Pumpkin Scissors

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Pumpkin Scissors
パンプキン・シザーズ (Pumpkin Scissors)
Genre	Drama, Military, Shounen
Manga
Authored by	Ryoutarou Iwanaga
Publisher	Kodansha
Serialized in	Magazine GREAT Monthly Shonen Magazine
Original run	2002 – Present
No. of volumes	5+
TV anime
Directed by	Katsuhito Akiyama
Studio	GONZO, AIC
Network	Tokyo MX
Original run	October 2006 – Present
No. of episodes	24

Pumpkin Scissors (パンプキン・シザーズ, panpukin shizāzu^?) is a manga created by Ryoutarou Iwanaga, originally serialized in Magazine GREAT in 2002, but later moved to Monthly Shōnen Magazine in October 2006. As of June 2006, there are 5 volumes of the manga.

An anime adaptation of Pumpkin Scissors, produced by GONZO and AIC, began airing on October 2, 2006 across several Japanese television stations. The anime is scheduled to have 24 episodes.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 3 Episodes 4 Theme songs 5 External links

[edit] Plot

The story is set up in a fictional country resembling the Western Europe from the Interwar period.

A ceasefire put an end to the long war between the Royal Empire and the Republic of Frost. Three years later, the Empire is still plagued by starvation, pestilence, and soldiers turning into bandits. To aid in the war relief effort, the "Imperial Army State Section III", also known as the Pumpkin Scissors, was established.

The name for the group was an idea from one of its founders, the 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin. According to her, in their war relief efforts they must face the threat of corrupt people who protect themselves behind lies, power, money and many other layers arround them like a pumpkin, and the Section III must act like a pair of scissors cutting through those layers and delivering justice to them.

Considered a waste of resources by some, and just an instrument of propaganda by others, the Pumpkin Scissors still take their duty to assist the country's reconstruction seriously. One day their life starts to change when Randal Orlando, a veteran soldier with a mysterious past joins their ranks.

[edit] Characters

• Captain Hunks

Voiced by: Chou

Commanding officer of Pumpkin Scissors, a very capable administrator. He issues the mission orders and provides a calm, steadying presence, which balances out Lieutenant Malvin's impetuous nature.

• 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin

Voiced by: Shizuka Itou

Second in command and field leader of the Pumpkin Scissors. An inexperienced soldier of noble origin who graduated in the academy just before the ceasefire, Alice's hot-tempered and reckless demeanor tends to sometimes put her and her subordinates in danger. Has a strong sense of duty and justice and tries to live up to her family's military traditions, contrary to her father and sisters who want her to assume a more feminine behavior.

Another curious trait of hers is that sometimes she feels chills on her neck when something very good or very bad is about to happen. Alice is engaged to another noble, Leonil Taylor, who apparently support her ideals.

• Sergeant-Major Machs

Voiced by: Chihiro Suzuki

Graduated as one of the top students of the academy, the slight, bespectacled Machs provides the voice of reason and caution when out in the field.

• Master Sergeant Oreld

Voiced by: Kousuke Toriumi

Childhood friend of Machs, Oreld is a handsome young soldier who fancies himself a ladies' man. He is very clever, resourceful and an expert at picking locks.

• Sergeant Stekkin

Voiced by: Kana Ueda

She is Captain Hunks' aide, and is also responsible for taking care of Mercury.

• Corporal Randel Oland

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

A retired soldier who joined the Pumpkin Scissors to aid in their war relief effort. He was part of the secret 901 anti-tank unit, basically consisted of foot soldiers trained to take down enemy tanks by themselves. This unit, known also as the "Gespenst Jäger" (German for "Ghost Soldier") was part of the "Invisible 9", a series of secret platoons whose existence is denied by the Empire government.

Despite his impressive stature (well over six feet tall), and a body riddled with scars, Randel's nature most of the time is kindhearted and ingenuous, but when he gets himself on a pinch he turns on his blue-steel lantern (with 901-ATT engraved on it), and somehow the effect it implies on his mind transforms him into a fearless and vicious combatant, capable of defeating even heavily armored foes with his 13mm anti-tank gun, known as the "door knocker".

• Mercury

The platoon's messenger-dog, who has a bad habit of biting peoples' heads. He was demoted from Corporal to Courier First Class for biting an officer in Episode 1. Otherwise, he is very fast and reliable.

[edit] Episodes

Screenshot	Ep #	English Title	Japanese Title		Original Airdate
			Kanji	Romaji
	01	Invisible No.9	不可視の9番	Fukashi no 9ban	October 2, 2006
	The Pumpkin Scissors unit gets unexpected help to deal with a dangerous renegade squad.
	02	War Relief Unit	戦災復興部隊	Sensai fukkou butai	October 9, 2006
	Randal becomes officially a member of the team, and Alice confronts a Viscount accused of abusing his people.
	03	For That Is A Precious Thing	其は貴きものなりて	So wa toutokimono narite	October 16, 2006
	Alice must convince a group of villagers to work in the reconstruction of a tunnel, but they have their own reasons to not trust the government.
	04	The Cracking Portrait	ヒビ割れた肖像	Hibiwareta shouzou	October 23, 2006
	Machs starts to become suspicious of Randal, and decides to investigate his past.
	05	The Frivolous Men	あさはかな者(おとこ)たち	Asahaka na otoko-tachi	October 30, 2006
	While Randal is still hospitalized, Machs and Oreld team up to dig further about him.
	06	A Fruitful Time	豊饒(ほうじょう)な時間	Houjou na jikan	November 6, 2006
	Randal discovers an abandoned baby and Alice decides to search for his mother.
	07	The Lead And The Follow	踊る者踊らされる者	Odoru mono odorasareru mono	November 13, 2006
	While Alice takes the day off to meet her fiancé, the rest of the team is sent in a search for missing supplies.
	08	Burning Snowfields	雪原に燃えて	Setsugen ni moete	November 20, 2006
	Alice and co. race against time to make an important delivery in a snowy and hostile wilderness.
	09	Woman Of The Morning Mist	朝霧の女	Asagiri no onna	November 27, 2006
	Oreld helps a beautiful and hopeless woman to come in terms with her past.
	10	Pumpkin And Scissors	カボチャとハサミ	Kabocha to hasami	December 4, 2006
	Stekkin reveals to Orlando how the Section III was created, and the reason for its uncommon name.
	11	Quiet Movement	静かなる胎動	Shizuka naru Taidou	December 11, 2006
	Alice is kidnapped by a group who wants her help to expose the military's darkest secrets.
	12	The Unseen Pain	見えざる痛み	Miezaru itami	December 18, 2006
	13	To Make The Unrefined Flavourful	粗野にして美味	Soya ni shite bimi	December 25, 2006
	14	The Flame Hasn't Disappeared	焔、いまだ消えず	Honoo, imada kiezu	January 1, 2007

[edit] Theme songs

Opening theme

Aoki Flamme (蒼き炎(フランム), Aoki Flamme^?) by Yōko Takahashi

Ending theme

Mercury GO (マーキュリー★GO, Mercury GO^?) by Kana Ueda and Yukai na Nakama-tachi

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Official anime website
• (Japanese) GONZO's Pumpkin Scissors anime official website
• Pumpkin Scissors (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia