Requiem of the Rose King

 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Aya Kanno. Loosely based on the Shakespearean plays "Henry VI, Part 3" and "Richard III", the series follows the character of Richard III during the tumultuous Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) period in English history. The manga has been serialized in Akita Shoten's "Monthly Princess" magazine since October 2013 and collected into 15 bound volumes as of March 2021. It is licensed in English by Viz Media. It has inspired three drama CDs, a spin-off manga series, and an anime television series adaptation by J.C.Staff, which is set to premiere in October 2021.
Plot.
As the Kingdom of England is torn between the House of York and the House of Lancaster—each claiming their leader to be the rightful king—young Prince Richard III is fighting a battle within himself. Despised by his mother, adored by his father (the Duke of York, a claimant to the throne), and alienated from most others, he grapples with frightful spirits haunting him, unsteady and unintentional alliances with his enemies, and his own passion for a throne.
Media.
Manga.
"Requiem of the Rose King" is written and illustrated by Aya Kanno. It has been serialized in Akita Shoten's (girls') manga magazine "Monthly Princess" since the release of the magazine's November 2013 issue on 4 October 2013. Akita Shoten collects the individual chapters into (bound volumes) published under their Princess Comics imprint; the 15th volume was released in Japan on 16 March 2021.
Internationally, the series is licensed for an English-language release in North America by Viz Media under the company's Shojo Beat imprint. It is also licensed in French by Éditions Ki-oon, in German by Carlsen Comics, in Polish by Waneko, in Spanish by Ediciones Tomodomo, in Italian by Edizioni Star Comics, and in Chinese by Tong Li Publishing.
Drama CDs.
"Requiem of the Rose King" has inspired three drama CDs produced by Akita Shoten in Japan. The first, based on volume three of the manga, was bundled with the February 2016 issue of "Monthly Princess" magazine, released on 6 January 2016. The second, based on volumes four and five of the manga, was included with a limited edition of volume seven, released on 16 January 2017. The third, based on volumes five and six of the manga, was bundled with the March 2017 issue of "Monthly Princess" magazine, released on 6 February 2017. All three drama CDs starred Mitsuki Saiga as Richard III and Daisuke Namikawa as Henry VI.
Anime.
On 16 September 2020, Akita Shoten announced via their YouTube channel that "Requiem of the Rose King" will be adapted into an anime television series. The series is animated by J.C.Staff and directed by Kentarō Suzuki, with Hiroki Uchida writing and supervising the scripts, and Tsutomu Hashizume designing the characters. The series will premiere in October 2021.
Other media.
A bonus manga chapter, , was published in the July 2015 issue of "Monthly Princess" magazine on 5 June 2015. The chapter depicts Kanno's trip to England with her editor for the reburial of King Richard III in March of that year.
An art book, , was published by Akita Shoten on 15 June 2018.
A spin-off manga series, "King of Idol:" , began serialization in the February 2021 issue of "Monthly Princess" magazine on 4 January 2021. The series is written and illustrated by . It portrays the "Requiem of the Rose King" characters as high school students training to become "idols" or entertainers.
Reception.
In the 2015 edition of Takarajimasha's guidebook, "Requiem of the Rose King" tied with "Tanaka-kun is Always Listless" for number 17 on the list of the top 20 manga for female readers. Japanese actor Kenji Urai, who portrayed Henry VI in a production of the Shakespearean play at the New National Theatre Tokyo, stated that he is a "big fan" of the manga. Moto Hagio, a pioneering manga artist, praised "Requiem of the Rose King"s depiction of "a whole new Richard III", calling it "more interesting than Shakespeare!"