Written by Mitsuru Adachi Demographic Shōnen Original run 1990 – 1992 | Published by Shogakukan Magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday | |
Genre Action, Jidaigeki, Romantic comedy, Science fiction |
Niji-iro Tōgarashi (虹色とうがらし, literally "rainbow-colored chili powder") is a manga series with elements of science fiction and jidaigeki written by Mitsuru Adachi. The series ran in Shōnen Sunday from issue 4/5 in 1990 to issue 19 in 1992. The story is set in a place very similar in appearance to Earth in the Edo period. However, Adachi regularly reminds the reader all throughout the series that the setting is another planet in the distant future which just happens to look like Earth.
After the death of his mother, Shichimi sets out to join his half-brothers and -sister who live together in Karakuri Tenement, a place provided by the father they have never met. He finds out that each of them had different mothers (all of whom have died), but were fathered by the same man. Not long after Shichimi's arrival, the siblings decide to journey to visit the graves of each of their mothers. On this journey, they encounter many dangers.
The names are puns on Japanese spices, each one being an ingredient in shichimi tōgarashi, also known since the Edo era as nana-iro tōgarashi, a seasoning made of seven ingredients including chili powder.