is a Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

 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 Takao Yaguchi. The manga is serialised 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 Weekly Shōnen Magazine

Weekly Shonen Magazine

, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...

from 1973 to 1983. 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...

 has published the manga's 57 bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

between July 5, 2003 and October 5, 2005.

The manga was adapted into an 109-episode anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series. Directed by Yoshikata Nitta, the anime's 109 episodes were broadcast on Fuji TV between April 7, 1980 and July 28, 1982.

Anime

The anime uses two pieces of theme song. by MoJo

MoJo

better known as is a Japanese folk singer and anime song singer who has performed on the soundtracks of various anime and tokusatsu series and movies. He is perhaps best known as the vocalist for the theme songs for Battle Fever J, Dai Sentai Goggle V, Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, , Albegas, and...

 is the series' opening theme, while also by MoJo

MoJo

better known as is a Japanese folk singer and anime song singer who has performed on the soundtracks of various anime and tokusatsu series and movies. He is perhaps best known as the vocalist for the theme songs for Battle Fever J, Dai Sentai Goggle V, Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, , Albegas, and...

 is the series' ending theme.

Film

It was made into a live action film in 2009, starring Kenta Suga, Takashi Tsukamoto

Takashi Tsukamoto

is a Japanese actor, singer, and model.He has released three single CDs: "Itsudemo Boku wa" , "Hitorigoto" , "New Morning"....

 and Yuu Kashii

Yuu Kashii

, known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and model. She studied at Mejiro University, where she majored in English. She married actor Joe Odagiri, who is exactly 11 years her senior, on February 16, 2008, the birthday the couple shares...

.