Skull Man
Encyclopedia
is a 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...

 series created by Shotaro Ishinomori
Shotaro Ishinomori
was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and tokusatsu, creating several immensely popular long-running series such as Cyborg 009 and Himitsu Sentai Goranger, what would go on to become part of the Super Sentai series, and the Kamen Rider Series...

 which first appeared in Shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...

 Magazine in 1970 and immediately caused a sensation, selling over 1.5 million copies. The hero, orphaned when his parents were murdered, grows up to use his peculiar powers to take his revenge. The original Skull Man was one of manga's
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...

 first anti-heroes, someone who would sacrifice the lives of innocents in his quest for vengeance. This darkness is what made the Skull Man so magnetic and successful.

While the Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider
, is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...

 (Masked Rider) TV series was still in development, Ishinomori, who created that series with producer Toru Hirayama, made this manga as his own personal version, which the producers at Toei Company Ltd. used as the basis for the show. Several changes in content were made, as this 100-page one-shot story was too dark and gruesome (even cerebral) for a children's show.

In the late 90s, before Ishinomori's death, the ill cartoonist contacted manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto
Kazuhiko Shimamoto
is a Japanese manga artist. He attended college at the Osaka University of Arts in the fine arts department. While in college in 1982, he debuted in the February special issue of Shōnen Sunday with Hissatsu no Denkousei. At this point he dropped out of college and devoted his energies to becoming a...

 to do a remake (ambiguously a continuation) of his original one-shot manga. This remake boasted an extensive, continuing storyline and more complex artwork (along with a tribute to Ishinomori in the final issue, with several of his famous characters gathered together). This was the manga that was presented in the US by 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...

. The original 1970 version has yet to be released in America.

An animated
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....

 TV series adaptation, produced by Bones
Bones (studio)
is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...

 and directed by Takeshi Mori
Takeshi Mori (director)
is a Japanese anime director, storyboard artist, and script writer born October 10, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating from Waseda University, Mori began working in the anime industry....

, finished airing on Fuji TV on July 22, 2007. The anime series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks and will be distributed by Section23 Films
Section23 Films
Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...

. The complete collection was released on DVD on February 2, 2010.

1970 Manga (One-shot)

There are mass murders and catastrophes all over Japan, committed by a masked/caped psychic madman called the Skull Man, and his shape-shifting aide Garo (named after the manga ninja Garo created by Sanpei Shirato
Sanpei Shirato
, known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as his realistic drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He is considered a pioneer of gekiga. The son of the Japanese proletarian painter Toki Okamoto, his dream to become an artist...

), who can turn into various powerful mutant monsters. The calamities caused by the Skull Man are investigated by the Tachiki Detective Agency, with the help of a young man named Tatsuo Kagura, the son of a yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 in the Kagura Clan.

Eventually, later in the story, Police Chief Tachiki, who heads the Tachiki Detective Agency, suspects Tatsuo to be the Skull Man, who, in turn, suspects the detective to be part of a public conspiracy that has been after him for fifteen years. It turns out that he was adopted by the Kagura Clan, and his real parents were murdered, and for those fifteen years, Tatsuo was hunting for the mastermind, who manipulates all industry, finance and even politics. Tatsuo, the Skull Man, threateningly demands Tachiki to tell him the name of the mastermind, after muttering the culprit's family name, Chisato, he is shot in the head by the Skull Man, and he and Garo race off to finally meet him.

The duo race to the estate of a reclusive old man named Kogetsu Chisato, who lives with a girl named Maya, who is mute and blind (she has perpetually closed eyes). With psychotic rage, Skull Man threatens to kill Chisato, who not only kindly welcomes him, but has been looking forward to his arrival. But Maya telepathically persuades him not to kill Chisato, and she reveals a shocking secret: Chisato is Skull Man's grandfather and Maya his younger sister.

Chisato tells his shocked grandson the whole story: his own son, Tatsuo's father, was a scientific genius beyond geniuses. In fact, he was so intelligent and unearthly that he was a mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...

, a being of Newmanity (Shinjinrui - similar to that in Ishinomori's later creation, Inazuman
Inazuman
is a fictional character created by Shotaro Ishinomori. First appearing in the tokusatsu series of the same name, the mutant superhero has gone on to appear in manga and anime.-Inazuman Specs:Inazuman is, in reality, young college student , a mutant...

). His wife, whom he married and had Tatsuo with, was a mutant also. The couple conducted bizarre experiments that could be capable of destroying humanity as we know it. Chisato feared this greatly, so when Maya was born, he killed his own son and daughter-in-law, and also sought to kill his grandson Tatsuo, who was rescued and raised by Garo. He couldn't bring himself to kill Maya, however, and raised her to be his faithful servant. Maya then told Skull Man that Chisato wanted to bring him back before he could do anything.

Chisato then traps himself with Skull Man, Garo and Maya in glass walls, proceeding to set himself and all the others ablaze, sadly stating that "We were born in the wrong era!". Along with his entire "family", Tatsuo, the Skull Man, dies a tragic, horrible death in the inferno, thus ending the original story.

1998 Manga

The 1998 manga is a remake of the original manga. Skull Man revolves around Tatsuo Kagura, who early in his life was subjected to several mutating science experiments that ended up giving him amazing powers and skills. Longing revenge for the murder of his parents he becomes Skull Man, a shadowy crusader who battles The Syndicate and its evil leader Rasputin.

The story begins abruptly with a woman who possesses immense psychic powers killing a man, only to then be attacked herself by a man who can become a bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

, a wolf or an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....

 named Garo. Garo is revealed to be Skull Man’s childhood protector and present ally in the coming war against Rasputin and his hordes of evil mutants. Skull Man makes allies, loses comrades and dies in combat with a lethal mutant as in the first book. What follows is a trip into the world of shadows and the evil within all of us.

Creation

While based on Ishinomori's original manga story, the 1990s version was actually put together by well known manga artist Kazuhiko Shimamoto
Kazuhiko Shimamoto
is a Japanese manga artist. He attended college at the Osaka University of Arts in the fine arts department. While in college in 1982, he debuted in the February special issue of Shōnen Sunday with Hissatsu no Denkousei. At this point he dropped out of college and devoted his energies to becoming a...

, who had been a fan of Ishinomori's work since childhood. Ishinomori contacted Shimamoto towards the end of the former's life, requesting him to work with him on reviving the story of The Skull Man. In accomplishing this, Ishinomori faxed Shimamoto the story premise and plot notes, while Shimamoto put it all together and did the artwork. A few years earlier, Shimamoto worked on a manga adaptation of the movie Kamen Rider ZO
Kamen Rider ZO
, translated as Masked Rider ZO, is a 1993 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, part of their Kamen Rider Series. Directed by Keita Amemiya, the film was the first joint production between Toei Company Limited and Bandai....

, which included a short story about a struggling manga artist who completely idolized a fictional version of Ishinomori.

Cameos

The Skull Man manga features a myriad of cameos of other famous Ishinomori heroes, although this is mainly contained in the final few pages of the manga's last chapter. They include:
  • Joe Shimamura: Joe Shimamura/Cyborg 009
    Cyborg 009
    is a manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different magazines, including Monthly Shōnen King, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Big Comic, COM, Shōjo Comic, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Monthly Shōnen Jump and Monthly Comic Nora in Japan...

     makes his appearance in Chapter 36 and is seen punching out a mugger after rescuing the mugger's victim. During this event, he and Ryuusei, the Skull Man, meet and debate evil and the nature of man over coffee. After the two part company for the evening, they meet again by chance at the docks to stop an illegal deal between corrupt politicians, Ryuusei in his Skull Man garb and Joe in his 00 Cyborg uniform (albeit only seen in silhouette aside from close ups on his face).

  • Kamen Rider
    Kamen Rider
    , is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...

    : Detective Hioka, who pursued the Skull Man, was changed into a Reconstructed Human by the Syndicate. After being rescued by Maria and brought back to Tatsuo/the Skull Man, he then further reconstructed him to be more advanced than the other grasshopper mutants the Syndicate created. In his original mutant form Hioka closely resembles the designs of Kamen Riders ZO and J, and grows his antenna after a battle with Syndicate grunts; his upgraded form is based heavily on the designs of Kamen Rider #1, Hongo Takeshi, Hioka's Kamen Rider rides a motorcycle very much like the original Cyclone motorcycle, possesses a scarf around his neck, and his head appears to be a helmet instead of physically becoming the grasshopper head. However, unlike Kamen Rider #1, his costume is much closer to a motorcycle jacket and pants than the cloth pants and "armored" tunic that costumed Kamen Rider #1, and is seen using a laser pistol in his rescue of The Skull Man.

  • Henshin Ninja Arashi: In the Skull Man manga, A young ninja in the city who is almost killed by an ape-like Syndicate mutant, who stabs him in the chest with a knife. He is found on the brink of death by the Skull Man, and taken back to his laboratory. As the Skull Man hopes to revive him with cyborg technology, the panels reveal feathers flown over indicating that this man is a descendant of Arashi and it is possible that he will receive the powers like his ancestor and will go along with the Skull Man to fight against evil.

  • Gorenger: The five members of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger can be seen in the hero collage at the end of the manga's final chapter.

  • Robot Detective: Robot Detective K, in his civilian clothing, can be seen directly in front of Ki Ranger in the hero collage at the end of the manga's final chapter.

  • Inazuman
    Inazuman
    is a fictional character created by Shotaro Ishinomori. First appearing in the tokusatsu series of the same name, the mutant superhero has gone on to appear in manga and anime.-Inazuman Specs:Inazuman is, in reality, young college student , a mutant...

    : Inazuman can be seen directly in front of Momo Ranger in the hero collage at the end of the manga's final chapter.

  • Kikaider: Kikaider can be seen in his android form in front of and between both Robot Detective K and Inazuman in the hero collage at the end of the manga's final chapter.

  • Space Ironmen Kyodain
    Space Ironmen Kyodain
    was a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction superhero television series. The show, like numerous others of its type and era, were produced as a joint effort between manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori and Toei Company producer Hirayama Tôru. It premiered in 1976 and ran for 48 episodes...

    : Skyzel and Groundzel can both be seen behind and to the right of Henshin Ninja Arashi in the hero collage at the end of the manga with Sky Zero on the right and Ground Zero on the left.

Anime

Studio BONES
Bones (studio)
is a Japanese anime studio. It has produced numerous series, including RahXephon, Wolf's Rain, Scrapped Princess, Eureka Seven, Angelic Layer, Darker than Black, Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club and two adaptions of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga along with Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and...

 adapted Skull Man into a TV anime series which premiered on Fuji TV in April 2007. The series is directed by Takeshi Mori and written by Yutaka Izubuchi
Yutaka Izubuchi
is a Japanese anime designer and director. Izubuchi is credited for designing costumes, characters and creatures, but most of his designs are mechanical...

. A live action "Episode Zero" was shown on April 21, titled "Skullman: Prologue of Darkness," starring Ami Suzuki and Kamen Rider Hibiki
Kamen Rider Hibiki
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fifteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Kamen Rider Hibiki first aired on January 30, 2005 and aired its final episode on January...

 and Death Note
Death Note
is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...

s Shigeki Hosokawa
Shigeki Hosokawa
is a former Japanese model and now a Japanese television and movie actor.He married Mamiko Mise on 2 February 2011.-Shigeki Hosokawa:Shigeki Hosokawa attended Ogaki Municipal North Elementary School and Ogaki Municipal North Junior High School. He then graduated from Ogaki Public High School in...

. It was also set up to be a pseudo prequel of Cyborg 009
Cyborg 009
is a manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different magazines, including Monthly Shōnen King, Weekly Shōnen Magazine, Shōnen Big Comic, COM, Shōjo Comic, Weekly Shōnen Sunday, Monthly Shōnen Jump and Monthly Comic Nora in Japan...

.

Unlike the previous Skull Man, the story closely focuses on a journalist named Hayato Mikogami who returns to his hometown at Otomo to investigate strange rumors of killings done by a man wearing a skull mask. Tailed tightly by a young photographer, Kiriko Mamiya, the two soon uncover the many strings of connections between the victims, a local pharmaceutical company, a mysterious new religious sect and strange half human, half animal creatures, which roam the night streets for blood.

Characters

A mysterious man in skull shaped mask making appearances in Ōtomo City and rumored to have been killing numerous victims in the city, especially those roaming at night. He is believed to be Tatsuo Kagura at first, but then it reveals that Yoshio is the one. After Yoshio's death, Hayato becomes Skull Man himself and saves Maya from the ritual, for Yoshio's sake. The Skull Man is actually not a person, but a suit, granting the user superpowers and deadly weapons. Jin, Kiriko's brother, faked himself as Skull Man, but gets killed later by the real one (Yoshio).

Hayato Mikogami once lived in the orphanage in Ōtomo City. After being adopted and raised, he left Ōtomo to move to Tokyo so he can work for a famous newspaper. Years later at 23 years old, he is working for a second rate newspaper and with permission leaves to go back to Ōtomo City to search for the legendary figure, Skull Man who by rumors had recently killed an actress. While on the train trip, he meets young Kiriko who doesn't have the correct passport to get into the city and he helps her in by presenting a business card of Gōzō. Later, after getting comfortable into his old house, he gets locked outside due to Kiriko's tantrum. Without realizing, he breaks the midnight curfew and witnesses a man who is running away from someone. The man injures Hayato after he tries to help him but the man gets killed by the Skull Man. Hayato collapses on scene, pinning him to the murder but is let off due to this ties with Gōzō.
Hayato is a care-free guy who smokes and is constantly annoyed by Kiriko. Later he develops a close friendship with her.

A 16 year old girl aspiring to be a photographer. Hayato helps her get into the city, and she decides to stick to him and help him in his work. She actually enters the city to look for a friend of hers, Jin, who was with her in the resistance and disappeared two years ago.


Kyōichirō Tachigi
Kyōichirō Tachigi is a 50 year old man who arrives to Ōtomo City on the same train as Hayato Mikogami and Kiriko Mamiya. He is a private investigator who seems to have ulterior motives of catching Skull Man.


Father Yoshio Kanzaki
A 23 year old priest working at an orphanage, and a childhood friend of Hayato.


Hitomi Tachibana
An actress who is killed days prior to the start of the story.


Yui Onizuka
Another actress and a friend of the late Hitomi.


Sayoko Karasuma
Yui's assistant. A mutant who transformed to protect Yui, but is killed by the Skull Man.

An 58 year old acquaintance of Hayato and leader of the Ōtomo Concern. While he pretends to be a philanthropist on the outside, he is directly involved with the incident ten years ago, and is not below using dirty means such as assassination to advance his own agenda.


Sara Kuroshio
Gōzō's wife. She is the chairwoman of the religious organization Byakureikai.


Maya Kuroshio
Gōzō's 17 year old daughter. Despite her weak health she secretly helps out at the orphanage, apparently due to her attraction to Kanzaki. She is also deeply involved with the Byakureikai sect.


Tatsuo Kagura
Allegedly killed in an arson case ten years ago, but rumored to be alive and seeking revenge. Hayato believes this person to be the prime suspect for the identity of the Skull Man.

Episodes

>
# Title Original air date

Cast

Skull Man: Hiroshi Tsuchida
Hiroshi Tsuchida
is a Japanese voice actor and actor affiliated with 81 Produce. Tsuchida is best known for his role as Saizou/NinjaBlue in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.-TV Anime:*Naruto *Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo *Honey and Clover...

Kiriko Mamiya: Ayako Kawasumi
Ayako Kawasumi
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "" and "". She is a skilled pianist, having practiced the piano since childhood....

Maya Kuroshio: Fumiko Orikasa
Fumiko Orikasa
is a Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Atomic Monkey. Her record label is Geneon Entertainment. Shopping is one of her hobbies. She is a skilled dancer, and is referred to as "Oririn" by fellow voice actors and fans. She also performed a fair number of anime insert and character image...

Akira Usami: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Hiroyuki Yoshino
is a Japanese voice actor. He is part of Sigma Seven.-Anime:*Allison & Lillia *Angel Tails *Aquarian Age *Azumanga Daioh *Baccano! *Black Jack...

Hayato Minagami: Makoto Yasumura
Yoshio Kanzaki: Masayuki Katou
Masaki Kumashiro: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Toshiyuki Morikawa
is a prolific Japanese male voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, was affiliated with Arts Vision. Lately, however, he has become the head of that a voice actor company he founded in Apr 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki...

Tetsurou Shingyouji: Hideki Tasaka
Hideki Tasaka
is a Japanese voice actor who currently works for Sigma Seven. He is best known as the voice of Reks in the original Japanese version of Final Fantasy XII and Duelo McFile in Vandread.-TV Anime:*Blood+ - Gestas*Diamond Daydreams - Tezuk...

Kyouichirou Tachigi: Katsunosuke Hori
Katsunosuke Hori
is a veteran Japanese voice actor, actor, and narrator from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. He is a member of 81 Produce.-Voice roles:*Astro Boy *Baldios *The Big O...

Reina Shingyouji: Michiko Neya
Michiko Neya
is a female Japanese voice actress born in Echizen, Fukui . Neya is a freelancer, although she worked at Arts Vision.-Anime:*Aka-chan to Boku *Cardcaptor Sakura *Chrono Crusade...

Gouzou Kuroshio: Osamu Saka
Osamu Saka
is a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Wheeljack in the Japanese dub of , as well as Seitaro Sakaki , Jotaro Honma , and Daisuke Aramaki .-Anime:* Noah Van Hellsing in Blade* Dr...

Tsuyoshi Shinjou: Tomokazu Seki
Tomokazu Seki
is a Japanese voice actor. He formerly worked for Haikyou and is now the head of Atomic Monkey.-About:Some of his most notable roles include Shinichi Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile, Gilgamesh from Fate/stay night, Rob Lucci from One Piece, Gundam characters Domon Kasshu and Yzak Joule, from G Gundam...


External links

Official Website
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