.gif)
Black Cat (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese Shōnen
manga
series written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki
. It was originally serialized in Japan in Shueisha
's Weekly Shōnen Jump
. It was later collected in twenty tankōbon
volumes from January 11, 2001 to October 9, 2004. The series was adapted into a twenty-four episode anime
series by Gonzo
studio. It debuted in Japan on the anime satellite television
network Animax
and the terrestrial
Tokyo Broadcasting System
network on October 6, 2005 with its final episode airing on March 30, 2006. The story centers on a man named Train Heartnet who withdrew from an elite group of assassins called the to become a bounty hunter, or Sweeper.
Viz Media
licensed the manga series for English-language publication in North America and as of May 2009, have released all 20 volumes of the series. Funimation Entertainment
licensed the anime series for North American broadcast where it was broadcast on the Funimation Channel
. The series later were released on six DVD compilations, as well as a Complete Series boxed set.
-forged weapons and are called the Chrono Numbers, assassins who work for Chronos. When the thirteenth Chronos Number (Train Heartnet), also known as the infamous Black Cat, meets a Sweeper (licensed bounty hunter) named Saya Minatsuki, Train's morals and values are changed from those of Chronos's to those of his own. Instead of killing his victims like he is ordered to, he merely uses Hades (his orihilcon gun) to stop them instead. This leads to tension between him and the Chronos Elders, the leaders of Chronos, and eventually culminates in Train's departure from the organization. Creed Diskenth, a Chronos assassin, resents the way that Saya changed Train's life, and murders her. Two years later, Train is an easygoing Sweeper, traveling with his partners Sven Vollfied and Eve, when Creed appears before Train once more. Creed, now with followers and power that rival anyone alive, including the numbers, vows to get Train to join him. Train must choose his friends and new life, or revenge, as Creed threatens to undermine Chronos and start his own World Revolution.
, Black Cats main theme is Train's journey to find freedom. When the manga ended serialization, Yabuki expressed desire to make a sequel from the manga labelling the series as "Part 1". As he was not sure if there could be a sequel, Yabuki still remarked that the characters of Train Heartnet and Eve may appear in other titles he would make in the future.
in Weekly Shōnen Jump
magazine from 2001 to 2004. One hundred and eighty-five chapters were collected in twenty tankōbon
volumes by Shueisha. The first volume on January 6, 2000, with the final volume released on October 14, 2004.
It was licensed in English in North America by Viz Media
as they first announced at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con International. The first volume released on March 8, 2006 with the final volume released on May 5, 2009. Madman Entertainment
published Viz's English release in Australia and New Zealand. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in Dutch by Glénat Benelux, French by Glénat
, Italian by Star Comics
, German by Carlsen Comics, Simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi
, and traditional Chinese by Tong Li Publishing.
studio adapted Black Cat into a twenty-four episode anime series, directed by Shin Itagaki. Black Cat was later licensed for an English-language dubbed release by Funimation Entertainment
in June 2006. Animax
and the terrestrial
Tokyo Broadcasting System
(TBS) network with its final episode broadcast on March 30, 2006. Episode fifteen was not broadcast by TBS, but only by Animax. In Japan, the series was released across twelve Region 2
DVD
volumes from December 21, 2005 to November 22, 2006. Each volume was also published in Premium Edition which included various extras. The DVD volumes were gathered in a limited release DVD boxset by Sony Pictures Entertainment
on April 23, 2008. The episodes were then licensed and dubbed by Funimation Entertainment and were broadcast on Funimation Channel
. The series was then released across six Region 1
DVD volumes released between December 19, 2006 and July 24, 2007. The DVDs were gathered in a boxset and released on March 18, 2008.
_soundtrack.png)
A full anime soundtrack was released on March 15, 2006 entitled Black Cat Original Soundtrack Nikukyu (lit. Pawpad). It contains the opening and ending themes along with twenty-one tracks of background music.
The background music in the series was composed by Iwasaki Taku, a Japanese composer and arranger. The opening theme 'daia no hana anime ver.' was written and composed by Yoriko. The first ending theme 'namida boshi anime ver.' was composed by PUPPYPET and the second ending theme 'kutsuzure anime ver.' was composed by Matsuda Ryouji.
. Black Cat: Kuroneko no Concerto (lit. The Black Cat's Concerto) was released for the Nintendo DS
on June 21, 2007 by Compile Heart
. Characters of the Black Cat series have also made appearances in the games Jump Super Stars
and Jump Ultimate Stars
.
as well as Nielsen BookScan
. During 2006, Black Cat was North America 9th best Manga property according to ICv2. In ICv2 Top 50 Manga, Black Cat was listed as the 15th Manga property from North America during the first half from 2008. In ICv2's Top 25 Manga Properties Q1 2009, it was the 22nd best manga property from North America during 2009's first quarter.
The anime has been listed as North America 22nd's anime property during summer from 2008. Navarre Corporation
cited the DVD releases from Black Cat as the main reason for Funimation's profit increase during the last quarter from 2006.
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki
Kentaro Yabuki
is a Japanese manga artist. His mentor is Takeshi Obata, the illustrator of Death Note, Hikaru no Go and Bakuman.Yabuki is best known for the series Black Cat which ran 20 volumes and was published in the United States. Upon its ending, Yabuki expressed desire to make a sequel from the series, or...
. It was originally serialized in Japan in Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
's Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
. It was later collected in twenty tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes from January 11, 2001 to October 9, 2004. The series was adapted into a twenty-four episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series by Gonzo
GONZO
, stylized as GONZO, is a Japanese anime studio, owned by the company's corporate parent, the GDH group. In June 2006, it signed a long-term output deal with the anime television network, Animax, which saw Animax broadcasting all of Gonzo's anime titles across all of its networks around the world,...
studio. It debuted in Japan on the anime satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
network Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
and the terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
Tokyo Broadcasting System
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
network on October 6, 2005 with its final episode airing on March 30, 2006. The story centers on a man named Train Heartnet who withdrew from an elite group of assassins called the to become a bounty hunter, or Sweeper.
Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
licensed the manga series for English-language publication in North America and as of May 2009, have released all 20 volumes of the series. Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
licensed the anime series for North American broadcast where it was broadcast on the Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
. The series later were released on six DVD compilations, as well as a Complete Series boxed set.
Plot
Chronos, an organization bent on world peace, rules one third of the world's economy. To maintain the balance of the world, Chronos is therefore essential, and there is a need for people to protect Chronos. Thirteen special elite assassins each possess unique orichalcumOrichalcum
Orichalcum is a metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato. According to Critias, orichalcum was considered second only to gold in value, and was found and mined in many parts of Atlantis in ancient times....
-forged weapons and are called the Chrono Numbers, assassins who work for Chronos. When the thirteenth Chronos Number (Train Heartnet), also known as the infamous Black Cat, meets a Sweeper (licensed bounty hunter) named Saya Minatsuki, Train's morals and values are changed from those of Chronos's to those of his own. Instead of killing his victims like he is ordered to, he merely uses Hades (his orihilcon gun) to stop them instead. This leads to tension between him and the Chronos Elders, the leaders of Chronos, and eventually culminates in Train's departure from the organization. Creed Diskenth, a Chronos assassin, resents the way that Saya changed Train's life, and murders her. Two years later, Train is an easygoing Sweeper, traveling with his partners Sven Vollfied and Eve, when Creed appears before Train once more. Creed, now with followers and power that rival anyone alive, including the numbers, vows to get Train to join him. Train must choose his friends and new life, or revenge, as Creed threatens to undermine Chronos and start his own World Revolution.
Development
According to Kentaro YabukiKentaro Yabuki
is a Japanese manga artist. His mentor is Takeshi Obata, the illustrator of Death Note, Hikaru no Go and Bakuman.Yabuki is best known for the series Black Cat which ran 20 volumes and was published in the United States. Upon its ending, Yabuki expressed desire to make a sequel from the series, or...
, Black Cats main theme is Train's journey to find freedom. When the manga ended serialization, Yabuki expressed desire to make a sequel from the manga labelling the series as "Part 1". As he was not sure if there could be a sequel, Yabuki still remarked that the characters of Train Heartnet and Eve may appear in other titles he would make in the future.
Manga
Written and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki, Black Cat was originally serialized in Japan by ShueishaShueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
in Weekly Shōnen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
magazine from 2001 to 2004. One hundred and eighty-five chapters were collected in twenty tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes by Shueisha. The first volume on January 6, 2000, with the final volume released on October 14, 2004.
It was licensed in English in North America by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
as they first announced at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con International. The first volume released on March 8, 2006 with the final volume released on May 5, 2009. Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
published Viz's English release in Australia and New Zealand. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in Dutch by Glénat Benelux, French by Glénat
Glénat (publisher)
Glénat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble. The company publishes many things, including comic books and manga in France, Benelux, and Spain; it was founded by Jacques Glénat. The Spanish subsidiary has its head office in Barcelona. The Benelux subsidiary, Glénat...
, Italian by Star Comics
Star Comics
Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and continued to publish comic books until early 1988. Titles published by the imprint were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys...
, German by Carlsen Comics, Simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. is a publishing company based in Singapore that specializes in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise, in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributes all or some of its products in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines...
, and traditional Chinese by Tong Li Publishing.
Anime
GonzoGONZO
, stylized as GONZO, is a Japanese anime studio, owned by the company's corporate parent, the GDH group. In June 2006, it signed a long-term output deal with the anime television network, Animax, which saw Animax broadcasting all of Gonzo's anime titles across all of its networks around the world,...
studio adapted Black Cat into a twenty-four episode anime series, directed by Shin Itagaki. Black Cat was later licensed for an English-language dubbed release by Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
in June 2006. Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
and the terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
Tokyo Broadcasting System
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
(TBS) network with its final episode broadcast on March 30, 2006. Episode fifteen was not broadcast by TBS, but only by Animax. In Japan, the series was released across twelve Region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
volumes from December 21, 2005 to November 22, 2006. Each volume was also published in Premium Edition which included various extras. The DVD volumes were gathered in a limited release DVD boxset by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
on April 23, 2008. The episodes were then licensed and dubbed by Funimation Entertainment and were broadcast on Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
. The series was then released across six Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD volumes released between December 19, 2006 and July 24, 2007. The DVDs were gathered in a boxset and released on March 18, 2008.
CDs
There were three drama CDs based on the series released between February 28, 2005 and October 14, 2005.The background music in the series was composed by Iwasaki Taku, a Japanese composer and arranger. The opening theme 'daia no hana anime ver.' was written and composed by Yoriko. The first ending theme 'namida boshi anime ver.' was composed by PUPPYPET and the second ending theme 'kutsuzure anime ver.' was composed by Matsuda Ryouji.
Light novel
With the permission from the author, Kentaro Yabuki, Tomohito Ōsaki wrote a light novel titled Black Cat: Hoshi no Zanshou (lit. The Star's Afterglow). It was released in Japan in October 2005.Video games
There were two video games released in Japan. was released for the PlayStation 2 on March 30, 2006 by CapcomCapcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. Black Cat: Kuroneko no Concerto (lit. The Black Cat's Concerto) was released for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
on June 21, 2007 by Compile Heart
Compile Heart
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded in 2006-06-02. It is a division of Idea Factory. The company was formerly managed by Compile's former executive Moo Niitani before his retirement in 2006-12....
. Characters of the Black Cat series have also made appearances in the games Jump Super Stars
Jump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
.
Reception
As of 2008, Black Cats twenty volumes sold 12 million units in Japan. Volumes from Viz's publication of the series have also been featuring in best-selling manga rankings such as The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as well as Nielsen BookScan
Nielsen BookScan
Nielsen BookScan is a data provider for the book publishing industry, owned by the Nielsen Company. BookScan compiles point of sale data for book sales.-History:...
. During 2006, Black Cat was North America 9th best Manga property according to ICv2. In ICv2 Top 50 Manga, Black Cat was listed as the 15th Manga property from North America during the first half from 2008. In ICv2's Top 25 Manga Properties Q1 2009, it was the 22nd best manga property from North America during 2009's first quarter.
The anime has been listed as North America 22nd's anime property during summer from 2008. Navarre Corporation
Navarre Corporation
Navarre Corp. is a public distribution and publishing company founded in 1983 by Eric H. Paulson. The company is headquartered in New Hope, Minnesota...
cited the DVD releases from Black Cat as the main reason for Funimation's profit increase during the last quarter from 2006.