# The Legend of the Legendary Heroes (伝説の勇者の伝説)
**The Legend of the Legendary Heroes** (伝説の勇者の伝説, Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu, often abbreviated DenYuuDen) is a Japanese fantasy light novel series written by Takaya Kagami (鏡貴也) with illustrations by Saori Toyota (とよた瑣織), published by Fujimi Shobo under its Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint.[1](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends) The original series ran in 11 volumes from February 2002 to October 2006, was serialized in Dragon Magazine, and had sold over three million copies by early 2010.[2](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20100120_den_yu_den) Its longer sequel, *The Legend of the Great Legendary Heroes* (大伝説の勇者の伝説), completed the story with volume 18 in May 2025.[3](https://www.bookyard.jp/newbook/bunko/202505b.pdf) The franchise includes a 24-episode television anime aired in 2010, several manga adaptations, and video games.[4](https://anime.xotaku.com/anime/5402?lang=en)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author / illustrator | Takaya Kagami (鏡貴也) / Saori Toyota (とよた瑣織), Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko[1](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends) |
| Original series | 11 volumes, February 2002 – October 2006, serialized in Dragon Magazine[1](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends) |
| Sales | Over 3 million copies by January 2010; the guidebook states the series had surpassed 4 million cumulative copies[2](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20100120_den_yu_den) • [5](https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB0947847X) |
| Sequel | *Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu*, completed at 18 volumes, みんなが昼寝王国民, scheduled for May 20, 2025[3](https://www.bookyard.jp/newbook/bunko/202505b.pdf) |
| TV anime | 24 episodes, July 2 – December 17, 2010, directed by Itsuro Kawasaki[4](https://anime.xotaku.com/anime/5402?lang=en) • [6](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/337145) |
| Manga adaptations | Main manga by Hiroko Nagakura (9 volumes, completed 2012); *Revision* in Young Gangan; *Shin Denyuuden* web manga in Gangan Online[7](https://dragonage-comic.com/product/denyuden/) • [8](https://www.denyuden.jp/broadcast/serial.html) |
| Games | RPG launched September 1, 2010 by Kadokawa Contents Gate; social RPG on GREE from April 2011[9](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20100901.pdf) • [10](https://www.denyuden.jp/news/) |
## Premise
The story follows Ryner Lute and his long-time comrade Ferris, who at their emperor's command set out on a search for the Heroic Relics (勇者の遺物), artifacts left by the legendary hero who saved the world. During the journey Ryner discovers that a deadly curse is spreading across the continent.[11](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes/umc.cmc.28yipona993vt7jbw6lm6mjgw) The man who orders the search is Sion, king of the Roland Empire and Ryner's former schoolmate.[6](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/337145)
Ryner carries the Alpha Stigma, a cursed power that can go out of control, which marks him out and complicates his life from his military-school days onward.[11](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes/umc.cmc.28yipona993vt7jbw6lm6mjgw) The first volume's subtitle, 昼寝王国の野望 (The Napping Kingdom's Ambitions), reflects the series' self-described lazy, laid-back tone alongside its serious war drama.[12](https://www.denyuden.jp/release/index.html)
**An anti-heroic saga.** In an interview before the anime aired, Fantasia Bunko editor Katsuya Okumura explained that the abbreviation DenYuuDen carries two meanings: one a straightforward 伝勇伝, and the other an "anti-heroic saga" meant to break the convention of hero-led fantasy light novels. What the three main characters share is a cruel fate they resist, refuse to obey, and struggle against.[13](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20100603dog00m200044000c.html)
## Light novels and sequel
The original *Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu* ran 11 volumes between February 2002 and October 2006.[1](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends) Volume 1, released February 20, 2002, runs 324 pages with a list price of 616 yen.[14](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/200889300113/) KADOKAWA later issued an omnibus edition collecting all 11 volumes.[15](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/301403001864/) A companion guidebook, *Guide of Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu*, was also published.[5](https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB0947847X)
The sequel *Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu* (The Legend of the Great Legendary Heroes) continued the story, with a fan reading base that followed it primarily in Japanese. After years in which no new volume had appeared since 2017, the series reached its conclusion: volume 18, みんなが昼寝王国民 (Everyone Is a Napping-Kingdom Citizen), was listed by KADOKAWA's Fantasia Bunko lineup for release on May 20, 2025, with ISBN 9784040720753.[3](https://www.bookyard.jp/newbook/bunko/202505b.pdf) • [16](https://alert.shop-bell.com/books/author/7914/) For readers coming from the anime, the sequel is where the story continues after the original 11 volumes.[17](https://wheredoestheanimeleaveoff.com/where-does-the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes-anime-leave-off-in-the-light-novels/)
Kagami wrote other series in parallel, most notably *Owari no Seraph* ([Seraph of the End](https://www.edgepedia.org/seraph-of-the-end)), and the DenYuuDen novels were published at a slower annual pace in later years while that manga's success grew.[1](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends)
## Anime adaptation
A 24-episode television anime adaptation aired from July 2 to December 17, 2010, in roughly 24-minute episodes.[4](https://anime.xotaku.com/anime/5402?lang=en) It was directed by Itsuro Kawasaki, whose earlier credits include *Sengoku BASARA* (2009 broadcast) and *Chrome Shelled Regios*.[6](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/337145) The anime aired on [TV Tokyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-tokyo) among other stations.[18](https://www.denyuden.jp/outline/) The Japanese cast includes Jun Fukuyama, and the English release stars [Luci Christian](https://www.edgepedia.org/luci-christian) and Bryan Massey; Apple TV offers the series with original and English audio.[11](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes/umc.cmc.28yipona993vt7jbw6lm6mjgw)
The anime covered the original 11-volume story rather than the sequel, and the final episode, "A Promise from a Distant Day," aired December 16, 2010.[17](https://wheredoestheanimeleaveoff.com/where-does-the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes-anime-leave-off-in-the-light-novels/) • [18](https://www.denyuden.jp/outline/) Blu-ray and DVD volumes were released through 2011, with the 12th and final volume on sale from October 2011.[10](https://www.denyuden.jp/news/)
## Manga, games, and other media
Several manga adaptations ran in parallel. The main version, drawn by Hiroko Nagakuro (長蔵ヒロコ) with character designs by Saori Toyota, was serialized in [Dragon Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-age) and collected into nine Dragon Comics Age volumes; the ninth, released June 6, 2012, completed Ryner and Sion's story.[7](https://dragonage-comic.com/product/denyuden/) A second manga, *Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu Revision* by Hyakusei Yatate (矢町大成), ran in Young Gangan, and a web manga of *Shin Denyuuden: Kakumei-hen, Ochita Kuroi Yūsha no Densetsu* by Riya Hozumi ran on Gangan Online with updates on the fourth Thursday of each month.[8](https://www.denyuden.jp/broadcast/serial.html) A four-panel parody, *Nantonaku Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu*, also appeared.[7](https://dragonage-comic.com/product/denyuden/)
Games followed the anime. Kadokawa Contents Gate launched an RPG based on the series on September 1, 2010.[9](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20100901.pdf) In April 2011 a full-fledged social RPG, *Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu RPG*, opened on the GREE platform, letting players travel the continent collecting equipment and Heroic Relics alongside characters such as Ryner, Sion, and Ferris.[10](https://www.denyuden.jp/news/)
## Completion in 2025
For years the franchise was best known for an anime that ended without resolving the larger story and a sequel series that appeared stalled. The 2025 publication of *Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu* volume 18 changed that: the sequel, and with it the DenYuuDen saga as a whole, reached a planned conclusion, more than two decades after the first volume appeared in February 2002.[3](https://www.bookyard.jp/newbook/bunko/202505b.pdf) • [14](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/200889300113/)
## References
1. ["Dai Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu" Light Novel Series Ends, NamiComi](https://namicomi.com/es-419/news/article/10376/dai-densetsu-no-yuusha-no-densetsu-light-novel-series-ends)
2. [Popular Light Novel Series "Densetsu no Yusha no Densetsu" Adapted to Anime, GIGAZINE](https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20100120_den_yu_den)
3. [2025年5月文庫ラインアップ, bookyard.jp](https://www.bookyard.jp/newbook/bunko/202505b.pdf)
4. [Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, xotaku anime database](https://anime.xotaku.com/anime/5402?lang=en)
5. [CiNii Books – ガイド・オブ・伝説の勇者の伝説](https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB0947847X)
6. [伝説の勇者の伝説 (2010), allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/337145)
7. [伝説の勇者の伝説 | 書籍 | ドラゴンエイジ公式サイト](https://dragonage-comic.com/product/denyuden/)
8. [連載情報｜TVアニメ「伝説の勇者の伝説」公式サイト](https://www.denyuden.jp/broadcast/serial.html)
9. [角川コンテンツゲート リリース, 2010年9月1日](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20100901.pdf)
10. [最新ニュース｜TVアニメ「伝説の勇者の伝説」公式サイト](https://www.denyuden.jp/news/)
11. [The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes/umc.cmc.28yipona993vt7jbw6lm6mjgw)
12. [リリース：原作｜TVアニメ「伝説の勇者の伝説」公式サイト](https://www.denyuden.jp/release/index.html)
13. [ラノベ質問状：「伝説の勇者の伝説」, MANTANWEB](https://mantan-web.jp/article/20100603dog00m200044000c.html)
14. [「伝説の勇者の伝説1 昼寝王国の野望」鏡貴也, KADOKAWA](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/200889300113/)
15. [「〖合本版〗伝説の勇者の伝説 全11巻」鏡貴也, KADOKAWA](https://www.kadokawa.co.jp/product/301403001864/)
16. [鏡貴也の新刊発売日の一覧, ベルアラート](https://alert.shop-bell.com/books/author/7914/)
17. [Where Does The Legend of The Legendary Heroes Anime End in The Light Novels?](https://wheredoestheanimeleaveoff.com/where-does-the-legend-of-the-legendary-heroes-anime-leave-off-in-the-light-novels/)
18. [あらすじ｜TVアニメ「伝説の勇者の伝説」公式サイト](https://www.denyuden.jp/outline/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Graphic, illustrated, and Asian-format fiction › Light novels and web novels › Isekai works and format*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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