Spirit Warrior | |
孔雀王 (Kujaku Ō) |
|
---|---|
Genre | Horror, Occultism |
Manga | |
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Weekly Young Jump |
Original run | 1985 – 1989 |
Volumes | 17 |
Original video animation | |
Directed by |
Ichiro Itano (epi. 1) Katsuhito Akiyama (epi. 2-3) Rintaro (epi. 4-5) |
Written by |
Sho Aikawa Leo Natsuki (epi. 1-3) Kazuhiro Inaba Tatsuhiko Urahata (epi. 4-5) |
Studio |
AIC (epi. 1-3) Madhouse (epi. 4-5) |
Licensed by | |
Released | 1988 – 1994 |
Runtime | 50 minutes (each) |
Episodes | 5 |
Live-action film | |
Peacock King 孔雀王 |
|
Directed by | Lam Ngai Kai |
Written by | Izō Hashimoto Kazuki Sekizumi |
Music by | Micky Yoshino |
Studio | Toho, Golden Harvest |
Released | December 10, 1988 |
Runtime | 96 minutes |
Manga | |
Kujaku Ō: Taimaseiden 孔雀王 退魔聖伝 |
|
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Young Jump |
Original run | 1990 – 1992 |
Volumes | 11 |
Live-action film | |
Saga of the Phoenix 孔雀王アシュラ伝説 |
|
Directed by | Lam Ngai Kai |
Written by | Hirohisa Soda |
Music by | Philip Chan Fei-Lit |
Studio | Toho, Golden Harvest |
Released | 1990 |
Runtime | 93 minutes |
Manga | |
Kujaku Ō: Magarigamiki 孔雀王 曲神紀 |
|
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shueisha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Young Jump |
Original run | 2006 – 2010 |
Volumes | 12 |
Manga | |
Kujaku Ō Rising 孔雀王ライジング |
|
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Shogakukan |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Monthly Big Comic Spirits |
Original run | 2012 – present |
Volumes | 6 |
Manga | |
Kujaku Ō: Sengoku Tensei 孔雀王-戦国転生- |
|
Written by | Makoto Ogino |
Published by | Leed |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Comic Ran Twins |
Original run | 2012 – present |
Volumes | 2 |
Spirit Warrior, known in Japan as Kujaku-Oh (孔雀王? Kujaku Ō, lit. Peacock King), is a manga by Makoto Ogino. It began serialization in 1985, total 17 volumes and has been spun off into anime, two live action movies, Peacock King and Saga of the Phoenix, and video games.
Kujaku is a Buddhist monk who specializes in exorcism and devil hunting. He is a member of Ura-Kouya, a secret organization in Japan that specializes in demon hunting. In the first 3 volumes, Ogino wrote independent short stories about Kujaku's demon hunting. But in volume 4, it evolves into an epic saga against Rikudoshu (六道衆), a secret evil organization led by The Teachers of Eight Leaves (八葉の老師). The goal of The Teachers of Eight Leaves is to revive Peacock King and Snake Queen, and allow them to fight each other to give birth to the ultimate Dark Vairocana (闇の大日如来). During the main story, The Teachers of Eight Leaves tried various methods to achieve their goal but were ultimately defeated by Kujaku and his friends.
Makoto Ogino used many religious references in Peacock king, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism. The Bible is referenced multiple times, including Jesus, The Holy Grail, Satan, 666, Lucifer. In the manga, the Holy Grail is the skull of Jesus Christ, if it is filled with blood from Peacock King or Snake Queen, it would give birth to the dark Buddha. In Christianity, the general belief is Lucifer the fallen Angel became Satan. Lucifer, Peacock King and Snake King were fallen angels. Satan was reincarnated by another demon hunter from Ura-Koya, named Hōō.
The manga has been adapted into two live action films, Peacock King and Saga of the Phoenix, both directed by Lam Ngai Kai. The former, released in 1988, stars Hiroshi Mikami and Yuen Biao as the two monks (Kujaku/Small Fruit and a new character Kông Chùe/Peacock, respectively), and Gloria Yip as Ashura. Gordon Liu and Philip Kwok appear in supporting roles.