Peacock King


Peacock King is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Ogino. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 1985 to 1989, with its chapters collected in 17 tankōbon volumes. It spawned four other manga series. The original manga was licensed in North America in 2020 by Manga Planet.
Peacock King was adapted into a five-episode original video animation, released from 1988 to 1994, and licensed in North America by U.S. Manga Corps, under the title Spirit Warrior. Two live-action films were released, in 1988 and 1990.

Story

Kujaku is a Buddhist monk who specializes in exorcism and devil hunting. He is a member of Ura-Kōya, a secret organization in Japan that specializes in demon hunting. Kujaku confronts Rikudoshu, a secret evil organization led by the Teachers of Eight Leaves. The goal of the Teachers of Eight Leaves is to revive Peacock King and Snake Queen, and allow them to fight each other to give birth to the ultimate Dark Vairocana. During the story, the Teachers of Eight Leaves tried various methods to achieve their goal, but were ultimately defeated by Kujaku and his friends.

Characters

;Kujaku
;Ashura
;Tarōja Onimaru
;Kō Kaihō
;Jikū Ajari
;Nikkō
;Tomoko
;Tsukuyomi

Publication

Peacock King, written and illustrated by Makoto Ogino, was first serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 1985 to 1989. Its chapters were collected in seventeen tankōbon volumes, released from July 1, 1986, to May 1, 1990.
A sequel, Kujaku Ō: Taimaseiden, was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from 1990 to 1992. Shueisha collected its chapters in eleven tankōbon volumes, released from February 1, 1991, to December 1, 1993.
A second sequel, Kujaku Ō: Magarigamiki, was serialized in Weekly Young Jump from March 23, 2006, to October 22, 2009, and later in Monthly Young Jump from November 17, 2009, to February 16, 2010. Shueisha collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from August 18, 2006, to March 19, 2010.
A spin-off series, Kujaku Ō: Rising, was serialized in Shogakukan's Monthly Big Comic Spirits from March 27, 2012, to June 27, 2019. Shogakukan collected its chapters in ten tankōbon volumes, released from October 30, 2012, to July 30, 2019.
A third sequel, Kujaku Ō: Sengoku Tensei was published in Leed's Comic Ran Twins from October 26, 2012, to June 27, 2016, and later in Comic Ran from October 27, 2016, to June 27, 2019. Leed collected the chapters in five tankōbon volumes, released from December 27, 2013, to July 30, 2019.

Adaptations

Films

The manga has been adapted into two Hong Kong live action films, Peacock King and Saga of the Phoenix, both directed by Lam Ngai Kai. The former, released in 1988, stars Hiroshi Mikami and Yuen Biao as the two monks, and Gloria Yip as Ashura. Gordon Liu, Kara Wai and Philip Kwok appear in supporting roles.

Video games

Family Computer

  • Kujaku Ō
  • '''Kujaku Ō II'''

    Sega

  • Kujaku Ō
  • '''Kujaku Ō 2: Gen'eijō'''