From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boys Be... (ボーイズ・ビー, BÅizu BÄ«
?) is a manga created and written by Masahiro Itabashi
and illustrated by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, which was in
2000 adapted into a 13 episode anime series by Hal Film Maker.
Three different Boys Be... manga series were serialized
by Kodansha in Shukan
ShÅnen Magazine. In 2009 Kodansha announced a fourth series,
Boys Be... Next Season, starting in the November 2009
issue of Magazine Special. The second
manga series is licensed in North America by Tokyopop and the anime is licensed by The Right Stuf
International. The anime, first aired on WOWOW (with a matching fanline email address
courtesy of Lycos Japan), is
licensed in Singapore by Odex. The
first DVD volume of the series was released in North America on
February 28, 2006. Comcast and several other cable providers are
currently showing 'Boys Be' On Demand in the United States through
the Anime
Network. This series was aired on AXN-Asia before it handed
all anime broadcasting duties to ANIMAX Asia, and, unlike other AXN anime
making it to ANIMAX, was never retained.
Plot
The anime focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of
first love and teenage romance. Six students struggle to find the
perfect partner and their adolescent limitations.
Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which
sums up the episode's content. Boys Be…, while centered on
Kyoichi and Chiharu, revolves around seven or eight main characters
and their love lives.
Characters, backgrounds,
and cast
- Kyoichi Kanzaki (神崎æ一, Kanzaki
KyÅichi
?)
- Voiced by: Kenichi
Suzumura (Japanese), Sam Riegel (English)
- He is a high school student having difficulty expressing his
love for his childhood friend, Chiharu Nitta. Their relationship
has encountered turbulence. It had an all-time low when he was
connected to one Shoko Sayama. In Hokkaido, he worked on his
sketches with a girl named Chiharu Reicha.
- Sam Regal is also a co-director for the English dub of the
series.
- Yoshihiko Kenjo (剣城美彦, KenjÅ
Yoshihiko
?)
- Voiced by: Hideo
Ishikawa (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
- Talented in sports (especially baseball), but has no interest in it
whatsoever (similar to Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara). He also seems
to have no interest in girls... until the day he met Aya Kurihara.
After her return to France, he
met during baseball practice his girlfriend Natsue Horikawa. He
also met young idol Jyunna Morio when she escaped from her studio
taping.
- Makoto Kurumizawa (胡桃沢マコト,
Kurumizawa Makoto
?)
- Voiced by: Akira
Ishida (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)
- He is the epitome of a girl-obsessed guy, keeping an electronic
database of the girls at Otowa-no-Mori with him, even using
computer dating simulators and guide books. He is also the only
techno-geek in the group. After he botched his date with Erika
Kawai, he ended up with her best friend, Yumi Kazama. He also had
an interlude with a nursing intern after getting hospitalized for
peeping at a short-skirted girl as she climbed an overpass, and his
scooter hitting a mini-truck.
- Liam O'Brien is also a co-director for the English dub of the
series.
- Chiharu Nitta (æ–°ç”°åƒæ˜¥, Nitta
Chiharu
?)
- Voiced by: Kazusa
Murai (Japanese), Amy Kincaid (English)
- She is Kyoichi's athletic love interest, running for their
school's track and field team. She has been Kyoichi's friend since
childhood, but she also has difficulty expressing love. Though not
in a relationship with Kyoichi, she was asked by Okazaki if she had
a boyfriend to which she replied that "he" wouldn't mind. Okazaki
continued his advances to which they spent a night together at a
lookout point (though nothing happened between them). She wanted to
keep her tryst a secret, but Kyoichi, coming in to visit, saw them
kissing, hence a rift between them that lasted all summer.
- Yumi Kazama (風間有美, Kazama
Yumi
?)
- Voiced by: Miki
Nagasawa (Japanese), Jennifer Sekiguchi (English)
- This spectacled girl
loves to dress in odd clothes, like wearing a sea lion costume at
the beach. She acted as an "Erika Kawai Simulator" for Makoto...and
fell in love. She felt some sort of emptiness when Makoto dated
Rika. But, lucky for her, Rika dumped him.
- Aki Mizutani (水谷亜紀, Mizutani
Aki
?)
- Voiced by: Yuri
Shiratori (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)
- Her boyfriend is a photographer now working in HokkaidÅ, hence
her limited love interludes. For most of the series she's
maintaining a long-distance relationship.
- Erika Kawai (Kawai
Erika)
- Voiced by: Michiko
Neya (Japanese), Jennifer Rau-Ramirez (English)
- The only daughter of a rich family, she was dated by Makoto
based upon the results of his matchmaking software. Yumi had to
help him with her in exchange for dropping his Sony VAIO laptop
from the third floor and wrecking it. Erika dumped him, thinking
Makoto loves Yumi instead.
- Natsue Horikawa (Horikawa
Natsue)
- Voiced by: Manabi
Mizuno (Japanese), Sonia Scrancia (English)
- She dreams of standing at the pitchers' mound during the annual
Koshien high school baseball championship, but she is a girl, and
girls are not allowed to participate in the tournament. This girl
with immature emotional swings did guide Yoshihiko out of his
disinterest in the sport... and they ended up as lovers.
- Aya Kurihara (Kurihara
Aya)
- Voiced by: Misato
Fukuen (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English)
- This French-Japanese transfer student had a run-in with
Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that went through the library's
window. When he crawled to look for it, he knocked the stool where
she was standing while putting a book back into its proper shelf.
He caught her and after getting a feel of her "lumpy" side, he
daydreamed about her. Sometime in the middle of the first episode
and at the start of the third episode, she was the one watching
Yoshihiko from a library window.
- Jyunna Morio (Morio
Jyunna)
- Voiced by: Rika
Komatsu (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)
- She is a popular pop idol, and her image is plastered on
everything from bottled water to TV screens. Yoshihiko doesn't know
that, even mistaking her for a girl in a Santa suit distributing
flyers. Yoshihiko became her unwitting "reindeer" for the rest of
the day. Earlier in the series Yoshihiko and his girlfriend Natsue
went to one of her concerts.
- Nao Nitta (Nitta
Nao)
- Voiced by: Chie
Sawaguchi (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)
- She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin (prone to sunstroke) with an overprotective brother
who lives by the sea. Makoto tried courting her, but her brother is
always a step ahead of him.
- Shoko Sayama (Sayama
Shoko)
- Voiced by: Yuka Imai
(Japanese), Zarah Little (English)
- She is a renegade student hoping to make it big in the music
business. With her relationship with Kyoichi, she found the
confidence to weather rivals for a spot in a J-pop band. She dropped out of school to work on
her career.
- Mizuki Takano (Takano
Mizuki)
- Voiced by: Junko
Noda (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)
- When Makoto broke his leg due to a scooter accident, he was
confined to the hospital where Mizuki was an intern. She became his
nurse. He pledged not to forget her...until the next girl, that is.
But it won't work, either--she put falling in love aside for her
career.
- Chiharu Reicha (Reicha
Chiharu)
- Voiced by: Megumi
Hayashibara (Japanese), Kirsten Potter (English)
- This Finnish-Japanese ex-Tokyoite girl encountered Kyoichi when
he went to HokkaidÅ, acting as his impromptu tour guide that
"charges one kiss per transaction." She's more flirtatious, more
daring, and freer than the Chiharu he knows, and rides a Harley-Davidson
Softail motorcycle.
‡ Note that there are two women named Chiharu in the story; and
that Harley-Davidson-riding anime characters are a rarity.
- Sayaka Kanzaki (Kanzaki
Sayaka)
- Voiced by: Fumiko
Orikasa (Japanese), Karen Thompson (English)
- She is Kyoichi's smart-alecky sister who loves to tease him.
She takes over the Kanzaki household when their parents aren't
around. She's the typical teasing but caring big sister.
- Yuki Okazaki (Okazaki
Yuki)
- Voiced by: Miki
Shinichiro (Japanese), Jason Miller (English)
- He is the charming young man Chiharu Nitta met during summer
training camp. A city slicker with a beat for nature and lots of
hobbies, at first Chiharu shrugged him off, but because she was
lonely, and she's in a fight with Kyoichi, she nearly gave in.
Though he had a girlfriend waiting in the city, he continued his
advances and managed to make Chiharu fall for him, though, during a
date at a spot overlooking the city, nothing happened between
them.
- Takuya Yokota (Yokota
Takuya)
- Voiced by: Takehito
Koyasu (Japanese), Yuri Lowenthal (English)
- He is Kyoichi's partner at his part-time job as a video shop
manager. Though soft-spoken and one of the most handsome men at his
school, he hasn't got a girlfriend, though he was interested in
someone. He is so shy he drowns in loneliness, but found the
courage to express what he feels for that someone. Makoto thought
Kyoichi is getting desperate when he notices he was spending too
much time with him.
- Tsuyoshi Ueno (Ueno
Tsuyoshi)
- Voiced by: Yuji Ueda
(Japanese), Kevin Hatcher (English)
- He is Aki's boyfriend with a passion for photography. At first
he's losing the passion, until Aki put some sense into him.
Eventually they maintained a long-distance relationship, since he
is working in HokkaidÅ. And his inspiration is none other
than Aki herself.
- Daisuke Nitta (Nitta
Daisuke)
- Voiced by: Yasunori
Matsumoto (Japanese), David Earnest (English)
- He is Chiharu's cousin and Nao's overprotective brother, and is
Kyoichi's and Makoto's boss at the summer resort. He is so
overprotective (because of her frail health) that he did not see
his beloved sister grow up. Mostly he is in conflict with the fresh
makoto.
Quotations per episode
Boys Be is known for the philosophical quotations that
is associated with each episode.
- Episode 1
- Spring Chapter, Episode 1: Cherry Blossoms.
- "Cherry blossoms, the noble flower, witness to many an
encounter over time. Cherry blossoms, the vain flower, have watched
many a farewell. And again this year they bloom to watch over a lot
of faint but painful feelings in the season of beginnings called
spring."
- Official translation (English dub): "Cherry blossoms,
the reagle flowers that has witnessed countless encounters
throughout the ages. Cherry blossoms - the short-lived blooms that
have seen so many goodbyes. The blossoms will watch over this
year's heartfelt emotions as well. And open their buds once
more.... In Spring."
- Episode 2
- Spring Chapter, Episode 2: Memorial Essence.
- "Nice memories have their own scent. Whenever you are veiled in
its scent, Your heart can always return to your unforgettable past.
Together with your own scenery that will never fade."
- Official translation (English dub): "Every special
memory has associated with a scent. When you're surrounded by that
smell - your heart can always return to that unforgettable moment.
And you can see it clearly in your memories - where the colors are
forever bright."
- Episode 3
- Spring Chapter, Episode 3: After Kiss.
- "There are many books in the library. Each book has a wonderful
story that will never happen in reality. But when you fall in love,
reality becomes a story far more beautiful than any book can
tell."
- Official translation (English dub): "There are many
books at the library. Each and every one contains a fantastic tale
- stories that could never excist in reality.... But, when you fall
in love, reality changes and becomes far more amazing than any
story."
- Episode 4
- Early Summer Chapter, Episode 1: Bittersweet Rain.
- "No one can stop the flow of time. But a moment captured in the
frame of the heart will never disappear. That will be shown at the
bottom of their hearts, and will always give off a great feeling.
Sweet...and bitter."
- (Official translation (English dub): "Noone in this
world can stop the flow of time. However, a single moment captured
in a photograph will never disappear. It will always decorate your
heart and will always stir your soul - sweetly..and warmly."
- Episode 5
- Summer Chapter, Episode 1: Feeling Blue.
- "The color blue has a soothing effect on people. All their
stresses and troubles are absorbed by the blue. Awakening honest
souls which have no lies. Summer is the season...that is colored in
blue."
- Official translation (English dub): "The color blue
has the power to sooth the soul. It washes away all our worries and
stress. Blue awakens the honest and innocent hearts.
Summer..... Summer - the season when the color blue -
thrives."
- Episode 6
- Summer Chapter, Episode 2: Baseball Lovers.
- "Not many people know when love really starts... More than a
friend, but not quite lovers.
A delicate relationship like this changes gradually once it is
noticed, and keeps on blossoming, Just like the changing
seasons."
- Official translation (English dub): "Very few can
identify the beginning of love. When people become more than
friends but less than lovers - such an indefinable relationship
changes slowly over time - like the changing of the seasons."
- Episode 7
- Summer Chapter, Episode 3: [The] Wind-Bell.
- "The summer days blow through fiercely. With the buried feeling
that something is going to happen... Over a summer storm, Soon, the
season will change..."
- Official translation (English dub): "A summerday goes
by like a strong gust of wind, leaving you with a feeling that
something is going to happen. As the summerstorms come to an end,
gradually, the season change."
- Episode 8
- Autumn Chapter Episode 1: Swallow.
- "With summer's raucous noises, a simple dream seen in spring
has turned into a simple heartbreak. The melancholy autumn wind
speaks quietly of its meaning...Your heart's true self..."
- Official translation (English dub): "A fleeting
springdream, engulfed by the hectic Summer, has become a small
painful scar - and now a sorrowful autumnbreeze whispers of the
story behind the pain.... The story of who you really are."
- Episode 9
- Autumn Chapter Episode 2: Leaves.
- "In the autumn it is said that the reason why leaves fall down
from the branch is to make way for new leaves to grow. No matter
how sad the fallen leaves look, there will always be new sprouts in
the spring. Perhaps, emptiness in the heart is something similar to
that."
- Official translation (English dub): "Autumn - they say
the old leaves fall away from the branches to make way for the new
leaves to arrive. Nomatter how lonesome you might feel watching
leaves fall - remember - new leaves will always return in the
Spring. Perhaps the emptiness you feel in your heart - is just like
those falling leaves."
- Episode 10
- Autumn Chapter Episode 3: Solitary Cross.
- "All sound has died out, and the cold, dark night fills the
room. Unable to go to sleep, holding on to the covers. Suddenly,
that's when it strikes, as if my chest was being crushed in pain
and wanted to cry. A painful and uneasy feeling. Yes, from the
depths of my heart, a thing called "loneliness" will come..."
- Official translation (English dub): "All sounds
ceases. When the icecold night-air fills the room, I lie awake,
holding my blanket. And that's when it happens - I feel like crying
- like my heart is slowly breaking. A sorrowful - an unshakeable
loneliness. That sense of loneliness raises from the shadows in my
heart."
- Episode 11
- Winter Chapter Episode 1: First Snowfall.
- "Snow covers everything in white. It covers the sadness,
softly. If there is happiness, it decorates it beautifully. The
snow continues to fall..."
- Official translation (English dub): "Snowblankets,
everything in white. If there is sorrow - snow will gently embrace
you. If there is happiness, snow will decorate it gently. Silently
- the snow keeps falling."
- Episode 12
- Winter Chapter Episode 2: End to Beginning.
- "An ending will come to everything in this world. It may be a
fate that one could never avoid."
- Official translation (English dub): "All things must
come to an end in this world. Everything reaches its natural
conclusion. It's inevitable - it's fate." In the end of the
episode, the quote continues; "- But as long as there is night
- morning will always come."
- Episode 13
- Next Season Chapter: Let It Be
- "There is nothing that really changes, there is nothing that
really ends. It's hard to admit, but that is reality. One season
ends, and another season begins."
- Official translation (English dub): "Nothing stays the
same. Every story has its ending. It's hard to accept sometimes,
but that's the reality. One season ends and another begins."
- End of Final Episode
- It must only be a matter of a moment once it's gone...
(Makoto)
- We should probably be able to laugh at it someday. (Yumi)
- But the feeling will stay forever in the depths of the heart.
(Yoshi)
- It's precious, only here for now. It's our season. (Aki)
- So, one season ends, and a new one begins... (Chiharu
(Nitta))
- End of Final Episode, English dub (Official translations)
- Once it passes, it will feel like it went by in a flash.
(Makoto)
- Someday - you look back at it and laugh. (Yumi)
- But that feeling - that feeling will never disappear. You'll
always carry it deep in your heart. (Yoshi)
- The most important season is the one we're in now. It's our
season. (Aki)
- And with the ending of one season - another new one begins.
(Chiharu (Nitta))
Music
- Soundtrack produced by BE-FACTORY
- Opening Theme: Daijobu by Aki Maeda
- Ending Theme: Minna Ga Iine by Aki Maeda
- Final Episode Opening Theme: Hatsukoi by Yuka Imai - the first
remake of a song from 1983 by Kozo Murashita
- Episode 8 Ending Theme: My Tomorrow by Yuka Imai
- Episode 8 Insert: Where Is My Paradise by Yuu
Asakawa
- Episode 8 Insert: Memoria by Kazuko Hamano
- Episode 8 Insert: Truth by Kasumi Matsumura
- Episode 1 Insert: Naisho no Kimochi by Aki Maeda
References
External
links
Kodansha
Tokyopop
Wikis
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