(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
Sōten Kōro - Wikipedia
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Sōten Kōro

Sōten Kōro (蒼天そうてん航路こうろ, lit. 'Blue Sky Route'), also known as Beyond the Heavens,[2] is a Japanese manga series by Hagin Yi and King Gonta. It started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Morning in 1994. Following Hagin Yi's death in 1998, King Gonta continued the manga alone, until its conclusion in 2005. Its chapters were collected in thirty-six tankōbon volumes.

Sōten Kōro
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Cao Cao
蒼天そうてん航路こうろ
Genre
Manga
Written by
  • Hagin Yi (1994–1998)
  • King Gonta (1998–2005)
Illustrated byKing Gonta
Published byKodansha
MagazineMorning
DemographicSeinen
Original run1994 – 2005
Volumes36 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by
Produced by
  • Toshio Nakatani
  • Manabu Tamura
Written byHideo Takayashiki
Music byShūsei Murai
StudioMadhouse
Original networkNippon TV
Original run April 8, 2009 – September 30, 2009
Episodes26

A twenty-six episode anime television series adaptation by Madhouse was broadcast on Nippon TV from April to September 2009.

As of February 2017, the manga had over 18 million copies in circulation. In 1998, Sōten Kōro won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.

Story

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Sōten Kōro's story is based loosely on the events taking place in Three Kingdoms period of China during the life of the last chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, Cao Cao (155 – March 15, 220), who also serves as the main character.

The Three Kingdoms period has been a popular theme in Japanese manga for decades, but Sōten Kōro differs greatly from most of the others on several points. One significant difference is its highly positive portrayal of its main character, Cao Cao, who is traditionally the antagonist in not only Japanese manga, but also most novel versions of the Three Kingdoms period, including the original 14th-century version, Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. Another significant difference from others is that the storyline primarily uses the original historical account of the era, Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou, as a reference rather than the aforementioned Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. By this, the traditional hero of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei, takes on relatively less importance within the story and is portrayed in a less positive light. Yet, several aspects of the story are in fact based on the novel version, including the employment of its original characters such as Diao Chan, as well as anachronistic weapons such as Guan Yu’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Zhang Fei’s Viper Spear.

A consistent theme throughout the story is Cao Cao's perpetual desire to break China and its people away from its old systems and ways of thinking and initiate a focus on pragmatism over empty ideals. This often puts him at odds with the prevalent customs and notions of Confucianism and those that support them.

Characters

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Cao Cao (曹操そうそう, Sō Sō)
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
Liu Bei (劉りゅう備, Ryū Bi)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
Xiahou Dun (夏なつ侯ほう惇あつし, Kakō Ton)
Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao
Xiahou Yuan (夏なつ侯ほう淵ふかし, Kakō En)
Voiced by: Tetsu Inada
Cao Ren (曹仁, Sō Jin)
Voiced by: Isshin Chiba
Cao Hong (曹洪, Sō Kō)
Voiced by: Hisao Egawa
Yuan Shao (袁紹, En Shō)
Voiced by: Masaki Terasoma
Guan Yu (関せき羽はね, Kan U)
Voiced by: Ken'ichi Morozumi
Zhang Fei (張ちょう飛ひ, Chō Hi)
Voiced by: Takaaki Seki
Cao Teng (曹騰, Sō Tō)
Voiced by: Nachi Nozawa
Cao Song (曹嵩, Sō Sū)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka
Dong Zhuo (董ただし卓たく, Tō Taku)
Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka
Zhang Rang (張ちょう譲ゆずる, Chō Jō)
Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto
Emperor Ling of Han (霊れい帝みかど, Reitei)
Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki

Media

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Manga

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Main article: List of Sōten Kōro chapters

Sōten Kōro was originally written by Hagin Yi [ja] and illustrated by King Gonta [ja], starting in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Morning in 1994.[3] After Hagin Yi died of live cancer in 1998, King Gonta continued the story.[4] The series finished in 2005.[5] Kodansha collected its chapters in thirty-six tankōbon volumes, released from October 23, 1995,[6] to January 23, 2006.[7] An eighteen-volume bunkoban edition was published from December 12, 2000,[8] to December 12, 2006.[9] A three-in-one volume edition, consisting of twelve volumes, was published from May 5 to October 23, 2009.[10][11]

Anime

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An anime television series, animated by Madhouse, was announced in February 2009.[1] The series was broadcast on Nippon TV from April 8 to September 30, 2009.[12][a] The opening theme is "909" by Tribal Chair [ja] and the ending theme is "Pinhole" (ピンボール, Pinhōru) by Ogre You Asshole.[12]

Reception

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In 1998, along with Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji, Sōten Kōro won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.[13] As of February 2009, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation.[1] As of February 2017, the manga had over 18 million copies in circulation.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^ Nippon TV listed the series' air dates on Tuesday at 24:59, effectively Wednesday at 0:59 a.m. JST.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Loo, Egan (February 23, 2009). "Sōten Kōro Manga about Chinese History Gets TV Anime (Update 2)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Soten Koro (Beyond the Heavens)". Nippon TV. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  3. ^ 「蒼天そうてん航路こうろ」が始はじまった1994年ねんのモーニングを復刻ふっこく公開こうかい、各かく作品さくひんの1巻かんも読よめる. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 16, 2018. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  4. ^ 大作たいさく三国志さんごくしマンガがアニメ化か、ならばよし！ 「蒼天そうてん航路こうろ」4月がつ7日にちから日本にほんテレビで放送ほうそう開始かいし. Gigazine (in Japanese). March 12, 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b 曹操そうそう再ふたたび！「蒼天そうてん航路こうろ」テレビアニメ化かが決定けってい. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 3, 2009. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. ^ 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ (1) [Sōten Kōro (1)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ (36) [Sōten Kōro (36)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  8. ^ 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ 漫画まんが文庫ぶんこ (1) [Sōten Kōro [Manga Bunko] (1)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on February 12, 2004. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  9. ^ 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ 漫画まんが文庫ぶんこ (18) [Sōten Kōro [Manga Bunko] (18)] (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on March 29, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  10. ^ 3冊さつ分ぶんの特大とくだいボリューム「極ごく厚あつ 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ」刊行かんこうスタート. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 22, 2009. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  11. ^ 【10月がつ23日にち付づけ】本日ほんじつ発売はつばいの単行たんこう本ほんリスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 23, 2009. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  12. ^ a b 蒼天そうてん航路こうろ. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  13. ^ Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  14. ^ 『蒼天そうてん航路こうろ』『達人たつじん伝でん』作者さくしゃの王おう欣太、原画げんが展てんを15年ねんぶりに開催かいさい！. taishu.jp (in Japanese). Futabasha. February 21, 2017. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
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