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Manga Artist Shirow Miwa Honors Tokugawa Ieyasu on Anniversary of His Death

April 17 is an important date in Japanese history as it marks the death of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, a figure often credited with uniting Japan during a tumultuous time ravaged by civil war. It was also on this date that the shogun's sword Sohayanotsurugi was designated as an important cultural asset. To mark the date, illustrator Shirow Miwa (Dogs: Bullets & Carnage, 7th Dragon) drew an illustration and a making-of video featuring corresponding characters from Tōken Ranbu. Miwa designed the Sohayanotsurugi and Oodenta Mitsuyo characters in the game.

DMM's Touken Ranbu "sword personification training game" takes famous swords from Japanese history and interprets them as bishōnen. Nitroplus designed the characters and scenario. The game launched in Japan last year, and it has more than 1.5 million registered users. The game has acquired a large female fanbase and inspired a wide range of merchandise, as well as several manga and stage productions.

Aniplex of America announced at the "The World of TOUKEN RANBU by Nitroplus" panel at Seattle's Sakura Con event on Friday that it has added the Katsugeki! Tōken Ranbu (Action Picture! Touken Ranbu) television anime series to its summer 2017 lineup.

The separate Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru anime series premiered in Japan on October 2. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan, and Funimation streamed an English dub. A second season of the series will premiere in January 2018.

[Via Nijimen]