News
Tōken Ranbu Gets New Stage Play, Gekiga Anthology
posted on by Karen Ressler
The official website for the Tōken Ranbu stage plays announced with a video and visual on Friday that a new stage play will run in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka from June to July 2017. Hiroki Suzuki will return as Mikazuki Munechika.
The first stage play, Touken Ranbu Kyoden - Moeyuru Honnōji, ran in May 2016. The second stage play, Touken Ranbu Kyoden - Moeyuru Honnōji ~ Saien, ran from December 2016 to January 2017. Touken Ranbu Giden - Akatsuki no Dokuganryū, the franchise's third stage play, ran from June to July. Tōken Ranbu: Jo-den Mitsura Boshi Katanagatari, the franchise's fourth stage play, ran from December 15-29. A side story stage play titled Tōken Ranbu Gaiden: Kono Yoru-ra no Odawara had one performance in November.
The franchise also has a separate series of stage musicals.
This year's February issue of LEED Publishing's Comic Ran magazine announced on Wednesday that the Tōken Ranbu franchise will get a special anthology series by various veteran gekiga artists. The term "gekiga" ("dramatic pictures") was coined by Yoshihiro Tatsumi to describe an alternative style of manga that stresses realism and is aimed at adults. Shinzo Tomi (Yagyu) will draw the first one-shot (previewed below), which will feature Mikazuki Munechika and Sayo Samonji.
The original Tōken 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 in 2015, and it has more than 1.5 million users. The game has inspired two television anime, a wide range of merchandise, as well as several manga.
Source: Comic Natalie
