title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Takeshi Miyasaka directed an original video during the promotion period for the western release of the game which depicted Kazuma, Nishiki and Yumi growing up at the Sunflower Orphanage and leaving for Tokyo. This short film called "" (龍が如く 〜序章〜, "ryu ga gotoku -joshou-") serve as a prequel and set up the events which take place in the game.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Since September 2008, Japanese voice actors from the "Yakuza" series, including Takaya Kuroda (Kazuma Kiryu) and Hidenari Ugaki (Goro Majima), are running a radio drama which is known as "Ryu Ga Gotoku Presents Kamuro-cho Radio Station" (龍が如くPresents神室町RADIOSTATION). The second season "Shin Kamuro-cho Radio Station" (新・神室町RADIOSTATION), which covers 2009~2010, is ongoing with back number episodes available for download as podcasts. Past episodes from the 2008~2009 season, "Kamuro-cho Radio Station" (神室町RADIOSTATION), are also available as archived podcasts.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: A television series was adapted based on the spin-off PSP title "Kurohyō: Ryū ga Gotoku Shinshō" which began airing on TBS on October 5, 2010 and ended after 11 episodes. The series spawned a sequel in 2012 based on the "Kurohyō 2: Ryū ga Gotoku Ashura hen" PSP game in 2011, the series also ran for 11 episodes


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: The "Kamurocho Caba Jou TV" (神室町キャバ嬢 T V) is a Japanese web television dedicated to the series's cabaret girls. Main contents are audition and girls profile, but it can also be related to other aspect of the game series; for example volume 15 focuses on its soundtrack artists. All shows, called "volumes", are archived within the web TV's official website.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: The original game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for combining innovative gameplay with cinema-like storytelling and character development on the back of Japan's criminal underground. Weekly Famitsu gave high scores to the series, "Yakuza" scored 37/40 (92.5/100), "Yakuza 2" scored 38/40 (95/100), "Ryū Ga Gotoku Kenzan!" scored 37/40 (92,5/100), "Yakuza 3" scored 38/40 (95/100) and "Yakuza 4" scored 38/40 (95/100). "Yakuza 5" scored (40/40) which has the highest score out of all of the "Yakuza" installments. "Yakuza 6: The Song of Life" scored (39/40).


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: The western localized versions were released between one and three years after the originals and received generally favorable reviews.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Each installment earned an excellence award at the Japan Game Awards and had a PlayStation the Best re-release in both Japanese, Asian and Korean markets. The Japanese entertainment industry gave "Yakuza 3" the "Award for Excellence" in the 2009 Japan Game Awards "Games of the Year Division" for its "dramatic story development, freedom of the story and the graphics elaborated up to the details of the work. In addition, amusement found in every portion of the game including the vast number of sub-stories and mini games. This work was awarded the prize for the high quality of entertainment". In 2010, the Japan Game Awards once again gave the "Yakuza" series game the "Award for Excellence". "Yakuza 4" won due to "a rich story with a high degree of freedom that is developed from the different perspectives of the 4 characters. There are also many play spots that boast several sub-stories and mini games. The astounding quality and volume provide a high level of entertainment and was the reason for granting this award".


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Although the narrative has often been praised, the poor portrayal of female characters have been noted by reviewers, with some noting that important female characters like Haruka Sawamura and Makoto Makimura are underutilized or overshadowed by the series' singular focus on the deconstruction of toxic masculinity. Taking the criticism into consideration, development staff member for "Judgment" Scott Strichart said players have the opportunity to empathize with the sexism experienced by female characters like Saori Shirosaki in the English localization. Producer Daisuke Sato noted their handling of LGBT characters in "Yakuza 3" did not age well ever since its release as it would come across as offensive. As a result, when the game was remastered, the entire handling of such content was removed.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: The series sold 3.2 million games worldwide as of 2009 and 4 million copies as of September 2010; the best sellers being the first two games which sold between 500,000 – 1 million worldwide, each winning the PlayStation Gold Award. "Yakuza 3" sold 500,000 copies in the Asian markets as of 2010, also winning SCEJ's PlayStation Gold Award. However, after "Yakuza 4", Sega said that sales were slow in North America and Europe due to "the adverse market condition", noting "sluggish personal consumption" in those regions.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: By June 2015, the entire series sold over 7 million units worldwide. As of 2021, the series has sold over 17 million copies.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Some fans have been inspired by the "Yakuza" game series to visit their real-world counterparts. One reviewer praised the detailed recreation of specific districts, including "trivial, incidental stuff", that enables virtual exploration of real-life locations. Although not explicitly marketed as "virtual tourism", another reviewer noted ""Yakuza" still gives you the best opportunity to really get engaged with a country and its people that I can think of. ... [It] has become a connection to a country I love very much, not because of the sights it shows me, but for all the boring things it lets me do". Series writer and producer Masayoshi Yokoyama particularly thinks of "Yakuza 5" as a game that provides "all the fun of modern Japan".


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: In 2020, an internet meme emerged utilizing deepfakes to generate videos of people and fictional characters singing the chorus of , a song which first appears in the karaoke minigame of "Yakuza 5". Most iterations of this meme use a 2017 video uploaded by user Dobbysrules, who lip syncs the Taxi Driver ("Yakuza 5" (Kiryu) / "Yakuza 0") version of the song, as a template.


title: Yakuza (franchise)

text: Journalists frequently made comparisions to Sega's "Shenmue" series when "Ryu Ga Gotoku" was first revealed. Series creator Nagoshi was aware of this, and said that these are different games entirely and should not be compared. "Shenmue" creator Yu Suzuki who worked with Nagoshi said that the challenges that he endured while making "Shenmue" were something Nagoshi learned from and gave back to Sega. According to former Sega manager Hisashi Suzuki, "Ryu Ga Gotoku" was only possible because of "Shenmue" and described it as a "Sega-like" work. Other Sega games also had an influence. It inherited elements of the "SpikeOut" arcade games, games that Nagoshi was previously involved in. The development tools to create the map came from "Jet Set Radio".


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson are an American pop band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, formed by brothers Isaac Hanson (guitar, vocals, bass, piano), Taylor Hanson (keyboards, vocals, percussion), and Zac Hanson (drums, vocals, piano). Supporting members include Dimitrius Collins (guitar) and Andrew Perusi (bass), who have toured and performed live with the band since 2007.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their debut album released through Mercury/Polygram Records, entitled "Middle of Nowhere", which earned three Grammy nominations. The group's label Mercury Records was merged with its sister labels and the band were moved to Island Def Jam Music Group. After releasing one album on Island Def Jam, the label and the group parted ways. Hanson have sold over 16 million records worldwide and have had three top 20 albums in the United States. They have had three top 20 US Hot 100 singles and eight UK top 40 singles. The band now record under their own independent record label, 3CG Records.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In the early to mid-1990s, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac sang a cappella and recorded such classic songs as "Rockin' Robin", "Splish Splash", and "Johnny B. Goode", as well as their own material. Their first performance as a professional group took place in 1992 at the Mayfest Arts Festival in Tulsa. They were known as the Hanson Brothers, before shortening the name to Hanson in 1993.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson also appeared on Carman's "Yo! Kidz: The Vidz", which cast Taylor as a young Biblical David facing Goliath, Isaac as an event announcer, and Zac and other members of the family in the stands cheering on this "sporting event".


title: Hanson (band)

text: All three boys started their musical careers as pianists, but Isaac eventually started playing guitar and Zac started playing drums, while Taylor continued as the keyboard player. The band recorded two independent albums in their hometown of Tulsa, "Boomerang" (recorded in autumn 1994, released in 1995) and "MMMBop" (released in 1996). The latter featured the original version of the song "MMMBop", which later became the runaway single on their debut commercial record "Middle of Nowhere". The band played in Austin during the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, which led to them being signed by manager Christopher Sabec. He shopped them to several record companies, most of which dismissed the band as a novelty before Steve Greenberg, an A&R representative for Mercury Records, heard them play a set at the Wisconsin State Fair. After this performance, they were signed almost immediately by Mercury. They soon became a worldwide sensation with the release of their first major-label album, "Middle of Nowhere", which was produced by Stephen Lironi and the Dust Brothers.


title: Hanson (band)

text: "Middle of Nowhere" was released in the US on May 6, 1997, selling 10 million copies worldwide. May 6 was declared 'Hanson Day' in Tulsa by Oklahoma's then-governor Frank Keating. Although 'Hanson Day' was originally intended to be a one-time occurrence, many Hanson fans all over the world still recognize May 6 as Hanson Day every year. Hanson's popularity exploded during the summer of 1997, and Mercury Records released Hanson's first documentary "Tulsa, Tokyo, and the Middle of Nowhere" and their Christmas album "Snowed In" in the wake of their success. Hanson also launched "MOE" (which stood for Middle of Everywhere), a fan club magazine that ran for 12 issues. After numerous unauthorized biographies of each of the brothers were published, Hanson turned to their close friend, Jarrod Gollihare of Admiral Twin, to write their authorized biography. "Hanson: The Official Book" reached number 9 on the New York Times Best Sellers List (nonfiction) on February 1, 1998. The band was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1998: Record of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. During the summer of 1998, Hanson began a highly successful concert tour, the Albertane Tour. They performed a string of shows throughout stadiums and arenas in the US, targeting young audiences with a playful and energetic style. A live album, titled "Live From Albertane", was released the following fall, as well as their second documentary "The Road to Albertane".


title: Hanson (band)

text: In response to the demand for their earlier work, Hanson re-released "MMMBop" as "3 Car Garage", minus four tracks, in May 1998. Three tracks from "Boomerang" ("Boomerang", "More Than Anything", and "Rain (Falling Down)") and two of the remaining tracks from "MMMBop" ("Incredible" and "Baby (You're So Fine)") were released on the first MOE CD sent to fan club members.


title: Hanson (band)

text: During the Albertane Tour, Hanson wrote and demoed what became the songs for their second major studio album, "This Time Around". During this time period, Mercury Records, the band's label, had been merged with Island Def Jam. Almost immediately following the changeover in May 2000, Hanson released their second album, "This Time Around", but due to lack of promotional funding, sales were low and the label eventually pulled funding for their tour. The band toured through the summer and fall of 2000 on their own funds.


title: Hanson (band)

text: After a three-year struggle, the brothers left Island Def Jam Records to seek more creative freedom. Label executives had refused over 80 songs from the band, believing new material lacked marketability. The documentary film "Strong Enough to Break" follows these events.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson now records for their own independent label, 3CG Records. The label has distribution deals through Alternative Distribution Alliance in the United States, Cooking Vinyl in Europe, Sony Music in Asia and with various other distributors throughout the world. During the dispute with their former label, Hanson signed with the management company, 10th Street Entertainment, which also manages artists such as Meat Loaf and Blondie.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The band's Underneath Acoustic tour occurred during the Summer and Fall of 2003. Music included acoustic versions of songs from the then-forthcoming release, "Underneath". The tour ended November 5, 2003 with a performance at Carnegie Hall.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Released on April 20, 2004, "Underneath" sold 37,500 copies in the first week of release in the US alone. The album debuted at No. 1 on the "Billboard" Top Independent Albums chart and No. 25 on the "Billboard" 200 album chart, making "Underneath" one of the most successful self-released albums of all time.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In autumn 2005, Hanson toured in the US and Canada to support "". They also visited colleges to showcase "Strong Enough to Break", the documentary chronicling difficulties with and departure from Island Def Jam. During college visits, the band held question-and-answer sessions about independent artists' role in the music industry.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On January 15, 2007, Hanson released on iTunes the first episode of their documentary podcast "Taking the Walk", detailing production of the studio album. The first episode of the band's documentary "Strong Enough to Break" was also released on iTunes. The program is edited into 13 episodes for release by podcast.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In March 2007, Hanson began a "preview tour" to promote "The Walk" and give fans a taste of recent work. Over six days, Hanson performed at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey, Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut, The Crocodile Rock in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and The Supper Club in New York City. On March 30, Taylor and Zac appeared in Dallas, TX to screen their documentary at the AFI Film Festival. Afterward, the brothers held a Q&A session along with director Ashley Greyson. Hanson performed in the UK during April 2007, playing songs from "The Walk". They also promoted the release of the single "Go" and the UK release of the album.


title: Hanson (band)

text: "The Walk", Hanson's second studio album with 3CG Records (Fourth overall), was released in the US, Mexico and Canada on July 24. It was released in Japan on February 21 and in the UK on April 30. As part of this album, the band hosted "Take the Walk" events with fans encouraged to walk one mile to raise money and awareness of AIDS/HIV in Africa. The band partnered with Tom's Shoes to give shoes to children in Africa.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On May 6, 2007, the 10th anniversary of Hanson Day, the band re-recorded their first major label album, "Middle Of Nowhere", at The Blank Slate bar in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band invited fan club members, causing hundreds to fly to Oklahoma for the acoustic event. Hanson played concerts in the summer of 2007, supporting release of "The Walk". The band appeared in Providence, Boston, New York City, Toronto, and Los Angeles.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The record "Middle of Nowhere Acoustic" was released at the end of that year, exclusively on Hanson.net. The record included all but three songs of those originally in "Middle of Nowhere" ("Speechless", "Thinking of You" and "With You in Your Dreams") and featured the song "Yearbook", never performed live before.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In June 2009, Hanson completed the album "Shout It Out" and planned to release it on June 8, 2010. The band also announced that they would be co-headlining a tour with Hellogoodbye. The tour started in Hanson's hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 30, 2009 and finished November 11, 2009 in Anaheim, California.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson also released a five-song EP titled "Stand Up, Stand Up" that was available at shows and on the band's official website. The tracks are acoustic versions of four new Hanson songs, plus the album version of "World's on Fire" which was originally going to be on their album "Shout It Out" but was ultimately left off the album. It was released worldwide on iTunes on December 8, 2009.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In December 2009, Hanson announced they would play five consecutive concerts at New York's Gramercy Theater. Each concert featured one of the band's four previous albums in its entirety, and the premiere of their upcoming Spring 2010 release. Dubbed 'Five of Five', the engagement began with a performance of Hanson's debut, "Middle of Nowhere", on April 26, 2010 and then moved onto 2000's "This Time Around" on April 27, 2004's "Underneath" followed on April 28 with 2007's "The Walk" on April 29. On April 30, the band unveiled their new album, "Shout It Out". The concert series was also streamed live on band's official website, Hanson.net, and included an exclusive "Backstage Pass" stream for fan club members. On March 6, 2010, Hanson shot dance and other sequences for their upcoming music video of their new single, "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'", at Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa. Hanson recruited professional dancers for the shoot and also invited fans and local residents to take part in the video, which is an homage to the Blues Brothers. The video was directed by Todd Edwards, co-founder of Blue Yonder Films. It was released for public viewing on their MySpace channel on April 15, 2010. "Weird Al" Yankovic has a cameo appearance as the tambourine player. On June 8, 2010, Hanson's fifth studio record was released. "Shout It Out" debuted at number 30 on the "Billboard" 200, number 2 on the Indie chart, and No. 16 on the digital chart. On June 15, 2010, the band's free concert at the South Street Seaport in New York City rather incongruously ended in a riot after an estimated 20,000 fans showed up at a venue which could only accommodate half that many people. The rapper Drake was also on the bill. Hanson offered a "platinum package" of their "Shout it Out" record which included artwork hand-painted by the band's members. In October 2010, Hanson released "The 113 Painting Book" which includes the paintings they created for these packages. To promote their new album, "Shout It Out", Hanson toured from July 2010 through November 2010. The tour kicked off in Buffalo, NY on July 21, with the final show in Toronto, Ont., on November 23. Throughout the tour, the band broadcast live streams from their website. The footage included introducing the local musician winners of their opening band contest, a few full length concerts, and walks with fans to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa for their Take the Walk Campaign. One of the most notable concerts included two days in November at Walt Disney World Resort's Food and Wine Festival for the Eat to the Beat concert series.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The band released a second single from "Shout It Out" in 2011. "Give a Little" reached Top 40 on the US Hot AC charts, making it the first top 40 hit for the band since their 2000 single "If Only".


title: Hanson (band)

text: The band resumed their touring activity in September 2011. The US Musical Ride Tour lasted from September 4 to November 1. Starting on November 6 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, they proceeded to tour Latin America and Europe in order to promote their "Shout It Out" album internationally. In early 2012, they toured Canada with Carly Rae Jepsen. Later in 2012, they took the Shout It Out world Tour to Philippines and Australia as well.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Their sixth album "Anthem" was released on June 18, 2013. The album charted at number 22 on the US "Billboard" 200, making it their eighth album to reach the top 40 of the "Billboard" 200; the album also peaked at number 5 on the US Independent Albums chart. The first single is titled "Get the Girl Back", which was released on April 9, 2013. The single charted at number 39 on the "Billboard" Adult Pop Songs.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On October 23, 2013, Hanson served as guest judges on the popular show "Cupcake Wars". Four cupcake bakers fought to the finish for the chance at having their cupcakes at a concert and an after party with the band, and a $10,000 prize.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On March 16, 2017, Hanson announced their 25th anniversary tour called "" to celebrate the band's first signed album release.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson released their second Christmas album, "Finally It's Christmas", on October 27, 2017. They also performed a "Finally It's Christmas" special, which can be found on YouTube. In 2018, they performed backing vocals on the title song for Mike Love's solo album "Reason for the Season".


title: Hanson (band)

text: In July 2018, Hanson announced a symphonic tour and accompanying album, titled "String Theory," inspired by their bucket list desire to play with a symphony orchestra at iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House and the Greek Theatre. The tour began in August 2018 and saw them touring the world performing with the backing of local symphony orchestras. The album was released on November 9, 2018 with the symphonic composition recorded in Prague, lead by Academy award winning arranger David Campbell. Hanson performed their highlight shows at the Sydney Opera House in Australia over the two nights of March 4th and 5th 2019. Their parents, Walker and Diana, flew to Australia to see their sons perform in the hallowed space. Whilst in Australia, the band played some side gigs at The Melbourne Zoo without the orchestra backing.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On September 13, 2019, Hanson announced their Wintry Mix tour in North America, featuring Paul McDonald and Joshua and the Holy Rollers, led by the youngest Hanson brother, Mac Hanson.


title: Hanson (band)

text: During the Wintry Mix tour, Zac Hanson was injured in a motorcycle accident on October 2, 2019. Despite the incident, the tour continued, with Zac on percussions and former HAIM drummer Dash Hutton filling in for him.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The seven-track album, "Against the World" was released officially in November 2021 after the band released a song a month with a corresponding video over the course of 2021. The album was recorded at the legendary FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, AL. The album's theme is about, facing adversity in its many forms, and seeking a way forward.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The album "RGB (Red Green Blue)" was released in 2022. "Red Green Blue" is a blend of a 5-song mini album crafted by each individual brother: "RED" for Taylor, "GREEN" for Isaac and "BLUE" for Zac. Each brother wrote and produced their third of the album individually with the help of award-winning producers Jim Scott and David Garza.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Each portion is unique to the individual brother, but doesn't stick to one genre. Taylor Hanson’s "Red" portion tends to lean more toward a rootsy Americana sound. For Isaac's "Green" portion, there’s more of an intimate and vintage sound. Zac’s "Blue" has a more contemporary sound, mixing in pop, rock and alt-country. The three released singles from the album. Taylor's "Child At Heart" depicts a series of inflicted wounds and tragedies as a metaphor for the pain of life and love. It sees Taylor getting punched and a glass of water thrown on him in the video clip. Isaac's "Write You A Song" was written for his daughter, Odette who requested he write a song for her. She features in the clip that was premiered on CMT. Zac's song "Don't Let Me Down" features Frankie Muniz and a cast of others in the beefcake fun video.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The brothers were featured in the July 18th 2022 People Magazine edition discussing their career thus far, family commitments and being on the road. The article also showcased photos of their individual family members.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson occasionally host a song writing retreat known as Fools Banquet (sporadically between 2004–2015), where they invite musician friends to spend a week collaborating on writing and recording new songs. In the early years, most of the songs that came from Fools Banquet collaborations featured on Hanson's fan club only albums. Artists that have attended over the years include Andrew W.K., Ben Kweller, Imani Coppola, Sandra McCracken, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adam Green and Pedro Yanowitz. Some songs that have been born and released as a result of Fools Banquet collaborations have been: We are All Women released by Andrew W.K. and Battle Cry released by Hanson.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Back to the Island (BTTI) is a week long destination concert event for fans that is held annually at a resort in Jamaica. During BTTI, attendees have the opportunity to participate in exclusive events with each member of the band, obtain exclusive merchandise, plus see the band give live performances.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In early 2009, Taylor Hanson launched a separate project including members of Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne and Cheap Trick called Tinted Windows, a power pop quartet whose debut album quickly earned critical praise and repeat airplay on leading syndicated FM radio programs.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson was the musical guest at the Tulsa stop of The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour starring Conan O'Brien on May 15, 2010. Conan accompanied the band in playing a cover of the song "Never Been to Spain" by American rock legends Three Dog Night.


title: Hanson (band)

text: As an April Fools' Day joke in 2011, Hanson covered the song "Wait and Bleed" by the heavy metal band Slipknot, and the website Shockhound claimed that Hanson would record an entire album of Slipknot covers.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On April 25, 2011, Hanson sang their hit "MMMBop" on the US version of "Dancing with the Stars". The band also makes a cameo in Katy Perry's music video for her song "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)".


title: Hanson (band)

text: The Hanson brothers partnered with craft beer company Mustang Brewing to create the drink as their way of raising a toast to their 21st anniversary. Hanson shared the first taste of the beer with those attending the premiere of The Hangover Part 3.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In 2015, Hanson appeared on Blues Traveler's album "Blow Up the Moon", co writing the song "Top of the World". In June 2015, they appeared on Owl City's fifth studio album, "Mobile Orchestra", in the song "Unbelievable" as his third single for the album.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In 2016, the band performed the song "Him or Me", a cover of the song by Paul Revere & the Raiders, on Bun E. Carlos' solo album called "Greetings From Bunezuela!"


title: Hanson (band)

text: On May 29, 2017 (Memorial Day), Hanson performed live on ABC's "Good Morning America" to commemorate their 25th year together and promote their new song.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In 2021, Hanson competed in season five of "The Masked Singer" as the "Russian Dolls", being the first band to compete on the series. The character performed in two costumes during the first and fifth performances and performed in three costumes for the second and third performances. Performances that utilized four costumes had one of them being used as a prop. When unmasked by Nick Cannon and the Men in Black on Week 9 of the fifth season, Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson were underneath the main Russian Doll costume.


title: Hanson (band)

text: In July 2006, the band recorded with a school choir in Soweto, South Africa to create "Great Divide", which was released in the UK and U.S. through iTunes in December 2006. All proceeds from the song were directed towards research and prevention of AIDS in Africa.


title: Hanson (band)

text: On September 10, 2007, Hanson began "The Walk Tour" in Nashville. During the tour, Hanson continued their work against poverty and AIDS in Africa, partnering with an American company, TOMS Shoes. As part of TOMS' "Shoe Drop", for every pair of shoes sold, the company donated another pair for a child in Africa.


title: Hanson (band)

text: The Walk tour was suspended after Isaac underwent lifesaving surgery for a pulmonary embolism. Doctors treated his condition by relieving blood flow restrictions caused by excess chest muscle and scar tissue from the repetitive motions of guitar playing. The tour resumed with Midwest and East Coast dates March through May 2008.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson embarked on the "Walk Around the World Tour" starting on September 7, 2008, in Portland, Oregon, and ending November 16, 2008, in San Diego, California. Once again Hanson continued to help fight poverty in Africa by continuing their walks before the shows. A coffee table book titled "Take the Walk" was released in late 2008 to coincide with their "Walk Around the World Tour". This book presents the band's story behind their inspiration for their fight on poverty in Africa. The book also features a special EP with new tracks recorded especially for the project. Both the music and the book will raise further funds for aid groups in Africa.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Hanson faced backlash after a copy of Zac's Pinterest account leaked in 2020, which contained "a trove of pro-gun memes, many of which were racist, transphobic, homophobic, and sexist." Examples of the posts on the now-deleted account include memes supporting George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin, others comparing the right to use an AR-15 rifle with Rosa Parks's right to sit on a bus, as well as posts suggesting that any "man wanting to dress like a woman" must be mentally ill. After first defending the posts, Zac apologized, saying, "The leaked Pinterest page provided a distorted view of the issues surrounding race and social justice, which do not reflect my personal beliefs. I apologize for the hurt my actions caused."


title: Hanson (band)

text: In November 2020, Isaac posted on Instagram that our governments' want to cancel Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter in the face of COVID," adding "I for one will not comply." He later apologized, saying, "What I shared was driven by an emotional reaction to a recent personal experience. ... I'm sorry for the pain and worry that my posts caused. I don't believe there is a group conspiring against Christmas, only that I hope value is placed on both practices of safety and of faith."


title: Hanson (band)

text: The band held a series of in-person concerts with accompanying livestreams in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from October 2020 to January 2021. Some fans took issue with the band holding these concerts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Clarke Isaac Hanson was born on , in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the eldest of the three brothers in Hanson, and was eleven when the band started in 1992. He sings both backing and lead vocals and plays electric and acoustic guitar, as well as the piano, bass and the synthesizer. Isaac married Nikki Dufresne on September 30, 2006, in Tulsa at the Philbrook Museum of Art. Isaac met Dufresne after spotting her in the fifth row of a crowd at their 2003 New Orleans concert. They have three children.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Jordan Taylor Hanson was born on , in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Taylor was nine when Hanson started in 1992. In Hanson, he sings both lead and backup vocals, and plays keyboard, percussion (including drums, bongos and the tambourine), guitar, harmonica, and piano. He is also the lead singer of supergroup Tinted Windows. On June 8, 2002, Taylor married Natalie Anne Bryant, whom he had first met in 2000. They have seven children.


title: Hanson (band)

text: Zachary Walker Hanson was born on , in Arlington, Virginia, but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the youngest of the three brothers in Hanson, and was six when the band started in 1992. He plays drums, percussion, piano, guitar and also sings backup and lead vocals in the band. Zac, at age 12 years and 126 days, is the seventh-youngest Grammy nominee of all time. He holds the title of youngest songwriter nominated for a Grammy Award (same year). Zac married Kate Tucker on June 3, 2006. They have five children. On October 2, 2019, Zac was involved in a motorcycle accident in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which resulted in five broken bones: three broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and a cracked scapula. Zac and his family are also gamers, and currently run a gaming channel on YouTube named "Zaccidental Gamer", where they play such games as Minecraft Dungeons, Halo Infinite, and more.


title: Alien 3

text: Alien 3 (stylized as "A"LIEN³) is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. It stars Sigourney Weaver, reprising her role as Ellen Ripley. It is the third installment of the "Alien" franchise and led to a sequel, "Alien Resurrection" (1997).


title: Alien 3

text: Set right after the events of "Aliens" (1986), Ripley and an Alien organism are the only survivors of the Colonial Marine spaceship "Sulaco" following an escape pod's crash on a planet housing a penal colony populated by violent male inmates. Additional roles are played by Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Ralph Brown, Paul McGann, Danny Webb, Lance Henriksen, Holt McCallany, Pete Postlethwaite, and Danielle Edmond.


title: Alien 3

text: The film faced problems during production, including shooting without a script and the attachment of various screenwriters and directors. Fincher, in his feature directorial debut, was brought in to direct after a proposed version with Vincent Ward as director was canceled during pre-production.


title: Alien 3

text: "Alien 3" was released on May 22, 1992. While it underperformed at the American box office, it earned over $100 million outside North America. The film received mixed reviews and was regarded as inferior to previous installments. Fincher has since disowned the film, citing studio interference and deadlines. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, seven Saturn Awards (Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver, Best Supporting Actor for Dutton, Best Direction for Fincher, and Best Writing for Giler, Hill, and Ferguson), a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and an MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence. In 2003, a revised version of the film known as the Assembly Cut was released without Fincher's involvement, which received a warmer reception.


title: Alien 3

text: Following the events of "Aliens", an egg hatches aboard the Colonial Marine spaceship "Sulaco", releasing a facehugger. A fire starts and the ship's computer launches an escape pod containing Ellen Ripley, the young girl Newt, Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop; all four are in cryonic stasis. The pod crash-lands on Fiorina "Fury" 161, a foundry and maximum-security correctional facility inhabited by male inmates with a genetic predisposition for antisocial behavior. The inmates recover the crashed pod and its passengers. The same facehugger is seen approaching inmate Thomas Murphy's dog, Spike.


title: Alien 3

text: Ripley is awakened by Clemens, the prison doctor, who informs her that she is the sole survivor. She is warned by the prison warden, Harold Andrews, that her presence may have disruptive effects. Ripley insists that Clemens perform an autopsy on Newt and that her and Hicks's bodies be subsequently burned, secretly fearing that Newt may be carrying an Alien embryo. Despite protests from the warden and his assistant Aaron, the autopsy is conducted and no embryo is found. The funeral proceeds in the foundry with spiritual leader Dillon delivering a speech as the deceased are dropped into the furnace. Elsewhere in the prison, a quadrupedal alien bursts from Spike.


title: Alien 3

text: Ripley finds the damaged Bishop in the prison's garbage dump before she is cornered by four inmates and almost gang-raped. After being saved by Dillon, Ripley returns to the infirmary and re-activates Bishop, who, before asking to be permanently shut down, confirms through scanning ship records that a Facehugger was onboard and came with them to Fiorina. Growing to full size, the alien kills Murphy, Boggs, and Rains, and returns outcast prisoner Golic to his previously psychopathic state. Ripley informs Andrews of her previous Xenomorph encounters and suggests everyone work together to hunt down and kill it. Andrews does not believe her story, and explains that even if she were telling the truth, the facility is without weapons; their only hope is the rescue ship being sent for Ripley by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.


title: Alien 3

text: The Alien ambushes Ripley and Clemens in the prison infirmary, killing him, and corners Ripley, but then mysteriously spares her and retreats. Ripley then rushes to the cafeteria to warn the others. Andrews orders Aaron to take her back to the infirmary, but the warden himself is dragged into the vents and killed by the monster. Ripley rallies the inmates and proposes they pour flammable toxic waste into the ventilation system and ignite it to flush out the Alien. However, its intervention causes a premature explosion and several inmates are killed. With Aaron's help, Ripley scans herself using the escape pod's medical equipment and sees the embryo of an Alien Queen growing inside her. She also discovers that Weyland-Yutani hopes to turn the aliens into biological weapons.


title: Alien 3

text: Deducing that the Alien will not kill her because of the embryo she carries, Ripley begs Dillon to kill her; he agrees only if she helps the inmates kill the Alien first. They form a plan to lure the Alien into the foundry's molding facility, trap it via a series of closing doors, and drown it in molten lead. The bait-and-chase plan results in the deaths of all the remaining prisoners except Dillon and Morse. Dillon sacrifices himself to position the Alien towards the mold as Morse pours the molten lead onto them. Although the Alien is covered in molten metal, it escapes the mold. Ripley activates the fire sprinklers, blowing it apart from thermal shock.


title: Alien 3

text: The Weyland–Yutani team arrives, including commandos and a man who looks identical to Bishop, who explains that he is Bishop's creator. He tries to persuade Ripley to undergo surgery to remove the Alien Queen embryo, which he claims will be destroyed. Ripley refuses and steps back onto a mobile platform, which Morse positions over the furnace. The Weyland–Yutani team shoots Morse in the leg to stop him; Aaron strikes the Bishop look-alike with a wrench and is shot dead by the commandos. Ignoring pleas to give them the embryo, Ripley throws herself into the furnace, holding captive the infant queen as it erupts from her. The facilities are closed down. Morse, the sole survivor, is led away as Ripley's final logbook recording from the "Nostromo" plays.


title: Alien 3

text: With the success of "Aliens", 20th Century Fox approached Brandywine Productions on further sequels. But Brandywine was less than enthused with an "Alien 3" project, with producer David Giler later explaining he and partners Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll wanted to take new directions as "we wouldn't do a repeat of one and two". The trio opted to explore the duplicity of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and why they were so intent in using the Aliens as biological weapons. Various concepts were discussed, eventually settling on a two-part story, with the treatment for the third film featuring "the underhanded Weyland–Yutani Corporation facing off with a militarily aggressive culture of humans whose rigid socialist ideology has caused them to separate from Earth's society." Michael Biehn's Corporal Hicks would be promoted to protagonist in the third film, with Sigourney Weaver's character of Ellen Ripley reduced to a cameo appearance before returning in the fourth installment, "an epic battle with alien warriors mass-produced by the expatriated Earthlings." Weaver liked the Cold War metaphor, and agreed to a smaller role, particularly due to a dissatisfaction with Fox, who removed scenes from "Aliens" crucial to Ripley's backstory.


title: Alien 3

text: Although 20th Century Fox were skeptical about the idea, they agreed to finance the development of the story, but asked that Hill and Giler attempt to get Ridley Scott, director of "Alien", to make "Alien 3". They also asked that the two films be shot back to back to lessen the production costs. While Scott was interested in returning to the franchise, it did not work out due to the director's busy schedule.


title: Alien 3

text: In September 1987, Giler and Hill approached cyberpunk author William Gibson to write the script for the third film. Gibson, who told the producers his writing was influenced by "Alien", accepted the task. Fearful of an impending strike by the Writers Guild of America, Brandywine asked Gibson to deliver a screenplay by December. Gibson drew heavily from Giler and Hill's treatment, having a strong interest in the "Marxist space empire" element. The following year, Finnish director Renny Harlin was approached by Fox based on his work in "". Harlin wanted to go in different directions from the first two movies, having interest in both visiting the Alien homeworld or having the Aliens invading Earth.


title: Alien 3

text: Gibson's script was mockingly summed up by him as "Space commies hijack alien eggs—big problem in Mallworld". The story picked up after "Aliens", with the "Sulaco" drifting into an area of space claimed by the "Union of Progressive Peoples". The ship is boarded by people from the U.P.P., who are attacked by a facehugger hiding in the entrails of Bishop's mangled body. The soldiers blast the facehugger into space and take Bishop with them for further study. The "Sulaco" then arrives at a space station–shopping mall hybrid named Anchorpoint. With Ripley put in a coma, Hicks explores the station and discovers Weyland-Yutani are developing an Alien army. In the meantime, the U.P.P. are doing their own research, which led them to repair Bishop. Eventually Anchorpoint and the U.P.P. stations are overrun with the Aliens, and Hicks must team up with the survivors to destroy the parasites. The film ends with a teaser for a fourth movie, where Bishop suggests to Hicks that humans are united against a common enemy, and they must track the Aliens to their source and destroy them.


title: Alien 3

text: The screenplay was very action-oriented, featuring an extended cast, and is considered in some circles as superior to the final film and has a considerable following on the Internet. The producers were on the whole unsatisfied with the screenplay, which Giler described as "a perfectly executed script that wasn't all that interesting", particularly for not taking new directions with the initial pitch. They still liked certain parts, such as the subtext making the Alien a metaphor for HIV, but felt it lacking the human element present in "Aliens" and Gibson's trademark cyberpunk aesthetic. Following the end of the WGA strike, Gibson was asked to make rewrites with Harlin, but declined, citing various other commitments and "foot dragging on the producers' part." On July 12, 2018, it was announced that William Gibson's unmade screenplay of "Alien 3" would be adapted into a comic series. As part of "Alien"s 40th anniversary, on May 30, 2019, the audiobook version of William Gibson's unproduced screenplay of "Alien 3" was released and made available on Audible. 2021 will see another adaptation of the screenplay, this time as a novel written by Pat Cadigan from Titan Books.


title: Alien 3

text: Following Gibson's departure, Harlin suggested screenwriter Eric Red, writer of the cult horror films "The Hitcher" and "Near Dark". Red worked less than two months to deliver his draft in February 1989, which led him to later describe his "Alien 3" work as "the one script I completely disown because it was not 'my script'. It was the rushed product of too many story conferences and interference with no time to write, and turned out utter crap." His approach had a completely new set of characters and subplots, while also introducing new breeds of the Alien. The plot opened with a team of Special Forces marines boarding the "Sulaco" and finding that all survivors had fallen victim to the aliens. Afterwards, it moved into a small-town U.S. city in a type of bio-dome in space, culminating in an all-out battle with the townsfolk facing hordes of Alien warriors. Brandywine rejected Red's script for deviating too much from their story, and eventually gave up on developing two sequels simultaneously.


title: Alien 3

text: Writer David Twohy was next to work on the project, being instructed to start with Gibson's script. Once the fall of Communism made the Cold War analogies outdated, Twohy changed his setting to a prison planet, which was being used for illegal experiments on the aliens for a Biological Warfare division. Harlin felt this approach was too similar to the previous movies, and, tired of the development hell, walked out on the project, which led Fox to offer Harlin "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane".


title: Alien 3

text: Twohy's script was delivered to Fox president Joe Roth, who did not like the idea of Ripley being removed, declaring that "Sigourney Weaver is the centerpiece of the series" and Ripley was "really the only female warrior we have in our movie mythology." Weaver was then called, with a reported $5 million salary, plus a share of the box office receipts. She also requested the story to be suitably impressive, original and non-dependent on guns. Twohy duly set about writing Ripley into his screenplay.


title: Alien 3

text: Once Hill attended a screening of "", he decided to invite its director, Vincent Ward. Ward, who was in London developing "Map of the Human Heart", accepted the project only on the third call, as he at first was uninterested in doing a sequel. Ward thought little of the Twohy script, and instead worked up another idea, involving Ripley's escape pod crash landing on a monastery-like satellite. Having developed this pitch on his flight to Los Angeles, once Ward got with the studio executives he saw his idea approved by the studio. Ward was hired to direct "Alien 3", and writer John Fasano was hired to expand his story into a screenplay. Once Twohy discovered through a journalist friend that another script was being written concurrently with his, he went after Fox and eventually left the project.


title: Alien 3

text: Ward envisioned a planet whose interior was both wooden and archaic in design, where Luddite-like monks would take refuge. The story begins with a monk who sees a "star in the East" (Ripley's escape pod) and at first believes this to be a good omen. Upon arrival of Ripley, and with increasing suggestions of the Alien presence, the monk inhabitants believe it to be some sort of religious trial for their misdemeanors, punishable by the creature that haunts them. By having a woman in their monastery, they wonder if their trial is partially caused by sexual temptation, as Ripley is the only woman to be amongst the all-male community in ten years. To avoid this belief and (hopefully) the much grimmer reality of what she has brought with her, the Monks of the "wooden satellite" lock Ripley into a dungeon-like sewer and ignore her advice on the true nature of the beast. The monks believe that the Alien is in fact the Devil. Primarily though, this story was about Ripley's own soul-searching complicated by the seeding of the Alien within her and further hampered by her largely solo attempts to defeat it. Eventually Ripley decides to sacrifice herself to kill the Alien. Fox asked for an alternative ending in which Ripley survived, but Weaver would agree to the film only if Ripley died.


title: Alien 3

text: "Empire" magazine described Ward's 'Wooden Planet' concept as 'undeniably attractive—it would have been visually arresting and at the very least, could have made for some astonishing action sequences.' In the same article, Norman Reynolds—Production Designer originally hired by Ward—remembers an early design idea for "a wooden library shaft. You looked at the books on this wooden platform that went up and down". 'Imagine the kind of vertical jeopardy sequence that could have been staged here—the Alien clambering up these impossibly high bookshelves as desperate monks work the platform'. Sigourney Weaver described Ward's overall concept as "very original and arresting." Former "Times" journalist David Hughes included Ward's version of "Alien 3" amongst "The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made" in his book of this title.


title: Alien 3

text: However, the concept was divisive among the production crew. The producers at Brandywine discussed the logical problems of creating and maintaining a wooden planet in space, while Fox executive Jon Landau considered Ward's vision to be "more bent on the artsy-fartsy side than the big commercial one" that Ridley Scott and James Cameron employed. Ward managed to dissuade the producers of their idea of turning the planet into an ore refinery and the monks into prisoners, but eventually Fox asked a meeting with the director imposing a list of changes to be made. Refusing to do so, Ward was fired. The main plot of the finished film still follows Ward's basic structure.


title: Alien 3

text: Hill and Giler did a first draft trying to enhance the story structure on the Fasano script, and feeling creatively drained hired Larry Ferguson as a script doctor. Ferguson's work was not well received in the production, particularly by Sigourney Weaver, who felt Ferguson made Ripley sound like "a pissed-off gym teacher". Short on time before filming was due to commence, Hill and Giler took control of the screenplay themselves, melding aspects of the Ward/Fasano script with Twohy's earlier prison planet screenplay to create the basis of the final film. Sigourney Weaver had also had a clause written into her contract stating the final draft should be written by Hill and Giler, believing that they were the only writers (besides James Cameron) to write the character of Ripley effectively. Fox approached music video director David Fincher to replace Ward. Fincher did further work on the screenplay with author Rex Pickett, and despite Pickett being fired and Hill and Giler writing the final draft of the screenplay, he revised most of the work done by the previous authors. Fincher wanted Gary Oldman to star in the film, but the pair "couldn't work it out".


title: Alien 3

text: Filming began on January 14, 1991, at Pinewood Studios without a finished script and with $7 million already having been spent. While a majority of the film was shot at Pinewood, some scenes were shot at Blyth Power Station and the beach near Dawdon (known locally as "the Blast" or "Blast Beach") in the UK. The purpose of these shots was to show the exterior of the planet. Cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth worked only for two weeks before he started developing Parkinson's disease, and was forced out of the film by a line producer who had lost his father to the disease several years previously, and knew that if anything, the demanding schedule would likely take a fatal toll on Cronenweth's health. He was replaced by Alex Thomson. Actor Charles Dance said that an alternative ending had been filmed due to fears that the original ending was too similar to the ending of "", released the previous year, but was not used.


title: Alien 3

text: Stan Winston, responsible for creature effects in "Aliens", was approached but was not available. Winston instead recommended Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, two former workers of his studio who had just started their own company, Amalgamated Dynamics. Even before principal photography had begun, the practical effects crew was developing models of the Alien and the corpses of the "Sulaco" victims. Richard Edlund's Boss Film Studios was hired for compositing and other post-production effects. A small number of shots contain computer-generated imagery, most notably the cracking alien head once the sprinklers cause thermal shock. Other CGI elements include shadows cast by the rod puppet alien, and airborne debris in outdoor scenes.


title: Alien 3

text: David Fincher wanted the alien to be, "more of a puma, or a beast" as opposed to the upright, humanoid posture of the previous films, so the designer of the original alien, H. R. Giger, was contacted to generate new sketch ideas. His revisions included longer, thinner legs, the removal of "pipes" around the spine, and an idea for a sharp alien "tongue" in place of the secondary jaws. Working from his studio in Zurich, Giger produced these new sketches which he faxed to Cornelius de Fries who then created their model counterparts out of plasticine. The only one of Giger's designs that wound up in the final project was a "Bambi Burster" Alien that had long legs and walked on all fours. ADI also built a full-scale Bunraku-style puppet of this design which was operated on-set as an in-camera effect. Scenes using this approach were cut from the final release due to the limitations of chemical compositing techniques, making it exceedingly difficult to remove the puppeteers from the background plate, but can be seen in the "Assembly Cut" of the film.


title: Alien 3

text: The Alien is portrayed by both Woodruff Jr. in a suit and a rod puppet filmed against bluescreen and optically composited into the live-action footage, with the rods removed by rotoscoping. A mechanical alien head was also used for close-ups. The suit adapted the design used in "Aliens" so Woodruff could walk on all fours. Woodruff's head was contained in the neck of the suit, because the head was filled with animatronics to move the mouth of the Alien. Fincher suggested that a Whippet be dressed in an alien costume for on-set coverage of the quadrupedal alien, but the visual effects team was dissatisfied with the comical result and the idea was dropped in favor of the puppet.


title: Alien 3

text: The rod-puppet approach was chosen for the production rather than stop-motion animation, which did not provide the required smoothness to appear realistic. As a result, the rod-puppet allowed for a fast alien that could move across surfaces of any orientation and be shot from any angle. This was particularly effective as it was able to accomplish movements not feasible by an actor in a suit. The -scale puppet was 40 inches long and cast in foam rubber over a bicycle chain armature for flexibility. For moving camera shots, the on-set cameras were equipped with digital recorders to track, pan, tilt, and dolly values. The data output was then taken back to the studio and fed into the motion control cameras with the linear dimensions scaled down to match the puppet.


title: Alien 3

text: To make syncing the puppet's actions with the live-action shots easier, the effects team developed an instant compositing system using LaserDisc. This allowed takes to be quickly overlaid on the background plate so the crew could observe whether any spatial adjustments were required.


title: Alien 3

text: Laine Liska was hired to lead a team of puppeteers in a new process dubbed "Mo-Motion" where the rod puppet would be simultaneously manipulated and filmed with a moving motion control camera. Depending on the complexity of the shot, the puppet was operated by 4–6 people. Sparse sets were created to provide freedom of motion for the puppeteers as well as large, solid surfaces for the puppet to act within a three dimensional space.


title: Alien 3

text: The crew was pushed to make the movements of the Alien as quick as possible to the point where they were barely in control, and this led to, according to Edlund, "the occasional serendipitous action that made the alien have a character." The ease of this setup allowed the crew to film 60–70 takes of a single scene.


title: Alien 3

text: Hoping to give the destroyed Bishop a more complex look that could not be accomplished by simple make-up, the final product was done entirely through animatronics, while a playback of Lance Henriksen's voice played to guide Sigourney Weaver.


title: Alien 3

text: Scenes of the Emergency Escape Vehicle were shot with a 3.5-foot miniature against a blue-screen and composited onto large scale traditional matte paintings of the planet's surface. To make the clouds glow from within as the EEV entered the atmosphere, the painting's values were digitally reversed and animated frame by frame. The scene in which the EEV is moved by a crane-arm (also a miniature) was created by projecting a video of actors onto pieces of cardboard and then compositing them into the scene as silhouettes against the matte-painted background.


title: Alien 3

text: The film's composer, Elliot Goldenthal, spent a year composing the score by working closely with Fincher to create music based primarily on the surroundings and atmosphere of the film itself. The score was recorded during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which Goldenthal later claimed contributed to the score's disturbing nature.


title: Alien 3

text: "Alien 3" has been released in various home video formats and packages over the years. The first of these were on VHS and LaserDisc, and several subsequent VHS releases were sold both singly and as boxed sets throughout the 1990s. A VHS boxed set titled "The Alien Trilogy" containing "Alien 3" along with "Alien" and "Aliens" was released in facehugger-shaped carrying cases, and included some of the deleted scenes from the LaserDisc editions. When "Alien Resurrection" premiered in theaters in 1997, another boxed set of the first three films was released titled "The Alien Saga", which included a "Making of Alien Resurrection" tape. A few months later, this set was re-released with the "Alien Resurrection" film taking the place of the making-of video. In 1999, "Alien 3" was released on DVD, both singly and packaged with the other three "Alien" films as "The Alien Legacy" boxed set. This set was also released in a VHS version and would be the last VHS release of the film. In 2003, "Alien 3" would be included in the 9-disc "Alien Quadrilogy" DVD set which contained two versions of the film (see below). The first three films were also later packaged as the "Alien Triple Pack" DVD set (this release was identical to the 1999 "Alien Legacy" set but excluding "Alien Resurrection").


title: Alien 3

text: "Alien 3" was first released on Blu-ray in 2010, as part of the 6-disc "Alien Anthology" boxed set which included all of the features from the "Alien Quadrilogy" DVD set and more. The film was also released as a single Blu-ray Disc in 2011. Fincher was the only director from the franchise who declined to participate in the box-set releases.


title: Alien 3

text: The bonus disc for "Alien 3" in the 2003 "Quadrilogy" set includes a documentary of the film's production, that lacks Fincher's participation as clips where the director openly expresses anger and frustration with the studio were cut. The documentary was originally named "Wreckage and Rape" after one of the tracks of Goldenthal's soundtrack, but Fox renamed it simply "The Making of Alien 3". These clips were restored for the 2010 Blu-ray release of the "Anthology" set, with the integral documentary having a slightly altered version of the intended name, "Wreckage and Rage".


title: Alien 3

text: When the studio wanted to assemble a director's cut of "Alien 3" for a home-video release, Fincher refused to participate, and an extended cut of the film was created based on his editing room notes. Officially titled the "Assembly Cut", it was released on the 9-disc "Alien Quadrilogy" box set in 2003, and later in the "Alien Anthology" Blu-ray set in 2010. It includes over 30 minutes of extended and previously deleted scenes, alternative key plot elements, and new digital effects. Unlike the DVD release, in the Blu-ray version the additional footage went through post-production, receiving color-correction and sound-mixing to match the rest of the film, which included bringing back some cast members to re-record dialogue.


title: Alien 3

text: The film was released in the United States on May 22, 1992. The film debuted at number two of the box office, behind "Lethal Weapon 3", with a Memorial Day weekend gross of $23.1 million. It screened in 2,227 theaters, for an average gross of $8,733 per theater. The film was considered a disappointment in North America with a total of $55.5 million, although it grossed $104.3 million internationally for a total of $159.8 million. Based on that figure, it outearned the original theatrical run of "Alien", and had the 28th-highest domestic gross in 1992. In October 1992, Fox claimed it was the highest-grossing of the franchise, with a worldwide gross of $175 million.


title: Alien 3

text: Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of from reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""Alien3" takes admirable risks with franchise mythology, but far too few pay off in a thinly scripted sequel whose stylish visuals aren't enough to enliven a lack of genuine thrills". Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 59 out of 100 based on 20 critics, signifying "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Alien 3

text: Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert gave the film two thumbs down on their show "At The Movies," feeling it was repetitious, and they criticized the drawn-out chase scenes near the end as well as the lack of suspenseful action, though they praised the art direction and Weaver's performance. In his review of "Alien Resurrection", Ebert later wrote "I lost interest [in "Alien 3"], when I realized that the aliens could at all times outrun and outleap the humans, so all the chase scenes were contrivances". He also would later state in his review of "Fight Club" that he considered "Alien 3" "one of the best-looking bad movies I've ever seen".


title: Alien 3

text: A number of cast and crew associated with the series, including actor Michael Biehn, previous director James Cameron, and novelist Alan Dean Foster, expressed their frustration and disappointment with the film's story. Cameron regarded the decision to kill off the characters of Bishop, Newt, and Hicks as a "slap in the face" to him and to fans of the previous film. He eventually blamed 20th Century Fox for the film, saying that Fincher got handed "a big mess on a plate". Upon learning of Hicks' demise, Biehn demanded and received almost as much money for the use of his likeness in one scene as he had been paid for his role in "Aliens".


title: Alien 3

text: David Fincher eventually disowned the film, stating in an interview with "The Guardian" in 2009 that "No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me". He also blamed the producers for not putting the necessary trust in him.


title: Alien 3

text: Several critics have regarded the Assembly Cut superior to the theatrical release. Journalist Nick Schager called it a "fascinating, often fantastic" film, its additional scenes a "disdainful critique of religion". Critic Tim Brayton remarked it "feels much fleeter and more driven even though it's a solid 30 minutes longer".


title: Alien 3

text: The film's visual effects were nominated for an Academy Award, losing to "Death Becomes Her", and for a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects. The film was also nominated for seven Saturn Awards, a Hugo Award and won a MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence.


title: Alien 3

text: A novelization of the film was authored by Alan Dean Foster, writer of the novelizations of "Alien" and "Aliens". Foster's adaptation includes many scenes that were cut from the final film, some of which later reappeared in the "Assembly Cut". Foster wanted his adaptation to differ from the film's script, which he disliked, but Walter Hill declared he should not alter the storyline. Foster later commented: "So out went my carefully constructed motivations for all the principal prisoners, my preserving the life of Newt (her killing in the film is an obscenity), and much else. Embittered by this experience, that's why I turned down "Alien Resurrection"."


title: Alien 3

text: Dark Horse Comics also released a three-issue mini series. Created by writer Steven Grant and artist Christopher Taylor the comic was a faithful adaption with only a few deviations. One such deviation is that Ripley and the convicts succeed in capturing the Xenomorph in the waste tank, only for a deranged prisoner named Golic to release it afterward. Later, when they believe they have destroyed the alien, Ripley begs Dillon to kill her but he can't bring himself to do it. The Xenomorph suddenly appears and tosses Dillon into the smelting furnace.


title: Alien 3

text: A video game of the same name was developed by Probe Entertainment, and released for multiple formats by Acclaim, LJN and Virgin Games, including Amiga, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System. Rather than being a faithful adaptation of the film, it took the form of a basic platform action game where the player controlled Ripley using the weapons from the film "Aliens" in a green-dark ambient environment. The Game Boy version, developed by Bits Studios, was different from the console game, being a top-down adventure game. Sega also developed an arcade rail shooter loosely based on the film's events, "", which was released in 1993.


title: Alien 3

text: An animated series titled "Operation: Aliens" was conceived by Kenner Toys and Fox to coincide with the release of "Alien 3" but was ultimately abandoned. Animation on the series was to be carried out by the Korean animation studio AKOM, but the series was scrapped for fears it would run afoul of the Children's Television Act and because Fox, intending to produce further "Alien" films, was concerned an animated series for children would dilute the franchise's appeal to the older demographic.


title: Alien 3

text: In 2018–19, Dark Horse released "William Gibson's Alien 3", a five-part comic adaptation of Gibson's unproduced version of the screenplay, illustrated and adapted by Johnnie Christmas, colored by Tamra Bonvillain.


title: Alien 3

text: As part of "Alien"s 40th anniversary, on May 30, 2019, Audible released an audio drama of Gibson's script, adapted by Dirk Maggs and with Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen reprising their roles. The production had music by James Hannigan.


title: Alien 3

text: In 2021, Pat Cadigan published "Alien³: The Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson" (Titan Books). This novel is based on Gibson's first draft, as opposed to the second draft used for the comic and audio drama adaptations. The novel won the Scribe Award for best adapted novel.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The manga was serialized in Shueisha's "Weekly Shōnen Jump" magazine from April 1994 to September 1999. The complete work consists of 28 "tankōbon" volumes, while years later it was reprinted into 22 "kanzenban" volumes. Studio Gallop, Studio Deen and SPE Visual Works adapted the manga into an anime television series, which aired in Japan from January 1996 to September 1998. Besides an animated feature film, two series of original video animations (OVAs) were also produced. adapted stories from the manga that were not featured in the anime, while was a sequel to the manga. Several art and guidebooks for "Rurouni Kenshin" have been published, and writer Kaoru Shizuka has authored three official light novels which were published by Shueisha. Many video games have also been released for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable consoles. A series of five live-action theatrical films adaptations were released from 2012 to . A second anime television series adaptation by Liden Films is set to premiere in 2023.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The manga, as well as the first light novel and first guidebook, has received a complete North American release by Viz Media. "Rurouni Kenshin" is subtitled ""Wandering Samurai"" in some English versions. The "Rurouni Kenshin" manga has over 72 million copies in circulation as of 2019, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The series has received praise from various publications for manga, anime and other media, with both having received a good response on the characters' designs and historical setting. In 2017, Watsuki began a direct sequel titled "" in "Jump Square".


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In the early Meiji era, after participating in the Boshin War as the assassin ""Hitokiri Battōsai"", Himura Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan with a reverse blade katana. He is offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle of a fight with a murderer - who claims to be the "Hitokiri Battōsai" - tarnishing the name of the swordsmanship school that she teaches. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake "Battōsai". After discovering that Kenshin is the real infamous assassin, Kaoru offers him a place to stay at her dojo, noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family who is also living with Kaoru as her student; and a doctor named Takani Megumi, caught in the opium trade. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader of the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin faces a rival from the Bakumatsu turned police officer, Saitō Hajime. This challenge turns out to be a test to face his successor, Shishio Makoto, who plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that Shishio's faction may attack his friends, Kenshin meets Shishio alone to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, whom he meets in his travels, decide to help him in his fight. After his first meeting with him, Kenshin realizes he needs to get stronger to defeat Shishio without becoming the cold assassin he was in the past and returns to the man who taught him kenjutsu, Hiko Seijūrō, to learn the school's final technique. He finally accepts his friends' help and defeats Shishio in a close fight. After that, Shishio dies burning to ashes after passing the limit of his abnormal body condition. A reformed Shinomori stays in Kyoto with the surviving Oniwabanshū.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, he finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to enact revenge. At this point, it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin was to be married to a woman named Yukishiro Tomoe. She had initially wanted to avenge the death of her first fiancé, whom Kenshin had assassinated, but instead, they both fell in love, and she got proposed to. It is eventually revealed that Tomoe was related to Edo guards who wanted to kill Kenshin. They outwitted Tomoe after realizing her deception first and captured her to use as bait. Kenshin rushed to the rescue. Although the ambushers managed to injure him severely, Kenshin managed to kill almost all of them and moved on. Then, in the final fight against the group leader, Kenshin accidentally kills Tomoe, who jumps in at the last second to help Kenshin create an opening to win the battle. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a corpse doll bearing a stunning resemblance of her for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her. A final battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows, and the former assassin emerges as the victor. Misao brings Tomoe's diary to Enishi who keeps it in a village to hide alongside his missing father.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Four years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji. Now at peace with himself, Kenshin gives his reverse-blade sword to Yahiko as a ceremonial gift.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: A prototype series titled "Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story" appeared as a pair of separate short stories published in 1992 and 1993. The first story, published in December 1992 in the "Weekly Shōnen Jump Winter Special" issue of 1993, featured an earlier version of Kenshin stopping a crime lord from taking over the Kamiya family dojo. Watsuki described the first "Rurouni" story, echoing the "Megumi Arc," as a "pilot" for "Rurouni Kenshin". According to Watsuki, the final "Rurouni Kenshin" series was not composed entirely of his free will. Describing the creation of historical stories as "hard," Watsuki initially wanted to make his next series in a contemporary setting. An editor approached Watsuki and asked him to make a new historical story. With the historical concept, Watsuki intended to use the Bakumatsu period from "Moeyo Ken" ("Burn, O Sword") with a story akin to "Sanshiro Sugata". Watsuki experimented with various titles, including "Nishin" ("Two-Hearts") "Kenshin", "Yorozuya" ("Jack-of-All-Trades") "Kenshin", and variations of "Rurouni" and "Kenshin" with different kanji in that order.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The second "Rurouni" story, published in April 1993 in the "Weekly Shōnen Jump" 21–22 double issue of that year, featured Kenshin helping a wealthy girl named Raikōji Chizuru. Watsuki recalled experiencing difficulty when condensing "everything" into 31 pages for that story. He said that he "put all [his] soul into it" but sighs when looking at it from his perspective after the publication of the "Rurouni Kenshin" Volume 1 graphic novel in Japan. Watsuki describes that second "Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story" as receiving mediocre reviews and about two hundred letters. He referred to it as a "side story."


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The design model for Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin's master, in "Rurouni Kenshin" is the character of the same name from his one-shot manga "Crescent Moon of the Warring States," but Watsuki also added some influences from Hiken Majin Hajerun in Takeshi Obata's "Arabian Lamp-Lamp". At the time, Watsuki said that he was fascinated by images of "manliness" and that Hiko is one of the first characters to reflect this fascination. Since Watsuki's debut work contained a tall, black-haired man in "showy" armor, he wanted to make a character "completely opposite" to the debut character; the new character ended up "coming out like a girl". According to Watsuki, he used "no real motif" when creating Kenshin and placed a cross-shaped scar on his face "not knowing what else to do." Like several characters, Kenshin was influenced the Shinsengumi with Kenshin being affected by Okita Sōji and Saitō Hajime in order to give him an air of mystery.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: During his childhood, Watsuki used to practice kendo, which influenced his making of the series. Although Watsuki developed various one-shots before the official serialization from the series. While naming the characters, he based some of their names from places he used to live such a Makimachi Misaos's "Makimachi" and Sanjō Tsubame, who are named after places from Niigata.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: When the manga series started to be published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump", Watsuki had little hope in the development of the series. He planned to finish the story in approximately 30 chapters, ending with Kenshin's departure from Tokyo similarly to the one from volume 7. Kenshin's enemies would have been people from Kyoto who would send an assassin to kill Kenshin. When the Oniwabanshū were introduced during the serialization, Watsuki noted that the series could be longer as he had created various main characters. In that time, there was a survey, and the series had become very popular.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: For its seventh volume, Watsuki's boss suggested to him that it was time to make a longer story-arc, which resulted in the creation of the fights between Kenshin and Shishio Makoto. The arc was only meant to be serialized for one year, but it ended up being one year-and-a-half-long. This arc was also done to develop Kenshin's character as he considered him not to have a weak point. Watsuki commented that his artistic skills were honed with this arc, as he could draw everything he wanted to. The last arc from the manga was meant to be much shorter, but it turned out to be a fairly long one as he could not present it simplistically. Watsuki originally made this arc prior to the series' start, having already thought about how would Kenshin's scar had been made. Because of the dark style of the Kyoto arc, Watsuki created the comical Mikimachi Misao in order to contrast Kenshin's serious side.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Being fascinated by the Shinsengumi, Watsuki designed the characters by basing their characteristics to that of the real Shinsengumi members and also used fictional representation of them and other historical characters from the Bakumatsu period of Japan. The historical characters were considered to be a hard task by Watsuki. Due to problems with the characterization from Sagara Sōzō, Watsuki decided to illustrate Saitō Hajime in his own style avoiding the historical figure. He felt very good with Saitō's character having noted he fit very well in the manga. However, Watsuki mentioned that many Japanese fans of the Shinsengumi complained about the personality of Saitō, as he was made sadistic. Additionally, the final shot of Kenshin returning to Kaoru's dojo was inspired by the final shot of the "Rurouni Kenshin" anime's first opening theme:"Sobakasu" by Judy and Mary.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In final arc of the manga, Watsuki wanted to make the five comrades in this storyline as "scum-like" as possible. But because he created villains with no ideals or beliefs, this made it difficult to portray them as an enjoyable read. The story took a darker tone as most of the characters believed Kaoru was killed by Yukishiro Enishi which made Kenshin question his own way of living and escape to a village of wanderers. Watsuki did not enjoy angst in Kenshin so his friend Myōjin Yahiko took the place as the series' protagonist until Kenshin recovers. Even though the plot for the "remembrance episodes" of Kenshin's past was already set before serialization started, which was three and a half years before her debut, Watsuki was filled with regrets in how he portrayed Yukishiro Tomoe for unspecified reasons. The final villains, the Sū-shi,n had no personality models and were created simply to "fill out the numbers." As the story advanced towards Kenshin's final battle, Watsuki realized that the other characters would have no "glamour" and created the Sū-shin on the spot.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Watsuki also had ideas to create a "Hokkaido episode, a sequel" but wanted to start a new manga and so ended "Rurouni Kenshin" with the last arc he made. Due to the dark nature of Kenshin's life, Watsuki ended the manga in the Jinchu arc afraid that if he continued writing, the series would not fit the "shonen manga" demography. In 2012, Watsuki revealed that when he clashed with the editorial staff at the end of the series, his editor Hisashi Sasaki understood his intentions and saw that he was at his physical limit and backed him up. He said it was out of respect and appreciation for the readers that he ended the popular series while it was still popular. Nevertheless, Watsuki was happy with how he ended "Rurouni Kenshin". He felt it was a good place to end the narrative. In contrast, most series keep being pushed and pushed until they lose popularity and be cancelled. Watsuki was glad "Rurouni Kenshin" did not end like this.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: For the series' ending, Watsuki conceived new designs with potential of a sequel in the future. Initially, Watsuki had planned to make Kenshin's hair shorter before the end; however, he found this to be similar to the character Multi in "To Heart". Additionally, Himura Kenji was introduced in the finale as the son of Kenshin and Kaoru; even though the character was "cliché" Watsuki felt that Kenji had to appear. An elder Sanosuke was drafted by Watsuki to appear in the manga's finale but this idea was scrapped. In the manga's final story arc, the design was used for Sanosuke's father, Higashidani Kamishimoemon. The author added that he felt attachment towards Enishi and that he would someday like to use Enishi in a future work.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Another idea explored for a sequel was the handling of Yahiko as teenager. Watsuki had redesigned his appearance. He wanted Yahiko to impress manga readers so that he could be a protagonist for a possible series sequel. He said this goal influenced his design of Yahiko, with Kenshin's physical appearance as well as Sanosuke's personality. He added Sanosuke's kanji of to the back of his clothes, and was pleased that various readers recognized it. Although he suggested he was not going to make a sequel, he said the main characters would be Yahiko, Sanjō Tsubame and Tsukayama Yutarō. Watsuki thought about writing a story in which Yahiko and Tsubame would have a son, Myōjin Shin'ya, who would become a skilled swordsman.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The series' main theme is responsibility as seen through Kenshin's action as he wants to atone for all the people he killed during the Bakumatsu by aiding innocent people by wielding a non-lethal sword. Marco Olivier from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University said that the sakabatō symbolizes Kenshin's oath not to kill again which has been found challenging by other warriors appearing in the series. This theme also encourages former drug dealer Takani Megumi into becoming a doctor upon learning of Kenshin's past and actions. Another theme is power, which is mostly seen by Sagara Sanosuke and Myojin Yahiko. However, like Megumi, these two characters are also influenced by the main character as they wish to become stronger to assist Kenshin across the plot. Additionally, the series discourages revenge as seen in the final arc when Yukishiro Enishi believes he succeeded in getting his revenge on Kenshin but starts having hallucinations of his late sister with a sad expression on her face. As an "outlet" for Watsuki's kendo emotions, Yahiko "knows a pain that hero-types like Himura Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke can never know". As a result, Yahiko was made a stronger character little by little to relate with the demography. eventually giving him a stronger characterization during the Kyoto arc which surprised his readers.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: When questioned about the series' theme being Kenshin's self-redemption, Watsuki mentioned that when he was young, he used to read "shōjo manga" and that it influenced his writing of "Rurouni Kenshin". He added that he wanted to make a story different from other comics as he considers the main character Kenshin is neither a good nor evil character. Since volume 7, Watsuki mentioned the series took a more adult tone due to the various conflicts in the story but commented it was influenced by the "shōjo" manga he read. Through the series' development, Watsuki was deciding if Kamiya Kaoru's character was going to die before the end. However, he later decided to keep Kaoru alive as he came to the conclusion he wanted a happy ending and that the manga is aimed at young readers. In "The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies", Kenshin is regarded as a "far cry" from American superheroes due to his androgynous look and selfdeprecating personality. However, the character is said to be relatable to the Eastern audience through Kenshin's quest of redemption, which is called as the main theme of the manga. The manga is further noted to have a balance between individualism and community.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Watsuki said he was an "infatuated" type of person rather than a "passionate" kind of person, therefore "Rurouni Kenshin" is a "Meiji Swordsman Story" as opposed to being a "Meiji Love Story." According to the book "Bringing Forth a World: Engaged Pedagogy in the Japanese University" the manga reflects the confusion of the Japanese society after the big economy disenchantment in the early 1990s. In confronts visualizations of Japanese education in a manner that contrasts school books especially because of the series' young demography. Since the manga focuses on realism but is aimed towards young readers, the series is notable for changing the portrayals of samurais in order to create a more optimistic take in comparison to real life events. The unique take on Kenshin's handling gave the manga the concept of "neo shonen" due to how different it was from previous "Weekly Shonen Jump" series.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki, "Rurouni Kenshin" was serialized in Shueisha's "shōnen" manga magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from April 25, 1994, to September 21, 1999. The 255 individual chapters were collected and published in 28 "tankōbon" volumes by Shueisha, with the first volume released on September 9, 1994, and the last on November 4, 1999. They re-released the series in a 22-volume "kanzenban" edition between July 4, 2006, and May 2, 2007. Shueisha published a 14-volume "bunkoban" edition between January 18, 2012, and July 18, 2012. A single chapter follow up to the series that follows the character of Yahiko Myōjin, , was originally published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" in 2000 after the conclusion of the series. Left out of the original volumes, it was added as an extra to the final "kanzenban" release.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In December 2011, Shueisha announced Watsuki would be putting his current series, "Embalming -The Another Tale of Frankenstein-", on hold to begin a "reboot" of "Rurouni Kenshin", called "", as a tie-in to the live-action movie. The series began in the June 2012 issue of "Jump Square", which was released on May 2, 2012, and ended in the July 2013 issue on June 4, 2013. The reboot depicts the battles that are featured in the first live-action film. Another special titled "Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story: Chapter 0", was published in "Weekly Shōnen Jump" in August 2012 as a prologue to "Restoration" and included in its first volume. In 2014, Watsuki wrote a two-chapter spin-off titled "" for "Jump SQ.", which tells how Shishio met Yumi and formed the Juppongatana.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Watsuki and his wife, Kaworu Kurosaki, collaborated on a two chapter spinoff titled "Rurouni Kenshin Side Story: The Ex-Con Ashitaro" for the ninth anniversary of "Jump SQ." in 2016. It acts as a prologue to the "", which began in September 2017 as a sequel to the original manga series. In 2021, Watsuki created the manga that was exclusively shown at an exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of "Rurouni Kenshin". It serves as an epilogue to chapter 81 of the original manga and shows the first time Kenshin used his sakabatō.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: "Rurouni Kenshin" was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. The first volume of the series was released on October 7, 2003. Although the first volumes were published on an irregular basis, since volume 7 Viz established a monthly basis due to good sales and consumer demands. Therefore, the following volumes were published until July 5, 2006, when the final volume was released. "Yahiko no Sakabatō" was also published in English "Shonen Jump" during 2006. Between January 29, 2008, and March 16, 2010, Viz re-released the manga in a nine-volume omnibus format called "Viz Big Edition", which collects three volumes in one. The ninth and final volume includes "Yahiko no Sakabato" and "Cherry Blossoms in Spring". They released a similar "3-in-1 Edition" across nine volumes between January 3, 2017, and January 1, 2019. Viz uses the actual ordering of Japanese names, with the family name or surname before the given name, within the series to reduce confusion and because "Rurouni Kenshin" is a historical series.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: An anime television series adaptation of "Rurouni Kenshin", produced by SPE Visual Works and Fuji TV, animated by Studio Gallop (episode 1 to 66) and Studio Deen (episode 67 to 95), and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, was broadcast in Japan on Fuji TV from January 10, 1996, to September 8, 1998.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: A second anime television series adaptation by Liden Films was announced at the Jump Festa '22 event on December 19, 2021.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: An anime film with an original story, titled , also known as "Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for Patriots", originally released in North America as "Samurai X: The Motion Picture", premiered in Japan on December 20, 1997.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: A 4-episode original video animation (OVA), titled "", which served as a prequel to the anime television series, was released in Japan in 1999.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: A 2-episode OVA, titled "", which served as a sequel to the anime television series, was released in Japan from 2001 to 2002.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Five live-action films have been released theatrically. The live-action film adaptation of "Rurouni Kenshin" was announced on June 28, 2011. Produced by Warner Bros., with actual film production done by Studio Swan, the films were directed by Keishi Ōtomo and star Takeru Satoh (of "Kamen Rider Den-O" fame) as Kenshin, Munetaka Aoki as Sanosuke Sagara and Emi Takei as Kaoru. The first film, titled "Rurouni Kenshin", was released on August 25, 2012, in Japan. In August 2013, it was announced that two sequels were being filmed simultaneously for release in 2014. "" and "" adapt the Kyoto arc of the manga. On April 12, 2019, it was announced that two new live-action films will adapt the Remembrance/Tenchu & Jinchu arcs. The films, titled "" and "", premiered in 2021.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In 2016, the Takarazuka Revue performed a musical adaptation of the manga called "Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story". The show ran from February to March, and starred Seina Sagiri as Kenshin and Miyu Sakihi as Kaoru. The musical was written and directed by Shūichirō Koike.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In 2018, a stage play adaptation was performed in Shinbashi Enbujō theater in Tokyo and Shōchikuza theater in Osaka. Seina Sagiri returned to play as Kenshin while Moka Kamishiraishi play as Kaoru. Kanō Sōzaburō, an original character introduced in the previous musical, made a return appearance played by Mitsuru Matsuoka. Shūichirō Koike returned as the director and the script writer of the play.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: In 2020, a stage musical adaptation of the manga's Kyoto arc was scheduled to be held from November to December 2020 in IHI Stage Around Tokyo. Starring Teppei Koike as Himura Kenshin and Mario Kuroba as the antagonist Makoto Shishio, Shūichirō Koike returned as director and script writer of the play. This stage musical was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Two encyclopedias of the "Rurouni Kenshin" manga were released in Japan. The first one, , was released first in Japan on July 4, 1996, by Shueisha and in the United States by Viz Media on November 1, 2005. , released on December 15, 1999, includes the story , which details the fates of all of the "Rurouni Kenshin" characters. The story takes place years after the manga's conclusion, when Kenshin and Kaoru have married and have a young son, Kenji. Many of the series' major characters who have befriended Kenshin reunite or otherwise reveal their current whereabouts with him in a spring picnic. For the anime, three "Kenshin Soushi" artbook were published from 1997 to 1998. While the first two were based on the TV series, the third one was based on the film. The film one was named "Ishin Shishi no Requiem Art Book" and was released along with the movie. Also released was "Rurouni-Art Book", which contained images from the OVAs. A guidebook from the "kanzenban" imprint of the series was published on June 4, 2007.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: The "Rurouni Kenshin" light novels were published by Shueisha's Jump J-Books line and co-written by Kaoru Shizuka. Most of them are original stories which were later adapted in the anime. Others are adaptations of manga and anime stories.The very first novel, "Rurouni Kenshin: Voyage to the Moon World", which was published in Japan on October 10, 1996, and in North America on October 17, 2006, details another adventure involving the return of Tales of the Meiji Season 3's Beni-Aoi Arc characters like Kaishu Katsu & the Kamiya Dojo's third pupil Daigoro. The second, "Yahiko's Battle", was released on October 3, 1997. It retells various stories featured in the manga and anime series. The third novel, "TV Anime Shimabara Arc", was published on February 4, 1999. A novel adaptation of "Rurouni Kenshin Cinema-ban", titled and written by Watsuki's wife Kaoru Kurosaki, which was released on September 4, 2012, is a Japanese light novel version of America's Restoration's New Kurogasa (Jin-E) Arc mangas featuring Banshin & a different younger Gein. Both are Ishin members of Enishi's team of the Jinchu/Tenchu (Judgment of Earth/Heaven) portions of the Enishi saga in the main plot manga series.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: There are five "Rurouni Kenshin" games released for the PlayStation series of consoles. The first, was released on November 29, 1996. It was developed by ZOOM Inc. and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game is a 3D fighting game with 9 playable characters, with the plot being based on the first seven volumes from the manga. The second one, was released on December 18, 1997, and was re-released in the PlayStation The Best lineup on November 5, 1998. The game is a role-playing video game with an original story unrelated to either the manga or anime.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Himura Kenshin also appears in the 2005 and 2006 Nintendo DS games "Jump Super Stars" and "Jump Ultimate Stars" as the sole battle character representing his series, while others were support characters and help characters. Kenshin and Shishio appeared as playable characters in the 2014 PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita game "J-Stars Victory VS", and in the 2019 game "Jump Force" for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: Watsuki commented that there was a lot of "Rurouni Kenshin" merchandise released for the Japanese market. He recommended that buyers consider quality before paying for merchandise items and for them to consult their wallets and buy stuff that they feel is "worth it." Watsuki added that he liked the prototype for a stuffed Kenshin doll for the UFO catcher devices.


title: Rurouni Kenshin

text: "Rurouni Kenshin" has been highly popular, having sold over 55 million tankōbon copies in Japan alone up until February 2012, making it one of Shueisha's top ten best-selling manga series. In 2014, it was reported that the series had 70 million tankōbon copies in circulation. As of December 2019, the manga had over 72 million copies in circulation, including digital releases. Volume 27 of the manga ranked second in the "Viz Bookscan Top Ten" during June 2006, while volume 21 and 20 ranked second and tenth, respectively, in the "Top 10 Graphic Novels of Viz" of 2005. "Rurouni Kenshin" volume 24 ranked 116th on "USA Today"s best-selling book list for the week ending February 26, 2006. During the third quarter from 2003, "Rurouni Kenshin" ranked at the top of ICv2's Top 50 Manga Properties. In the same poll from 2005, it was featured at the top once again based on sales from English volumes during 2004. In the Top Ten Manga Properties from 2006 from the same site, it ranked ninth. In November 2014, readers of "Da Vinci" magazine voted "Rurouni Kenshin" number 13 on a list of "Weekly Shōnen Jump"s greatest manga series of all time. On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, "Rurouni Kenshin" ranked 31st.