Arcana (manga)

Arcana (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yua Kotegawa. It was serialized in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump from 2000 to 2001. A live-action film adaptation premiered in 2013.

Arcana
First tankōbon volume cover
Genre	Horror[1] Psychological thriller[2] Supernatural[1]
Manga
Written by	Yua Kotegawa
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Weekly Young Jump
Original run	September 21, 2000 – November 15, 2001
Volumes	2
Live-action film
Directed by	Yoshitaka Yamaguchi
Produced by	Shinjiro Nishimura Tomoo Fukatsu Seiichi Tanaka
Written by	Yoshitaka Yamaguchi Shotaro Oikawa
Music by	Yusuke Hayashi [ja]
Studio	Nikkatsu
Released	October 19, 2013 (2013-10-19)
Runtime	89 minutes

Plot

Kensho Murakami is a police detective who is assigned to investigate a serial bombing at Shuei Elementary. He and his partner, Nakabayashi, learn that a doctor from a mental institution called on behalf of one of his patients about the explosion minutes before the bomb went off. This leads to Murakami's meeting with the nameless and amnesic patient whom they would eventually call "Maki", who appears to communicate with deceased spirits of the dead that tell her things which no living human would know. Murakami tries to uncover the secret behind Maki as she helps him and Nakabayashi to deal with a series of supernatural crimes committed by a mass murderer. However, as Murakami finds himself falling in love, he learns of Maki's true nature and her connection to an identical woman named Satsuki.

Characters

Maki (まき)

Portrayed by: Tao Tsuchiya^[3]

Satsuki (さつき)

Portrayed by: Tao Tsuchiya^[3]

Kensho Murakami (村上 謙省, Murakami Kenshō)

Portrayed by: Masataka Nakagauchi^[3]

Mieko Tomochika (友近 三枝子, Tomochika Mieko)

Portrayed by: Mitsuki Tanimura^[4]

Yutaka Hashi (橋 雄高, Hashi Yutaka)

Portrayed by: Goro Kishitani [ja]^[3]

Nakabayashi (中林)

Portrayed by: Takuya Uehara [ja]^[4]

Michiru (みちる)

Portrayed by: Kaito [ja]

Gaku Torikawa (鳥河 学, Gaku Torikawa)

Portrayed by: Hajime Taniguchi^[4]

Munemitsu Kobayashi (小林 宗光, Kobayashi Munemitsu)

Portrayed by: Masahiro Noguchi [ja]^[4]

Taguchi (田口)

Portrayed by: Masashi Taniguchi [ja]^[4]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yua Kotegawa, Arcana was first published as a one-shot in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Jump on September 21, 2000; it was later published on a monthly basis starting on November 2 of that same year.^[5][6] It finished on November 15, 2001.^[7] Shueisha collected its chapters in two tankōbon volumes, released on December 14, 2001.^[8][9] Kadokawa Shoten republished both volumes on October 4, 2013.^[2]

Live-action film

A live action film adaptation, directed by Yoshitaka Yamaguchi, premiered on October 19, 2013.^[10][1][3]