Friday, March 23, 2012

Mayo Chiki!

Mayo Chiki! (まよチキ!?) is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Asano with illustrations by Seiji Kikuchi. The first volume of the novel was published on November 21, 2009. As of September 22, 2011, 9 volumes have been published by Media Factory under their MF Bunko J label. A manga adaptation by Niito began its serialization on October 2010 in the Media Factory's seinen manga magazine, Comic Alive. A spin-off manga of the series called Mayo Mayo! (まよマヨ!?) was published on Kadokawa Shoten's bishoujo magazine, Nyantype. An anime adaptation was announced, and started airing on July 8, 2011. Mayo Chiki! is an abbreviation of Mayoeru Shitsuji to Chikin na Ore to (迷える執事とチキンな俺と lit. The Stray Butler and Myself the Chicken?).

Plot

The story revolves around Kinjirō Sakamachi, a 17 year old high school boy who suffers from gynophobia. The gynophobia sickness makes his nose bleed every time he has physical contact with a female. While using the bathroom he accidentally discovers that the popular and handsome butler Subaru Konoe is in fact a girl. Now that Kinjirō knows about Subaru's secret, he must work together with Subaru and her sadistic mistress, Kanade, to protect Subaru’s secret from being discovered.

Characters

Kinjirō Sakamachi (坂町 近次郎 Sakamachi Kinjirō?)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino
The protagonist of the story. A second year high school student who discovers Subaru's secret. Frequently just referred to as Jirō, he suffers gynophobia in which his nose bleeds whenever a girl touches him. He reveals the cause to be his mother and sister practicing their wrestling moves on him on a daily basis for 10 years as part of his training, he states his nose bleeds when a girl touches him because his body developed the reflex because he believed his mother and sister would stop beating him up once he started bleeding (as his blood would ruin the carpet). As a result, he can take pain well and is fairly competent as a fighter which is kept sharp by his sister, Kureha, who wakes him up every morning with a series of beatings. He is shown to enjoy instant noodles. When he was young, his father passed away from an illness but not before telling him that his name means "Stand by me" telling him to become a man strong enough to tell others "I will protect you so stay by my side" which sometimes causes him to wonder whether he can keep that promise. He was forced to sign a contract with Kanade to not reveal the secret of Subaru and find a way to cure his gynophobia. He hates it when people call him his full name as, due to the Japanese culture of putting the family name before their given name, it creates a pun on the english word chicken as his full name is Sakamachi Kinjirō.
Subaru Konoe (近衛 スバル Konoe Subaru?)
Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi
A second year high school student who works as a butler for the Suzutsuki family and suffers from aichmophobia. When she was young she was noted to be antisocial and was not close to anyone which worried her mother. She dresses like a male due to the family circumstance of a must to have a male from her family to serve Kanade's family. Because of her being the only child, she has to cross-dress and Kanade's father only allowed her to be her butler if she could spend the entire 3 years at school with her true gender undiscovered, her physical features makes her believed by everyone to be a boy until one day, Kinjirō accidentally discovers her secret. She is very bad at naming things such as fighting moves and is aware of it but nevertheless, despite her petite figure, is shown to be a very strong fighter. Though she initially hated Kinjirō, both because he discovered her secret and for being a "pervert", she quickly warms up to and becomes friends with him even developing romantic feelings for him as well as becoming less cold and more outgoing. Her father also noted that she started looking forward to going to school. Like Kinjirō, she enjoys instant noodles and is also a fan of the popular "Lost Sheep" series of plush dolls.
Kanade Suzutsuki (涼月 奏 Suzutsuki Kanade?)
Voiced by: Eri Kitamura
The single daughter of the high school's principal, who, on the outside, behaves well like a rich man's polite and elegant daughter. On the inside, she is revealed to be quite sadistic and threatens Kinjirō on his greatest fear and using his gynophobia to make him suffer. She is shown to enjoy tormenting and teasing Kinjirō by using his gynophobia against him. However, she did give thoughts about finding a way to cure his gynophobia although her methods to do so are generally overly complicated or humiliate him in some way and she does not deny that she finds them amusing. She notes that Kinjirō is the first, and only, man who is willing to talk her down and she is implied to have fallen in love with him as a result. She is also implied to be a bisexual as she has claimed that Subaru was her first love.
Kureha Sakamachi (坂町 紅羽 Sakamachi Kureha?)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
Kureha is the younger sister of Kinjirō, who is a first year in high school and loves martial arts. She is a member of the crafts club. After watching and following Kinjirō and Subaru, believing him a male pervert cross-dresser, attacks Subaru to reclaim Kinjirō, only to be quickly defeated in turn. After this incident, still believing her a male, she has fallen in love with Subaru, much to Kinjirō's chagrin. While tomboyish most of the time, she tends to try and act feminine when Subaru is around. Due to her father dying from an illness she gets extremely worried whenever her brother gets sick.
Masamune Usami (宇佐美 マサムネ Usami Masamune?)
Voiced by: Mariya Ise
Usami is a member of S4 or Shooting Star Subaru-Sama, but quit afterward and is also a member of the crafts club. She is shown to have considerable leg power which she uses in the form of kicks. She is shown to be a good cook, partly because she lives on her own and has to cook her own meals. She blackmailed Kinjirō, with the picture of him and Subaru on a mock date, to be her boyfriend up until the end of their school fair. Kinjirō accepted because of the condition that she will not spread the photo with Subaru and Kinjirō going out together. However she later becomes friends with Kinjirō and the others and is implied to have developed a crush on Kinjirō. Her name is noted to sound similar to the Japanese word for rabbit (ウサギ - Usagi) which becomes the source of Kinjirō's nickname for her; Usamin, her own nickname for him is "stupid chicken". She later allows Kinjirō to call her by her first name, Masamune.
As a gag, Usami is shown to be able to attract ghosts if not living together with them perfectly (ghosts appear in her photos and randomly pops out in her apartment).
Nakuru Narumi (鳴海 ナクル Narumi Nakuru?)
Voiced by: Kana Asumi
The cat-eared ganguro student that is spying Kinjirō and Subaru. She is a busty first year and a member of the crafts club along with Kureha, she is also revealed to be the chairman of the "Let's warmly protect Subaru-Sama committee" and is shown to have a fetish for glasses and boy love which is expressed through her manga drawing of Kinjirō and Subaru (much to his chagrin). She is shown to be quite perverted, using a sheep ticket to coerce Subaru into reading a graphic novel of her and Kinjirō out loud prompting an offended Subaru to throw the book out a window. She apparently becomes drunk when she drinks carbonated drinks, and, in that state, gains a an ability known as the "Stripping Drunken Fist", where she can take off a person's undergarments almost instantaneously.
Nagare Konoe (近衛 流 Konoe Nagare?)
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara
Subaru's father. Head Butler of the Suzutsuki family and Kanade's father's butler. He is shown to loathe Kinjirō (partly because Konoe ends up explaining that he accidentally groped her) and is suspicious of his intentions towards Subaru. He beats him up during his trip to the pool as he was acting as a kidnapper. This later created an estrangement between him and Subaru which only further increased his loathing towards Kinjirō. He is shown to be in excellent fighting condition, much like Subaru, when a punch by Kinjirō didn't even make him flinch although he is apparently no match for his daughter. Despite Subaru's consistent mistreatment of him, he is shown to dote on his daughter and is very protective of her.
Akemi Sakamachi (坂町 明美 Sakamachi Akemi?)
Kinjirō's and Kureha's mother and female pro wrestler. She is called "Queen of Knockouts". She has beaten every person that went against her and now no one wants to face her, so travels around the world fighting dangerous animals.
Jirō Sakamachi (坂町 次郎 Sakamachi Jirō?)
Kinjirō's and Kureha's father and their mother's coach. He tends to be abused by Akemi a lot. Before passing away from an illness, he asked Kinjirō to become a good man. Kinjirō uses his name so that no one will make a fun of his full name.

Media

 

Novels

No. Title Release date ISBN
1 Mayo Chiki! (まよチキ!) November 21, 2009 ISBN 978-4-8401-3084-4
2 Mayo Chiki! 2 (まよチキ!2) January 25, 2010 ISBN 978-4-8401-3155-1
3 Mayo Chiki! 3 (まよチキ!3) April 30, 2010 ISBN 978-4-8401-3278-7
4 Mayo Chiki! 4 (まよチキ!4) July 31, 2010 ISBN 978-4-8401-3453-8
5 Mayo Chiki! 5 (まよチキ!5) October 31, 2010 ISBN 978-4-8401-3550-4
6 Mayo Chiki! 6 (まよチキ!6) January 25, 2011 ISBN 978-4-8401-3697-6
7 Mayo Chiki! 7 (まよチキ!7) April 24, 2011 ISBN 978-4-8401-3894-9
8 Mayo Chiki! 8 (まよチキ!8) June 24, 2011 ISBN 978-4-8401-3940-3
9 Mayo Chiki! 9 (まよチキ!9) September 11, 2011 —

[edit] Manga

No. Title Release date ISBN
1 Mayo Chiki! 1 (まよチキ!1) October 23, 2010 ISBN 978-4-8401-3387-6
2 Mayo Chiki! 2 (まよチキ!2) June 23, 2011 ISBN 978-4-8401-4003-4

[edit] Anime

No. Title Original airdate
01 "End of Earth"
"Endo obu Āsu" (エンド・オブ・アース) 
July 7, 2011[1]
High school student Kinjirō Sakamachi had a rude awakening from his sister, Kureha Sakamachi. After he arrives at school, he narrates the circumstance of Subaru Konoe being a butler of Kanade Suzutsuki. It was then revealed he may have gynophobia, after a weird encounter with Nakuru Narumi. He cools himself off in the toilet where he discovers Subaru Konoe wearing girl's underwear, a dispute happens and Subaru starts chasing Kinjirō around the school, attacking him. After an attempt to save Subaru from a falling object. Kinjirō discovers Subaru is a girl from her chest causing the angered Subaru to throw a fire extinguisher at him knocking him unconscious. He wakes up in the infirmary, chained to the bed except for one hand which he uses to discover Kanade by his side, after being teased by her she explains her family's circumstance and why Subaru has to dress up as a boy. She threatens Kinjirō with a violent Subaru and his gynophobia (a nose bleed when a girl touches him). It is then revealed that Kanade might be a sadist. She forcibly forms a contract with him to keep the Subaru gender matter a secret and finding a way to cure his phobia. Then begins his nightmarish school life. 
02 "I Fell in Love!"
"Daisuki ni Nacchatta!" (大好きになっちゃった!) 
July 14, 2011[2]
The episode briefly narrates how Kinjirō's new proximity to Subaru has led to rumors that they were going out which in turn earns Kinjirō earning the ire of the S4 or the "Shooting Star Subaru-Sama" fan club though their attempts at attacking him are thwarted by the "Let's warmly protect Subaru-Sama committee" a fan club that was split from the S4 due to a disagreement on whether to support Subaru's "relationship" or not. In an attempt to cure Kinjirō's gynophobia, Kanade has him go on a mock date with Subaru Konoe while giving him a "sheep ticket" as an apology for her actions. At the end of the date, Kanade tells him to use the sheep ticket which is revealed to be the equivalent on an order that cannot be refused for Subaru who, with obvious difficulty, asks Kinjirō for an order while referring to him as master. In panic, he asks her to say "baah" after seeing the plush "Lost Sheep" toy he had won for her which she does so in a cute fashion but this puts her into shock where she begins asking Kinjirō for anything else while violating his personal space. His sister Kureha however, is revealed to have been spying on them the whole time and believes that Subaru is a man dressing up as a girl and attacks her in a rage only to get defeated causing her to end up falling in love with her. Later, Kinjirō and Subaru end up bonding and becoming friends when, during a school physical examination, they help each other and keep each others' respective secret of gynophobia and being a girl despite the considerable embarrassment they were forced to go through to which they begin addressing each other by their first names. 
03 "Of Course, In the Bed"
"Mochiron, Beddo no Uede" (もちろん、ベッドの上で) 
July 21, 2011[2]
Kanade invites Kinjirō, Subaru and Kureha to a double date while settling the issue from Kureha seeing Kinjirō on a date with Subaru by claiming that she and Kinjirō were lovers. At the pool, Kanade reveals to Kinjirō that she and Subaru were once kidnapped for ransom when they were children. After an incident where Kinjirō rescues a drowning girl he ends up drowning himself where he flashbacks to his childhood where his father explains his name had the character for "close" because it meant "stand by me". When he comes to, where it is implied that Subaru gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation, he and Subaru get a strange phone call from a man with a wolf's face, who is holding a knife and is revealed to have kidnapped Kanade and Kureha. Subaru starts to feel like Kinjirō does when he touches a girl and reveals she has a phobia of knives, stemming from the traumatic childhood kidnapping incident where she felt she was inadequate as a butler because of her inability to protect Kanade as a child. Though clearly fearful she resolves to rescue Kanade and Kureha only for Kinjirō to knock her out, apologizing and stating that she could say whatever she wanted to him afterwards. Though he attempts to fight off the kidnapper, the kidnapper is revealed to be a surprisingly skillful hand to hand fighter and easily beats Kinjirō. Subaru however, comes to his rescue and defeats the kidnapper, while overcoming her fear of knives. Afterwards it is revealed that the kidnapper was actually Subaru's father Nagare and that the whole incident was orchestrated by Kanade in order to help Subaru get over her fear of knives, believing that Kinjirō would help as he also had a phobia. Later a tearful Subaru tells Kinjirō not to risk himself again, stating that she was scared her first friend would end up being stabbed. However, Kureha interrupts their moment and inadvertently revealed that Kanade stated she was going out with Kinjirō to which Subaru immediately reacts with anger, forcing Kinjirō to run away with Kanade from both Subaru and Kureha. 
04 "Don't Stare at Me Like That..."
"Anmari Jirojiro Miruna..." (あんまりジロジロみるな…) 
July 28, 2011[2]
Kinjirō begins a cheerful, for once, morning with the start of the Golden Week holiday and Kureha gone to club camp for three days. Just as he prepares to have breakfast someone rings the doorbell. To his surprise he finds Subaru dressed up in cat girl gear and carrying luggage, asking him if she could stay with him. He receives a call from Kanade who explains that Subaru had been kicked out of the mansion and she needs a place to stay. Kinjirō agrees to let her stay and Subaru, grateful for this, decides to be be his butler for the duration of her stay. Kinjirō takes a bath only for her to come in insisting that, as his butler, she should wash his back. However, midway through Kureha ends up returning, due to her getting her arm broken after she fought a bear, causing a brief misunderstanding when she sees Subaru's undergarments in the wash basket. Afterwards, Kanade also arrives stating that she has also decided to live with Kinjirō as his maid. After she and Subaru have a brief competition on who is the better servant, Kinjirō suddenly passes out from a cold much to Kureha and Subaru's distress (where it is revealed that Kinjirō and Kureha's father and Subaru's mother both died from an illness). After Subaru attempts to treat him with several questionable cures, Kanade finally explains the situation; taking Kinjirō to the river it is revealed that Subaru's father Nagare has also been sent away due to a fight he had with Subaru about what happened at the pool. At first Subaru refuses to return to the mansion, stating that she was his butler and it was her job to take care of him, fearful that she might lose him just like her mother. Although he almost passes out from his cold he convinces her to make amends with her father and return to the mansion. At the end of Golden Week, Subaru thanks Kinjirō in embarrassment. Kanade notes her surprise that Subaru wouldn't thank anyone but her and, after stating that he wasn't such a chicken anymore, kisses Kinjirō. 
05 "Please Go Out With Me"
"Atashi to Tsukiai Nasai" (アタシと付き合いなさい) 
August 4, 2011[2]
During one morning Kinjirō, on his way to school, ends up getting run over by a girl on a scooter. He identifies her as someone who goes to his school by her uniform only to notice that his glasses were caught in her thigh boots and he ends up causing a misunderstanding when he states "there's something in there that I want" which causes the girl to attack him. After he retrieves his glasses, the girl, whose name is revealed to be Masamune Usami, suddenly recognizes him and attacks him again while demanding how he managed to befriend Subaru and ends up knocking him out. When Kinjirō comes to he is surprised to find he was in the infirmary where it is revealed that Subaru and Kanade found him passed out on the road and brought him to school. After he nervously asks where Kanade was, Subaru notes that he had been avoiding her since the end of Golden Week (i.e. after she kisses him). Subaru states that he can tell her anything but in return shyly asks him to go to the school festival with her which he agrees too. Subaru however is shocked when he talks about his first kiss which she mistakenly believes he is referring to her (due to the pool incident where she apparently kisses him through unknown circumstances), after he states he would rather redo it she misconstrues that he wants to kiss her again and she attempts to do so only for Kanade interrupting where she slyly notes that it had been awhile since Kinjirō has talked to her. After Kinjirō recovers he ends up running into Masamune again where she explains that she was a member of the S4. She blackmails Kinjirō into pretending to be her boyfriend for the school festival in order to undermine the "Let's warmly protect Subaru-Sama committee" but Subaru ends up overhearing and punches Kinjirō in the stomach in anger and runs off upset. Kinjirō is forced to walk Masamune to the stores where they converse and share stories about their families and they start becoming more friendly towards each other. The next day, the cat-eared girl, Nakuru Narumi that Kinjirō ran into is shown spying on Subaru. 
06 "Let's Start a War"
"Sensō o Hajimemashō" (戦争を始めましょう) 
August 11, 2011[3]
It was the day of the school festival and Kinjirō and Masamune go through with their “fake date”. As they are eating lunch, Masamune offers to make Kinjirō lunch tomorrow as thanks for helping her. As he is about to agree, they are interrupted by a jealous Subaru who declares that she would be watching them for the remainder of the festival. As a result Subaru ends up following them everywhere while she and Masamune fight over Kinjirō, who is on the verge of fainting because of his gynophobia, which is exacerbated by the fact that Subaru was wearing a Qipao (due to Subaru’s class doing a cross-dressing cafe). However, they are drawn into an animal café by a mascot “Lost Sheep” where they meet Kureha who is revealed to be on (one-sided) friendly terms with Masamune. Masamune reveals to Kinjirō that she was jealous of the fact that Kureha could express herself so freely and was close to her family, she abruptly tells Kinjirō that he could leave stating that she could see he wasn’t having fun with her. Kinjirō however, is drawn outside by the lost sheep mascot who explains her name was Nakuru Narumi and she was the chairwoman of the "Let's warmly protect Subaru-Sama committee" and is aware of Masamune’s plot to undermine the committee and claims that her promise to get the S4 to leave him alone was a lie which is confirmed by Masamune who immediately leaves upset. Subaru demands an explanation and Kinjirō explains how her two fan clubs are at war with him stuck in the middle. Nakuru brings Kinjirō and Subaru to the meeting between the two clubs but they end up blowing their cover when it is revealed that Kanade was in fact a member of the S4. The war turns out to be a cult quiz about Subaru with the last question being who was Subaru’s first kiss. At Kinjirō’s urging, Konoe reluctantly reveals that it was in fact Kinjirō (much to his shock) after she kissed him on impulse at the pool while he was unconscious. Later Kanade reveals that Masamune had quit the S4 just before the quiz. Kinjirō finds Masamune on top of the roof where she narrates that the reason she found Subaru interesting was because “he” seemed like her; cold, aloof and alone, but changed when “he” met Kinjirō so she wanted to see what it was about him that was special and could maybe change her as well. Though she tries to leave she is stopped by Kinjirō who drags her along to Subaru and Kanade and introduces her as his friend. Subaru, after having everything explained to her by Kanade, also agrees to becomes friends with her. Later, Kinjirō confides his gynophobia with Masamune who decides that her first course as his friend was to help him cure it. 
07 "Let's Elope"
"Kakeochi Shiyou" (駆け落ちしよう) 
August 18, 2011[3]
Kinjirō is walking home when he suddenly meets Subaru, he is tricked into drinking a drugged drink which quickly knocks him out. When he comes to he finds that he had been moved to a hot spring resort next to the beach where Kanade is, once again, revealed to be the culprit. Kanade explains that she had run away from home because of her parent’s decision to travel abroad for summer holidays, she also further elaborates that she had Kinjirō brought to help cure his gynophobia. Subaru ends up catching them in a comprising situation and immediately demands and explanation from Kinjirō, afterwards it is revealed that Kanade had told the innkeepers that Kinjirō and Subaru wanted to get married as a cover story where it is implied by Subaru and Kanade that they had an ulterior motive for coming to the inn. The trio go down to the beach to begin Kinjirō’s treatment during which he leaves to buy a drink, he is however surprised to find Kureha, Masamune and Nakuru working at the café and they explain how they were chased away from their camp by a shark. However, Subaru and Kanade end up appearing at the café as well and Kinjirō drags them both away and has Subaru put on glasses to protect her gender from being found out. Kanade introduces Subaru as Punyuru Takanashi, Subaru’s “cousin”. Masamune, drags away Kinjirō and grills him for a reason why he was on a holiday with Kanade, however, Kanade ends up eavesdropping and claims that they were lovers. Masamune doesn’t believe her however and states that she trusts Kinjirō more than her but ends up blurting out how he had dinner at her home and they were “skin-to-skin”. Subaru ends up overhearing and runs away upset though Kinjirō manages to catch up and clarify things; he went to Masamune’s house because of her promise to cook him lunch but she then attempted to cure his gynophobia by putting on a bikini and molesting him (hence “skin-to-skin”), this calms down Subaru, although she punches him in the stomach because of his “sexual harassment”. Kanade ends up inviting everyone to stay at the inn tonight but Nagare, Subaru’s father, appears to take them back home. However Kanade and Subaru manage to coerce him into staying as well by threatening to call the police on him for attempting to “kidnap Punyuru”. Afterwards Kinjirō notices that Subaru was looking at something sadly… 
08 "The First Time"
"Hajimete Nanda" (初めてなんだ) 
August 25, 2011[3]
Kinjirō is having trouble sleeping because of all the females around him and he takes a bath in the hot spring to calm himself however it is shown that Subaru was already using it in order to conceal her gender. Nagare ends up walking in as well, forcing Subaru to hide behind Kinjirō. Nagare and Kinjirō exchange some civil, though hostile, talk where Nagare demands to know what Kinjirō’s relationship with his daughter is to which Kinjirō insists that they were nothing more than good friends (something which irritates Subaru), as Nagare leaves he ends up finding Subaru’s underwear and deduces that she bathed with Kinjirō causing him to attack him in a frenzy only to be knocked out by Subaru, but this ends up exposing her to Kinjirō prompting her to knock him out as well. The next day, where neither Kinjirō or Nagare remember what happened, everyone goes down to the summer festival, with Subaru once again pretending to be “Punyuru Takanashi”, but Subaru ends up disappearing halfway through. Kinjirō is directed to the Takanashi family grave where it is revealed that it was anniversary of Subaru’s mother’s death; the reason that they ran away was so that Subaru could visit the grave. Kinjirō finds Subaru who explains that her mother had always worried about her as she could never make any friends as a child, Kinjirō comforts a crying Subaru and asks to be introduced to her mother. Later, everyone enters a paint ball contest where the winner gets a kiss from Subaru/Punyuru, the winner of an earlier beauty contest. Kinjirō tries hard to win but ends up getting knocked out by Kanade, when he comes to he is lying on Subaru’s lap and the two watch the fireworks together at the end of the festival. Subaru notes that summer vacation was almost over and they would have to go back to school soon, Kinjirō complains that the next semester would be hard on him but adds that he was already used to it, citing it as their everyday life and claiming that he and Subaru were friends forever. Subaru however refuses saying that she didn’t want to be “just” friends with Kinjirō. 
09 "I'm Travelling for a While"
"Shibaraku Tabi ni Demasu" (しばらく旅に出ます) 
September 1, 2011[3]
Kinjirō finds himself working part-time at a Maid Café to repay Masamune for the loan of her Summer homework. The appearance of Kanade (without Subaru) complicates matters greatly. Meanwhile, Subaru, frantically searching for Kanade, is mistaken for someone who's supposed to fill in at a Butler Café. To add a bit more complication to Kinjirō's day, Nakuru and Kureha show up to help out at the Maid Café as well. 
10 "Let's Eat"
"Ittadakkimāsu" (いっただっきまーす) 
September 8, 2011[3]
Kureha celebrates her 16th birthday with her friends, Kanade, Subaru, Masamune, and Narumi. Kanade orders some boys that makes games to make a game for Kureha, and Masamune. When Kureha was taking a ride home from Kanade, she was afraid of Kinjirō forgetting that it is her birthday, and tells Kanade and Subaru about her previous birthdays. 
11 "Hic!"
"Nyu!" (にゅ!) 
September 15, 2011[4]
It is the start of the new semester and Subaru still has Kinjirō in her mind. She fetches Kinjirō and is nearly hit with Masamune's scooter in the process. Kanade brings a delicious lunch and shares it with Kinjirō and Subaru. After eating, Subaru becomes slightly drunk because of the wine mixed in with the food. Kanade puts some sauce onto Kinjiro's neck, forcing Subaru to lick it. Kanade begins to experience an episode of hiccups and they head to the clinic. Subaru, back to her normal self, informs Kinjirō that Kanade's hiccups cause major chaos in their family but it also makes her attractive. Kanade adds that her hiccups are her constant weakness, and tells Subaru to get her tools for her hiccup treatment. Kanade attempts to make love with Kinjirō but he pushes her away, running out from the clinic and bumps Subaru. Kanade leaves the clinic with a smile, together with Subaru and Kinjirō, until suddenly she falls down the stairs and Subaru fails to save her. At the hospital, Kanade recovers from an ankle injury and Subaru feels that she is responsible for Kanade's injury. While Kinjirō comforts Subaru, Nagare tells Subaru that she is now relieved from her duties as a butler but Kanade insists Subaru must stay on her side and will convince her father. Subaru leaves and Kinjirō follows until they meet up on the overpass. Subaru thanks Kinjirō with a kiss but Kinjirō has a nosebleed and passes out. 
12 "Stray Butler and I - the Chicken"
"Mayoeru Shitsuji to Chikin'na Ore to" (迷える執事とチキンな俺と) 
September 22, 2011[4]
Masamune finds and wakes up the unconscious Kinjirō on the overpass. Kinjirō realizes where Subaru might be and Masamune gives him a ride to the inn at the hot spring resort where they had previously gone over the summer. Kinjiro finds Subaru there and they spend the night at the inn. That night, it is revealed that Subaru has deeper feelings for Kinjiro that involve going further than just kissing, but Kinjirō declines because he doesn't want to just do it on impulse (and because of his gynophobia). The next morning, Kanade picks up Subaru and Kinjirō and they go to school. Because Subaru is no longer a butler, when Kinjirō asks where Subaru is, Kanade tells Kinjirō that Subaru transferred schools. The "Let's warmly protect Subaru-Sama committee", S4, and Kinjirō are all shocked at this news, but then a new transfer student comes in, Punyuru Takanashi, who is actually Subaru, but dressed like a normal girl. Punyuru is invited to eat lunch with Kinjirō when Subaru reveals to him that she enjoys being a butler more than a "normal" school girl. With that in mind, Kinjirō enlists the help of the S4 to get petitions signed so that Subaru can become a butler again. The next day, Subaru is helping Kanade out of the car as her butler and everything returns to normal (except it turns out that Punyuru had to "transfer" to another school again). Later that night, Subaru calls Kinjirō over to the park where she thanks him by forcefully planting a kiss on him. Kinjirō subsequently gets a nosebleed and passes out and the episode ends with him reflecting on how long their adventures as a wandering butler and a gynophobic chicken will last. 
13 "Please Fondle It!"
"Monde Kudasai!" (揉んでください!) 
September 29, 2011[4]
After Kinjirō finds a "BL" magazine inside of his secret stash of magazines located under his bed, The story of how it got there begins to unfold. The start of this episode begins with Nakuru showing up unexpectedly at Kinjirō's house. After a short confrontation at the door, Nakuru lets slip that she was in Kinjirō's bed the previous night. Kinjirō inquires leading into a series of flash back scenes from Nakuru's point of view. In the first Scene we witness an unknown figure from on top of an adjacent building taking a photo of Subaru while she's in the bath. Seeing a flash from on top of that building, Subaru gives chase in order to protect her identity, as a male, and to discover who the photographer is. Discovering it was Nakuru, Subaru avoids inflicting serious injuries. The second scene takes place in a small cafe' where Subaru finds out the picture was too foggy to reveal her Secret. Subaru is told by Nakuru that the photo was to be sold in order to help publish her "BL" short stories. Kanade has joined them by this time and donates some pictures to Nakuru's cause. Needing help with putting the "BL" stories together, Nakuru asks Kureha and Usami for help. Nakuru offers Kureha pictures of Subaru for payment. Kureha offers a favor for these photos allowing Nakuru into Kinjirō's room. (Hence the BL MAG). Nakuru reveals that she is hiding a secret. In the next flash back, Kureha and Masamune go under cover following Nakuru. Nakuru eventually attempt to tell Kureha and Masamune, but fails. This act leads us out of the flash backs with Nakuru and Kinjirō standing on the threshold of Kinjirō's house. Nakuru then ask's Kinjirō on a date. Kinjirō obliges and they go to a beach front board walk where Nakuru reveals to Kinjirō she has a complex with her breasts because of the confession from earlier. Kinjirō informs Nakuru that is not all that a man looks for in a woman. Nakuru then asks Kinjirō to help her with her complex, he unwillingly agrees.
Mayo Chiki!
Mayo Chiki! vol 1.jpg
Cover of the first volume
まよチキ!
Genre Comedy, Romance
Light novel
Written by Hajime Asano
Illustrated by Seiji Kikuchi
Published by Media Factory
Demographic Male
Imprint MF Bunko J
Original run November 21, 2009 – ongoing
Volumes 9
Manga
Written by Hajime Asano
Illustrated by Niito
Published by Media Factory
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Monthly Comic Alive
Original run October 2010 – ongoing
Volumes 3
Manga
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Nyantype
Original run October 2010 – ongoing
Volumes 2
TV anime
Directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi
Written by Reiko Yoshida
Music by Yukari Hashimoto
Studio Feel
Licensed by United Kingdom MVM Films
Network TBS
Original run July 7, 2011 – September 29, 2011
Episodes 13
Anime and Manga Portal

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Mawaru-Penguindrum (Mawaru Pingudoramu)

Mawaru-Penguindrum (輪るピングドラム Mawaru Pingudoramu?) is a 2011 Japanese anime series produced by Brain's Base. The series is directed and co-written by Kunihiko Ikuhara and was broadcast in Japan from July 8, 2011 through December 23, 2011.

Plot

A terminally ill girl named Himari Takakura is miraculously saved from death by a strange spirit who resides in a penguin-shaped hat. However, in exchange for extending her life, the spirit tasks Himari's brothers, Kanba and Shouma, to seek out an item known as the Penguin Drum with assistance from a trio of strange penguins.

Characters

Kanba Takakura (高倉 冠葉 Takakura Kanba?)
Voiced by: Subaru Kimura
The more serious and experienced of the brothers. Unlike his brother Shouma, he has a history as a playboy, dating girls only to dump them soon after. He has several angry girls that pursue him, with Masako Natsume being the most aggressive. However, it seems that he's deeply in love with Himari and will go to great lengths for her happiness. As the eldest brother, it is shown that he is responsible for maintaining his family's finances and livelihood. He takes his duty to obtain the Penguindrum and Himari's medicine very seriously, willing to resort to any method to obtain them. Kanba does not consider legality or self-preservation when it comes to saving his family. Just like Himari, Kanba is not blood related to the Takakuras and was accepted into their family after the death of his father. He is also the blood-related brother of Masako and Mario.
Shouma Takakura (高倉 晶馬 Takakura Shōma?)
Voiced by: Ryohei Kimura
More innocent than his brother, he is uneasy at the thought of performing any morally ambiguous deeds. He is assigned to obtain Oginome Ringo's diary, assuming that it is the Penguindrum, and hesitates after being told to obtain it by any means necessary. As he accompanies Ringo in her stalking activities, the two of them develop a strange closeness. He tries to play the role of Ringo's conscience many times, but like his siblings, he harbors a deep guilt for the massacre caused by their parents. He feels that Ringo should despise him and pushes her away after the diary is lost. Shouma is the one that saves the abandoned Himari from the Child Broiler and bringing her into the Takakura family. In the novel adaptation, Shouma is the narrator.
Himari Takakura (高倉 陽毬 Takakura Himari?)
Voiced by: Miho Arakawa
The brothers’ younger, ever-cheerful sister. Himari loves her brothers very much, and is constantly smiling so that they will worry less about her illness. After being discharged from the hospital, she loses consciousness and dies at a trip to the aquarium. She is revived by a penguin hat bought at the aquarium's souvenir shop. When she wears the penguin hat, her appearance and personality changes to that of the Princess of the Crystal (プリンセス・オブ・ザ・クリスタル Purinsesu Obu Za Kurisutaru?), a dominatrix, donning a skintight costume and ordering the brothers to obtain the Penguindrum in order to extend her life. When she was a child, she was part of the aspiring idol group "Triple H" with her friends Hibari and Hikari, but stopped speaking to them when she left school. She states that she is glad for their success. Himari is not related to Shouma and Kanba by blood, but became part of the Takakura family after being abandoned by her mother.
Ringo Oginome (荻野目 苹果 Oginome Ringo?)
Voiced by: Marie Miyake
The target the brothers are ordered to watch. She was born on the same day that her sister, Momoka, died and believes that she is Momoka reincarnated. The death of her sister caused her family to fall apart, she now lives only with her often busy mother. She possesses Momoka's diary, the entries of which she follows religiously for the purpose of "destiny". It is because of these entries that she stalks Tabuki Keiju, who was very close to Momoka. She believes that by replacing her sister, she will be able to bring her family back together. Despite claiming that she and Tabuki are destined for each other, she has begun to harbor feelings for Takakura Shouma instead. She eventually says that she will be Shouma's stalker rather than Tabuki's.
Keiju Tabuki (多蕗 桂樹 Tabuki Keiju?)
Voiced by: Akira Ishida
The teacher that Ringo stalks. He is the science teacher of Shouma and Kanba and the advisor of a birdwatching club. He was Oginome Momoka's close friend and narrowly missed being with her at the incident that took her life. As a child, he was abandoned by his mother after she remarried and gave birth to a child that surpassed Tabuki's skill at playing the piano. He was in the Child Broiler with his pet bird, but was rescued by Momoka, who loved his music. Despite claiming otherwise, Tabuki harbors a strong grudge against the Takakura family for the incident that resulted in her death many years ago. He vanishes after attempting to take Himari's life and returning his wedding ring to Yuri.
Yuri Tokikago (時籠 ゆり Tokikago Yuri?)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
A famous actress belonging to the Sunshiny Theatre Takarazuka troupe. She is introduced as Tabuki's girlfriend and becomes engaged to him. Although she is elegant and successful, she considers herself and her body to be ugly. As a child, she was abused mentally and physically by her father, who was a well-liked sculptor and told young Yuri that he found her to be disgusting. However, she was saved by Momoka, who loved her and used her diary to change her fate. Yuri is the only other person to know the diary's secrets and seeks to retrieve it in order to bring Momoka back into the world. She wanted to make a false family with Tabuki.
Masako Natsume (夏芽 真砂子 Natsume Masako?)
Voiced by: Yui Horie
A wealthy young woman with an obsession for Kanba. Masako is the current heir to the Natsume corporation. She possesses a laser slingshot that is capable of selectively erasing memory with red projectiles shot at the forehead, blue projectiles allow memory to be restored. Like each of the Takakura siblings, she has a penguin accomplice, though she has named hers Esmeralda. Her primary goals are to possess Kanba and gain the Penguindrum in order to ensure her brother Mario's survival. She appears to be working with Sanetoshi to keep Mario alive, paralleling the Takakura family's efforts to save Himari's life. She is also Kanba's blood related sister, his twin sister. Her catchprase is "Gosh I must crush her/him/them soon."
Sanetoshi Watase (渡瀬 眞悧 Watase Sanetoshi?)
Voiced by: Yutaka Koizumi
A cloying man that harbors an interest in Himari for reasons yet unknown. He first appears as an all-knowing librarian working at the Central Library's "Hole in the Sky" branch, assisting Himari with books filled with memories of her past. He is the one to place the penguin hat on her. When Himari dies for a second time, he appears as a doctor that demands large sums of money for the dark pink medication keeping her alive. Himari often goes to him for advice, though she is usually troubled by what she hears and is cold towards him. He claims to be from "the destination of Fate," and is accompanied by two black rabbit underlings, Shirase (シラセ?) and Souya (ソウヤ?). His catchphrase is "Isn't it electrifying?". In episode 21, it is revealed that he is a ghost and assistant of Dr. Washizuka (Himari's original doctor) in his Arctic Expedition. He is the leader of Kiga.
Momoka Oginome (荻野目 桃果 Oginome Momoka?)
Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki
Ringo's older sister who died in a subway explosion on the day of Ringo's birth. She is the original owner of the diary. She was close friends with both Tabuki and Yuri, whose lives were both saved by her. As explained by Momoka to Yuri, the diary is allegedly one that can transfer the fate of individuals at a cost; it can even prevent someone from dying. These transfers inflict injuries on the user as payment, Momoka was sent to the hospital with burns from altering Yuri's fate.
Hibari Isora (伊空 ヒバリ Isora Hibari?) and Hikari Utada (歌田 光莉 Utada Hikari?)
Voiced by: Yui Watanabe and Marie Miyake
Himari's best friends in elementary school. The three of them wished to be idols, so they formed their own idol group called Triple-H. However, for unknown reasons, she had to leave school, and Hibari and Hikari went on to become famous idols under the name Double-H. They are shown to be glad when receiving the scarves that Himari knit for them. In the show's production, there is a real group called Triple-H made up of the voice actresses of Hibari, Hikari and Himari. This group sings many of the insert songs and ending themes. Their names are thinly-veiled references to Hibari Misora and Hikaru Utada, respectively.
Takakuras' Penguins #1, #2 & #3 (高倉家のペンギン 1号、2号、3号 Takakura-ke no Pengin Ichigō, Nigō, Sangō?)
Voiced by: Subaru Kimura, Ryohei Kimura and Miho Arakawa
A mysterious trio of blue Penguins that arrived at the Takakura's doorstep after Himari's resurrection. Only the Takakura family can see them. For the sake of convenience, Kanba named his penguin #1, Shouma's #2 and Himari's #3 respectively. These numbers are written on the back of the penguin. Each has their own traits based on their masters. #1 has pronounced eyebrows and likes looking up ladies' skirts, #2 is often seen spraying bugs or eating voraciously, and #3, who sports a ribbon on her head, usually keeps Himari company.
Esmeralda (エスメラルダ Esumeraruda?)
Voiced by: Yui Horie
Masako's penguin, unlike the Takakura siblings', is black with a heart-shaped face. It has a more menacing appearance than the others. Esmeralda holds an infatuation with Penguin #1 that mirrors Masako's interest in Kanba.

Theme songs

Opening theme songs
  • "Noruniru" (ノルニル?) (episodes 1–14)
    Lyrics, composition: Tika・α / Arrangement: Naoko Etō / Singing: Etsuko Yakushimaru Metro Orchestra

  • "Boys, Come Back to Me" (少年よ我に帰れ Shōnen yo Ware ni Kaere?) (episodes 15–24)
    Lyrics, composition: Tika・α / Arrangement: Kenji Kondō / Singing: Etsuko Yakushimaru Metro Orchestra

Insert songs
  • "Rock Over Japan" (episodes 1–3, 5–7, 16, 17)
    Lyrics, composition: Ryo, Hisashi / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "Daddy's Shoes" (ダディーズ・シューズ?) (episode 5)
    Composition: Ryō Ishibashi / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "M no Higeki" (Mの悲劇 Emu no Higeki?, M's Tragedy) (episode 7)
    Lyrics: Ikuni Ikami (イクニ・イカミ?) / Composition: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Mamiko Noto as Yuri Tokikago

Ending theme songs
  • "Dear Future" (episodes 1–9, 11, 12)
    Lyrics: Yūho Iwasato / Composition, arrangement: Narasaki / Singing: Coaltar of the Deepers

  • "Dear Future feat. Yui Horie" (episode 10)
    Lyrics: Yūho Iwasato / Composition: Narasaki / Arrangement: Watchman / Singing: Yui Horie

  • "Haiiro no Suiyōbi" (灰色の水曜日?, "Gray Wednesday") (episodes 13, 15, 18)
    Lyrics: Ryō Ishibashi, Hisashi Shirahama / Composition: Hisashi Shirahama / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title. Also used as the insert song of episode 9.

  • "Bad News Kuroi Yokan" (Bad News 黒い予感?) (episodes 14, 17)
    Lyrics: Ryō Ishibashi / Composition: Ichirō Tanaka / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "Ikarechimattaze!!" (イカレちまったぜ!!?) (episode 16)
    Lyrics: Ryō Ishibashi / Composition: Ichirō Tanaka / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "Hide and Seek" (episode 19)
    Lyrics, composition: Hisashi Shirahama / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "Private Girl" (episode 20)
    Lyrics, composition: Ryo, Hisashi / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

  • "Tamashii Kogashite" (魂こがして?, "Scorching Soul") (episode 21)
    Lyrics, composition: Ryō Ishibashi / Arrangement: Yukari Hashimoto / Singing: Triple H
    Cover of ARB's song by the same title.

Triple H is Marie Miyake as Hikari, Yui Watanabe as Hibari, and Miho Arakawa as Himari.

Mawaru-Penguindrum
Mawaru pen.jpg
Series logo and main characters (from left) Himari, Kanba and Shoma.
輪るピングドラム
Genre Comedy, Drama, Psychological, Supernatural
TV anime
Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Produced by Hiro Haruyama
Shinichi Ikeda
Written by Kunihiko Ikuhara
Takayo Ikami
Music by Yukari Hashimoto
Studio Brain's Base
Network MBS, TBS, AT-X
Original run July 8, 2011 – December 23, 2011
Episodes 24[1]
Anime and Manga Portal

Last Exile (Rasuto Eguzairu)

Last Exile (ラストエグザイル Rasuto Eguzairu?) is a Japanese animated television series created by Gonzo. It featured a production team led by director Koichi Chigira, character designer Range Murata, and production designer Mahiro Maeda. The three had previously worked together in Blue Submarine No. 6, one of the first CG anime series. Last Exile premiered on TV Tokyo on April 7, 2003 and ran for twenty-six episodes until its conclusion on September 29, 2003.
The story is set on the fictional world of Prester, where its inhabitants use aerial vehicles known as vanships as a means of transportation. On this world which is divided in eternal conflict between the nations of Anatoray and Disith, sky couriers Claus Valca and Lavie Head must deliver a girl who holds the key to uniting the two factions. Although Prester itself is not a representation of Earth,[1] it features technology reminiscent of nineteenth century Europe at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Many of its designs were also inspired by Germany's technological advances during the interwar period.
Last Exile was well received in North America, and the series was licensed for the English language by Geneon Entertainment (then Pioneer Entertainment) in June 2003, two months after the first episode aired in Japan. Funimation Entertainment began licensing the series after Geneon ceased production of its titles. It was also licensed for English releases in the United Kingdom by ADV Films (however, the company closed in 2009, leaving it unlicensed) and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. Other published media included two soundtracks, two manga adaptions and artbooks.

Setting

Last Exile is set on the fictional world of Prester.[2][Note 1] Prester's two nations of Anatoray and Disith are separated by a turbulent region of the sky known as the Grand Stream and are engaged in eternal conflict according to the code of chivalric warfare. A superior faction known as the Guild enforces these rules. It also provides the two nations with technology but, unknown to them, has dishonorable intentions, to preserve the status quo and enforce its dominance of both sides. Although the story is set in the future, the technology employed differs from that in a typical space opera.[3] Instead, the show's retro-futuristic setting resembles nineteenth century Europe at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Inhabitants of Prester operate aerial vehicles known as vanships in the world's Golden Age of Aviation.[4]
Drawings of a wingless aircraft with lateral and dorsal views as well as ornament and engine details
Designs of the vanship, a type of aerial vehicle, were based on Germany's Junkers A 35 monoplane produced in the 1920s.[5]
Various scenes in the series also show existing tension between the upper and lower classes.[3] Anatoray's nobility and military officers generally believe that commoners do not understand their codes of chivalry. On the other hand, the lower class also despise the aristocracy for their monopoly on resources.[6] This tension extends to the accessibility of clean water, which varies in price according to purity grades.[7][8] In the larger story, the advanced Guild society is portrayed as degenerate and lazy, while the people of Anatoray and Disith are creative and industrious.
The series introduces viewers to a wide range of naval and military vocabulary.[9][Note 2] More primitive navigational methods such as dead reckoning and instruments such as the sextant are also used in the series.[

Story

Last Exile

The story revolves around fifteen-year-old pilot Claus Valca and navigator Lavie Head, who fly their vanship as sky couriers in the nation of Anatoray. Although they usually take up missions of relatively low difficulty, they are one day asked to complete the mission of a dying courier. The mission, rated seven stars out of ten, is to deliver a young girl named Alvis Hamilton to the mysterious battleship Silvana.[11] Despite their fears, Claus and Lavie deliver Alvis to the battleship but decide to remain aboard to keep her safe.[12]
Claus and Lavie are initially treated as intruders but eventually befriend the crew of the Silvana. They learn that the Guild intends to capture Alvis for reasons unknown to them. In the first battle between the Silvana and Guild forces, Guild member Dio Eraclea takes an interest in Claus's flying skills and his signature move, the Immelmann turn.[13] Wanting to learn more about Claus, Dio willingly allows himself to be captured by the Silvana. He reveals to Alex Row, the battleship's captain, the existence of one of four Mysteria which act as a key to something known as Exile.[14]
When the Silvana's executive officer, Sophia Forrester, is revealed to be the Emperor's daughter and heir, she returns to Anatoray at the request of the prime minister. Sophia assumes the throne after the Emperor is killed during a surprise attack at the capital by the Disith nation and pleads for an alliance with Disith in order to capture Exile and end the Guild's control.[15] Sophia reveals to Claus that Alvis is linked to the Mysteria,[16] but as preparations for the assault are made, Alvis is captured by the Guild.[17]
Delphine Eraclea, the Maestro of the Guild, reveals that Exile is a colony ship used by those who first settled their world, and she intends to use Alvis and the Mysteria to take control of it.[18] However, Claus and Alvis escape the Guild stronghold and are reunited with Lavie when the alliance fleet attacks.[19] As the fleet follows Exile past the Grand Stream and enters Disith, it is able to destroy Delphine's forces. After Claus and Alvis recite the four Mysteria, Exile reveals itself as a starship that will carry people to a new world free of conflict.

Last Exile: Travelers from the Hourglass

An interquel story, set right after the events of Last Exile and before Fam The Silver Wing, Travelers from the Hourglass is about continuing the story of Claus, Lavie, Alvis, and the others who left Prester and settled on Earth, their ancestors home world. As they get used to their new home, Al is pursued by the Earth Guild

Last Exile: Fam The Silver Wing

Taking place two years after the events of Last Exile, Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing is set on Earth, the original home world of the colonists of Prester. The new story focuses on Fam Fan Fan and Giselle Collette, two vespa vanship pilots who work as Sky Pirates, capturing and selling battleships for a living.
Fam and Giselle get into an adventure when they and the Sky Pirates rescue Liliana il Grazioso Merlo Turan and her younger sister, Millia Il Velch Cutrettola Turan, Princesses of the Turan Kingdom, from the clutches of the mighty Ades Federation. The Federation, led by Empress Sārā Augusta and Premier Luscinia Hāfez, is on an all out war against nations who descended from immigrants who came back to Earth by Exile ships. As Ades being the only nation to stay on Earth when it was in a state of chaos and ruin, Luscinia believes that the Exile immigrants have no right to return to Earth since their ancestors abandoned Earth when it was in chaos only to return when Earth was viable to live on again and force the original inhabitants of Earth off their lands to form their own nations. To return these lands to their original inhabitants, Luscinia leads the Ades Federation to conquer the immigrant nations and destroy their armies, with Turan being one of them.
After Luscinia kidnaps Liliana, who has the ability to control an Exile, Luscinia summons an Exile to destroy Iglasia, the capital of Turan, killing its soldiers and the King of Turan, leading to the surrender of Turan to Ades. With everything she cared for lost, Millia is given refuge by the Sky Pirates, where Fam promises to help Millia regain her kingdom.

Production

Last Exile was created by Gonzo in celebration of the company's 10th anniversary.[21] It featured a production team led by director Koichi Chigira, character designer Range Murata, and production designer Mahiro Maeda. The three had previously worked together to create Blue Submarine No. 6, one of the first CG anime series

Art design

Complex chessboard design by Makoto Kobayashi. All episode titles utilize terminology from chess, and the game appears throughout the series.[Note 3]
Conceptual designs were created by Range Murata, who was given complete freedom to create the setting. He began drawing detailed sketches of machines and everyday objects from a daily newspaper. His research was given no constraints with the exception of production deadlines.[5] Gonzo initially intended for Last Exile to be shown in a space setting, but producers did not want the characters to wear sterile space suits. Instead, the final product was described by Jonathan Mays as an "ugly" world of "rusting bolts, lots of blues and grays". Murata believed the design took "the course the story had laid out".[1] His character conceptualization included a great amount of time spent on costume design. Wanting to portray each character's personality more fully, he "tried to draw in the kind of material that would have been used in creating their clothes and try to represent the stitches connecting the fabric". In contrast to crewmembers of the battleship Silvana who wear modern and utilitarian uniforms, other characters wear traditionally aristocratic attire.[23] High amount of attention was given to character animation. Animators especially experienced difficulties with Alex Row's hair and flowing cape.[24]
Production of Last Exile relied heavily on 3D computer animation. Of the 350 shots used in the first episode, more than 200 included computer-generated animation. In comparison, Gonzo's previous work Vandread used an average of 40 to 50 computer-generated shots per episode.[25] Animation was also supplemented with Victorian era flourishes.[9] In order to combine hand-drawn animation with computer-generated ones, the production team used a technique for non-photorealistic rendering, which could not be used for Blue Submarine No. 6 because of a stylistic conflict.[1] At the 2003 Anime Expo, Maeda, who also worked with Studio Ghibli's production of Castle in the Sky, commented that "[Last Exile] is very advanced in how it will incorporate the two mediums"

Historical references

Real-world historical designs were also adapted for the fictional world. Flying battleships of the Anatoray and Disith nations included components of Japanese dreadnoughts in commission at the turn of the twentieth century. Uniform designs for Anatoray's musketeers were based on Napoleon Bonaparte's army and American Civil War soldiers. On the other hand, Soviet Red Army fur coats provided the basis for Disith uniforms. Another inspiration for creators came from a silent film of the airship Hindenburg, which depicted the aircraft's UFO-like silver-plated design in contrast to the traditional buildings below. This imagery was reproduced in the series.[5]
Producers selected a specific historical time frame to serve as a point of reference.
We had this image of Germany at the beginning of the twentieth century. We thought that Germany of the interwar period had very interesting characteristics. People think of something of dark and negative because of the rise of the Nazism. But so much of things appeared at that time, like a rapid growth of the cities and richness. Industrial technology, chemistry, scientific discoveries, much of inventions also in the design. Bauhaus appears there, for example. [...] I think that all that Germany produced at that time was extreme and unique.
—Mahiro Maeda, interview in Geneon Entertainment's volume 1 compilation DVD of Last Exile
Several characters were also named after historical figures. The name of Claus Valca's father was derived from Hamilcar Barca, the leading commander of Carthaginian forces during the First Punic War and father of the talented tactician Hannibal.[27] An Anatoray general was named after Vitellius, who led the Roman Empire for several months during the Year of the Four Emperors.

Media

Anime

Last Exile premiered in Japan on April 7, 2003, and aired on TV Tokyo until the airing of its final episode on September 29.[2] A total of 13 DVD compilations were released by Victor Entertainment between July 23, 2003, and July 21, 2004. A complete seven-disc boxed set was released on November 21, 2004. The deluxe edition of this set included a model of Tatiana's and Alister's red vanship, a short story on the fictional Battle of Otranto,[Note 4] unpublished articles on the series, and illustrations by character designer Range Murata.[29]
After receiving a respectable amount of attention in the United States, Pioneer Entertainment (later Geneon Entertainment) licensed the series in June 2003, two months after the first episode aired in Japan,[4] and the first compilation DVD was released on November 18.[30] TechTV premiered the series in English language during its Anime Unleashed programming block on March 8, 2004. The first thirteen episodes aired nightly until March 14,[31] and remaining episodes premiered on December 6 after channel was merged into G4techTV, with new episodes airing each weeknight until the series concluded on December 22. All 26 episodes were also aired in a marathon broadcast on Christmas Day.[32] AZN Television and G4techTV Canada also broadcast the series in 2007.[33][34] After Geneon ceased distribution of its licensed titles in North America, rights to the series were transferred to Funimation Entertainment,[4] and a four-disc boxed set was released on May 5, 2009[35], and again on June 14, 2011, under the "Anime Classics" line.
ADV Films owns the license for the series' English release in the United Kingdom although it is no longer licensed following the parent company's shutdown,[36] while distribution rights in Australia and New Zealand are owned by Madman Entertainment.[37] Last Exile is also licensed for regional language release in France,[38] Germany,[39] Sweden,[40] Russia,[41] and Taiwan.[42] It has been hosted at the streaming media website Crunchyroll.[4]
On February 1, 2011, Gonzo revealed that a new Last Exile anime was planned titled Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing- (ラストエグザイル~銀翼のファム~ Rasuto Eguzairu Gin'yoku no Famu?).[43] The anime will be "a new series of Last Exile [with] new story, [main] characters, and mechanical designs." Koichi Chigira, Last Exile's director, will return to direct the anime. Range Murata and Makoto Kobayashi will also return to provide the series with its unique visual style. Music will again be done by Hitomi Kuroishi.[44]
The new series premiered on October 15, 2011 in Japan and was also simulcasted on the same day in Asia by Animax Asia, making it the fifth anime to be simulcasted the same time as its Japanese premiere on the channel, after Tears to Tiara, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Inuyasha: The Final Act, and Maid Sama!. Funimation Entertainment have licensed the series for streaming and home video release.

Soundtracks

Grayscale portrait of Alex Row against a foggy background
Cover art of the first soundtrack released by Victor Entertainment, featuring the character Alex Row
Two pieces of theme music were used for the series. "Cloud Age Symphony", performed by Shuntaro Okino, was used as the opening theme for all 26 episodes. It was released by Victor Entertainment as a maxi single on May 21, 2003, and remained on the Oricon music charts for six weeks, where it peaked at 52nd position.[46] Hitomi Kuroishi's "Over The Sky" was used as the ending theme.[47]
Music trio Dolce Triade, which includes Kuroishi, produced two CD soundtracks for the series. Last Exile O.S.T. was released by Victor Entertainment on June 21, 2003, and remained on the Oricon music charts for seven weeks, where it peaked at 52nd position. It includes both theme songs and 17 additional instrumental tracks.[48] The second soundtrack, Last Exile O.S.T. 2 was released on September 3, 2003, and remained on the Oricon music charts for five weeks, where it peaked at 55th position. It includes an alternate version of the ending theme song and 19 additional instrumental tracks.[49] Geneon Entertainment licensed both soundtracks for release in North America. The first soundtrack was released on February 17, 2004,[50] and the second was released on April 13.[51] However, both soundtracks are out of print in North America after Geneon ceased production of its licensed titles in 2007.

Art book

A 136-page art book titled Last Exile Aerial Log was published in February 2005 but has since been discontinued. It was published in Japanese and was never translated for English-language release.[53] The book contains detailed character sketches and descriptions as well as technical manuals for aircraft that appeared in the series. It also includes exclusive interviews with members of the production staff.

Manga

Currently there are two mangas. The first is a manga adaptation of Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing written by Gonzo and illustrated by Robo Miyamoto and is serialized in Young Ace magazine and published by Kadokawa Shoten. The second, titled Last Exile - Travelers from the Hourglass (ラストエグザイル - 砂時計の旅人 Rasuto Eguzairu - Sunadokei no Ryojin?), is an interquel that tells what happened to the Claus and his friends after the events of Last Exile and before the events of Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing. The manga is written by Gonzo and illustrated by Minoru Murao, one of the original animators of the Last Exile anime. Last Exile - Travelers from the Hourglass is serialized in Newtype Ace and published by Kadokawa.

Live-action film

On February 11, 2005, a report on Anime News Network mentioned a possible live-action Last Exile film. It was based on a blog post by Patrick Macias, writer for Animerica and author of several books on Japanese pop culture and anime, which noted that while he was attending the Tokyo International Anime Fair, a Gonzo employee suggested that an unnamed New Line Cinema producer was interested in adapting the series for a live-action production.[54][55] On July 8, 2009, a concept art image was leaked on the Internet but was removed at the request of filmmakers.[56] However, as of December 2011, there has been no new news about the Live-action film, suggesting it has been canceled.

Reception

After receiving a respectable amount of attention in the United States, the series was licensed to Pioneer Entertainment (later Geneon Entertainment) in June 2003, only two months after the first episode aired in Japan.[4] When Geneon's compilation DVDs were released, reviewers such as IGN praised them despite the use of Dolby Digital 2.0 audio mix over a 5.1 mix. "The separation is masterfully taken care of with voices, music, and sound effects leveled off very cleanly for both the Japanese and English audio tracks."[57] In an interview with director Koichi Chigira given in July 2004, he was surprised to find that the series had reached a great level of popularity among fans in the United States.[58]
Last Exile has been likened to Hayao Miyazaki's classic work Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and the early steampunk novel trilogy A Nomad of the Time Streams.[39][59] It received numerous praises for its artwork and production, placing it as one of Gonzo's best work. By integrating music and sounds of a European theme, the soundtrack contributed to the series' unique flavor. Anime News Network rated the series as "a must-have for all anime fans".[59] However, the complex storyline tested viewers' patience because "mysteries pile upon one another before the answers start spilling forth in the second half [of the series]". Despite this complaint, Last Exile's action sequences and cliffhangers compelled viewers to wait and see these mysteries resolved.[4]
TechTV vice president Laura Civiello stated that Last Exile "had more universal appeal than other types of anime shown on the network, which often contained lots of references recognizable only by hard-core fans". When the series premiered on the network, The New York Times recommended it for younger viewers as well with the headline "An Anime Marathon, and It's Not Just for Adults".[3] The network moved its Anime Unleashed programming block into prime time to take advantage of the quality of the series,[60] eventually launching it into a top ten position on the Nielsen VideoScan anime survey in the middle of 2004.[61] Sony Pictures Entertainment selected Last Exile, Blood+, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, and R.O.D the TV as part its promotional campaign throughout 2007 and 2008 targeting audiences ages 15–35. It streamed the four series throughout Europe, Latin America, and other parts of Asia on Animax and Animax Asia through various 3G mobile phone services.

Last Exile
A red-haired girl holding a canteen and a boy in a pilot suit looking up at her
Cover art of the Japanese volume 1 compilation DVD for Last Exile, featuring main characters Lavie Head and Claus Valca
ラストエグザイル
(Rasuto Eguzairu)
Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Steampunk
TV anime
Directed by Koichi Chigira
Music by Hitomi Kuroishi
Studio Gonzo
Licensed by Australia New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Canada United States Funimation Entertainment
United Kingdom ADV Films (defunct)
Network TV Tokyo
English network Canada G4techTV Canada
United StatesTechTV, G4techTV, AZN Television
South Africa Animax
Russia MTV Russia, 2x2
Original run April 7, 2003 – September 29, 2003
Episodes 26 (List of episodes)
Manga
Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing
Written by Gonzo
Illustrated by Robo Miyamoto
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Young Ace
Original run 2011 – ongoing
Volumes 1
TV anime
Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wingラストエグザイル~銀翼のファム~
Directed by Koichi Chigira
Written by Kiyoko Yoshimura
Music by Hitomi Kuroishi
Studio Gonzo
Licensed by Australia New Zealand Madman Entertainment
Canada United States Funimation Entertainment
Network CBC
Original run October 15, 2011 – ongoing
Episodes 24 (List of episodes)
Manga
Last Exile - Travelers from the Hourglass
ラストエグザイル 砂時計の旅人
Written by Gonzo
Illustrated by Minoru Murao
Published by Kadokawa
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Newtype Ace
Original run 2011 – ongoing
Volumes 1
Anime and Manga Portal