Kurozuka (黒塚) is a Japanese novel written by Baku Yumemakura, published by Shueisha in August 2000. A manga adaptation by Takashi Noguchi was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Oh Super Jump from July 2002 to October 2006, with its chapters collected in ten tankōbon volumes. A 12-episode anime adaptation by Madhouse was broadcast on Animax from October to December 2008.
Contents
Plot
The series begins in 12th century Japan and centers on Kuro, a character based loosely on the legendary Japanese swordsman Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Kuro and his servant, Benkei, meet a beautiful and mysterious woman named Kuromitsu while on the run from Kuro's elder brother, who seeks his life. Kuromitsu and Kuro fall in love, but he soon discovers that she harbors a terrible secret: she is a vampiric immortal. Following an attack by his pursuers, Kuro is badly injured and must imbibe Kuromitsu's blood to save his own life. Kuro is then betrayed and attacked by Benkei, who has been subverted by a shadowy organization called the Red Army, and Kuro's head is severed, which interferes with his transformation into a fully immortal being.
Kuro loses consciousness and wakes up centuries later in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian Japan with his memories of the past century missing. The surviving citizens have fallen under constant oppression by the Red Army, and Kuro is quickly found and recruited by an underground revolutionary movement called Haniwa. The remaining episodes follow Kuro's fight with the Red Army and its host of elite warriors, who have been hunting Kuromitsu for her blood, believing it contains the secret to eternal life; focusing on Kuro's quest to find his inexplicably lost love.
In the first few episodes, the story shows Kuro's memories of travelling through the centuries with Kuromitsu with gaps in the recollection indicating lapses in his memory. The recollections show the past up until Kuromitsu goes missing.
Characters
Kuro (クロウ)
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese); Brad Swaile (English)
Kuromitsu (黒蜜)
Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese); Janyse Jaud (English)
Benkei (弁慶)
Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese); Paul Dobson (English)
Karuta (歌留多)
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese); Trevor Devall (English)
Kuon (久遠)
Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese); Samuel Vincent, Adrian Petriw (Kuon Prime) (English)
Izana (居座魚)
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese); Michael Dobson (English)
Saniwa (沙仁輪)
Voiced by: Toshiko Fujita (Japanese); Cathy Weseluck (English)
Kurumasou (車僧)
Voiced by: Banjō Ginga (Japanese); Don Brown (English)
Rai (ライ)
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese); Kelly Sheridan (English)
Kagetsu (花月)
Voiced by: Kaori Yamagata (Japanese); Nicole Oliver (English)
Tonba (トンバ)
Media
Novel
Written by Baku Yumemakura, the Kurozuka novel was published Shueisha on August 25, 2000. Shueisha republished it in bunkoban format on February 20, 2003, and in digital format on November 1, 2013.
Manga
A manga adaptation by Takashi Noguchi was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Oh Super Jump from July 18, 2002, to October 18, 2006. Shueisha collected its chapters in ten tankōbon volumes, released from January 6, 2003, to December 4, 2006.
Anime
A 12-episode anime television series adaptation was produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsurō Araki, with Yoshinobu Fujioka, Tsutomu Shirado and Araki himself handling series composition, Masanori Shino designing the characters and Kiyoshi Yoshida composing the music. It was broadcast on Animax and BS11 from October 7 to December 23, 2008. The opening song is "Systematic People", performed by Wagdug Futuristic Unity featuring Maximum the Ryo-kun (Maximum the Hormone), while the ending theme is "Hanarebanare" (ハナレバナレ), performed by Shigi.
An English dub began streaming in the United States on Crackle in January 2012 and the series was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on December 4 of that same year.