Gakuen Heaven
Encyclopedia
is a popular franchise
that is based on the PC game Gakuen Heaven: Boy's Love Scramble, originally released by the company SPRAY
. The franchise gradually expanded to include three PlayStation 2
games, two PlayStation Portable
games, drama CDs, manga
, and anime
.
A Boys' Love manga
adaptation series illustrated by You Higuri
was started in 2003.
and
Keita's first actual friend is Endo Kazuki, who immediately takes Keita under his wing and takes care of him to the extent that Keita laughingly dubs him "grandmother." The two of them become a steadfast pair, but in the days that Kazuki is not around, Keita has no trouble finding other company among the other students.
Occasionally Keita has flashbacks to his childhood, where he is playing with a slightly older boy whom he calls "Kazu-nii." He can't remember much except that he and "Kazu-nii" were close at one point, but these memories seem irrelevant to his current life, so Keita dismisses them.
Meanwhile, Kazuki is involved in a power struggle with the Vice Chairman of the board. The Vice Chairman is distinctly annoyed that the former chairman chose to leave his position to Kazuki, and views Kazuki as a young and incompetent despot incapable of running BL Academy, much less Suzubishi Corporation, the business group that owns BL Academy and many scientific research and development companies. Indeed, Kazuki rejects many of the Vice Chairman's proposals and seemingly "abuses" his power by admitting a student of no particular skill—in this case, Itō Keita—to BL Academy. Keita unwittingly becomes involved in a potentially deadly power struggle between the Chairman and Vice Chairman. Kazuki stakes his position on the outcome of the school's annual "MVP Battle--" that is, if he and Keita do not manage to win the competition, he will resign his position as Chairman.
Full-length drama
Mini drama
. Each volume is an alternate-universe story following Keita's relationship with one of the possible romantic interests. The series was licensed in English by Tokyopop
's yaoi
imprint, BLU. Due to the closure of Tokyopop's North American publishing operations in 2011, only the first three volumes were published.
describes the manga as derivative, but enjoyable, with a romantic sex scene. IGN
reviewer A. E. Sparrow found the manga surprisingly well-paced and enjoyable, despite its roots in a dating sim. Sandra Scholes, writing for Active Anime, found the art for the manga to be very good. Nadia Oxford, writing for Mania Entertainment, felt that the manga did not rise above other BL manga, its only distinction being its video game origins.
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
that is based on the PC game Gakuen Heaven: Boy's Love Scramble, originally released by the company SPRAY
Spray
Spray can refer to:* Spray ** Aerosol spray** Blood spray** Road/tire spray, kicked up from a vehicle tire** Snow spray, a spray that creates artificial snow fall...
. The franchise gradually expanded to include three PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
games, two 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...
games, drama CDs, manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, and 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....
.
A Boys' Love manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation series illustrated by You Higuri
You Higuri
is a Japanese shōjo and yaoi manga artist who has made several appearances at anime and manga conventions in the United States, as well as in Germany. Her first U.S. appearance was at the initial Yaoi-Con in San Francisco in 2001...
was started in 2003.
Characters
- During the middle of the school year, he received a letter of admission from Bell Liberty Academy. Though he seems to be an average guy without any sort of special skills, he is a very warm and friendly person. The only skill he thought he had was luck. He seems to have forgotten who Kazuki is really. While he was young, he contracted the same virus that Hiroya Yoshizumi is infected with.
- He is Keita's classmate and the first friend Keita makes at BL Academy. He leads a double life as a student of BL Academy and as its chairman, as the school's late chairman, Endo's grandfather's, last wishes were for Endo to succeed his position. Endo's innocuous and perpetually friendly demeanor does not betray the fact that he is also an excellent executive. Endo is also a part of the school's handicrafts club. He is actually Keita's childhood friend who promised in the future that they could go to the same school.
- He is the head of the school Treasury/accounting department. Strikingly beautiful, he shares the same amount of influence as Tetsuya Niwa, and is called the "Queen" among students. He is very strong intellectually but performs very poorly in physical education. He is close to Omi since Elementary days, going as far as making him hack into the BL academy server when Omi didn't receive the platinum paper. He also has close contact with the chairman and contacts him if something sprouts up. Even though he is called the "Queen," he hates it when someone treats him like a female.
- As the president of the student councilStudent councilStudent council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
, he excels in almost everything, from academics to sports and extracurriculars; he is also known as the "King" at the academy. He regularly neglects his duties leaving them to the very last minute. He also has a tendency to call Kaoru "Kaoru-chan," which results in the latter hurting him. He has an aversion to cats.
- Saionji's friend since childhood, he is a person who always smiles. He is extremely talented with computers and can also be extremely dangerous when he wants to. Currently, he helps Saionji at the Treasury/Accounting Department. Nakajima refers to him as "that dog" and "the treasury's dog". He likes eating sweets such as chocolate.
- He is the vice president of the student council. He appears to be brisk and cool with most of the students, and can usually be found trying to hackHacker (computer security)In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
the school's treasury records, much to the chagrin of Omi Shichijou. Although appearing to be sacastic and cruel to others, he does care for Niwa.
- He is the captain of the tennis club at school. He takes an immediate liking to Keita and calls him "Honey". A little oblivious at times, he is extremely passionate about Keita and is always trying to ask Keita out on dates.
- He is the captain of the archeryArcheryArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
club. He is a very responsible, big-brother figure. He also holds the position of DormitoryDormitoryA dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
Head. He has a little brother who has cardiac problems. He is very close with Takuto Iwai.
- He is the president of the art club and a genius artist. On the moody, introspective side, he is very soft-spoken and very humble about his skills as an artist. He is very close with Koji Shinomiya.
- , Drama voice by: Majima Junji
- He is a superb cyclist who ranked the third in the National Tournament. Cuter and shorter than others of his age, he is characterised by his Kansai ben dialectDialectThe term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
. Taki also does freelance delivery work for most of the student body.
- , Drama voice by: Amada Mahito
- Although he is the oldest character, he is also the youngest in terms of outer appearance. He is extremely good at research but can barely take care of himself as he is quite absent-minded. He is both a teacher and researcher for the Bell Liberty. He is also very strong as a result of constantly carrying an overweight cat wherever he goes.
and
- and , respectively
- Twins who tease Keita. The twins are never seen apart and they sneak around a lot. They are always getting in to trouble and they are the "kings of doubles tennis". Also nicknamed the "terrible twosome". Later in the anime, the twins seem to become fonder of Keita, but don't admit this till the last episode when the say that they might become his friends.
- The school nurse of Bell Liberty, he is Kazuki's mentor and former tutor, and the two are very close. It is revealed in later episodes that he attended Bell Liberty himself with his friend, Hiroya Yoshizumi, to whom he was very close. He has a dark secret and will go to any means to fulfill his own agenda such as kidnapping to Keita, who contracted the same virus as Hiroya Yoshizumi, his friend.
- Childhood friend of Matsuoka, they attended Bell Liberty together. Not a major character, he went into medicine like Matsuoka after graduation, but contracted the "X7 virus" and is currently hospitalized in a coma.
Specs
| Version | Platform | Publisher | Date | Rating | Screen | Voice | CG Gallery | Music Collection | Recall Mode | Skip | Auto Scroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | Windows 95 Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products... /98 Windows 98 Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid... /2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... /Me Windows Me Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.... /XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... , Mac OS 8 Mac OS 8 Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems... /9 Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as... |
SPRAY Spray Spray can refer to:* Spray ** Aerosol spray** Blood spray** Road/tire spray, kicked up from a vehicle tire** Snow spray, a spray that creates artificial snow fall... |
August 2, 2002 | EOCS: 18+ | 640 x 480 16bit | N/A | Available | Available | Available | Available | N/A |
| PS2 | PlayStation 2 PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan... |
NEC Interchannel Interchannel Interchannel is a Japanese game developer and publisher. Previously known as NEC Interchannel and before that NEC Avenue, it was originally a subsidiary of NEC before 70 percent of the company was sold to Index Corporation for approximately 3 billion yen in 2004... |
November 27, 2003 | CERO Computer Entertainment Rating Organization The is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo. rating video game content in console games with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable... : 18 (replaced to D in 2006) |
640 x 480 16bit | Full Voice | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| PS2 Type B |
PlayStation 2 | NEC Interchannel | July 22, 2004 | CERO: 15 | 640 x 480 16bit | Full Voice | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| PS2 Okawari |
PlayStation 2 | Interchannel Interchannel Interchannel is a Japanese game developer and publisher. Previously known as NEC Interchannel and before that NEC Avenue, it was originally a subsidiary of NEC before 70 percent of the company was sold to Index Corporation for approximately 3 billion yen in 2004... |
February 24, 2005 | CERO: 15 | 640 x 480 16bit | Full Voice | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| PSP | 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... |
Prototype Prototype (company) is a Japanese software company established on March 27, 2006 by Toshio Tabeta, a former producer of Interchannel. While still with Interchannel, Tabeta's team was responsible for mainly developing and publishing versions of visual novels originally published by Visual Art's for consumer platforms... |
November 26, 2009 | CERO: C | 480 x 272 24bit | ||||||
| PSP Okawari |
PlayStation Portable | Prototype | February 10, 2011 | CERO: C | 480 x 272 24bit |
Boy's Love Scramble
In the original game, the player Keita Itō suddenly received an acceptance letter from the renowned Bell Liberty Academy (also known as BL Gakuen). Attracted by the prestige of the school, he decided to attend. However, on the day of his transfer, the bridge joining the school and the academy, which was located on a remote man-made island, suddenly raised and his bus fell. Luckily, no one was injured but the accident aroused the attention of both the student council's president Niwa Tetsuya as well as the head of the accounting department Saiyonji Kaoru. After explaining briefly the cause of the accident, they guided Keita to his classroom where he met his classmate Endou Kazuki, who kindly befriended Keita and showed him around the campus. On the school grounds, Keita met the rest of the important students in the game: Naruse Yukihiko, captain of the tennis club; Shinomiya Kouji, captain of the archery club; Iwai Takuto, captain of the art club; and Taki Shunsuke, a genius cyclist; the vice president of the student council, Nakajima Hideaki; the genius programmer, Shichijou Omi; as well as the child-looking teacher Umino Satoshi. The objective of the game is to solve the mysteries surrounding Keita's sudden transfer to BL Academy.Okawari
This is more like a fan disc than a sequel as the game is very short. It takes place three months after the first game. This time, Keita picked up a cursed ring that would take away his major ability – luck. The characters are the same as in the PC Game and the objective this time is to find the way to release Keita from the curse of the ring.Summary
Keita Itō receives a letter of admission from Bell Liberty Academy, a prestigious all-boy's school that only accepts the cream of the crop. Though he doubts his ability to succeed at such a school because he is a transfer student coming in the middle of the year, and he has no special ability that he can speak of, he accepts the admission. Keita is picked up by Niwa, the president of the student council, and from then on, he is warmly welcomed by everyone to BL Academy.Keita's first actual friend is Endo Kazuki, who immediately takes Keita under his wing and takes care of him to the extent that Keita laughingly dubs him "grandmother." The two of them become a steadfast pair, but in the days that Kazuki is not around, Keita has no trouble finding other company among the other students.
Occasionally Keita has flashbacks to his childhood, where he is playing with a slightly older boy whom he calls "Kazu-nii." He can't remember much except that he and "Kazu-nii" were close at one point, but these memories seem irrelevant to his current life, so Keita dismisses them.
Meanwhile, Kazuki is involved in a power struggle with the Vice Chairman of the board. The Vice Chairman is distinctly annoyed that the former chairman chose to leave his position to Kazuki, and views Kazuki as a young and incompetent despot incapable of running BL Academy, much less Suzubishi Corporation, the business group that owns BL Academy and many scientific research and development companies. Indeed, Kazuki rejects many of the Vice Chairman's proposals and seemingly "abuses" his power by admitting a student of no particular skill—in this case, Itō Keita—to BL Academy. Keita unwittingly becomes involved in a potentially deadly power struggle between the Chairman and Vice Chairman. Kazuki stakes his position on the outcome of the school's annual "MVP Battle--" that is, if he and Keita do not manage to win the competition, he will resign his position as Chairman.
List of episodes
- Episode 1: An Out Of Season Transfer Student
- Episode 2: The Heaven We Reached
- Episode 3: Circulating Letter, Wavering Feelings
- Episode 4 Steam! A Stormy Welcoming Party
- Episode 5: Heaven's door
- Episode 6: Date Weather
- Episode 7: The Whereabouts of Anxiety
- Episode 8: The Night Before the MVP Battle
- Episode 9: The Steel Flower
- Episode 10: The Key to Memories
- Episode 11: The Truth is Revealed
- Episode 12: A Flower that won't Bend to the Wind
- Episode 13: Promise
Staff
- Game Character Design: You HiguriYou Higuriis a Japanese shōjo and yaoi manga artist who has made several appearances at anime and manga conventions in the United States, as well as in Germany. Her first U.S. appearance was at the initial Yaoi-Con in San Francisco in 2001...
- Director: Hiiro Yukina
- Script: Takahashi Natsuko, Hiiro Yukina etc.
- Anime Character Design: Nakayama Yumi
- Opening Theme: "School Boys" by YAMOTOYamotoYamoto may refer to:* the former town of Yamoto, Miyagi, now part of Higashimatsushima* Yamoto Station, a JR East railway station located in Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi, Japan...
- Ending Theme: "Panorama" by Fujioka Masaaki
- Music Production: Dusk Production
- Music Composer: Nishioka Kazuya
- Produced by: BL Academy Supporting Committee
Drama CDs
So far, 5 drama CDs have been released. Aside from the first drama CD, the core cast remains the same for all other products in the franchise and is based on the casting in the PlayStation 2 games.Full-length drama
- Gakuen Heaven 1: Mirai wa Kimi no Mono
- Gakuen Heaven 2: Muteki no Sannensei
- Gakuen Heaven 2: Tsuyoki na Ninensei
- Gakuen Heaven 2: Welcome to Heaven
- Gakuen Heaven 3: Happy Paradise
Mini drama
- Gakuen Heaven: Bitter Chocolate
- Gakuen Heaven: Sweet Candy
Manga
The manga series is drawn and adapted by You HiguriYou Higuri
is a Japanese shōjo and yaoi manga artist who has made several appearances at anime and manga conventions in the United States, as well as in Germany. Her first U.S. appearance was at the initial Yaoi-Con in San Francisco in 2001...
. Each volume is an alternate-universe story following Keita's relationship with one of the possible romantic interests. The series was licensed in English by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
's yaoi
Yaoi
In 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...
imprint, BLU. Due to the closure of Tokyopop's North American publishing operations in 2011, only the first three volumes were published.
- Volume 1, pairing: Niwa
- Japanese: (March 2004), ISBN 4-8352-1565-6
- English: Gakuen Heaven (October 2006), ISBN 1-5981-6708-1
- Volume 2, pairing: Nakajima
- Japanese: (July 2006), ISBN 4862630103
- English: Gakuen Heaven-Nakajima (June 2009), ISBN 1427810885
- Volume 3, pairing: Endo
- Japanese: (July 2007), ISBN 486263219X
- English: Gakuen Heaven-Endo-Calling You (August 2010), ISBN 1427818959
- Volume 4, pairing: Shichijo
- Japanese: (July 2009), ISBN 4862636284
- English: Gakuen Heaven Shichijo Sweet Sweet Darling (announced for August 2011, not released), ISBN 1427818967
- Volume 5: Gakuen Heaven Revolution (sequel)
Web radio
Since March 2006, there has been a web radio show on Marine Entertainment's site to promote the anime. It is anchored by the cover voice for Keita Itō, Fukuyama Jun, and every 12 days, there are guests from the regular cast.Reception
Melissa Harper of Anime News NetworkAnime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
describes the manga as derivative, but enjoyable, with a romantic sex scene. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer A. E. Sparrow found the manga surprisingly well-paced and enjoyable, despite its roots in a dating sim. Sandra Scholes, writing for Active Anime, found the art for the manga to be very good. Nadia Oxford, writing for Mania Entertainment, felt that the manga did not rise above other BL manga, its only distinction being its video game origins.