Wolverine's appeal and fight scenes: Sharp claws and indomitable spirit

Wolverine - Vulverin - reviews and recommendations

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

Anime Original

■ Broadcast period

January 7, 2011 - March 25, 2011
January 7, 2011 to March 25, 2011 (1 to 12 times)

■Broadcasting station

Animax

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 12

■Original Story

Marvel Comics

■ Director

Hiroshi Aoyama

■ Production

Produced by Superhero Anime Partners
Animation Production: Madhouse

■Works

©2011Superhero Anime Partners

■ Story

Logan/Wolverine comes to Japan to search for Mariko, a Japanese woman he fell in love with in New York and then suddenly disappeared. Mariko's father is Yashida Shingen, the leader of a yakuza organization called Kuzuryu. Logan sneaks into Shingen's mansion and finds Mariko there. He learns that Shingen has forced Mariko to return to Japan and is planning to arrange a political marriage between her and a powerful man in the crime city-state of Madripoor. Logan attacks Shingen's mansion, but is attacked by a suspicious needle-like weapon during a battle with Shingen's bodyguards. The weapon is coated with a special poison that significantly reduces Logan's healing ability. Shingen challenges Logan, who is weakened by the poison, to a duel with a wooden sword. There is no way Logan can win, and after losing the duel, Logan is thrown away like a rag by Shingen's subordinates.
A mysterious woman named Yukio finds the dying Logan and saves him. After Yukio nurses him back to health, Logan and Yukio head back to Shingen's mansion for revenge.
Will Logan be able to get his revenge? Will he be able to settle things with Shingen? And what is Yukio's true identity?

■Explanation

This is the second installment of the Marvel Anime project, which is being carried out by Marvel Comics, Madhouse, Sony Pictures, and Animax to adapt Marvel works into animation, and follows Iron Man. A teaser for this series was shown at Comic-Con in July 2009, along with Iron Man, and in November of the same year, Marvel Entertainment announced that the series would begin airing in the third quarter of 2010 (July to September). It was then officially decided that the series would begin airing in January 2011, and a press conference featuring the cast and director was held in November 2010. The story was conceived by comic book artist Warren Ellis, who also created Iron Man, and is based on the works of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller from the 1980s. The catchphrase is "The most wicked mutant arrives in Japan."

■Cast

Logan / Rikiya Koyama Yukio / Park ■ Mi (■ is the character for king with a road character)
・Mariko Yashida/Fumiko Orikasa ・Shingen Yashida/Hidekatsu Shibata ・Hideki Kurohagi/Kazuki Yao ・Kikyo Mikage/Masahito Hagiwara

■ Main staff

・Original work / Marvel Comics・Story / Warren Ellis・Planning / Maruyama Masao・Director / Aoyama Hiroshi・Series composition, script / Kaji Kengo・Character design / Abe Tsune・Art director / Aoki Katsushi・Color design / Tanaka Chiharu・Directors of photography / Tagawa Takuki, Goseki Hisashi・Editing / Kimura Yoshiko・Music / Takahashi Tetsuya・Sound director / Mima Masafumi・Sound effects / Kurahashi Shizuo・Sound production / Techno sound・Assistant director / Otani Hajime・Animation producer / Nozaki Aya・Animation production / Madhouse

■ Main Characters

Logan is a mutant with a healing factor that allows him to instantly recover from almost any wound, and claws and bones made of the metal adamantium. He has sharp animalistic senses. "Wolverine" is Logan's code name as the X-Men's bar. He is a lone wolf who hates getting close to others. He is a gentleman towards women. He comes to Japan from New York to get back his girlfriend Mariko, who suddenly left him.
Yukio A mysterious woman with a cool beauty. She wields a chakram with graceful movements like a female ninja. She rescues Logan when he is in danger, and they work together from then on. She holds a deep grudge against Shingen for killing Yukio's mother, and her greatest wish is to take revenge on Shingen. She makes her base out of a penthouse on the roof of a building in the downtown area.
・Tetsushin Asano An investigator at the Public Security Intelligence Agency of Japan. He has known Logan for a long time and is one of the few friends Logan can trust. He comes to New York to give Logan information about Mariko. He is tracking Shingen's movements in order to arrest him and destroy "Kuzuryu". He is so dedicated to his work that he often does reckless things without considering his own danger.
Logan's lover. She is the only daughter of Kuzuryu's leader, Yashida Shingen. She is a beautiful woman with a fleeting air and a sad gaze. Six months ago, she fell in love with Logan in New York, but suddenly disappeared. In fact, she was forcibly brought back to Tokyo from New York by her father, Shingen. She is used in a political marriage with Kurohagi so that Kuzuryu can gain a new base overseas.
・Yashida Shingen The leader of Kuzuryu, Japan's largest violent crime organization, which provides funding to AIM in Japan. He is Mariko's father. He stands in the way of Logan, who is trying to get Mariko back. He is a master swordsman whose blade can travel faster than the speed of sound. Despite being an ordinary human being, he is able to overwhelm Logan in a fight with a wooden sword. He has no mercy for others, and is a ruthless man who even uses his own daughter for his own purposes.
・Kurohagi Hideki Mariko's fiance. He holds the power of the heinous criminal nation "Madriboule", a city-state formed by criminals from all over the world on an isolated island with complete extraterritoriality. The previous leader died suddenly from illness, and Kurohagi, his son, took over as leader. A modern villain, he is cowardly and cunning. He also has a timid side that scares him in battle. He receives technology from AIM. He plans to marry Mariko to gain the powerful backing of Shingen.
A mutant employed by Shingen as a bodyguard. Like Logan, he has a metallic skeleton and healing factor, and can produce blades from both wrists, just like Logan's claws. He does not know where he was born, or why he has his special abilities. He desires to fight someone purely strong - Logan - and is obsessed with fighting Logan, so he often prioritizes fighting Logan over his contract with Shingen. He has a samurai-like aesthetic, such as "there is no point in fighting if the opponent is not in top condition."

■Subtitle

・Episode 1/Mariko
・Episode 2/YUKIO
・Episode 3/Kikyo
・Episode 4: OMEGA RED
Episode 5/Asano
・Episode 6 / Girl MIN
Episode 7: VADHAKA
Episode 8: Yellow KOH
・Episode 9/HELL ROAD
・Episode 10/Shingen
・Episode 11 / Kurohagi
・Episode 12/Wolf Eye LOGAN

■ Related works

Blu-ray BOX (2 discs)
282 min
Released on June 22, 2011
1. Dolby Digital 5.1ch Surround Original (Japanese)
\14,800 (tax included)

■ Theme songs and music

・OP
"Feel My Claws"
Composition: Shogo Onishi, Ending theme
"Another Day of Battles"
Composer: Tetsuya Takahashi, Shogo Onishi

Wolverine - Vulverin - Review

The animated series "Wolverine", starring the popular Marvel Comics character Wolverine, was broadcast in 2011. This anime was produced as part of the "Marvel Anime" project by Marvel Comics, Madhouse, Sony Pictures, and Animax. As the second installment following "Iron Man", it was highly anticipated by many fans.

The story begins when Logan, who suddenly loses his girlfriend Mariko in New York, comes to Japan to search for her. Mariko's father, Yashida Shingen, is the leader of the Yakuza organization "Kuzuryu" and is trying to use Mariko in a political marriage. Logan infiltrates Shingen's mansion to rescue Mariko, but a special poison robs him of his healing ability and he falls into a near-death state. He is then saved by a mysterious woman named Yukio. Together with Yukio, Logan vows to take revenge on Shingen and once again challenges Shingen's mansion.

The appeal of this anime is, above all, Wolverine's character setting and the relationships surrounding him. Logan is a mutant with a healing factor and adamantium claws, but he is also a lone wolf and has a gentlemanly side to women. His love for Mariko and his desire for revenge against Shingen drive his actions. Meanwhile, Yukio is a mysterious woman with cool beauty and brilliant fighting skills, who also harbors a desire for revenge against Shingen. Her past and her relationship with Logan add depth to the story.

The villains, such as Shingen, Kurohagi Hideki, and Mikage Kikyo, are also fascinating. Shingen is a ruthless Yakuza boss, but he also takes pride in being a master swordsman. Kurohagi is a powerful man in Madripoor, and he uses underhanded tactics to try to marry Mariko. Mikage Kikyo is a mutant with the same powers as Logan, and wants to fight him. The drama woven by these characters draws the viewer in.

The anime is produced by Madhouse, and the quality of the character designs and action scenes is very high. In particular, Wolverine's battle scenes are powerful and provide visual enjoyment. The music is also by Tetsuya Takahashi and Shogo Onishi, and the opening theme "Feel My Claws" and the ending theme "Another Day of Battles" add to the atmosphere of the story.

This anime series is recommended for fans of the original comics, as well as viewers who want action and drama. The story was created by Warren Ellis and is based on the works of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller from the 1980s, so it will be nostalgic for comic fans, but it will also offer new interpretations and developments.

The series aired on Animax from January 7 to March 25, 2011, with a total of 12 episodes. The subtitles for each episode were also fascinating, using the names of the main characters, such as Mariko, Yukio, and Shingen. In particular, episode 10, "Shingen," and episode 11, "Kurohagi," are important episodes that reach the climax of the story.

As for related works, the Blu-ray BOX was released on June 22, 2011. It is a two-disc set with a total of 282 minutes of content, and features Japanese audio in Dolby Digital 5.1ch Surround. It costs 14,800 yen including tax, making it a must-have item for fans.

"The Wolverine" is a work that depicts Marvel Comics characters as Japanese anime, and it can be said that the fusion is successful. The character of Wolverine, the relationships surrounding him, and the high-quality animation and music make it a fascinating work that draws the viewer in. It is a work that is recommended not only for Marvel fans, but also for viewers who want to enjoy action and drama.