Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai is written by Riku Sanjo and illustrated by Koji Inada. A short story Derupa! Iruiru! (デルパ!イルイル!) was first published for two chapters in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in June 1989.[2][3] A short story, Dai Bakuhatsu!! (ダイ爆発!!!), was published for three chapters in August 1989.[4][5][6] Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai was serialized for seven years in Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 23, 1989, to December 9, 1996.[7][8] The manga was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes published between March 9, 1990, and June 4, 1997.[9][10] It was later released in 22 bunkobon volumes published from June 18, 2003, to March 18, 2004.[11][12] A 25-volume edition that includes the color pages from its original magazine run and newly drawn covers by Inada was published between October 2, 2020, and July 2, 2021.[13]

A prequel manga series, titled Dai no Daibōken: Yuusha Avan to Gokuen no Maou, illustrated by Yūsaku Shibata, with Sanjo credited for original work, began serializing in Shueisha's V Jump on September 19, 2020.[14][15] The series is centered around Avan before he met Dai and his companions. It entered its "final battle" on August 4, 2023.[16]

A spin-off manga written and illustrated by Yoshikazu Amami, titled Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - Cross Blade, launched in the November issue of Shueisha's Saikyō Jump manga magazine on October 1, 2020.[14] It entered its final stage on June 2, 2023.[17]

On July 9, 2021, Viz Media announced they licensed the series for English publication.[18] The first volume was released on March 1, 2022;[19] the fifth and latest volume was released on November 8 of that same year.[20]

Produced by Toei Animation, the anime adaptation of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai aired for 46 episodes on TBS from October 17, 1991, to September 24, 1992. Despite no official Japanese DVD release, the show reran in 2007 on Toei's channel with a new master.[21] The series uses two pieces of theme music, both composed by Koichi Sugiyama and performed by Jirō Dan. "Hurry, Heroes!!" (勇者よ急げ!!, Yūsha yo Isoge!!) is used for the opening theme, while "My Road, My Journey" (この道わが旅, Kono Michi Waga Tabi), which was the original ending theme for Dragon Quest II, is used for the episodes' ending theme.[22] The series adapts the events of the first ten volumes of the manga, with initial plans to continue onward until scheduling and time slot changes at TBS lead to the series ending after 46 episodes. To accommodate the abrupt ending, Sanjo helped to provide an adjusted finale to the anime.[23]

On January 6, 2020, the whole series was released in Japan for distribution on several video on demand (VOD) services, the first time the series has become officially available after the VHS release of the 1990s. In March 2020 it was announced that the 1991 anime will be getting a Blu-ray Box for the first time, released on July 3, 2020. The set contained all 46 episodes, and the 3 Jump Festa short theatrical movies (including the first film never before released on home video), which have been scanned from their original 35 mm negatives with high resolution and recorded as high-quality full HD remastered images.[24][25]

Three short theatrical movies were produced based on the first TV series, all of which premiered at the Toei Anime Fair film festival.

It was announced during Jump Festa 2020 that there would be a new anime adaptation that would premiere in fall 2020. The anime was produced by Toei Animation and was a hybrid of 2D and CG animation.[29] The series ran for 100 episodes, premiering on TV Tokyo and other affiliates on October 3, 2020. The series halted broadcast since March 12, 2022, when episode 73 was originally scheduled to air, and the series' entire schedule was subsequently delayed until further notice shortly after Toei Animation revealed their internal servers had been hacked by an unauthorized third party.[30] The broadcast resumed on April 16, 2022, and finished on October 22 of the same year. The band Macaroni Empitsu performed the series' opening theme "Ikiru o Suru" and the series' first ending theme "mother".[31][32] XIIX performed the series' second ending theme "Akashi".[33]

Muse Communication licensed the second series in Asia-Pacific, and streamed the first 50 episodes on Netflix in 2022 and also later streamed on Muse Asia YouTube channel for a limited time in 2023.[34][35][36] Toei simulcasts the series with English subtitles in North America, Latin America, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Europe via Crunchyroll, as well as Hulu in the United States and Anime Digital Network in France. An English dub was produced by Toei and Ocean Media. It was initially the subject of a do-no-work notice issued by the American actor's union SAG-AFTRA.[37] The first 25 episodes began streaming in the United Kingdom on BBC's iPlayer on September 26, 2022.[38] In North America, the first 50 dubbed episodes were made available on a variety of download to own platforms beginning November 8, 2022.[39] The entire series began streaming in the United States on Hulu on July 1, 2023.[40]

During Jump Festa '20, a video game based on the series has been announced.[41]

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai - Xross Blade, an arcade game with collectible trading cards was released in Japanese arcades on October 22, 2020.[42]

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero’s Bonds, a smartphone RPG for iOS/Android was released worldwide on September 28, 2021,[43] and was closed on April 26, 2023.[44]

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, an action RPG for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam was released worldwide on September 28, 2023.[45]

Dai appears as a playable character in the 2019 video game Jump Force, marking the first appearance of a Dragon Quest character in a Weekly Shōnen Jump crossover game.[46]