Sekirei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sekirei | |
|---|---|
 Sekirei volume 1 cover. |
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| セキレイ | |
| Genre | Action, Harem, Romantic comedy |
| Manga | |
| Author | Sakurako Gokurakuin |
| Publisher |  Square Enix |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Magazine | Young Gangan |
| Original run | June 2005 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 8 (List of volumes) |
| TV anime | |
| Director | Keizō Kusakawa |
| Writer | Takao Yoshioka |
| Studio | Seven Arcs |
| Original run | July 2, 2008 – September 17, 2008 |
| Episodes | 12 (List of episodes) |
| Anime and Manga Portal | |
Sekirei (セキレイ, lit. Wagtail) is a Japanese manga series by Sakurako Gokurakuin. Originally starting serialization in the seinen magazine Young Gangan published by Square Enix in June 2005, Sekirei is an ecchi manga aimed at young men. An anime adaptation produced by Seven Arcs and directed by Keizō Kusakawa was aired in Japan between July and September 2008. The central character of the series is Minato Sahashi, a ronin who failed college examinations twice. His life changes, however, when he meets a girl named Musubi.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
In Tokyo in the year 2020, Minato Sahashi has failed the college entrance exam twice, is awkward around women, and unemployed. Growing up, he could never stand up to his mother or little sister, a trend that continues to this day. In reality, Minato is extremely intelligent, yet his inability to cope under pressure results in his constant failure. As a result he has been branded an idiot and loser by many. One day, Minato meets a girl named Musubi, who literally falls from the sky. Minato soon learns that she is one of 'Sekirei' and he is her 'Ashikabi', human with special genes that allows them to "wing" (ie. form a contract with) Sekirei. This binds the Sekirei to him and allows them to use their full power in the elimination battle with other Sekirei. Made up of cute girls, buxom women, and bishōnen, the Sekirei fight in a dangerous and sometimes deadly competition (also known as "The Game" or "Sekirei plan") organized by Minaka Hiroto, chairman and founder of the mysterious and powerful MBI Corporation. Minato soon learns that being the partner of a beautiful girl is not all fun and games, especially when he discovers that an Ashikabi can have more than one Sekirei partner - and that's where the real trouble starts.
[edit] Sekirei
The Sekirei are extraterrestrial super-powered beings with genetic code similar to humans. Sekirei spaceship had crashed at Earth and had been found in 1999 by students Minaka Hiroto (future MBI chairman) and Takami Sahashi (future MBI head researcher and Minato's mother). Onboard this pair had found 108 life-forms (described as "One pillar and 107 baby birds").[1][2]
- The first of them (a pillar, shown as #00[3], possibly later renumbered and known as #01) was an adult.
- Eight (later known as #02-06, 08-09, eighth of them is #01 or unnamed #07) were embryos.
- 99 others (later known as #10-108) were fertilized eggs.
The adult and eight embryos are also known as the Single Numbers. It is hinted, that unwinged Single Numbers are equal or even more powerful than winged others.[4] All Sekirei had undergone adjustments for "Sekirei Plan", especially the Single Numbers (some of their adjustments were mischievous). Adjustments had been undergone not only for making Sekirei stronger, but also for controlling and stabilization of their power.
Also 8 mysterious artifacts (named Jinki (神器, literally means "God vessel")[5] and numbered from #1 to #8[6]) were found on Sekirei spaceship. If all eight of them will be gathered together, it will be possible to turn off all Sekirei.[7]
[edit] Ashikabi
Ashikabi are humans with unique genes that enable them to empower Sekirei destined to serve them through an exchange of saliva between Sekirei and its Ashikabi, which is usually done through a kiss, thereby resulting in a "winged" Sekirei. Unlike Sekirei, who are mostly buxom women, or handsome young men, Ashikabi can be quite innocuous as they can appear in any gender, age, and even status. In the series, the power of an Ashikabi can be determined by the number of the Sekirei he or she has in his or her disposal, and the most powerful are often given the title based on their names followed by what part of the city they rule over
[edit] Game
The participants for the third match of stage three of the Game have been announced in the manga currently. The first anime season ended in the middle of the second stage.
- First stage: Sekirei are freed and must find their Ashikabi for winging. This stage ended when 90% of the Sekirei had been winged.
- Second stage: Tokyo becomes a closed city. No Sekirei and Ashikabi can leave. The Ashikabi must wing the remaining unwinged Sekirei.
- Third stage: The series of matches between Ashikabi. A prize for the winner of the match is one of the Jinki. Three teams (Ashikabi and up to three Sekirei) participate in the first match (also same scheme is planned for the third match). Five pairs (Ashikabi and one Sekirei) participate in the second match.
[edit] Media
[edit] Manga
Sekirei began as a manga series which started serialization in the seinen manga magazine Young Gangan in June 2005, published by Square Enix. As of February 25, 2009, eight bound volumes have been released.
[edit] Drama CD
A drama CD entitled Sekirei Original Drama CD was released on July 25, 2007 by Frontier Works.
[edit] Anime
A twelve-episode anime adaptation produced by the animation studio Seven Arcs and directed by Keizō Kusakawa, aired in Japan between July 2 and September 17, 2008. The anime is licensed by Aniplex in Japan. The anime is mostly faithful to the overall story structure of the manga series, covering roughly the first fifty chapters of the series. A key difference was when the Sekirei were found onboard, they are depicted as being fully grown upon discovery.
The opening theme is "Sekirei" (セキレイ) and main ending theme is "Dear sweet heart", both songs performed by Saori Hayami (#88 Musubi), Marina Inoue (#9 Tsukiumi), Kana Hanazawa (#108 Kusano) and Aya Endo (#2 Matsu). The ending theme used in episode eleven is "Kimi o Omou Toki" (きみを想うとき) by Hayami. The anime ended with the on-screen words "to be continued", suggesting a continuation. DVDs of the show are being released, starting from October 22, 2008[8] to March 25, 2009 with a total of six volumes.[9]
DVD volume six was supplemented with an original video animation episode, "The First Errand" (初メテノオツカイ Hajimete no Otsukai), featuring Kusano participating in the shopping race with Musubi and Tsukiumi.
[edit] References
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 69, page 5
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 71, page 7 and 11
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 69, page 4
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 72, page 7
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 75, page 7
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapters 78-80
- ^ Sekirei manga; Chapter 79, page 16
- ^ "DVD セキレイ 壱(完全生産限定版)" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.sekirei-tv.com/dvdcd/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
- ^ "DVD セキレイ 六(完全生産限定版)" (in Japanese). Aniplex. http://www.sekirei-tv.com/dvdcd/dvd6.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-26.
[edit] External links
- Manga official website (Japanese)
- Anime official website (Japanese)
- Tokyo MX official website (Japanese)
- Sekirei (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
