Silver Fang
| Silver Fang | |
| File:Nagarebosi02.jpg Ginga Nagareboshi Gin anime | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Ginga Nagareboshi Gin | |
| Written by | Yoshihiro Takahashi |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Anime | |
| Ginga Nagareboshi Gin | |
| Directed by | Tomoharu Katsumata |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin (Japanese: 銀牙～流れ星銀; Silver Fang in Sweden; Hopeanuoli in Finland; Ezüst Nyíl in Hungary) is a 21-episode, 1986 anime series. It is based on a 1984 manga by the same name that was created by Yoshihiro Takahashi, who was inspired by a news article which told of hunting dogs that had been abandoned by their masters and had begun living as wild animals. The manga originally appeared in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump.
Production
The anime tells the story of an Akita Inu pup called Gin (Japanese for "silver") who leaves his owner, a young boy named Daisuke, to join a pack of wild dogs. The pack is gathering strong dogs from all over Japan to fight a deranged bear named Akakabuto and his minions. The story begins from the point of view of the humans, but swings to the dogs with episode 7 of the anime. It is in that episode that the audience hears the dogs communicating with each other through speech, though to the humans it's still all barking.
The anime was made for Japanese television by Toei Animation, a studio famous for its Dragon Ball anime (which premiered two months earlier in Japan). In western countries the anime was released as a set of four VHS tapes, and severely censored in order to lower the age-limit, which was quite high due to the level of violence and gore. Many important scenes were also cut out in the censored version, including the death of a couple of characters -- they just "disappear" in the censored version, which is very harmful to the storyline. Also, every scene which includes damage to the eye or a splash of blood, was cut out. Because of a lack of knowledge (or funds), the background music disappears, because some scenes were cut out and music cannot just be cut, so it was removed.
Interestingly, the anime has become extremely popular in the Nordic countries (particularly Sweden, Finland and Denmark). The anime has been dubbed in Korean, Swedish, Hungarian, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish. Though many English fans deride the Finnish dub for a considerable lack of emotional expression by the Finnish voice actors, that has not prevented Hopeanuoli, as it is called in Finland, from becoming wildly popular. In 2003 the uncensored and non-dubbed version of the cartoon was released in Finland and Sweden as a 5 DVD box-set, unfortunately it does not include any special features. A corresponding release in Denmark is planned during October 2006. Template:Spoiler
Characters
Humans
- Gohei Takeda
- An old bear hunter in the Ohu Mountains. The village "grandfather", he is 64 years old during the events of GNG. Six years previous, he lost his first dog, Gin's grandfather, to Akakabuto and also got his left ear sliced off by the demon bear. He led the dogs into the final battle with Akakabuto.
- Daisuke
- Gin's owner, and the son of a local skii lodge owner.
- Hidetoshi
- The son of a local mayor that was killed by Akakabuto. He was John's owner. He killed one of Akakabuto's cubs in revenge.
Gin and his family
- Gin
- A silver Tora-ge (tiger-striped) Akita Inu pup. He is the pup that ultimately leads the final battle against Akakabuto.
- Riki
- Gin's father. He was believed killed in the beginning of the series by Akakabuto, but survived and became a wild dog, becoming the leader of a pack of wild dogs. He was ultimately killed in the final battle.
- Fuji
- Gin's mother.
- Shiro
- Gin's grandfather. He was killed by Akakabuto six years ago.
Gin's Pack
- Ben
- A Great Dane/Mastiff mix. He was the leader of a wild dog pack that was allied with Riki's pack. He possess unusual strength and recuperative ability. He was blinded in a trap set by Kurojaki, and turned his pack over to Gin. He recovered some of his sight before the great battle.
- Cross
- A Saluki. A strong fighter in her own right, she was left for dead by her master after an attack by Akakabuto killed the rest of his beardogs. She joined the pack, and eventually fell in love with Ben, becoming his mate. In the story she has three pups: Ken, George and Miney. Ken and George play an important role in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
- John
- A German Shepherd. He was Hidetoshi's hunting dog, but joined the wild dogs after losing a fight with Riki. At first reluctant to trust anyone, he eventually becomes close to Gin.
- Moss
- A Mastiff. He is Ben's half-brother. The leader of a pack himself, Sniper tried to turn Moss against Ben by wounding Moss's son, Jaguar, and trying to pin it on Ben's pack. He came under the leadership of Ben's pack when he lost a fight. He proved to be a valuable ally in the final battle.
- Sniper
- A Doberman. Once Riki's second-in-command, when Riki and Gin reunite, he sees Gin as a threat. He is thrown out of the pack after losing a fight with Gin. Trying to break up the pack before the battle with Akakabuto, he was drowned in a ravine by Ben. (survives in the manga)
- Hyena
- A Weimaraner. Sniper's lieutenant. He committed suicide trying to save Ben from Sniper. (Actually almost drowned Sniper in the manga)
- Smith
- An English Springer Spaniel. One of Gin's commanders. Easy going, but still serious, he becomes a close friend to Gin. He also led Gohei to the final battle with Akakabuto.
- Akatora, Chutora and Kurotora
- The Kai Ken brothers. They were saved from a rogue dog by Ben as pups. Akatora ("red tiger"), the oldest of the three, is killed in the final battle; He sacrificed himself to take out Akakabuto's left eye, leaving the bear totally blind. Chutora ("grey tiger", brown-furred in anime, grey in manga) is the middle one. He receives little to no serious recognition. Kurotora ("black tiger"), the youngest, lost an eye in the aforementioned rogue dog attack (pine martin in the manga). Kurotora's and Chutora's sons, born after the series, play important parts in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
- Akame
- A Kishu Inu. He is the leader of the Iga Ninja Dogs. He aligns with Gin against the rival Koga Ninja Dogs. His son, Jinnai, is killed by Madara.
- Kurojaki
- A Shikoku Inu. He is the leader of the Koga Ninja Dogs. He fights Gin and the Igas, and kills himself by leaping into the burning Iga house. His son, Chibi, is adopted by the pack, and Cross helps raise him until her pups with Ben are born.
- Musashi
- A Mastiff. Once a champion fighting dog, he also joined Gin's group, and led Gin to Benizakura.
- Benizakura
- A Tosa Inu. One of the strongest dogs in Japan. His owner brought Cross to him, and Gin fought with him as well. He eventually joined Gin, and sacrificed himself to ensure the death of one of Akakabuto's minions. (Benizakura is sometimes romanized into Benitsakura.)
- Hakuro
- A Siberian Husky/Alaskan Malamute mix. He travelled all the way from Hokkaido to join the battle against Akakabuto.
- Kisaragi
- An Alaskan Malamute. He is an ambitious pack leader, and fights with Gin's pack before the two ally against Akakabuto.
The Bears
- Akakabuto
- Literally means "red helmet" for the blaze red mane of hair on his head. He has terrorized the humans and dogs of the Ou Mountains for years. His right eye was shot out by Gohei six years previous. Gin killed him in the final battle, cutting his head off with the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga attack.
- Madara
- became Akakabuto's lieutenant after he lasted a battle against Akakabuto. He is killed by Akame and Gin, using a sharp stick as Kirikaze advised.
- Mosa
- Another of Akakabuto's lieutenants; his right paw is deformed and vestigal. He was killed by an attack by Benizakura, who tied him up underwater in a river causing both of them drown.
Ginga Densetsu Weed
In 2000, Takahashi started Ginga Densetsu Weed (Japanese: 銀牙伝説ウイード; "Ginga Densetsu Uiido"), a sequel manga which takes place many years after the original. Gin's son, "Weed", searches for his father whom he has never met. An anime adaptation by Studio DEEN is scheduled to premiere on November 3rd, 2005. The manga is currently published by Nihon Bungeisha. The anime will be published in Finland and other Nordic countries as a DVD on late 2006 by FutureFilm.
Ginga Densetsu Riki
Ginga Densetsu Riki is a short, prequel manga based on Riki's past. It was first published in a Ginga Densetsu Weed magazine, and eventually an entire volume was produced. There is only one volume and it is six chapters long.
External links
- GingaWorld.NET Sweden's biggest Ginga related website
- Unofficial Hopeanuoli Site (in Finnish and English)
- Nagareboshi Gin with detailed character information
- GingaSite.net English/GDW/GDR site
- BlueFang English GNG/GDW site
- Silver Fang Fanhouse Popular English Forum