Red River, also known as Anatolia Story, is a Japanese shōjomanga series by Chie Shinohara. It is published in Japan by Shogakukan in Sho-Comi and collected in 28 volumes. It is published in English in North America by Viz Media, with 25 volumes released as of April 2009 and the remaining 3 published thereafter. In 2000, the series won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo. Red River is about a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl named Yuri Suzuki, who is magically transported to Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia. She was summoned by Queen Nakia who means to use Yuri as a human sacrifice. Yuri's blood is the key element needed in placing a curse upon the princes of the land so that they will perish, leaving Nakia's son as the sole heir to the throne. As the story progress, however, Yuri not only repeatedly manages to escape Nakia's scheming, she also becomes revered as an incarnation of the goddess Ishtar and falls in love with prince Kail. The story takes place during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I, at a time when the Hittite Empire was near its peak of power, rivaled only by Egypt, which was then ruled by the young PharaohTutankhamen. Many of the people and events in the story are drawn from actual history, from Princes Kail Mursili, Sari Arnuwanda, and Zannanza, to battles with the neighboring Mitanni kingdom around the town of Kizzuwatna.
Characters
Main
;Yuri Suzuki ;Kail Mursili
Enemies
Queen Nakia Urhi Shalma Prince Mattiwaza Nefertiti Zuwa
Royalty
King Suppililiuma Queen Hinti Sari Arnuwanda Zannanza Hattusili Juda Haspasrupi Rois Telipinu Mali Piyasili Nepis Ilra
Servants
Tito Hadi Ryui and Shala Kikkuri Ilbani Ursula
Hittite generals and military leaders
Rusafa Kash Mittannamuwa Shubas Zora
Egyptians
User Ramses Hathor Nefert Ankhesenamen Horemheb Ay
Animals
Aslan Shimshek
Characters from Yuri’s time
Yuri's family Satoshi Himuro
Others
Talos Nadia Guzel Alexandra
Media
Manga
The manga series was written and illustrated by Chie Shinohara. The sixty untitled chapters were serialized in Japan in the bimonthly manga anthology Shōjo Comic from 1995 to January 2002. They were then collected and published in 28 tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan, and later republished in 16 bunkobon volumes. The collected volumes have sold 16 million copies in Japan. Viz Media announced on February 13, 2004 that they had acquired the series for an English-language release in North America, with volume 1 scheduled for a second-quarter release. Viz released volume 1 on June 23, 2004, and volume 28 was released on January 12, 2010. Red River is also published in Vietnam by Tre Publishing House, in Germany by Egmont Manga & Anime, and in Italy by Star Comics.
Drama CDs
The series was adapted as a series of 8 drama CDs released in two "seasons" between 1997 and 2003. The cast for said drama CD series is as follows:
An art book for Red River was released 24 February 1999 and a fan-book on 26 July 2002. Two novels based on the manga have been released, written and illustrated by Shinohara:
