The Fable (Japanese: ザ・ファブル, Hepburn: Za Faburu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Katsuhisa Minami. It was serialized in Kodansha‘s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from November 2014 to November 2019, with its chapters collected in 22 tankōbon volumes. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan in June 2019 and a sequel premiered in June 2021.

As of October 2022, the manga had over 20 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series. In 2017, The Fable won the 41st Kodansha Manga Award for the General category.

Manga

The Fable is written and illustrated by Katsuhisa Minami. The series ran in Kodansha‘s seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine from November 1, 2014 to November 18, 2019. Kodansha collected its chapters in twenty-two tankōbon volumes, released from March 6, 2015 to June 5, 2020.

A sequel, titled The Fable: The Second Contact (ザ・ファブル The second contact), started in Weekly Young Magazine on July 19, 2021. Its first volume was released on November 5, 2021.

A spin-off, also titled The Fable, but written in hiragana (ざ・ふぁぶる) instead of katakana, was published on Comic Days online platform from March 6, 2018 to February 26, 2019. A collected tankōbon, which also includes other stories by Minami, was published on June 5, 2020.

In March 2022, Kodansha USA announced they licensed the series for English publication.

Live-action films

A live-action film adaptation directed by Kan Eguchi premiered in Japan on June 21, 2019. The film stars Junichi Okada as Fable.

A sequel film, titled The Fable: A Hitman Who Doesn’t Kill (ザ・ファブル 殺さない殺し屋, Za Faburu Korosanai Koroshiya), was originally announced to premiere on February 5, 2021, however, in January 2021, it was announced that it would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it premiered on June 18, 2021.

Reception

The Fable won the 41st Kodansha Manga Award for the General category in 2017. Alongside Blue Period, the series ranked #14 on Takarajimasha‘s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2020 for male readers.

As of January 2021, the manga had 8 million copies in circulation. As of March 2022, the manga had 15 million copies in circulation. As of October 2022, the manga had over 20 million copies in circulation.

The Fable
First tankōbon volume cover
ザ・ファブル (Za Faburu)
Genre	Drama, thriller
Manga
Written by	Katsuhisa Minami
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Kodansha USA
Imprint	Young Magazine KC
Magazine	Weekly Young Magazine
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	November 1, 2014 – November 18, 2019
Volumes	22 (List of volumes)
Manga
Written by	Katsuhisa Minami
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	Comic Days
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	March 6, 2018 – February 26, 2019
Volumes	1
Live-action film
Directed by	Kan Eguchi
Written by	Yūsuke Watanabe
Studio	Geek Pictures Shochiku
Released	June 21, 2019
Runtime	123 minutes
Live-action film
The Fable: A Hitman Who Doesn’t Kill
Directed by	Kan Eguchi
Written by	Masahiro Yamaura Kan Eguchi
Studio	Geek Pictures Shochiku
Released	June 18, 2021
Runtime	131 minutes
Manga
The Fable: The Second Contact
Written by	Katsuhisa Minami
Published by	Kodansha
Imprint	Young Magazine KC
Magazine	Weekly Young Magazine
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	July 19, 2021 – present
Volumes	4