Skull Man | |
Logo for the 2007 anime series
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スカルマン (Sukaru Man) |
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Genre | Action, Mystery |
Manga | |
Written by | Shotaro Ishinomori |
Published by | Kodansha |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
Published | January 1970 |
Manga | |
Written by | Kazuhiko Shimamoto |
Published by | Media Factory |
English publisher | |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Monthly Comic Alive |
Original run | April 7, 1998 – May 2001 |
Volumes | 7 |
Live-action television film | |
Directed by | Makoto Yokoyama |
Original network | Fuji TV |
Released | April 21, 2007 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Takeshi Mori |
Produced by | Kōji Yamamoto |
Written by | Hiroshi Ohnogi (ep. 3–4, 8, 11) Seishi Minakami (ep. 2, 5, 7, 12) Shingo Takeba (ep. 10) Yutaka Izubuchi (ep. 1, 6, 9, 13) |
Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
Studio | Bones |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Fuji TV |
English network | |
Original run | April 28, 2007 – July 22, 2007 |
Episodes | 13 |
Manga | |
Written by | Shotaro Ishinomori |
Illustrated by | Meimu |
Published by | Kodansha |
Demographic | Seinen |
Magazine | Magazine Z |
Original run | May 2, 2007 – October 24, 2007 |
Volumes | 2 |
Skull Man (Japanese: スカルマン Hepburn: Sukaru Man?) is a shōnen manga series created by Shotaro Ishinomori which first appeared in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 1970 and immediately caused a sensation. The hero of the story, whose parents have been murdered, grows up to use his peculiar powers to take revenge. The original Skull Man was one of the first antiheroes to be seen in manga, someone who would sacrifice the lives of innocents in his quest for vengeance. This darkness was what made the Skull Man so magnetic and successful.
While developing the Kamen Rider (Masked Rider) TV series along with producer Toru Hirayama, Ishinomori created this manga as his own personal version, which the producers at Toei Company Ltd. used as the basis for the show. They made several changes to the content, as Ishinomori's original 100-page one-shot story was too dark and gruesome (even cerebral) for a children's show.
In the late 1990s, after he had fallen ill, Ishinomori contacted manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto to do a remake (ambiguously a continuation) of his original one-shot manga. This remake boasted an extensive, continuing storyline and more complex artwork (along with a tribute to Ishinomori in the final issue, with several of his famous characters gathered together). This was the manga that was presented in the US by Tokyopop. The original 1970 version was digitally released in English by Ishimori productions in 2012. An animated TV series adaptation, produced by Bones and directed by Takeshi Mori, was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 28, 2007 to July 22, 2007.