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Gundam Thunderbolt's Yasuo Ohtagaki Draws New Dougram Manga

Shogakukan announced on Thursday that manga creator Yasuo Ohtagaki will draw a new manga based on the Fang of the Sun Dougram (Taiyō no Kiba Dougram) military robot mecha anime series. The color manga is titled Get truth Taiyō no Kiba Dougram, and it will launch as a web manga in Shogakukan's eBigComic4 manga website on May 28. Ryousuke Takahashi, the director of the original 1981 anime, is supervising the manga.

Fang of the Sun Dougram is one of Sunrise's first mecha anime after animating Mobile Suit Gundam, and is seen as a foundational anime for the "real robot" sub-genre of mecha anime, which highlights realistic military tactics and political intrigue, with DOUGRAM director Ryousuke Takahashi going on to direct many other anime in the sub-genre.

The anime centers on an outlying colony world named Deloyer, ruled by the Earth Federation through its planetary governor Donan Cashim. Donan Cashim's iron fisted rule eventually results in martial law being declared throughout Deloyer, and in response, a group of guerilla fighters rises up to overthrow the planetary government. Donan Cashim's own son Crinn is disillusioned by his father's methods. A talented combat armor pilot, he throws in his lot with the rebels, piloting the titular "Dougram" combat armor in confrontations against the government.

Ohtagaki launched the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt manga in Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior magazine in March 2012, and Shogakukan published the 17th compiled book volume on February 26. Viz Media published the manga's 15th volume in English on January 19. The manga inspired two original net anime series, each of which received a compilation film. Ohtagaki also draws a Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Gaiden spinoff manga.

Ohtagaki also draws the Moonlight Mile manga. While he put the manga on hiatus in 2011 to launch Gundam Thunderbolt, he is resuming the manga this winter.

Source: PR Times