Kokkoku (Japanese: コッコク, stylized as Kokkoku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tensai Okamoto. The work was serialized in Shueisha’s seinen magazine Weekly Young Jump from 2008 to 2014 and was collected in sixteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television adaptation produced by Madhouse aired in Japan from July to September 2018, comprising twelve episodes.
Plot
The narrative follows Kyouka Shirogane, a high‑school student who acquires a mysterious stone known as the Koku from her grandfather. The stone enables the user to enter a separate dimension called the “Stasis Field,” in which the flow of time is halted. Within this field, individuals can act while the external world remains frozen. Kyouka, her brother Kenta, and their mother become entangled with a secretive organization that exploits the Stasis Field for covert operations. The series chronicles their attempts to rescue Kyouka’s father, who has been taken by the organization, while confronting moral dilemmas surrounding the use of a power that effectively suspends time.
Publication
- Author/Illustrator: Tensai Okamoto
- Publisher: Shueisha
- Demographic: Seinen (young adult men)
- Serialization Period: 2008 – 2014 in Weekly Young Jump
- Collected Volumes: 16 tankōbon volumes (released between 2008 and 2014)
Anime adaptation
- Studio: Madhouse
- Director: Yoshiyuki Iwashiro
- Screenwriter: Takahiro Ōkura
- Music Composer: Yoshiaki Fujisawa
- Broadcast Network: Fuji TV’s noitaminA block
- Airing Dates: July 2, 2018 – September 17, 2018
- Episodes: 12
Reception
Kokkoku received moderate critical attention for its combination of science‑fiction concepts with psychological thriller elements. Reviewers highlighted the series’ distinctive premise of a time‑stopping dimension and its atmospheric visual style in the anime adaptation. While the manga achieved a dedicated readership within the seinen market, it did not attain the commercial prominence of contemporaneous mainstream titles.
Related media
- The series has been released in multiple digital formats, including e‑book versions of the manga.
- The anime’s opening theme, “Kokoro no Tamanegi,” is performed by The Yuuki, and the ending theme, “Silent Blue,” is performed by Hanafuru.
Cultural impact
Kokkoku is noted for its exploration of philosophical questions about the ethics of manipulating time and the consequences of absolute control over a paused reality. The concept of a “stasis field” has been referenced in discussions of speculative fiction tropes concerning temporal suspension.
No further verified encyclopedic entries concerning other uses of the term “Kokkoku” have been identified.