Sangokushi (三国志) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the 14th century Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was adapted into an anime television called Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi (横山光輝 三国志).

Sangokushi
Cover of the tankōbon volume 60, featuring Jiang Wei
三国志
Manga
Written byMitsuteru Yokoyama
Published byUshio Shuppansha
MagazineComic Tom
DemographicShōnen
Original run19711987
Volumes60
Anime television series
Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi
Directed bySeiji Okuda
Produced byHiroyuki Yano
Kenji Yoshida
Mutsuo Shimizu
Written byAkihiro Arajima
Jinzō Toriumi
Koichi Mizuide
Saburo Ebinuma
StudioDai Nippon Printing
Original networkTXN (TV Tokyo)
Original run October 18, 1991 September 25, 1992
Episodes47

As of May 2020, the manga series had sold over 80 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

Characters

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Shu Han

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An original character in the manga. She was a daughter of Hong family, who Zhang Fei served. When Liu Bei escaped from the Yellow Turban, he saved her. Meeting Liu Bei and falling in love with him from his younger day, that makes her based on Lady Gan.
An original character in the anime, she was Liu Bei's apprentice who grew up to be his wife. She died of her injuries during the Battle of Changban, this makes her based on Lady Mi.

Cao Wei

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Although his name should be Xiahou Dun (夏侯惇), both the anime and the manga named him Xiahou Chun (夏侯淳).

Sun Wu

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Others

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Media

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Manga

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The manga was first serialized in the Kibō no Tomo magazine, which changed its name to Comic World in 1978, and then to Comic Tom in 1980.

Although Eiji Yoshikawa only wrote the story up to Zhuge Liang's death in the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, the manga continued until the fall of Shu Han.

With this manga, Mitsuteru Yokoyama won the 1991 Japanese Cartoonist Association Award for Excellence.[1]

Anime

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The anime was largely faithful to the manga, though it centered mainly on the camps of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, often minimizing the scenes of other camps. The anime stopped after the Battle of Red Cliffs, which is about the midway through the manga series.

Theme songs

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  • Opening
    • "River of Time" (時の河, Toki no Kawa) by Fence of Defense
    • "Don't Look Back" by Fence of Defense
  • Ending
    • "Sky" (, Sora) by Mimori Yusa
    • "Standing Alone" by Fence of Defense

Reception

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By May 2020, the manga series had sold over 80 million copies in circulation.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "List of recipients of the Japanese Cartoonist Association Awards" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  2. ^ スマホアプリ『三国志ロワイヤル』が横山光輝「三国志」と再びコラボ!. ASCII Games (in Japanese). May 26, 2020. Archived from the original on August 31, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
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