is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by George Manabe. It was first serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Comp Magazine beginning November 1989 up to January 1993. The series transferred publication to MediaWorks's Dengeki Comic Gao! Magazine from February 1993 to November 2001. The series focuses on Rai Ryuga, a young courageous warrior who seeks to unify the cosmos in a war against other two powerful forces. The series borrows heavily from events of the Sengoku period and events from the Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. An anime adaptation of the series aired on TV Tokyo from April 8, 1994, to March 31, 1995. It was known outside Japan as Thunder Jet: Raiders of the Galaxy Empire. Plot After the collapse of the Sacred Galaxy Empire, a battle for control of the Milky Way Galaxy breaks out among the warlords. From the chaos emerges a young courageous warrior, Rai Ryuga. A fearless warrior to his foes but to others, he is a gentle soul, dependable and loyal. Two powerful forces aspire to reign over the entire Empire: Hiki Danjo, ruler of the Northern Region of the Milky Way, and Lord Masamune, ruler of the Southern Region. Rai sees the ensuing battle and ponders the ultimate goal: to battle against other factions in order to reunify the Milky Way under one ruler and that one day he will bring peace to the galaxy. Characters The protagonist and a hero of the series. His actual age remain unknown but in the manga he was about 18 years old at the time he was in Danjo's army. He joined the Army of the Kingdom of Gojo as a Private, but he was quickly promoted to platoon leader and, later, as battalion commander after successive victories in critical battles. In the anime, Rai is portrayed as more of a hero and is more one dimensional compared to his manga appearance. In the manga, he begins with an attitude similar to his anime portrayal, but as the story progresses, his ambitions leave consequences that enable him to rise higher within the ranks of the galactic kingdoms at the expense of the lives of numerous key characters ; this makes Rai a more complex individual who, as he keeps gaining more power, is tragically torn between choosing the right thing to do and following his ambition to become the emperor regardless of the