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Shamo (manga)

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Shamo
First volume cover, featuring Ryo Narushima
軍鶏
Genre
Manga
Written byIzo Hashimoto
Illustrated byAkio Tanaka
Published by
Magazine
DemographicSeinen
Original run1998 – 2015
Volumes34

Shamo (軍鶏, "Gamecock") is a Japanese action manga series written by Izo Hashimoto and illustrated by Akio Tanaka. It was first serialized in Futabasha's Weekly Manga Action in 1998 and moved to Evening in 2004. It was discontinued in 2007 due to creative differences but returned in 2011 and ended in 2015. It tells a story of a boy who killed his parents and turned himself into a cold-blooded martial artist. The manga inspired a Hong Kong film adaptation that was released in 2007.

Plot

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Ryo Narushima (成嶋 亮, Narushima Ryō), a gifted high school student on track to attend the Tokyo University, murders his parents in a sudden act of violence. Convicted at 16, he is sent to a reformatory where he endures brutal assaults until Kenji Kurokawa (黒川健児, Kurokawa Kenji), a former revolutionary imprisoned for an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister, teaches him karate. Ryo survives, hones his skills, and is released after two years—but not before viciously retaliating against his tormentors.

Now free, Ryo drifts through Tokyo's criminal underworld, working as a gigolo and ambushing gangsters to refine his fighting abilities. He enters the Banryukai karate tournament, using psychological warfare and blackmail to secure victory. Despite backlash over his ruthless tactics, Banryukai leader Kensuke Mochizuki (望月 謙介, Mochizuki Kensuke) validates his win, acknowledging Ryo's skill.

Ryo's next challenge is Naoto Sugawara (菅原 直人, Sugawara Naoto), a top Banryukai (番竜会, Banryūkai) fighter. To provoke him, Ryo rapes Sugawara's girlfriend, forcing a televised showdown at the Tokyo Dome. After grueling steroid-enhanced training, Ryo—despite being outmatched—unleashes a hidden left-handed assault, nearly defeating Sugawara before collapsing. Their feud culminates in a brutal rematch at an abandoned temple, where Ryo leaves Sugawara hospitalized with a critical neck injury.

Later, Ryo attracts the attention of Toma Takahara (高原 東馬, Takahara Tōma), a former ballet dancer obsessed with "saving" him. After Ryo's physical decline from steroid abuse, he competes in a grappling tournament organized by Mochizuki, facing Toma's team. Though weakened by a stab wound mid-event, Ryo psychologically dismantles Toma before passing out from blood loss. The aftermath sees Mochizuki ousted and the Banryukai fractured, while Kurokawa dies mysteriously.

In the final story arc, Ryo begins a relationship with a woman whose father hires assassins to kill him. After defeating one attacker, Ryo succumbs to his injuries in a forest, his fate ambiguously symbolized by tattered remnants of his crow-patterned shirt.

Film

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Shamo was made into a Hong Kong film in 2007. It was directed by Cheang Pou-soi and starred Shawn Yue.

Court case

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The manga, written by Izo Hashimoto and illustrated by Akio Tanaka, was first serialized in 1998 in Manga Action.[1] It moved to Evening[1] and was put on hold in 2007 due in part to creative differences.[3] Shamo manga artist Akio Tanaka was in a legal battle against Shamo's credited creator, Izô Hashimoto, for 150 million yen (about US$1.4 million) in a copyright lawsuit that opened in June 2008 in the Tokyo District Court. Tanaka claimed that he, and not Hashimoto, had created the story and the character concepts.[1] On July 18, 2011, Tanaka announced on his homepage that Shamo would return to the pages of Evening magazine on July 27, 2011, and the title would start to be reprinted in wide editions.[4] The serialization of the series concluded on January 13, 2015.[5]

Volume list

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Volume ISBN Publish Date
1 ISBN 4-575-82383-X 12 November 1998
2 ISBN 4-575-82394-5 5 January 1999
3 ISBN 4-575-82416-X 12 April 1999
4 ISBN 4-575-82432-1 9 July 1999
5 ISBN 4-575-82452-6 28 March 2000
6 ISBN 4-575-82488-7 28 April 2000
7 ISBN 4-575-82492-5 22 May 2000
8 ISBN 4-575-82499-2 27 June 2000
9 ISBN 4-575-82509-3 8 September 2000
10 ISBN 4-575-82525-5 11 December 2000
11 ISBN 4-575-82551-4 26 March 2001
12 ISBN 4-575-82572-7 28 June 2001
13 ISBN 4-575-82607-3 28 October 2001
14 ISBN 4-575-82627-8 19 December 2001
15 ISBN 4-575-82663-4 18 April 2002
16 ISBN 4-575-82709-6 18 August 2002
17 ISBN 4-575-82760-6 12 December 2002
18 ISBN 4-575-82816-5 19 April 2003
19 ISBN 4-575-82845-9 19 July 2003
20 ISBN 4-06-352113-3 23 June 2005
21 ISBN 4-06-352114-1 23 June 2005
22 ISBN 4-06-352128-1 21 October 2005
23 ISBN 4-06-352140-0 23 March 2006
24 ISBN 4-06-352159-1 23 August 2006
25 ISBN 4-06-352169-9 22 November 2006
26 ISBN 4-06-352381-0 21 October 2011
27 ISBN 4-06-352402-7 23 March 2012
28 ISBN 4-06-352429-9 23 August 2012
29 ISBN 4-06-352447-7 22 February 2013
30 ISBN 4-06-352463-9 21 June 2013
31 ISBN 4-06-352491-4 20 December 2013
32 ISBN 4-06-354512-1 23 May 2014
33 ISBN 4-06-354537-7 22 September 2014
34 ISBN 4-06-354558-X 23 February 2015

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Loo, Egan (June 28, 2008). "Shamo Manga Artist Sues Creator for 150 Million Yen (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Green, Scott (December 5, 2006). "AICN Anime - Going Offbeat With Shamo Mazinkaizer and More". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. When at its best, Shamo is a martial arts thriller that utilizes its repulsive protagonist to function on both heady and visceral levels.
  3. ^ "Un break pour Coq de combat". Manga News (in French). October 9, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "Shamo is back". Tanaka Akio Works (in Japanese). December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "Coq de Combat se termine". Manga News (in French). January 12, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
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