Taboo Tattoo

Taboo Tattoo
Cover of the first Japanese volume
タブー・タトゥー
Genre	Action,[1] dark fantasy[2]
Manga
Written by	Shinjirō
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	NA Yen Press
Magazine	Monthly Comic Alive
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	November 2009 – June 2017
Volumes	13 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Produced by	Hiroyuki Tanaka Yosuke Takabayashi Mika Shimizu Taro Iwahana Shunsuke Matsumura Jun Fukuda Yasuhiro Iwasawa
Written by	Mayori Sekijima Masamitsu Ōtake
Music by	Shinji Hosoe (SuperSweep)
Studio	J.C.Staff
Licensed by	NA Crunchyroll
Original network	TV Tokyo, AT-X, BS Japan
Original run	July 4, 2016 – September 19, 2016
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Anime and manga portal

Taboo Tattoo (タブー・タトゥー) is a Japanese action seinen manga series written and illustrated by Shinjirō.^[3] It was serialized by Media Factory in its Monthly Comic Alive magazine between November 2009 and June 2017.^[4] The series was compiled into thirteen volumes between 2010 and 2017. The series is published in French by Bamboo Édition's Doki-Doki imprint. An anime adaptation was greenlit and aired from July 2016 to September 2016.^[1][5] The manga has been licensed for release in English by Yen Press.^[6]

Plot[]

After saving a homeless man from some thugs, Seigi receives a strange tattoo from the man as a gift. This act leads to a series of events that will pull Seigi into the middle of a conflict between a special U.S. Army unit and the Kingdom of Selinistan, as both are scrambling to collect powerful "spell crests" called Power Crests, weaponized ancient artifacts of great power which can shift the balance of power in the world.

Characters[]

U.S. forces and allies[]

Justice "Seigi" Akatsuka (赤塚 正義 (セーギ), Akatsuka Jasutisu (Sēgi))

Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa^[7] (Japanese); Justin Briner (English)^[8]

Seigi has a strong sense of justice and ends up receiving a mysterious, cursed brand on the palm of his hand after rescuing a homeless man. Seigi has trained in the Akatsuka-style of jujitsu since childhood under the supervision of his enthusiastic grandfather. His Power Crest is called Void Maker, that allows him to create black holes and regenerate from injuries, and it doesn't require a trigger like the other tattoos. Due to his parents having "weird ideas" when he was born, his given name is written in kanji but pronounced as the English word. Seigi preferentially goes by his nickname, the traditional Japanese pronunciation of his given name.

Bluesy "Izzy" Fruesy (ブリージィ・フルージィ (イジー), Burījii Furūjii (Ijī))

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu^[7] (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)^[8]

Bluesy, aka "Izzy", is a mysterious girl who appears before Seigi. Izzy has overwhelming physical power thanks to her Power Crest, which gives control over air. She's a U.S. Army lieutenant in charge of recovering the tattoos in Japan. Despite appearing to be of high school age, Izzy is older than Tom, a side effect of her Power Crest stopping her aging. She later loses her left arm during a battle with Cal.

Tōko Ichinose (一ノ瀬 桃子 (トーコ), Ichinose Tōko (Tōko))

Voiced by: Chika Anzai^[7] (Japanese); Jad Saxton (English)^[8]

Touko is Seigi's classmate and childhood friend who clearly loves him. She's rather well-developed for her age. After being possessed by Iltutmish, she accidentally gets a Power Crest in her forehead which, like all Power Crests, increases her physical abilities when activated. She is later killed and devoured by a monstrous Iltutmish causing Seigi to fall into despair.

Tom Shredfield (トム＝シュレッドフィールド, Tomu Shureddofīrudo)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita^[9] (Japanese); Chris Bevins (English)^[8]

An otaku who loves moe characters, and who works with Izzy as his subordinate. He has a copy Power Crest that allows him to negate the powers of other users. Because of his lacking fighting prowess, he's injured on every confrontation.

Lisa Lovelock (リサ・ラブロック, Risa Raburokku)

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura^[9] (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)

The commander of the Curse Unit of the U.S. Army, and good friends with Izzy. Nicknamed "Foxfire", her Power Crest allows her to create explosions using the components in the air, she often teases Izzy about her small bust.

Colonel Sanders (サンダース, Sandāsu)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda^[10] (Japanese); Christopher Sabat (English)

A U.S. Army Brigadier General who prefers to be called colonel, he is a patriot who is a leading member of the tattoo program. He loses his right arm, both legs and his vision in the fight against Cal, but refuses to let his new disabilities hold him back.

Souha Tamaki (玉城 走破, Tamaki Souha)

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo^[11] (English)

A soldier from the Japan Self-Defense Forces and one of the few Japanese Power Crest users, who offers help to Seigi, Izzy and Tom. He's also an otaku and befriends Tom because of that. He even proposes to his also Otaku girlfriend, despite knowing that could rise up a death flag. Nicknamed 'Bull Demon', his power crest allows him to warp dimensions close to his body and accelerate at enormous speed, ignoring the damage to his body.

Independents[]

Brad Blackstone "BB" (ブラッド・ブラックストーン, Buraddo Burakkusutōn)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa^[9] (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English)

A highly skilled combatant whose motives are unclear. He's an old acquaintance of Izzy and a defector from both U.S. and the Kingdom. He also possesses a Void Maker Power Crest, but the power is slowly killing him. He becomes a mentor of sorts towards Seigi but later sacrifices himself to save Seigi and Izzy, with his soul and memories transferred to Seigi.

Professor Wiseman (ワイズマン, Waizuman)

Voiced by: Show Hayami^[10] (Japanese); Jeremy Schwartz (English)

A renegade American scientist who absconded with a special tattoo which he gave to Seigi. He also assists Brad Blackstone to access and modify the source code of his tattoo.

Kingdom of Selinistan[]

Aryabhata "Arya" (アリヤバータ, Ariyabāta)

Voiced by: Akari Kitō^[12] (Japanese); Carli Mosier^[8] (English)

The princess of the Kingdom of Selinistan. A nationalist who desires world domination, she seized power in a coup d'état which killed both of her peace-minded parents. She admits to Seigi that she wishes to change the world to suit her own ends regardless of what others may think or feel. She strikes a beautiful figure, and comports herself with dignity, but her love of games is unequaled. Her Power Crest doesn't require a trigger and is linked to the source of all Power Crests, which means she can use any of its powers at will. Created as a tool to control the Power Crests, once she found out about the abuse and cruel experiments perpetrated by the king, her resentment towards humanity drove her to want to rewrite the world.

Iltutmish "Il" (イルトゥトゥミシュ, Irututumishu)

Voiced by: Shiori Izawa^[12] (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft (English)

A girl member of Brahman, who has pledged her allegiance to Arya. Nicknamed "Schrödinger's Cat", her Power Crest allows her to be anywhere as long as someone acknowledges her presence. She and Lurker have a pet capybara named Mickey and also adopts a stray cat. With Arya's power, she can turn into a giant saber-toothed tiger-like creature.

Cal Shekar (カル・シェーカル, Karu Shēkaru)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame^[9] (Japanese); Rachel Robinson (English)

A loyal servant to her sovereign, and a close aide to the princess Arya. She's the Vice-Commander of the Brahman. Nicknamed Aegis Armadillo, her Power Crest allows her to create powerful barriers that can cut nearly anything and she's also a deadly swordswoman. Despite her serious demeanor, she's easily frustrated by Arya's antics. She also admits to being in love with Brad but he turns her down in favor of Izzy.

R.R. Lurker (R・R・ラーカー, Āru Āru Rākā)

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda^[12] (Japanese); Andrew Love (English)

A man who works under Arya. A member of Brahman, and a sadistic whip-wielder, who develops an obsession with Izzy because of his lolita complex.

Kujuri (クジュリ)

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Tia Ballard^[8] (English)

One of Arya's "clone" sisters who doesn't hate humanity like her. She explained BB the origins of Arya and why she wants to remake the world.

Media[]

Manga[]

Anime[]

An anime adaptation produced by J.C.Staff was announced. It was initially slated to premiere in 2015, but it broadcast between July 4, 2016 and September 19, 2016.^[1][12] The anime was released across six Blu-ray volumes.^[13] The opening theme is "Belief" by May'n, while the ending theme is "EGOISTIC EMOTION" by idol unit TRIGGER, which is composed of Izzy's and Tōko's voice actors, Mikako Komatsu and Chika Anzai respectively.^[9] Crunchyroll has licensed the series in North America,^[14] while Funimation released it on home video as part of the two companies' partnership.^[15]

References[]

External links[]

English

• Official manga website at Hachette Book Group
• Taboo Tattoo (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Japanese

• Official manga website at Media Factory
• Official anime website