| Sanctuary | |||
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| サンクチュアリ (Sanctuary) |
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| Demographic | Seinen | ||
| Genre | Drama, Police | ||
| Manga | |||
| Author | Sho Fumimura (story) Ryoichi Ikegami (art) |
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| Publisher |  Shogakukan |
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| Serialized in | Big Comic Superior |
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| Original run | 1990 – 1995 | ||
| Volumes | 12 | ||
| OVA | |||
| Director | Takashi Watanabe | ||
| Episodes | 1 | ||
| Released | April 1996 | ||
| Movie: Santuary the Movie (live-action movie) | |||
| Director | Takashi Watanabe | ||
| Released | 1996 | ||
| Runtime | 103 minutes | ||
Star Comics
Sanctuary (サンクチュアリ Sankuchuari?) is manga written by Sho Fumimura, and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. It was serialized in Big Comic Superior from 1990 to 1995, then released into 12 volumes by Shogakukan. It was collected into nine volumes and published in America by Viz Graphics from 1995 to 1997. Each volume collects 10 or 13 "chapters" of about 24 pages each. Sanctuary was a bestseller in Japan, inspired a live action film. It is also one of manga series that has paved the marketplace for seinen in the United States.
Contents |
Plot summary
Sanctuary is a political thriller and crime story that featured two childhood friends, Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami, who are ruthlessly struggling to set a new paradigm of living in Japan. However the two friends took radically different paths: Akira chose the dark path and joined a Yakuza gang, while Chiaki strived to become the youngest member of the Japanese Diet. Being survivors of the Cambodian killing fields, the two characters developed an unmatched aggression and survival instincts, helping them to achieve their common ultimate goal: making Japan their own sanctuary. The story starts with Hojo as a minor mob boss and Asami as a political advisor. The plot first focuses on their rise to positions of greater power. Hojo's rise is decidedly quicker than Asami's, whose struggle to get to the top lasts the entire manga. Hojo is a Yakuza Don by book 2. The story then follows his attempts to gain control over the entire Yakuza while secretly paving the way for them to become a legitimate enterprise. In many ways, this reflects the basic plot line of The Godfather but it is also satisfyingly unique. Asami, meanwhile, must try to enter the Diet by forming his own party that represents the younger people of Japan. He is constantly opposed by the current Dietmen, who are aging politicians intent on holding onto power (often considered to be a thinly-veiled reference to the Liberal Democratic Party). The plot is further complicated by a romance between Hojo and the chief of police, and by a mysterious illness that strikes Asami near the end of the series. Overall, Sanctuary is a commentary on Japan's political situation, with a heavy dose of action. The series follows a formula that ends each manga on a cliff hanger, where one of the characters is either in mortal peril or some major unexpected development occurs which is not explained fully until the next manga.
Main characters
- Akira Hojo
- Chiaki Asami
- Isaoka
- Mr. Tokai
- Kyoko
Tankōbon
- Volume 1 (Japan): 1990-12-01
- Volume 2 (Japan): 1991-06-01
- Volume 3 (Japan): 1991-09-01
- Volume 4 (Japan): 1992-04-01
- Volume 5 (Japan): 1992-11-01
- Volume 6 (Japan): 1993-05-01
- Volume 7 (Japan): 1993-11-01
- Volume 8 (Japan): 1994-03-01
- Volume 9 (Japan): 1994-07-01
- Volume 10 (Japan): 1994-10-01
- Volume 11 (Japan): 1995-03-01
- Volume 12 (Japan): 1995-06-01
Trivia
- A famous Asami quote in the first volume: "When I came back to Japan and saw Japanese, the first thing I thought was, 'What do these people think it means to be alive?'"
