Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin
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| Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin
<tr><td colspan="2" style="background: #fff; text-align: center;">Image:Nagarebosi02.jpg</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="background: #ccf; text-align: center;">銀牙～流れ星銀 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action, Adventure |
| Manga: Ginga Nagareboshi Gin | |
| Authored by | Yoshihiro Takahashi |
| Publisher | Shueisha |
| Serialized in | Weekly Shonen Jump |
| Original run | – |
| No. of volumes | 18 (first edtion) |
| TV anime : Ginga Nagareboshi Gin | |
| Directed by | Tomoharu Katsumata |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Network | TV Asahi |
| Original run | April 7th, 1986 – September 22nd, 1986 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin (Japanese: 銀牙～流れ星銀; Silver Fang in Sweden; Hopeanuoli in Finland; Ezüst Nyíl in Hungary) is a 21-episode, 1986 anime series. It is based on a 1984 manga by the same name that was created by Yoshihiro Takahashi, who was inspired by a news article which told of hunting dogs that had been abandoned by their masters and had begun living as wild animals. The manga originally appeared in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump.
Contents |
[edit] Production
The anime tells the story of an Akita Inu pup called Gin (Japanese for "silver") who leaves his owner, a young boy named Daisuke, to join a pack of wild dogs. The pack is gathering strong dogs from all over Japan to fight a deranged bear named Akakabuto and his minions. The story begins from the point of view of the humans, but swings to the dogs with episode 7 of the anime. It is in that episode that the audience hears the dogs communicating with each other through speech, though to the humans it's still all barking.
The anime was made for Japanese television by Toei Animation, a studio famous for its Dragon Ball anime (which premiered two months earlier in Japan). In western countries the anime was released as a set of four VHS tapes, and severely censored in order to lower the age-limit, which was quite high due to the level of violence and gore. Many important scenes were also cut out in the censored version, including the death of a couple of characters -- they just "disappear" in the censored version, which is very harmful to the storyline. Also, every scene which includes damage to the eye or a splash of blood, was cut out. Because of a lack of knowledge (or funds), the background music disappears, because some scenes were cut out and music cannot just be cut, so it was removed.
Interestingly, the anime has become extremely popular in the Nordic countries (particularly Sweden, Finland and Denmark). The anime has been dubbed in Korean, Swedish, Hungarian, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish. Though many English fans deride the Finnish dub (done by Golden Voice OY) for a considerable lack of emotional expression by the Finnish voice actors, that has not prevented Hopeanuoli, as it is called in Finland, from becoming wildly popular. In 2003 the uncensored and non-dubbed version of the cartoon was released in Finland and Sweden as a 5 DVD box-set, unfortunately it does not include any special features. A corresponding DVD set was released in Denmark and Norway October 3rd 2006.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Humans
- Gohei Takeda
- An old bear hunter in the Ohu Mountains. The village "grandfather", he is 64 years old during the events of GNG. Six years previous, he lost his first dog, Gin's grandfather, to Akakabuto and also got his left ear sliced off by the demon bear. He led the dogs into the final battle with Akakabuto.
- Daisuke
- Gin's owner, and the son of a local skii lodge owner.
- Hidetoshi
- The son of a local mayor that was killed by Akakabuto. He was John's owner. He killed one of Akakabuto's cubs in revenge.
[edit] Gin and his family
- Gin
- A silver Tora-ge (tiger-striped) Akita Inu pup. He is the pup that ultimately leads the final battle against Akakabuto.
- Riki
- Gin's father. He was believed killed in the beginning of the series by Akakabuto, but survived and became a wild dog, becoming the leader of a pack of wild dogs. He was ultimately killed in the final battle.
- Fuji
- Gin's mother.
- Shiro
- Gin's grandfather. He was killed by Akakabuto six years ago.
[edit] Gin's Pack
- Ben
- A Great Dane/Mastiff mix. He was one of Riki's platoon leaders. He possesses unusual strength and recuperative ability. He was blinded by poison in a trap set by Akame who was led to believe that Ben's group were outsiders helping Kurojaki, and turned his platoon over to Gin. He recovered some of his sight before the great battle.
- Cross
- A Saluki. A strong fighter in her own right, she was left for dead by her master after an attack by Akakabuto killed the rest of his beardogs. She joined the pack, and eventually fell in love with Ben, becoming his mate. In the story she has three pups: Ken, George and Miney. Ken and George play an important role in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
- John
- A German Shepherd. He was Hidetoshi's hunting dog, but joined the wild dogs after losing a fight with Riki. At first reluctant to trust anyone, he eventually becomes close to Gin.
- Moss
- A Mastiff. He is Ben's half-brother. The leader of a pack himself, Sniper tried to turn Moss against Ben by wounding Moss's son, Jaguar and killing one of his subordinates, Lloyd, and trying to pin it on Ben's pack. He came under the leadership of Ben's pack when he lost a fight. He proved to be a valuable ally in the final battle.
- Sniper
- A Doberman. Once Riki's second-in-command, he sees Ben as a threat to his authority. After several attempts to sabotage Ben's mission, he is thrown out of the pack after losing a fight with Gin. Trying to break up the pack before the battle with Akakabuto, he was drowned in a ravine by Ben. (survives in the manga)
- Hyena
- A Weimaraner. Sniper's lieutenant. He committed suicide trying to save Ben from Sniper. (Actually almost drowned Sniper in the manga)
- Smith
- An English Setter. Another of Riki's platoon leaders, he is saved by Gin after one of Sniper's plots, and they become friends. Easy going, but still serious, he is referred to as a "girl-chaser" by Cross. He also led Gohei to the final battle with Akakabuto.
- Akatora, Chutora and Kurotora
- The Kai Ken brothers. They were saved from a rogue dog by Ben as pups. Akatora ("red tiger"), the oldest of the three, is killed in the final battle; He sacrificed himself to take out Akakabuto's left eye, leaving the bear totally blind. Chutora ("grey tiger", brown-furred in anime, grey in manga) is the middle one. He receives little to no serious recognition. Kurotora ("black tiger"), the youngest, lost an eye in the aforementioned rogue dog attack (pine martin in the manga). Kurotora's and Chutora's sons, born after the series, play important parts in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
- Akame
- A Kishu Inu. He is the leader of the Iga Ninja Dogs. Ben first met Akame when he was still a hunting dog, his owner believed that Akame was a flying squirrel and shot him, wouding his leg. Ben's owner became thrilled with the way Akame was able to jump, and wanted to train him to become a hunting dog. After Akame's wound has healed, Akame pleads to Ben to let him out of his cage, as his pups are still to young to survive on their own. After falling for Kurojakis scheme, he poisons Ben and his group. After realizing his mistake, Akame is devastated and brings Silver along with Kirikaze and Jinnai to the lake in the Koga dogs territory where the medicinal herbs that can cure the poison grow. Kurojaki anticipates this, and waits for them at the lake. Akame fights Kurojaki to let the others escape, and is almost defeated by Kurojaki. Gin however, defys his orders to leave him behind and returns to save him. Akame aligns with Gin, and after defeating the rival Koga Ninja Dogs, they leave for Shikoku. His sons, Jinnai and Kirikaze, are killed by Madara.
- Kurojaki
- A Shikoku Inu. He is the leader of the Koga Ninja Dogs. He fights Gin and the Igas, and kills himself by leaping into the burning Iga house. His son, Chibi, is adopted by the pack, and Cross helps raise him until her pups with Ben are born. His son plays an important role in Ginga Densetsu Weed
- Wilson
- A Collie. He was once a circus dog, that traveled all of Japan. His mate and pup were killed by Kurojaki, and Wilson tries to kill Kurojaki's pup as revenge. He is stopped by Cross, and after that he joins Gins pack. Wilson knows many storiess, and his knowledge often comes in handy.
- Musashi
- A Tosa Inu. Once a champion fighting dog, he also joined Gin's group, and led Gin to Benizakura.
- Benizakura
- A Tosa Inu. The strongest dog in Japan, possibly in the entire world. Benizakura is seen defeating a bull when Gin first meets him. Gin attacks Benizakura and let's Benizakura hit him twice, so that he later can demand a re-match. Benizakura's owner finds Cross passed-out on the beach, and brings Cross to Benizakura. Cross tells Benizakura about the pack and their goal. Gin returns and challenges Benizakura to a fight, and makes him promise that if Gin dies Benizakura will take over as leader of the pack. Benizakura agrees and the fight starts. Benizakura defeats Gin, pinning him down to the ground. Impressed of Gin's fighting spirit, he decides to join the pack. Benizakura sacrificed himself to ensure the death of Mosa, one of Akakabuto's lieutenants. (Benizakura is sometimes romanized into Benitsakura.)
- Kisaragi
- A Siberian Husky. He is an ambitious pack leader, and fights with Gin's pack before the two ally against Akakabuto.
- Hakuro
- An Alaskan Malamute. He travelled all the way from Hokkaido to join the battle against Akakabuto.
- Bill
- A Dobermann, leader of the Mountaindogs in Shikoku. He is apparently a righteous dog, since he stoppes Sniper from fighting unfairly against Gin and his friends. After Gin has convinced him with his skills Bill and the Mountaindogs join the Ou soldiers in the war against Akakabuto. Bill dies in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
[edit] The Bears
- Akakabuto
- Also known as the notorious Onikubi in Iwate and Aomori. Akakabuto's name means "red helmet" for the blaze red mane of hair on his head. He has terrorized the humans and dogs of the Ou Mountains for years. His right eye was shot out by Gohei six years previous. Gin killed him in the final battle, cutting his head off with the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga attack.
- Madara
- Early in the anime, Madara was just one of the many nuisance bears of the Ou Mountains, and challenged the pack many times. He also early on challenged Akakabuto, but lost. When Akakabuto gathered bears against the dogs, however, Madara was one of his lieutenants. He was killed by Gin and Akame when Gin fashioned a spear with a large branch and shoved it through his mouth and out the back of his neck. (NOTE: Some European dubs describe Madara as a female. In the original Japanese, however, Madara is male.)
- Mosa
- Another of Akakabuto's lieutenants; his right paw is deformed and vestigal. Despite having one paw, however, Mosa is very intelligent. He was killed by an attack by Benizakura, who tied him up underwater in a river causing both of them drown.
[edit] Ginga Densetsu Weed
In 2000, Takahashi started Ginga Densetsu Weed (Japanese: 銀牙伝説ウイード; "Ginga Densetsu Uiido"), a sequel manga which takes place many years after the original. Gin's son, "Weed", searches for his father whom he has never met. An anime adaptation by Studio DEEN is scheduled to premiere on November 3rd, 2005. The manga is currently published by Nihon Bungeisha. The anime will be published in Finland and other Nordic countries as a DVD on late 2006 by FutureFilm.
[edit] Ginga Densetsu Riki
Ginga Densetsu Riki is a short, prequel manga based on Riki's past. It was first published in a Ginga Densetsu Weed magazine, and eventually an entire volume was produced. There is only one volume and it is six chapters long.
[edit] External links
- Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin at the Anime Wiki.
- Unofficial Hopeanuoli Site (in Finnish and English)
- Gingapedia - a Ginga-themed wiki at EditThis.Info
- Nagareboshi Gin with detailed character information
- GingaSite.net English/GDW/GDR site
- BlueFang English GNG/GDW siteja:銀牙 -流れ星 銀-
