''Colorful'' (stylized as ''COLORFUL'') is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by Torajirō Kishi. It was serialized in

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Young Jump is a Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shueisha. Launched in 1979, it is published under Shueisha's ''Jump'' line of magazines. The chapters of series that run in ''Weekly Young Jump'' are collected and published in ''tankōbon'' v ...

'' from 1997 to 2000, with its chapters collected in seven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. The manga was adapted into a 16-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series by

Triangle Staff was a Japanese animation studio established in 1987 from former Madhouse staff, producing series such as ''Macross Plus'', ''Serial Experiments Lain'', and ''NieA_7''. The studio ceased operations in 2000, when they were set to do the animatio ...

in 1999. The episodes are composed of

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

typically involving men and teenage boys attempting to catch a glimpse of women's panties and/or look down their blouses. The episodes are fast-paced and short, about seven minutes each. In North America, the anime series was licensed by

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...

Characters

; : (Hirokawa) : (Itani) :Two freshmen at the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. They are perverts in their own way. Hirokawa and Itani are seen enjoying the wind blowing girls' skirts up and seeing their attractive English teacher showing them how to pronounce their L's and R's. Hirokawa shares an apartment with three people. ; : :An athletic star. The show features clips of Yamamoto's face in between vignettes, either winking or with her name being printed all over the screen with "Yamamoto!" being said by multiple people in different ways. ; : :An American exchange student majoring in photography and cinematography at the University of Tokyo. He uses his cameras for

voyeuristic Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...

panty shots.
; : :A man with circular sun-glasses who usually steals things from unsuspecting people. ;Shimoi Chino : :Reporter for the TV show ''Psychic Spot'' (''Channel 2 Night Beat'' in the dubbed version) whose main goal is to sit beside

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

on '' The View''.

Media

Manga

''Colorful'', written and illustrated by Torajirō Kishi, was serialized in

's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''

'' from 1997 to 2000. Shueisha collected its chapters in seven ''

'' volumes, released from February 1, 1998, to December 1, 2000.

Anime

''Colorful'' was adapted into a 16-episode

television series by

, broadcast on TBS's Wonderful programming block from September 6–30, 1999. The opening theme is , performed by

Yūko Miyamura is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and sound director. Her nickname is . She played Kazuha Toyama in ''Detective Conan'', Casca in Berserk and Asuka Langley Soryu in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. Personal life Miyamura was born in K ...

. In North America, the series was licensed in English by

. They released the 16-episode in DVD on March 18, 2003. It was later broadcast in the United States on G4's

Anime Unleashed This is a list of television programs formerly broadcast by the U.S. cable television channel G4. Second iteration Final programming Original * ''Xplay'' (2004–2013; 2013–2014 (reruns); 2021–2022) * ''Attack of the Show!'' (2005–2013; ...

anime block in 2005 . The series was launched in Australia and New Zealand by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

on July 12, 2005.

References

External links