Star of the Giants

Star of the Giants
Cover of the first volume of Kyojin no Hoshi, as published in Japan by Kodansha
巨人の星
(Kyojin no Hoshi)
Genre Sport (Baseball)
Manga
Written by Ikki Kajiwara
Illustrated by Noboru Kawasaki
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 1966 – 1971
Volumes 19
Anime television series
Directed by Tadao Nagahama (director)
Daikichiro Kusube (animation director)
Studio Tokyo Movie
Original network Yomiuri Television
Original run March 30, 1968 – September 18, 1971
Episodes 182
Anime film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Chizome no Kesshousen
Studio Tokyo Movie
Released July 26, 1969
Runtime 90 minutes
Anime film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Ike Ike Hyūma
Studio Tokyo Movie
Released December 20, 1969
Runtime 70 minutes
Anime film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Dai League Ball
Studio Tokyo Movie
Released March 21, 1970
Runtime 70 minutes
Anime film
Kyojin no Hoshi: Shukumei no Taiketsu
Studio Tokyo Movie
Released August 1, 1970
Runtime 60 minutes
Anime television series
Shin Kyojin no Hoshi
Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Original network Yomiuri Television
Original run October 1, 1977 – September 30, 1978
Episodes 52
Anime television series
Shin Kyojin no Hoshi II
Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Original network Yomiuri Television
Original run April 14, 1979 – September 29, 1979
Episodes 23
Anime film
Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Released August 21, 1982
Runtime 110 minutes

Star of the Giants (Japanese: 巨人の星, Hepburn: Kyojin no Hoshi) is a Japanese sports manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Noboru Kawasaki. It was adapted as the first sports anime television series broadcast in Japan, in 1968.[1] It later spawned two anime sequels and different anime movies.The anime was ranked #15 on TV Asahi's Top 100 Anime.[2]

The manga appeared in Weekly Shōnen Magazine 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.

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. His father was once a 3rd baseman until he was injured in World War II and was forced to retire. 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, he would have to take out his best pitching magic to step up to the challenge.

Characters

Adaptations

Anime

Staff

DVD

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

Movies

The first Star of the Giants movie was debuted in 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 Giants vs Mighty Atoms TV special reached the U.S and was renamed to Astro Boy vs. the Giants.[1]

Japanese Name English Name Release Date Type Run time
巨人の星Star of Giants the movie1969movie90 mins
Star of Giants vs the Mighty Atom1969TV special30 mins
巨人の星 行け行け飛雄馬Star of Giants: Ike Ike HyumaDecember 20, 1969movie75 mins
巨人の星 大リーグボールStar of Giants: Big League Ball1970movie70 mins
巨人の星 宿命の対決Star of Giants: Shukumei no Taiketsu1970movie60 mins
新巨人の星New Star of Giants1977series52 Episodes
新巨人の星New Star of Giants the movie1977movie
新巨人の星IINew Star of Giants II1979series23 Episodes
Stars of Giants Special Edition: Fierce Tiger Mitsuru Hanagata2002series13 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.

Impact

  • 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 Suraj: The Rising Star where cricket was substituted for baseball.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Clements, Jonathan. McCarthy Helen. [2006] (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia: Revised & Expanded Edition. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5.
  2. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime Part 2". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  3. ↑ Correspondent, A (3 December 2012). "Colors to air Japanese 'anime' remake from Dec 23". MxM India. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
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