Kodansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
's ''Bessatsu Young Magazine'' from 2002 to 2003, and the twenty-two chapters were later collected together in a single ''
tankōbon
A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' volume along with two
extra
Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* Extra (newspaper), ...
chapters and published on November 11, 2003, by Kodansha. The main premise of ''Kyō no Go no Ni'' is the school life of the fifth year class 5-2 (age 11–12), focusing on an elementary-school boy named Ryōta Satō.
In 2006, Shinkūkan produced a four-episode original video adaptation ( OVA) directed by Makoto Sokuza. The OVAs contain a special audio track in which the female characters' voices are replaced by members of the idol unitSweet Kiss and were released in two versions: original and special edit.
Xebec
A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that originated in the barbary states (Algeria), it was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a ...
produced a thirteen episode
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
adaptation directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa, unrelated to the OVAs. It first began airing on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.pinky swear to marry each other. The story begins when they are both now in their fifth year of
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
in class 5-2 together with their group of friends Yūki Asano, Kazumi Aihara, Natsumi Hirakawa, Megumi Hidaka, Kōji Imai, Tsubasa Kawai. While making his way to sixth year, much to his own dismay, Ryōta is often forced unwillingly into compromising situations.
Characters
;
:
:Ryōta is the protagonist of the series and the childhood friend of Chika, having a crush on her ever since. In the past the two often played together, even sleeping together in the same bed, and promised to marry each other once they had grown into adults. He is best friends with Kōji and good friends with Tsubasa Kawai and often challenges Kōji to see which of the two is better. He enjoys eating and playing games together with the rest of the class. Although he is not very intelligent, he is a kind person and tries to help others when he can, which often unwilling and unintentionally trap him in comprising situations that earn him a beating from either Chika or Yūki. He is naive to the desires of normal males as he is not especially interested in relationships between males and females. Once he falls asleep, not only is it extremely hard to waken him once more, but for anyone who comes into close proximity to him, he will grab them and do something strange to them before they too fall asleep. Not only that, he is also a bad sleeper as he frequently rolls around in his sleep. His seat number is 12.
;
:
:Chika is the childhood friend of Ryōta and in their romantic relationship with each other, she often takes the lead role. She has a crush on him and despite her best attempts, she is unable to get Ryōta to notice. She is fond of her childhood memories that she shares with Ryōta and in the end, she up take his hand. She is usually level-headed but not always, physically abusing Ryōta should he "deserve" it (decided by her jumping to conclusions). She also has a mischievous spirit, unafraid to play pranks on Ryōta, no matter what position they leave him in. Her number on the class list is 10.
;
:
:She is bright, talkative, and active. She enjoys chatting, gossiping, and talking about things such as fashion and frequently worries about the size of her breasts. Though despite having a strong sense of responsibility, she is known for being unable to keep secrets. She has a crush on Kōji and gives him chocolates for
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
. She is a terrible cook. Her number on the class list is 2.
;
:
:She is quiet, mysterious, and sadistic. She is often seen taking notes down in her observational diary on whatever happens to interest her at the time rather than participating in physical activities along with everyone else. However, no one, not even Chika whom she has been friends with for a long time, has ever seen her laugh. Like Ryouta, she is a member of the health committee. Her number on the class list is 1.
;
:
:She is a short, sporty and athletic girl who can beat anyone at sports. Although she generally does not have desires, when she finds a goal, she is able to single-mindely pursue it. Although she is generally a calm person, she is nyctophobic. She is very innocent, often being stopped by her friends from undressing in public in front of boys. She is a tomboy and refers to herself in a very masculine way as she uses the male-singular pronoun to refer to herself and always dresses in boys clothing except during the epilogue of the anime. Her number on the class list is 17.
;
:
:Megumi wears glasses and is nearly blind without them. Surprisingly, she is a rather carless person and is often fooled by her surroundings. She is more developed then the other girls in her class and is self-conscious when others notice that. She often worries about her weight, ensuring that it stays at exactly 35 kg. Her number on the class list is 16.
;
:
:Kōji is Ryōta's best friend. He is bold and quick witted as well as being knowledgeable as to what girls expect from guys and in his childhood, he was a habitual skirt flipper. He has black hair in the TV version and blond in the OVA. He often challenges Ryōta to several duels to see which of the two is better. He is afraid of Yuki cooking. His number on the class list is 3.
;
:
:Tsubasa is one of Ryōta's close friends. He is very calm and kind, always carrying an innocent smile and often playing the role of mediator between Ryōta and Kōji. He is intelligent and loves reading about and viewing outer space. He has blond hair in the TV version and black in the OVA. His number on the class list is 8.
Media
Manga
The original work for ''Kyō no Go no Ni'' is illustrated and written by Koharu Sakuraba. It was serialized in
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
's ''
Bessatsu Young Magazine
is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine started on June 16, 1980, and is targeted at the adult male () demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the second and fourth ...
'' between 2002 and 2003. The only ''
tankōbon
A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' volume of the series was published on November 11, 2003. The volume features Chika as the cover character in addition to two '' omake'' chapters entitled ''Supplementary Lesson - "Today in Tennis Club"'' and ''Invitation''. In a similarly named magazine the ''
Weekly Young Magazine
is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine started on June 16, 1980, and is targeted at the adult male () demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the second and fourth ...
'', it was announced in its 43rd issue on September 22, 2008, that it would begin serializing ''Kyō no Go no Ni'' once again in its next issue on September 29, 2008.
''Kyō no Go no Ni'' was adapted into an OVA by Shinkūkan in 2006, directed by Makoto Sokuza and written by Miki Okitsu. The music for the OVA was composed by Toru Yukawa. A sixty-six second trailer was announced on February 20, 2006. A special audio track was included in the DVDs in which the female characters' voices are replaced by members of the idol unit Sweet Kiss; Chika's voice actor (Mai Kadowaki) is replaced by Saaya Irie; Yūki's voice actor (Mikako Takahashi) is replaced by Jessica; Kazumi Aihara's voice actor (Noto Mamiko) is replaced by Runa. It featured three theme songs, one opening and two endings that were all sung by Mai Kadowaki, Mamiko Noto, and Mikako Takahashi. "Baby Love" is used as the opening for all the episodes. is used as the first ending theme for the first two episodes. is used as the second ending theme for the last two episodes. It adapts all the chapters of the manga except for ''9th Period - "Rain"'', ''12th Period - "Fairytale"'', ''17th Period - "Nodding Off"'', and ''Supplementary Lesson - "Today in Tennis Club"''. However, it includes an arc not included in the manga in its second episode entitled ''"5th Period 'Invitation'"''.
The OVAs span four episodes, released in four different DVDs entitled and were released from March 24, 2006, to and March 21, 2007. Each DVD also has a special edit version that comes with an extra item or two. The DVD boxset was released on January 30, 2008. It included all four of the OVA adaptation's DVDs, an additional DVD entitled that included the extra chapter as well as an interview with the staff, and an additional CD which included: all three of the theme songs, all the tracks on the radio drama included with the special edit of the third OVA DVD volume, and a special wallpaper for a computer.
A second OVA adaptation of ''Kyō no Go no Ni'', directed by Tsuyoshi Nagasawa and written by Takamitsu Kouno, featuring the same cast as the anime adaptation by Xebec was released in October 2009. The music was composed by Kei Haneoka.
Anime
''Kyō no Go no Ni'' was adapted into an
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
by
Xebec
A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that originated in the barbary states (Algeria), it was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a ...
voice actor
Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...
s were announced on August 7, 2008. It was announced that
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
on September 27, 2008. It was broadcast by TV Tokyo Network Stations and first began airing on TV Tokyo on Sunday at 1:30 starting October 5, 2008 and ending on December 28, 2008. It adapts all the chapters of the manga except the chapter entitled ''"Supplementary Lesson - 'Today in Tennis Club'"''.
The anime adaptation featured six main theme songs, one opening that was also used as an ending theme, and five different ending themes. is used as the opening theme for all the episodes except the last which does not feature an opening theme. is used as the first ending theme from episodes one through three. is used as the second ending theme for episodes four and five. is used as the third ending theme for episode six. is used as the third ending theme from episode seven to episode nine. is used as the fifth ending theme from episode ten to episode twelve. "Nisemono" is used once again as the final ending theme in episode thirteen. The two songs, "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" and "Daibakuhatsu No.1" are both covers of the same song performed by Zone. All the ending themes feature the voice actors for the main characters: Yū Kobayashi, Asami Shimoda, MAKO, Satomi Akesaka, Yōko Honda, and Kana Asumi under the band name Friends.
Four DVDs were released from December 25, 2008, to March 25, 2009, each containing three episodes except for the last which contains four. Each DVD is assigned a season in chronological order beginning from spring. An official fanbook was released on December 22, 2008, by
Kodansha
is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
with an ISBN of 978-4-06-375627-2 and Yūki, Chika, and Kazumi as the cover characters.
CDs
Multiple music CDs have been released for ''Kyō no Go no Ni''. The first was a
maxi single
A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...
entitled on March 23, 2006, by Avex Tracks under the catalog number AVCA-22708. The single contained three version for each "Baby Love" and "Yakusoku": two versions sung by the two sets of voice actors for Chika Koizumi, Kazumi Aihara, and Yūki Asano (Mai Kadowaki, Mamiko Noto, and Mikako Takahashi, followed by the respective members of Sweet Kiss) and an instrumental version. A
maxi single
A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...
entitled ''Nisemono'' was released on November 5, 2008, by King Records under the catalog number KICM-3175. This single contained "Nisemono" and "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" in original and instrumental versions as sung by the group, Friends. A
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
of twelve tracks was released on January 7, 2009, entitled ''Best Friends'', by King Records under the catalog number KICA-950. It included all six of the theme songs as sung by the group, Friends: "Nisemono", "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)", "Daibakuhatsu No.1", "Natsu Matsuri", "Yūyake Iro", and "Negai."
The anime adaptation's original soundtrack on December 10, 2008, by King Records under the catalog number KICA-945. Twenty-eight tracks of the album are
background music
Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
whereas the other six tracks are the shortened versions of all the theme songs. The album is separated into four sections named chronologically after the seasons starting with spring.
drama CD
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s adaptations of the series. The first CD is an eight-track album entitled released on December 25, 2008, under the catalog number KICA-951. The second CD is a nine-track album entitled released on February 25, 2009, under the catalog number KICA-952.
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 ot ...
's Carl Kimlinger praised the 2007 OVA's characters design as "smooth" and "shiny". He also praised the 2008 anime adaptation for almost entirely removing what he described as "squirm-inducing fan-service" as was present in the OVA adaptation.