is 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 ...

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

and

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 Hina Futaba and

Mutsumi Sasaki is a Japanese freelance anime/manga artist from Hokkaidō, Japan. He mainly provides character designs for bishōjo characters. Works ;Character design *''Happy Lesson'' *''Futakoi'' *''Memories Off'' *''Memories Off 2nd'' *''Myself ; Yourself'' * ...

. The anime aired in Japan in 2004. It replaced ''

Sister Princess is a Japanese light novel series written by Sakurako Kimino and illustrated by Naoto Tenhiro that began serialization in 1999 and ended in 2003. In 2001, a manga series and a bishōjo game for the PlayStation were released. Sequels to the ...

'' as ''

Dengeki G's Magazine is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and seria ...

'' premiere flagship title.

Story

The story begins with Nozomu Futami returning to the town where he was born and raised as a child. He moves in near a shrine which houses a legendary stone that was rumoured to have been the place where twin girls turned into birds. The stone is rumoured to be the cause of an abundance of twin girls who are born in the town. The twins who turned into birds did so because of their love for a man who couldn't choose between them. Shortly after Nozomu enters town he begins to run into the same problems as six pairs of twins fight for his love.

Characters

; :Nozumu is voiced by

Motoki Takagi is a Japanese voice actor. He is managed by I'm Enterprise, along with several other significant Japanese voice actors. Filmography Bold ''denotes leading roles.'' Television animation ;2003 * ''Princess Tutu'' as Umazurakoomorinosuke * ''Inuya ...

. :The main character of the anime. He is a childhood friend of the Ichijō twins and helps the Sakurazuki twins through the "trials" set by their father. ; and :Sumireko is voiced by

Ami Koshimizu is a Japanese actress and singer. She has voiced many different types of characters, from young girls to adult women, as well as boys and animals. Her roles include leads such as Ryuko Matoi in '' Kill la Kill'', Kallen Stadtfeld in ''Code Geass ...

and Kaoruko is voiced 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 ...

. :Twin girls who are Nozomu's childhood friends. They also attend the same school as Nozomu throughout the anime. They both harbor secret feelings for Nozomu. In kindergarten, they said they would both marry him. Although they are close, they keep their feelings secret from each other and everyone else. ; and :Yura is voiced by

Hiromi Tsunakake is a Japanese voice actress currently working for I'm Enterprise. Performance Anime television * Goshūshō-sama Ninomiya-kun (Irori Okushiro) * The Story of Saiunkoku: 2nd Series (Shūran) * Papillon Rose New Season (Kimi) * Futakoi, Futakoi ...

and Kira is voiced by

Yui Itsuki is a Japanese musician and voice actress who is currently signed to Office Restart since April 1, 2022. She is the lead vocalist for the band Yōsei Teikoku (under the persona of "Dictator for Life" 終身独裁官, the supreme leader of The Fai ...

. :It is explained during the story that these twin girls lived a luxury life together in their mansion. Their father travels often and employs their butler to take care of them. They undergo many ''tests'' written out by their father so they are able to fit into society and live as normal high school girls. In the first episode, they are fifteen years old, but have never been in a convenience store. Unlike Sumireko and Kaoruko, Kira and Yura work together to win Nozomu's favor. ; and :Lala is voiced by

Yurika Ochiai , formerly and now just , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former voice actress and gravure idol. She is also known by her nickname in Japan. She was originally working for Arts Vision, however, she quit in October 2006. From 2007 she worked ...

and Lulu is voiced by

Shizuka Hasegawa is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She appears as a main cast member in a number of Japanese anime shows including as: Yukino in '' Nagasarete Airantō'', Nana in '' Angel Tales'', Tomohane in '' Inukami'', Akane Miura in '' Rocket G ...

. :The youngest set of twins in the series who live with Nozomu, their mother Miyabi, and pet goat Billy. They are affectionate towards Nozomu and claim him as their future husband which makes Billy jealous. ; and :Ui is voiced by

Kozue Yoshizumi is a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She voices Mayu Tamano for the '' Rumbling Hearts'' visual novel and anime series as well as the web anime ''Ayumayu Gekijou''. When voicing adult anime/games she has used a number of aliases, includi ...

and Koi is voiced by

Natsuko Kuwatani is a Japanese voice actress who works for I'm Enterprise as of March 1, 2008. Her major roles are in anime shows and they include Yue Ayase in ''Negima'', Fiore in ''Chrono Crusade'', Alph in '' Nanoha'', Michiru in ''Magikano'', Suiseiseki in '' ...

. :Twin daughters of a veterinary doctor and in the story they help their father in the clinic. Nozomu meets them when he takes Billy to the vet clinic after he ate a fax addressed to Nozomu which got it stuck in his throat. ; and :Ai is voiced by Chiaki Takahashi and Mai is voiced by Minako Sango. :The oldest of the twins appearing in the series. Ai is the teacher responsible for Nozomu's, Kira's, Yura's and Keisuke's class, while Mai is the school nurse. ; and :Sara is voiced by

Kaori Mizuhashi is a Japanese voice actress who is employed by Arts Vision. Her major voice roles include Mami Tomoe in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Kuki Shinobu in ''Genshin Impact'', Lava and May in ''Arknights'', Vivio Takamachi in ''Magical Girl Lyrica ...

and Sōju is voiced by

Mai Kadowaki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She was previously known as 門脇舞 (pronunciation identical). Biography She is popular as a radio actress who wears glasses. She is also known for portraying meganekko characters on a ...

. :Twin girls who are the same in all but personality: Sōju is mild-mannered and ill-bodied, whereas Sara is rougher in her speech and more energetic. Nozomu meets Sōju while she was painting at the shrine, and Sara wanted him to be loyal to her. Sara herself has a love-hate relationship with Nozomu. They leave the city before the end of the series and come back at the end. ; :Miyabi is voiced by

Ai Orikasa is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan who is currently affiliated with Axlone. She has played a variety of characters, from young girls to women and boys, and is particularly good at voicing attractive, strong, and b ...

. :The mother of Lala and Lulu and the shrine maiden of Sourin Temple. Because she is a childhood friend of Nozumu's mother, she allows him to live at her temple while Nozumu's father is studying astronomy in the United States. Nozumu looks to her as a maternal figure after his deceased mother. ; :Billy is voiced by Chiaki Takahashi. :The Hinagiku twins' pet goat. He initially developed a dislike for Nozumu because of Lala and Lula's affections for the main character and often showed his disdain for him by means such as eating his homework, headbutting, or biting him. As the series progresses, Billy and Nozumu develop a friendly rivalry. ; :Kenmochi is voiced by

Masaharu Satō is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator currently working for Aoni Production. He was born in Ōta, Tokyo. Satō is best known for the roles of Buffaloman, Sunshine (''Kinnikuman''), Miyamoto Musashi (''Yaiba''), Adah ('' Mushiking: King o ...

. :The Sakurazuki twins' butler and chief bodyguard. He carries out Kira and Yura's daily ''tests'' written out by their father so they are able to fit into society and live as normal high school girls. He at first developed a dislike for Nozumu because he thought Nozumu was trying mug Kira and Yura inside a convenience store in which Nozumu was cleared of wrongdoing. His dislike for the main character continues over the series because of Kira and Yura's affections for Nozumu. At the end of the series, he eventually warms up to him, but he still keeps his suspicions in case Nozumu treats the Sakurazuki twins wrongly. ; :Keisuke is voiced by

Reiko Kiuchi is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Ken Production. Filmography Anime *'' Ashita no Nadja'' (Kennosuke Tsurugi) *'' Beet the Vandel Buster'' and ''Beet the Vandel Buster Excellion'' (Beet) *'' Bleach'' (young Renji Abarai in ep 32) *' ...

. :Nozumu's best friend and classmate. He rekindles his friendship with Nozumu after the latter returns to his home town. He is sometimes envious of Nozumu's popularity around the twins he encounters through the series. ; :Juntarō is voiced by

Daisuke Ono is a Japanese voice actor and singer who won the 4th and 9th Seiyu Awards for best lead actor for his role as Sebastian Michaelis in ''Black Butler'', Jotaro Kujo in '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' and Shukuro Tsukishima in ''Bleach'', as well ...

. :A judo student who is a P.E. classmate of Nozumu and Keisuke. He is the leader of the Ichijō Extreme Fan Club, a small group of male students who are fiercely devoted to the adoration and protection of Kaoruko and Sumireko (the twins are unaware of the club). As a result, Nozumu is often at odds with Juntarō and his entourage because of the latter's childhood friendship with the Ichijō twins. ; :Yūya is voiced by

Makoto Ishii is a Japanese voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Rimax. Filmography Television animation * 2003: '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' as Tsujisaki Yū, Hotel man * 2004: ''Futakoi'' as Yūya Hiyama * ...

. :One of Nozumu's childhood friends and an aspiring student in aeronautics. During the beach episode, he tells Nozumu he is planning on confessing his love to Kaoruko, which causes Nozomu to act strangely around the Ichijō sisters. He returns at the end of the series in which he tells Nozumu that they will be friendly and respectable rivals for Kaoruko's affections.

List of episodes

Video game

The ''Futakoi'' video game was released on December 9, 2004. It was originally planned for a November 11 release but was delayed. A second video game, was released August 25, 2005. Both games were made by MediaWorks for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

References

External links