Drifters (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, alternate history Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano
Kouta Hirano
is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga Hellsing.- History :Starting his career first as a manga artist's assistant , and later an H manga artist, he went on to enjoy somewhat limited success with other relatively unknown manga titles such as Angel Dust,...

. The manga started serialization in Shōnen Gahosha
Shonen Gahosha
is a Japanese publisher named for Shōnen Gaho one of its first magazines. Founded in 1945, it previously published driving manuals and English conversation guides. Now it is known for magazines such as biweekly seinen manga Young King, the monthly manga serials Young King OURs and Monthly Young King...

's magazine, Young King Ours
Young King OURs
is a monthly seinen manga magazine published in Japan by Shōnen Gahosha, aimed primarily at male audiences, mostly older teens and young adults. It is the sister publication of Young King...

on April 30, 2009. It centers on various historical figures summoned to an unknown world where their skills and techniques are needed by magicians in order to save their worlds from total destruction.

Plot

Shimazu Toyohisa, while involved at the Battle of Sekigahara
Battle of Sekigahara
The , popularly known as the , was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 which cleared the path to the Shogunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu...

, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa
Ii Naomasa
was a general under the Sengoku period Daimyo, and later Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is regarded as one of the Four Guardians of the Tokugawa along with Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa and Sakai Tadatsugu.-Early life:...

, but is critically wounded in the process. As he walks from the field wounded and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor of doors, where a bespectacled man at a desk waits for him. This man, Murasaki, sends Toyohisa into the nearest door where he wakes up in another world. There, Toyohisa meets other great warriors like him who have been transported as well, to be part of a group known as "Drifters". This world contains both native humans and a number of fantastical races, including elves, dwarves, and hobbits. However, the world is at war, with the humans waging a losing war against another group of great warriors, the "Ends", who wish to take over the world and kill all of the Drifters. Under the Ends' command are many terrible creatures, including dragons, which they use to destroy everything in their wake. At the start of the series, the Ends' army has control of the northern part of the continent, and are currently trying to invade the south through a pivotal fortress at the northernmost tip of a nation called Carneades. Meanwhile, the "Octobrist Organization", a group of human magicians native to this world, attempt to bring together the many individual Drifters to save their world from the brutal Ends.

Drifters

: The protagonist. Historically he died in 1600. When he first arrived in the world, he was critically injured, only to be brought to the hideout of Nobunaga and Yoichi by some young "elves". Of the three Drifters in the group, Toyohisa is the most willing to help the elves, first by attacking the humans massacring them and then by convincing them to kill the leader of those humans. He uses a long sword
Nodachi
A nodachi is a large two-handed Japanese sword. Some have suggested that the meaning of "nodachi" is roughly the same as ōdachi meaning "large/great sword". A confusion between the terms has nearly synonymized "nodachi" with the very large "ōdachi"...

 and is seen carrying a short sword
Wakizashi
The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...

 as well. He's also shown carrying a rifle, which he only uses when his swords are infeasible.
: A famous warlord who conquered most of Japan during Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

. Historically he is known for being the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 who took the first step of unification of the Japan, and the first Japanese military commander to utilize arquebuses in battles. Perhaps because of this, as a Drifter he uses an arquebus in battle. He died twenty years before Toyohisa (1582). As a Drifter, he has only aged six months since arriving in the new world.
: A very effeminate man of nineteen. Although he died many years before Nobunaga and Toyohisa, Yoichi is the youngest in the group. His historical death date is unclear, yet some records indicate that he either died on August 8 in 1189 or in October of 1190. Historically he is known as a powerful warrior who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...

 during the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....

, and he also appears in the Tale of the Heike
The Tale of the Heike
is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War...

. However, Nobunaga notes that Yoichi is very different from historical accounts. Yoichi acts as the group's archer, killing fleeing enemies.
Hannibal : A famous Carthiginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...

 military commander, who died in either 183 or 181 BC. Now a Drifter and elderly, he is seen arguing with Scipio Africanus over the latter's "plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...

" of Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...

 at the Battle of Zama
Battle of Zama
The Battle of Zama, fought around October 19, 202 BC, marked the final and decisive end of the Second Punic War. A Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus defeated a Carthaginian force led by the legendary commander Hannibal...

. After nearly being killed by the Black King's army, Hannibal insists that victory is still possible.
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus : Hannibal's Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 adversary during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...

, who is believed to have died around 183 BC. As a Drifter, he is as old as Hannibal, who he is seen constantly arguing with, claiming that "a winner takes all" since he won at Zama. Nevertheless, Scipio respects Hannibal greatly, saying he is worth a million men, because though a million men would not budge Rome, Hannibal nearly tore it down.
The Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...

:Transported from the Wild West, the outlaws now fight against the Black King and his armies. They carry a large amount of firearms including machine guns and pistols. Two members of the bunch are Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
Naoshi Kanno (菅野直) : During a battle with the Black King, with the Drifters' side under attack by dragons, World War II fighter pilot Naoshi Kanno is transported into the world in his plane. He decides to attack the dragons when their attacks remind him of the US bombing of Tokyo. He is addressed as Sugano Nao in the Dark Horse translation.
Tamon Yamaguchi:An admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He is first seen in Chapter 19 destroying Orte Empire ships.

Ends

The Black King
The Black King is the apparent leader of the Ends. He claims that he once tried to "save" humans but he has since shifted his agenda towards nonhumans after humans "denied" his efforts. His identity has yet to be established but he is shown to possess healing powers.


The former vice-commander of the Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...

 who died fighting in the name of the Tokugawa Bakufu during the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....

. Hijikata has the ability to use smoke in order to manifest ghostly images of members of the Shinsengumi and uses them to cut apart his enemies.

Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

(Jeanne d'Arc)
The hero of the Hundred Years War between France and England. Joan, who was driven insane after being burned at the stake, now desires nothing more than to see the world burn. As an Ends- with her Christian crosses now upside down - she has manifested the ability to manipulate fire. Surprisingly, she seems to be self-conscious of her (lacking) femininity, though this could be another result of her insanity. In Chapter 24, Joan is defeated by Toyohisa in battle; however, she is able to flee the scene alive due to Toyohisa's personal vow to never kill a woman.

Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...

A French nobleman who was once one of Joan's companions-in-arms, but was later executed for multiple cases of murder, sodomy, and heresy. He wields an incredible strength and continued to accompany Joan to battle even in death until he was defeated by Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...

 and the Sundance Kid, whereafter he disintegrated into salt.

Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (Анастасия Николаевна Романова)
The youngest daughter of the last Russian tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

, Nicholas II. Anastasia and her family were shot
Shooting of the Romanov family
The shooting of the Romanov family, of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, and those who chose to accompany them into exile, Dr. Eugene Botkin, Anna Demidova, Alexei Trupp, and Ivan Kharitonov, took place in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918 on the orders of Vladimir Lenin, Yakov Sverdlov, and the...

 by a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

 firing squad when Anastasia was seventeen. Now she has the supernatural ability to create blizzards.

While he fights for the Ends, Minamoto is allowed by the Black King to fight when he wants to and against whom. Although he was Yoichi's leader in the past, it is unknown what their dynamic will be like in this world.

Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian Orthodox Christian and mystic who is perceived as having influenced the latter days of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their only son Alexei...

(Григорий Ефимович Распутин)
A famous Russian mystic who once held a great influence over the Russian Imperial Court because of his ability to supposedly heal the Romanov's hemophiliac heir, Alexei. He now serves the Black King.

Orte Empire

Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

The infamous Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...

 and Chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...

 of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. Though it is unknown whether he is/was a Drifter or Ends, Hitler ended up appearing in the current world fifty years before the current storyline and inspiring the local humans through speeches at a tavern
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...

 to rise up and form the Orte Empire. He mysteriously committed suicide soon after, however, his followers continued to revere him as the "Father" of their country long after his death.


Count Saint-Germi
A homosexual nobleman who owns a quarter of the Empire and was Hitler's closest ally in its formation. It is said that the Empire could not have existed without his "betrayal", and as such he is free to live as he pleases without criticism from any of his peers. Despite this position however, he is not loyal to the Empire and knows that its demise is near; as such, he plans to reach out to the elves and the Drifters that accompany them. As a side note, in spite of the fact he is well over fifty years old, as the Orte Empire was formed fifty years before the current storyline, Saint-Germi appears as a youthful drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...

 with an effeminate personality. Likely the Count of St. Germain as a Drifter or Ends.


Aram
A knight of the Orte Empire who was killed by the elves.

The Octobrist Organization

Olminu/Sem: A young magician of the Octobrists. She was charged with watching Toyohisa's group of Drifters. She seems to be quite incompetent at reconnaissance, and is terrified of the Drifters she must follow. After she is discovered and kidnapped by Toyohisa's group, she tells them the story of the Drifters and Ends.

Abe no Seimei
Abe no Seimei
was an onmyōji, a leading specialist of onmyōdō during the middle of the Heian Period in Japan. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore and has been portrayed in a number of stories and films....

 : A Japanese magician who is one of the heads of the Octobrist Organization, an anti-Ends group. He has recently been revealed to be a Drifter as well.

Ham: The grand-master's assistant.

Others

Murasaki (紫) : A Caucasian, bespectacled man who constantly wears a suit. He is apparently the one responsible for the appearance of the Drifters, using them as a means to right the wrong of the Ends' conquest of the magical world. He is often seen sitting in the middle of the door corridor, smoking, and reading a newspaper that gives news of the events relating to the Drifters. In the corridor he is associated with and accompanied by light.
Easy : A young woman with long-black hair. Apparently at odds with Murasaki, she is responsible for the Ends, an opposing force similar in origin to the Drifters. In the corridor she is associated with and accompanied by darkness.
Marsha : Marsha is one of the elf brothers that discovers Toyohisa.
Mark: Mark is one of the elf brothers that discovers Toyohisa.
Shara: Shara, a brother of Marsha and Mark, is an elf that starts an elvish rebellion against the Orte Empire after his father is killed.

Organizations

Drifters : Many heroes and great warriors from different eras and cultures seem to have been brought to this new world by Murasaki, where they are meant to fight the Ends. A common element to the Drifters is that although they are driven by violence, victory, and conquest, they are not cruel; they love to fight and win, but do not care about hurting innocents.

Ends : The opposing force in this world, the Ends are, like the Drifters, mainly composed of powerful historical figures who died under unorthodox and often violent circumstances. Unlike the Drifters, however, the Ends are humans that have forsaken their humanity, and are thus capable of using supernatural powers. Now, Ends are driven completely by an intense hate for everything. They seem to have been brought into the new world by Easy, who is at odds with Murasaki.

The Octobrist Organization : A group of humans, known as magicians, native to the world whose duty is to observe and gather Drifters together to fight the Ends. Unlike many humans in this world, Octobrists do not subjugate the demihumans. It is lead by Abe no Seimei who is a Drifter against the Ends. Known as Oct in the Dark Horse translation.

Orte Empire:The Orte Empire is a country that was established by Hitler. It expanded through the conquest of neighboring territories and continues to adhere to Hitler's principles, which involves the persecution of non-human races. Its capital is Verlina.

Manga

In Japan, Drifters is serialized in Shōnen Gahosha
Shonen Gahosha
is a Japanese publisher named for Shōnen Gaho one of its first magazines. Founded in 1945, it previously published driving manuals and English conversation guides. Now it is known for magazines such as biweekly seinen manga Young King, the monthly manga serials Young King OURs and Monthly Young King...

's magazine, Young King Ours
Young King OURs
is a monthly seinen manga magazine published in Japan by Shōnen Gahosha, aimed primarily at male audiences, mostly older teens and young adults. It is the sister publication of Young King...

magazine and sold under the same publisher. The manga is also published in North America by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

 and in Taiwan by Tong Li Comics. The manga is published in France by Éditions Tonkam for the French-speaking market.

Chapters not yet in graphic novel format

  • 23. "Touch and Go!!
    Blue Seed
    is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuzo Takada. The plot is based on the Izumo cycle of Japanese mythology and the tale of the god Susanoo and the eight-headed monster Yamata no Orochi. The main character, Momiji Fujimiya, is a descendant of the mythical . When Japan is menaced...

    "
  • 24. "Kick It Out
    Kick It Out (Boom Boom Satellites song)
    Kick It Out is a song by electronica/rock duo Boom Boom Satellites. The song was originally included as the lead track on their fifth album On and later as the first track on their greatest hits album 19972007. In 2009, the Boom Boom Satellites collaborated with Tahj Mowry and Flo Rida to produce a...

    "
  • 25: "Fushigi CALL ME"
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