Golgo 13 1971 Blu-ray - Anime Library Vol.148

More than half a century later, the origins of the Golgo 13 legend return on Blu-ray. The first animated adaptation of Takao Saito's celebrated gekiga was long considered a phantom because the original film elements were missing. All forty television instalments, comprising 130 stories, are now collected for their long-awaited first home-video release. Colors were applied by hand to the manga artwork and photographed on film, creating a distinctive world through still animation. This valuable production, concentrated with its creator's passion and ingenuity, shines again with the force it possessed when first broadcast.

The first animated work based on the manga serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic since 1968 now joins the Anime Library. The 1971 adaptation was spoken of as a lost legend among devoted fans, until its long-missing film was rediscovered after more than fifty years. The hand-colored still-animation process faithfully reproduces the original's tension and realism. Born during the Cold War, this early portrait of the elite sniper contains the details and commitment of Takao Saito's original vision.

An exceptional team brings the work to life. Tatsuya Jo, known for the FM radio programme JET STREAM, narrates, and Takeo Yamashita, whose many celebrated scores include Seven Detectives and LupinIII, supplies the music. Fan-favorite stories include The White Night Moans of Love and SnipingGT. The box allows viewers to experience the historic value of the first animation of the enduring manga, also known for having the greatest number of volumes in a single manga series.

Once he accepts an assignment, no difficulty can prevent him from completing it. Intelligence agencies around the world know the name of the elite sniper Golgo 13. This first animation of Takao Saito's signature manga was made by hand-coloring its gekiga panels and filming them. After the 1971 broadcast, the film's whereabouts remained unknown for many years. Its discovery in 2023, the manga's fifty-fifth anniversary, became a major event. Now all forty instalments and 130 stories receive their first home-video edition, bringing the legendary sniper's path back to life after more than half a century. The original broadcast ran from March 29 to September 24, 1971, on the TBS network.