Saikano
Encyclopedia
is a manga
, anime
, and OVA series by Shin Takahashi
, creator of Iihito and Kimi no Kakera
. Saikano was originally serialized in Shogakukan
's Big Comic Spirits
magazine
.
A live-action movie adaptation was released in Japan on January 28, 2006 with Aki Maeda
starring as Chise.
The Saikano manga and anime series has been licensed and is being distributed by Viz Media
in English
in North America
. The anime series is distributed in the UK
by Manga Entertainment
(as "She, the Ultimate Weapon").
Although the city is not mentioned by name in the series, many of the locations used in Saikano can by all probability be found in Otaru-shi
, west of Sapporo. The train station, "Hell Hill", the Asahi Observation Hill, the view over the harbor, and the school all have similarly looking counterparts in the city of Otaru.
student
in a Hokkaidō
coastal city, walking up to an observatory and reminiscing about his girlfriend, ; there he finds her exchange diaries that she purposefully left behind. The ensuing story is narrated by Shuji through flashback
s while reading Chise's diary. Chise, a fellow student in his class, declares her love for Shuji at the beginning of the series. However, Chise is very shy and Shuji is insensitive: neither know how to express their feelings very well, but they do indeed have feelings for each other.
One day, while Shuji is shopping
in Sapporo, unknown bomber
s attack the city in broad daylight. He and his friends run for cover, but notice a fast and small flying object shooting down the enemy bombers. Separated from his friends, Shuji wanders through the wreckage - only to stumble upon Chise; here she has metal wings and weapons - apparently grafted onto her body. She tells him she has become the ultimate weapon, without her knowledge or consent, and that she is seen by the Japan Self-Defense Forces
(JSDF) as the last hope for defending Japan from imminent invasion. In the anime, it is not apparent why Chise was chosen to be the ultimate weapon or why the country is under attack. It was not until the OVA episodes were released that an explanation for Chise being chosen was offered: her body has the highest degree of compatibility with the weapon system. (In fact, later in the OVA it is mentioned that Chise had been "over-developed" and was so much of a weapon that she would kill anyone regardless of what side they were on. This fact is punctuated by Chise vaporizing the Special Forces building where she first became the ultimate weapon.)
This story, as suggested by its subtitle
"The Last Love Song On This Little Planet", is primarily a love story. It focuses primarily on Shuji's and Chise's reactions to her increasingly powerful destructive abilities, and the relationship between the two.
A number of minor characters who do not necessarily know of Chise's role in the war have sub-plots that concern everyday people in the context of war: a woman whose husband is constantly away from home, a school boy who joins the army to protect his girlfriend, a girl whose civilian boyfriend is killed in a bombing, and others.
In one episode an enemy plane is shot down near the city and the pilot's one or two lines are in near perfect American English. In the manga and OVA, Chise speaks to the enemy soldiers, saying that she does not know much English, and later in the series there are some enemy soldiers that speak French. The OVAs also portray some of the soldiers speaking French.
However, in the end of both the anime and the manga, Chise remarks that many other parts of the world had experienced "horrendous things", and that "humans have done a lot of damage to this world".
The only weapons of mass destruction observed in both the anime and manga was Chise herself, who by the middle of the story had the power to destroy entire cities and did so on a fairly regular basis. In more than one battle over a Japanese city, Chise simply vaporized the city and most of the people in it. Coupled with the comments about how the enemy had nowhere to return to and how Chise has been "working" all over the world, it seems unlikely that the invasion by other nations is simply over territory.
Nori
Yukari
Nakamura
Kawahara
Shingo
Rie
Seiko
Hana
Satomi
Shuji's mother
Shuji's father
Originally serialized in Shogakukan magazine, the complete manga series runs for 7 volumes. The Saikano manga has been licensed by VIZ Media and translated into English
. It has also been translated into Spanish
by Glénat
, into Italian
by Panini Comics
, into German
by Carlsen Verlag
and into French
by Éditions Delcourt
.
The anime follows the manga very closely until the end, where it takes a dramatic turn. In the manga, Chise is portrayed as the one who, after having been almost completely replaced by machine, decides to "liberate" what is left of mankind from its suffering of having to exist on a devastated Earth. In the anime, Chise tries to save the last of the Japanese population from an impending natural disaster coupled with an arriving foreign attack force, but fails. In both, Shuji becomes the last surviving member of humanity. The anime ending is rather disjointed from the rest of the story, where Chise is actively attacking and eliminating population centers around the world.
series ran for 13 episodes and faithfully adapted all of the chapters in the manga
. However, the last TV episode strayed from the manga's continuity and gave an original conclusion to the anime.
Saikano first aired on the Family Gekijou channel from July 2, 2002 to September 24, 2002. Two 30 minute OVA
episodes were also released.
Opening Theme: "Koisuru Kimochi" by Yuria Yato
Ending Theme: "Sayonara" by Yuria Yato
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...
, 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....
, and OVA series by Shin Takahashi
Shin Takahashi
is a Japanese manga artist best known for writing Saikano and Iihito. He was born in Shibetsu, Hokkaidō on September 8, 1967....
, creator of Iihito and Kimi no Kakera
Kimi no Kakera
is a manga by Shin Takahashi that is focused on a thirteen-year-old girl by the name of Icoro. She is the princess of the "Upper World", a world where snow is always falling and even princesses like her are forced to wake up at 4 a.m. and go to bed at midnight, learning and working the rest of the...
. Saikano was originally serialized in Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
's Big Comic Spirits
Big Comic Spirits
is a weekly Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan and aimed at males 20–25 years old. It originally launched on October 14, 1980. The culture of food, sports, love relationships, and business provide the themes for its featured series, which often question conventional values...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
.
A live-action movie adaptation was released in Japan on January 28, 2006 with Aki Maeda
Aki Maeda
Aki Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She has an older sister named Ai Maeda....
starring as Chise.
The Saikano manga and anime series has been licensed and is being distributed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The anime series is distributed in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
(as "She, the Ultimate Weapon").
Although the city is not mentioned by name in the series, many of the locations used in Saikano can by all probability be found in Otaru-shi
Otaru, Hokkaido
is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination...
, west of Sapporo. The train station, "Hell Hill", the Asahi Observation Hill, the view over the harbor, and the school all have similarly looking counterparts in the city of Otaru.
Plot
The story begins with , a high schoolHigh 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....
student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
in a Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
coastal city, walking up to an observatory and reminiscing about his girlfriend, ; there he finds her exchange diaries that she purposefully left behind. The ensuing story is narrated by Shuji through flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s while reading Chise's diary. Chise, a fellow student in his class, declares her love for Shuji at the beginning of the series. However, Chise is very shy and Shuji is insensitive: neither know how to express their feelings very well, but they do indeed have feelings for each other.
One day, while Shuji is shopping
Shopping
Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one....
in Sapporo, unknown bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s attack the city in broad daylight. He and his friends run for cover, but notice a fast and small flying object shooting down the enemy bombers. Separated from his friends, Shuji wanders through the wreckage - only to stumble upon Chise; here she has metal wings and weapons - apparently grafted onto her body. She tells him she has become the ultimate weapon, without her knowledge or consent, and that she is seen by the Japan Self-Defense Forces
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
(JSDF) as the last hope for defending Japan from imminent invasion. In the anime, it is not apparent why Chise was chosen to be the ultimate weapon or why the country is under attack. It was not until the OVA episodes were released that an explanation for Chise being chosen was offered: her body has the highest degree of compatibility with the weapon system. (In fact, later in the OVA it is mentioned that Chise had been "over-developed" and was so much of a weapon that she would kill anyone regardless of what side they were on. This fact is punctuated by Chise vaporizing the Special Forces building where she first became the ultimate weapon.)
This story, as suggested by its subtitle
Subtitle (titling)
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an...
"The Last Love Song On This Little Planet", is primarily a love story. It focuses primarily on Shuji's and Chise's reactions to her increasingly powerful destructive abilities, and the relationship between the two.
A number of minor characters who do not necessarily know of Chise's role in the war have sub-plots that concern everyday people in the context of war: a woman whose husband is constantly away from home, a school boy who joins the army to protect his girlfriend, a girl whose civilian boyfriend is killed in a bombing, and others.
War
Both the manga and the anime feature a hotly-contested war. Battles are shown through the lives of people on the front, but the diplomatic particulars of the war are not revealed to the audience. A reason is never given as to why the war broke out in the first place, but it is heavily implied that a coalition of countries is invading Japan as Japan is one of the last remaining habitable places on the planet, and that humans caused great damage to the world.In one episode an enemy plane is shot down near the city and the pilot's one or two lines are in near perfect American English. In the manga and OVA, Chise speaks to the enemy soldiers, saying that she does not know much English, and later in the series there are some enemy soldiers that speak French. The OVAs also portray some of the soldiers speaking French.
However, in the end of both the anime and the manga, Chise remarks that many other parts of the world had experienced "horrendous things", and that "humans have done a lot of damage to this world".
The only weapons of mass destruction observed in both the anime and manga was Chise herself, who by the middle of the story had the power to destroy entire cities and did so on a fairly regular basis. In more than one battle over a Japanese city, Chise simply vaporized the city and most of the people in it. Coupled with the comments about how the enemy had nowhere to return to and how Chise has been "working" all over the world, it seems unlikely that the invasion by other nations is simply over territory.
Main characters
- She is the main female character of the story. Chise is a shy, clumsy girl with very little self-esteem and has poor grades in everything except for World HistoryWorld HistoryWorld History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
. She was constantly hospitalized in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
during her elementary years, and thus, has very few friends (except for Akemi). She starts dating Shuji, with Akemi’s help, and tries to make her relationship work with him despite his apparently aloof personality. However, Chise is very inexperienced and does not know much about relationships to the point she reads shōjoShojoThe term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
mangaMangaManga 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...
for advice. She was turned into the ultimate weapon against her will and the series revolves around her and her fading humanity. Chise tries to come to terms with her new weapon body by convincing herself that she’s protecting the one she loves, but comes to admit to herself that the only thing she can do is to destroy. She feels horribly guilty for all the pain and death she has caused and shies away from Shuji, believing she doesn’t deserve any happiness. As Chise’s weapon-side starts to take over, her heart stops beating, her body lacks warmth and her sense of taste and touch are dulled, but other senses (especially sight) are accentuated and she’s basically immortal. However, a second darker persona starts to emerge halfway through the series, a cold, ruthless machine that delights in her growing, destructive powers and killing people without mercy. In the end, her love for Shuji is the last of her humanity she can cling to. It's implied at the end of the anime and manga that Chise has become a machine that is god-like in its immortality and destructive power.
- He is the main male character of the story and narratorNarratorA narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
of the series. He is a somewhat antisocialAntisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
17-year old high school student who gets higher than average grades and used to be on his school’s track teamTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. Shuuji is very unsure of his initial feelings for Chise and feels that their relationship is more trouble than its worth, though his feelings deepen as the story progresses. At first, he wanted to break things off with Chise, but he then changes his mind and wants to give the relationship another try. However, things get complicated when his first love, Fuyumi, reappears in town. He is the only civilian who knows Chise is the ultimate weapon and promises that he will never divulge her secret. Shuuji is torn by this side of Chise; he loves her deeply, but he is terrified of her weapon capabilities. This causes a very noticeable strain on their relationship and he finally succumbs to Fuyumi’s advances because of this, although it is unclear whether he actually has sex with her as she desires. Shuuji is feeling constantly guilty and useless because his irresponsible actions tend to hurt Chise and because all his loved-ones are dying around him. Later on in the series, he comes to accept his love for Chise and vows to protect her at all costs. He’s the only human being left alive in the end--thanks to Chise’s sacrifice in the anime and thanks to her desire to spare him from annihilation in the manga. The manga ends with him entering a giant ship which claims to be all that is left of Chise--she says she has been trying to get "big and strong" so she can protect him in this way. He is left alone in a spaceship flying away from a devastated EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, with the human Chise in his heart. It is unclear whether or not the spaceship is an actual spaceship or if Shuji just went insane and imagined the whole thing. The anime changed this into them having another go at life in the memories of his past. In both endings, without food or water, Shuji's fate is unclear.
- She is a childhood friend and classmate of both Chise and Shuji. Akemi is also Chise's best friend, and usually gives her advice on love. A typical tomboyTomboyA tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
, but she has some insecurities about her appearance, always questioning why any man would fall for her. She always comes to Chise’s defense whenever Shuji inadvertently hurts Chise verbally. She harbors a secret love for Shuji since she was young, which he is oblivious of, but still encourages Chise to confess to him. She later starts dating Atsushi, knowing that her love for Shuji is unrequitedUnrequited loveUnrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
. Akemi gets fatally injured due during an earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
that hits their little town, and with her dying breath, she tells Shuji her real feelings.
- Shuji’s best friend. Atsushi is a mature, open, down-to-earth guy who holds a fascination for the military. Atsushi always looks out for others, as can be seen during the Sapporo raid where he's desperately trying to keep his friends out of harm's way. He decides to join the JSDFJapan Self-Defense ForcesThe , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
to protect the girl he loves, Akemi, despite being aware that she will never love him back. When he’s finally in the armyArmyAn army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, he’s appalled at the bad state the country is in, and never knows what exactly the weapon “Chise” is since the other soldiers never gave him a clear answer. He dies when Chise destroys the city he’s in, holding Akemi’s photo in his hand.
- RegimentRegimentA regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
leader, Fuyumi’s husbandHusbandA husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...
, and the sole survivor of Chise’s first platoonPlatoonA platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
. He’s very much like Shuji in terms of looks and personality and that’s why Chise is initially attracted by him. He treats Chise like an ordinary girl, not a monstrosity, and even goes shopping with her; this makes Chise like him even more and finds understanding and compassion in Tetsu. Later on, he gets injured during a fight and staggers to his quarters to hide, but four enemy soldiers were waiting for him and open fire. He dies shortly from his wounds, but manages to tell Chise that he loves her, mistaking her for Fuyumi. He's one of the characters to be featured in the OVA, where Mizuki, his former commander, was shown to have a crush on him.
- Shuji’s first lover and Tetsu’s wifeWifeA wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
. She used to train the track teamTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
when she was younger and her students called her “Fuyumi-senpaiSenpaiand are an essential element of Japanese seniority-based status relationships, similar to the way that family and other relationships are decided based on age, with even twins being divided into elder and younger sibling...
” because of the close age difference. She had an intimate and inappropriate relationship with Shuji when they were younger--the manga shows her giving him detailed instructions for pleasuring her--and keeps bringing this up when she seduces him. She hates feeling lonely since her husband, Tetsu, is never home since he’s always away in the army so she decides to take comfort in Shuji, who has a remarkable similarity with Tetsu. Shuji finally stops her advances after Tetsu dies, saying that the only person he wants to protect isn’t Fuyumi. She admits she has always used him to fill her own physical and emotional needs, slaps him, and rides her bike to her parents’ house, never to be seen again. In the manga version, she is seen in her parents' house, helping her sick father and reminiscing about Tetsu the night before Chise destroys the city.
- Seen only in the OVA, Mizuki was the prototype for the weapon system which would later be used on Chise. She was an officer who was badly wounded in an attack, but returned to the battlefield because of the prototype weapon system. Initially disdainful of Chise's behavior, and bitter because of her body's inability to use Chise's advanced system, Mizuki began to have second thoughts after seeing what the new system was doing to Chise. She then became an elder sister/motherly figure to the young girl. She also had a crush on Tetsu, her former deputy. Realizing that she was about to die due to extensive damage to her body, Mizuki decided to do one last mission to prevent Chise from going berzerk. After her body gave out in the battle, she activated her self-destruction system. But, she managed to return Tetsu's lighter to him.
Minor characters
Take- The most extroverted guy in Shuji’s circle of friends and Yukari's boyfriendBoyfriendA boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed relationships, where other titles A boyfriend is a person's regular male companion in a romantic or sexual relationship, although normally not in long-term committed...
. Take is the first one to get a girlfriend in Shuji's group (a fact Nori is very envious about). His girlfriend is named Yukari and they have been going out for two months by the start of the series. They constantly fight with each other (a fact only Chise seems to notice). He decides to buy a rose quartz at the Sapporo mall to try to get on her good side again. He dies during the bombing, holding Yukari’s pendant in his hand. His classmates put flowers and a framed picture on his old desk as a tributeTributeA tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
to him after his death. In the manga version, he survives the attack.
Nori
- The most immature guy in Shuji’s circle of friends. Nori is a naive high-school student, who believed that the war would never reach their hometown and they should stop worrying about it. He desperately wants to have a girlfriend, and is slightly jealous of Take for having one. He later gets a crushLimerenceLimerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
on a second-year girl named Miho but it is unknown if his feelings are reciprocated.
Yukari
- Take’s girlfriendGirlfriendGirlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
and part of Chise's group of friends. They fought constantly while he was alive, but she still had strong feelings for him. After her boyfriend’s death, she leaves the school. Soon after that, she gets a new boyfriend and decides never to love anyone seriously ever again. Later on in the series, she joins the neighborhood watch to find the enemy plane that crashed in the woods. She finds the soldier accidentally while looking for the plane. She is momentarily lost and kills him crying out Take’s name. She loses her life in the return fire, and clutches the pendant just like Take did.
Nakamura
- Young soldier on Chise’s former companyCompany (military unit)A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
. He admires Chise very much, telling her that her combat skills saved his life. He is later mortally wounded by enemy soldiers when Chise fails to appear on a mission, instead opting to go on a date with Shuji. Tetsu takes pity on him and kills him to end his suffering. He also appears in the OVA, alongside Tetsu.
Kawahara
- Head scientist in charge of Chise. He is a nervous man that perpetually wipes his forehead with a dark-blue cloth. His wife and daughter were killed during the Sapporo bombing. He gives Shuji some pills saying that Chise needs them so her machine side won’t take over and later gives her some much-needed maintenance. Feeling his job is finally done, he shoots himselfSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in the head. He also makes an appearance in the OVA.
Others
Sergeant Itou- Chise’s chaperon. He is in charge of keeping Chise up to date with headquarter decisions and keeping her schedule in order. He later goes insaneInsanityInsanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
after witnessing the full extent of her powers. He also appears in the OVA.
Shingo
- Atsushi’s army mate. He’s a playful, teasing person and gets along well with Atsushi. He dies when his military baseMilitary baseA military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
is attacked.
Rie
- Girl who is part of Chise's circle of friends. She was spying behind a locker (along with Akemi, Seiko, and Yukari) when Chise confessed her feelings to Shuji.
Seiko
- Girl who is part of Chise's circle of friends. She was spying behind a locker (along with Akemi, Rie, and Yukari) when Chise confessed her feelings to Shuji.
Hana
- The only female recruitRecruitmentRecruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies.The recruitment...
that is seen in the series. She joins the military to avenge her boyfriend’s death. Hana loses her life while fighting since everyone mistook the gunshots as someone beating a drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
.
Satomi
- Akemi’s younger sister. She’s a very optimisticOptimismThe Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...
and cheerful girl who sometimes acts as a messenger between Akemi and Shuji. She's also part of the track teamTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. Her fate after the destruction remains unknown.
Shuji's mother
- She is a kind and gentle woman, who always worries over her family. It is presumed she is killed during Chise's massacre.
Shuji's father
- A man who cares for his family, though like his son, he is somewhat reserved. He along with his wife are presumed to have died in the end.
Manga
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It has also been translated into Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
by Glénat
Glénat (publisher)
Glénat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble. The company publishes many things, including comic books and manga in France, Benelux, and Spain; it was founded by Jacques Glénat. The Spanish subsidiary has its head office in Barcelona. The Benelux subsidiary, Glénat...
, into Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
by Panini Comics
Panini Comics
Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...
, into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
by Carlsen Verlag
Carlsen Verlag
Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier. The branch was founded on 25 April 1953 in Hamburg. The publisher's program focuses on books for children Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish...
and into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
by Éditions Delcourt
Delcourt (publisher)
Delcourt is a French publishing house that specializes in comics and manga.It was founded in 1986 through the fusion of the magazines Charlie Mensuel and Pilote...
.
The anime follows the manga very closely until the end, where it takes a dramatic turn. In the manga, Chise is portrayed as the one who, after having been almost completely replaced by machine, decides to "liberate" what is left of mankind from its suffering of having to exist on a devastated Earth. In the anime, Chise tries to save the last of the Japanese population from an impending natural disaster coupled with an arriving foreign attack force, but fails. In both, Shuji becomes the last surviving member of humanity. The anime ending is rather disjointed from the rest of the story, where Chise is actively attacking and eliminating population centers around the world.
Side story
There is also a one shot side story called "Love Story, Killed". The story is of a 17 year old Japanese sniper, who hides in the remains of a block of flats and kills enemy soldiers so that he can collect their guns (sans ammunition, just to lay them out on the floor). At the start of the story, he kills a group of enemy soldiers who are about to rape a Japanese girl. While collecting their guns, the sniper is confronted by the girl who picked up one of the guns, but the sniper eventually befriends the girl and takes her back to his room because he wants to have sex with her. It is revealed that he only has five rounds left, with his final round being his good luck charm that he keeps in the pocket, and that he wants to die because it will relieve him from the war. However, after getting to know the girl better and having sex with her, he becomes afraid of death, and when firing on an enemy squadron that came looking for him, he misses and reveals his position. Eventually, he finds himself unable to fire his good luck charm round due to his fear of death. Suddenly the girl appears in the doorway, bringing the guns and ammo of the soldiers he has just killed, saying that he now has the ammunition to kill more soldiers and can keep fighting in the war. Right as the sniper smiles however, three enemy soldiers appear behind the girl, kill the sniper and then rape and kill the girl. The enemy soldiers themselves all die two days later.Anime
The televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series ran for 13 episodes and faithfully adapted all of the chapters in the 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...
. However, the last TV episode strayed from the manga's continuity and gave an original conclusion to the anime.
Saikano first aired on the Family Gekijou channel from July 2, 2002 to September 24, 2002. Two 30 minute OVA
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...
episodes were also released.
Opening Theme: "Koisuru Kimochi" by Yuria Yato
Ending Theme: "Sayonara" by Yuria Yato
Staff
| Director | Mitsuko Kase |
|---|---|
| Music | Takeo Miratsu Takeo Miratsu was a Japanese music composer for video games and anime. He was a member of Twin Amadeus, who composed songs for the Beatmania IIDX series of music video games... |
| Original Manga | Shin Takahashi Shin Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist best known for writing Saikano and Iihito. He was born in Shibetsu, Hokkaidō on September 8, 1967.... |
| Producers | Shigeru Kitayama Shigeru Kitayama is a Japanese anime producer.-Works:Staffed in* Ninja Scroll , Assistant producer* 801 T.T.S. Airbats , Producer* Trigun , Producer* Geobreeders , Producer... Tatsuya Hamamoto |
| Chief Animation Director | Masayuki Sato |
| Music producer | Takeshi Ando |
| Original music | Yuki Kajiura Yuki Kajiura , born August 6, 1965 in Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as one of the Kimagure Orange Road movies, Noir, .hack//SIGN, Aquarian Age, Madlax, My-HiME, My-Otome, .hack//Roots, Pandora Hearts, Puella Magi... |
| Theme songs composition | Yuria Yato |
| Art director | Junichi Higashi Toshihiro Kohama |
| Sound director | Keiichiro Miyoshi |
| Character design | Minako Shiba Satoko Miyachi Satoshi Ohsawa |
| Editing | Aya Hida Kengo Shigemura |
| Music Editor | Yutaka Gouda |
| Color coordination | Eri Suzuki |
| Sound Effects | Takuya Hasegawa |
| 3D Director | Hiroaki Matsuura |
| Hokkaido dialect coach | Hiromi Konno Hiromi Konno is a Japanese voice actress from Hokkaidō, Japan.-Anime:*Air as Potato*Amagami as Sae Nakata*Bakuten Shoot Beyblade G Revolution as Matilda*Beyblade as Bijo A ; Girl... |