Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings
Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings is a Japanese novel series written by Yoshiki Tanaka. It is loosely based on Chinese mythology.
It was written by Tanaka in collaboration with illustrators Yoshitaka Amano and manga artist group Clamp. It is written with a humorous and satirical tone. It published the 15th volume as of 2020.
On July 24, 2008, at San Diego Comic-Con, North American publisher Del Rey announced that they have secured the license to the Sohryuden novel series. This would have been the first work by Yoshiki Tanaka to be released in English. This was projected to be released in 2009, but was seen on online bookstores as having a 2011 release date. Due to the closure of Del Rey, the release has been cancelled.
Story
The story features four divine Dragon Kings, rulers of the four parts of the world according to Chinese myths. The brothers are reborn in the modern world, complete with supernatural powers and the ability to become the Dragons which are their true forms. They are content to live ordinary lives as long as nobody meddles with them.It becomes the mission of the four brothers to defeat the "Four Sisters", organization headed by four tycoons from America connected with the "Bulls" - enemies of the Dragons who have received ownership of the Western half of the world while the Dragons keep rule over the Eastern half of the world - 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".
Anime
The contents to the 1st through the 6th volumes of an original novel serve as a base for the 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. The new releases came out November 22, 2005.
The anime was also released in the UK and Australia under the title of The Legend of the Four Kings by Manga Entertainment across six videos. The series was only released on VHS and is now long out of print.
Manga
The Clamp version was serialized as 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 a tankōbon format artbook under the title Sohryuden Genga-shu in 2004. Additionally, there is a manga short drawn for the Sohryuden drama CD, which had been included in Sohryuden Genga-shu.In 2004–2005, manga artist Kōji Megumi serialized another manga version of Sohryuden as a comedy starring Owaru. Serialized in Magazine Special of Kodansha, it is Koji's debut work and has received positive reception and reviews. It was compiled into five volumes.
Characters
;Hajime Ryudo;Tsuzuku Ryudo
;Owaru Ryudo
;Amaru Ryudo
;Matsuri Toba
;Seiichiro Toba
;Saeko Toba
;Tadayoshi Funazu
;Patricia Cecile Lansdale/Lady L
;Shuhei Furuta
;Kengo Takabayashi
;Hatsushi Tamozawa