''Human Crossing'', originally titled , 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 ...

written by

Masao Yajima Masao (written: 正雄, 正夫, 正生, 正男, 正郎, 雅雄, 雅央, 雅夫, 雅勇, 雅男, 昌雄, 昌夫, 昌男, 昌朗, 昌郎, 昌大, 政雄, 政夫, 政男, 政於, 征夫, 優夫, 聖雄, 利生, 将雄, 将夫 or 眞男) is a masculine ...

and illustrated by

Kenshi Hirokane is a Japanese manga artist from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi. He graduated from Waseda University with a degree in law, then worked for Matsushita Electric for four years, before making his manga debut in 1974 with ''Kaze Kaoru''."Manga Snapshot: Big Co ...

. The manga is about a series of unrelated stories of people's life and their lessons in life. ''Human Crossing'' received the 1985

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...

for the General category.

Manga

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 ...

published ''Human Crossing'' in 27 ''

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 ...

'' between October 1, 1981 and March 1, 1991. The series was republished into 19 '' bunkoban'' between November 17, 1994 and June 15, 1996.

Anime

The series was adapted into a 13-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 ...

in 2003 by

A.C.G.T is a Japanese animation studio established on December 19, 2000, by former Triangle Staff members in Suginami, Tokyo. It has been involved in the development of many series, predominantly contributing to other studios and adapting works based o ...

and produced by OB Planning. Directed by Issei Kume, it was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

between April 5, 2003 and June 28, 2003. It was licensed by

Geneon (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Tokyo, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distributi ...

in 2004. Each episode is a separate story of little relevance to each other. The anime is released in France by Kaze, and in Taiwan by

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 ...

. The anime uses two pieces of

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

. "REVENGE ~Asu e no Chigai~" by

Nana Katase Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana (c ...

is the opening theme, while "Believing" by Aki Asahina is the ending theme.

released a set of four DVDs for ''Human Crossing''. They released the first DVD, ''Human Crossing - The 25th Hour'' on February 8, 2005, the second DVD, ''Human Crossing, Vol. 2: The Cicadas of Winter'' on April 26, 2005, the third DVD, ''Human Crossing, Vol. 3: Message in White'' on June 28, 2005, and the fourth and final DVD, ''Human Crossing, Vol. 4: Instructor's Rain'' on August 30, 2005. On March 13, 2007,

released ''Human Crossing: Complete Brick Pack'', which contains all four DVDs of the anime.

Maiden Japan ''Maiden Japan'', released as ''Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album '' Made in Japan''. Release There are at least two different versions of ...

has now licensed the anime series.

Episode listing

Albums

Avex trax released a soundtrack CD on ''Human Crossing'' anime's ending theme called, ''Human Scramble - Believing'', on June 4, 2003. The CD uses

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

, Marsga Randcliffe and

Debra Shane Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...

lyrics. It was sung by Aki Asahina. On July 16, 2003, Hiboom released a soundtrack CD for ''Human Scramble'', containing the opening and ending themes of the anime. On January 7, 2005,

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

released a CD for ''Human Scramble'', which was sung by

Shinji Tanimura is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Career Tanimura set up the musical group Alice together with Takao Horiuchi in 1971 and released his first extended play musical album in the following year. Alice produced its first album two years later. Du ...

. On March 11, 2009,

created a SHM-CD version of

's 10-part album, which includes "Ningen Kosaten - Human Scramble".

Reception

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 ...

's Theron Martin criticizes “The 25th Hour” episode, "which comes off as preachy, improbable, and forced" but he also commends the “Direction" episode for its "poignancy and emotional appeal" at the end.

's Carlo Santos criticizes the second DVD of ''Human Crossing'' because of its animation, labeling it "stiff" and "choppy". Mania.com's Jennifer Rocks comments on the "stand-alone" nature of each episode more saying that it might be more rewarding if the anime is "viewed as a cultural study, rather than as pure entertainment".

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

's Don Houston commends the anime on its "background detail" and writes that many of the episodes have a "universal appeal".

References

External links

Official Kaze ''Human Scramble'' website
* {{A.C.G.T 2003 anime television series debuts Geneon USA Maiden Japan Seinen manga Shogakukan manga TV Tokyo original programming Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga