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Fullmetal Alchemist's Arakawa to Adapt Tanaka's Arslan Fantasy

The June issue of Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine is announcing on Thursday that manga artist Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, Hero Tales) is drawing an adaptation of The Heroic Legend of Arslan (Arslan Senki), the acclaimed fantasy novel series by Yoshiki Tanaka (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings, Tytania). The manga series will launch in the magazine's August issue on July 9.

The ongoing novel series, billed by Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine as the "world's greatest historical fantasy," already inspired two anime films and a four-part original video anime from 1991 to 1993. Central Park Media, who released the anime in North America, describes the story:

As an unnaturally heavy mist descends on the battlefield, King Andragoras and his most valued officers confer among the bodies of dead and dying soldiers. When Daryoon, a young but highly skilled officer, voices his reluctance to send men into battle under these conditions, the king, unstable and enraged, banishes him.

Now, Daryoon's new mission is to insure the safety of the King's only son, Prince Arislan. Daryoon and Prince Arislan set off on a quest of their own, but they can't succeed alone. They must convince both the Lord Narsus and his companion, the archer Elam, to join them in their quest to somehow help the soldiers win the war.

Now a group of only six they must somehow overcome an enemy of 300,000 soldiers! These unlikely soldiers have fate on their side, so anything can happen!

The 13-volume novel series also inspired an earlier manga series by Chisato Nakamura. Similarly, Tanaka's Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Sohryuden, Yakushiji Ryōko no Kaiki Jikenbo, and Tytania novels all inspired both anime and manga.

[Via Manga News]