Η τηλεορασή μου...αγαπημένα anime...

Paradise Kiss

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paradise Kiss (パラダイス・キス, Paradaisu Kisu^?), abbreviated to "ParaKiss",^[1] is a manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. It appeared as a serial in the Japanese manga magazine Zipper. Shodensha collected the chapters into five volumes. The series has also been adapted into a 12 episode anime series, produced by Aniplex and Studio Madhouse, and which was aired in Japan on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block and on the anime television network, Animax, who have broadcast the series across its respective networks worldwide, including Japan, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

This comic and anime are widely popular not only in Japan, but in many countries around the world. The Paradise Kiss manga and anime has been translated and dubbed or subtitled from Japanese to at least ten different languages, Vietnamese, Chinese (Taiwan), Korean, French, Italian, Polish, Thai, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese (Hong Kong) and English. The English version is published by Tokyopop.

Paradise Kiss is the sequel to her previous work, Gokinjo Monogatari, which has not yet been published in English. However, Paradise Kiss is a stand-alone sequel because only three of the supporting characters are featured, and only as small children. Some of the main characters from Gokinjo Monogatari also make appearances throughout Paradise Kiss.

Πηγή απο http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Kiss

Sacred Seven

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

セイクリッドセブン(Seikuriddo Sebun)GenreDirected byWritten byStudioLicensed byNetworkOriginal runEpisodes

Sacred Seven

Action, Science fiction

TV anime

Yoshimitsu Ohashi

Shin Yoshida

Sunrise

Bandai Entertainment

MBS, TV Kanagawa, TV Aichi, Tokyo MX, Teletama

July 3, 2011 – September 18, 2011

12

Anime and Manga Portal

Sacred Seven (セイクリッドセブン, Seikuriddo Sebun^?), is a 2011 Japanese science fiction anime television series produced by Sunrise under the direction of Yoshimitsu Ohashi. Script supervisor is Shin Yoshida with mechanical designs by Ippei Gyōbu.^[1] The series began broadcasting in Japan starting July 3, 2011 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and later will be rebroadcast by TV Kanagawa, TV Aichi, Tokyo MX, and Teletama.

Plot

Alma Tandouji lives a lonely and solitary life in a certain port city within the Kantou region. One day, he is approached by Aiba Ruri who asks for his help, for the power of the Sacred Seven which resides within Alma. However, Alma turns her away. In the past, Alma had hurt people with that power. Since that moment, he had foresworn it. But when the peaceful city is attacked by a monster, Alma reluctantly decides to use the Sacred Seven. However, his powers go berserk and the situation becomes even more dire. At that moment, Ruri comes to his aid by inserting a sacred stone made using her jewel necklace and transform him to his true form.

Characters


Alma Tandouji (丹童子 アルマ, Tandouji Aruma^?)
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima
The main protagonist of Sacred Seven. He was born with the power of Sacred Seven from his mother's exposure. A few years ago before the series, he lost control of his powers and harmed a lot of people. Hence, the reason he lives in solitude. Alma can only control his true powers if Ruri inserts a special Lightstone in him. He has access to all seven powers (hence the meaning Sacred Seven) it has also been stated that he has the highest level of Sacred Seven that even surpasses Kijima. Alma used to have a crystal that belonged to his mother that was supposed to suppress his powers, but it was thrown into the river by a bully which caused the incident. He has been looking for it ever since, hence developed a habit of looking for rocks. He became a member of the Geology Club at the same time Kagami and Ruri did. In episode 11, it was revealed that Kenmi caused the incident to test Alma's powers. Also the revelation that he met Ruri when he was little and realizes how important she is to him.


Ruri Aiba (藍羽ルリ, Aiba Ruri^?)
Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima
Another main character of Sacred Seven. She is the daughter of a billionaire noble family who were killed by a Darkstone. She created Aiba Foundation to combat against the Darkstones. She is a Lightstone that has the ability to turn a gem into a Lightstone and insert it into Alma to control his true powers. She became chairman of Alma's school (where she heavily renovated the school) and a member of the Geology Club to keep in contact with Alma. She has a twin sister named Aoi who also survived the Darkstone aftermath, but was crystallized. Her whole foundation is occupied with all female maids. She has feelings for Alma which is shown throughout the series.


Aoi Aiba (藍羽葵, Aiba Aoi^?)
Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi
Ruri's sister, she had protected herself with a Crystal like stone when Kenmi killed her parents, since then she had been sleeping inside this crystal. It seems she has feelings for Kagami. In episode 12 she is shown her waking up and alive.


Makoto Kagami (鏡誠, Kagami Makoto^?)
Voiced by: Miyu Irino
Ruri's personal butler and field commander for the Aiba Foundation. At 18, he graduated from Harvard and is enrolled in Alma's school for his convenience. He became class president and a member of the Geology Club when he enrolled. He has his own personal mech to fight Darkstones.


Wakana
Voiced by: Kanae Itō
A childhood friend of Alma after the incident. She is the only person that is not afraid of Alma despite the rumors. She's the head of the Geology Club. She has an obsession of finding good rocks, a trait that she passed on to Alma.


Naito Kijima
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto
He is the main rival and sub-antagonist of Alma. He is the same being as Alma except that he overuses his power, causing his condition deteriorate unless it is treated with a vaccine. He can alter objects around his surroundings and Darkstones into his weapons. He truly wants to be free even if he has to fight the Aiba Foundation for it. He has a bitter grudge against his former superior, Kenmi. He considers Alma as a higher class than himself. His companion, Fei, takes care of him.


Fei
Voiced by: Iori Nomizu
Another lightstone like Ruri who escaped with Kijima from Kenmi. She uses her blood to create vaccines for Kijima due to his overuse of powers. She had a brother name Zero who lost control of himself until she and Kijima saved him in episode 11 until he was killed by Kenmi. Last scene of episode 11 her eyes change into pure red (power yet unknown).


Doctor Kenmi
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
The main antagonist of the series. He is a scientist for a private organization, Kenmi Group, that researches the capabilities of Sacred Seven. He was the one that experimented on Naito and was his former superior. He created a way to utilize the Sacred Seven power with an artificial crystal, however its powers are limited. After Alma and Ruri's confrontation with Naito, it is revealed that he performing illegal experiments on humans with the Seven's powers in secret. In episode 11, it was revealed that he caused the incident with Alma. With Zero's lightstone, he was able become stronger. His armor is called Cyclops.


Arakune (also known as
SP)
Voiced by: Ai Takabe
Kenmi's personal secretary and possesses an artificial crystal to transform into an armor called Rabbit. She has a tendency to complain due to her lackadaisical nature and behaves in a manner akin to a child, however she is a very skilled operative. This is demonstrated aptly in her encounters with Naito, who she has fought to standstill on two separate occasions.


Zero (Real Name
Hung Lau)
Voiced by:
Fei's older brother and another Darkstone victim of Kenmi. He was the one responsible for the death of Ruri's parents and Kagami Sr. Kenmi altered body with armor and try to control his mind, which was unsuccessful at points. In episode 11, Fei cured him, only to be killed by Kenmi.

Πηγή απο http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Seven

Aishiteruze Baby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

愛してるぜ ベイベ★★(Aishiteruze Beibe★★)GenreWritten byPublished byEnglish publisherDemographicMagazineOriginal runVolumesDirected byStudioNetworkOriginal runEpisodes

Aishiteruze Baby

Cover of Japanese volume 1

Slice of life story, Romance, Drama

Manga

Yōko Maki

Shueisha

Viz Media

Shōjo

Ribon

April 2002 – January 2005

7

TV anime

Masaharu Okuwaki

TMS Entertainment

Animax

3 April 2004 – 9 October 2004

26

Anime and Manga Portal

Aishiteruze Baby (愛してるぜ ベイベ★★, Aishiteruze Beibe★★^?, also known as I Love You, Baby) is a shōjo romance manga by Yoko Maki. It was serialized by Shueisha in Ribon from April 2002 and January 2005 and collected in seven bound volumes. It was adapted as a 26-episode anime television series produced by TMS Entertainment and Animax, broadcast in Japan on Animax from April to October 2004. The series is about a teenage boy, Kippei, who becomes the caretaker of his 5-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu, after her mother abandons her. Both the manga and anime have been praised for successfully mixing serious issues with a light-hearted tone.

Plot

Aishiteruze Baby is a shōjo manga series that revolves around the life of Kippei, a popular high-school playboy who flirts with any girl he sees, without thinking about their feelings. His life is turned upside down when one day his aunt abandons his five-year-old cousin Yuzuyu at his house. Kippei is assigned the task of taking care of Yuzuyu for the time being, and he must learn how to become the "mother" she needs. As Kippei learns how to care for Yuzuyu, he also learns to care for Kokoro, a quiet girl at his school, who helps him out.

In Japanese, aishiteru ze (愛してるぜ^?) is a casual, masculine way of saying "I love you" (see Gender differences in spoken Japanese).

Characters



Kippei Katakura (片倉 結平, Katakura Kippei^?)
Kippei is a 17 year old promiscuous high school student, well-known for his playboy habits. However, due to his friendly personality, he is very popular at school. One day, his 5-year-old cousin, Yuzuyu, is suddenly placed in his care. At first, Kippei is unsure of how to take care of his cousin. When he realizes that taking care of Yuzuyu is a full time job, he drops his promiscuous ways. As the story progresses, Kippei matures quickly into a responsible "parent", making sure Yuzuyu is his top priority. Not only does Kippei wake up early everyday to make Yuzuyu lunch, he walks her to and from her preschool. In addition, he cares for Yuzuyu's psychological well-being due to the absence of her mother. Meanwhile, Kippei also pursues his love interest, Tokunaga Kokoro, whom he finds to be a great woman. Eventually, Kippei, realizing how lonely Kokoro is living by herself, asks his family for her to move in with them, to which they quickly agree. Near the end of the series, Yuzuyu's mother returns to bring Yuzuyu back. Despite his attachment to Yuzuyu, Kippei understands that she needs her mother and reluctantly says goodbye. At the end of volume seven, years have passed and Kokoro is still living with Kippei. The manga ends with Yuzuyu's letter to Kippei, thanking him for taking care of her when she was young. Voiced by: Daisuke Fujita

Yuzuyu Sakashita (坂下 ゆずゆ, Sakashita Yuzuyu^?)
Yuzuyu ("Yuzu" for short) is a bubbly little 5-year-old girl. Having been abandoned by her mother, Yuzuyu begins to adapt to her new life with Kippei. As the story progresses, Yuzuyu grows very attached to Kippei and becomes overprotective of him. When Yuzuyu met Kokoro, she is scared Kokoro will take Kippei away from her. However, she eventually warms up to Kokoro and they become friends. Throughout the series, Yuzuyu struggles with the absence of her mother and is often seen crying to sleep. Yuzuyu tries her best in hopes that her mother will one day come back for her. This conflicts with her wish to stay with Kippei. At the end of volume seven, Yuzuyu is a happy teenager who has reunited with her childhood friend, Shouta. Voiced by: Miyū Tsuzurahara

Kokoro Tokunaga (徳永 心, Tokunaga Kokoro^?)
Kokoro is a pretty classmate of Kippei. Because she lost her mother at a young age, she has a quiet personality. Her father quickly remarried and left Kokoro to fend for herself in a luxurious apartment. Unfortunately, she felt extremely lonely living by herself with no one to rely on. Kokoro initially despises Kippei for his promiscuous ways. However, after seeing how gentle he is and how much he cares for Yuzuyu, Kokoro begins to fall in love with him. Kokoro sympathizes with Yuzuyu and understands Kippei's responsibility for Yuzuyu. As such, she lets him get away with a lot of idiotic behaviors. At the end of volume six, Kokoro has a brief moment where she believes she's pregnant, only to find out that it was a false alarm. However, she admits to Kippei that she had hoped she was because it would meant that she would be able to spend more time with him. Soon after, Kokoro moves in with Kippei's family. At the end of the manga, it is presumed that Kokoro and Kippei got married and are still living under the same roof. Voiced by: Fumina Hara

Misako Katakura (片倉 三沙子, Katakura Misako^?)
Kippei's mother. She is a school crossing guard, among other things. She taught Kippei how to make onigiri (rice-balls). She is the older sister of Aunt Miyako.

Reiko Katakura (片倉 鈴子, Katakura Reiko^?)
Nee-chan (or "Sis" in the English version) is the bold and controlling sister of Kippei. She is a cosmetologist and everyone in Kippei's family follows her orders. Yet there is a secret nee-chan has been keeping to herself: that she cannot have any children. She is known for her stylish outfits and nails. Voiced by: Kumiko Endou

Miyako Sakashita (坂下 都, Sakashita Miyako^?)
Yuzuyu's mother. Her husband had died recently and taking care of Yuzuyu by herself was more than she could handle. She admits to Kippei that she once struck Yuzuyu and it is inferred that this is what caused her to leave. She says she intends to come back once she can be a better, more proper mother to Yuzuyu. She does take care of Yuzuyu in the end of the manga. She is the younger sister of Misako.

Satsuki Katakura (片倉 皐, Katakura Satsuki^?)
Satsuki is Kippei's 12-year-old brother. He is 156 cm tall. He seems emotionless and very smart, as well as a bit weird. He doesn't really like children, but gets along well with Yuzuyu. He gets a girlfriend, Ayumi, near the end of the story. Voiced by: Masami Suzuki

Aki Kagami (鏡 亜希, Kagami Aki^?) and Mai Motoki (元木 舞, Motoki Mai^?)
Kokoro's friends. They usually show a bitter attitude towards Kippei and don't approve much of Kokoro and Kippei's relationship. Especially Aki. But in reality they just really want what is best for Kokoro. Aki is in love with Shin. Voiced by: Maki Saitō (Aki) and Fuyuka Ōura (Mai)

Shouta
One of Yuzuyu's best friends and her first love. Kippei is unhappy that Yuzuyu has a crush on him. When Shouta first meets Yuzuyu, the two become instant friends and begin to do everything together. Shouta loves his family dearly, however he was abused by his mother for sometime. When Yuzuyu witnessed Shouta being hit, she began to cry and scream and the entire preschool as well as the parents found out about him and his mother. Kippei is greatly affected by Shouta's being abused and tries to help by talking to the child's mother. After receiving a concussion from his mother, which results in a trip to the hospital, his parents decide to go into family counseling and move in with Shouta's grandparents for more support. When he leaves, he promises Yuzuyu that he will always be her friend. While separated, they contact each other with many letters so that their friendship will never end. Eventually he and Yuzuyu meet again as teenagers.

Miki Sakashita (坂下 ミキ, Sakashita Miki^?)
Miki is Yuzuyu's 14 year old cousin from her father's side. Volume 4 of the manga is mostly Miki's story. In the manga, she holds a knife, in the anime it was changed to a bike-chain. Miki attended a prestigious school. She witnessed her teacher beating up a boy. When she told on her teacher, everything backfired. She was harassed by her peers and teacher, but refused to tell her parents. She tried to take Yuzuyu away from the Katakura residence in order to replace herself, then attempt suicide. (In the anime she intends to jump from a building, in the manga she uses a knife.) In the end, everything is resolved with her and her parents. From the scars and burns on her wrists, it is obvious that Miki self-harmed herself (though this has likely stopped since most of her issues have been resolved.) She appears again in Volume 6. Voiced by: Mika Itō

Marika (まりか^?) and Ken (健^?)
Yuzuyu's friends from preschool. Marika can be quite stuck-up for a five-year-old and has a big crush on Kippei, often asking who girls he shows up at the pre-school with are. Ken is kind and strong. They are all good friends.Voiced by: Aoi Yabusaki (Marika) and Yuutaro Motoshiro (Ken)

Shin Tabata (田端 芯, Tabata Shin^?)
Kippei's friend and classmate. He and Aki have feelings for each other. Voiced by: Makoto Ueki

Natsumi (ナッツ, Natsumi^?)
A former "girlfriend" (more a "friends with benefits" since there is evidence that they have had sexual intercourse in the past) of Kippei. Natsu has strong feelings for Kippei and misses the way he was before he became responsible. Despite this though, she is not a major threat to Kokoro. Natsumi seems to fall in love easily. Her nickname is "Natsu". Voiced by: Akiko Kawase

Aya Oga (大賀 綾, Ōga Aya^?) and Akari Oga (大賀 あかり, Ōga Akari^?)
Akari and Aya are more or less in the same position as Kippei and Yuzuyu -- Aya and Akari's parents work all day forcing Akari to take care of her sister, who is Yuzuyu's classmate and friend. Akari is Kippei's classmate. Akari confiding in Kippei, among other things, results in trouble. They only appear in the manga series but not in the anime series. Voiced by: Koumi Yoshida (Aya)

Ayumi Kubota (久保田 あゆみ, Kubota Ayumi^?)
Ayumi is Satsuki's classmate and works part-time as a model. She is 160 centimeters tall, four centimeters taller than Satsuki. She is secretly in love with him. Due to various rumors around the school, Ayumi begins to hate herself because she seems to possess traits that Satsuki is rumored to dislike. However, after confessing her love to him, Satsuki tells her that he does not mind any of her traits. She is seen eating dinner at the Katakura house and is presumed to be Satsuki's girlfriend. Voiced by: Saeko Chiba

Itagaki
Itagaki is from Kippei's school and has a crush on Kokoro. He confesses his love to her and even forces a kiss on her. Kokoro later becomes scared and afraid of people touching her even Kippei. Eventually during the School Trip everything is resolved and Itagaki is threatened by Kippei,"Anyway, with regards to Kokoro-Chan, don't bother her anymore! But if something happens again... I will kill you!" After this Itagaki no longer appears in the manga.
Πηγή απο http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aishiteruze_Baby

Diamond daydreams or Kita e-

Diamond Dustdrops

Story


The story is about six different girls from different lifestyles living on Hokkaidō in Japan. They each live in a different city on the island. Each girl believes in a myth of snow turning into diamond dust, and if one makes a wish on the diamond dust, their wish is 100% guaranteed to come true. Another myth about diamond dust is that if a boy and girl meet under the dust, they're guaranteed happiness and marriage later in life. Each of the six girls have some stubborn moments and awkward stages in their lives, but looking into themselves and others will help them get back on their feet. When these six girls meet, their lives will change dramatically for the better as the snow begins to fall.

Characters


Atsuko Akanegi (茜木温子, Akanegi Atsuko^?)
Voiced by: Eriko Ishihara (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English)
Atsuko is Hakodate-born and Hakodate-bred. She lives inside a food store with her mother. The store and the family are deep in debt, and to resolve their financial problems her mother tries to urge Atsuko into an arranged marriage with a wealthy yet friendly boy her own age named Minoru Jinguji. Atsuko is conflicted by her feelings for an older man, Kenji Kurata, who is a local musician.

When her mother tries to force her into the marriage, Atsuko runs away to Kurata. He helps Atsuko out, and talks to her about her situation without taking advantage of her. At the end she realizes that she may have feelings for Minoru - she just doesn't want to be forced into marriage.

Karin Shiraishi (白石果鈴, Shiraishi Karin^?)
Voiced by: Hiroko Takahashi (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English)
Karin is stricken with pneumothorax and lives mostly in the hospital. Her big brother Mitsuru comes by occasionally from college to help cheer her up. She has her own laptop which she is only supposed to use for two hours a day, though she sneaks on at night. Karin has her own homepage were she occasionally updates and writes about her dreams.

A new young doctor named Amakasu says that Karin is a spoiled princess, causing Karin to lose her temper. In truth, Karin is scared to have an operation because her father died during surgery. She gets e-mails from someone named "Your Fan" who encourages her to stay strong. Karin speculates that Dr. Amakasu is sending her the e-mails and attached photos of Hokkaidō, and Karin finds herself falling in love with Dr. Amakasu.

She later finds out that Nurse Yuki and Dr. Amakasu have been seeing each other since high school, and Yuki was the one sending her the e-mails. Her intentions were trying to open up to Karin and convincing her to go through operation. A few days afterwards, Karin's brother is sent to the hospital when he falls unconscious at work. Her brother had been overworking himself trying to help their mother pay the massive hospitalization fees. Karin realizes that she is spoiled, and decides to go through with the operation if Dr. Amakasu will watch over her.

Kyouko Asahina (朝比奈京子, Asahina Kyouko^?)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Kaytha Coker (English)
Kyouko is a young filmmaker who loves to capture life's moments on film. Her closest friends and fellow colleagues begin to worry about Kyouko's obsession with perfection, and it causes major conflicts. However, Kyouko's willing to sacrifice everything to achieve the perfect picture.

Kyouko tells a story about a girl named Charinka who forsaken Yoshitsune while living on an island, but when Yoshitsune leaves the island, Charinka regretted her cold-heartedness - too late. Kyouko says that Charinka got what she deserved.

After her pride causes her to isolate herself even from the person she loves, Kyouko learns the hard way that the people who care about you are more important than winning.

Suomi Kitano (北野スオミ, Kitano Suomi^?)
Voiced by: Mayu Amase (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
Suomi loves ice skating and is a natural performer. When Suomi was young, she and her friend Hanna Janinen made a promise to each other. Now that she's grown up, she hopes to fulfill her promise. Suomi was chosen to be part of Finland's figure skating team, but Hanna accidentally bumped into her causing Suomi to injure her leg, causing rumors that Hanna did it on purpose and it earned her the moniker of "The Cold-Hearted Queen of the Ice". Because of that, Hanna blamed Suomi. Suomi almost gave up skating until she meets a young boy named Haruto who is also an ice skater and had a similar fallout with his best friend Kuda. Now, Suomi hopes to get back into ice skating and complete her promise with Hanna.

Shouko Saibara (催馬楽笙子, Saibara Shouko^?)
Voiced by: Urara Takano (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)
Shouko hosts a radio talk show in Sapporo called "Cappuccino Break" where she discusses romantic issues with her audience. Every love story Shoko hears is fuel for her talk show. Secretly, Shouko is dating her closest friend Takeda whom she loves, but Takeda is already married with a wife and daughter and warns Shouko not to make unexpected scenes. Elsewhere, Shouko receives gifts from someone called "Radio Boy", which gets the production staff worried that Shouko might have a potential stalker after her. When a woman calls in to the show about her heartaches with a married man, Shouko breaks down and says on the air that she wants to give up. Her fans call and come in to support her, showing her that she's not as alone as she thinks.

Akari Harada (原田明理, Harada Akari^?)
Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Kelli Cousins (English)
Akari has lived with her father ever since her mother died. Most of the time, her father drinks a lot of alcohol to ease the pain of losing his wife. He's also unsuccessful in trying to pan for gold dust. Akari is a hard worker at Ryuon Confectioneries to support them both, and does most of the work in her house because her father is too weak and depressed to help. Akari also has run-ins with Kurokawa, a former coworker who has trouble expressing his feelings for her.

Suddenly, her father becomes very ill with brain cancer. The doctor mentioned to Akari that her father was diagnosed with brain cancer six months ago and was recommended to go to a university hospital that had the proper equipment. As of now, it would be impossible for the surgeons to operate on his tumor. To help ease his pain she goes with her father to the river one last time to pan for gold dust, with Kurokawa's help. Kurokawa has trouble committing himself to the work he loves, but during the trip Akari's father helps him see that he should follow his passions.
Πηγή απο http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kita_e

Blue Exorcist or Ao no Exorcist

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

青の祓魔師(Ao no Ekusoshisuto)GenreWritten byPublished byEnglish publisherDemographicMagazineOriginal runVolumesDirected byProduced byWritten byMusic byStudioLicensed byNetworkOriginal runEpisodes

Blue Exorcist

The cover of 'Blue Exorcist' volume 1 as published by Shueisha

Action, Supernatural, Comedy

Manga

Kazue Kato (加藤和恵, Katō Kazue?)

Shueisha

Viz Media

Shōnen

Jump Square

April 2009 – ongoing

7 (List of volumes)

TV anime

Tensai Okamura

Hiro Maruyama

Ryōta Yamaguchi

Hiroyuki Sawano

A-1 Pictures

Aniplex of America

TBS, MBS

April 17, 2011 – October 2, 2011

25 (List of episodes)

Anime and Manga Portal

Blue Exorcist (青の祓魔師（エクソシスト）, Ao no Ekusoshisuto^?, Ao no Exorcist) is a manga written and illustrated by Kazue Kato. The manga has been serialized in Jump Square magazine by Shueisha since April 2009, with individual chapters collected into six tankōbon volumes as of April 4, 2011.^[1] The one-shot of the manga was first featured in the September 2008 issue of Jump Square and was titled Miyamauguisu House Case (深山鶯邸事件, Miyamauguisu-tei Jiken^?).^[2] As of December 17, 2011, 30 chapters have been released in Japan. It was adapted into an anime television series and it will be adapted into an anime film.^[3]

Viz Media has licensed the manga for North American production, with the first volume released in April 5, 2011 and the fifth volume scheduled for release in December 6, 2011. The North American book distributor Simon & Schuster listed the first volume of Kazue Kato's Blue Exorcist manga for release by Viz Media this April 2011.

Plot

The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager possessing abnormal strength and endurance who, along with his younger twin brother Yukio, was raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto. Soon after Yukio departs to study at the prestigious True Cross Academy, Rin learns that he is the son of Satan, the strongest of all demons. Witnessing Shiro dying to protect him, Rin ends up doing what his guardian asked him never to do: draw the demon-slaying blade Kurikara, which restrains his demonic powers, from its scabbard. From that moment on, Rin not only gains permanent demonic features like fangs, pointed ears and a tail, but also the power to ignite himself into blue flames that can destroy anything they touch.

At Shiro's funeral, Rin has an encounter with Mephisto Pheles, who agrees with Rin's wish to become an Exorcist like his guardian to become stronger and to defeat Satan (not to get confused with revenge for Rin has explained himself in one of the episodes and chapter). Rin enrolls at the True Cross Academy, which is actually the Japanese branch of an international organization dedicated to protect the human realm, Assiah, from demons and other creatures from the demon realm, Gehenna. Rin takes part in a special Exorcist course, the existence of which is known only by a few. Much to his surprise, he finds that his brother Yukio is already a veteran Exorcist and will be one of his teachers.

Characters

Main characters





The main characters of Blue Exorcist
Clockwise from center front: Rin, Yukio, Konekomaru, Shura, Izumo, Suguro, Mephisto, Renzo and Shiemi.


Rin Okumura (奥村 燐, Okumura Rin^?)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto
The fifteen-year-old protagonist of the story, Rin is the son of Satan born from a human woman and is the inheritor of Satan's powers. His powers were sealed at birth into the demon-slaying blade Kurikara by Mephisto Pheles the True Cross Academy principal, allowing him to live a normal human life for about 15 years. Rin became aware of his true identity after Kurikara could no longer seal the blue flames he inherited from Satan, setting off a chain of events that led to the death of Shiro at the hands of Satan, who attempted to drag Rin back to the demon realm, Gehenna. Mephisto Pheles confronted Rin after Shiro's funeral with several exorcists, giving Rin the option to kill them all or die. Rin instead demanded to become an exorcist, an idea that amused Mephisto. Rin was then enrolled personally by Mephisto into the True Cross Academy, where he has since been pursuing his goal to become a Paladin and to defeat Satan. He is currently an Exwire and attempting to gain the title of Meister as a "Knight".

Rin can access the power he has inherited from Satan through drawing Kurikara. The sheath acts as a portal to Gehenna, which, when the blade is drawn, returns Rin to his demon form. While in his human form, Rin exhibits a number of physical traits that are signs of his demonic nature, such as sharp canines, slightly pointed ears, and a black, fur-tufted tail (which he keeps hidden in his shirt). In his demon form, Rin gains two horns as blue flames that float above his head, long elf-like ears, and his pupils turn red while his irises remain bright blue. In both forms, Rin can control incredibly destructive bright blue flames, the trademark sign of anything related to Satan. However, when he draws Kurikara, the magnitude of the flames dramatically increases and often leads to Rin being "consumed" by his own flames and losing his mind. Rin also has a Cat Sith, Kuro, who was initially Shiro's, as his familiar. Rin has been shown to have a talent for cooking, notably due to the fact that he had started cooking at the young age of 6.

Yukio Okumura (奥村 雪男, Okumura Yukio^?)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Rin's younger twin brother. When it was discovered that the woman impregnated by Satan was going to have twins, it was believed that Satan's powers would be split between them. Due to the weakness of Yukio's body, however, he did not inherit any of Satan's powers, thus being born fully human with the full extent of Satan's powers going to Rin. Yukio did, however, receive a spirit wound at birth from his brother, which allowed him to be aware of demons for as long as he can remember. Yukio secretly trained to become an Exorcist from the age of seven in order to protect Rin (through the help of Fujimoto). While both Yukio and Rin are in their first year at True Cross Academy, Yukio is already an instructor at the Exorcist cram school teaching Anti-Demon Pharmacology to Rin's class.

It is often stated that Yukio is a moreion, having already acquired the title "Meister" in both the Dragoon and Doctor class, while ordinarily most people would aim for Meister in only one class (both are still fully qualified exorcists). He is currently ranked a Middle First class exorcist. Even though he and Rin argue a lot, Yukio truly cares about his brother. Fearing Rin will be consumed by his demonic nature, Yukio often berates him for his impulsive actions and reckless attitude. He is referred to as "Mr. Moles-and-Glasses" "Spotty Four-eyes/Moley Four-eyes" by Rin and "Four-eyed wimp" by Shura.
Later on in the anime, he becomes a demon (as well as being possessed by Satan himself) just like his brother which is later hinted in the manga.


Mephisto Pheles (メフィスト・フェレス, Mefisuto Feresu^?)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya
Mephisto is the Chairman of True Cross Academy's Japanese branch. He is portrayed as a man with more money than sense but is very cheap when it comes to spending on others. After Fujimoto's death, he was ordered to kill Rin but instead accepted Rin's proposal of becoming an Exorcist and enrolled him into True Cross Academy. Mephisto is a powerful exorcist (holds a Meister in Honorary Knight, was able to subdue Amaimon while holding a berserk Rin off) and claims that he desires to "bring peace to both Assiah and Gehenna". Despite having served the True Cross for at least two centuries, elements of the Order still consider him suspicious.
It is known throughout the series that Mephisto is the son of Satan along with his brother, the Earth King, Amaimon and in episode 5, he referred to Rin as his little brother. He possesses the unique and peculiar ability of transforming into a small dog and conjure a giant cuckoo clock and other, which could imply that his abilities are Sorcery. He goes by the name Johann Faust the Fifth in public, a further pun on the play Faust. Also, his name is very similar to Mephistopheles.

Ryuji Suguro (勝呂 竜士, Suguro Ryūji^?)
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai
Ryuji (nicknamed "Bon") is a stubborn and hot-tempered individual. Despite his delinquent appearance (blonde streak in his naturally black hair, piercings) and attitude, he is very hardworking and the best student in class. Ryuji is the heir to the Cursed Temple in Kyoto. Because of the destruction of the temple in the Blue Night and his anger towards his father Tatsuma Suguro, he swears he will defeat Satan (a goal he claims Rin stole from him) and rebuild his Temple. When Rin's identity was revealed, he refused to speak with him at all. After a confrontation with his father and Rin, Ryuji and his classmates helped Rin escape impending execution and he reconciled with him, claiming that he only blames Rin for not trusting his friends with his secret.During the battle with the Impure King he inherited a familiar named Karura (a phoenix like demon which has the ability to use strong amount of red flames to incinerate almost everything and reincarnate when it dies) from his father Tatsuma Suguro, he uses it's power to create a Gouhaen (a fire-element barrier) in order to prevent any miasma coming out from the Impure King in spreading to much. Ryuji is currently an Exwire, and trying to achieve Meister in both Aria and Dragoon.

Shiemi Moriyama (杜山 しえみ, Moriyama Shiemi^?)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
Shiemi is the daughter of the woman who runs an Exorcist-only shop. She is kind and has an abiding love of gardening, but often lacks confidence in herself. She has blonde, short hair. Before the series, Shiemi never went out of her home and tended to the garden with her grandmother. After her grandmother died, Rin and Yukio exorcised the demon that was leeching her life force and she decided to become an Exorcist.
Shiemi is close to Yukio and Rin, and on amicable terms with Ryuji, Konekomaru, and Renzo. She was devastated when she discovered Rin and Yukio hid that they were sons of Satan, taking it to mean that she was not trustworthy. However on the Kyoto mission, she reconciled with Rin when he was imprisoned and joined with his other friends to help him escape. She is also friends with Izumo despite how Izumo initially used her. Shiemi has the talent to become a Tamer and can summon a reliable Greenman spirit that can produce healing herbs and barriers. She is currently an Exwire.

Izumo Kamiki (神木 出雲, Kamiki Izumo^?)
Voiced by: Eri Kitamura
Izumo is easily one of the best students and she's aware of it. She has a tsundere attitude and is offensive towards everyone except her childhood friend Paku, who was the only one in her elementary school who would talk to her. Izumo has black hair, usually in 2 ponytails and very short eyebrows. Very prideful and often difficult to talk to, Izumo does care about her fellow Exwires and was the first of Rin's classmates to accept Rin after his identity as Satan's son was revealed. Izumo's reason for becoming an exorcist is still unknown, but connected to an incident that happened when she was a child. Izumo is attempting to achieve a Meister in Tamer, and can summon two Byakko (foxes) to fight for her.

Konekomaru Miwa (三輪 子猫丸, Miwa Konekomaru^?)
Voiced by: Yūki Kaji
Konekomaru is a timid but brilliant individual, able to come up with complex strategies in a short window of time. He is very loyal to Ryuji and Renzo, since they grew up together at the same Temple in Kyoto. He is bald and wears glasses. He is kind to everyone and the last to reconcile with Rin after discovering Rin's identity as Satan's son, seeing Rin's true good intentions. He is an orphan and the surviving head of the Miwa family. He plans to achieve the Meister in Aria.

Renzo Shima (志摩 廉造, Shima Renzō^?)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa
Renzo is a very carefree yet fearful character. He's very loyal to Bon and Konekomaru, since both grew up with him at the Cursed Temple in Kyoto. Renzo is the second of the cast who accepts Rin after discovering his identity, finding ignoring Rin to be troublesome. He is infatuated with Izumo, obsessed with women but afraid of bugs. In elementary school, he was referred to as the "Erotic Demon". Now that he is in high-school, he is trying to be more refined. His hair is naturally black, but he dyed it pink (to the chagrin of his father). Renzo carries a K'rik (Khakkhara) staff to fight like his two brothers and plans to achieve the Meister in Aria. Shima uses a buddha staff which he can later , in the manga, conjure flames with to improve his fighting capabilities.

Shura Kirigakure (霧隠 シュラ, Kirigakure Shura^?)
Voiced by: Rina Satō
Shura is an Upper First Class Exorcist and Rin's mentor. She trained under the guidance of Fujimoto to obtain the title "Meister" in Knight and can draw a demon sword from a symbol above her chest when she states, "Devour the Eight Princesses, slay the Serpent". Her sword skills allow her to fight on par with upper level demons like Amaimon. Frequently chipper and obnoxious, Shura is carefree about her job, as she drinks alcohol in excess and oversleeps. She appears to harbor a dark past, as she claimed Shiro "came and rescued" her.

Disguised under a hood as Yamada, one of Rin's classmates, Shura revealed herself when Amaimon attacked Rin, saving Rin from Amaimon's attack before taking him into custody. A Senior Inspector, Shura had orders to investigate the Japanese Branch and eliminate anything she discovered related to Satan. She also held a grudge against Shiro (who asked her to teach Rin how to use Koumaken) for "casting her aside". Shura intended to dispose of "her master's mess", Rin, after verifying that Rin was Satan's son, but Rin convinced her he would become a Paladin and prove Shiro was right to let him live.
Shura decided to teach Rin how to control his powers in accordance with Shiro's wishes, leading to a bond akin to an older sister-younger brother relationship between them. Yukio and Shura are also familiar with each other since Shiro trained both of them. Shura nicknamed Yukio "four-eyed wimp".
Minor Characters



Shiro Fujimoto (藤本 獅郎, Fujimoto Shirō^?)
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara
Shiro Fujimoto was a priest at the Southern Cross Monastery, a Paladin in the True Cross Order (the title awarded to the strongest exorcist), Shura Kirigakure's mentor, and foster father to Rin and Yukio Okumura . He was qualified as an Aria, Dragoon, Knight and Doctor, and had a cat sith familiar, which he called Kuro. Shiro was a man dedicated to his duties and was considered the strongest exorcist. He stole the demon-slaying sword Kurikara, or Koumaken, from the Cursed Temple in Kyoto under orders. Shiro and Mephisto ultimately used the sword to seal the demon heart of the son of Satan and Yuri Egin. Shiro then adopted Yuri Egin's children, Yukio (who did not inherit Satan's power, although later on will show signs that he possesses demonic abilities in the anime) and Rin (full inheritor of Satan's powers).
Shiro was thought to be the only man in the world able to sustain possession by Satan himself and thus Satan was constantly after his body. He fought off Satan's attempts at possessing his body through sheer willpower, but after receiving a mental shock from Rin accusing him of "playing father" and not caring, Satan took over his body. After Satan summoned the Gehenna's Gate to retrieve Rin, Shiro regained control of his body temporarily and committed suicide in order to stop Satan.

Saburota Toudou (Toudō Saburota^?)
Former Upper Second Class exorcist, teacher at the Exorcist Cram School, and Director of the Saishinbu, an area of the True Cross Academy containing dangerous artifacts including Right and Left Eyes of the Impure King. He is sly and skillfully manipulates others to achieve his still-unknown goals. After stealing the Left Eye of the Impure King, Saburota officially left the True Cross Order. Saburota can take control of demons and use their abilities.

Amaimon (アマイモン, Amaimon^?)
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara
One of the Eight Demon Kings, "King of the Earth" and another son of Satan. Amaimon has vast control over the land, e.g. being able to create earthquakes. He is eccentric and hates being laughed at or ignored. Unlike his father and elder brother Mephisto Pheles, Amaimon initially had little interest in Rin, instead wishing to tour Japan upon arrival, but quickly became obsessed with his younger half-brother after fighting him. Amaimon mentioned he has a cousin who has an interest in the occult and even goes on to say that she would be happy if he brought her a human eye. After Rin defeats Amaimon in battle, he turns into a green hamster for the rest of the episodes, running in a hamster wheel located in Mephisto's office. His name is derived from the demon Amaymon.

Igor Neuhaus (イゴール・ネイガウス, Igōru Neigaus^?)
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu
An Upper First Class Exorcist as well as lecturer in the Academy, who obtained the titles of Tamer, Doctor and Aria. He wears an eyepatch over his left eye, and has Aria incantations and magic circles tattooed on both arms. He had a run-in with Satan when he was younger, which robbed him of his family and the sight in his left eye, which is why he holds immense hatred for Satan and demons that are related to Satan. Yet ironically, he is extremely loyal to Mephisto, willing to listen to his every command, which is why he stopped his attacks on Rin prior to the latter becoming an Exorcist.

Arthur Auguste Angel (アーサー・オーギュスト・エンジェル, Āsā Ōgyusuto Enjeru^?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono
The newly appointed Paladin. He was ordered by the Grigori to interrogate Mephisto and captured Rin as evidence. Arthur is a respected exorcist with dubious ethics, as said by Shura to be like a saint on the outside but really a devil inside. He uses the sentient demon sword Caliburn. When speaking, Caliburn shows extreme affection towards him and talks like a love-struck teenage girl. His name is a reference to King Arthur and his sword Excalibur.
Πηγή απο http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Exorcist

Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket (Japanese: フルーツバスケット Hepburn: Furūtsu Basuketto^?), sometimes abbreviated Furuba, or Fruba (フルバ^?), is a Japanese shōjomanga series written and illustrated by Natsuki Takaya. It was serialized in the semi-monthly Japanese magazine Hana to Yume, published by Hakusensha, from 1998 to 2006. The series was also adapted into a 26-episode animeseries, directed by Akitaro Daichi. The series tells the story of Tohru Honda, an orphan girl who, after meeting Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure Sohma, learns that twelve members of the Sohma family are possessed by the animals of theChinese zodiac (十二支 Jūnishi^?) and are cursed to turn into their animal forms when they are weak, stressed, or when they are embraced by anyone of the opposite sex that is not possessed by a zodiacal spirit. In the anime it is possible to transform through torso contact.

The word "Fruits" in the title is always plural; the spelling originates from thetranscription of the English word "fruit" into Japanese, where because there is no "tu" sound, "tsu" is used instead. The title comes from the name of a popular game played in Japanese elementary schools, which is alluded to in the series.

Plot

When high school student Tohru Honda's mother dies in a car crash on her way to work, she decides to live with her grandfather. Renovations on the house cause her to move out of her grandfather's house temporarily, and since she has nowhere else to go, Tohru begins living in a tent and supporting herself. That is, until she finds a home in the least likely of places, inhabited by her popular classmate Yuki Sohma and his cousins Shigure and Kyo. The Sohmas however, live with a curse. Twelve (not including Kyo, who is the cat) members of the family are possessed by spirits of the Chinese zodiac and turn into their zodiac animal when they are weak, under stress, or when hugged by someone of the opposite gender.

When Tohru discovers the Sohmas' secret, she promises not to tell and is allowed to keep living with them. Although the Sohmas' curse is deeper and darker than Tohru realized, her presence and her acceptance of them soon becomes a large, positive influence on those possessed by the zodiac. She sets out to break the curse, and on the way, meets and discovers each of the Sohma's vengeful zodiac spirits. Each has a different personality, just like the animals in the Chinese zodiac. Tohru's existence changes the Sohma clan's lives forever.

Differences between manga and anime

The anime itself is based, pretty faithfully, on the original manga by Natsuki Takaya.^[1] As the manga was still ongoing during the anime's production, the animated series makes some changes to the story. Several events are combined, and some events, such as Tohru's first meeting with Momiji and all references to Tohru's baseball cap, never happen. The anime makes no mention of the fact that Yuki and Kyo have met Tohru's mother, or that Kyo blames himself for her death. Many of the events surrounding the revealing of Kyo's true form are greatly changed in the anime, including adding an extended chase sequence and Tohru meeting Akito in the woods.^[2][3] none of which happen in the manga.^[4]

While the anime faithfully adapts most of the characters from the manga series, it does make some changes. In the manga, Momiji is half-German and half-Japanese and regularly speaks German, particularly when he first meets Tohru, while in the anime no German is spoken.^[5] Shigure's darker side is toned down in the anime, and many remarks he makes in the manga that hint at a hidden agenda are left out, along with most of his early scenes with Akito.^[5] In the anime, Akito is biologically male and will die at a young age because of the curse,^[6] while in the manga, Akito is biologically female but brought up as male and is not dying. This served as a shocking plot twist in the manga, since almost everybody thought that Akito was male.^[7] Additionally, Isuzu "Rin" Sohma, the Horse, and Kureno Sohma, the Rooster, are never mentioned or shown in the anime and are only in the manga. Finally, the curse is not lifted in the anime because it only covers the first half of the manga, at the most, and the happy ending does not occur until the series is finished.

On a less important note, Tohru's eye color is changed to blue in the anime, as her eye color in the manga is originally brown.

Main characters

Main article: List of Fruits Basket characters
Tohru Honda (本田 透 Honda Tōru?)A kind hearted orphaned high school student who, at the start of the story, begins living in a tent. She is then found byShigure and Yuki, who offer to take her in exchange for housekeeping. She loves to cook and describes herself as an excellent housekeeper. She also has an after-school job as a janitor to pay her tuition fees to avoid being a burden on her grandfather.[8] She is depicted as polite, optimistic, extremely kind, and selfless;[9][10] several other characters, including Kyo,[11] Rin,[12] and Hanajima,[13] tell her she needs to look out for her own interests and not shoulder everyone else's burdens. In the anime, she is also clumsy and often scatter-brained. In the original Japanese, Tohru habitually speaks formally (see Honorific speech in Japanese), but not always correctly,[14] a habit she picked up from her father, Katsuya, after he died when she was three, as a way of replacing him in her mother's eyes.[15] Tohru's mother, Kyoko, raised her alone until she died in a car accident shortly after Tohru entered high school, a few months before the start of the story. Tohru repeatedly calls Kyoko the most important person in her life and treasures her photograph;[16] when she falls in love with Kyo she feels guilty of being "unfaithful" to her mother's memory.[17]In the first half of the series, as Tohru learns about the zodiac curse and its effects on those she loves, she becomes distressed, and when she learns that the dangerous Akito is the "god" of the zodiac, she resolves to break the curse.[18]Only later does she admit that she wants to free Kyo most of all.[19] Despite setbacks, she stubbornly persists in her goal and eventually frees Kyo and her friends.[20] In the last chapter, she begins moving with Kyo to another city so he can continue his martial arts training, and in the final pages they are shown as a loving elderly couple with a granddaughter.[21] Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English)Kyo Sohma (草摩 夾 Sōma Kyō?)Kyo is cursed by the cat, an animal not in the Chinese zodiac but which legend says would have been if it had not been tricked by the Rat into missing the induction feast (see Zodiac origin stories).[8] He is depicted as an orange-haired young man who is short-tempered and charismatic, if initially awkward around people; Arisa Uotani once calls him "anger management boy,"[22] and Yuki Sohma expresses envy of his ability to make friends easily.[23] In the anime, he can be kind of shy at first but opens up quickly and can be himself. He is also fiercely competitive, and can be easily manipulated into doing things he does not want to by turning it into a competition—especially against Yuki. As the cat, Kyo hates Yuki, the current Rat of the zodiac, who he sees as never having to work hard at anything,[22] and has dedicated his life to defeating him. Shortly before the series beginning, Kyo made a bet with Akito: if he defeats Yuki before graduating high school, he would officially be accepted as part of the zodiac; however, if he does not, Kyo would be confined inside the Sohma estate for the rest of his life.[24] Despite many months of strict training, however, Kyo never lands a decent blow on Yuki. Their rivalry distresses Tohru, who likes them both, but she comes to worry even more when they do not fight.[25] The two eventually tell each other, during an argument, they envy as well as despise each other and come to a truce for Tohru's sake.[26]At the start of the story, Kyo moves into Shigure's house with Yuki and Tohru.[8] When Kyo was young, his mother died in an accident rumored to be suicide over her son's curse, and after his father rejected him, Kyo was taken in by Kazuma Sohma. The two love each other as father and son,[27] but Kazuma insists he continue to live with Shigure because he believes Tohru is helping him open up.[28] Aside from his foster father, however, Kyo runs away from the people who want to help him, because he is ashamed of his true form—a grotesque, foul-smelling, larger version of his zodiac animal—which he turns into when his bone juzu bead bracelet is removed.[27] When Tohru sees his true form, however, she is initially repulsed but follows him to beg him stay with her, which strengthens their bond.[27] However, Kyo also blames himself for the death of Tohru's mother, whom he could have saved at the risk of turning into a cat, and he was shaken by Kyoko's last words, "I'll never forgive you..."[29] As the story progresses, Kyo falls in love with Tohru, but he refuses to subject her to the pain he is convinced he will cause, so when she confesses she loves him, he calls her "delusional."[29]Only when Uotani, Hanajima, and Yuki impress upon him how deeply his rejection hurt Tohru does he get up the courage to accept her, and when he does finally confess to her, his curse lifts—along with the rest of the zodiac.[20] In the last chapter, he and Tohru begin moving out of Shigure's house to another city, where he will study at another dojo in preparation for inheriting Kazuma's, and in the final pages they are shown as a loving couple with a granddaughter.[21]Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English)Yuki Sohma (草摩 由希 Sōma Yuki?)Yuki is the Rat of the Chinese zodiac. Yuki is depicted as an attractive, reserved, mysterious, and accomplished young man with many admirers, but who finds being friendly difficult. In the anime, he is soft-spoken, kindhearted, and shy. When Yuki was young, Akito Sohma kept him isolated and convinced him no one liked him;[30] because of this, Yuki has low self-esteem and feels isolated.[31] He is known as "Prince Yuki" and "Prince Charming" at school, where he has a fan club headed by Motoko Minagawa that tries to "protect" him from other admirers, with the result that Yuki is further isolated,[32] and he is pressured by his popularity to become president of the student council despite his misgivings.[33]Yuki, however, wishes that he could be with people as friends, rather than be admired from afar, and envies both Kyo Sohma's and Kakeru Manabe's easy ways with others.[23][34] He is touched when, faced with the prospect of having her memory of the Sohma family secret erased, Tohru Honda asks that he remain her friend,[35] which no one had asked him before.[36] With Tohru's help Yuki is gradually able to "open the lid" on his feelings, and the summer after she begins living in Shigure's house, Yuki admits to himself that he loves her.[37]When Yuki was around six or seven years old, he ran away from Akito and was the one who returned Tohru to her mother when she was lost.[38] For that, Yuki has always had fond feelings for Tohru for actually "needing" him.[38]However, he later admits to Manabe that he was looking for a mother-figure and found her in Tohru.[36] As the Rat, Yuki despises the current cat, Kyo, despite envying him, and is contemptuous of his attempts to defeat him. Even when he recognizes the true nature of his feelings for Tohru, Yuki is uncomfortable when he recognizes her and Kyo's growing feelings for each other.[39] Yuki becomes attracted to Machi Kuragi, a student council secretary who also had a traumatic childhood,[40] and falls in love with her. When he knows that Kyo will be confessing to Tohru that he loves her, Yuki meets with Machi, and is with her when his curse lifts, whereupon the first thing he does is embrace her.[20] In the last chapter, he gives Machi a key to his new apartment, where he will be living as he attends university.[21] Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Eric Vale (English)
Production notes[edit]

Series title[edit]

The title of the series is taken from a children's game, Fruits Basket (フルーツバスケット furūtsu basuketto^?, where the 'tsu' represents the 't' in "fruit", making it plural in an incorrect way), in which the participants sit in a circle, and the leader of the game names each person after a type of fruit; when the name of a child's fruit is called, that child gets up and has to find a new seat. When the protagonist, Tohru Honda first plays this game in kindergarten, she is assigned "onigiri", by her cruel classmates, but she does not mind because she thinks onigiri are delicious. Once the game is finished, and all of the children but Tohru are called, Tohru realizes that onigiri are not a type of fruit at all, and she realizes that she does not belong. Tohru comes to associate this game with the Sohma family, and that she does not fit in among them any more than an onigiri does in a basket of fruit. In volume 1 of the manga, after Yuki and Kyo bring Tohru home from her grandfather's house, she begins to feel like she belongs with the Sohma family. After this, she imagines herself as a child hearing "onigiri" called in the game, symbolizing that she has finally found her place.^[41]

Character names

Natsuki Takaya named most of the twelve Sohmas cursed by zodiac animals after archaic names of month in the formerJapanese lunisolar calendar that corresponds to their zodiac animal.^[42] The exceptions are Kureno and Momiji, whose names were swapped by mistake;^[43] Kyo, because he's the cat, is not part of the official zodiac.

Anime

Main article: List of Fruits Basket episodes

Directed by Akitaro Daichi, the twenty-six episode Fruits Basket anime series was animated and produced by Studio DEEN. It premiered on TV Tokyo on July 5, 2001, with the final episode airing on December 27, 2001. The series aired in France on France 4, in Spain on Buzz Channel, and in Vietnam on HTV3. FUNimation aired the series, in dubbed English, on theiranime television channel as well as on Colours TV.

The series was released in Japan in nine individual DVD volumes by King Records, with each volume containing three episodes except for the first volume, which contained two.^[50] The first volume was released on September 29, 2001, with subsequent volumes released on a monthly basis until the final volume was released on May 22, 2002. A series box set was released on April 25, 2007, containing all twenty-six episodes, as well a message card from Natsuki Takaya, a 60-page deluxe booklet, and a bonus Fruits Basket CD soundtrack.^[51]

The series is licensed for Region 1 DVD release by FUNimation Entertainment, which released it in the form of four individual volumes containing 6-7 episodes and a complete series box set. On November 20, 2007, FUNimation re-released the series as part of their lower priced Viridian line, with the new release containing the complete series in a thin-packed box set.^[52] In the United Kingdom, FUNimation originally distributed the series through MVM Entertainment, but then changed distributors in November 2006 to Revelation Films.^[53] Revelation re-released the four individual volumes under their label. They also released the series box set on January 22, 2007.^[54] In Region 4, the series was released as a complete series box set byMadman Entertainment on October 15, 2003.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruits_Basket