Outlanders (manga)

Outlanders
Cover of Outlanders bunkobon volume 1 featuring Princess Kahm
アウトランダーズ
(Autorandāzu)
Genre
Manga
Written byJohji Manabe
Published byHakusensha
English publisher
ImprintJets Comics
MagazineMonthly ComiComi
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 1985November 1987
Volumes8 (List of volumes)
Original video animation
Directed byKatsuhisa Yamada
Produced byHiroshi Iwata
Tomoko Satō
Written byKenji Terada
Sukehiro Tomita
Music byKei Wakakusa
StudioAIC & Tatsunoko
Licensed by
ReleasedDecember 16, 1986
Runtime48 minutes
Video game
DeveloperVictor Musical Industries
PublisherVictor Musical Industries
GenreAction role-playing game
PlatformFamicom
ReleasedDecember 4, 1987
Video game
DeveloperCross Media Soft
PublisherVictor Musical Industries
GenreAction role-playing game
PlatformNEC PC-8801
ReleasedApril 1988

Outlanders (アウトランダーズ, Autorandāzu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Johji Manabe. The story follows the alien Kahm, crown princess of the interstellar Santovasku Empire, who invades Earth and meets and falls in love with human news photographer Tetsuya Wakatsuki. The couple and their allies soon find themselves caught in a war between Earth's military, the Santovasku invasion forces, and an ancient clan seeking vengeance on the Santovasku. Outlanders is largely a space opera series that combines aspects of science fantasy, romance, comedy, and fan service.

Outlanders was created out of Manabe's desire to try his hand the space opera genre. He was driven by his penchant for illustrating attractive, sword-wielding girls and large, detailed spacecraft, as well as his interest in science fiction epics such as the original Star Wars Trilogy. Outlanders was Manabe's first serialized work and was featured in the Hakusensha manga magazine Monthly ComiComi between January 1985 and November 1987.

Individual chapters of Outlanders were collected and sold as eight tankōbon volumes in Japan during its publication in Monthly ComiComi. The series spawned an anime adaptation in the form of an original video animation (OVA) by Tatsunoko Production, released in Japan in December 1986. The manga was translated into English by Toren Smith of Studio Proteus and licensed in North America by Dark Horse Comics beginning in 1988 as one of its earliest manga properties. The OVA received two English dubs: the first from U.S. Renditions in 1993 and the second from Central Park Media (CPM) in 2006. Critical reaction to the anime has been largely mixed regarding its tone, animation, and sound design, though many agreed that the adaptation condenses too much of the manga's plot.

  1. ^ "Outlanders Vol. 1 TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Pawuk, Michael (December 30, 2006). Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 199–201. ISBN 1-59158-132-X.
  3. ^ Manabe Johji (March 1, 1995). "Introduction". Outlanders. Vol. 4. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 1-56971-069-4.