is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series, written by

Shoji Gatoh is a Japanese author and anime screenwriter from Shiga Prefecture, Japan. He is best known for the creation of the ''Full Metal Panic!'' franchise that includes light novels, manga and anime. Gatoh first met with Koichi Chigira by accident when ...

and illustrated by

Range Murata is a Japanese artist and designer (W artist), known for his unique style combining dieselpunk and Japanese anime elements. He is best known for his conceptual design work on anime series ''Last Exile'' and '' Blue Submarine No. 6''. He began ...

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

have published six volumes since November 2009 under their

Gagaga Bunko is a light novel publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, ...

imprint. An

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 adaptation by

Millepensee is a Japanese animation studio founded in 2013 and based in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo. On February 10, 2020, it was announced that Millepensee had formed a partnership with Sanzigen to form 3DCG 3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” somet ...

aired from July 8 to September 30, 2019.

Plot

Fifteen years ago, a mysterious hyperspace gate appeared over the Pacific Ocean in our world. Elves, fairies, and other fantastic creatures came through the gate from the other side and established diplomatic relations with Earth. In the present day, Kariana Island and its main city of San-Teresa serves as Earth's "front door" to the magical world on the other side of the gate, and over two million non-humans live within the city, mixing with additional human residents. This results in both prosperous growth for the island, and a seedy underbelly of criminals who seek to take advantage of it. The San-Teresa Metropolitan Police Department is established to keep order within the city between those two forces. After a drug bust goes horribly wrong, Detective Sergeant Kei Matoba loses both the fairy being sold as a catalyst for new drugs and his partner of four years in the Metropolitan Police to a Semanian attacker. Despite his attitude towards the Semanian people he derisively calls "aliens", Matoba is forced to partner with a Semanian knight to find the fairy lost in the drug bust, as they consider the fairy an important Semanian citizen. From there, Matoba slowly learns to tolerate the Semanian people, while the knight slowly acclimates herself to Earth and its customs.

Main characters

; : :A former JSDF soldier turned Detective Sergeant for the San-Teresa Metropolitan Police. He has a hostile attitude towards non-human "aliens" from the world beyond the gate, but slowly softens his attitude while working with Tilarna. Kei is willing to bend the rules or associate with unscrupulous people in order to accomplish his tasks. ; : :A noble Knight of Mirvor with a long name who has come through the gate to rescue the kidnapped fairy and punish those responsible for kidnapping her. She wields a sword and can use some magic but is unaccustomed to Earth and its modern technology. ; : :Deputy coroner with the San-Teresa MPD. Kei's ex-girlfriend who still holds some feelings for him. ; : :A corrupt chief of the San-Teresa Metropolitan Police Department Special Public Morals Division. He later reveals himself to be secretly assisting Zelada to spark a war between the humans and the Semanian people, fearing that the Earth's human population will be overrun by people from the other world in a peaceful time. ; : :A black market dealer who runs the strip club "Lady Chapel" while putting up a thin guise of acting like a priest. Kei tolerates him as a confidential informant. ; : :A bouncer and bodyguard who works for Biz O'Neill. ; : :A powerful mage who can control dead bodies overdosed on fairy dust like puppets. Later revealed to be the evil mage responsible for wiping out most of Kei's unit during a battle years ago.

Media

Light novels

The first light novel volume was published on November 18, 2009 by

under their

imprint. Six volumes have been published as of October 2016.

Anime

television series adaptation was announced on December 29, 2018. The series aired from July 8 to September 30, 2019 on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

, BS11, and Wowow. The series is directed by Shin Itagaki and animated by

, with

himself penning the series' scripts, Hiromi Kimura designing the characters for animation and

Taku Iwasaki is a Japanese composer and arranger. His hometown is Tokyo, Japan. He is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Works Anime *''The Irresponsible Captain Tylor'' (OVA series (theme songs composition, etc.); 1995, 1996 ...

composing the music.

Masayoshi Ōishi is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter from Uwajima, Ehime. His professional music career began in 2001 as vocalist of the band Sound Schedule. Following the band's disbandment in 2006, he began a solo career, releasing his debut single " ...

performed the series' opening theme song "Rakuen Toshi", while Mayu Yoshioka performed the series' ending theme song "Connected".

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

has licensed the series outside Asia for a simuldub. In Southeast Asia,

Muse Communication Muse Communication Co., Ltd. (also known simply as Muse) is a Taiwanese distributor and licensor that specializes in the distribution of anime. Based in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, the company also distributes Asian and European films i ...

holds the rights to the series.

References

External links

* * {{Millepensee 2019 anime television series debuts 2009 Japanese novels Anime and manga based on light novels Gagaga Bunko Light novels Funimation Muse Communication Tokyo MX original programming