Tokko (manga)

Plot

In 2011, Tokyo is under siege from supernatural forces linked to the Machida massacre, a horrific event secretly caused by demonic beings known as Phantoms. These entities entered the human world after the Box of Dirge, also called Druj, was broken into 108 pieces, each fragment now held by a powerful Phantom. To fight this threat, the Public Security Intelligence Agency forms the Special Public Safety Task Force, or Tokko, led by Superintendent Ryoko Ibuki.

Its members are survivors of the Machida incident who carry dormant Phantoms inside them, giving them superhuman traits like incredible speed and the ability to summon swords, as normal guns cannot harm Phantoms or their human-faced larval parasites. These parasites emerge from massive holes created by unnatural earthquakes in the Kanto region. Tokko works in secret, facing criticism from other police units for hiding civilian and officer deaths, which are blamed on armed criminals or mental illness.

Each member has a symbiont tattoo, marking them as a host to one of the 108 Phantoms, whose nature remains unknown until awakened. Their goal is to hunt down rogue Phantoms, recover the Box of Dirge fragments, and close the expanding Machida hole before it destroys the world. Young investigator Ranmaru Shindo joins the Special Mobile Investigation Forces, or Tokki, to learn the truth about his parents’ deaths in the Machida massacre. He meets Sakura Rokujo, a Tokko operative, and discovers the massacre was carried out by Phantoms after the Box of Dirge was opened.

Characters

Ranmaru Shindo is a survivor of the Machida massacre alongside his sister Saya. He joined the police force to find out who murdered his parents and works as a detective in the Tokki division. He later joins the Tokko division to save the country from demons. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the massacre and his parents' deaths.

Since he survived the Machida incident, Phantom demons are instructed to finish him off along with other witnesses. His symbiont tattoos are on his right forearm and left shoulder. Sakura Rokujo is also a survivor of the Machida massacre and the woman haunting Ranmaru's dreams. She works in the Tokko division and handles a broadsword against Phantoms.

Her tattoos are a dragon on her right shoulder and arm, and another on her left arm. Her brother survived but has been unconscious since; she resolves to kill all the monsters. In the anime, she kisses Ranmaru before entering his psyche to save him from possession. She later faces her brother when his symbionts turn him evil.

In the final episode, Ranmaru stabs her with his sword and kisses her to gain her shard, hinting at her death, but she is later seen in a hospital bed in a coma. She wakes up with evil laughter not her own. Kureha Suzuka is a young prodigy who joined the police force at age 18 with the rank of Assistant Inspector, posted in the Tokko division.

Media

Tōru Fujisawa wrote and drew the manga Tokko, which ran in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon from April 25, 2003, to February 25, 2004. The chapters were collected into three tankōbon volumes released between February 6 and June 23, 2004. The first two volumes carry the subtitle Devil's Awaken, while the third, Phantom Hunter, is a side story centered on a brother and sister who survived the Machida massacre. Tokyopop handled the North American release, putting out all three volumes from July 1, 2008, to February 1, 2009.

A prequel called Tokko Zero, written by Fujisawa with art by Yukai Asada, began serialization in Monthly Hero's on July 1, 2013, and ran until March 1, 2016. Its chapters were compiled into four volumes from March 31, 2014, to May 2, 2016. A 13-episode anime adaptation aired on Wowow from April 16 to July 30, 2006. Three DVD volumes followed from August 25 to November 24, 2006.

The opening theme "Nothing" and ending theme "Sherry" were both performed by dB. The Tokko Original Soundtrack, featuring eleven tracks without the opening and closing themes, came out on June 28, 2006. Manga Entertainment licensed the anime in the United States and United Kingdom, while Madman Entertainment handled Australasia. It aired on Sci Fi (later Syfy) from June 18 to September 24, 2007, and on Chiller from July to October 2009. A radio drama on October 11, 2006, briefly expanded on events after the anime's conclusion.