Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Encyclopedia
, also known as , is a Japanese light novel
series written by Yomi Hirasaka, illustrated by Buriki, and published by Media Factory
. It has twice been given manga adaptations; the first incarnation, its title and basic plot unchanged, began serialization in 2010; it was written and illustrated by Itachi and published in Monthly Comic Alive
. A second adaptation with a different story, written by Misaki Harukawa and illustrated by Shōichi Taguchi, was called Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai + and published in Jump Square
. An anime
adaptation by AIC Build began airing in October 2011.
high school
. As with every other school he has ever attended, he finds it difficult to make friends there because of his naturally-blond hair (inherited from his deceased English mother) and fierce-looking eyes, which make him look like a dangerous "yankee" to his prejudiced schoolmates.
One day, Kodaka accidentally comes across the equally solitary and very abrasive Yozora Mikazuki while she converses with her imaginary friend
Tomo. Realizing that neither of them have any social lives, they decide that the best way to improve their situation is to form a club – – precisely intended to make friends and learn social skills.
Five other members soon join the club, starting with the school's well-connected but arrogant idol Sena Kashiwazaki, who has no female friends of her own because of their jealousy over her many male admirers. The next to join is Yukimura Kusunoki, a feminine underclassman of Kodaka's who rather idealizes him and follows him in the hope that it will teach him to become manlier. Maria Takayama is a 10-year-old genius teacher and nun at the academy whom Yozora recruits to become the club adviser. Rika Shiguma is an underclassman and well-known scientific genius with fujoshi
tendencies who joins the club after Kodaka rescues her from a laboratory accident. Finally, Kodaka's younger sister Kobato is in St. Chronica's middle school
division and is a fan of Gothic
anime.
. Currently has 7 volumes published.
bundled with the seventh light novel. Produced by AIC Build under the direction of Hisashi Saitō, the series began airing in Japan from October 7, 2011. The opening theme is by Marina Inoue
, Kanae Itō
, Nozomi Yamamoto, Misato Fukuen
, Kana Hanazawa
, and Yuka Iguchi
, while the ending theme is by Marina Inoue.
, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Portable, is being developed by Namco Bandai Games
for the PlayStation Portable
and will be released in 2012.
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
series written by Yomi Hirasaka, illustrated by Buriki, and published by Media Factory
Media Factory
is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...
. It has twice been given manga adaptations; the first incarnation, its title and basic plot unchanged, began serialization in 2010; it was written and illustrated by Itachi and published in Monthly Comic Alive
Monthly Comic Alive
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006.-Serialized titles:*Asobi ni Ikuyo!*Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai*Bone Crusher*Chaos;Head -Blue Complex-*D-Frag...
. A second adaptation with a different story, written by Misaki Harukawa and illustrated by Shōichi Taguchi, was called Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai + and published in Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...
. An anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation by AIC Build began airing in October 2011.
Plot
Kodaka Hasegawa is a recent transfer student to St. Chronica's Academy, a CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. As with every other school he has ever attended, he finds it difficult to make friends there because of his naturally-blond hair (inherited from his deceased English mother) and fierce-looking eyes, which make him look like a dangerous "yankee" to his prejudiced schoolmates.
One day, Kodaka accidentally comes across the equally solitary and very abrasive Yozora Mikazuki while she converses with her imaginary friend
Imaginary friend
Imaginary friends and imaginary companions are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical reality. Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They...
Tomo. Realizing that neither of them have any social lives, they decide that the best way to improve their situation is to form a club – – precisely intended to make friends and learn social skills.
Five other members soon join the club, starting with the school's well-connected but arrogant idol Sena Kashiwazaki, who has no female friends of her own because of their jealousy over her many male admirers. The next to join is Yukimura Kusunoki, a feminine underclassman of Kodaka's who rather idealizes him and follows him in the hope that it will teach him to become manlier. Maria Takayama is a 10-year-old genius teacher and nun at the academy whom Yozora recruits to become the club adviser. Rika Shiguma is an underclassman and well-known scientific genius with fujoshi
Fujoshi
Yaoi fandom refers to readers of yaoi , a genre of male-male romance narratives aimed at a female audience, and more specifically those who participate in communal activities organized around yaoi, such as attending conventions, maintaining or posting to fansites, creating fanfiction or fanart,...
tendencies who joins the club after Kodaka rescues her from a laboratory accident. Finally, Kodaka's younger sister Kobato is in St. Chronica's middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
division and is a fan of Gothic
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
anime.
Characters
- The protagonist, a transfer student who has not been able to make friends in his first month at St, Chronica's. Of all of the members of the club, he is the most gentle, balanced and socially competent in personality; but his unusual hair color, inherited from his late English motherMultiracialThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
, leads classmates to assume he is a violent and abusive delinquentJuvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
and spread defamatory rumors about him. Because of his long experience of antagonism, Kodaka has become accustomed to fighting and can defend himself quite well.
- His father is working in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and so he takes care of his younger sister alone at home, which has also made him a good cook. His childhood was characterized by frequent movement, and as a result he has few memories related to home life and close friendships; however, though he does not realize it at first, he and Yozora were childhood friends before his family moved.
- A cruel and selfish black-haired girl who says she understands and respects bullying but resents being called a bully herself, Yozora's difficult personality drives away anyone who might wish to make friends with her before she meets Kodaka. She is physically abusive towards, and often argues with, Sena and manipulative towards Maria, who she cons into giving up an empty room for the use of the Neighbor's Club, and Yukimura, who she fools into working for the club as a crossdressing cosplayCosplay, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
maidMaidA maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
. The only person she can't insult is Rika, as Rika takes whatever insult she gives her and deflects it back with a dirty joke that leaves her tired - to the point where she just does what Rika says (like crossdress for example) rather than argue.
- She is Kodaka's childhood friend, though at the time, he believed that she was a boy, calling her "Sora"; her nickname for him was "Taka." On the day that Kodaka moved, she intended to wear a skirt and reveal her gender to him but was too embarrassed to do so. She seems to have feelings for Kodaka.
- The wealthy blonde daughter of the school's headteacher, Sena shows a dislikeClassismClassism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...
of all things "ordinary." She is both attractive and academically successful, but her resulting arrogance leads her to be disliked by her female peers. Their admiration eludes her, much as she desires it; she treats her male classmates only as servants to be used, although many of them would like to be her boyfriend. Nonetheless, she holds Kodaka to a higher standard. Kodaka concludes that she is the weirdest member of the club, as she is able to warrant weird and disgusted looks not only from Yozora and Kobato, but also from Yukimura and Rika.
- She enjoys playing video games--including dating simDating simDating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...
s and erogeErogeAn or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
--partially because they allow her to make female (if virtual) friends. Yozora calls her "Meat" (Niku - due to her well-developed endowments) an insulting nickname which she secretly likes because it is the first she has ever received. Being in the same year, she is also a possible girlfriend of Kodaka, as they have gone on several "outings" together. Her father is a friend of Kodaka's father, and pulled strings so that Kodaka could attend St. Chronica's.
- Kodaka's younger sister; she is a student in middle schoolMiddle schoolMiddle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
, but nonetheless joins the club. She is very close to her brother, who she calls "An-Chan", and behaves in a jealous and clingy way whenever she feels that he is not giving her the attention she deserves, to the point where it is obvious that she has a brother complex. She sees Maria as a rival for Kodaka's brotherly affections and so often gets into fights with the latter.
- She has a penchant for darkness, vampireVampireVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s and the macabre ever since she started watching an anime called Full Metal Necromancer. As a result she often speaks in an affected fashion, and claims to be known as "Reisys VI Felicity Sumeragi", an ancient vampire who has lived for ten thousand years, but this façade quickly breaks down when she gets emotionally worked up and she speaks in a strong Kyūshū accent. Indeed, her behavior does not for the most part differ from that of a regular girl (procrastinating with her homework, staying inside when it is hot, etc.) which Kodaka points out, causing her to be embarrassed and slightly lose character.
- A freshman and highly capable mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
. She was saved by Kodaka when she fell unconscious during a disastrous lab experiment, and begs to repay his kindness with sex; she joined the Neighbor's Club just to get closer to him.
- Although there are many adult themes in the series, she is the most sexually forward member. This was clearly highlighted in her first speaking appearance, when she described the attractions of rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
to Kodaka in the middle of a stunned class. She has a habit of inserting any sexual innuendo possible in her sentences, to the point where she finds it normal to convert every innocent thoughts into something perverted. As a fujoshi, she is a passionate consumer of BLYaoiIn careful Japanese enunciation, all three vowels are pronounced separately, for a three-mora word, . The English equivalent is . also known as Boys' Love, is a Japanese popular term for female-oriented fictional media that focus on homoerotic or homoromantic male relationships, usually created by...
dōjinshiDojinshiis the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
and magazines, is comically aroused by intercourse between mechaMechaA mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
, and is delighted when Yukimura offers to have sex with Kodaka. Rika is proud of her pervertedness, as she says that she would be a boring person if people only thought of her as a genius girl. To compound her eccentricity, she speaks in the third person.
- First introduced as a stalker of Kodaka. "His" first meeting with the Neighbor's Club resulted in gender confusion, as "his" appearance is decidedly feminine despite "his" assertions of malehood (which are ultimately shown to be false). A gullible student with low self-esteem, she admiringly believes Kodaka to be a romantic and masculine criminal who lives life the way he wants to, and eagerly pledges to become his underling on the basis that she can learn to become less effeminate through him; however, she also appears to harbor a crush on him. She fittingly refers to Kodaka as "aniki". She tends to do everything Kodaka says to the extreme; when Kodaka asked her to bring Maria something healthy to eat, she brought a proteinProteinProteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
shake and tried to force it down Maria's throat until she finished it all.
- Maria is the supervising teacher of the Neighbors Club; she is a ten-year old nun. While not unintelligent, she is often rude and immature and refers to others as "Rotten mandarin." She develops a sibling-like relationship with Kodaka who regularly makes her packed lunches, and is affectionate with him, much to Kobato's annoyance. She is also gullible, which Yozora uses to her advantage, and at some point, Kobato uses it to win an argument.
Light novels
The original Light Novel series is written by Yomi Hirasaka, it began serialization in 2009 by the Japanese publisher Media Factory and was printed by MF Bunko JMF Bunko J
is a publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Media Factory. It was established in July 2002 and is a light novel label that is aimed at young adult males.Label names "J" is for "Japan" and "Juvenile" have meaning.-0-9:-A:-B:-C:...
. Currently has 7 volumes published.
Manga
There are currently two manga series being serialized. Both started serialization on 2010, the first one is written and illustrated by Japanese author Itachi, which was published in Monthly Comic Alive, titled Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai; the second which was written by Misaki Harukawa and illustrated by Shōichi Taguchi, published in Jump Square, titled Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai+.Anime
In May 2011, an anime television series based on the light novels was announced on the wraparound jacket of the sixth light novel, with an original video animationOriginal video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
bundled with the seventh light novel. Produced by AIC Build under the direction of Hisashi Saitō, the series began airing in Japan from October 7, 2011. The opening theme is by Marina Inoue
Marina Inoue
is a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
, Kanae Itō
Kanae Itō
is a Japanese voice actress and singer who was born in Nagano Prefecture. She is affiliated with Aoni Production and music publisher Lantis.- History :...
, Nozomi Yamamoto, Misato Fukuen
Misato Fukuen
is a voice actress born on January 10, 1982. She is affiliated with Sigma Seven.-Outline, career, and person:* Formed a vocal group called TAMAGO in 2004 with fellow seiyū Mai Kadowaki....
, Kana Hanazawa
Kana Hanazawa
a voice actress represented by Office Osawa talent agency. She is notable for voice acting leading roles for a number of anime television shows and other anime-related media in Japan.-Anime voice roles:Leading roles in bold2003...
, and Yuka Iguchi
Yuka Iguchi
is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She is affiliated with Office Osawa.-Anime:*Bakemonogatari *Bokurano *Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai *C³ *Canvas 2...
, while the ending theme is by Marina Inoue.
Episode list
| No. | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
Game
A visual novelVisual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Portable, is being developed by Namco Bandai Games
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and will be released in 2012.