Viz Media has had some good luck with Aya Kanno’s work before, such as with Blank Slate and then with Otomen, so it was no surprise that they went after another of her works with Requiem of the Rose King. The series, which is known as Bara Ou no Souretsu in Japan, launched in October 2013 in Princess magazine and Viz Media began releasing it in 2015 with it catching up close to the fourteen volumes that are now out in Japan.
Now, Akita Publishing has dropped a new promo for the book that reveals that an anime adaptation is coming for it. There aren’t any firm details yet but they’ll be coming soon.
“Aya Kanno’s unique take on the era of the Wars of the Roses, REQUIEM OF THE ROSE KING, will resonate with her current fans and hopefully bring even more awareness to her lush, masterful work,” said Joel Enos, Viz Media Editor, back in 2015. “Aya Kanno returns to a darker, gothic-inspired aesthetic, reworking Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about poisonous Machiavellian ambition into a ruthless and beautiful new series. Her Richard is a cunning, flawed prince determined to secure the throne for his family!”
Plot concept: In the series, Richard, the ambitious third son of the House of York, is a tortured soul who believes he is damned from birth to eternal darkness. But is it truly fate that sets him on the path to personal destruction? Or his own tormented longings? Aya Kanno’s dark fantasy finds the man who could be king standing between worlds, between classes, between good and evil.
In the opening volume, set in medieval England during the age of the Wars of the Roses, a fierce battle rages between the House of York and the House of Lancaster. Young Richard of the House of York is determined that his family will ascend the throne…but he’s hiding a secret that could destroy everything he desires.
