Hana no Keiji (花の慶次, lit. The Flowery Keiji) is a Japanese period manga series, based on the novel Ichi-Mu-An Fūryūki by Keiichiro Ryu and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from March 1990 to August 1993. The story serves as a fictionalized account of the life of Keiji Maeda. Hana no Keiji is one of best-selling Weekly Shōnen Jump manga series of all time, with over 17 million copies in circulation.[3] An English adaptation was published in Raijin Comics under the shortened title Keiji.
| Keiji | |
Manga volume 1 cover, featuring Maeda Keiji | |
| 花の慶次 -雲のかなたに- (Hana no Keiji -Kumo no Kanata ni-) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical,[1] samurai[2] |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Keiichiro Ryu |
| Illustrated by | Tetsuo Hara |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | NA Gutsoon! Entertainment |
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| English magazine | NA Raijin Comics |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | March 12, 1990 – August 2, 1993 |
| Volumes | 18 |
| Game | |
| Developer | TOSE |
| Publisher | Yojigen |
| Genre | Fighting |
| Platform | Super Famicom |
| Released | November 18, 1994 |
| Manga | |
| Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari- | |
| Written by |
|
| Illustrated by | Yuji Takemura |
| Published by | Shinchosha |
| Magazine | Weekly Comic Bunch |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | November 7, 2008 – August 27, 2010 |
| Volumes | 9 |
| Manga | |
| Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari | |
| Written by | Tetsuo Hara Nobuhiko Horie |
| Illustrated by | Yuji Takemura |
| Published by | Tokuma Shoten |
| Magazine | Monthly Comic Zenon |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | October 25, 2010 – January 27, 2014 |
| Volumes | 10 |
| Anime television series | |
| Kanetsugu & Keiji | |
| Directed by | Bob Shirahata |
| Produced by | Naoki Miya |
| Written by | Yasuhiro Imagawa |
| Music by | Kazsin |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| Original run | July 2, 2013 – December 17, 2013 |
| Episodes | 25 |
| Manga | |
| Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari | |
| Written by |
|
| Illustrated by | Masato Deguchi |
| Published by | Tokuma Shoten |
| Magazine | Monthly Comic Zenon |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | March 24, 2014 – October 25, 2018 |
| Volumes | 14 |
Hana no Keiji is based on the novel Ichi-Mu-An Fūryūki (一夢庵風流記) by Keiichiro Ryu and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was originally published as a one-shot manga in issue #50 of 1989 of the Weekly Shōnen Jump, released on November 27. The regular serialization started in 1990 in Weekly Shōnen Jump from issue #13, dated March 12, and finished in 1993, in issue #33 dated August 2.[4] 18 tankōbon volumes were published by Shueisha under the "Jump Comics" imprint between July 10, 1990, and November 4, 1993.[5][6] The series was republished in a 10-volume bunkōban edition by Shueisha, published between March 18 and November 18, 1999.[7][8] A 15-volume kanzenban edition by Tokuma Shoten was released from September 30, 2004, to October 29, 2005.[9][10]
In 2003, an English version of the manga was serialized in the short-lived anthology Raijin Comics published by the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment, where the first 26 chapters were printed, until Raijin Comics ceased its publication in 2004. No collected volumes were published.[1][11]
In 2008, a Keiji spin-off titled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari-, written by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Yuji Takemura, began serialization in Shinchosha's Weekly Comic Bunch on November 7.[11] The series was stopped on August 27, 2010, after Weekly Comic Bunch ended its publication.[12] Nine volumes were published.
In 2010, a sequel entitled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari started in the brand new magazine Monthly Comic Zenon by Tokuma Shoten on October 25, 2010.[13] The manga finished on January 27, 2014, with ten volumes being published.[14][15]
A final arc entitled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari, written by Hara and Horie and illustrated by Masato Deguchi, was published in the May issue of Monthly Comic Zenon on March 24, 2014.[16] The series finished on October 25, 2018.[17] As of November 20, 2018, fourteen volumes have been published.[18]
Shueisha released an audiobook version of Hana no Keiji in December 1993. The audiobook stars Akio Ōtsuka as the voice of Keiji Maeda.
A Hana no Keiji video game was developed by TOSE and published by Yojigen for the Super Famicom on November 18, 1994. It is a competitive weapon-based fighting game which adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up until the Fūma Kotarō arc.
Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu -Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari has been adapted into an anime television series aired on TV Tokyo on July 2, 2013, entitled Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji,[19] and was streamed on Crunchyroll.[20] The 25-episodes series aired until December 17, 2013.[21]
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