tobei, who was beheaded for committing countless crimes in the Edo period and sent to Hell where he suffered for 300 years. The regent of Hell makes Tobei an offer to slay 108 "Togas" (spiritual manifestations of sin) in 108 days in 21st-century Japan with Togari, a magical sword. Tobei readily agrees for the chance to be free from Hell.
Togari | |
トガリ | |
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Genre | |
Manga | |
Written by | Yoshinori Natsume |
Published by | Shogakukan |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Shōnen Sunday Comics |
Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Sunday |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | August 2, 2000 – February 13, 2002 |
Volumes | 8 |
Manga | |
Togari Shiro | |
Written by | Yoshinori Natsume |
Published by | Media Factory |
Magazine | Monthly Comic Flapper |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | October 5, 2009 – May 2, 2011 |
Volumes | 3 |
The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 2000 to February 2002, ending the series prematurely at 68 chapters. The individual chapters were collected in eight tankōbon volumes. The abrupt ending was intentional, as the last four pages of the eighth volume has a spoof advertisement for "Togari: The Perfect Edition". Then the publishers apologized for the spoof in the last page of the volume. The manga was licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media.
A sequel, titled Togari Shiro, was serialized in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Flapper from October 2009 to May 2011, with its chapters collected in three volumes.
The plot centers around an orphan known as Tobei who lived in Japan 300 years ago and committed countless violent crimes until the age of 16, when he was beheaded by villagers and subsequently sent to Hell as punishment. During his supposedly eternal punishment, Tobei made repeated escape attempts and became known for a particularly fiery spirit, everlasting determination, and a continuing refusal to repent for his sins.
Given Tobei's dismal moral progress over the course of 300 years, he was made an offer to escape: take the Togari, (a magical bokken with strength proportional to the user's evil spirit) and slay 108 "Toga", spiritual manifestations of great sin that drive a human's actions, in 108 days. Ose, the demon responsible for torturing Tobei in Hell, was told to watch over Tobei while Tobei accomplished his mission.
However, Tobei was subject to two particular rules so as to facilitate his moral reshaping: Firstly, he cannot commit any sins or crimes; even if he begins thinking about committing a sin, the wounds from his decapitation 300 years ago will begin opening. If he actually completes a sin, he will be decapitated and sent back to Hell. Secondly, he cannot physically harm people. If he does, then the same damage is done to himself.
Impeding Tobei's mission, however, is a property of the sword Togari: if Tobei loses control of it, then Togari will absorb him (so that he suffers eternally within Togari, along with all other souls of people who have failed this mission in the past). Furthermore, unlike in Hell, when all his physical wounds healed almost instantly, Tobei's body is mortal on Earth.
Under the supervision of Ose, who often takes the form of a dog while watching over Tobei, Tobei attempts to slay 108 Toga in the real world, and lives a different life than he did 300 years ago in part because of the people he meets and the restrictions against sinning placed on his body.
Inspired by Japanese samurai films and with a concept that the protagonist is a "pure bad guy", author Natsume drew Tobei based on "someone who looked like he [would] be beheaded as a criminal". Lady Ema was first drawn by Natsume with an image of Enma Daio in mind but "she ended up turning into a sexy bombshell".[3] The serialization of Togari was canceled by Weekly Shōnen Sunday.[4]
Written and illustrated by Yoshinori Natsume, Togari was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 2, 2000, to February 13, 2002;[lower-alpha 1] the series ended prematurely at 68 chapters. Shogakukan collected the chapters in eight tankōbon volumes, released from January 18, 2001, and March 18, 2002.[9][10] The abrupt ending was intentional by the publishers, as the last four pages of the eighth volume includes a spoof advertisement for Togari: The Perfect Edition. Then the publishers apologized for the spoof in the last page of the volume.[11] Media Factory republished the series in a four-volume edition,[12] released from October 23 to November 22, 2010.[13][14]
Viz Media released the manga in North America, with English translation by AltJapan Co., Ltd.[15] The eight volumes were released between July 10, 2007, and September 9, 2008.[16][17]
Natsume wrote a sequel, titled Togari Shiro (咎狩 白), serialized in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Flapper from October 5, 2009, to May 2, 2011.[4][18][19][20] Media Factory collected its chapters in three tankōbon volumes, released from May 22, 2010, to June 23, 2011.[21][22][23]
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | ||
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1 | January 18, 2001[9] | 978-4-091-26141-0 | July 10, 2007[16] | 978-1-421-51355-3 | ||
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2 | March 17, 2001[24] | 978-4-091-26142-7 | September 11, 2007[25] | 978-1-421-51356-0 | ||
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3 | June 18, 2001[26] | 978-4-091-26143-4 | November 13, 2007[27] | 978-1-421-51357-7 | ||
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4 | August 9, 2001[28] | 978-1-421-51357-7 | January 8, 2008[29] | 978-1-421-51357-7 | ||
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5 | October 18, 2001[30] | 978-4-091-26145-8 | March 11, 2008[31] | 978-1-421-51701-8 | ||
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6 | December 18, 2001[32] | 978-4-091-26146-5 | May 13, 2008[33] | 978-1-421-51702-5 | ||
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7 | February 18, 2002[34] | 978-4-091-26147-2 | July 8, 2008[35] | 978-1-421-51703-2 | ||
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8 | March 18, 2002[10] | 978-4-091-26148-9 | September 9, 2008[17] | 978-1-421-51704-9 | ||
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Natsume's art was commended for featuring "heavy inks, lots of crosshatching, and copious amounts of shading".[36][37] Mania.com's Patricia Beard feels that the manga makes a "compelling read" by "laying out its premise and conditions by the mid-point of the first volume".[38] Manga Life's Michael Aronson comments that the manga simply rearranges the "premise of every other pop manga series. We have an anachronistic protagonist (InuYasha) who’s rather impure at heart (Death Note) hunting spirits that no one else can see (Bleach)".[39] Ed Sizemore from Comics Worth Reading criticises the series for ending its unfinished story with volume 8. As well as "putting salt in the wound" by advertising for "Togari: The Perfect Edition" in the last four pages, with the last sentence of the ad reading: "Sorry, this was all a joke! Thank you all for reading."[11] Jason Thompson's online appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide compares Togari to Inuyasha in their shared theme of "a villain gradually [turning] into a good guy" commenting that "Togari makes a stronger than usual effort to show Tobe’s gradual socialization process." Thompson also comments on the art "while not nearly as scary as the premise suggests, is clean and chiseled, similar to Ryōji Minagawa."[40] In a series of reviews on Manga News, the manga's graphics is commended for its "pure style with panels that are not overdone",[41] commendation on the level of precision through explanation,[42] with discrete action and advancing the plot through the use of intrigue.[43]
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