, also titled in French as ''La Croisée dans un Labyrinthe Étranger'', 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

Hinata Takeda was a Japanese manga artist. Her notable works include ''Yaeka no Karute'', ''Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth'', and ''Gosick''. Takeda has a sister named Enaga Senno, who is an illustrator and is four years younger. In January 2017, she died d ...

about a young Japanese girl named Yune who finds herself in late-19th century Paris. The series was serialized in

Fujimi Shobo , formerly , was a Japanese publisher that specialized in light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. Founded in 1972 and reorganized three times, it was at times an independent company and at times an imprint of Kadokawa F ...

's ''

Dragon Age Pure was a Japanese '' shōnen'' manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. It was first released on January 30, 2006, and was initially sold quarterly. Starting with the sale of the fourth volume on April 20, 2007, the magazine was sold bimonthly until ...

'' and ''

Monthly Dragon Age is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between ''Monthly Comic Dragon'' and ''Monthly Dragon Junior'', two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in ...

'' from June 2006, but remained unfinished due to Takeda's death from an unspecified disease in January 2017. 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 adaptation by

Satelight is a Japanese animation studio. Aside from several stand-alone projects, the studio is well known for producing the '' Aquarion'' and '' Symphogear'' franchises, as well as later installments of the ''Macross'' franchise. The company's Represen ...

aired in Japan between July and September 2011.

Plot

The story takes place at the end of the 19th century, as Japanese culture gains popularity in the West. A young Japanese girl, Yune, accompanies a French traveller, Oscar Claudel, on his journey back to France, and offers to help at the family's ironwork shop in Paris. Oscar's grandson and shop owner Claude reluctantly accepts to take care of Yune, and we learn how those two, who have so little in common, get to understand each other and live together in the Paris of the 1800s.

Characters

; : :A small Japanese girl who comes to France with Oscar in order to work at the Enseignes du Roy. ; : :A worker at the Enseignes du Roy and Oscar's grandson. He is generally unfamiliar with Japanese customs and is often confused by some of Yune's mannerisms. ; : :The owner of Enseignes du Roy and Claude's grandfather who brings Yune home with him to France. ; : :A member of the upper class Blanche family who owns the Galerie du Roy within which Ensignes du Roy is located. She has a fascination with Japanese culture and finds herself particularly attracted to Yune, hoping to one day have her stay at her mansion. ; : :A member of the Blanche family and Alice's older sister. It is implied that she has been in love with Claude since childhood, but due to their class differences they can never be together.

Media

Manga

The original manga by Hinata Takeda began serialization in

's ''

'' magazine on June 29, 2006, before moving to ''

'' from June 9, 2009. Two ''

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 were released between December 8, 2007 and June 9, 2009. The manga remains unfinished due to Takeda's death from an unspecified disease in January 2017.

Anime

At the end of 2010, ''

''s official website announced that an anime series was underway. The anime series is produced by

and aired in Japan between July 4, 2011 and September 19, 2011. A bonus episode, Episode 4.5, was broadcast on the ShowTime online service on July 29, 2011 and was released on the third Blu-ray and DVD volume released on November 25, 2011. North American licensor

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

simulcast the series on

The Anime Network Anime Network is an American video on demand (VOD) network dedicated to anime owned by AMC Networks. History The network was launched in North America in late 2002 and is marketed to multi system operators (MSOs) as both a free and subscrip ...

and released it on subtitled DVD in September 2012. The opening theme is by Youmou to Ohana, while the main ending theme is by

Nao Tōyama is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with the agency Intention. Before joining Intention, she was affiliated with Arts Vision. She debuted as a voice actress in 2010, and played her first leading role as Kanon Nakagawa in ''The Worl ...

. The ending theme for episode 4.5 is by

Megumi Nakajima is a Japanese voice actress and singer, who is affiliated with Stay Luck. Her involvement in the entertainment industry began in 2003 when she participated in an audition held by the talent agency Stardust Promotion, becoming affiliated with th ...

, while the ending theme for episode 8 is "Tomorrow's Smile" by A.m.u..

Episode list

Reception

Theron Martin of

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

noted that the series didn't utilize its expansive location as much and found its dramatic moments more forced than touching. But Martin praised the series for

's detailed animation, the teaching of cultural exchange in its episodes and its charming and endearing cast, saying that: "It is a cute, relaxing, and occasionally very funny view, however, one stress-free enough to make a soothing way to wind down a difficult day." Tim Jones of THEM Anime Reviews also criticized the story's forced conflict and lack of new locations but gave praise to the animation and score for capturing 19th century France and Yune's adventures through that period, concluding that: "It's a good series, though its cute heroine and sweet slice-of-life moments are hampered by drama that seems overused more than it should."

References

Similar Programs

Moero! Top Striker is a Japanese anime television series. It was produced by Nippon Animation and broadcast for 49 episodes on TV Tokyo from 10 October 1991 to 24 September 1992. Characters Main characters ;Hikaru Kikkawa : :A son of a diplomat, who has live ...

: Same as this work, an animation with the theme of "life in a foreign country". Broadcast in 1991-1992. *

Kin-iro Mosaic , also known by the abbreviation , is a Japanese 4-panel manga written and illustrated by Yui Hara. The series began serialization in Houbunsha's ''Manga Time Kirara Max'' magazine in June 2010 issue and is licensed in English by Yen Pre ...

: An anime about a British girl who stays in Japan

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth 2011 Japanese television series debuts 2011 anime television series debuts Television shows set in Paris Fujimi Shobo manga Kadokawa Dwango franchises Satelight Sentai Filmworks Shōnen manga