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yukamichi[Preface: This essay by Mimura Mii originally appeared in Japanese as part of "The Arslan Senki Reader", a companion volume to to novel series that was published in April of 2000 between the 10th and 11th volumes of the series, and which contains an assortment of essays, a glossary, an original short story by Tanaka Yoshiki, etc...It is reproduced here in English without permission. Shh!]
Arslan Senki was first published in August 1986 as part of Kadokawa Shoten's "Fantasy Fair," a promotion for new works. While Tanaka Yoshiki's Legend of Galactic Heroes had already become a bestseller, his newest opus was not another space opera, but a piece of high fantasy set in—of all places—Persia.
Nowadays the word “fantasy” is commonplace, found in a plethora of books and games, but at the time its use was limited to only a small niche of readers. Kadokawa's first Fantasy Fair displayed only a handful of works that could truly be considered part of the fantasy genre. But among them, Tanaka Yoshiki's Arslan Senki distinguishes in a number of ways.
Fantasy, and especially high fantasy, came to Japan in translation through two main categories: juvenile literature and science fiction. Among the juveniles, the works of George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings are highly praised. But outside of children's fairy tales, there were only a handful of domestic works—Kanzawa Toshiko's Gin no Honoo no Kuni, for example—that showcased these exotic other worlds.
Science fiction, on the other hand, gave us Michael Moorcock, Andre Norton, and Ballantine's "Adult Fantasy" series, and in their wake came works like Toyota Aritsune's Yamato Takeru series in 1971, which drew upon Japanese mythology, and the magazine Kisou Tengai (1976-1981), which birthed Tanaka Kouji's Ash series and Tsuzuki Michio's Tobizarishimono no Densetsu. By the end of the 1970s the fantasy boom (or the "fantasy rot," as some called it) had hit. At roughly the same time, Takachiho Haruka's Bijuu series appeared in SF Magazine in 1979, and the May edition would play host to Kurimoto Kaoru's Guin Saga. The same year also saw the founding of Hayakawa's FT Bunko imprint for translated works.
The appearance of Guin Saga had a profound effect on the course of high fantasy. Apparently planned from the start as a long-running series, the captivating characters, courtly intrigue, human drama that spanned vast stretches of time, and the burden of Guin's destiny all combined to give it a broad appeal that extended beyond the boundaries of the science fiction genre.
The early 80s felt the ripples of Guin Saga's splash, with works like Tanaka Fumio's Daimakai series (1981-1985) and Kikuchi Hideyuki's Vampire Hunter D (1983-) appearing in response.
Ultimately however, these works were all predominantly meant for a general, adult readership.
For younger readers, the interest in high fantasy was sparked instead by fantasy gamebooks. In 1984, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone became an instant bestseller. A type of text adventure game where you travel through another world and determine your fate with the aid of dice and your own choices, these books' low price would help them to form the core of fantasy gaming until the Famicom later became a must-have household item.
And so it was into an environment primed for this sort of fantasy that Arslan Senki would make its gallant appearance. A young boy confronting his destiny in a world of swords and sorcery, surrounded by a cast of dashing men and women. Boasting heroes who were not quite all-powerful, womanizers, and shiftless aesthetes, the book had a down-to-earth charm and an intimacy that the readers could project themselves into. Arslan Senki was the story they had been waiting for.
The book was released in 1986, the same year as Dragon Quest for the Famicom (and while it was popular in its own right, it would not be until 1988, with the release of Dragon Quest III, that the problem of people skipping work and school to buy the game at launch would become national news). At the same time, the publishing environment for fantasy was also undergoing massive changes. The first Kadokawa Fantasy Fair that heralded the release of Arslan Senki would see multiple iterations, leading to the creation of Sneaker Bunko in 1988. Fujimi Dragon Novels was founded in 1987 with the release of Weiss and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles, which would also kickstart the TRPG boom. The creation of Sneaker Bunko was accompanied by a rush of new publications and labels with fantasy at their core—Dragon Magazine, Fantasia Bunko, Tairiku Novels—and the rapid-fire debuts of fantasy authors like Mizuno Ryo, Hikawa Reiko, and Maeda Tamako. Japan was in the midst of a full-blown fantasy boom.
But even amid all this, the high fantasy of Tanaka Yoshiki stood out as something quite different; different from the heroic fantasy that preceded it, different from the high fantasy of Tolkien, and different from the RPG-inspired fantasy of Mizuno Ryo that would follow.
In one sense, the story of Arslan, a young man tempting his fate, can be seen as a coming-of-age tale. On the other hand, perhaps Tanaka's intent with Arslan Senki, as with Legend of Galactic Heroes before it, was to create a dynamic group drama set against the backdrop of a turbulent age. Like Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry, perhaps Tanaka dreamt of shining light on those heroic adventures that live between the cracks of history, hidden among the shadows that time had forgotten.
Tanaka Yoshiki's work has always had an air of the historical novel; uncertain human drama set among the violent tides of historical transition. This is an element somewhat at odds with the tendency of high fantasy to elevate static worldbuilding.
High fantasy shows us other times and other places through the eyes of the people that inhabit them. It carries us backwards, bringing to life primal fears and wonders, portraying worlds teeming with monsters and magic. Even so, it cannot divorce itself wholly from modern critique. In that sense, perhaps the label of "historical fiction" is most appropriate after all.
Tanaka Yoshiki would go on to write Mavyar Nendaiki (1988-1989), set in a medieval Hungary and which eschews magical elements altogether; Seifuu no Senki (1988), a piece of historical fiction modeled on the Byzantine Empire; and Apfelland Monogatari (1991), an adventure tale set in a fictional, early 20th century European Kingdom not unlike the Ruritania of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda. But the enduring popularity of Arslan Senki likely owes to its unique blend of the magic and mystery of fantasy with the stylings of historical literature.
Arslan Senki was first published in August 1986 as part of Kadokawa Shoten's "Fantasy Fair," a promotion for new works. While Tanaka Yoshiki's Legend of Galactic Heroes had already become a bestseller, his newest opus was not another space opera, but a piece of high fantasy set in—of all places—Persia.
Nowadays the word “fantasy” is commonplace, found in a plethora of books and games, but at the time its use was limited to only a small niche of readers. Kadokawa's first Fantasy Fair displayed only a handful of works that could truly be considered part of the fantasy genre. But among them, Tanaka Yoshiki's Arslan Senki distinguishes in a number of ways.
Fantasy, and especially high fantasy, came to Japan in translation through two main categories: juvenile literature and science fiction. Among the juveniles, the works of George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings are highly praised. But outside of children's fairy tales, there were only a handful of domestic works—Kanzawa Toshiko's Gin no Honoo no Kuni, for example—that showcased these exotic other worlds.
Science fiction, on the other hand, gave us Michael Moorcock, Andre Norton, and Ballantine's "Adult Fantasy" series, and in their wake came works like Toyota Aritsune's Yamato Takeru series in 1971, which drew upon Japanese mythology, and the magazine Kisou Tengai (1976-1981), which birthed Tanaka Kouji's Ash series and Tsuzuki Michio's Tobizarishimono no Densetsu. By the end of the 1970s the fantasy boom (or the "fantasy rot," as some called it) had hit. At roughly the same time, Takachiho Haruka's Bijuu series appeared in SF Magazine in 1979, and the May edition would play host to Kurimoto Kaoru's Guin Saga. The same year also saw the founding of Hayakawa's FT Bunko imprint for translated works.
The appearance of Guin Saga had a profound effect on the course of high fantasy. Apparently planned from the start as a long-running series, the captivating characters, courtly intrigue, human drama that spanned vast stretches of time, and the burden of Guin's destiny all combined to give it a broad appeal that extended beyond the boundaries of the science fiction genre.
The early 80s felt the ripples of Guin Saga's splash, with works like Tanaka Fumio's Daimakai series (1981-1985) and Kikuchi Hideyuki's Vampire Hunter D (1983-) appearing in response.
Ultimately however, these works were all predominantly meant for a general, adult readership.
For younger readers, the interest in high fantasy was sparked instead by fantasy gamebooks. In 1984, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone became an instant bestseller. A type of text adventure game where you travel through another world and determine your fate with the aid of dice and your own choices, these books' low price would help them to form the core of fantasy gaming until the Famicom later became a must-have household item.
And so it was into an environment primed for this sort of fantasy that Arslan Senki would make its gallant appearance. A young boy confronting his destiny in a world of swords and sorcery, surrounded by a cast of dashing men and women. Boasting heroes who were not quite all-powerful, womanizers, and shiftless aesthetes, the book had a down-to-earth charm and an intimacy that the readers could project themselves into. Arslan Senki was the story they had been waiting for.
The book was released in 1986, the same year as Dragon Quest for the Famicom (and while it was popular in its own right, it would not be until 1988, with the release of Dragon Quest III, that the problem of people skipping work and school to buy the game at launch would become national news). At the same time, the publishing environment for fantasy was also undergoing massive changes. The first Kadokawa Fantasy Fair that heralded the release of Arslan Senki would see multiple iterations, leading to the creation of Sneaker Bunko in 1988. Fujimi Dragon Novels was founded in 1987 with the release of Weiss and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles, which would also kickstart the TRPG boom. The creation of Sneaker Bunko was accompanied by a rush of new publications and labels with fantasy at their core—Dragon Magazine, Fantasia Bunko, Tairiku Novels—and the rapid-fire debuts of fantasy authors like Mizuno Ryo, Hikawa Reiko, and Maeda Tamako. Japan was in the midst of a full-blown fantasy boom.
But even amid all this, the high fantasy of Tanaka Yoshiki stood out as something quite different; different from the heroic fantasy that preceded it, different from the high fantasy of Tolkien, and different from the RPG-inspired fantasy of Mizuno Ryo that would follow.
In one sense, the story of Arslan, a young man tempting his fate, can be seen as a coming-of-age tale. On the other hand, perhaps Tanaka's intent with Arslan Senki, as with Legend of Galactic Heroes before it, was to create a dynamic group drama set against the backdrop of a turbulent age. Like Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry, perhaps Tanaka dreamt of shining light on those heroic adventures that live between the cracks of history, hidden among the shadows that time had forgotten.
Tanaka Yoshiki's work has always had an air of the historical novel; uncertain human drama set among the violent tides of historical transition. This is an element somewhat at odds with the tendency of high fantasy to elevate static worldbuilding.
High fantasy shows us other times and other places through the eyes of the people that inhabit them. It carries us backwards, bringing to life primal fears and wonders, portraying worlds teeming with monsters and magic. Even so, it cannot divorce itself wholly from modern critique. In that sense, perhaps the label of "historical fiction" is most appropriate after all.
Tanaka Yoshiki would go on to write Mavyar Nendaiki (1988-1989), set in a medieval Hungary and which eschews magical elements altogether; Seifuu no Senki (1988), a piece of historical fiction modeled on the Byzantine Empire; and Apfelland Monogatari (1991), an adventure tale set in a fictional, early 20th century European Kingdom not unlike the Ruritania of Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda. But the enduring popularity of Arslan Senki likely owes to its unique blend of the magic and mystery of fantasy with the stylings of historical literature.
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