Fantasy Novel Series 'Arslan Senki' to Conclude

Japanese publishing company Kobunsha announced on Tuesday that Yoshiki Tanaka's fantasy novel series Arslan Senki (The Heroic Legend of Arslan) will end in its 16th volume, which is expected to be released this winter.

Hiroaki Adachi, the representative director of copyright management company Wright Staff, revealed on Twitter that the manuscript of the final volume is finished and has been forwarded to the editor for proofreading. Adachi further stated that he will announce the release date of the volume once it has been decided.

Kadokawa published the first ten volumes of Arslan Senki beginning in 1986 with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. Subsequent volumes have been published by Kobunsha with illustrations by Shinobu Tanno since 2005. The 15th volume of the novel (pictured) was released on May 18.

A manga adaptation drawn by Chisato Nakamura ran for 13 volumes between 1991 and 1996. Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) began a second manga adaptation in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shounen Magazine in July 2013.

Kodansha Comics has been releasing the manga in English since 2014 and published the sixth volume on February 14. The series is also being published digitally by Crunchyroll.

The franchise inspired multiple anime adaptations, with the first being a six-episode OVA covering stories from the novel series. A 25-episode TV anime adaptation of Arakawa's manga by SANZIGEN and LIDENFILMS aired in Spring 2015. The second season of the anime premiered in Summer 2016 and ran for 8 episodes.

Funimation licensed the anime series for North American distribution and released the first season in two Blu-ray and DVD volumes in August and November last year, with the second season slated for release on September 5.

Source: Sankei News, Nijimen