is a 2016 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 produced by

Trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

and written by

Mari Okada is a Japanese screenwriter, director and manga artist. She is one of the most prolific writers currently working in the anime industry. She won the 16th Animation Kobe Award. Personal life Okada was born in Chichibu. She was often bullied at ...

. The series features character designs by

Shirow Miwa is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He is best known as the writer and artist for the ''Dogs'' manga series, but has also contributed illustrations to various tribute books, and magazines, including Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan. M ...

. It also features the directorial debut of Hiroshi Kobayashi,

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

of the anime ''

Rage of Bahamut is a digital collectible card battle game developed by Cygames and published by DeNA. It was a social card game released on Mobage's mobile game network, in Japan in 2011 and worldwide in 2012. The game exceeded three million players outsid ...

'' and episode director for '' Kill la Kill''. ''Kiznaiver'' follows seven high school students who are chosen to be a part of an experimental program promoting world peace which creates bonds between people by forcing them to share each other's pain. The series' title and premise are based upon the Japanese words for , and .

Plot

''Kiznaiver'' takes place in the futuristic, fictional Japanese town of Sugomori City. While the city appears to be normal, it was created to test a large-scale experiment known as the Kizna System, which connects people through shared pain and suffering, both physical and emotional. Those who are connected to the system are called "Kiznaivers". A few days before the start of summer vacation, a mysterious and seemingly emotionless girl, Noriko Sonozaki, tells high school student Katsuhira Agata and several of his classmates that they have been selected to become Kiznaivers. Sharing each other's pain allows them to build bonds between their differing lives and personalities.

Characters

; : :The story's apathetic and "semi-emotionless" protagonist. His Japanese sin is the Imbecile, resembling the deadly sin of Sloth. ; : :A beautiful girl who lacks human kindness and displays no emotion whatsoever. She is in charge of the Kizna System and therefore brings the seven Kiznaivers together through various missions. ; : :Katsuhira's childhood friend who is humanistic, emotional, and seemingly nosy at times. Her Japanese sin is the Goody Two-Shoes, resembling the deadly sin of Envy. ; : :A delinquent who is excessively impulsive and rowdy, but very protective of his friends. His Japanese sin is the Musclehead Thug, resembling the deadly sin of Wrath. ; : :An energetic girl who behaves in an eccentric manner by claiming she "sees fairies". Her Japanese sin is the Eccentric Headcase, resembling the deadly sin of Greed. ; : :A sly and self-centered honors student and ladies' man. His Japanese sin is the Two-Faced Normie, resembling the deadly sin of Gluttony. ; : :An aloof and intelligent girl who outwardly maintains a cold and condescending attitude towards others. Her Japanese sin is the High-and-Mighty, resembling the deadly sin of Pride. ; : :A handsome and distinct man shrouded in mystery. His Japanese sin is the Immoralist, resembling the deadly sin of Lust. ; : :An apathetic man who has no motivation to work hard. He is Urushibara's colleague and a member of the Kizna Committee, moonlighting as the high school chemistry teacher. ; : :An initially cold and sarcastic woman who has caring and motherly qualities. She is Yamada's colleague and a member of the Kizna Committee, moonlighting as the high school counselor.

Media

Manga

A tie-in

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 ...

by Roji Karegishi was published simultaneously by

digitally and 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 ...

in their ''

Dengeki Maoh is a Japanese seinen magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). It first went on sale on October 27, 2005, and is sold every month on the twenty-seventh. The magazine features information on video games, manga, and light nove ...

'' magazine. It premiered on March 25, 2016, and ended on February 27, 2017. It was compiled in two volumes. A gag manga featuring the characters in chibi form called is drawn by S. Kosugi and serialized on Dengeki Comics NEXT. The tankōbon version was released on June 6, 2016. Crunchyroll took the English license for it, titled "Mini! KIZNAIVER Theater".

Anime

Kiznaiver is an original anime series from Trigger. It is directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi and written by Mari Okada. While Shirow Miwa provides original character design, Mai Yoneyama adapted it into anime. The opening theme is

Lay Your Hands on Me "Lay Your Hands on Me" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was released on August 1, 1989 as the fourth single from the band's 1988 album ''New Jersey''. It peaked at #7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the band's fourth singl ...

Boom Boom Satellites were a Japanese electronic music duo consisting of guitarist and vocalist Michiyuki Kawashima and bassist and programmer Masayuki Nakano. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan, with whom they had released all of their albums in Japa ...

, and the ending theme is by

Sangatsu no Phantasia is a Japanese music unit which is signed to Sacra Music. It consists of vocalist Mia, whose music videos and promotional images are illustrated by various artists. The unit began activities in 2015 when it uploaded its first song "Day Break" on ...

. The anime has been licensed in the UK by

Anime Limited Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime is a British anime distribution company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It releases anime for British, Irish, French and other European audiences. The company was established in 2012 by Andrew Partridge, b ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Mari Okada 2016 anime television series debuts Action anime and manga Anime with original screenplays Aniplex franchises Asahi Broadcasting Corporation original programming Crunchyroll anime Crunchyroll manga Dengeki Comics Kadokawa Shoten manga Otter Media franchises Science fiction anime and manga Seven deadly sins in popular culture Seinen manga Studio Trigger Television shows written by Mari Okada Tokyo MX original programming