Akadō Suzunosuke

• Ja Kanji — 赤胴鈴之助 • Ja Romaji — Akadō Suzunosuke • Genre — Jidaigeki, swashbuckler

• Type — manga • Author — * Eiichi Fukui (Episode 1) • Tsunayoshi Takeuchi (Episode 2 onwards) • Publisher — Shōnen Gahōsha • Magazine — Shōnen Gahō • First — August 1954 • Last — December 1960 • Volumes — 22

• Type — TV series • Director — Shigetsugu Yoshida • Writer — * Mon Shichijo • Haruya Yamazaki • Yoshitake Suzuki • Yutaka Kaneko • Tatsuo Tamura • Music — * Takeo Watanabe (composition) • Yūshi Matsuyama (arrangement) • Studio — * Tokyo Movie • A Production • Network — Fuji Television • First — April 5, 1972 • Last — March 28, 1973 • Episodes — 52

• Title — Radio drama • Content — * Akado Suzunosuke (1957-1959)

• Title — Live-action • Content — * Suzunosuke Akado (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Moonlight Monster (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: Defeat the Demon-Faced Gang (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Vacuum Slash of Asuka Style (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Demon of the New Moon Tower (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: The One-Legged Demon (1957) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Birdman with Three Eyes (1958) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Thunderman of the Black Cloud Valley (1958) • Suzunosuke Akado: Defeat the Skull Gang (1958)

• Type — drama • Network — OTV • First — September 20, 1957 • Last — October 3, 1958 • Episodes — 55

• Type — drama • Network — KRT • First — October 2, 1957 • Last — March 25, 1959 • Episodes — 55

• Portal — yes Akado Suzunosuke is a Japanese manga series created by Eiichi Fukui and Tsunayoshi Takeuchi. It was serialized from 1954 to 1960. It is a jidaigeki story featuring a young swordsman who confronts villains. At the time, it was seen as unusually high quality and quickly gained popularity among children. The popularity of the work led to the production of a radio drama in 1957, followed by a film adaptation and two TV drama adaptations in the same year. As its popularity subsided, the manga series ended. An anime adaptation was produced in 1972.

Akado Suzunosuke tells the story of Suzunosuke Akado, a young boy who aspires to become the best swordsman in Japan. He joins the Chiba Dōjō, run by Shūsaku Chiba, a renowned practitioner of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū in Edo, where he spends his days training and trying to perfect the Akado Vacuum Slash, a special technique left by his father. Suzunosuke faces a variety of events, including a feud and reconciliation with senior disciple Rainoshin Tatsumaki, and a confrontation with the Kimento, which is plotting to overthrow the Edo Shogunate. He faces these hardships undaunted, continuing to follow his own path.

Akado Suzunosuke was created by Eiichi Fukui, a popular manga artist and a contemporary of Osamu Tezuka, who adopted Yowamushi Suzunosuke, a one-shot that he wrote in the past, for serialization. However, following the publication of the first episode in the magazine and the drafting of the second episode, Fukui died. As a result, Tsunayoshi Takeuchi, a newly debuted manga artist, was unexpectedly tasked with continuing the manga. Takeuchi assumed responsibility for the series, writing from the second episode through to its finale.

• Akadoō Suzunosuke • A boy who trains at the Hokushin Ittō-ryū Chiba Dōjō to become the best swordsman in Japan. His real name is Suzunosuke Kinno, but he is called Suzunosuke Akadō because he wears an Akadō (red breastplate), a memento of his father. • Shūsaku Chiba • Founder of Hokushin Ittō-ryū and a master swordsman who established the Chiba Dōjō in Edo. He serves as Suzunosuke's master in the series and is modeled after the historical swordsman of the same name. • Sayuri Chiba • Daughter of Shūsaku. She is a skilled swordswoman and good with a naginata. • Osuzu • A woman who makes her living as a tailor. She is Suzunosuke's mother. • Rainoshin Tatsumaki • A disciple at the Chiba Dōjō with a natural talent for swordsmanship. He was Suzunosuke's senior and rival, but after losing to Suzunosuke, he became desperate, leading to his excommunication. • Oshinosuke Yokoguruma • Head instructor of Chiba Dōjō. He is a close friend of Suzunosuke's father. • Gakurinbo • Rainoshin's elder brother. He is a spear user and a dojoyaburi. He later joins the Kimentō, but is s persuaded by Rainoshin to abandon the group. • Matsunosuke Ooki • Suzunosuke's friend. He mistakenly identifies Suzunosuke as the murderer of his father and targets him alongside his uncle. • Banyoken Ooki • Matsunosuke's uncle and a master of kusarigama. He targets Suzunosuke with his nephew to avenge his younger brother's death. • Tetsunosuke Kinno • Suzunosuke's late father. • Demon mask group • An villainous organization that schemes to overthrow the Edo Shogunate and rule the country. All members wear demon masks. They plot to recruit the skilled Suzunosuke and Rainoshin into their ranks.

Akado Suzunosuke was serialized in Shōnen Gahō, a monthly shōnen manga magazine published by Shōnen Gahōsha, from the August 1954 issue to the December 1960 issue, and was collected in 22 tankōbon volumes. It was reprinted in 2007 by Shōnen Gahōsha and Shogakukan. Shonen Gahosha faithfully reprinted the original in every detail, while Shogakukan reprinted it in A5 format, which is slightly larger than the original B6 format, for easier reading. It was released as an Ebook in 2014 and eBookJapan began distributing it.

The anime adaptation was broadcast on Fuji Television Network from April 5, 1972, to March 28, 1973, for a total of 52 episodes. It was co-produced by Fuji Television and Tokyo Movie, with the actual production of the animation outsourced to A Production. The anime has a total of 52 episodes, utilizing the essence of the original manga while introducing characters who do not appear in the manga and interspersing an anime-original, road movie-like storyline in the middle of the episodes. Each 30-minute episode was produced in just over a month with an animation director and two to four key animators, a pace that would be nearly impossible today. Many of the staff members were from Mushi Production and Tōei Dōga, giving them a solid foundation, and the quality of the animation is high throughout the 52 episodes. The main staff consists of former Tōei Dōga members: Shigetsugu Yoshida as director, Daikichiro Kusube as animation director, and Yōichi Kotabe as assistant animation director. This group included many animators who would later go on to show their unique talents, such as Yoshinori Kanada and Yoshifumi Kondo. The staff working on the storyboards are all people who have done epoch-making work in Japanese animation, such as Toshio Hirata, Hayao Miyazaki, and Noboru Ishiguro. Among them, the work of Osamu Dezaki, who joined under the name Kuyo Sai, was notable, and he worked on 14 episodes, a quarter of the total.

• Suzunosuke Akado (released on May 21, 1957, black-and-white film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Moonlight Monster (Released on June 18, 1957, black-and-white film) • Suzunosuke Akado: Defeat the Demon-Faced Gang (Released on August 13, 1957, black and white film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Vacuum Slash of Asuka Style (Released on August 25, 1957, black and white film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Demon of the New Moon Tower (Released on September 21, 1957, color film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The One-Legged Demon (Released on December 28, 1957, color film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Birdman with Three Eyes (Released on March 11, 1958, color film) • Suzunosuke Akado: The Thunderman of the Black Cloud Valley (Released on November 15, 1958, black and white film) • Suzunosuke Akado: Defeat the Skull Gang (Released on December 21, 1958, black and white film)

A radio drama adaptation aired on Radio Tokyo from January 7, 1957, to February 14, 1959, with a total of 42 episodes. The theme song, which would be used in subsequent film, TV dramas, and anime series, was created for the program.

Two television drama adaptations were aired in 1957 on separate TV stations using the then-predominant live broadcast format. The Osaka Television Broadcasting version aired a total of 55 episodes from September 20, 1957, to October 3, 1958. The KR TV (Radio Tokyo Television) version aired a total of 55 episodes from October 2, 1957, to March 25, 1959.