Manga
Requiem of the Rose King was written and illustrated by Aya Kanno. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's (girls') manga magazine Monthly Princess, starting in the magazine's November 2013 issue on 4 October 2013.[6][7] On 4 June 2021, Kanno announced that she had completed the storyboard for the final Requiem of the Rose King chapter.[8] On 6 October 2021, Monthly Princess revealed that the series would end in four chapters.[9] Requiem of the Rose King concluded in the magazine's February 2022 issue on 6 January 2022.[10] Akita Shoten collects the series' individual chapters into (bound volumes) published under their Princess Comics imprint; the 17th and final volume will be released in Japan on 16 June 2022.
Internationally, the series is licensed for an English-language release in North America by Viz Media under the company's Shojo Beat imprint.[11][12] It is also licensed in French by Éditions Ki-oon,[13] in German by Carlsen Comics,[14] in Polish by Waneko,[15] in Spanish by Ediciones Tomodomo,[16] in Italian by Edizioni Star Comics,[17]
Spin-offs
King of Idol
A spin-off manga series, King of Idol: Bara-Ō no Gakuen (キング・オブ・アイドル 薔薇王の学園), began serialization in the February 2021 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 January 2021.[54] The series is written and illustrated by Kineko Abekawa.[54] The series ended serialization in the October 2023 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 September 2023.[56] Its chapters were collected into two tankōbon volumes. It portrays the Requiem of the Rose King characters as high school students training to become "idols" or entertainers.[57]
Bara-Ō no Sōretsu: Gaiden
Spin-offs
King of Idol
A spin-off manga series, King of Idol: Bara-Ō no Gakuen (キング・オブ・アイドル 薔薇王の学園), began serialization in the February 2021 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 January 2021.[54] The series is written and illustrated by Kineko Abekawa.[54] The series ended serialization in the October 2023 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 September 2023.[56] Its chapters were collected into two tankōbon volumes. It portrays the Requiem of the Rose King characters as high school students training to become "idols" or entertainers.[57]
Bara-Ō no Sōretsu: Gaiden
A second spin-off manga series, Bara-Ō no Sōretsu: Gaiden (薔薇王の葬列 外伝), began serialization in the April 2022 issue of Monthly Princess on 4 March 2022.[60]
King of Idol
A spin-off manga series, King of Idol: Bara-Ō no Gakuen (キング・オブ・アイドル 薔薇王の学園), began serialization in the February 2021 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 January 2021.[54] The series is written and illustrated by Kineko Abekawa.[54] The series ended serialization in the October 2023 issue of Monthly Princess on 6 September 2023.[56] Its chapters were collected into two tankōbon volumes. It portrays the Requiem of the Rose King characters as high school students training to become "idols" or entertainers.[57]
Bara-Ō no Sōretsu: Gaiden
A second spin-off manga series, Bara-Ō no Sōretsu: Gaiden (薔薇王の葬列 外伝), began serialization in the April 2022 issue of Monthly Princess on 4 March 2022.[60][61] The series ended serialization in the October 2023 issue published on 6 September 2023.[56] The series is written and illustrated by Kanno, and its chapters were collected into three volumes. The series focuses on events not covered in the main series, including stories about the characters' everyday lives and Queen Margaret's past.[62]
Drama CDs
Requiem of the Rose King has inspired three drama CDs produced by Akita Shoten in Japan. The first, based on volume three of the manga, was bundled with the February 2016 issue of Monthly Princess, released on 6 January 2016.[66][67] The second, based on volumes four and five of the manga, was included with a limited edition of volume seven, released on 16 January 2017.[68][69] The third, based on volumes five and six of the manga, was bundled with the March 2017 issue of Monthly Princess, released on 6 February 2017.[70] All three drama CDs starred Mitsuki Saiga as Richard III and Daisuke Namikawa as Henry VI.[66]
Anime
On 16 September 2020, Akita Shoten announced via their YouTube channel that Requiem of the Rose King would be adapted into an anime television series.[71][72] The series is animated by J.C.Staff and directed by Kentarō Suzuki, with Hiroki Uchida writing and supervising the scripts, Tsutomu Hashizume designing the characters, and Kow Otani composing the musical score.[73] The series was originally scheduled to premiere in October 2021,[74] but was delayed due to production issues.[75] It aired from 9 January to 26 June 2022, on Tokyo MX and other channels in Japan.[76]
Stage plays
A stage play adaptation of the manga ran at the Nippon Seinenkan hall in Tokyo from June 10 to June 19, 2022. The play was directed by Fumiya Matsuzaki, with its script written by Requiem of the Rose King anime screenplay writer Hiroki Uchida. It starred both a female actor, Yumi Wakatsuki, and a male actor, Sayato Arima, as the intersex Richard III. Additional cast members included Takuma Wada as Henry VI; Yūki Kimisawa as Edward IV of York; Gaku Takamoto as George, Duke of Clarence; Shō Katō as Catesby; Yūsuke Seto as Warwick; Ryōta Hirono as Prince Edward of Lancaster; Sena as Anne Neville; Sayaka Fujioka as Cecily Neville, Duchess of York; Ryōko Tanaka as Queen Margaret; and Masashi Taniguchi as Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.[84][85]
A separate musical adaptation is scheduled to run at the Kokumin Kyosai Co-Op Hall/Space Zero in Tokyo from April 19 to April 27, 2025. Akiko Kodama serves as the director, Ryū Hizuki as the scriptwriter, Masato Kamato as in charge of the music, and Shinji Rachi as the choreographer. The musical will star former Takarazuka Revue performer Tsukasa Hiryū as Richard III.[86]
A bonus manga chapter, Bara-Ō Ryokō-ki (薔薇王旅行記), was published in the July 2015 issue of Monthly Princess on 5 June 2015. The chapter depicts Kanno's trip to England with her editor for the reburial of King Richard III in March of that year.[87][88][89]
An art book, Bara-Ō no Sōretsu Irasuto-shū: Keikyoku no Hitsugi (「薔薇王の葬列」イラスト集 荊棘の棺), was published by Akita Shoten on 15 June 2018.[90][91]
A spin-off novel, Bara-Ō no Sōretsu Original Novel: Itsutsu no Makuai (薔薇王の葬列 original novel 五つの幕間), was published by Akita Shoten on 15 December 2021. The novel was written by Yō Makusu, with cover art by Kanno.[9]
