K (TV series)

K
Promotional artwork for the Anime, featuring several characters.
Genre	Action, Supernatural
Manga
K: Memory of Red
Written by	GoRA
Illustrated by	Yui Kuroe
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	Afiz Aja
Magazine	Aria
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	May 28, 2012 – present
Manga
K: Stray Dog Story
Written by	GoRA
Illustrated by	Yui Kuroe
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	good! Afternoon
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	November 2012 – March 2013
Anime television series
Directed by	Shingo Suzuki
Written by	GoRA
Music by	Mikio Endō
Studio	GoHands
Original network	MBS, TBS, CBC, AT-X, BS-TBS
English network	NA: Neon Alley
Original run	October 5, 2012 – December 28, 2012
Episodes	13

(also called K Project) is a 2012 anime series animated by the studio GoHands and directed by Shingo Suzuki, who also serves as character designer for the series. It began airing on MBS on October 5, 2012. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia.

A manga prequel called K: Memory of Red, drawn by Yui Kuroe has been serialized in Kodansha's Aria since May 28, 2012. Another prequel manga, K: Stray Dog Story, began running in Kodansha's good! Afternoon on November 2012. Furthermore, two light novels, called K Side:Blue and K Side:Red, were released in October and November 2012.

Plot

Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technology-advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with everyone. Nothing ever seems wrong about him, except perhaps his habit of forgetting where his school-issued PDA is. However, nothing normal has been happening since the recent murder of Tatara Totsuka, prominent member of the infamous HOMRA. No one knows who exactly killed him but the man responsible bears an uncanny, identical appearance to Yashiro. Seeking vengeance, the Red Clansmen of HOMRA set out to get Yashiro and kill him. Everyone suspects that Yashiro is the murderer. Isana Yashiro was not the person who killed Tatara Totsuka but yet another mysterious character is pulling the strings behind the curtains, a person which is quite dangerous and powerful.

Characters

Main characters

Yashiro Isana (伊佐那 社, Isana Yashiro)

Yashiro Isana Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese); Sam Riegel (English)
Adolf K. Weismann Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese); Lucien Dodge (English)

Nicknamed Shiro (白（しろ）) by his classmates; he is the leading character of the series. He is supposedly a normal high school student, until he suddenly finds himself being pursued by several factions - HOMRA, SCEPTER 4 and Kuroh Yatogami - who believe him to be the murderer of Tatara Totsuka, a member of HOMRA. He later realizes that unbeknownst to him, Totsuka had taken a video moments before his death, which clearly showed Yashiro as the culprit - even though he cannot remember performing murder at all. He later convinces Kuroh to believe him, which he does, and tries to unravel the mystery behind that murder, and the strange events that surround it in this psychic war between the Kings. Despite his silly, carefree persona, Yashiro is actually extremely clever, and manages to trick even the Blue King, Munakata, in his deceit and guile, and even manipulate Scepter 4 to his advantage using a simple phone call. In episode 11, it's revealed he is Adolf K. Weismann and the Silver King, while the "Adolf K. Weismann" which has been shown since the first episode has his original body being taken over by the Colorless King.

Kuroh Yatogami (夜刀神 狗朗, Yatogami Kuroh)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese); Matt Mercer (English)

Known as the Black Hound (黒狗, Kuroinu) as a title, Kuro (黒（くろ）) by Shiro or Kurosuke (クロスケ) by Neko, he is a highly skilled swordsman on a mission to hunt down the next "Colorless King" - whom he believes to be Yashiro - on behalf of his late King and master, Ichigen Miwa. Even though he has a cold exterior, he is a good man who allowed Shiro a chance to prove his innocence, cooked meals for him and helped around in the festival as an apparent transfer student. For the first few episodes, Kuroh was convinced through the video that Yashiro was evil as he killed Totsuka in cold blood, and sought to kill him as per his master's request. However, he agrees to give Yashiro the benefit of doubt, and now closely monitors his actions. He slowly grows attached to both Yashiro and Neko. After Shiro awakens as the Silver King, he became his clansman. At the end of episode 13, he is seen escaping with Neko in the form of a dog with a sword on his back.

Neko (ネコ, Neko)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh (English)

Neko is a Strain, and apparently exists as Shiro's pet cat. She is mischievous, playful and gives Kuroh a hard time. Though she appears to have the ability to create illusions as well as shapeshift or turn invisible at first, later it turns out that her abilities are none other than the ability of sensory interference - where she affects the senses of other human beings to perceive that their surroundings have changed, and so on. She is deeply attached to Shiro and will go to great lengths in order to keep him safe. She refers to him as "Neko's Shiro." It is later revealed she also has the ability to manipulate people's memories which is revealed she was the one who manipulated Shiro's memories into thinking that he was an ordinary high school student. After Shiro awakens as the Silver King, she became his first clansman. She actually likes Shiro but she won't tell anyone.

Homra

Mikoto Suoh

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese); Keith Silverstein (English)

The Red King (赤の王, Aka no Ō) and leader of Homra; the Third King. He was briefly held in the custody of Scepter 4, as he hoped that Scepter 4 would be able to keep his powers in check and prevent him from hurting the people he loves by accident. But he escapes after receiving a phone call from Totsuka's murderer, which he was angered into searching for. According to Kuroh, he has 'ties thicker than blood' with the members of his clan. He is much more insecure about his power than he may seem. He has known Totsuka since his high school days, and Izumo for even longer. After killing The Silver King in which has The Colorless King inside the boy's body, Mikoto allowed Munakata to stab him, knowing it was his time and hence destroying his Sword of Damocles, preventing a repeat of the Kagutsu Crater incident as the Sword came crashing down.

Izumo Kusanagi (草薙 出雲, Kusanagi Izumo)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Todd Haberkorn (English)

Homra's second in command and Mikoto's right-hand man. He is the brain of Homra. He speaks in the Kyoto dialect, and is also fluent in English. He is the owner of the Bar Homra, and is extremely protective of it. He has known Mikoto for a long time, and is one of the few who addresses him by his first name. He has a close friendship with Awashima Seri of Scepter 4, as they tend to understand each other, being in the closest position to their kings.

Misaki Yata (八田 美咲, Yata Misaki)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Ben Diskin (English)

Homra's vanguard, he is extremely skilled with a skateboard, which he wields as a weapon. His nickname is "Yatagarasu". He is impatient and passionate, and dislikes being called by his extremely feminine-sounding first name, which his ex-bestfriend Fushimi often taunts him with. Fushimi calls him a "virgin" due to his inability to speak to girls. He calls Fushimi by the nickname 'Saru', meaning "monkey". He is also rather short, and has a height complex which Fushimi never ceases to taunt him about.

Anna Kushina (櫛名 アンナ, Kushina Anna)

Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese); Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)

The youngest and only female member of Homra, she is also a Strain who dresses in gothic lolita fashion. Anna has the ability of perception using her red crystal marbles, which she forms out of her own blood. She lost her parents in an accident, and met Mikoto through her Aunt who was Mikoto's teacher at the time. She is the mascot character of Homra, and is quite emotionally attached to Mikoto. She loved Tatara's singing, and was his No.1 fan. She has a type of color blindness where she can only recognize the color red.

Tatara Totsuka (十束 多々良, Totsuka Tatara)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese); Lucien Dodge (English)

One of the first members of Homra, along with Mikoto and Izumo. He has a personality that attracts people, and he was the mood-maker of Homra. According to Izumo, he was the weakest member. He was a man of many hobbies, including bonsai, guitar, singing, filming, skateboarding and cooking. He was murdered by Shiro who was manipulated by the White Fox Spirit at that time.

Rikio Kamamoto (鎌本 力夫, Kamamoto Rikio)

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese); Grant George (English)

A blonde man who wears sunglasses and is the partner of Yata. During the winter he eats excessively and gets overweight, and loses weight in the summer. He has a soft-hearted and caring personality, and is attached to Yata, calling him "Yata-san" despite being older and taller than him, as they used to know each other as children.

Shouhei Akagi (赤城 翔平, Akagi Shouhei)

Voiced by: Saito Kanjin

A member of Homra who joined at the beginning of the prequel manga, K - Memory of Red. He is man with a generally carefree persona, and was childhood friends with Bando, who he calls "San-chan".

Saburouta Bandou (坂東 三郎太, Bandou Saburouta)

Voiced by: Junichi Yanagida

Bando is a man who wears sunglasses, who cares very much about Akagi but refuses to admit it. He is often bullied by Yata, which is played very much for laughs.

You Chitose (千歳 洋, Chitose You)

Voiced by: Kazuki Shimizu

A playboy who often sleeps around with women due to a terrible breakup which left him unable to get serious with anyone anymore. He is close friends with Dewa, much to the latter's chagrin.

Masaomi Dewa (出羽 将臣, Dewa Masaomi)

Voiced by: Akitoshi Kimura (Japanese); Lucien Dodge (English)

Dewa is a man who wears a derby hat. He is protective of Chitose, but refers to their relationship as one that is "inseparable, yet undesirable".

Eric Surt (エリック・スルト)

Voiced by: Kouji Takahashi

Eric was the "dog" of a group involved with the yakuza, "Hikawa". The group was crushed by Homra, and Eric was forced to attempt to murder Totsuka. Afterwards, he joined Homra.

Kousuke Fujishima (藤島 幸助, Fujishima Kousuke)

Fujishima was the man who found Eric lying in a dumpster, and decided to bring him back to Homra. He feels sympathy for Eric's plight, and holds great care for him.

Scepter 4

Reisi Munakata (宗像 礼司, Munakata Reishi)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English)

The Blue King (青の王, Ao no Ō) and Head of the Special Task Force Unit Scepter 4; the Fourth King. He wears glasses, and has a calm, elegant demeanor. He likes puzzles in his spare time. He is shown to be extremely worried about Mikoto's safety despite them being enemies, and was immensely frustrated by how Mikoto does not seem to appear to care about his own life at all. As a King, he is strong and powerful as he easily overwhelmed Kuroh without drawing his saber, but the full extent of his power is yet unknown. Neko nicknames him the "Boss with the Glasses".

Seri Awashima (淡島 世理, Awashima Seri)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Tara Platt (English)

Reishi's second in command and the only female member of Scepter 4. She has the relationship of bartender and customer with Izumo Kusanagi of Homra. He also gave her the nickname 'Tundra Woman'. She likes anko to such a degree that Kusanagi, Munakata and Fushimi were all visibly sickened. She is named the "Boob Woman" by Neko. Shiro made her a temporary clansman to talk to her privately. Seri is very loyal to Munakata and cares deeply about his safety.

Saruhiko Fushimi (伏見 猿比古, Fushimi Saruhiko)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese); Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

The third-in-command of Scepter 4. He is unmotivated and lazy, with a bad attitude, despite being extremely capable, much to Seri's chagrin. He has a habit of clicking his tongue. Fushimi was a former member of Homra who betrayed them to join Scepter 4 - he claims to have joined Scepter 4 to gain more power, but his reasons lie deeper than that. He considered Homra a childish group that would never amount to anything. In Episode 10, he even chides Yata by saying that although they "have special powers, all we can do is to play punks and gangsters". He was Yata's close friend since middle school and they joined Homra together. After joining, Yata became more distant from him and always chased after Mikoto with all his heart. Neko calls him the "Jerk with the Glasses".

Himori Akiyama (秋山 氷杜, Akiyama Himori)

Voiced by: Koji Takahashi (Japanese); Steve Staley (English)

Scepter 4 member with A initial.

Yuujirou Benzai (弁財 酉次郎, Benzai Yuujirou)

Voiced by: Kimura Akitoshi (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

Scepter 4 member with B initial.

Ryuho Camo (加茂 劉芳, Camo Ryuho)

Voiced by: Hirokazu Miura (Japanese); Chris Smith (English)

Scepter 4 member with C initial.

Andy Domyoji (道明寺 アンディ, Domyoji Andy)

Voiced by: Shingo Onizuka

Scepter 4 member with D initial.

Tatsuya Enomoto (榎本 竜哉, Enomoto Tatsuya)

Scepter 4 member with E initial.

Daiki Fuse (布施 大輝, Fuse Daiki)

Voiced by: Junichi Yanagita (Japanese); Grant George (English)

Scepter 4 member with F initial.

Ren Goto (五島 蓮, Goto Ren)

Voiced by: Kazuki Shimizu (Japanese); Chris Smith (English)

Scepter 4 member with G initial.

Akira Hidaka (日高 暁, Hidaka Akira)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese); Grant George (English)

Scepter 4 member with H initial.

Ashinaka High School

Kukuri Yukizome (雪染 菊理, Yukizome Kukuri)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō (Japanese); Carrie Savage (English)

She is Yashiro's friend and classmate and also a member of the student council committee. Kukuri later loses memory of meeting Shiro, Kuroh and Neko. Despite this, it seems that Kukuri did recall being friends with "someone," but could not remember Yashiro's identity. After the trio rescues Kukuri, she is manipulated by the Colorless King, and stabs Shiro in the abdomen. Whilst still being controlled, she flees from the scene. She is still able to maintain control of her personality despite being possessed. The White Fox Spirit is later freed from her body by Shiro and Kuroh. Kuroh is ordered by Shiro to take Kukuri to safety. She later wakes up in Kuroh's arms, remembering his identity along with Neko's. Though, she is unable to remember Shiro.

Sumika Inaba (因幡 澄香, Inaba Sumika)

Voiced by: Kanami Satō (Japanese); Michelle Ruff (English)

Kukuri's friend.

Souta Mishina (三科 草太, Mishina Sōta)

Voiced by: Kazuki Shimizu (Japanese); Grant George (English)

Classmate of Yashiro and Kukuri. He once confessed to Kukuri at the school's clock tower but was rejected.

Chiho Hyuuga (日向 千穂, Hyuuga Chiho)

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (Japanese); Erin Fitzgerald (English)

The student council president of Ashinaka High School.

Sakura Asama (浅間 桜, Asakura Sakuma)

Voiced by: Nozomi Yamamoto (Japanese); Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)

A member of the student council.

Other clans

Daikaku Kokujoji (國常路 大覚, Kokujoji Daikaku)

Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

The Golden King (黄金の王, Ōgon no Ō) and the Second King. He was credited for turning Japan into the world's greatest economic and techonological power. It was later revealed that he was a formal lieutenant of the Imperial Japanese Army who witnessed Weismann's experiment during World War II.

Ichigen Miwa (三輪 一言, Miwa Ichigen)

Voiced by: Shō Hayami (Japanese); Grant George (English)

He is the master of Kuroh Yatogami, as well as his father. He was formerly the Seventh and Colorless King (無色の王, Mushiki no Ō), before his death. He also formerly possessed the celebrated sword "Kotowari" before Kuroh took to possessing it.

Colorless King (無色の王, Mushiki no Ō)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara (Japanese); Sam Riegel (English)

The current Colorless King. His powers include entering the bodies of various individuals and completely take them over, being able to control their very mind. However, his body's original soul is forced to interwine with his, by switching several different bodies, he loses control of his true self. The Colorless's power is also known to affect the other Kings.

Media

Anime

See also: List of K episodes

The anime began airing on October 5, 2012. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia. It is also being streamed on VizAnime video site. The opening theme song is "KINGS" by Angela and the ending theme song is "Tsumetai Heya, Hitori" (冷たい部屋、一人) by Mikako Komatsu. Insert songs include "Circle of Friends" by Yūki Kaji and "Itsuka no Zero Kara" (いつかのゼロから) by Angela. The anime is confirmed to have a movie sequel to be released in 2014.

Light novels

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
	K SIDE : BLUE	2012/10/18	978-4062838177
Author is 古橋秀之 (GoRA), Illustrator is 鈴木信吾 (GoHands)
	K SIDE : RED	2012/11/15	978-4062838184
Author is 来楽零 (GoRA), Illustrator is 鈴木信吾 (GoHands)
	K SIDE : BLACK & WHITE	2013/5/21	978-4062838320
Author is 宮沢龍生 (GoRA), Illustrator is 鈴木信吾 (GoHands)

Manga

K Memory of Red (K-メモリー・オブ・レッド-)

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	2012/10/12	978-4063805963
001. Homra Part 1 (吠舞羅 (前編)) 002. Homra Part 2 (吠舞羅 (後編)) 003. Strange Love (ストレンジ・ラブ) 004. 005. Memory Part 2 (Memory (後編))
2	2013/3/13	978-4063806205
006. Horse sashimi panic Part 1 (馬刺しパニック (前編)) 007. Horse sashimi panic Part 2 (馬刺しパニック (後編)) 008. Rainy Day 009. Kamamoto of Summer (夏のKamamoto) 010. In the Crypt Part 1 (あなぐらの中 (前編))
3	2013/10/7	978-4063806526
011. In the Crypt Part 2 (あなぐらの中 (後編))) 012. The elegant day of King and Princess (王と姫の優雅な一日) 013. Summer Night Ghost (サマーナイトゴースト) 014. King (キング) 015. HAPPY BIRTHDAY

External links

• Official website Template:Ja icon
• K Web Radio Template:Ja icon
• Twitter accounts:

  K official account Template:Ja icon

  GoRA Template:Ja icon

• K (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia