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Hoshin Engi Manga Gets 2nd Stage Musical in October
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The official website for the stage musical adaptation of Ryu Fujisaki's Hoshin Engi manga announced on Friday that a second musical will run at Shinagawa Prince Hotel's Stellar Ball in Tokyo from October 23 to November 2. The musical, title Musical Hoshin Engi -Kaisen no Prelude- (Prelude to the Outbreak of War), will then run at Cool Japan Park Osaka WW Hall in Osaka from November 6 to 8.
The main cast members from the previous musical are returning. The new cast members include:
(Character name romanizations are not confirmed.)
- Ryō Hirano as Chō Kōmei
- Ryōki Nagae as In Kō (Yin Chao)
- Tsukasa Taguchi as In Kō (Yin Hon)
- Kenta Matsui as Ki Hatsu
Kōtarō Yoshitani (The Royal Tutor, Starmyu musicals) is returning to direct the musical. Akira Kuzuki (Pride of Stride, Kōyōki plays) is writing the script.
The musicals' website outlines the measures the production is taking to comply with COVID-19 guidelines and prevent the spread of disease. Seating capacity will be set at under 50%, and attendees must wear face masks. The theater also has cleaning protocols and a variety of other special procedures in place.
The first musical, titled Musical Hoshin Engi -Mezame no Kiza- (Waking Scratch), ran at EX Theater Roppongi in Tokyo in January 2019.
Fujisaki's first 23-volume Hoshin Engi manga originally ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1996-2000. The fantasy manga is roughly based on the ancient Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi, and the story takes place thousands of years ago. An evil sorceress has bewitched the emperor of a powerful dynasty and he has become a mindless puppet. The country is in shambles and evil spirits lurk everywhere. The Confederation of the Immortal Masters plan a bold mission: they send a young master wizard to hunt down the villains and evil warlocks in the devastated lands.
Viz Media published the original manga in English between 2007-2011.
The manga inspired a 26-episode television anime series in 1999. ADV Films released the anime on DVD in 2001-2004 under the title Soul Hunter. Discotek Media later released the anime under the same name on DVD in June 2016.
Hakyū Hoshin Engi, the new television anime of the original manga, premiered in January 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the anime with English subtitles, and Funimation streamed it with an English dub. The anime inspired the Hakyū Hoshin Engi: Senkai Chronicle smartphone game, which launched for iOS and Android devices in Japan in January 2019.
Sources: Hoshin Engi musicals' website, Comic Natalie
