''Dog Days'' (stylized as ''DOG DAYS'') is a Japanese

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 created by Masaki Tsuzuki, also known for his work as creator of ''

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is a Japanese anime television series directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, with screenplay written by Masaki Tsuzuki and produced by Seven Arcs. It forms part of the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (series), ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' series. T ...

'' and produced by

Seven Arcs is a Japanese anime production company and former studio, established on May 31, 2002, by former Pierrot staff. The studio made its first animated television series, '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', in 2004. Since then, the company has produced ...

and

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both ''Fullm ...

under the direction of Keizo Kusakawa. The story revolves around a boy named Shinku Izumi, who is summoned to an alternate world by Princess Millhiore in order to defend Millhiore's country, the Biscotti Republic, from the neighboring kingdom of Galette. The series ran for 13 episodes 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 ...

and other channels from April to June 2011. A second series, titled ''Dog Days'', ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2012. A third series, titled ''Dog Days'', ran for 12 episodes from January to March 2015. A

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 ...

adaptation with four chapters was published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

, and serialized in the ''

Newtype is a monthly magazine publication originating from Japan, covering anime (and to a lesser extent, tokusatsu, manga, Japanese science fiction, seiyuu, and video games). It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, with i ...

'' magazine between March and July 2011 issues. Kadokawa Shoten also published a ''Dog Days'' manga illustrated by Takuya Fujima, which serialized in three different magazines from May to November 2011. Several

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s have also been produced, as well as a

comic anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...

Plot

Shinku Izumi is a cheerful and athletic half-Japanese, half- Cornish boy who studies at Kinokawa International School in Japan, and has a normal life everyday until he suddenly got summoned to the alternate world of . The people there look no different from humans, except for one thing; they have animal ears and tails. The one who summoned him is Millhiore, the dog-like Princess of the , who requested his assistance against the forces of the feline-like . After responding to Millhiore's plea, he receives a sacred weapon, the , and is appointed as a Hero to fight for Biscotti in a war that unlike the ones in Earth, is waged with special rules and no casualties, in a fashion similar to a sports competition with the purpose to raise funds for the Kingdoms involved, where the winner faction claims a larger sum than the losing side. After winning his first battle for Biscotti, Shinku learns that when a hero is summoned into Flonyard he becomes unable to return to his homeworld, a fact that Millhiore also was unaware of. While the scientists of Biscotti look for a way for him to return home, he decides to keep serving Millhiore as Biscotti's hero for 16 days. After successfully returning home, Shinku is summoned back time and again (when the conditions were met), to visit Flonyard while embarking freeload adventures with them, accompanied by his cousin and rival athlete Nanami Takatsuki, who is chosen to become Galette's Hero, and his close friend

Rebecca Anderson Rebecca Anderson (Muessle) (born May 1991) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Oregon City, Oregon. She won a series of local titles beginning in 2011 and was crowned Miss Oregon 2014. Entering her first pageant at age 19, Anderson ...

who is also chosen by the squirrel-like to become their hero as well.

Media

Anime

The anime series, produced by

and

, is directed by Keizo Kusakawa, series composition by Masaki Tsuzuki, character designs by Osamu Sakata, music by

I've Sound I've Sound, or simply called , is a Japanese techno/trance music production group based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Led by Kazuya Takase, it features the talents of seasoned "sound creators" and many different vocalists, known as to their fa ...

Maiko Iuchi is a Japanese composer and arranger. Much of her work is for video games and anime. Biography Iuchi was born in Hiroshima. She learned piano and percussion from a young age. As a high school student, she performed as a drummer in various band ...

, Susumu Natsume and Yui Isshiki, and produced by the production company Project DD. The series aired 13 episodes from April 2 to June 25, 2011, on

, Tochigi TV, Gunma TV,

Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neighbouring prefectures. It is a mem ...

, TVK,

TV Saitama abbreviated TVS, doing business as is a Japanese fee-free terrestrial commercial television broadcasting company headquartered in Urawa-ku, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its intended coverage is Saitama Prefecture but with some sp ...

and

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

, with subsequent runs on

Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting is a regional radio and television service serving Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is majorly owned by the ''Chunichi Shimbun''. Its radio service is affiliated with the Japan Radio Network (JRN) and its television service affiliated wi ...

and BS11. Six DVD and

Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...

(BD) volumes were released by Aniplex between July 27 and December 21, 2011. The series' opening theme is " Scarlet Knight" by

Nana Mizuki is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator from Niihama, Ehime. She is represented by the agency StarCrew. Mizuki was trained as an enka singer, releasing one single under her birth name, Nana Kondō, in 1993 and made her debut as a voice ...

and the ending theme song is "Presenter" by

Yui Horie is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with VIMS and Starchild. She has been affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans. She debuted as a voice actress in 1997, releasing her debut single "''My best friend''" on . Since then, sh ...

, both produced and composed by

Elements Garden Elements Garden is a Japanese group of music composers, or a "music production brand" as they call themselves. They generally produce music for video games, anime and recording artists. They are attached to Aria Entertainment. The group was form ...

. The ending song for episode 13 is "Miracle Colors" by

. The insert songs of the series are in episode 5 and in episode 11. Both songs are sung by

. A guidebook to the series, called ''Dog Days: Memory of Flonyard'', was released by

on January 26, 2012. A second anime season, titled , aired 13 episodes from July 7 to September 29, 2012, on Tokyo MX, with subsequent runs on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, Chiba TV, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama, Tochigi TV, Gunma TV, KBS Kyoto, Sun Television, and BS11. Keizo Kusakawa did not return as director for the season, instead being replaced with

Junji Nishimura is a Japanese anime director and producer currently residing in Karatsu, Saga. After graduating from Meiji Gakuin University in 1980, Nishimura entered into the anime studio Nishiko Production. Nishimura had his first job as a producer for ''Bald ...

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

provided a

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

of the second season beginning on July 14, 2012, with the first season to be uploaded at a later date. DVD and BD compilation volumes will be released by Aniplex, beginning on September 26, 2012. The opening theme for the second season is " Fearless Hero" by Nana Mizuki and the ending theme song is by Yui Horie. The insert songs are "Heart Relation" in episode 8 and Shiny Heart Shiny Smile in episode 12, both are sung by Horie Yui. The song "Miracle Colors" by Horie Yui, which is the ending song for season 1 episode 13, is also the insert song for episode 11. In November 2012, a third season was announced. On 24 June 2014, the animator Katsuya Kikuchi, via Twitter, requested his followers to wait a little longer as its third season is still in production. He also stated that more information regarding the anime's third season will be revealed. The series, titled ''Dog Days', ran for 12 episodes on Tokyo MX from January 10 to March 28, 2015.

Printed media

adaptation of ''Dog Days'', written by Masaki Tsuzuki, and illustrated by Kiro Habane, was serialized between the March and July 2011 issues of

's ''

'' magazine, published under their

Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publi ...

imprint. A manga adaptation illustrated by Takuya Fujima was serialized in multiple magazines by Kadokawa Shoten. The first chapter was serialized in the April 2011 issue of ''Newtype''; the second and third chapters were serialized in the May 2011 issue of ''

Comptiq is a Japanese computer game magazine, first published in 1983, by Kadokawa Shoten. The name "Comptiq" came from combining the words "computer" and "boutique". Originally a PC magazine, its focus shifted from computers to computer games. As of S ...

''; and the fourth chapter was serialized in ''

Comp Ace is a Japanese PC game, computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. ''Comp Ace'' began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, ''Comptiq''. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and ...

''. The chapters were later collected into a ''tankōbon'' volume by Kadokawa Shoten, published on October 26, 2011, under their ''Comics Ace'' imprint. A 142-page

was published by Kadokawa Shoten on September 22, 2011, under their ''Comics Ace'' imprint. Naruse Hirofumi illustrated the comic's cover. Fourteen different artists contributed to the comic.

Drama CDs

A series of

s based on the first season of the anime have been released by

. The first CD volume was released on August 24, 2011, with a total of three CD volumes released as of December 21, 2011. The CDs are side stories that take place between the episodes of the anime, the first taking place after episode 5, the second taking place after episode 12, and the third serving as an epilogue to the first season.

Video Games

Millhiore Firianno Biscotti appears as a playable character in the 2012 PlayStation Portable game Nendoroid Generation. The game is a crossover RPG featuring characters in the distinctive style of Nendoroid figurines. An ensemble cast of game and anime characters join forces to do battle or simply dance.

References

External links

* * * * {{Seven Arcs 2011 Japanese novels 2011 anime television series debuts 2011 manga 2012 anime television series debuts 2015 anime television series debuts Adventure anime and manga Anime with original screenplays Aniplex Isekai anime and manga Isekai novels and light novels Kadokawa Shoten manga Kemonomimi Seven Arcs Shōnen manga Tokyo MX original programming