Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings

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Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings
創竜伝 (Sōryūden)
Genre
Novel
Authored by	Yoshiki Tanaka
Artist	Yoshitaka Amano (Novels), CLAMP (Bunko)
Publisher	Kodansha
Publish date	August 5, 1987
No. of volumes	13
OVA
Directed by	Hisayuki Toriumi Kyosuke Mikuriya Norio Kashima
Studio	Kitty Films
No. of episodes	12
Released	1991
Runtime

Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings (創竜伝, Sōryūden^?) is a set of novels based loosely on Chinese mythology.

It was written by Yoshiki Tanaka in collaboration with Japanese illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (Kodansha Novels edition) and mangaka CLAMP(Kodansha bunkobon).

It is written with a humorous and satirical tone. It is published to the 13th volume as of 2005.

1 Story
2 Anime
3 Manga
4 External links

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story features four divine Dragon Kings, each with their own kingdoms: one to the north, one to the east, one to the south, and one to the west. The brothers are reborn in the modern world, complete with supernatural powers and the ability to become the Dragons they descended from. They are content to live ordinary lives until evil creatures come to attack them.

It becomes the mission of the four brothers to defeat the "Four Sisters", four girls from America and the descendants of the "Bulls", before they use their control over technology and the economy to take over the world. However, as this battle begins, the four brothers must also find their place in the world as they flee from the destructive will of the "Bulls".

[edit] Anime

The contents to the 4th volume of an original novel serve as animation.

Sohryuden has been released as a 12 episode animated series. Each episode is about 45 minutes. In the U.S., Central Park Media has released all of the series on both VHS and DVD, and is currently in the process of rereleasing the series at a lower price. The new releases will be out November 22, 2005.

Incidentally, among Japanese fans, this anime edition is considered rather bad because of the poor character designs. Many fans in Japan feel that the animation should have been based on illustrations by CLAMP.

[edit] Manga

CLAMP version was serialized to Mystery DX of Kadokawa Shoten in 1994.

Intended to be a comedy, Owaru, one of the Dragon Kings, goes to Osaka to wakes snakes up. There are only three stories, and the story has not been concluded. As research, CLAMP went to Osaka.

The manga version by CLAMP is quite rare and had been previously very difficult to obtain. Because of high demand from fans, the chapters have been compiled into tankoban format under the title Sohryuden Genga-shu in 2004. Additionally, there is a manga short (only 4 pages) drawn for the Sohryuden drama CD, which had been included in Sohryuden Genga-shu.

In 2004, mangaka Megumi Hiroshi (恵広史, Megumi Hiroshi^?) began another manga version of Sohryuden. It is currently being serialized in Magazine Special of Kodansha. It is also a comedy and stars Owaru. It is her debut work and considered to be quite good.