Kaguyahime (輝夜姫) is a manga series by Reiko Shimizu. This 27-volume series was serialized in LaLa from 1993 to 2005. The story is based on the Japanese legend of Kaguya-hime (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter). In 2002, the series received the 47th annual Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo. A Drama CD was released in 2003.

Story

Based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, this manga takes place around the mysterious Kabuchi Island where children were raised in an orphanage as sacrificial victims. Some of the children manage to leave the island and think they have escaped their fates. But then they all start to die at age sixteen, in the order and at the time they were originally arranged to be sacrificed. The only way to stop the deaths is to return to the island, seek out the cause – Kaguya Hime – and destroy it. The children later realize that they are clones of famous or influential humans, a fact which further complicates their quest to figure out their mysterious past and save their futures.

Terminology

Characters

Release

The series was serialized in LaLa magazine from the October 1993 issue until the February 2005 issue. Parallel to that, it was released in 27 volumes by Hakusensha. In 2007 and 2008, the series was reprinted in Japan in a 14 volume bunkobon edition. Kaguyahime was partially translated into French and German by Panini Comics. The complete series has been published in Italian in 28 volumes by the same publisher.

Drama CD

The Drama CD was released on July 25, 2003. It was sold along with another CD containing illustrations in slide show format from the series.

Cast