The history of The Heroic Legend of Arslan
One prince, three decades, and nearly every great name of its era passed through Pars.
The Heroic Legend of Arslan began as a novel in August 1986 and did not end until December 2017, thirty-one years later. In between it was drawn by Yoshitaka Amano, designed for the screen by Sachiko Kamimura, adapted to manga twice, and finally handed to Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, whose version is still running. Few fantasy series carry a credits list like it.
THE TIMELINE
1986 → todayAugust 13, 1986 · The first novel
Kadokawa Shoten publishes volume 1, Ōto Enjō, “The Capital Ablaze”, with cover art by Yoshitaka Amano. Yoshiki Tanaka calls his genre not fantasy but “heroic spectacle romance.”
1991 · Arslan reaches the screen
The first anime film opens on August 17, 1991, with character designs by Sachiko Kamimura. Chisato Nakamura’s manga begins the same year in Asuka Fantasy DX.
November 19, 1993 · The first game
Sega releases a tactical RPG for the Mega-CD, built as a companion to the anime then in production. It never leaves Japan.
1999–2005 · The long pause, then a new publisher
Kadokawa’s tenth volume appears in November 1999 after a seven-year gap. Kobunsha takes over: reissues with Shinobu Tanno art from 2003, then new volumes from 2005.
July 9, 2013 · Arakawa takes the pen
Hiromu Arakawa starts a second manga adaptation in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, the version that carries Arslan to a new generation.
2015–2017 · Anime, a Warriors game, and the end
The TV anime runs in 2015–16, Koei Tecmo’s Arslan: The Warriors of Legend lands, and on December 20, 2017 the sixteenth novel closes the story at last.
THE SHAPE OF IT
Two parts, sixteen volumesPart One · Volumes 1–7
The fall of Pars, Arslan’s flight, and the gathering of his companions: the war to win back a kingdom.
Part Two · Volumes 8–16
Arslan crowned, and the harder story: defending Pars on every border while deciding what kind of king to be.