The Law of Ueki
The Law of Ueki is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsubasa Fukuchi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from July 2001 to October 2004, with its chapters collected in 16 volumes. A sequel, The Law of Ueki Plus, was serialized in the same magazine from April 2005 to June 2007, with its chapters collected in five tankōbon volumes. The Law of Ueki was licensed in North America by Viz Media.
A 51-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Deen was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 2005 to March 2006. In North America, the series was first licensed by Geneon in 2005 and later by Discotek Media in 2018.
Plot
The story starts out with the Battle of the Supernatural Powers, a tournament to decide which Celestial will be the next King of the Celestial World.Each of the 100 King Candidates is required to choose a junior high school student to act as their power user. The student is given a unique power and told to eliminate as many enemies as possible. The winning King Candidate will become the new King of the Celestial World and the winning student will receive the Blank Talent, a talent that can be anything they choose.
While this leads many students to thoughts of greed and selfishness, Kosuke Ueki decides to take it upon himself to win this tournament to keep that power away from those that would abuse such a gift.
''The Law of Ueki Plus''
Two years after the tournament in The Law of Ueki, Kosuke Ueki is now a 3rd year student in Hinokuni Junior High School. For some reason, everyone in the real world has lost their memory of their most important person, including his friends who participated in the tournament two years ago. Ueki is the only one unaffected, and is fighting in order to restore everyone's memories. He follows a little sheep named U-lu to another world called Hangekai where he meets new companions and gains new abilities.Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Tsubasa Fukuchi, The Law of Ueki was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from July 25, 2001, to October 13, 2004. Shogakukan collected its 154 individual chapters in sixteen volumes, released from December 18, 2001, to January 14, 2005.In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Viz Media in 2005. The sixteen volumes were published from August 8, 2006, to February 10, 2009.
A sequel, The Law of Ueki Plus, was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from April 6, 2005, to June 20, 2007. Its 46 individual chapters were collected in five tankōbon volumes, released from August 8, 2005, to September 18, 2007. A special one-shot chapter, on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Sunday, titled "The Law of Ueki – Exhibition", was published in the magazine on December 4, 2024.
Anime
A 51-episode anime television series adaptation by Studio Deen was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 4, 2005, to March 27, 2006. The series is directed by Hiroshi Watanabe, with series composition by Toshifumi Kawase and music by Akifumi Tada. Avex collected the series on seventeen DVDs. Episodes 1–27 were released on nine volumes from August 10, 2005, to April 12, 2006. Episodes 28–51 were released on eight volumes from May 10 to December 13, 2006. The first opening theme for episodes 1–32 is "Falco" by Hitomi Shimatani, and the second opening theme for episodes 33–51 is "No Regret" by Kumi Koda. The first ending theme for episodes 1–15 is "Kokoro no Wakusei (Little Planets)" by Aiko Kayo. The second ending theme for episodes 16–32 is "Earthship: Uchūsen Chikyūgō" by SweetS. The third ending theme for episodes 33–42 is "Kono Machi de wa Dare Mo ga Mina Jibun Igai no Nani Ka ni Narita garu" by The Ivory Brothers. The fourth ending theme for episodes 43–50 is "Bokutachi ni Aru Mono" by Romi Park. The ending theme for episode 51 is "True Blue" by Hitomi Shimatani.In North America, the series was first licensed by Geneon Entertainment. Geneon released the first 36 episodes of the series on nine DVDs from May 16, 2006, to September 18, 2007. In Southeast Asia, the series was broadcast on Animax Asia. The series was broadcast in the United States on ImaginAsian TV's Anime EnerG programming block starting on January 30, 2007. On July 3, 2008, Geneon and Funimation announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon would still retain the license, Funimation would assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. The Law of Ueki was one of several titles involved in the deal. Funimation released the entire series on a DVD box set on June 9, 2009. The rights to the series expired in 2011. In May 2018, Discotek Media announced the acquisition of the series. It was released on Blu-ray Disc on July 31, 2018. The series was added to Crunchyroll's catalog in May 2021.