Star of the Giants explained

Ja Kanji:巨人の星
Ja Romaji:Kyojin no Hoshi
Genre:Sports
Type:manga
Author:Ikki Kajiwara
Illustrator:Noboru Kawasaki
Publisher:Kodansha
Demographic:Shōnen
Magazine:Weekly Shōnen Magazine
First:1966
Last:1971
Volumes:19
Type:tv series
Director:Tadao Nagahama
Studio:Tokyo Movie
Network:YTV
First:March 30, 1968
Last:September 18, 1971
Episodes:182
Type:film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Chizome no Kesshōusen
Studio:Tokyo Movie
Released:July 26, 1969
Runtime:90 minutes
Type:film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Ike Ike Hyūma
Studio:Tokyo Movie
Released:December 20, 1969
Runtime:70 minutes
Type:film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Dai League Ball
Studio:Tokyo Movie
Released:March 21, 1970
Runtime:70 minutes
Type:film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Shukumei no Taiketsu
Studio:Tokyo Movie
Released:August 1, 1970
Runtime:60 minutes
Type:tv series
Shin Kyojin no Hoshi
Studio:Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Network:NNS (YTV)
First:October 1, 1977
Last:September 30, 1978
Episodes:52
Type:tv series
Shin Kyojin no Hoshi II
Studio:Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Network:NNS (YTV)
First:April 14, 1979
Last:September 29, 1979
Episodes:23
Type:film
Studio:Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Released:August 21, 1982
Runtime:110 minutes

is a Japanese sports manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Noboru Kawasaki. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1966 to 1971. It is about the actual baseball team Yomiuri Giants using fictional characters. It was launched by the "Yomiuri Group" which at the time owned not only the actual baseball team, but the TV network Nippon Television, the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, as well as Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation. It was adapted into an anime television series broadcast in Japan in 1968. It later spawned two anime sequels and different anime movies. In total there were episodes.

Story

The story is about Hyūma Hoshi, a promising young baseball pitcher who dreams of becoming a top star like his father Ittetsu Hoshi in the professional Japanese league. Ittetsu was once a 3rd baseman until he was injured in World War II and was forced to retire; now an impoverished and bitter widower, he's raised Hyūma and his older sister Akiko in a very severe environment. The boy would join the ever popular Giants team, and soon he realized the difficulty of managing the high expectations. From the grueling training to battling the rival Mitsuru Hanagata in the Hanshin Tigers, Hyūma would have to take out his best pitching magic to step up to the challenge.

Characters

Tadashi Nakamura

Teiji Ōmiya

Media

Anime

Beginning in 2001, the series was re-released on DVD format. In June 2013, a five set Blu-ray release was released.

Films

The first Star of the Giants movie debuted on July 26, 1969, as part of the vacation anime festival on large screen theatres in color. The draw was that most people had black and white TVs at the time. The Star of the Giants vs. Mighty Atom TV special reached the United States and was renamed to Astro Boy vs. the Giants.[1]

width=25% Japanese Namewidth=30% English Namewidth=10% Release Datewidth=10% Typewidth=10% Run time
Star of the Giants vs. Mighty Atom June 9, 1969 TV special 30 mins
巨人の星 Star of Giants: The Movie July 26, 1969 movie 90 mins
巨人の星 行け行け飛雄馬 Star of Giants: Ike Ike Hyuma December 20, 1969 movie 75 mins
巨人の星 大リーグボール Star of Giants: Big League Ball March 21, 1970 movie 70 mins
巨人の星 宿命の対決 Star of Giants: Shukumei no Taiketsu August 1, 1970 movie 60 mins
新巨人の星 New Star of Giants October 1, 1977 series 52 episodes
新巨人の星 New Star of Giants: The Movie December 1, 1977 movie
新巨人の星II New Star of Giants II April 14, 1979 series 23 episodes
Stars of Giants Special Edition: Fierce Tiger Mitsuru Hanagata October 23, 2002 OVA 13 episodes

Video games

Kyojin no Hoshi (The Anime Super Remix) was released for the PlayStation 2 by Capcom on June 20, 2002. There were also a number of other games on the same platform.

Reception and legacy

On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Star of the Giants ranked 38th.[2]

The anime series ranked fifteenth on TV Asahi's Top 100 Anime 2005 poll.[3]

Professional baseball player Ichiro Suzuki used Star of Giants as a reference to his grueling childhood baseball training. The anime was remade in India in 2012 as where cricket was substituted for baseball.[4] Episode 18 of Kyatto Ninden Teyandee (dubbed and released in North America as Samurai Pizza Cats) includes a pitcher named Puma Pochi, voiced by Tōru Furuya, as a direct parody of Hyūma Hoshi. In English, the character is renamed Fernando Curtainzuela.[5]

References

Book: Whiting, Robert. The Meaning of Ichiro. 2009. Grand Central Publishing. 9780446565226.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Clements, Jonathan. McCarthy Helen. [2006] (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised & Expanded Edition. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. .
  2. Web site: ja:テレビ朝日『国民15万人がガチで投票!漫画総選挙』ランキング結果まとめ! 栄えある1位に輝く漫画は!?. https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1609599746&p=2. animate Times. Animate. January 3, 2021. https://archive.today/20210103111919/https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1609599746&p=2. January 3, 2021. ja. January 3, 2021. live.
  3. News: Macdonald. Christopher. TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2. Anime News Network. November 1, 2016. September 23, 2005.
  4. Web site: Colors to air Japanese 'anime' remake from Dec 23. Correspondent. A. 3 December 2012. MxM India. 20 October 2016.
  5. Book: Tatsunoko Production. Samurai Pizza Cats Official Fanbook. January 2019. 56. Udon Entertainment. 978-1-77294-038-1.