Sangokushi (manga)

Sangokushi (三国志) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's retelling of the 14th century Chinese literary classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was adapted into an anime television called Yokoyama Mitsuteru Sangokushi (横山光輝 三国志).

As of May 2020, the manga series had sold over 80 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

Shu Han

 * Liu Bei Xuande (劉備玄徳)
 * Guan Yu Yunchang (関羽雲長)
 * Zhang Fei Yide (張飛翼徳)
 * Zhao Yun Zilong (趙雲子龍)
 * Zhuge Liang Kongming (諸葛亮孔明)
 * Hong Furong (鴻芙蓉)
 * An original character in the manga. She was a daughter of Hong family, who Zhang Fei served. When Liu Bei escaped from the Yellow Turban, he saved her. Meeting Liu Bei and falling in love with him from his younger day, that makes her based on Lady Gan.


 * Xianglan (香蘭) and Kikuko Inoue
 * An original character in the anime, she was Liu Bei's apprentice who grew up to be his wife. She died of her injuries during the Battle of Changban, this makes her based on Lady Mi.

Cao Wei

 * Cao Cao Mengde (曹操孟徳)
 * Xiahou Chun (夏侯淳)
 * Although his name should be Xiahou Dun (夏侯惇), both the anime and the manga named him Xiahou Chun (夏侯淳).


 * Dian Wei (典韋)
 * Zhang Liao (張遼)
 * Xun Yu (荀彧) and Michitaka Kobayashi
 * Cheng Yu (程昱) and Jun Hazumi
 * Cao Hong (曹洪)

Sun Wu

 * Sun Quan Zhongmou (孫権仲謀)
 * Sun Jian (孫堅)
 * Sun Ce (孫策)
 * Zhou Yu (周瑜)
 * Lu Su (魯粛)
 * Zhuge Jin (諸葛瑾) and Kazuo Hayashi

Others

 * Emperor Xian (献帝) and Hikaru Midorikawa
 * Dong Zhuo (董卓)
 * Lü Bu Fengxian (呂布奉先)
 * Diaochan (貂蝉)
 * Chen Gong Gongdai (陳宮公台)
 * Yuan Shao (袁紹)
 * Gongsun Zan (公孫瓚)
 * Liu Biao (劉表)
 * Narrator

Manga
The manga was first serialized in the Kibō no Tomo magazine, which changed its name to Comic World in 1978, and then to Comic Tom in 1980.

Although Eiji Yoshikawa only wrote the story up to Zhuge Liang's death in the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, the manga continued until the fall of Shu Han.

With this manga, Mitsuteru Yokoyama won the 1991 Japanese Cartoonist Association Award for Excellence.

Anime
The anime was largely faithful to the manga, though it centered mainly on the camps of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, often minimizing the scenes of other camps. The anime stopped after the Battle of Red Cliffs, which is about the midway through the manga series.

Theme songs

 * Opening
 * "River of Time" (時の河) by Fence of Defense
 * "Don't Look Back" by Fence of Defense
 * Ending
 * "Sky" (空) by Mimori Yusa
 * "Standing Alone" by Fence of Defense

Reception
By May 2020, the manga series had sold over 80 million copies in circulation.