Grenadier - The Senshi of Smiles
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series written and illustrated by Sōsuke Kaise
, published in Kadokawa Shoten
's Shōnen Ace
in 2003. The manga was licensed in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing
.
The manga was adapted into an animated
television series in 2004. The anime series aired on WOWOW
from October 14, 2004 to January 13, 2005, totaling twelve episodes.
, and the samurai
Yajirō Kojima, a mercenary swordsman. A Senshi or "Enlightened" is one who is skilled to some degree in the use of guns. The series begins with Yajirō and a small army of samurai launching a frontal assault
against a fort in an attempt to free their lord, which was taken over by a group of gunners. The assault fails.
Yajirō orders a retreat, but is spotted by the enemy and chased to a small cliff, which he jumps off of to escape. With his pursuers still following, he follows a nearby hot-water stream upcurrent where he finds Rushuna bathing in a hot spring
. She seems undisturbed by his presence or her own nudity and hides him in the hot spring with her ample breast
s as cover until the enemy passes them by. After this, she introduces herself as a traveler and reveals the ultimate battle strategy to Yajirō; to avoid battle by removing an enemy's will to fight.
Hearing the gunfire of the renewed assault upon the fort, Yajirō leaves Rushuna to rejoin combat. He arrives in time to see the leader of the gunners use a Gatling gun
to decimate the samurai. Rushuna also arrives at this point and shows her considerable gun talent and effectively ends the battle by defeating the lead gunner and rescuing the lord by herself.
Something in him changing, Yajirō decides to become Rushuna's partner and travel with her.
During their travels, Rushuna and Yajirō face a mysterious masked figure known only as "The Jester" who is responsible for a weapon called "Enlightened Evil". Then they discover that Tenshi, who sent Rushuna to travel in order to learn the "Ultimate Battle Strategy", had apparently put a price on her head. Joined by a young girl named Mikan Kurenai, a balloon maker, Rushuna and Yajirō make their way to the capital of Tento. Along the way they overcome many of the Juttensen, Tenshi's elite personal bodyguard.
When the three reach Tento they discover the truth and the final showdown against the Jester begins.
Yajirō Kojima is a swordsman also known as the "Rearguard Tiger" or "Tiger of the Rearguard", who battles in an attempt to bring about world unity.
Mikan Kurenai is an orphaned girl who comes from a family of balloon makers. Despite her young age, she is a master balloon artist, being able to construct balloons of all shapes and sizes.
from October 14, 2004 till January 13, 2005.
Anime
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 Sōsuke Kaise
Sosuke Kaise
is a Japanese manga artist, whose single success is Grenadier, published in Shōnen Ace by Kadokawa Shoten. He did however create a number of one shot manga in prior to that, also published in Kadokawa magazines. Grenadier started with two one offs in November 2000 and February 2001, but didn't...
, published in Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
's Shōnen Ace
Shonen Ace
is a monthly shōnen manga magazine in Japan published by Kadokawa Shoten, started in 1994. Unlike the big shōnen weeklies with circulation figures in the millions, Ace is aimed at a less mainstream audience, and has a particular emphasis on anime tie-ins...
in 2003. The manga was licensed in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing
Ever Glory Publishing
is a Taiwanese publisher of manga. It was founded in June 1991. In October 1992, the company obtained the Chinese license for Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion...
.
The manga was adapted into an animated
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....
television series in 2004. The anime series aired on WOWOW
WOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
from October 14, 2004 to January 13, 2005, totaling twelve episodes.
Plot
Grenadier follows the travels of the extremely well-formed and beautiful Rushuna Tendō, an expert senshiSenshi
"Senshi" is Japanese for "soldier", "warrior", or "fighter". It may also refer to:* Brandon Silvestry, a professional wrestler better known by his ring names Low Ki, Kaval and Senshi...
, and the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
Yajirō Kojima, a mercenary swordsman. A Senshi or "Enlightened" is one who is skilled to some degree in the use of guns. The series begins with Yajirō and a small army of samurai launching a frontal assault
Frontal assault
The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, hostile movement of forces toward the front of an enemy force . By targeting the enemy's front, the attackers are subjecting themselves to the maximum defensive power of the enemy...
against a fort in an attempt to free their lord, which was taken over by a group of gunners. The assault fails.
Yajirō orders a retreat, but is spotted by the enemy and chased to a small cliff, which he jumps off of to escape. With his pursuers still following, he follows a nearby hot-water stream upcurrent where he finds Rushuna bathing in a hot spring
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
. She seems undisturbed by his presence or her own nudity and hides him in the hot spring with her ample breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s as cover until the enemy passes them by. After this, she introduces herself as a traveler and reveals the ultimate battle strategy to Yajirō; to avoid battle by removing an enemy's will to fight.
Hearing the gunfire of the renewed assault upon the fort, Yajirō leaves Rushuna to rejoin combat. He arrives in time to see the leader of the gunners use a Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
to decimate the samurai. Rushuna also arrives at this point and shows her considerable gun talent and effectively ends the battle by defeating the lead gunner and rescuing the lord by herself.
Something in him changing, Yajirō decides to become Rushuna's partner and travel with her.
During their travels, Rushuna and Yajirō face a mysterious masked figure known only as "The Jester" who is responsible for a weapon called "Enlightened Evil". Then they discover that Tenshi, who sent Rushuna to travel in order to learn the "Ultimate Battle Strategy", had apparently put a price on her head. Joined by a young girl named Mikan Kurenai, a balloon maker, Rushuna and Yajirō make their way to the capital of Tento. Along the way they overcome many of the Juttensen, Tenshi's elite personal bodyguard.
When the three reach Tento they discover the truth and the final showdown against the Jester begins.
Characters
Rushuna Tendō is a senshi was trained in the positive teachings and kind ideals of Tenshi. A former pre-Juttensen candidate, she is trained in the use of a revolver, specializing in shooting to disable rather than to kill.Yajirō Kojima is a swordsman also known as the "Rearguard Tiger" or "Tiger of the Rearguard", who battles in an attempt to bring about world unity.
Mikan Kurenai is an orphaned girl who comes from a family of balloon makers. Despite her young age, she is a master balloon artist, being able to construct balloons of all shapes and sizes.
Anime
was adapted by Studio Live into an anime television series comprising 12 episodes. It began airing on WOWOWWOWOW
WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. It has its headquarters on the 21st floor of the Akasaka Park Building in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo...
from October 14, 2004 till January 13, 2005.
| # | Title | | Original air date |
|---|
Reception
Manga- "If you prefer your action stories free of humor and completely serious then this series isn't for you. But if you like the idea of a skimpily-clad lead female character who reloads her revolver by bouncing six bullets out of her cleavage and loading them into her gun in midair then you should check out this title." — Matthew Alexander, Mania.
- "Yes, Rushuna is eye-candy and there are plenty of upskirt shots to keep most otaku happy, but she's also a complete badass with a gun. Hopefully future volumes will develop her character more so this isn't all we have to judge her on." — A. E. Sparrow, IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
.
Anime
- "The character of Yajiro is a refreshing change from the typical male sidekick seen in this genre. Rushuna's character is not quite as appealing at the start, but her ties to the underlying main plot, along with the plot itself, have great potential." — Luis Cruz, Mania.
- "Well, Rushuna seems to have a penchant for baths and hotsprings, which means nudity of the non-explicit variety. There are also a lot of battles and fights, which does lead to red shirtRedshirt (character)A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates with fans of Star Trek , from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers who frequently die during episodes.-Star Trek:...
death and bleeding wounds. Things never get really messy, though, so the show is probably fine for teenagers." — Stig Høgset, T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
External links
- Tokyopop's Grenadier website via the Wayback MachineWayback MachineThe Wayback Machine is a digital time capsule created by the Internet Archive non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California. It is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the Archive calls a "three...