The Magnificent Bastard: The Legend of Keiji

; :A tall military commander who is said to be the best on Earth. Although the son of Takigawa Kazumasu, he was adopted by Maeda Toshihisa, Toshiie's older brother. Despite this, Toshiie dislikes him. A free-spirited warrior who lives by his own will. His beloved horse is named . ; :A pint-sized shinobi who formerly served Yotsui Shume. Even though his younger brother was trampled to death by Keiji and his horse Matsukaze, he becomes fascinated with Keiji to the point of infatuation and becomes his follower. ; :A resident from the Village of Seven Faces who has the face of an oni. He fought against Keiji at first in order to rescue his adoptive daughter Ofū, but comes to admire Keiji's character and eventually becomes one of his followers. He possesses enormous strength, as well as the ability to read minds. ; ; ; ==Media==

Manga The Magnificent Bastard: The Legend of Keiji is based on the novel by Keiichiro Ryu, adapted by Mio Aso and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was originally published as a one-shot manga in Shueisha's manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump on November 27, 1990. It was later serialized in the same magazine from March 12, 1990, to August 2, 1993. 18 volumes were published by Shueisha under the Jump Comics imprint between July 10, 1990, and November 4, 1993. The series was republished in a ten-volume edition, released between March 18 and November 18, 1999. A 15-volume edition by Tokuma Shoten was released from September 30, 2004, to October 29, 2005. In 2003, an English version of the manga, under the shortened title Keiji, was serialized in the short-lived anthology Raijin Comics published by the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment, where the first 26 chapters were printed, until Raijin Comics ceased its publication in 2004. No collected volumes were published. Spin-offs In 2008, a Keiji spin-off titled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Tsuki-gatari, written by Tetsuo Hara and Nobuhiko Horie and illustrated by Yuji Takemura, began serialization in Shinchosha's Weekly Comic Bunch on November 7. The series was stopped on August 27, 2010, after Weekly Comic Bunch ended its publication. Nine volumes were published. In 2010, a sequel entitled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari started in the brand new magazine Monthly Comic Zenon by Tokuma Shoten on October 25, 2010. The manga finished on January 27, 2014, with ten volumes being published. A final arc entitled Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Hana-gatari, written by Hara and Horie and illustrated by Masato Deguchi, was published in the May issue of Monthly Comic Zenon on March 24, 2014. The series finished on October 25, 2018. As of November 20, 2018, fourteen volumes have been published. Related media Shueisha released an audiobook version of Hana no Keiji in December 1993. The audiobook stars Akio Ōtsuka as the voice of Keiji Maeda. A Hana no Keiji video game was developed by TOSE and published by Yojigen for the Super Famicom on November 18, 1994. It is a competitive weapon-based fighting game which adapts the storyline of the manga from the beginning and up until the Fūma Kotarō arc. Gifū Dōdō!! Naoe Kanetsugu: Maeda Keiji Sake-gatari was adapted into a 25-episode anime television series, titled Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji, aired on TV Tokyo from July 2 to December 17, 2013. It was streamed on Crunchyroll. ==References==