Four Knights of the Apocalypse

Four Knights of the Apocalypse (黙示録の四騎士), also known as The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It is a sequel to Suzuki's previous series, The Seven Deadly Sins. The manga has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since January 2021, with its chapters collected into seventeen volumes as of June 2024. The manga is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA.

An anime television series adaptation, produced by TMS Entertainment and animated by Telecom Animation Film, aired from October 2023 to March 2024. A second season is set to premiere in October 2024.

Premise
Set sixteen years after the destruction of the Demon King and Supreme Deity, at the hands of the Seven Deadly Sins, wrought the end of the Holy War, the series focuses on the young boy Percival, who discovers that he is destined to be part of a group of four knights prophesied to destroy the world. Targeted by the forces of Camelot as a result, Percival travels to meet with the other three members of the Four Knights alongside Lancelot, a Liones knight who is the son of the Seven Sins member Ban.

Development
Following the conclusion of The Seven Deadly Sins on March 25, 2020, it was announced by the manga's author, Nakaba Suzuki, that his next work would serve as a sequel to the series. Suzuki also revealed that the new series was tentatively titled The Four Knights of the Apocalypse.

Characters
While planning the storyline for the manga, Suzuki originally desired to use the character of Tristan—who was introduced at the end of The Seven Deadly Sins as the son of Meliodas and Elizabeth Liones—to be the protagonist of Four Knights of the Apocalypse. However, Suzuki eventually changed his mind, not wanting to have a main character so closely related to the cast of his previous series. Instead, he decided to have Percival, a character created specifically for the sequel, as the protagonist. During an interview in April 2021, Suzuki commented that, in regards to Percival's design, he particularly focuses on the cuteness of the character when drawing him, adding elements that are able to highlight this in Percival, such as his helmet and cloak.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki, the manga was announced in November 2020. The series began its serialization in Kodansha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine on January 27, 2021. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on April 16, 2021. As of June 17, 2024, seventeen volumes have been released.

North American publisher Kodansha USA has licensed the series for simulpublication in North America as it is released in Japan. With the first five chapters of the series already available when it started to be published on February 23, 2021, on multiple digital platforms, including Crunchyroll Manga, BookWalker, ComiXology and Amazon Kindle, with a chapter of the manga translated into English being released weekly. The series is available in English worldwide (except Japan) on the digital manga service Azuki, which was launched on June 28, 2021. Additionally, Kodansha Comics started releasing the volumes in print on January 25, 2022.

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format
These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.

Anime
In May 2022, it was announced that the manga would receive an anime television series adaptation, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse. Produced and planned by TMS Entertainment, and animated by Telecom Animation Film, it is directed by Maki Odaira, with scripts written by Shigeru Murakoshi, character designs handled by Youichi Takada, and music composed by Kohta Yamamoto. The main theme is composed by Yamamoto and Hiroyuki Sawano. The series aired from October 8, 2023, to March 31, 2024, on TBS and its affiliates. A second season is set to premiere on October 6, 2024.

Netflix acquired streaming rights to the series in October 2023, and began streaming it on January 31, 2024.

Popularity
In June 2021, Four Knights of the Apocalypse was nominated for the seventh Next Manga Award in the Best Printed Manga category.

Critical response
Ever since it began its serialization, the series has received a generally positive reception from fans and critics alike. Junko Kuroda said the manga is "definitely an adventure fantasy that can be enjoyed smoothly", even for fans unfamiliar with The Seven Deadly Sins.