The Seven Deadly Sins (manga)

Written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki, The Seven Deadly Sins began as a one-shot pilot chapter published on November 22, 2011 in Weekly Shōnen Magazine's 52 issue of the year.[3] The manga started serialization in the magazine's 45 issue of 2012, released on October 10, 2012.[4] The chapters have been collected into 40 tankōbon volumes as of February 17, 2020.[5] The first of three planned story arcs was completed with chapter 100 and Suzuki has originally projected that the series would run for 20 to 30 volumes.[6] The series is licensed for English language release in North America by Kodansha USA, who published the first volume on March 11, 2014.[7][8] In February 2020, Suzuki posted on his Twitter account that the manga has "one more volume left" after volume 40.[9] Suzuki has mentioned in an afterword that side stories are also planned for based on the remaining characters.[10] The manga finished on March 25, 2020.[11] As the series is published in Japan, it is also released simultaneously in English digitally by Crunchyroll in over 170 countries.[12][13]

A special issue of Weekly Shōnen Magazine, published on October 19, 2013, featured a small crossover between The Seven Deadly Sins and Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail, where each artist drew a yonkoma (four-panel comic) of the other's series.[14] An actual crossover chapter between the two ran in the magazine's combined 4/5 issue of 2014, which was released on December 25, 2013.[15] Nakaba wrote a one-shot for the November 2014 issue of the shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi, released on October 3, 2014.[16] He also created a comedic one-shot depicting how Meliodas and Hawk first met that ran in the October 20, 2014 issue of Magazine Special.[17] From February 24 to May 10, 2015, two more spin-off manga by Nakaba were available on the smartphone and tablet application Manga Box. Naku na, Tomo yo (泣くな 友よ, "Do Not Cry, My Friend") is about Hendrickson and Dreyfus' younger years, while Gilthunder no Shinjitsu (ギルサンダーの真実, "Gilthunder's Truth") is set after the Vaizel Fight Festival arc and follows Gilthunder.[18] An original 40-page manga by Nakaba Suzuki will be distributed during screenings of The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky movie.[19]

A comedic spin-off series by Juichi Yamaki, titled Mayoe! The Seven Deadly Sins Academy! (迷え！七つの大罪学園！, Mayoe! Nanatsu no Taizai Gakuen!) and imagining the characters as high school students, ran in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from August 9, 2014 to October 8, 2016.[20][21] It was collected into four tankōbon volumes. The Seven Deadly Sins Production (七つの大罪プロダクション, Nanatsu no Taizai Purodakushon), a comedic spin-off by Chiemi Sakamoto that imagines the characters as actors performing in a live-action TV show, ran in Aria from November 28, 2015 to October 28, 2017.[22][23] It was collected into four tankōbon volumes.

A comedic yonkoma titled The Seven Deadly Sins: King's Road to Manga (七つの大罪 キングの漫画道, Nanatsu no Taizai Kingu no Manga Michi) and written by Masataka Ono that depicts King as an aspiring manga artist, began on February 20, 2016 in Magazine Special before transferring to the Manga Box app on February 1, 2017 and ending later that year.[24][25] Its chapters were collected into three tankōbon volumes. A manga adaptation of Mamoru Iwasa's novel Seven Days was serialized in Shōnen Magazine Edge from January 17 to September 2017 and shows how Ban and Elaine met in more detail. It is illustrated by Yō Kokukuji, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days ~The Thief and the Holy Girl~ (七つの大罪 セブンデイズ～盗賊と聖少女～, Nanatsu no Taizai: Sebun Deizu ~Tōzoku to Seishōjo~) and was collected into two tankōbon volumes.[26]

In April 2014, the 20th issue of Weekly Shōnen Magazine announced that The Seven Deadly Sins was being adapted into an anime television series.[27][28] The series debuted on MBS and other Japan News Network stations on October 5, 2014.[29][30] The staff was revealed in the combined 36/37 issue of the year: created by A-1 Pictures, directed by Tensai Okamura, written by Shōtarō Suga, with Keigo Sasaki providing character designs, and Hiroyuki Sawano composing the music.[31] The show's first opening theme song is "Netsujō no Spectrum" (熱情のスペクトラム, Netsujō no Supekutoramu, "Spectrum of Passion") performed by Ikimono-gakari for the first twelve episodes and the second opening theme is "Seven Deadly Sins" performed by Man with a Mission, while the first ending theme titled "7-Seven" is a collaboration between Flow and Granrodeo, the second ending theme from episode thirteen onwards is "Season" the major label debut of Alisa Takigawa.[32][33]

A second anime series was confirmed on September 27, 2015 to air in 2016.[34] This turned out to be a four-week anime television special featuring an original story by Nakaba Suzuki, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of Holy War (七つの大罪 聖戦の予兆, Nanatsu no Taizai: Seisen no Shirushi), that began airing on August 28, 2016 on MBS and TBS.[35] The special was produced by A-1 Pictures, directed by Tomokazu Tokoro, and written by Yuniko Ayana and Yuichiro Kido, featuring character designs by Keigo Sasaki. The music was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano and Takafumi Wada.[36] Its opening theme song is "Classic" by the rock band Mucc and its ending theme is "Iroasenai Hitomi" (色褪せない瞳) by Alisa Takigawa.[37] A commercial following the final episode confirmed a second anime series has been green-lit.[38]

The first Seven Deadly Sins anime series was licensed for English release by Netflix as its second exclusive anime, following their acquisition of Knights of Sidonia.[39] All 24 episodes were released on November 1, 2015 in both subtitled or English dub formats. The Signs of Holy War arc, labeled as "Season 2", has also been licensed by Netflix and was released on February 17, 2017.[40] On February 14, 2017, Funimation announced that they acquired the first anime for home video distribution for US and Canada and released the series on Blu-ray and DVD later in the year.[41] Part One of the first season was released on Blu-Ray on May 15th, 2017 with Part Two being released June 20th the same year.[42][43] The complete entirety of the first season was released on August 14th, 2018.[44] Madman Entertainment is importing Funimation's release into Australia and New Zealand, with a release scheduled for January 2019.[45]

A second season, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments (七つの大罪 戒めの復活, Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu), was announced at the "Nanatsu no Taizai FES" event in July 2017 and premiered on January 13, 2018. Takeshi Furuta and Takao Yoshioka replaced Tensai Okamura and Shōtarō Suga as director and series composer, respectively, while the other main staff members returned from the first season to reprise their roles.[46] The Revival of the Commandments arc, labeled as "Season 3", was released on October 15, 2018 on Netflix.[47] The first opening theme song of the series titled "Howling" is a collaboration between Flow and Granrodeo, and first ending theme song is "Beautiful" performed by Anly. The second opening theme titled "Ame ga Furu kara, Niji ga Deru"(雨が降るから虹が出る) by Sky Peace and second ending theme titled "Chikai"(誓い) by Sora Amamiya.

A third season, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath of the Gods (七つの大罪 神々の逆鱗, Nanatsu no Taizai: Kamigami no Gekirin) premiered on October 9, 2019 on TV Tokyo and BS TV Tokyo.[48][49] The new season will be headed towards the story's climax. The third season is animated by Studio Deen with Susumu Nishizawa and Rintarō Ikeda replacing Takeshi Furuta and Takao Yoshioka as director and series composer, respectively. Hiroyuki Sawano, Kohta Yamamoto, and Takafumi Wada are returning to reprise their roles as the music composers.[50][51] The first opening theme song is "ROB THE FRONTIER" by Uverworld, and the first ending theme song is "Regeneration" by Sora Amamiya.[52] The second opening theme song is "delete" by SID and the second ending theme is "Good day" by Kana Adachi.[53]　

A fourth season, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Anger's Judgement (七つの大罪 憤怒の審判, Nanatsu no Taizai: Fundo no Shinpan) was slated to premiere in October 2020 on TV Tokyo and BS TV Tokyo, with the main cast members reprising their roles.[54][55] However, it has been delayed due to COVID-19.[56]

An original video animation (OVA) titled "Ban's Additional Chapter" (バンの番外編, Ban no Bangai-hen) was included with the limited edition of volume 15 of the manga, released on June 17, 2015.[57] A second OVA composed of nine humorous shorts was shipped with the limited edition of the sixteenth volume of the manga, released on August 12, 2015.[58]

An anime film,[59] titled The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky (劇場版 七つの大罪 天空の囚われ人, Gekijō-ban Nanatsu no Taizai Tenkū no Torawarebito), premiered in Japanese theaters on August 18, 2018. It is directed by Yasuto Nishikata and written by Makoto Uezu, featuring an original story by Nakaba Suzuki and Noriyuki Abe serving as chief director. The other main staff members returned from the anime series to reprise their roles in the film.[60] The movie features three original characters called Sorada (voiced by Tsubasa Yonaga), Elatte (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu), and Bellion (voiced by Toshiyuki Morikawa).[61] It was released later by Netflix in all regions on December 31, 2018.[62]

A video game titled Seven Deadly Sins: Unjust Sin (七つの大罪 真実の冤罪, Nanatsu no Taizai Shinjitsu no Enzai) was developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment and released for the Nintendo 3DS on February 11, 2015.[32] A game titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia (七つの大罪 ブリタニアの旅人, Nanatsu no Taizai: Buritania no Tabibito) was developed by Bandai Namco for the PlayStation 4.[63] It was released in North America and Europe on February 9, 2018.[64][65] A mobile game titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross of Light and Darkness (七つの大罪 光と闇の交戦, Nanatsu no Taizai Hikari to Yami no Gurando Kurosu) was developed by Netmarble and released in Japan and Korea in June 4, 2019. On March 3, the game was released globally for Android and iOS[66].

Four light novels based on The Seven Deadly Sins have been published; The Seven Deadly Sins -Gaiden- The Seven Wishes of the Royal City from Old Times (七つの大罪　―外伝―　昔日の王都　七つの願い, Nanatsu no Taizai -Gaiden- Sekijitsu no Ōto Nanatsu no Negai) by Shuka Matsuda on December 17, 2014; The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Days (七つの大罪　セブンデイズ, Nanatsu no Taizai Sebun Deizu) by Mamoru Iwasa on December 26, 2014; The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven Scars They Left Behind (七つの大罪　―外伝―　彼らが残した七つの傷跡, Nanatsu no Taizai -Gaiden- Karera ga Nokoshita Nanatsu no Kizuato) by Shuka Matsuda on October 16, 2015; and The Seven Deadly Sins: Seven-Colored Recollections (七つの大罪 ―外伝― 七色の追憶, Nanatsu no Taizai -Gaiden- Nanairo no Tsuioku) by Shuka Matsuda on October 17, 2016.[67][68][69][70] Vertical released Seven Scars They Left Behind in North America in May 2017,[71] with Seven-Colored Recollections set to follow in March 2018.

An illustration collection titled Rainbow of Sin (七色の罪, Nanairo no Tsumi) and an official fan book were both released on February 17, 2015,[72][73] while a guidebook for the anime called Ani-Sin (アニ罪, Ani-Tsumi) was released on April 17, 2015.[74]

A stage play adaptation, The Seven Deadly Sins The Stage (七つの大罪 The STAGE, Nanatsu no Taizai The Stage), was performed in August 2018.[75][76] A second stage play, The Seven Deadly Sins Stage Play: The Treacherous Great Holy Knights (七つの大罪 The STAGE －裏切りの聖騎士長－, Nanatsu no Taizai The Stage -Uragiri no Seikishi-chō-) was announced on the official website to be performed on June 2020.[77] The performance has been cancelled due to Coronavirirus.[76]

As of August 2014, the collected volumes of The Seven Deadly Sins had 5 million copies in circulation.[32] By January 2015, this number had grown to 10 million sold.[83] As of June 2018, the series has 28 million copies in circulation,[84] and over 30 million copies in circulation as of December 2018.[85] The first collected volume of the series sold 38,581 copies in its first week, ranking number 13 on the Oricon manga chart.[86] Its second volume ranked 5 selling 106,829 in its first week,[87] while its third debuted at number 4 with 135,164 copies.[88] The thirteenth volume had the manga's best debut week to date, selling 442,492 for first place on the chart.[89] The series was the ninth best-selling manga of 2014, with over 4.6 million copies sold that year.[90] For the first half of 2015, The Seven Deadly Sins was the number one best-selling series.[91] It finished the year in second place with over 10.3 million copies sold, behind only One Piece.[92] It was the sixth best-selling of 2016, with over 5 million copies sold, and the seventh of 2017, with close to 3.6 million copies sold.[93][94]

The North American releases of volumes two and four charted on The New York Times Manga Best Seller list at number seven and nine respectively.[95][96]

The first DVD volume of the anime debuted at number one on Oricon's Japanese animation DVD chart with 3,574 copies sold.[97] With 32,762 copies sold of the five volumes released at the time, The Seven Deadly Sins was the 30th best-selling anime of the first half of 2015.[98]

The novel The Seven Deadly Sins -Gaiden- Sekijitsu no Ōto Nanatsu no Negai was the 33rd best-selling light novel of the first half of 2015, with 61,939 copies sold.[99]

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network (ANN) gave the first volume a B grade, calling the art interesting and the story a "neat take on the basic knights-in-shining-armor." She saw influence from Akira Toriyama in Meliodas and 1970s shōjo manga in the female characters. However, Silverman felt the art had issues with perspective and commented that Elizabeth lacked character development.[100] Both Silverman and Danica Davidson of Otaku USA warned that Meliodas' perverted actions towards Elizabeth, which are used for comedic relief, could possibly be misinterpreted by some readers.[100][101] In a brief review, Jason Thompson claimed that the series follows common shōnen manga elements, making its plot twists and dialog predictable. He did however like the art and the series' European setting.[102]

Reviewing the first anime for ANN, Theron Martin felt that the series has a slow start with generic shōnen action fare but the storytelling picks up significantly in the second half. He had strong praise for the music and enjoyed the main cast and their interactions, but not the common archetypal villains. Martin noted that the art has a "semi-cartoonish look" that one would expect in a series that "skews a bit younger," but The Seven Deadly Sins' graphic violence and minimal fan service prove its "anything but a kiddie show."[103]