(CR) Hourou Musuko

[MisaoFan]

I hope that RYTHEM will originally perform the OP theme but since that the group will be separated in 2011, Yukari Kato, one of RYTHEM members, release her first solo single for this anime.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by frubam

I remember watching the english dub of Fruits Basket(my username for those who don't know =03) and they did this with Hiro and Kisa(the children Sohmas). I thought that it was the most brilliant thing Funi ever came up with[for voicing chars]; using children to voice children. Although I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference in japanese, I still think its a wonderful idea to do this. There's just something more genuine about it, even if the voice isn't as "professional".

I mentioned this earlier - it's the first time I remember it happening on a TV since Naoto Adachi voiced Chagum on Seirei no Moribito. It's much more common in movies.

It's actually more common for dubs to use kids to play kids than it is for the original Japanese productions. Aaron Dismuke, the kid who played Hiro on FB, also did the voice of Alphonse on the FMA dub.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Has someone already posted a link to the wallpapers available on this page?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Has someone already posted a link to the wallpapers available on this page?

Yes, but the fan art competition is new so thanks for reposting it. I can't see anything that says the competition is for Japanese fans only, so come on guys and gals, here's your chance for glory!

[Simon]

Bad news from ANN:

Haruhi Composer Satoru Kousaki on Hiatus Due to Health

I wonder how much of an impact this will have on Hourou Musuko? Kousaki is listed as co-composer along with Okabe Keiichi, but of course that doesn't tell us much. All I know is that after watching the PV way too many times I was really looking forward to hearing more of this show's soundtrack.

Self-interest aside, here's wishing the guy a full and speedy recovery.


Also, if Twitter is to be believed there'll be more characters up on the official site tomorrow (the 10th).

[FireChick]

Aww. I liked his work on the Munto TV anime and am looking forward to this anime. I hope he feels better soon!

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Simon

but of course that doesn't tell us much.

It tells us that both Keiichi Okabe and Satoru Kousaki will be working on the score for the adaptation. It's not the first time a show has had two composers.

Satoru Kousaki has wrote some very impressive piano pieces over the past few years, though everything else from him has been pretty meh for me, so as long as he sticks to that and doesn't go overboard then we'll be looking at a very fitting score. Never heard of Keiichi Okabe plus he looks rather new going by ANN, though it's impossible to say anything. Unless the piece from the PV is his work. :3

Wishing Satoru Kousaki all the best with his recovery.

[Blue-kun]

Never heard of Keiichi Okabe plus he looks rather new going by ANN, though it's impossible to say anything. Unless the piece from the PV is his work. :3

I'm not 100% sure he is the very same Keiichi Okabe, but I think chances are extremely high he is. If so, this Keiichi Okabe is responsible for what is, in my opinion, the best videogame soundtrack of 2010, NieR's.

Three small examples:

Spoiler:

Okabe did a terrific job on this and I'm eagerly awaiting his next work. Judging from the great piano track on the PV, I'd say chances are pretty high we're talking about the same guy here.

Which takes me to my next question. I'd never heard of this before, but the fact that BOTH Okabe and Kousaki will be scoring it got me automatically interested. The PV looks really good, too, so I'm wondering -- How do they play out the whole transgender thing? I'm a bit worried that it'll try to cram in some (forced) drama regarding it, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy this kind of story revolving around homosexuality. Because other than that, really, it's just looking way too good and it'll probably sound just as great, too. So I really want to be able to like it, haha.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Blue-kun

I'm not 100% sure he is the very same Keiichi Okabe, but I think chances are extremely high he is. If so, this Keiichi Okabe is responsible for what is, in my opinion, the best videogame soundtrack of 2010, NieR's.

Good find! According to the official staff list this is him, and MoNACA do list NieR as one of their works.

How do they play out the whole transgender thing? I'm a bit worried that it'll try to cram in some (forced) drama regarding it, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy this kind of story revolving around homosexuality.

I've only read bits of the manga, but I don't think "forced drama" is something you need worry about. IMO Shimura's writing has a refreshingly down-to-earth quality, just like we saw in Aoi Hana - she doesn't shy away from difficult issues but she doesn't spend page after page angsting over them either. Also,

Spoiler for general themes in the manga, no specifics:

the focus here is mostly on gender identity and the kids' friendships as they go through puberty, not sexual orientation as such.

It's true we have no idea how they'll adapt the story, but I haven't seen anything to suggest we're in for a transgendered Strawberry Panic. I'd say approach the show with an open mind and it (hopefully) won't disappoint you

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Blue-kun

How do they play out the whole transgender thing? I'm a bit worried that it'll try to cram in some (forced) drama regarding it, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to enjoy this kind of story revolving around homosexuality

Despite being included in the acronym 'LGBT,' transgenderism can be a completely separate issue from sexual orientation. The two main characters seem to have gender dysphoria, which primarily affects a person's perception of self and identity but can influence their orientation.
There's no shortage of angst, but gender dysphoria tends to be a very stressful thing to deal with. It impacts a person in virtually every aspect of their daily life, which is a point the manga gets across pretty well. It never felt forced to me, but your mileage may vary.

[Shiroth]

Thanks for the pieces blue-kun. Liking Keiichi Okabe's style, plus he fits this series much more then Kousaki.

[Woland]

Characters page updated

http://www.houroumusuko.jp/chara/index.html

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Woland

Characters page updated

So this is one of those Maho shoujo anime I keep hearing about, right?

Seriously though, I like some of the character tag-lines:

Spoiler for character descriptions:

• Shuuichi 「女の子になりたい男の子」 "Boy who wants to be a girl"
• Yoshino 「男の子になりたい女の子」 "Girl who wants to be a boy"
• Sasa 「みんなのお友達」 "Everyone's friend"
• Saori 「デンジャラスビューティー」 "Dangerous beauty"
• Chizuru 「自由人」 "Free spirit"
• Momoko 「更科さんの幼馴染」 "Sarashina's childhood friend"
• Makoto 「乙女っ子男の子」　"Girlish boy"
• Maho 「怒りんぼ姉さん」 "Hot-headed big sister"
• Riku 「真穂姉さんの彼氏」 "Maho's boyfriend"
• Anna 「美少女中学生モデル」 "Middle-school beauty model"
• Fumiya 「教会に通う男の子」 "Church-going boy"
• Saisho-sensei 「みんなの担任の先生」 "Everyone's homeroom teacher"
• Yuki 「大人のお友達」 "Adult friend"
• Shii-chan 「ユキさんの彼氏」 "Yuki's boyfriend"

They've also announced the OP/ED themes: OP is 「いつだって」 Itsudatte ("Always") by Daisuke, ED is "For You" by Rie fu.

And finally, random Saorin fan-art from the Twitter contest.

[Vexx]

Probably looking forward to this most though there seem to be a handful of interesting ones.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Woland

Characters page updated

http://www.houroumusuko.jp/chara/index.html

Anna and Yuki are as beauty as ever. <3

& yeah, those character descriptions are very nice.

[John Smith]

Spoiler for Adaptation Material:

Safe to say it starts during middle school or at the very end of elementary school now? I see why they'd do that. It's doubtful the anime would be financially successful enough to get a sequel and they want to get to the core issue, which is Shuu coming to school in a girl's uniform.

The relationship between Anna and Shuu seems like it'll be tweaked quite a bit given that they invented a new scene that we see in the PV. Can't say I'm too pleased with that but it does cut down on the number of flashbacks.

Some of the more complicated relationship might not get the screen time they deserve. The Shuu/Maho, Shuu/Chiba and Shuu/Takatsuki relationships in particular have a lot of development during the elementary school arc.

I'm still excited but my attitude towards this has gone down to cautiously optimistic. I just hope the anime stands well on its own even if it isn't completely faithful to the source material.

Yuki would have a hard time passing for a guy. Along with Takatsuki this is one of the character designs I dislike the most.

[Tjfarmer]

I'm really looking forward to this anime now. Finished catching up with the manga yesterday and I fell in love with this series.

First time I've ACTUALLY been excited for an anime to start in awhile... feels good.

[Woland]

3rd PV

http://www.houroumusuko.jp/special/movie03.html

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Woland

3rd PV

http://www.houroumusuko.jp/special/movie03.html

Beautiful. Truly beautiful. Just going by that trailer, it looks like the drama will be adapted rather well. Plus Yuki voiced is so <33333. Do we know who's voicing her?

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Beautiful. Truly beautiful.

Yeah, the budget hasn't run out quite yet This would be worth recommending just as eye candy, even without the signs of a great story that we're seeing.

(But man I detest streaming video that doesn't cache - let's all go back to the 90s "multimedia" experience of stuff pausing to buffer in the middle of a good part...)

Plus Yuki voiced is so <33333. Do we know who's voicing her?

Honda Takako