Cover of the first volume of The Qwaser of Stigmata as published by Akita Shoten featuring Mafuyu Oribe (center) and Alexander Nikolaevich Hell (bottom)
The Qwaser of Stigmata (Japanese: 聖痕のクェイサー, Hepburn: Seikon no Kueisā) is a Japanese manga series authored by Hiroyuki Yoshino featuring art by Kenetsu Satō. The series is notable for its violence, fan service, and the use of vital energy coming from women's breasts (referred to as Soma) as a central plot device. The manga series was published in Japan in the manga magazine Champion Red from 2006 to 2016, and the chapters collected into 24 tankōbon volumes. A 24-episode animetelevision series was produced with the same title as the manga series and broadcast in Japan on Biglobe in 2010. An OVA adaptation titled The Qwaser of Stigmata: Portrait of the Empress (聖痕のクェイサー: 女帝の肖像, Seikon no Kweisā: Jotei no Shōzō) was also produced and released on DVD with the manga series volume 10. A 12-episode second season was produced with the title The Qwaser of Stigmata II (聖痕のクェイサー II, Seikon no Kweisā Tsū) and was broadcast in Japan between April and June, 2011.[2]
Sentai Filmworks licensed both seasons and the OVA for digital distribution and home video release in North America, releasing English subtitled DVD sets in 2012 and 2013.[3]
The story chronicles the school lives of Mafuyu Oribe and Tomo Yamanobe at the Japanese Eastern Orthodox school St. Mihailov Academy, where they have endured persecution and isolation from other students led by the daughter of the current dean, Miyuri Tsujidou. and her second-in-command Hana Katsuragi. Mafuyu and Tomo's lives take a drastic turn when they nurse the silver-haired Russian-born Alexander "Sasha" Nikolaevich Hell back to health upon encountering him unconscious one day during their commute home. Almost immediately, Sasha begins to repay Mafuyu and Tomo's kindness as he repels their tormentors; however, this does not change Sasha's background as a throw-away Qwaser from the Adepts, and that the Adepts have no qualms about making an absolute war zone of the academy in order to acquire the Theotokos of Tsarytsin from Athos, who wishes to keep the icon's existence a secret from the world.
The manga is written by Hiroyuki Yoshino and illustrated by Kenetsu Satō. The Qwaser of Stigmata was serialized by Akita Shoten in Champion Red magazine and the chapters collected in tankōbon. The first volume was released on December 20, 2006.[4] The series ended on July 9, 2016, and was collected into 24 volumes.[5]
The manga series has been licensed internationally, translated, and published in several countries outside Japan. The series is licensed in France by Kazé, listing the first 14 volumes in their online catalog.[6] In Italy the manga series is licensed by J-Pop Edizioni.[7] and Ever Glory Publishing in Taiwan.[8]Tokyopop licensed the series for the North American market and published the first four volumes; however, since resuming business in December 2012, the title has not been listed in their online catalog.[9]
A 24-episode anime television series titled The Qwaser of Stigmata (聖痕のクェイサー, Seikon no Qwaser) was adapted from the manga series of the same name and broadcast as a censored version on Biglobe. An uncensored version of the series was streamed online. The first season was followed by a single episode OVA with the title The Qwaser of Stigmata: Portrait of the Empress (聖痕のクェイサー: 女帝の肖像, Seikon no Kweisā: Jotei no Shōzō) that was released on DVD with the manga series volume 10. A 12-episode second season titled The Qwaser of Stigmata II (聖痕のクェイサー II, Seikon no Kweisā Tsū) was broadcast in Japan in 2011. The first and second seasons were also released on DVD in Japan.
Sentai Filmworks licensed both seasons and the OVA in North America and released three English subtitled DVD sets between 2012 and 2013.
The Qwaser of Stigmata: Collection 1, 3 DVDs, episodes 1–12, released 2012-12-31.
The Qwaser of Stigmata: Collection 2, 3 DVDs, episodes 13–24, released 2013-02-26.
The Qwaser of Stigmata II: Complete Collection, 3 DVDs, episodes 1–12 plus the OVA, released 2013-04-30.
Anime Network posted the Season I and II episodes for online streaming (uncensored).
Internet radio show
Lantis has taken the opportunity presented by the Seikon no Qwaser anime to produce an Internet radio show starring Aki Toyosaki as Tomo Yamanobe and Yōko Hikasa as Hana Katsuragi[10] alongside commercially releasing the five theme songs as indicated in the table below. They released also an original soundtrack composed by Tatsuya Kato on June 7, 2010.
Song Title
Lyrics Author
Composition Data
Performance Parameters
Commercial Debut Date
"Errand"
Aki Hata
Composed/arranged by Daisuke Kikuta (Elements Garden)
Composed by Satoru Takada and arranged by Katsuya Yoshida
Sung by Minori Chihara as Ending II (dedicated solely to Episode 5)
10 February 2010 (Song released on Passionate Squall CD)
"Wishes Hypocrites"
Aki Hata
Composed by Katsuya Yoshida and arranged by Satoru Takada
Sung by Ayumi Fujimura, Aki Toyosaki, Minori Chihara, Aya Hirano, Yōko Hikasa (anime role voices) as Ending III
12 May 2010 (Sole song on CD)
"Rasen, Arui wa Seinaru Yokubō"
Aki Hata
Composed/arranged by Daisuke Kikuta (Elements Garden)
Sung by Faylan as Opening I from the second season
27 April 2011 (Sole song on CD)
"metaphor"
Shoujo Byou
Composed/arranged by Pixel Bee and RD-Sounds
Sung by Shoujo Byou as Ending I from the second season
25 May 2011 (Sole song on CD)
Reception
Reviewer Chris Beveridge gives the series' grades in the "B" range in The Fandom Post.[11][12][13] Theron Martin, an anime reviewer for Anime News Network who reviewed the DVD release collections 1 and 2 of the first season, gives the series grades from C+ (story) to A− (music).[14][15]
