Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3

[domino]

A thread to celebrate Haruka 3 being made into a TV anime (special)~~

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 ~Kurenai no Tsuki~
遙かなる時空の中で3~紅の月～

Genre: Shoujo, Romance, Historical, Drama

Story:

Based on the PS2 game (mix of text dating sim and RPG-ish fighting) of the same name. Related to the anime "Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyoushou~" and the other 3 Harukanaru anime, but not a direct sequel of anything. It's just sort of like the same world but long into the future after the other anime takes place.

(lazily copied from wiki)
One day Nozomi Kasuga encounters a strange boy at her high school, who sends her across time and space to Kyō, a place in another world that is bears a strong resemblance to Kyoto at the end of the Heian period. There, the Minamoto clan (Genji), led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, is at war with the Taira clan (Heike), led by Taira no Kiyomori. The Heike hope to defeat the Genji by releasing vengeful spirits (onryō) to disturb the earth's natural flow of energies and to terrorize the land. The boy is revealed to be the human form of Hakuryū, the White Dragon God said to protect Kyō, whose powers have greatly weakened due to the presence of the onryō. Discovering that she has the power to seal these vengeful spirits as the Hakuryū no Miko (Priestess of the White Dragon), Nozomi allies herself with the Genji, because Hakuryū cannot send her home until his power is restored.

Cast:

Kawakami Tomoko
Miki Shinichiro
Seki Tomokazu
Takahashi Naozumi
Miyata Kouki
Nakahara Shigeru
Kazuhiko Inoue
Hoshi Souichirou
Ishida Akira
Okiayu Ryoutaro

Air Date:
December 2007 (according to event Neoromance Festa 9)

I'm so happy~~~

The character designs from the game are absolutely amazing, and it ties in to one of my favorite parts of Japanese history... And unlike Haruka 1's weak and annoying heroine Akane, Nozomi is awesome! One of my favorite female character designs~~

Spoiler for random pics of the cast from the game:

[Guido]

Awesome! Now it goes into my radar.

I really had a lot of trouble with the endings from the first anime series.

[FireChick]

I WANNA SEE THIS!!!

But...is this gonna be an OVA or an actual TV series?

[White Manju Bun]

SWEET!!!! I love this anime (though I still have yet to finish it ) But Ill def be watching for this since it doesnt sound like its a sequel! And I think I see my lovely Takamichi in that pic (or atleast someone that resembles him)

Originally Posted by domino

Cast:

Seki Tomokazu
Ishida Akira

Oh hooray~~~ same cast!

[domino]

Originally Posted by FireChick

I WANNA SEE THIS!!!

But...is this gonna be an OVA or an actual TV series?

TV series, I believe. Since they mentioned the station it would be broadcast on~~

Originally Posted by White Manju Bun

SWEET!!!! I love this anime (though I still have yet to finish it ) But Ill def be watching for this since it doesnt sound like its a sequel! And I think I see my lovely Takamichi in that pic (or atleast someone that resembles him)



Oh hooray~~~ same cast!

I believe the way it works in the Haruka series is that each cast is sort of a reincarnation of the previous cast. So the voices are all the same and the characters look very similar to their old counterparts (like both the old Suzaku pair and new Suzaku pair have red and blonde hair). Same voices and similar appearances (except the Genbu of Earth... went from the green-haired Yasuaki to the blonde Rizvan) for each Hachiyou, too. But their personalities and story are very different~

[Nightengale]

Awesome news. Harukanaru and Angelique didn't click really well with me, but I absolutely adored La Corda. Regardless, I enjoyed them, so I'll be looking forward to this one. Helps that Nozomi looks really cool in those pictures and many of my favourite seiyuus are voicing it.

I suppose it's going to be the NeoRomance's pet animation studio doing this again. :3

[Sakuya]

I'm kind of excited about this. The only problem is hopefully this time, they will have better animation. For some reason the previous TV series' animation seemed cheap to me. Let's hope they do these awesome character designs justice this time.

[domino]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

I'm kind of excited about this. The only problem is hopefully this time, they will have better animation. For some reason the previous TV series' animation seemed cheap to me. Let's hope they do these awesome character designs justice this time.

Went blog hunting for info, and so far I gathered that:

* Animation staff will be same as the Maihitoyo theatrical movie (which was pretty good)
* The usual NeoRomance animation company (which has been animating since 2001) is steadily getting better with each new anime adaptation, which is good news for the genre
* The sub-tile of the series will be "Kurenai no Tsuki" (Crimson Moon), similar to previous Harukanaru sub-titles ("Hachiyoushou", "Maihitoyo", etc)
* Broadcast will begin in December on Kids Station
* Plushies! Need I say more?

In other bizarre Harukanaru news, apparently in January~February 2008, there will be an on stage (aka live theater) adaptation of the anime movie "Harukanaru Toki no Naka de ~Maihitoyo~" which was in theaters last year. Will perform in Tokyo and Osaka. I'd kill to see a live action version of Suefumi's dance in person..! (rumor on 2ch says it will be a musical... hmm.. )

I'm in shock for multiple reasons. I guess Harukanaru fans have won again.

[Sakuya]

Originally Posted by domino

* Animation staff will be same as the Maihitoyo theatrical movie (which was pretty good)
* The usual NeoRomance animation company (which has been animating since 2001) is steadily getting better with each new anime adaptation, which is good news for the genre
* The sub-tile of the series will be "Kurenai no Tsuki" (Crimson Moon), similar to previous Harukanaru sub-titles ("Hachiyoushou", "Maihitoyo", etc)
* Broadcast will begin in December on Kids Station

So you mean NeoRomance did the TV series while the other one did the movie which is also doing this second series? Thanks for the good news! I really loved the movie's animation. And wow, a play? That's interesting.

[domino]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

So you mean NeoRomance did the TV series while the other one did the movie which is also doing this second series? Thanks for the good news! I really loved the movie's animation. And wow, a play? That's interesting.

Though now that I think of it, when they said "same animation production" they probably meant Yumeta Company again... and while they DID do the movie's animation, they also did the less-than-pleasing Hachiyoushou TV animation. But I guess there's a big difference with 2 years of improvement time + a movie budget.

Shoujo anime tend to get the short end of the budget stick, but hopefully Haruka 3 will break free of that, since it'll have a lot more action than the average shoujo.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Sakuya

So you mean NeoRomance did the TV series while the other one did the movie which is also doing this second series? Thanks for the good news! I really loved the movie's animation. And wow, a play? That's interesting.

No, there had always been only one studio helming the NeoRomance projects, Yumeta Company. Movies always have better animation, even from the same studios, since time-frame and budget makes a lot of difference.

However, as seen in La Corda, Yumeta had been improving its animation prowess quite a bit. Nothing compared to big studios like I.G, Sunrise, Gainax, etc, but definitely better than the old Harukanaru TV series.

And the staff involved here are the ones helming the movie. The director/series composer of the TV series and the movie are different.

[Sakuya]

Originally Posted by domino

and while they DID do the movie's animation, they also did the less-than-pleasing Hachiyoushou TV animation. But I guess there's a big difference with 2 years of improvement time + a movie budget.

Oh, it was 2 years? Wow, I forgot the subs were slow and were released around the time the movie came out. Big difference in budget.

Originally Posted by Nightengale

However, as seen in La Corda, Yumeta had been improving its animation prowess quite a bit.

They did La Corda?! Ok then I have nothing to worry about.

[domino]

I guess they have all the talent but lack the time and the budget. I hope a trailer pops up soon so we can see if the animation got even better than Corda's.

On a related note, I wonder why the only NeoRomance anime to not be done by Yumeta Company was the Angelique TV series?

And I guess this is Yumeta Company's first shot at a TV series not based directly off of the manga version of the game, so I can't wait to see how they handle it.

[ZeusIrae]

Is this the anime with the most boring main female character ever invented?

[domino]

Official site up:
http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/neoromance/tv/haruka/kurenai/
I was hoping they'd have the anime version of the characters up, but I guess it's too soon.
Exciting~

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by ZeusIrae

Is this the anime with the most boring main female character ever invented?

That was I and maybe Angelique.

I dunno about III, but from what I gather from fan responses, it seems like she's much much more likable than Akane ever was.

At least I know I've seen more Haru III doujins than any other NeoRomance series...

[domino]

I think Nozomi is miles ahead of the other heroines (especially the irritating Akane) just because she carries a WEAPON.

When danger is near, what does Akane do? Cry. Panic. Angst. Run away. Get lost or kidnapped. Cry and panic more. It's no wonder she's so irritating -- she's consistently spineless and defenseless.

Nozomi looks a lot more strong-willed and intelligent. Just look at the Haruka 3 game's intro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbuOTMV4da0

Haruka 1's Akane immediately reacts to danger with fear and doubt, but Nozomi keeps it together and uses her head. She immediately ran to the sword to protect herself, rather than cry out for someone else's protection. Hopefully Nozomi will be as strong in the TV series (she does, after all, have the voice actress of Utena, one of my other favorite tough anime girls).

Youtube has some other Haruka 3 in-game anime cutscenes that are rather nice (especially for a dating sim), but beware of spoilers.

[Sakuya]

That's good to know. I noticed the HaruToki 3 game opening has no music. Was there ever music for it? And I'm already liking Nozomi a lot just by looking at those. She definitely seems much more determined than Akane. Who sang Sakura Fubuki again? I really liked that song. As well as the other 2 songs for the anime.

[FireChick]

Awww...it's only gonna be a special? No 26-episode anime series? Man!

[Sakuya]

Originally Posted by FireChick

Awww...it's only gonna be a special? No 26-episode anime series? Man!

Aw, a special? Dang, never noticed that.