In just a few weeks, the “Gifū Dōdō!!” manga will be reaching its end. Announced in this year’s November issue of Tokuma Shoten’s Comic Zenon magazine, October 25 marks the series’ end.
“Gifū Dōdō!!” which was first fully known as “Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari,” is a spin-off work of the “Keiji” a period manga authored by Tetsuo Hara and serialized in the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1990 to 1993. It was written by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Yuji Takemura. Serialized in the Weekly Comic Bunch in 2008, it ran for nine volumes until Weekly Comic Bunch folded in 2010. Following this, the series was launched in Comic Zenon’s inaugural issue and ended in 10 volumes.
The final work of the spin-off series, “Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari” was released in March 2014 with art done by Masato Deguchi. The series recently launched its 13th volume on July 20 in Tokuma Shoten.
In 2013, an anime adaptation of the series was made titled “Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji.” It was produced by North Stars Pictures and had its animation production done by Studio Deen. The series ran for a total of 25 episodes between July and December 2018 with creator Hara as the chief director and Bob Shirohata, a director known for having worked on the “Hetalia Axis Powers” series, as the director.
Other staff members for the series included:
Series Composition: Yasuhiro Imagawa
Character Design: Masaaki Kannan
Art Director: Hirofune Hane
Chief Animation Director: Masaaki Kannan
The story of the anime sets during the time when many historical legends were given birth, the Sengoku era. One legend featured in this tale is the brilliant military general of the Uesugi family, Naoe Kanetsugu. Along with him is Maeda Keiji, a legendary warrior on the battlefield whom he becomes lifelong friends with. Together they carve out a piece of history in the most dangerous and volatile time in Japan’s history.
Starring as Kanetsugu is Daisuke Namikawa, the voice behind Nobunobu Hitotsubashi in “Gintama.” As for Keiji, he is voiced by Takuya Satō, a voice actor who has recently voiced in “(The) Thousand Noble Musketeers” as Dreyse.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork