Shadow Star

For the unrelated novel by Chris Claremont, see Shadow Star (novel).

Not to be confused with Star Shadow.

Shadow Star
200px Volume 1 English cover
なるたる (Narutaru)
Genre	Supernatural, Horror, Drama
Manga
Written by	Mohiro Kitoh
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Dark Horse Comics
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Afternoon
English magazine	NA Super Manga Blast!
Original run	March 25, 1998 – October 25, 2003
Volumes	12
Anime television series
Directed by	Toshiaki Iino
Written by	Chiaki J. Konaka
Music by	Susumu Ueda
Studio	Planet
Licensed by	NA Central Park Media
Network	Kids Station
Original run	July 7, 2003 – September 29, 2003
Episodes	13

Shadow Star, known in Japan as Narutaru (なるたる), which comes from the abbreviation of "Mukuro Naru Hoshi, Tama Taru Ko" (骸なる星 珠たる子) (meaning roughly corpse of a star; a precious child), is a Japanese manga series created by Mohiro Kitoh, originally serialized in Kodansha's seinen magazine Afternoon. When asked about the manga, Mohiro Kitoh stated that he had about 80% of the entire story planned out from the beginning. When he was asked about the anime series, he stated he was grateful it was made. In the United States, it was licensed by Dark Horse and serialized in Super Manga Blast!.

The 13-episode anime adaptation by Planet was broadcast in 2003 on the Japanese television station Kids Station. The anime was licensed by Central Park Media and released as Shadow Star Narutaru, and has played on Comcast's Anime Selects multiple times. In 2007 it ran on the Illusion on Demand television network. Central Park Media released the title under their "U.S. Manga Corps" line, on 4 DVDs, and later re-released the DVDs in a box set. Central Park Media filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and the DVDs have since been out of print.

The protagonist of the series is a twelve-year-old girl named Shiina Tamai. She bonds with a starfish-shaped "dragonchild" (baby "shadow dragon") whom she calls Hoshimaru. The series is mainly about the interaction between Shiina and other young people who have also bonded with dragons.

The manga, especially the original Japanese version, is known for the gruesome material that appears as the plot progesses. Despite the young main characters, cute monster designs, and initial appearances of a shōjo or Pokémon-esque series, the story quickly takes on a much darker and more disturbing tone, with later volumes involving some graphic depictions of gore and sexual violence. The English- and German-language versions of the manga have some edited scenes; entire pages of content were removed from the seventh volume of the English-language release.

Manga

Characters

Main article: List of Shadow Star characters

Volumes

Main article: List of Shadow Star chapters

There are twelve volumes total in the Japanese release, and seven in the English-language one. As a result of Dark Horse's rearrangement of the series' chapters, those seven volumes actually cover volumes 1 to 6 of the original Japanese release. Further chapters were serialized in Super Manga Blast!, and starting with the magazine's 54th issue, the series was translated in its original right-to-left reading format; this lasted until Super Manga Blast! was cancelled five issues later. These chapters have not been collected into volumes yet, nor has Dark Horse announced any plans to further translate Shadow Star.

Anime

Main article: List of Shadow Star episodes

The anime adaptation consisted of 13 episodes, each running for 24 minutes, and adapted the storyline of the first 6 volumes (7 volumes of the American release) of the manga.

Reception of the anime

Tasha Robinson of the Sci Fi Channel described the series as "transformed" from "fascinatingly quirky" to "slow but expressive."

External links

• Central Park Media website about Shadow Star
• Narutaru site at Kid's Station (Japanese)
• Shadowstar Official site on Illusion on Demand (Archive)
• Shadow Star Narutaru (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Shadow Star (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Shadow Star at IMDb
• ANIMEFringe article about Shadow Star