Loading AI tools
Japanese manga series by Tohru Fujisawa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tokko (特公, Tokkō) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa, the creator of Great Teacher Onizuka. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from 2003 to 2004, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes.
Tokko | |
特公 (Tokkō) | |
---|---|
Genre | Action, horror,[1] supernatural[2] |
Manga | |
Written by | Tooru Fujisawa |
Published by | Kodansha |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Monthly Afternoon |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | 2003 – 2004 |
Volumes | 3 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Masashi Abe |
Produced by |
|
Written by | Mitsuhiro Yamada |
Music by |
|
Studio | |
Licensed by |
|
Original network | Wowow |
English network | |
Original run | April 15, 2006 – July 29, 2006 |
Episodes | 13 |
Manga | |
Tokko Zero | |
Written by | Tooru Fujisawa |
Illustrated by | Yukai Asada |
Published by | Hero's Inc. |
Magazine | Monthly Hero's |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | July 1, 2013[2] – March 1, 2016[3] |
Volumes | 4[4] |
A 13-episodes anime television series adaptation animated by AIC Spirits and Group TAC aired from April to July 2006. The manga was licensed in North America by Tokyopop, who released the first volume on July 15, 2008. The anime was licensed in the United States and United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment, with its first DVD released on March 20, 2007, and in Australasia by Madman Entertainment.[5] In the United States, Sci Fi aired the series in 2007.
Officially known to the general public as Special Mobile Investigation Forces Section 2; Special Public Safety Task Force, or Tokko under the supervision of the Public Security Intelligence Agency after the Special Mobile Investigation Troops relinquished, with some of its members recruited from the police force. It was established after the Machida massacre was secretly investigated to discover that the perpetrators were demons, called Phantoms, from the netherworld, able to cross into reality when the "Box of Dirge" (or "Druj", as the DVD English subtitles say) was broken, with each of the 108 pieces being taken by a powerful Phantom. Under the command of Superintendent Ryoko Ibuki, she recruited members, who, as survivors of the Machida massacre, have Phantoms inside them that when "awakened", grant the superhuman speed and the ability to materialize swords. They use swords to dispatch the Phantoms and their lesser human faced larva parasites, that come into the world through the giant holes caused by unnatural earthquakes in Japan's Kanto region, since most firearms do not incapacitate or kill them. Their actions have come under harsh criticism from other officers for conducting their operations in secretive manners and for covering up the deaths of either civilians or police officers, informing the public via news releases that deaths or injuries caused by demons were done by armed or insane criminals.
All members of Section 2 bear a tattoo (except for Ibuki who is not a symbiont). This is their "symbiont tattoo", which marks them as carriers of a "phantom", one of the 108 demons. Not all of the symbionts are with Section 2. A symbiont may be good or evil, but the spirit's alignment is unknown until it is awakened within the host. This phantom also imparts a type of protection, for example allowing Sakura to walk away unscathed from a car accident as a child. Only symbionts have the strength, speed and endurance to kill the demons with bladed weapons. Using the symbionts, Section 2 hunts down the other Phantoms, dismembering them to get the 108 fragments to close the Machida hole before it expands and covers the entire world.
In 2011, a young man named Ranmaru Shindo lives in Tokyo with his younger sister, Saya. They moved from Machida 5 years earlier, after the massacre of their parents in their apartment complex, which was attacked and overrun by unknown assailants who ruthlessly and brutally killed almost everyone in several buildings in the complex. He has been having recurring dreams for some time, of a tattooed girl covered in blood holding a giant sword surrounded by bodies, but they are now growing more frequent. It is the day his class graduates to become investigators for The Special Mobile Investigation Forces, or Tokki, which he joined to learn about his parents' death. Later on the day of his graduation, he sees the girl from his dream wearing a police uniform. She is Sakura Rokujo, who is in the same class as him and a member of Section 2, known officially as Special Public Safety Task Force, or Tokko. Its other main members include the young prodigy Kureha Suzuka, the silent strongman Takeru Inukai and its leader Ryoko Ibuki. There are many rumors about Tokko, one of which is that they use swords to execute criminals and that body parts are often found at the crime scenes Tokko investigates. There are also rumors that they aren't even human.
When Ranmaru's unit investigates another grizzly murder, a witness claims to see a demon, which was also rumored at other bloody scenes. There they encounter humans with talking human faced larva parasites growing out of them, that are impervious to guns. The demons refer to Ranmaru as having the scent of Michida and attack, before he is saved by Sakura and Tokko. She explains that they were just lesser monsters controlled to target survivors of the Michida incident. Afterwards, Ranmaru's team researches previous violent dismemberments and learns that most have witnesses claiming to see demons and that the incidents have been on the rise since Michida. Sakura soon after reveals to Ranmaru that the Machida incident was caused by the monsters, which are demons from the otherworld. Five days before the incident, a box created by ancient philosophers and alchemists was opened that connects to the otherworld, the demons that came through committed the massacre. The stronger demons are called Phantoms and grow stronger by eating humans, these are the ones Tokko are tasked with finding and killing. The holes created by the earthquakes are the gates that allow them to enter the world. It is also confirmed that the main members of Tokko aren't fully human, referring to themselves as hunters.
Ranmaru and his best friend and partner Hanazono sneak into the closed off Machida crime scene to inspect the hole. When Ranmaru disturbs the hole by dropping something in it, a demon comes out an attacks them. Tokko arrives and saves them, and explains they are all survivors of Machida and the only ones that can defeat them as they have "awakened" into symbionts, having Phantoms inside them that protected them during the incident. The Machida hole is getting bigger and in two years will swallow Tokyo. The box that opened the gate was broken into 108 pieces, each of which is inside a Phantom, and Tokko collects the pieces in order to close the gate. The 12th Phantom, the one controlling the human faced larva parasites, then appears. Ranmaru asks Kureha Suzuka to show him how to awaken so he can fight, even after she warns him that he might not remain himself in which case they would have to kill him. To do so she mortally wounds him and throws him into the hole. When he emerges he completes the symbiosis with a giant demon, forming his tattoos and granting him two large swords, and defeats the Phantom in one attack. When he wakes up a week later, he is transferred to Tokko. In the epilogue it is hinted that two years later the hole did in fact swallow Tokyo.
The story then focuses on Itsuto Araragi and his sister Mayu in 2011, who are survivors of Michida and symbiont hunters unaffiliated with Tokko. Together they hunt Phantoms and eat them to get stronger, absorbing their abilities, aiming to eventually kill them all. They accidentally save Yukino Shiraishi from committing suicide and deduce she was being controlled by a Phantom. They learn students have been going missing at her university and that there are rumors of "demons". There they encounter many Phantoms, learning that some humans willing become them. It is revealed this all started when Yukino discovered what she thought to be a mummy hand and took it back the university, it was in fact a Phantom hand from Machida. Her father, who works at the university, began experimenting and learned humans can become a hybrid of human and phantom by eating them and began to turn the students as well. He was the one who planted a larva in Yukino to make her commit suicide, after she saw him kill her mother. Using their newly absorbed abilities from the Phantoms at the school, Itsuto and Mayu defeat her father, with her finishes him off herself by setting their house on fire. Yukino then moves in with Itsuto and Mayu, saying she wants to learn more about the demons to prevent this from happening again.
Written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa, Tokko was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from 2003 to 2004, with its chapters collected in three tankōbon volumes, released from February 6 to June 23, 2004.[6][7] The third volume, titled Phantom Hunter, is a side story detailing two siblings (male and female), who happen to be survivors of the Machida massacre.
In North America, the manga was licesned by Tokyopop.[8] The three volumes were released from July 1, 2008, to February 1, 2009.[9][10]
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation was broadcast on Wowow from April 15 to July 29, 2006. Three DVD volumes were released August 24 to November 23, 2006. The opening theme is "Nothing" and the ending theme is "Sherry", both performed by dB. The Tokko Original Soundtrack was released on June 28, 2006. It includes eleven tracks without the opening and closing themes from the anime.[11]
The anime was licensed in the United States and United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment,[8] and in Australasia by Madman Entertainment. It was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel (later Syfy) as part of its Ani-Monday block of anime programming from June 18 to September 24, 2007.[8] Chiller, another NBC Universal network, began airing the series in July 2009.[12]
# | English Title Japanese Title | Original air date | English air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Awakening" (Dawn) "Akatsuki" (暁) | April 15, 2006 | June 18, 2007 | |
Ranmaru Shindo, five years after surviving the tragic Machida massacre, graduates from the Special Mobile Investigation Troops First Division Police academy after he was recruited into the police force as a patrolman since the two Shindo siblings have joined the police force as part of moving on from what happened in Machida. During his transfer to the Shibuya police station, he encounters the red-haired woman in a police uniform who had been the sole cause of his nightmares and two officers, who are said to be elite officers from the Tokko division. | ||||
2 | "A Girl Appears" (Dream) "Yume" (夢) | April 22, 2006 | June 25, 2007 | |
Ranmaru and Ichiro meet the members of Tokko, one of whom is the red-haired woman from Ranmaru's dreams. Her name is Sakura Rokujo, and she was once a neighbor of Ranmaru before the Machida massacre. Later, Kunikida and Muramasa discover that any incident involving the monsters hunted by Tokko is covered up. | ||||
3 | "Moments Would Be Lost" (Bonds) "Kizuna" (絆) | April 29, 2006 | July 7, 2007 | |
With the recent attacks on police officers by the possessed human-like zombies and Ranmaru's near death from one of them a few days ago, he began to reflect about what happened from his first day of duty as a Tokko detective and on the Machida massacre, especially on the mysterious tattoo that appeared on his right arm. Concerned about where it came from and how it showed up, Saya took him to a nearby police hospital to be checked up on. While waiting for the results of his checkup, Ranmaru sneaks inside a PSIA-guarded hospital ward that housed Sakura's younger brother, who was almost a victim in the Machida incident. | ||||
4 | "Corpses in the Laboratory" (Omen) "Chō" (兆) | May 13, 2006 | July 9, 2007 | |
Saya gets Ranmaru a date, in the form of forensic expert Yukino Shiraishi, who happens to be Saya's upperclassman in her high school days. During Ranmaru and Yukino's date, Ranmaru discovered that the demons who were responsible for the Machida massacre five years ago and for the death of his police comrades were believed to be of European origin, with Yukino filling Ranmaru in on the background on a Western urban legend that the demons were summoned by alchemists in order to achieve immortality during the Middle Ages in Europe. | ||||
5 | "A Father, All Alone" (Devil) "Oni" (鬼) | May 20, 2006 | July 16, 2007 | |
After a suspicious car accident, Sakura visits Ranmaru in his hospital room. She warns him not to get further involved into what had happened to him near the forensic building the night before. Kunikida, thought to have been granted a request to investigate the forensic building for evidence to suggest that Tokko was concealing evidence from the public, is denied by top National Police Agency officials. Yukino then visits Ranmaru back in the Shibuya police station, warning him that her father was researching on the strange creatures that Ranmaru had encountered before. | ||||
6 | "Who Kills My Brother" (Sorrow) "Ai" (哀) | May 27, 2006 | July 23, 2007 | |
In a closed meeting with Councilor Ogata, Superintendent Ryoko Ibuki discloses to her superior that Ranmaru is a possible symbiont, telling him that she'll have him killed if it has to be the case. Later on, Ryoko informs Kureha to see if Ranmaru has the symbiont inside of him. Back in the Tokki office, Muramasa informs Ranmaru to entertain Kunikida, who didn't go to work since he was angry at the NPA officials for denying his search warrant on the forensic building. Ranmaru was about to tell Kunikida what happened at the forensic building last night when Kureha arrives on her motorbike, and she asks to take Ranmaru out on a date. | ||||
7 | "A Telephone Call" (Love) "Koi" (恋) | June 17, 2006 | August 6, 2007 | |
Sakura relives her memories of meeting with Inukai and his sister prior to joining Tokko. After another one of Tokko's clashes against the Gaki demons, Ranmaru receives an anonymous call from a mysterious person who could provide him information as to the true reasons behind the events behind the Machida massacre years ago. During his investigation, he is suddenly attacked by a lone Phantom demon in the nearby park, specifically the thirteenth Phantom demon. | ||||
8 | "Time to Say Goodbye" (Awakening) "Sei" (醒) | June 24, 2006 | August 13, 2007 | |
As Ranmaru continues to get deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Phantom demons, he is accosted by two strange men wearing dark sunglasses and wielding pistols when he was walking in a local park. To make things worse, Saya gets injured in a depicted hit and run accident staged during her break hours by an unknown vehicle. Ryoko and the others inform Ranmaru that some sort of cult society may have hired assassins to kill her. | ||||
9 | "We Were Born to Be" (Brave) "Rin" (凛) | July 1, 2006 | August 20, 2007 | |
Ranmaru gets unofficially transferred to the Tokko division while still being under the official command of Tokki, which angers Kunikida and thinks that Akiha may have been responsible for Ranmaru's supposed transfer. In a meeting with the Phantom Countermeasures Committee, led by top NPA officials, they accuse Ryoko of wasting her time in their investigation against the Phantoms and not doing anything to calm the public about the supposed serial murder cases since Ranmaru's own symbiont was awakened by her subordinates without their authorization. | ||||
10 | "Never Mind" (Trembling) "Yō" (揺) | July 8, 2006 | August 27, 2007 | |
Yukino visits Ranmaru in the Shibuya Police Station in the early morning, delivering the book regarding the Box of Dirge and information regarding a supposed piece of the box. Later, during a courtesy call to an old man, Taishi, who called Ranmaru earlier on, his symbiont begins to slowly corrupt his mind and body after his attacks were thwarted by his mysterious strength. He is rescued by Sakura and the others with an unknown necklace on his neck, but Ranmaru's slowly corrupted symbiont uses him to attack Akiha and the others before Ryoko is forced to use her Colt SAA revolver to fire a shot at Ranmaru's chest, severely wounding him. | ||||
11 | "No Woman, No Cry" (Prison) "Goku" (獄) | July 15, 2006 | September 3, 2007 | |
Hiroki, Sakura's younger brother, is awakened with a Phantom spirit when it infiltrated the Udagawa Police Hospital in Tokyo and the doctors who were attending to the unconscious teenager. During an encounter with Tokko, Hiroki wounds Sakura and drives off the other members, barely surviving. Despite this, Sakura wishes to help her brother by trying her best to purge the Phantom spirit out of his body. | ||||
12 | "If Not In Love" (Rage) "Nu" (怒) | July 22, 2006 | September 17, 2007 | |
Tokko decides to move Saya to a safer place, more specially to Ryoko's apartment, for her own protection. Ryoko pays a surprise visit to the Tokki offices, and she manages to obtain information from Muramasa that he was the inside man paid by Taishi to provide police information regarding the case after threatening him with her Colt SAA revolver. Later on, Taishi dispatches Gakis to assassinate all active Tokko members as a means of further slowing down their investigation against him. | ||||
13 | "Remain Tender Together" (Dark) "Rei" (黎) | July 29, 2006 | September 24, 2007 | |
Kunikida encounters Muramasa and after an argument, the two tried to shoot each other when Kunikida heard Muramasa ordering that Ranmaru and the other Tokko operatives are to be arrested and taken care of. Back at the Machida apartment complex, Ranmaru and the others assemble to do battle against Taishi, with Kureha severely wounded. Ranmaru and Sakura head into the underworld via the giant hole in Machida in order to rescue Saya and defeat Taishi. The end of the anime seems incomplete because it doesn't show the complete destruction of the demons. Moreover, when Ranmaru is in the hospital next to Sakura, there is another hole as big as the one in Machida as Taishi's laughter echoes across the scene. |
A radio drama had taken place on October 11, 2006. It had briefly expanded a bit on the events after the anime had ended.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.