The Sword of Shibito
| The Sword of Shibito | |
 Cover of the first Japanese volume | |
| しびとの剣 (Shibito no Ken) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hideyuki Kikuchi |
| Illustrated by | Missile Kakurai |
| Published by | Gentosha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Comic Birz |
| Original run | 1999 – 2002 |
| Volumes | 8 |
The Sword of Shibito (Japanese: しびとの剣, Hepburn: Shibito no Ken) is a manga series written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Missile Kakurai (加倉井ミサイル). It was serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Comic Birz from 1998 until 2002.[1][2] The Sword of Shibito was also licensed in English by Central Park Media and in French by 12 Bis.[3]
The manga takes place in the Edo period of Japan.[4]
Plot
[edit]Set in the Sengoku and later Edo periods[4], the story unfolds around the eerie castle towering over Adachigahara (安達ヶ原)—a place said to be inhabited by demons. There, Ietora (家虎), a member of the long-extinct Saezuki Clan (冴月家) that perished a hundred years earlier, performs a forbidden ritual to restore the clan’s former glory: implanting the soul of his son into a stitched-together corpse, in a manner reminiscent of Frankenstein’s monster.
From eternal slumber, Shibitei (紫靡帝)—also known as Shibito (しびと)—rises once more!
As the story transitions into the Edo period, a wandering physician named Kinzo (金蔵) becomes entangled in the Saezuki clan’s dark ambitions. One member seeks to turn Shibito into the strongest samurai in Japan, using him as a tool to bring the clan back to power. However, Shibito, suffering from temporary memory loss, struggles between his human soul and monstrous nature. Kinzo attempts to teach and guide him—while also trying to gain control over the resurrected warrior, who fiercely resists obeying anyone’s commands.[5][6]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 September 1998 | 978-4796297417 | January 4, 2005 | — |
| 2 | 29 July 1999 | 978-4789781404 | April 20, 2005 | 978-1586649913 |
| 3 | 29 January 2000 | 978-4789782258 | July 27, 2005 | 9781578007202 |
| 4 | 29 August 2000 | 978-4789782913 | ||
| 5 | 27 February 2001 | 978-4789783408 | ||
| 6 | 29 August 2001 | 978-4789783743 | ||
| 7 | 23 March 2002 | 978-4344800410 | ||
| 8 | 21 November 2002 | 978-4344801561 |
Reception
[edit]Mania.com's Jarred Pine criticises the manga for its art, which is "a horrible mess".[8] Animefringe's authors agreed and noted that "the cover art looks great and you get two pages in the manga that look excellent so it’s upsetting to see this".[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Sabre de Shibito (le) ( KAKURAI Missile KIKUCHI Hideyuki )" (in French). Manga news. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ しびとの剣 1 (スコラSC) (in Japanese). ASIN 4796297413.
- ^ "Le Sabre de Shibito 2 / Editions 12bis" (in French). 12 bis. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ a b Thompson, Jason. Manga: The Complete Guide. — Del Rey, 2007. — P. 165. — ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8
- ^ "DropCatch.com". www.dropcatch.com. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ^ "Animefringe: April 2005 - Manga Shorts". www.animefringe.com. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
- ^ "魔界都市＜新宿＞ 菊地秀行コミックリスト". www.cwo.zaq.ne.jp. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Sword of Shibito Vol. #01 - Mania.com". Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ Janet Crocker; Adam Arnold; Shannon Fay; Maria Lin; Joe Luscik; Megan Sutton. (April 2005). "Manga Shorts. The Sword of Shibito Vol. 1". Animefringe. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
External links
[edit]- The Sword of Shibito (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
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