Locke the Superman (超人ロック) is a Japanese manga series created by Yuki Hijiri, which was later adapted into a movie and three OVA releases. The movie was given an obscure video release in the United States by Celebrity Home Entertainment as Locke the Superpower, which was rather heavily edited to 92 minutes, removing violence, nudity and any adult bits. Both it and the OVAs were later licensed and released by Central Park Media under the original name. Ten volumes were published in Poland under the title Locke Superczłowiek. In Australia and the UK the movie and the Lord Leon OVAs were licensed by Manga Entertainment for release in 1997, but both were quietly dropped from the release schedule due to financial issues facing the UK branch.
As of 2012, Discotek has licensed the original Locke the Superman film from 1984 and it was released on November 6. This is the first ever DVD release in the U.S. It was from the uncut, remastered, anamorphic telecine print used for the Japanese DVD release. Discotek provided both the Japanese audio with English subtitles and the original English dub from the 80s, which was previously released on VHS.
In November 2020, the original Locke the Superman film from 1984 was released on Blu-ray by Sentai Filmworks.
Plot
The chronicles of the space age written through a certain immortal psionic's activity.
Characters
Main characters
- Locke
- A quiet, charismatic, lonely immortal esper about whom little is known. He is called "Locke the Superman," but often denies being such. It is not known where or when he was born, and if asked, Locke will say he does not remember; it is entirely possible this is true. When he asked by Cornelia Prim in Millennium of the Witch which star he was from, he replied "Toa." However, that was just the name of the planet where he'd lived before that meeting.
- He has appeared at various times throughout the history of the galaxy, as a direct influence, an indirect influence, or a simple observer. Using his esper abilities, Locke can learn and do most things more quickly than a normal human. His power also allows him to remain eternally young, or even turn himself into a child again to be adopted by kindhearted families. This is called waka-gaeri; it could be said of this that it keeps him young at heart. It is speculated that he retains a youthful appearance as an excuse not to take responsibility for whatever cause he is approached for, since no one expects the young to accept such responsibilities.
- Locke is capable of teleportation over a range of distances, including light years; telekinesis; psychogenesis, the rapid healing of himself and others; short and long range
Publication and conception
Yuki Hijiri published this manga series in a dojinshi published by Sakuga Group for the first time in 1967. He went to the commercial magazine, Monthly OUT by Minori Shobō, in 1978. It then appeared in Weekly Shōnen Gahōsha's Shōnen King from 1979 to 1988, when the magazine ceased publication. Thereafter the manga changed magazines many times.
Most chapters are equivalent to one or two volumes of the comics. The era of each chapter varies and the events do not occur in chronological order. The series "Detective Hunt and Assistant Locke" was originally a part of the series' main continuity. However, it became gradually inconsistent in a number of places, eventually resulting in being retconned as taking place in a parallel universe.
Media
Manga
The original manga series was released from 1967 to 1971. The Polish manga company Waneko licensed and published the manga series from 1999 to 2001 by under the title Locke Superczłowiek. Parts 1-8 were published as single volumes, while the last two volumes were published as double volumes. It was one of the first Japanese comics published in Poland.
SG series
Released by SG Planning.
- 1) Nimbus and the Negative World (ニンバスと負の世界)
- 2) Give Love in This Universe (この宇宙に愛を)
- 3) Child of Junan (ジュナンの子)
- 4) Cosmic Game (コズミック・ゲーム)
- 5) Liza (the first draft)
SG remake
Released by SG Planning.
Reception
The first film, Witch Era, received mixed reviews. Silver Emulsion called the film "not terrible...or bad" and criticized a "lack of connection" with the main character.[2]
New World Command was criticized for being "far less appealing to the average eye than the movie".[3]
Explanatory notes
External links
- Yuki Hijiri Official Site: Denno Kaba
- l Yuki Hijiri Fansite: Locke the Superman Room
- Chojin Locke at Rei's Anime and Manga Page
- "Locke the Superman—A Thirty Year Journey" at EX magazine
References
- http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?623777 Internet Speculative Fiction Database, June 28, 2017, retrieved August 26, 2020^
- Stephen. Stephen reviews: Locke the Superman (1984) Silver Emulsion, June 19, 2013, retrieved August 28, 2020^
- Locke the Superman: New World Command - Reviews