Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese manga
series created by the animation studio Ufotable
and illustrated by Japanese
artist
Tartan Check
. The manga was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
, published by MediaWorks
, between December 1, 2005 and December 21, 2007. A twelve-episode anime
series aired on TV Tokyo
between January 8 and March 26, 2007, and is complemented by a bonus episode released exclusively on DVD on October 10, 2007. A PlayStation 2
visual novel
based on the series was released in Japan on March 29, 2007, developed by Marvelous Interactive. The series is set in a fictional future concerning the lives of a group of high school girls.
has dropped dramatically, schools are being closed down due to the sheer lack of students available to teach. Morale in schools has dropped dramatically, and Seioh is no exception.
The story begins when the main character, Manami Amamiya, transfers to Seioh High School. Manami is an active girl with a positive personality, often shouting her personal motto
as a motivator for herself to go forward in life. Despite it being the day before her first day, Manami decides to go to Seioh to witness the forty-fifth swim meet where four members from six classes participate in a relay race against each other. On the way to school, Manami, or Manabi as she wants to be called, meets Mika Inamori, a shy student of Seioh who was to participate in the swim meet, despite her not knowing how to swim. After an intense ride together on Manami's futuristic scooter, they end up literally crashing the meet over the fence and into the pool. Due to Mika's inability to swim, Manami stands in for her, though she is not very helpful. The next day during a meeting led by the student council in front of the entire school, Mika, the lone student council member and secretary, tries to rally students to join the council, but is initially met with an apathetic audience. Suddenly, Manami bursts through the doors of the auditorium on her scooter only to be summarily punished for the disruption. Manami shows interest in becoming the student council president, but since she is a new student and has already caused trouble for the school twice, the principal is reluctant to allow Manami to become the president. To show the school how much she wants to lead the student body, Manami begins to sing the school song of Seioh after hearing it for the first time the day before. At the conclusion of the song, Manami is inducted as the student council president and received well by the entire school.
The story that follows pertains to Manami working with Mika, and three other classmates named Mutsuki Uehara, Mei Etoh, and Momoha Odori, in student council matters, despite Manami and Mika initially being the only official members. After some remodeling of the student council room, Manami and her friends set forth to plan for the upcoming student festival.
and illustrated by Tartan Check
, was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
between December 1, 2005 and December 21, 2007, published by MediaWorks
. Four bound volumes
were released between May 27, 2006, and February 27, 2008. The first volume contains the first six chapters, which encompasses the story from the first two episodes of the anime. There are no major differences between the manga and anime.
television network; it contained twelve episodes. A thirteenth original video animation
episode was released on October 10, 2007. The production staff of Manabi Straight! took a new path in terms of direction, effectively removing the traditional "director" position. Instead, a team of studio producers and episode directors called shared the burden together, a first for an animation production. Team Manabibeya includes the story director Ryunosuke Kingetsu
, the animation director and character designer Atsushi Ogasawara
, the layout director Takurowo Takahashi, and the technical director Takayuki Hirao.
s were released featuring the characters of Manami Amamiya, Mika Inamori, Mutsuki Uehara, Mei Etoh, and Momoha Odori, sung by their respective voice actresses
from the anime. On February 7, 2007, the opening and ending themes, "A Happy Life" and "Lucky & Happy" respectively, were released on a single album
sung by Megumi Hayashibara
and produced by King Records. According to Megumi Hayashibara, she was scheduled to voice Manami Amamiya, but she chose to sing the opening and ending songs instead. It was then decided that Yui Horie would take Manami's role. On February 21, 2007, the first original soundtrack went on sale containing two CDs: the first with background music tracks and the second with remixes of the songs featured on the character mini albums. On March 21, 2007, a single album entitled Seioh Gakuen Kōka Band sung by Yui Horie
and Minori Chihara
was released with the two insert songs found in episode eleven of the anime. On April 4, 2007, a small album called Miracle Straight! was released containing the opening and ending themes to the video game version. The songs were sung by the voice actresses of the five female main characters from the anime. On May 16, 2007, the second original soundtrack was released containg two CDs: the first with background music tracks and the second with original songs sung by the voice actors who voiced the five main female characters from the series.
developed by Marvelous Interactive for the PlayStation 2
entitled was first released on March 29, 2007 as a limited edition version retailing for ¥
9,240 (about US$
82) including tax. This edition came bundled with a thirty-minute length drama CD and two background music CDs. The normal edition released on the same day will retail for ¥7,140 (about US$64) with tax. The gameplay consists of the player interacting with the game by making choices at key times in the story. While the game consists of several different scenario
s, the main one takes place during the summer festival. In the scenario, Manami needs the cooperation and comprehension of the town people in order to ensure the success of the event. Manami and her friends go through various missions in the game while they work and help the people in town get ready for the festival. As an original system built into the game, Manami has the power to give her friends "Hustle Points" that she uses to cheer her friends up during their various missions.
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...
series created by the animation studio Ufotable
Ufotable
is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 and located in Nakano, Tokyo Prefecture. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works is a claymation sequence.-TV series:*Weiß Kreuz Glühen *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED...
and illustrated by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Tartan Check
Tartan Check
is a Japanese manga artist working for the company Ufotable. He is noted for the illustration of the manga version of Coyote Ragtime Show and Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!.-References:...
. The manga was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
, published by MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
, between December 1, 2005 and December 21, 2007. A twelve-episode 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....
series aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
between January 8 and March 26, 2007, and is complemented by a bonus episode released exclusively on DVD on October 10, 2007. A 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...
visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
based on the series was released in Japan on March 29, 2007, developed by Marvelous Interactive. The series is set in a fictional future concerning the lives of a group of high school girls.
Plot
Manabi Straight! follows the lives of a group of young high school girls living in the year 2035 while they attend the all-girl . Since the birth rateBirth rate
Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year . Another word used interchangeably with "birth rate" is "natality". When the crude birth rate is subtracted from the crude death rate, it reveals the rate of natural increase...
has dropped dramatically, schools are being closed down due to the sheer lack of students available to teach. Morale in schools has dropped dramatically, and Seioh is no exception.
The story begins when the main character, Manami Amamiya, transfers to Seioh High School. Manami is an active girl with a positive personality, often shouting her personal motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
as a motivator for herself to go forward in life. Despite it being the day before her first day, Manami decides to go to Seioh to witness the forty-fifth swim meet where four members from six classes participate in a relay race against each other. On the way to school, Manami, or Manabi as she wants to be called, meets Mika Inamori, a shy student of Seioh who was to participate in the swim meet, despite her not knowing how to swim. After an intense ride together on Manami's futuristic scooter, they end up literally crashing the meet over the fence and into the pool. Due to Mika's inability to swim, Manami stands in for her, though she is not very helpful. The next day during a meeting led by the student council in front of the entire school, Mika, the lone student council member and secretary, tries to rally students to join the council, but is initially met with an apathetic audience. Suddenly, Manami bursts through the doors of the auditorium on her scooter only to be summarily punished for the disruption. Manami shows interest in becoming the student council president, but since she is a new student and has already caused trouble for the school twice, the principal is reluctant to allow Manami to become the president. To show the school how much she wants to lead the student body, Manami begins to sing the school song of Seioh after hearing it for the first time the day before. At the conclusion of the song, Manami is inducted as the student council president and received well by the entire school.
The story that follows pertains to Manami working with Mika, and three other classmates named Mutsuki Uehara, Mei Etoh, and Momoha Odori, in student council matters, despite Manami and Mika initially being the only official members. After some remodeling of the student council room, Manami and her friends set forth to plan for the upcoming student festival.
Characters
- Manami, also known as , born on August 30, 2018, has a very active personality and gives everything a lot of effort. It is mainly due to her uplifting personality that other students begin to have more vigor in their lives, in contrast to how bland life was before she transferred. After transferring to Seioh Private High School, she becomes the student council president, and sets forth to transform the lives of the students at the school so as give everyone a better experience while attending Seioh. One of her first decisions is to clean up and remodel the student council room into a café of sorts where any student can come and relax. This spurs a cooperation from many of the other clubs in the school, which helps brings the students together under one project.
- Despite her enthusiasm to become the student council president early on Manami soon shows an incapability to lead even a joint student council meeting. Manami relies on her close friends for support for the things she wants to put forth for the sake of the school, while simultaneously giving her friends the motivation they need to continue work within the student council.
- Mika, also known as , is a shy and clumsy girl who is constantly falling down and bumping into things. As an only child, she has taken advantage of her position and has been spoiled by her parents. After meeting Manami, Mika becomes very attached to her. At first she was the only member in the student council, taking the position of secretary, but was later joined by Manami when she became the student council president.
- At first she is unsure about Manami's strange enthusiasm and is unsure how to work with her within the council. As time passes, Mika begins to become more enthused herself by going along with Manami's plans to reform student life at Seioh. Mika seems to be the least mature of the five main characters, even going as far as to believe "little people" finished the work for the school festival promotional video while she, Minami and Mutsuki were sleeping.
- Mutsuki, also known as , is an exceptional athlete whose reputation often precedes her. In effect, sports clubs at school have invited her to participate in several club activities as an honorary member. Not wanting to turn them down, Mutsuki ends up participating in a multitude of other sports-club related activities in addition to the work she puts forth for the student council, despite initially not being an official member. This is due to her liking to help out where she is needed. She has a tomboyish personality, often hitting Mei on the back very hard and sporting a short haircut for a girl. Mutsuki's mannerisms are not feminineFemininityFemininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...
either and her voice is deeper than the typical female voice for her age.
- Mutsuki has known Mei Etoh as far back as elementary school and often tries to get her to participate with the other main characters as a group rather than distance herself more from them. Mutsuki was the first person Mika became friends with upon entering high school. The two share an odd friendship as they have little in common. Mutsuki is eventually inducted into the student council as the assistant.
- Mei, also known as , usually appears to be a stubborn girl who tends to be industrious and competitive despite her standoffish nature. Mei secretly desires to be friendlier, but finds it difficult to express her emotions. This is due to an event in her past during elementary school when she was unanimously voted to be the class representative. Before long, the students in her class started shirking their own duties, in effect giving Mei all the work to do herself. After this treatment from her peers, Mei had lost faith in the intentions of people and distanced herself from others. When greeted by other students, Mei will usually not respond and just keep walking, apparently completely ignoring them, but is in fact too shy to engage in conversation. Mei has very little tolerance for school politics and sees school events for the waste of time that they are. Mei and Mutsuki have known each other since childhood, though Mei does not act like it.
- After initially trying to organize the work of the student council, Mei gets inadvertently involved with the council's initial projects after Manami becomes the president, such as remodeling the student council room or helping to organize the inter-school dodgeballDodgeballDodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...
tournament. Mei is eventually inducted into the student council as the treasurer.
- Momoha, also known as , is a quiet girl from a rich family who may seem lazy since she tends to sleep during class time. She does not talk much, which usually leaves her to not get directly involved with student council affairs. She is a member of the journalism club and broadcast committee, which serve as the reporters of school news either through printed articles or recorded interviews. She is always looking for interesting things to report on and carries around a digital video recorder. Her hobby is videotaping the events of the student council surrounding Manami and her friends.
- Shimojima is the male teacher of Manami's class; Manami started to call him and eventually the other main characters followed suit. He has a lazy and self-deprecating personality; he once came to work after drinking a little too much. Despite this, he has shown an interest in helping Manami in her endeavor in making school life more interesting for the students. Once he donated 5,000 yenJapanese yenThe is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
to the student council and tried to help with the early planning of the student festival.
- Takako is the student council president of Seioh's sister school . Her school is much more organized and has more money for school matters, such as for the student festival. She has a nice and helping attitude and has leadership abilities which likens her to that of the typical student council president.
- Takefumi is Manami's older brother and is her only guardian; their parents' whereabouts are unknown. While living together, he is in charge of most of the domestic chores around the house as Manami has to attend school. He loves his little sister very much and was very concerned once when her usual energetic attitude was completely depressed. He is dating the superintendent of Aikoh, Kyōko Kibukawa, a woman eight years his senior.
Manga
The Manabi Straight! manga, with story by UfotableUfotable
is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 and located in Nakano, Tokyo Prefecture. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works is a claymation sequence.-TV series:*Weiß Kreuz Glühen *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED...
and illustrated by Tartan Check
Tartan Check
is a Japanese manga artist working for the company Ufotable. He is noted for the illustration of the manga version of Coyote Ragtime Show and Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!.-References:...
, was serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
between December 1, 2005 and December 21, 2007, published by MediaWorks
MediaWorks (publisher)
was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII...
. Four bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
were released between May 27, 2006, and February 27, 2008. The first volume contains the first six chapters, which encompasses the story from the first two episodes of the anime. There are no major differences between the manga and anime.
Anime
The Manabi Straight! anime aired in Japan between January 8 and March 26, 2007 on the TV TokyoTV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
television network; it contained twelve episodes. A thirteenth original video animation
Original 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...
episode was released on October 10, 2007. The production staff of Manabi Straight! took a new path in terms of direction, effectively removing the traditional "director" position. Instead, a team of studio producers and episode directors called shared the burden together, a first for an animation production. Team Manabibeya includes the story director Ryunosuke Kingetsu
Ryunosuke Kingetsu
is a male Japanese screenwriter of scenarios for several anime, drama CDs, video games and novels.-Filmography:* Dokkoida , Script* Ninja Nonsense , Series Composition...
, the animation director and character designer Atsushi Ogasawara
Atsushi Ogasawara
is a Japanese anime director from Chiba, Japan.-Anime directed:*Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!*Galaxy Angel A*Galaxy Angel Z*Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat*Tristia of the Deep Blue Sea-External links:...
, the layout director Takurowo Takahashi, and the technical director Takayuki Hirao.
Episodes
| # | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
OVA
| # | Title | Original sale date |
|---|---|---|
Music
Before the airing of the anime, five character mini albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s were released featuring the characters of Manami Amamiya, Mika Inamori, Mutsuki Uehara, Mei Etoh, and Momoha Odori, sung by their respective voice actresses
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
from the anime. On February 7, 2007, the opening and ending themes, "A Happy Life" and "Lucky & Happy" respectively, were released on a single album
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
sung by Megumi Hayashibara
Megumi Hayashibara
is a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
and produced by King Records. According to Megumi Hayashibara, she was scheduled to voice Manami Amamiya, but she chose to sing the opening and ending songs instead. It was then decided that Yui Horie would take Manami's role. On February 21, 2007, the first original soundtrack went on sale containing two CDs: the first with background music tracks and the second with remixes of the songs featured on the character mini albums. On March 21, 2007, a single album entitled Seioh Gakuen Kōka Band sung by Yui Horie
Yui Horie
is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL...
and Minori Chihara
Minori Chihara
is a Japanese voice actress who has had roles in several anime series, and a J-pop singer. As a seiyū, she works under the agency Avex Planning & Development, while in her musical career, she has been signed under King Records and is currently with Lantis...
was released with the two insert songs found in episode eleven of the anime. On April 4, 2007, a small album called Miracle Straight! was released containing the opening and ending themes to the video game version. The songs were sung by the voice actresses of the five female main characters from the anime. On May 16, 2007, the second original soundtrack was released containg two CDs: the first with background music tracks and the second with original songs sung by the voice actors who voiced the five main female characters from the series.
Visual novel
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...
developed by Marvelous Interactive for the 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...
entitled was first released on March 29, 2007 as a limited edition version retailing for ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
9,240 (about US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
82) including tax. This edition came bundled with a thirty-minute length drama CD and two background music CDs. The normal edition released on the same day will retail for ¥7,140 (about US$64) with tax. The gameplay consists of the player interacting with the game by making choices at key times in the story. While the game consists of several different scenario
Scenario
A scenario is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the Commedia dell'arte it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play that was literally pinned to the back of the scenery...
s, the main one takes place during the summer festival. In the scenario, Manami needs the cooperation and comprehension of the town people in order to ensure the success of the event. Manami and her friends go through various missions in the game while they work and help the people in town get ready for the festival. As an original system built into the game, Manami has the power to give her friends "Hustle Points" that she uses to cheer her friends up during their various missions.
External links
- Manabi Straight! at UfotableUfotableis a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 and located in Nakano, Tokyo Prefecture. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works is a claymation sequence.-TV series:*Weiß Kreuz Glühen *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED...
- Manabi Straight! at Starchild
- Manabi Straight! at TV TokyoTV Tokyois a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
- Visual novel official website