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Hamatora
File:Hamatora The Animation Promotional Image.png
Promotional image of the Hamatora: The Animation anime.
ハマトラ
GenreAction, Mystery, Supernatural
Manga
Hamatora: The Comic
Written byYukino Kitajima
Illustrated byYū Wazu
Published byShueisha
MagazineWeekly Young Jump
DemographicSeinen
Original runNovember 2013 – present
Volumes1
Anime television series
Hamatora: The Animation
Directed bySeiji Kishi
Hiroshi Kimura
Written byTōka Machida
Jun Kumagi
Music byMakoto Yoshimori
StudioNaz
Original networkTV Tokyo, TVA, TVO, AT-X
English networkCrunchyroll
Original run January 7, 2014 – March 25, 2014
Episodes12 (List of episodes)
Video game
Hamatora: Look at Smoking World
DeveloperFuRyu
GenreRole-playing game
PlatformNintendo 3DS

Hamatora (ハマトラ, lit. "Beach Tiger") is a Japanese mixed-media project. The project began with a manga series written by Yukino Kitajima and Yūki Kodama as the character designer, while Yū Wazu is adapting the design to the illustration. The manga started serialization in Shueisha's Young Jump magazine in November 2013. An anime television series by the studio Naz premiered on TV Tokyo on January 7, 2014. Additionally, a role-playing game titled Hamatora: Look at Smoking World developed by FuRyu will be released in July 2014.

The series takes place in the year 2014 when selected humans called Minimum Holders have been discovered to possess supernatural abilities. The story focuses on Minimum Holders—Nice and Murasaki who form a detective agency called "Hamatora" based in the Nowhere Café in Yokohama. The anime series ended on March 25, 2014 with a sign that says "To Be Continued" following the credits of Episode 12.

Plot

Both manga and anime take place in the year 2014. Select humans called Minimum Holders (ミニマムホルダー, Minimamu Horudā) have been discovered to possess supernatural abilities. These people are trained in the Facultas Academy to develop their potential. The manga focuses on Nice, the top graduate from Facultas Academy who forms a detective agency called "Hamatora" alongside his assistant Hajime. The second top graduate from Facultas, Murasaki, is given the mission by his superiors to make Nice return to the academy. Realizing he will not be able to defeat Nice in combat, Murasaki decides to observe him to employ any methods to accomplish his mission.[1] Across the series, Nice's group encounters several other former members of Facultas.

During the anime, Murasaki has joined Nice and several with the Minimum Holder duo Ratio and Birthday to Hamatora now based in the Nowhere Café in Yokohama where they prefer to sit around all day with their friends and wait for clients.[2] However, when they are approached by the Police Officer Art for their help in investigating a string of serial murders throughout the city alongside the other Minimum duo Three and Honey. Nice and Murasaki reluctantly decide to involve themselves in the case when they learn of the murderer's sole target—Minimum Holders. The culprit is Moral, a former professor from the Facultas Academy who wishes to give everybody Minimums in order to achieve equalty. For this, he has to kill several Minimum Holders and use their brains as instruments to unlock the Minimums.[3]

Afterwards, Moral kills Art and starts assuming his identity to dismiss the Hamatora from the case.[4] He also reunites with his assistant Momoka to implant several of his followers with Minimums and start a riot. Momoka also leaks information from Facultas causing disturbance in society.[5] After discovering Moral took Art's face, Nice confronts him in person to get revenge for his best friend's death.[6] The two face in a ship which Moral is using to perform a terrorist attacks on non-Minimum Holders. As Nice defeats Moral, the murderer is killed by who appears to be Art who then points his gun at Nice.[7]

Characters

Hamatora

Nice (ナイス, Naisu)
Voiced by: Ryōta Ōsaka[8]
The impulsive half of the "Minimum Holder PI duo" along with his partner Murasaki. He is a former member from an academy of Minimum Holders who left it to start a life as a detective, obtaining several allies. He is constantly broke for money, partly due to the fact that he doesn't care about the cost of a job request more than what it entails. He is a bit absent minded at times with little regard for whatever situation he is immediately in such as when he tries withdrawing cash during a bank robbery with armed thieves. Despite his seemingly carefree nature, he is a genius thinker and able to quickly assess information. He always wears a set of headphones around his neck which he uses to activate his Holder ability, known as Cannon Ball (霊長類最速の一歩（キャノンボール）, Reichō-Rui Saisoku no Ippo (Kyanon Bōru)), allows him to move in sound speed. He is the top-ranked graduate of the Facultas Academy and his existence is regarded as classified information. He detests the academy due to how they judge people based on whether or not they have power and believes power should not be necessary to determine one's worth.
Murasaki (ムラサキ)
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano[8]
The rather reserved other half of the "Minimum Holder PI duo" along with his partner Nice. He is a rational thinker and unlike Nice, prioritizes the cost of a job request over content. He has a bit of an existentialist outlook on things. His Holder ability known as All or Nothing (俺達に明日はない（オール・オア・ナッシング）, Oretachi ni Ashita wa Nai (Ōru Oa Nasshingu)), is activated when he removes his glasses and greatly hardens his body. He is a prodigy who ranked second among the Facultas Academy graduates. He dislikes how Nice always manages to surpass him and wishes to defeat him once and be the superior.
Hajime (はじめ)
Voiced by: Emiri Katō[8]
A gluttonous girl who spends most of her time at the Nowhere Café. She suffers from memory loss. Her Holder ability, while unexplained, makes her a strong combatant and is said to be able to rival Nice. In the manga, she is Nice's only ally who accompanies him to all of his cases and is one of Hamatora's founders.
Koneko (コネコ)
Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno[8]
Koneko acts as Hamatora's receptionist and contract negotiator. She receives job requests which she then explains and assigns to the members of the agency.
Birthday (バースデイ, Bāsudei)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama[8], Akeno Watanabe (young)
Birthday is a Hamatora PI with a carefree personality. His demeanor sometimes gets him into trouble such as when he is wrongfully arrested by the police for a bombing while trying to impress some girls. Birthday possesses an unknown disease which nearly caused his death during his childhood. By surviving the surgery that saved him from that death, he defies Ratio's stigma and becomes friends with him. He is determined to live as long as he can because he wants to prove Ratio wrong by being alive. His Holder ability is electrical manipulation which he activates by biting the tip of a taser and blitz attacks his enemies.
Ratio (レシオ, Reshio)
Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura[8], Sanae Kobayashi (young)
Ratio is another Hamatora PI with a doctorate. He is Birthday's partner and childhood friend. His Holder ability is fastidiousness which allows him to see the structure of a person's body and use the information to determine their weak points. He wears an eye-patch over his right eye which when removed activates his Holder ability. After discerning an enemy's weak points, he then uses brass knuckles to melee them into submission. Flashbacks reveal how this ability caused a young Ratio to be distant from others as a result of foreseeing the death of people with weak health, but Birthday's promise to ruin his reputation breaks him free from that curse. As a result, Ratio is determined to protect Birthday.

Others

Art (アート, Āto)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya[8]
The superintendent of the Yokohama Police Department. Art is generally calm with a kind demeanor and possesses a strong sense of justice. He is old friends with Nice and Murasaki. Despite not being a Minimum Holder, he is a graduated from the Facultas Academy which he assisted with his late younger brother. In the case to arrest Moral, Art becomes conflicted due to his inability to produce a Minimum as well as the differences between him and Nice. Art is invited by Moral to join his cause in exchange of a Minimum as well as becoming Nice's equal, but he rejects him and is killed shortly afterwards.

In the tenth episode his body is found by Moral's assistant Momoka who talks to him. In episode twelve, Art returns via his latent Resurrection Minimum, killing Moral much to Nice's confusion who believes he is not acting like his true self.

Honey (ハニー, Hanī)
Voiced by: Eri Kitamura[8]
A genius whose Minimum is known as the "Mighty Script", which allows her to look 10 minutes into the future through a gadget she calls "Mighty". Her catchphrase is "Got you!" which she says when she finds something. Honey is also Art's acquaintance. Flashbacks reveal how Honey meet Three as a young girl and he promises to protect her life.
Three (スリー, Surī)
Voiced by: Katsuki Murase[8]
Honey's partner. His Minimum ability allows him to take on a beastly form with super strength after repenting his forthcoming actions to a bible. Despite his appearance, Three is quite carefree and often reads manga during his free time. He is also Art's teacher from the Facultas Academy. A former mercenary, Three once run an orphanage to raise the victims of those he killed so that one day they would have their revenge on him. However, an attack by an unknown group resulted in the orphanage being burned with the kids and Three getting scarred. In recovering from his shock, Three met a young Honey and promised to protect her life.
Master (マスター, Masutā)
Voiced by: Atsushi Ono[8]
The owner of the Nowhere Café. He rents out a table to Hamatora which acts as their office. He tends to show wisdom in the most unlikely of times.
Gasquet (ガスケ, Gasuke)
Voiced by: Yousuke Akimoto[8]
An officer at the Yokohama Police Department with a keen interest in researching Minimum Holders.
Mao (マオ)
Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi[8]
The local information broker of Yokohama who seems to know everything happening around the city.
Theo (セオ, Seo)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto[8]
A student at Yokohamabane High School whose cool personality made him the target of severe bullying. Despite his appearance he has low self esteem and often contemplated suicide over his bullying while relying on his teacher for support. After hiring Nice to search for him, Theo learns the teacher was behind the bullyings and becomes one of Nice's friends.
Rei (レイ)
Voiced by: Ayaka Ohashi[8]
Another student at Yokohamabane High School and Theo's friend. The death of her teacher and Theo's depression causes her to join him in requesting Hamatora's help. In the end, she and Theo become one of their friends.
Moral (モラル, Moraru)
Voiced by: Yūki Ono[8]
Moral is a graduate of the Facultas Academy and is the serial killer targeting Minimum Holders. He extracts the brains of his victims and stores them for use in creating non-innate Minimum Holders, i.e. artificially created Holders. Like a typical serial killer he possesses a severely warped mind, often personifying the physical brains of his victims, speaking to them and even going as far as to take them out for walks. His interest in researching the non-innate Minimum comes from his belief in the equality of people whereby all people should have access to Minimum abilities and hence would put an end to the stratification amongst the weak and strong in society. He is motivated by Nice whom he sees in flashbacks as an isolated person as a result of being the only strong person and wishes people become equal to him. His Transformation Minimum allows him to take on the appearance of other people. For his final showdown with Nice, he injects himself the Forbidden Minimum Holder which allows him to warp. After being overwhelmed in combat, Moral is killed by Art.
Momoka (モモカ, Momoka)
Voiced by: Megumi Ogata
Moral's ally and the owner of a flower shop. Her Minimum allows her to hack into computers and reach people whom Moral bestows Minimums. She is motivated to see the end of Moral's journey.
Takahiro Itou (伊藤 貴弘, Itou Takahiro)
Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima
A young adult who makes a deal with Moral to gain a Minimum Holder. The experiment fails and Takahiro becomes a giant berserker who wishes to fight Nice. Following his defeat, Takahiro is arrested until he is freed by Moral's group. Takahiro requests to the Hamatora a way back to regain his original which he first tries by going through a diet with Hajime. However, he then decides he will use his power to protect his mother from Minimum Holders attacking her. He is killed shortly afterwards by Moral.

Production

The anime series Hamatora: The Animation was announced in the 2013 50th issue of Shueisha's Young Jump magazine.[9] The Nintendo 3DS game titled Hamatora: Look at Smoking World was announced in December 2013. Director Shuuhou Imai Imai was inspired by the DC Comics and Marvel Universe in the making of the game and hinted at the possibility of featuring a character from Tokyo Majin Gakuen.[10]

The anime ended on March 25, 2014 with a "To Be Continued" sign. In the next day, the official Hamatora Twitter account posted that the Hamatora project was still ongoing.[11]

Media

Manga

A manga series, Hamatora: The Comic, written by Yukino Kitajima and illustrated by Yūki Kodama began serialization in Shueisha's Young Jump magazine in November 2013.[12] Its first tankōbon volume was released on February 19, 2014.[13] The series is a prequel to the anime and focuses on Nice solving cases with Hajime while Murasaki works on bringing Nice back to the Facultas Academy.

No. Release date ISBN
1 February 19, 2014[13]978-4-08-879665-9
  • 01. "That Man, Nice" (その男、ナイス, Sono Otoko, Naisu)
  • 02. "Where Did The Stray Go?" (野良はどこへいった, Nora wa Doko e Itta)
  • 03. "It's Checkmate For You" (お前はもうツんでいる, Omae wa Mō Tsundeiru)
  • 04. Toraburu wa Honoo no Iro (トラブルは炎の色)
  • 05. Totsunyū! Mafia no Yakata! (突入！マフィアの館！)
  • 06. Dotanba Gettawei (どたんばゲッタウェイ)
  • 07. Issun Saki wa Dākunesu (一寸先はダークネス)
A graduated from the Facultas Academy gets the mission of making its top graduated member Nice return to them. These Facultas students have developed supernatural abilities known as Minimums and Nice demostrates his one when capturing a pervert stalking his client during his detective business, Hamatora. Realizing he cannot defeat him in combat, Murasaki makes a bet to have Nice return to Facultas if he cannot capture one dangerous Minimum Holder. While Nice easily defeats him, his assistant Hajime takes care of another one by destroying Murasaki's car. In the next case, Nice is hired to rescue the Minimum Holder Shizuku from a group of kidnappers. For this Nice has Hajime taking care of the Yakuza, while he handles Shizuku. With Murasaki's reclutant help, Nice and Hajime succeed in saving Shizuku but are intercepted by duo known as Ratio and Birthday.
  • 08.Chainataun Wōzu (チャイナタウン・ウォーズ)
  • 09. Chīsana Kiseki (小さな奇跡)
  • 10. Sorezore no Shinnen (それぞれの信念)
  • 11.

Anime

See also: List of Hamatora: The Animation episodes

An anime adaptation titled Hamatora: The Animation was announced in the 2013 50th issue of Shueisha's Young Jump magazine.[9] The anime is produced by Naz Animation Studio of Japan and began airing on TV Tokyo on January 7, 2014 with later airings on TVA, TVO and AT-X.[14] The anime is chiefly directed by Seiji Kishi. In addition, Hiroshi Kimura is also directing the anime, along with series composers and script writers Jun Kumagai and Touko Machida. The soundtrack music is composed by Makoto Yoshimori. Character designs are done by Yū Wazu, based on the original character designs by Blood Lad's Yūki Kodama along with art direction by Fantasista Utamaro. The project was composed by Yukinori Kitajima.[15] The story is set after the events of the manga, focusing on the already formed group of detectives known as Hamatora.

The series is being simulcasted by Crunchyroll with English subtitles in North America, Australia and other select parts of the world.[16] Avex Group will begin releasing the series in Japan on Blu-ray and DVD volumes starting on April 25, 2014.[17] The opening theme is "Flat" by Livetune feat. Yūki Ozaki.[18] The ending theme is "Hikari" by Wataru Hatano.[19]

CDs

The music of the Hamatora anime is composed by Makoto Yoshimori. The Hamatora official soundtrack is set to be released on March 26, 2014.[20] Additionally, a series of "Character File" CDs are set to be released with the first two, respectively focused on Nice and Murasaki, on March 26, 2014.[21][22] Each song will explore a cast member's characterization as well as his or her relationship with other characters.[23]

There is also a radio programm titled Hamatora From Cafe Nowhere (ハマトラジオ from カフェノーウェア) where voice actors often interact.[24][25]

Video game

A Nintendo 3DS game developed by FuRyu titled Hamatora: Look at Smoking World was announced in December 2013.[26] It will be released in Japan on July 17, 2014. Directed by Shuuhou Imai, the game will resemble the Tokyo Majin Gakuen role-playing game series.[10] The combat will be turn based and will require to input different commands to execute the Minimums.[27] It will take place in the same fictional setting as both the Hamatora manga and anime but will feature a new story. It was made so that newcomers to the franchise will have access to it.[10]

Set in a port town of Kobe, the protagonist is a transfer student named Souken who awakens his own Minimum Holder and starts participating in fights against other students. Certain shopping districts were modeled after real-life areas, which the player will be able to see in stereoscopic 3D.[10] The main cast from the Hamatora anime and manga series is also set to appear in the game.[28] Preorders of the game include a Honey IC Sticker Card, that was designed using Honey’s tablet from the anime as a motif.[27]

Reception

Reactions to the first episode of Hamatora have been between mixed between positive and average. UK Anime Network called it "slick and stylish" and commented it could be one of the season's surprised whether it had a story to match it.[29] The pilot was noted for the way it connected multiple stories and its distinctive use of animations. Brad Rice from Japanator mentioned he was attracted by the show and was curious about how the characters would be portrayed.[30] Chris Beveridge from Fandom Post noted that while it had several good moments, the characters had yet to bring an impact to him.[31] Multiple writers from Anime News Network showed several opinions about the series' first episode which went from positive to one simply saying he did not care about it.[32]

Voice actor Hatano Wataru has commented on the series. He mentioned commented that while it has its share of comedy, there is also drama in some parts of the story that could result in the viewer becoming emotional. He compared the series with a festival due to the viewer's feelings. He added "The story will be followed with that feeling, what end will be met the complex case interwined." His single "Hikari" was compared with the series by the actor himself based on the lyrics that talk about a "small miracle."[23]

References

  1. ^ Kitajima, Yukino (2014). "Chapter 1". Hamatora. Vol. 1. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-879665-9.
  2. ^ "File 01: Egg of Columbus". Hamatora: The Animation. January 7, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "File 03: Those With and Those Without". Hamatora: The Animation. January 21, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "File 08: The Blood-Soaked Bitter Melon". Hamatora: The Animation. February 25, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "File 10: March of the Weak". Hamatora: The Animation. March 11, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "File 11: Flight of the Victor". Hamatora: The Animation. March 18, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "File 12: Resolve (Ego)". Hamatora: The Animation. March 25, 2014. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |studio= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Characters". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Hamatora TV Anime Slated for Winter". Anime News Network. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  10. ^ a b c d "Tokyo Majin Gakuen Director's New Nintendo 3DS Game Sounds Pretty Great". Siliconera. March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  11. ^ "Hamatora Project "To Be Continued"". Anime News Network. March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  12. ^ "Blood Lad's Kodama, 428's Kitajima Make Hamatora Anime, Manga, Game". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "ハマトラ　THE　COMIC 1" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  14. ^ "TVアニメ「ハマトラ」公式サイト On air". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  15. ^ "TVアニメ「ハマトラ」公式サイト Staff". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  16. ^ Macias, Patrick (December 31, 2013). "Crunchyroll Adds "Hamatora" Anime to Streaming Lineup". Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  17. ^ "TVアニメ「ハマトラ」公式サイト Blu-ray & DVD & CD". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  18. ^ "Blood Lad's Kodama, 428's Kitajima Preview Hamatora Anime in 3rd Video". Anime News Network. December 25, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  19. ^ "TVアニメ「ハマトラ」公式サイト CD". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  20. ^ "オリジナルサウンドトラック". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  21. ^ "キャラクターソング". Naz (in Japanese). Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  22. ^ ""Hamatora (Anime)" Character File Series file 2 Murasaki". CDJapan. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  23. ^ a b "羽多野渉さんが『Hikari』発売記念「ちょっと早いホワイトデー 購入者全員お渡し会」を開催！　イベントレポ&インタビューをお届け！". Animate. March 16, 2014.
  24. ^ "番組紹介：ハマトラジオ from カフェノーウェア" (in Japanese). Hibiki Radio. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  25. ^ "http://www.animate.tv/radio/details.php?id=hamatoradio" (in Japanese). Animate. Retrieved March 29, 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  26. ^ Luster, Joseph (December 31, 2013). ""Hamatora: Look at Smoking World" Revealed for Nintendo 3DS". Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  27. ^ a b "Hamatora: Look at Smoking World Has A Town To Explore, Turn-Based Battles". March 21, 2014.
  28. ^ "Hamatora: Look at Smoking World 3DS Game Commercial Streamed". Anime News Network. March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  29. ^ "Winter 2014 anime preview - Page 2". UK Anime Network. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  30. ^ Rice, Brad (January 23, 2014). "First Impressions: Hamatora". Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  31. ^ Beveridge, Chris (January 9, 2014). "Hamatora Episode #01 Anime Review". Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  32. ^ "The Winter 2014 Anime Preview Guide Hamatora". January 7, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
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