Ichi the Killer (manga)
Ichi the Killer (Japanese: 殺し屋1, Hepburn: Koroshiya Ichi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideo Yamamoto. A first series, titled Ichi, was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday in 1993; Ichi the Killer was serialized in the same magazine from 1998 to 2001, with its chapters collected in ten tankōbon volumes. The series revolves around Ichi, a psychologically troubled killing machine, and his confrontation with the yakuza of Kabukichō, Shinjuku.
| Ichi the Killer | |
First tankōbon volume cover | |
| 殺し屋１ (Koroshiya Ichi) | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
|
| Manga | |
| Ichi | |
| Written by | Hideo Yamamoto |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Weekly Young Sunday |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Published | 1993 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hideo Yamamoto |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| Magazine | Weekly Young Sunday |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | 1998 – 2001 |
| Volumes | 10 |
| Original video animation | |
| Ichi the Killer: Episode 0 | |
| Directed by | Shinji Ishihira |
| Produced by | Yoshinori Chiba |
| Written by | Sakichi Sato |
| Music by | Yui Takase |
| Studio | AIC |
| Licensed by |
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| Released | September 27, 2002 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes |
| Live action films | |
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In 2001, the manga was adapted into a live-action film directed by Takashi Miike. A second live-action film, 1-Ichi, directed by Masahito Tanno, was released in Japan in 2003. A prequel original video animation (OVA), titled Ichi the Killer: Episode 0, animated by AIC, was released in Japan in 2002. The OVA was licensed in North America by Central Park Media and in Australia and New Zealand by Siren Visual.