From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hitohira (ひとひら
?, lit. Petal) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Japanese manga author Izumi Kirihara.
The story revolves around a shy girl named Mugi Asai who is unsure
of what club to join in her school, but before she knows it she
gets dragged into the Drama Research Society and becomes a member.
The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Comic High! on
March 22, 2004, and is published by Futabasha. The manga has been licensed for
distribution in North America by Aurora Publishing; the first and
second volumes are due out in October and December 2008
respectively.[1] An anime adaptation, which aired in
Japan between March 28, 2007 and June 13, 2007, contains twelve
episodes.
Plot
Hitohira revolves around a group of young high school
students, the primary characters of which are either in the Drama
Club or in the much smaller Drama Research Society. At the center
is the main heroine Mugi Asai, a shy girl entering her first year
of high school. Early in the year, Mugi is unsure on what clubs she
should join, but is soon spotted by the Drama Research Society's
president Nono Ichinose after she hears Mugi's astonishingly loud
voice. Nono pressures Mugi into joining the club and eventually
Mugi buckles under the pressure and joins. At first Mugi did not
think it was going to be so bad, but she eventually learns that the
Drama Research Society is going to put on two plays this year, and
Mugi must act in both plays in several roles due to the low number
of club members. Over time, Mugi's personality changes due to the
club members' influence on her.
Characters
Drama
Research Society
- Mugi Asai (麻井麦, Asai
Mugi
?)
- Voiced by: Orie
Kimoto
- Mugi is the main character in Hitohira. She is a very
shy girl who has low self-esteem and will often says things are
"impossible" if she thinks they are too much for her to handle.
Despite being terrified about being the center of attention, she
gets unwillingly drafted into the Drama Research Society but stays
after she discovers the determination from the three older members
of the club. Mugi especially admires Nono's determination after
learning about her affliction with her vocal cords. When Mugi
starts to panic, Nono can easily calm her down enough for her to
carry out her acting duties. When stressed, or sometimes merely by
chance, Mugi is submerged in delusions when she imagines herself in
strange scenarios.
- Nono Ichinose (一ノ瀬野乃, Ichinose
Nono
?)
- Voiced by: Ayako
Kawasumi
- Nono is the president of the Drama Research Society. She
usually has a calm personality and her expression does not change
much. When angered, however, she becomes very intimidating and has
been known to be unstoppable when in this state of mind. Nono has
an outward rivalry with the Drama Club president Mirei Sakaki and
whenever the two of them meet they are sure to argue. Nono has a
latent form of vocal cord paralysis and if she overexerts her voice
too much, she may lose it at a young age. Nono was once a member of
the Drama Society but later formed the Drama Research Society with
Takashi and Risaki because she still wanted to act, which went
against the wishes of Mirei.
- Takashi Katsuragi (桂木たかし, Katsuragi
Takashi
?)
- Voiced by: Ken
Narita
- Takashi is one of the three founding members of the Drama
Research Society. He has a personality which could be described as
cool, and has a strong determination regarding drama and acting.
Chitose Kanna of the Drama Club has a crush on him and often
attends Drama Research Society meetings to get a chance to be
closer to him. Takashi is very smart; he got twenty-fifth place in
the mid-term exams for his school early on in the story. He admits
on having a crush on Nono to Chitose when she confesses her
feelings for him.
- Risaki Nishida (西田理咲, Nishida
Risaki
?)
- Voiced by: Kyoko
Hikami
- Risaki is the third founding member of the Drama Research
Society. She has a tough personality which she often uses to get
her younger brother Kai to do what she wants for the sake of the
club. She is not afraid to show force when needed, but has been
shown to be terrified of Nono when she is angered.
- Kai Nishida (西田甲斐, Nishida
Kai
?)
- Voiced by: Daisuke
Kishio
- Kai is Risaki's younger brother and the last member of the
Drama Research Society. He was drafted against his will by his
sister at the same time Mugi joined. Thus, the two of them share an
odd friendship since both do not really want to be members of the
club. Later on, he gradually develops romantic feelings towards
her. Kai often gets forced by his sister to do things for the club
at the expense of himself.
Drama
Club
- Mirei Sakaki (榊美麗, Sakaki
Mirei
?)
- Voiced by: Satsuki
Yukino
- Mirei is the president of the Drama Club. She has a serious
personality and is able to forcefully command the other members of
her club. She has an ongoing rivalry with Nono despite being close
friends back when they first met a couple of years ago. Mirei
initially brought Nono into the Drama Club after she saw Nono
constantly reading alone. She might also have romantic feelings for
Nono, as Takashi has hinted after being rejected by Nono for
offering to share his umbrella with her. Although she does not show
it much, she worries about Nono due to Nono's health problems. She
had tried to stop Nono from using her voice as an actress by not
letting her act in a play, but failed.
- Chitose Kanna (神奈ちとせ, Kanna
Chitose
?)
- Voiced by: Emi
Yabusaki
- Chitose is a first year student and new member to the Drama
Club. She has an outgoing personality and has been told she is very
bold in her actions. Despite being a member of the Drama Club, she
often helps the Drama Research Society with small tasks and will
motivate Mugi when need be. Chitose has a crush on Takashi and will
cheer for him during practices. She gave Mugi the nickname
"Mugi-choco" and is herself nicknamed "Orinal" by Kayo. After her
confession to Takashi, she remains cheerful as usual despite being
rejected.
- Haruko Tamaki (玉城春子, Tamaki
Haruko
?)
- Voiced by: Kana
Ueda
- Sachie Ayase (綾瀬幸枝, Ayase
Sachie
?)
- Voiced by: Ayumi
Tsunematsu
- Shinji Kino (木野信二, Kino
Shinji
?)
- Hibiki Kawasaki (川崎響, Kawasaki
Hibiki
?)
- Voiced by: Akiko
Tanaka
- Minoru Yamaguchi (山口実, Yamaguchi
Minoru
?)
- Sadaji Wakui (和久井貞冶, Wakui
Sadaji
?)
- Voiced by: Jin
Domon
Other
characters
- Kayo Tōyama (遠山佳代, Tōyama
Kayo
?)
- Voiced by: Miho
Miyagawa
- Kayo is Mugi's friend that she has known since junior-high
school. She is often encouraging Mugi to have more confidence and
tries to give her motivation during practice sessions held by the
Drama Research Society. Kayo has a love of photography and is a
member of the Photography Club; she likes to take pictures of Mugi
and the other members of the Drama Research Society. After
finishing her first year with Mugi, she leaves Japan to study
photography overseas.
- Kyōsuke Takeda (武田京介, Takeda
Kyōsuke
?)
Media
Manga
The Hitohira manga
series, written and illustrated by Izumi Kirihara, was first serialized in
the Japanese seinen manga magazine Comic High! on
March 22, 2004, published by Futabasha, and will conclude on May 22,
2009.[2]
As of January 2009, six bound volumes have been released in Japan. The
manga has been licensed for distribution in North America by Aurora
Publishing. The first three volumes were released between
October 2008 and February 2009.[2][3]
Anime
The anime series is produced
by the animation studio Xebec M2, and
directed by Akira Nishimori.[4]
The series contains twelve episodes which aired between March 28,
2007 and June 13, 2007. The opening and ending theme maxi single entitled
Yume, Hitohira was released on April 25, 2007 by Media Factory. The
single contained the opening theme "Yume, Hitohira" (夢、ひとひら
?) by Yūko Asami, and the ending theme
"Smile" (スマイル,
Sumairu
?) by Mai Mizuhashi. The first original
soundtrack enitled Hitohira Drama & BGM Mugi Asai was
released on May 30, 2007 by Media Factory containing background
music tracks along with a set of tracks akin to a drama CD.
The second soundtrack entitled Hitohira Drama & BGM Nono
Ichinose was released on June 27, 2007, also by Media
Factory.
References
External
links
Futabasha
Aurora
Publishing
Wikis
Quiz
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