| Ja Kanji: | 夢幻紳士 |
| Ja Romaji: | Mugen Shinshi |
| Genre: | Mystery |
| Type: | manga |
| Mugen Shinshi | |
| Author: | Yosuke Takahashi |
| Publisher: | Asahi Sonorama |
| Magazine: | Manga Shonen |
| Demographic: | Shonen |
| First: | January 1981 |
| Last: | December 1982 |
| Volumes: | 1 |
| Type: | manga |
| Mugen Shinshi Bōken Katsugeki-hen | |
| Author: | Yosuke Takahashi |
| Publisher: | Tokuma Shoten |
| Magazine: | Betty |
| Demographic: | Shonen |
| First: | August 15, 1982 |
| Last: | October 18, 1990 |
| Volumes: | 10 |
| Type: | OVA |
| Mugen Shinshi Bōken Katsugeki-hen | |
| Director: | Hatsuki Tsuji |
| Producer: | Akio Wakana Tomoko Sato |
| Studio: | Gallop JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment |
| Released: | February 21, 1987 |
| Runtime: | 50 minutes |
| Type: | manga |
| Mugen Shinshi Kaiki-hen | |
| Author: | Yosuke Takahashi |
| Publisher: | Tokuma Shoten |
| Magazine: | Medium Shonen Captain |
| Demographic: | Shonen |
| First: | April 1982 |
| Last: | June 1991 |
| Volumes: | 1 |
| Type: | manga |
| Mugen Shinshi Mugen Gaiden | |
| Author: | Yosuke Takahashi |
| Publisher: | Asahi Sonorama |
| Magazine: | Nemuki |
| Demographic: | Shonen |
| First: | 1992 |
| Last: | 1996 |
| Volumes: | 3 |
| Type: | manga |
| Mugen Shinshi Gensho-hen/Oma-hen/Meikyu-hen | |
| Author: | Yosuke Takahashi |
| Publisher: | Hayakawa Shobo |
| Magazine: | Mystery Magazine |
| Demographic: | Shonen |
| First: | March 25, 2004 |
| Last: | February 15, 2007 |
| Volumes: | 3 |
| Type: | live film |
| The Dream Manipulator Mugen | |
| Director: | Misako Unakami |
| Studio: | Beach Walkers Collection |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
is a Japanese manga metaseries by Yosuke Takahashi. The story follows the adventures of Mamiya Mugen, a teenage detective from the Showa era Japan, retold in multiple alternate continuities. The second and main series was loosely adapted into an OVA in 1985, while a live action film The Dream Manipulator Mugen was released in 2021.[1] [2]
The first manga series introduces Mamiya Mugen, the child heir of a rich family that enjoys solving crimes for the Japanese police during the Showa era. Although young, he has telepathic powers and a keen intellect, and is helped by his faithful butler Alucard. Some of the cases he gets involved with are occult or supernatural in nature.
The series was revamped for the second manga publishing, Boken Katsugeki-hen, where the story remains almost the same, although containing more gags and humor. Mugen lacks any superpower now, and solves cases with the help of his butler Alucard and his love interest Atsuko. However, the shady story of his family intervenes as well, forcing him to confront his villainous father and aunt. This iteration of the series received an OVA whose story conflates and references several of the manga's chapters.
A much more serious, almost horror-oriented view of the series is given in its third continuity, Kaiki-hen, where Mugen is now a suave, distinguished ladies man in his twenties. He works mostly alone and meets a long string of lovers in his cases, but is helped by his spiritual powers and his mentor Professor Yokomizo. This style was kept in the work's fourth version, in which Mamiya has a different set of powers.
The last series is the trilogy Gensho-hen/Oma-hen/Meikyu-hen, in which Mugen is presented as a supernatural entity unrelated to humanity that fights monsters and demons.