Ice Blade
Encyclopedia
is manga
series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Takahashi
, published in Kodansha
's Afternoon
magazine from 1992 to 1999. It was announced by Afternoon
's October magazine that a new Jiraishin series would be in the magazine good! afternoon and would be known as Jiraishin diablo, which is currently being serialized in the said magazine.
The story follows Kyoya Ida, a plainclothes police officer, and his colleagues at the Shinjuku Police Department as they investigate and solve crimes in the Greater Tokyo Area. Sometimes, these crimes are solved with some prices to pay. Later on in diablo, it portrays Ida and his interactions with various people after his absence from the force due to an eye disease while getting wind of mysterious deaths of villagers living in the fictional Amakura Island in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture
in the year 2008 while assisting a police detective in initially trying to figure out who or what was responsible for their deaths after it was reported back in 2007.
after leaving the police force. He later gets wind of mysterious deaths of an unknown plague that killed the villagers in Ishikawa Prefecture's Amakura Island when he meets up with Taichi Kogure, a detective of the Ishikawa Police precient and a now grown up Aya Koike, who is a known information handler in the underworld.
and compiled into 19 volumes published by Kodansha
, which started from October 23, 1993 to January 21, 2000 with the first three volumes sold for 509 Yen before the rest were sold for 530 Yen. Reprints came with 10 volumes in bunkoban from May 9, 2003 to September 12, 2003 for 798 Yen with another reprint in aizoban from February 23, 2009 to November 20, 2009 for 1,000 Yen. The North America
n version of the manga, retitled Ice Blade, was serialized in Tokyopop
's MixxZine, but it was discontinued after three volumes. For France and French-speaking countries/territories, Génération Comics was the publisher before it was taken over by Panini Comics. For Italy, Stars Comics published all 19 volumes. In Germany and German-speaking countries and territories, Carlsen Comics was the publisher. In South Korea, Samyang Comics published Jiraishin in its entirety. In Taiwan, it was published by Tong Li Comics under the Youth Comic series label.
Jiraishin Diablo was serialized in good! Afternoon magazine with two volumes so far released and published for 610 Yen.
as the "blood, grit, and sin spatter so thickly that it’s a miracle you don’t get your fingers dirty when you turn the pages". The Nihon Review criticized Jiraishin for a lack of coherence since the "aspect that troubled me the most was the absence of coherence between the volumes or even chapters. For a few exceptions almost every volume is composed of individual and unrelated chapters."
It won an award in the General Category under the 23rd Kodansha Manga Awards in 1999.
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...
series written and illustrated by Tsutomu Takahashi
Tsutomu Takahashi
' , born on September 20, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese manga artist, who is well known for his manga Jiraishin. As of March 2006, he is currently married and has one child...
, published in Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
magazine from 1992 to 1999. It was announced by Afternoon
Afternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
's October magazine that a new Jiraishin series would be in the magazine good! afternoon and would be known as Jiraishin diablo, which is currently being serialized in the said magazine.
The story follows Kyoya Ida, a plainclothes police officer, and his colleagues at the Shinjuku Police Department as they investigate and solve crimes in the Greater Tokyo Area. Sometimes, these crimes are solved with some prices to pay. Later on in diablo, it portrays Ida and his interactions with various people after his absence from the force due to an eye disease while getting wind of mysterious deaths of villagers living in the fictional Amakura Island in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
in the year 2008 while assisting a police detective in initially trying to figure out who or what was responsible for their deaths after it was reported back in 2007.
Jiraishin
Kyoya Ida is a hard-nosed detective from the Shinjuku Police precinct, known to use lethal force to solve cases whenever they need to be solved. He works in a bleak, gritty representation of Shinjuku alongside his partner Tsuyoshi Yamaki in hunting down suspects and arresting them before he was killed in the line of duty. Ida was later assigned to another partner named Eriko Aizawa, the two working together to solve cases pertaining to the city's interests.Jirashin diablo
In the year 2008, Ida was beginning to suffer from the effects of KeratoconusKeratoconus
Keratoconus , is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve....
after leaving the police force. He later gets wind of mysterious deaths of an unknown plague that killed the villagers in Ishikawa Prefecture's Amakura Island when he meets up with Taichi Kogure, a detective of the Ishikawa Police precient and a now grown up Aya Koike, who is a known information handler in the underworld.
Publication
The manga was serialized in AfternoonAfternoon (magazine)
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...
and compiled into 19 volumes published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
, which started from October 23, 1993 to January 21, 2000 with the first three volumes sold for 509 Yen before the rest were sold for 530 Yen. Reprints came with 10 volumes in bunkoban from May 9, 2003 to September 12, 2003 for 798 Yen with another reprint in aizoban from February 23, 2009 to November 20, 2009 for 1,000 Yen. The North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n version of the manga, retitled Ice Blade, was serialized in Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
's MixxZine, but it was discontinued after three volumes. For France and French-speaking countries/territories, Génération Comics was the publisher before it was taken over by Panini Comics. For Italy, Stars Comics published all 19 volumes. In Germany and German-speaking countries and territories, Carlsen Comics was the publisher. In South Korea, Samyang Comics published Jiraishin in its entirety. In Taiwan, it was published by Tong Li Comics under the Youth Comic series label.
Jiraishin Diablo was serialized in good! Afternoon magazine with two volumes so far released and published for 610 Yen.
North American censoring
When Jiraishin was serialized as Ice Blade in MixxZine, there were instances of censorships in some of its panels as it was a new magazine when it was released and did not wish to offend potential distributors.Reception
Cassiel Kelner of Aesthesticism.com praised the manga as a study on human nature, "reminding [readers] just what people really are capable of". Serdar Yegulalp of Advanced Media Network compares Jiraishin to Miami ViceMiami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
as the "blood, grit, and sin spatter so thickly that it’s a miracle you don’t get your fingers dirty when you turn the pages". The Nihon Review criticized Jiraishin for a lack of coherence since the "aspect that troubled me the most was the absence of coherence between the volumes or even chapters. For a few exceptions almost every volume is composed of individual and unrelated chapters."
It won an award in the General Category under the 23rd Kodansha Manga Awards in 1999.