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Natsuhiko Kyōgoku's Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari Novel Series Ends in Next Volume in June
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Kyōgoku launched the novel series with Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari in Kadokawa's now defunct Kai quarterly yokai magazine in 1997. Kadokawa published the novel's volume in 2003, followed by the second novel of the series Zoku Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari in 2005. The third novel in the series titled Nochi no Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari published in 2007, and it also won the the 130th Naoki Sanjūgo Award in the second half of 2003. The fourth novel in the series titled Saki no Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari published in 2009. The fifth novel Nishi no Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari published in 2013, and it won the 24th Renzaburo Shibata Award in 2011. Tōku no Kōsetsu Hyaku Monogatari, the sixth novel in the series, published in February 2023, and won the 56th Eiji Yoshikawa Literary Award in 2022.
The novel's 13-episode anime adaptation aired in Japan in 2003. The anime also aired on the G4TechTV Canada television network, and streamed on Hulu.
Geneon Entertainment licensed the series in 2004 and released it on DVD. Discotek Media licensed the series in 2015 and released the complete series on DVD in 2016.
Discotek describes the anime series:
Once upon a time, there was a folklorist named Momosuke Yamaoka who traveled throughout Japan, searching for something. One hundred of them, in fact. One day during his travels, he sought shelter from a sudden and torrential rain, and stumbled upon an old, crumbling shop. There, he met a monk, and three strange travelers that were far more than they appeared. By the night's end, the rain had washed away the blood, but the grisly tale etched in Momosuke's mind would form the basis for just one of the stories of his ghostly anthology, the One Hundred Tales! He continued his journey, and time and again, he crossed paths with the mysterious trio, each time discovering a new tale to be told... and learning the truth of the three's origins. Are they murderers, or agents of justice?
The novels inspired a manga adaptation by Tateo Hidaka that is currently serialized irregularly in LEED Publishing's Comic Ran magazine.
The novels also inspired live-action drama series in 2000, 2005, and 2006 in Japan.
Source: Kadokawa
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
