View source for Kurozuka (novel)

{{Short description|Japanese novel by Baku Yumemakura}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name = Kurozuka
| image = Kurozuka novel.jpg
| caption = Cover of the novel
| ja_kanji = 黒塚
| ja_romaji = 
| genre = {{ubl|[[Post-apocalyptic]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Theron |title=Theron Martin - The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/fall-2008-preview/2008-10-04/theron |website=[[Anime News Network]] |access-date=May 23, 2020 |date=October 4, 2008}}</ref>|[[Romance novel|Romance]]<ref name="ann"/>|[[Supernatural fiction|Supernatural]]<ref name="ann"/>}}<!-- Genres should be based on what reliable sources list them as and not on personal interpretations. Limit of the three most relevant genres in accordance with [[MOS:A&M]]. -->
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = novel
| author          = [[Baku Yumemakura]]
| publisher       = [[Shueisha]]
| published       = August 25, 2000
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
| type            = manga
| author          = Baku Yumemakura
| illustrator     = Takashi Noguchi
| publisher       = Shueisha
| demographic     = ''[[Seinen manga|Seinen]]''
| magazine        = [[Oh Super Jump]]
| first           = 2002
| last            = 2006
| volumes         = 10
| volume_list     = 
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Video
| type            = tv series
| director        = [[Tetsurō Araki]]
| producer        = Tarō Morishima
| writer          = Yoshinobu Fujioka<br>Tsutomu Shirado<br>Tetsuro Araki
| music           = [[Kiyoshi Yoshida]]
| studio          = [[Madhouse (company)|Madhouse]]
| licensee        = [[Sony Pictures Television]]
| network         = [[Animax]], [[Nippon BS Broadcasting|BS11]]
| first           = October 7, 2008
| last            = December 23, 2008
| episodes        = 12
| episode_list    = #Anime
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}
{{nihongo||黒塚|'''Kurozuka'''}} is a Japanese novel written by [[Baku Yumemakura]]. A manga adaptation was illustrated by {{ill|Takashi Noguchi|ja|野口賢}} and it was serialized in the [[seinen]] manga magazine ''[[Oh Super Jump]]'' starting in 2003 by [[Shueisha]] and ended in December 2006. An [[anime]] adaptation by [[Madhouse (company)|Madhouse]] was announced by Japanese anime television network [[Animax]] in May 2008<ref name="ann">{{cite web|last=Loo|first=Egan|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-05-01/sony-animax-to-produce-run-anime-of-kurozuka-manga|title=Sony's Animax to Produce, Run Anime of Kurozuka Manga|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=May 23, 2020|date=May 1, 2008}}</ref> and ran between October and December 2008, spanning a total of 12 episodes.

==Plot==
The series begins in 12th century Japan and centers on Kuro, a character based loosely on the legendary Japanese swordsman [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]]. Kuro and his servant, [[Benkei]], meet a beautiful and mysterious woman named Kuromitsu while on the run from Kuro's [[Minamoto no Yoritomo|elder brother]], who seeks his life. Kuromitsu and Kuro fall in love, but he soon discovers that she harbors a terrible secret: she is a [[Vampire|vampiric]] immortal. Following an attack by his pursuers, Kuro is badly injured and must imbibe Kuromitsu's blood to save his own life. Kuro is then betrayed and attacked by Benkei, who has been subverted by a shadowy organization called the Red Army, and Kuro's head is severed, which interferes with his transformation into a fully immortal being.

Kuro loses consciousness and wakes up centuries later in a post-apocalyptic, [[dystopia]]n Japan with his memories of the past century missing. The surviving citizens have fallen under constant oppression by the Red Army, and Kuro is quickly found and recruited by an underground [[revolution]]ary movement called Haniwa. The remaining episodes follow Kuro's fight with the Red Army and its host of elite warriors, who have been hunting Kuromitsu for her blood, believing it contains the secret to eternal life; focusing on Kuro's quest to find his inexplicably lost love.

In the first few episodes, the story shows Kuro's memories of travelling through the centuries with Kuromitsu with gaps in the recollection indicating lapses in his memory. The recollections show the past up until Kuromitsu goes missing.

The starting plot for the series is probably inspired by Kurozuka, a 1939 Japanese dance-drama, which features a man-eating ogress named Kuromitsu,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kabuki21.com/kurozuka.php|title=Kurozuka, from Kabuki World}}</ref> as well as the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

==Characters==
;{{nihongo|Kuro|クロウ|}}
:{{animevoices|[[Mamoru Miyano]]|[[Brad Swaile]]}}
;{{nihongo|Kuromitsu|黒蜜}}
:{{animevoices|[[Romi Park]]|[[Janyse Jaud]]}}
;{{nihongo|Benkei|弁慶}}
:{{animevoices|[[Jouji Nakata]]|[[Paul Dobson (actor)|Paul Dobson]]}}
;{{nihongo|Karuta|歌留多}}
:{{animevoices|[[Keiji Fujiwara]]|[[Trevor Devall]]}}
;{{nihongo|Kuon|久遠}}
:{{animevoices|[[Miyu Irino]]|[[Sam Vincent (voice actor)|Samuel Vincent]], [[Adrian Petriw]] (Kuon Prime)}}
;{{nihongo|Izana|居座魚}}
:{{animevoices|[[Kazuhiko Inoue]]|[[Michael Dobson (actor)|Michael Dobson]]}}
;{{nihongo|Saniwa|沙仁輪}}
:{{animevoices|[[Toshiko Fujita]]|[[Cathy Weseluck]]}}
;{{nihongo|Kurumasou|車僧}}
:{{animevoices|[[Banjō Ginga]]|[[Don Brown (voice actor)|Don Brown]]}}
;{{nihongo|Rai|ライ}}
:{{animevoices|[[Houko Kuwashima]]|[[Kelly Sheridan]]}}
;{{nihongo|Kagetsu|花月}}
:{{animevoices|[[Kaori Yamagata]]|[[Nicole Oliver]]}}
;{{nihongo|Tonba|トンバ}}
:{{animevoices|Ken Uo|Jason Simpson}}
;{{nihongo|Hasegawa|長谷川}}
:{{animevoices|[[Tōru Ōkawa]]|[[Kirby Morrow]]}}
;{{nihongo|Arashiyama|嵐山}}
:{{animevoices|[[Shin-ichiro Miki]]|[[Michael Adamthwaite]]}}
;{{nihongo|Man in Black|黒づくめの男}}
:{{animevoices|[[Junpei Takiguchi]]|Trevor Devall}}

==Media==
===Novel===
''Kurozuka'' was originally developed as a novel by Baku Yumemakura and it was first published by Shueisha on August 25, 2000.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-774479-5&mode=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020516191857/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-774479-5&mode=1<!-- https://www.webcitation.org/6lQhiYRQF?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020516191857/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-774479-5&mode=1 --> | archive-date=May 16, 2002 | script-title=ja:黒塚 | publisher=Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=ja}}</ref> Shueisha republished it in ''[[bunkoban]]'' format on February 20, 2003,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-747541-7&mode=1| title=黒塚 KUROZUKA | publisher=Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=Japanese<!-- archive: https://www.webcitation.org/6lQk7iRpH?url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-747541-7&mode=1 -->}}</ref> and in digital format on November 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://ebooks.shueisha.co.jp/detail.php?book=sb946142 | title=黒塚 KUROZUKA | publisher=e!Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=ja}}</ref>

===Manga===
The ''Kurozuka'' manga was adapted from the original novel by author Baku Yumemakura and was illustrated by Takashi Noguchi. Serialized in Shueisha's ''[[Oh Super Jump]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url=http://sj.shueisha.co.jp/contents/ohsj/index.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030911092137/http://sj.shueisha.co.jp/contents/ohsj/index.html<!-- https://www.webcitation.org/6lQkczhgZ?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030911092137/http://sj.shueisha.co.jp/contents/ohsj/index.html --> | archive-date=September 11, 2003 | script-title=ja:オースーパージャンプ最新号のみどころ | publisher=Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=ja}}</ref> the series spanned ten volumes. The first was released on January 6, 2003 and the last on December 4, 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859336-7&mode=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040525043437/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859336-7&mode=1<!-- https://www.webcitation.org/6lQl6vdVp?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040525043437/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859336-7&mode=1 --> | archive-date=May 25, 2004 | title=KUROZUKA—黒塚— 1 | publisher=Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859613-7&mode=1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222014948/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859613-7&mode=1<!-- https://www.webcitation.org/6lQlD2OpT?url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222014948/http://books.shueisha.co.jp/CGI/search/syousai_put.cgi?isbn_cd=4-08-859613-7&mode=1 --> | archive-date=December 22, 2006 | title=KUROZUKA—黒塚— 10 | publisher=Shueisha | access-date=October 21, 2016 | language=ja}}</ref>

===Anime===
The anime adaptation of Kurozuka is produced by [[Madhouse (company)|Madhouse]] and directed by [[Tetsurō Araki]], with Yoshinobu Fujioka, Tsutomu Shirado and Araki himself handling series composition, Masanori Shino designing the characters and [[Kiyoshi Yoshida]] composing the music.<ref name="ann"/> It began on October 7, 2008, on Animax.<ref name="ann"/> The opening theme is "Systematic People" by [[Hiroshi Kyono|Wagdug Futuristic Unity]] with [[Ryo Kawakita|Maximum the Ryokun]] of [[Maximum the Hormone]]. The closing theme is "Hanarebanare (ハナレバナレ)" by Shigi. The English dub was produced by [[Ocean Productions]], in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]], using their own studio actors.

{{Episode table
|background=#B1131B
|overall=
|title=
|director=
|writer=
|airdate=
|episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 1
| Title               = Adachigahara
| NativeTitle         = 安達原
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Miho Hirao
| WrittenBy           = Yoshinobu Fujioka
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|10|7}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro and Benkei, fleeing pursuers, seek refuge in the forest home of Kuromitsu. When Kuro falls ill, Benkei leaves to seek medicine. The pursuers attack Kuro and Kuromitsu, mortally wounding Kuro. Kuromitsu offers Kuro eternal life.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 2
| Title               = The Tomb of Karma
| TranslitTitle       = Innen-zuka
| NativeTitle         = 因縁塚
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Yūji Kumasawa
| WrittenBy           = Kengo Kaji
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|10|14}}
| ShortSummary        = A corrupt wandering samurai attacks Kuro and Kuromitsu in the town near her home and beheads Kuro. Kuromitsu kills the samurai and attaches Kuro's head to the samurai's body. In flashback, Kuro drinks Kuromitsu's blood, but before his transformation can complete, they are attacked by an enemy who has been hunting Kuromitsu for the secret to her immortality. Kuro is beheaded by Benkei, whom the enemy had recruited to be their new leader.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 3
| Title               = Asuka
| NativeTitle         = 明日香
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = [[Tomohiko Itō (director)|Tomohiko Itō]]
| WrittenBy           = Tsutomu Shirado
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|10|21}}
| ShortSummary        = Without any memory of how he got there, Kuro awakens in the forest in a post-apocalyptic world. Upon entering a crumbled city of Asuka in search of Kuromitsu, he meets Haniwa resistance member Karuta. The Red Imperial Army attacks the club fronting for the Haniwa HQ. Kuro attacks the Red Imperial Army when he recognizes their emblem as the same as those who hunted Kuromitsu.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 4
| Title               = Haniwa Man
| TranslitTitle       = Haniwa-jin
| NativeTitle         = 埴輪人
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Shinichi Masaki
| WrittenBy           = Osamu Morikawa
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|10|28}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro recovers from the fight with the Red Imperial Army at Rai's apartment. Rai takes Kuro to Izana, who claims he can reunite Kuro with Kuromitsu if Kuro joins the Haniwa rebels against the Red Imperial Army.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 5
| Title               = Saniwa
| NativeTitle         = 沙仁輪
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Ho Pyeon-gang
| WrittenBy           = Tsutomu Shirado
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|11|4}}
| ShortSummary        = The Haniwa take Kuro to meet the rebel leader, Saniwa. She promises to reunite him with Kuromitsu. The Red Imperial Army seeks Kuromitsu's blood to breed an army of enhanced soldiers.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 6
| Title               = Al-Qadr
| TranslitTitle       = Miitsu
| NativeTitle         = 御稜威
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Oyunamu<br>Miho Hirao
| WrittenBy           = Tsutomu Shirado
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|11|11}}
| ShortSummary        = Arashiyama and the Red Imperial Army attack Haniwa HQ and Saniwa's residence in search of Kuromitsu's blood.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 7
| Title               = Kagura Village
| TranslitTitle       = Kagura-mura
| NativeTitle         = 神楽村
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Yūsuke Onoda<br>Naoyasu Habu
| WrittenBy           = Osamu Morikawa
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|11|18}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro and the Haniwa travel to the underground village of Kagura, but discover the residents slaughtered and Kuromitsu gone.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 8
| Title               = The Ghost-Weep Vine
| TranslitTitle       = Kikoku-tsuta
| NativeTitle         = 鬼哭蔦
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Shinichi Masaki
| WrittenBy           = Kengo Kaji
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|11|25}}
| ShortSummary        = The Red Imperial sorceress Kagetsu tortures Saniwa to learn the whereabouts of Kuromitsu. Kuromitsu appears, kills Kagetsu, tells Kuro to go to the Red Imperial HQ, and disappears again. Saniwa dies.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 9
| Title               = Running the Gauntlet
| TranslitTitle       = Sōfūka
| NativeTitle         = 走風火
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = [[Takayuki Hirao]]
| WrittenBy           = Yoshinobu Fujioka
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|12|2}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro and the Haniwa travel to the Red Imperial HQ in Tokyo. Karuta dies.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 10
| Title               = The Castle of Mirage
| TranslitTitle       = Genei-jou
| NativeTitle         = 幻影城
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Masato Kitagawa
| WrittenBy           = Kengo Kaji
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|12|9}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro and Rai are captured by the Red Imperial Army. Kuon is revealed to be, among other things, a Red Imperial agent who infiltrated the Haniwa at Kuromitsu's command.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 11
| Title               = The Unending War
| TranslitTitle       = Ikusa Rinne
| NativeTitle         = 戦輪廻
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Yasushi Muroya
| WrittenBy           = Kengo Kaji
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|12|16}}
| ShortSummary        = Hasegawa plans to remove Kuro's head for his experiments. Kuro kills Hasegawa. Kuon kills Rai, then tells Kuro that Kuromitsu planned to use his body as Kuro's perfect new body. Kuro kills Kuon.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber       = 12
| Title               = The Black Tomb
| TranslitTitle       = Kuro no Tsuka
| NativeTitle         = 黒の塚
| NativeTitleLangCode = ja
| DirectedBy          = Tetsurō Araki
| WrittenBy           = Tsutomu Shirado
| OriginalAirDate     = {{Start date|2008|12|23}}
| ShortSummary        = Kuro confronts the Red Emperor, who is revealed to be Benkei, and kills him. Kuromitsu beheads Kuro and places his head on a new body. Kuro awakens in the forest, having lost his memory, and begins again his search for Kuromitsu.
| LineColor           = B1131B
}}
}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081017053806/http://animax.co.jp/feature/index.php?code=286909 Official Animax ''Kurozaka'' anime website] {{in lang|ja}}
* {{ann|manga|8024}}

{{Super Jump}}
{{Tetsurō Araki}}
{{Animax}}
{{Madhouse}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurozuka}}
[[Category:2000 Japanese novels]]
[[Category:Animax original programming]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Minamoto no Yoshitsune]]
[[Category:Japanese novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Madhouse (company)]]
[[Category:Post-apocalyptic anime and manga]]
[[Category:Romance anime and manga]]
[[Category:Seinen manga]]
[[Category:Shueisha books]]
[[Category:Shueisha franchises]]
[[Category:Shueisha manga]]
[[Category:Supernatural anime and manga]]
[[Category:Vampires in anime and manga]]
[[Category:Japanese vampire films]]
[[Category:Vampire novels]]