Boys Be...

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Boys Be...
ボーイズ・ビー
(Boys Be)
Genre Romance, Comedy, School Life
Manga
Author Masahiro Itabashi (story)
Hiroyuki Tamakoshi (art)
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 1991 – 1997
Volumes 32[1]
Manga: Boys Be... 2nd Season
Author Masahiro Itabashi (story)
Hiroyuki Tamakoshi (art)
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 1997 – 2000
Volumes 20[2]
Manga: Boys Be... L CO-OP
Author Masahiro Itabashi (story)
Hiroyuki Tamakoshi (art)
Publisher Flag of Japan Kodansha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Original run 2000 – 2001
Volumes 6[3]
TV anime
Director Masami Shimoda
Studio Hal Film Maker
Network Flag of Japan WOWOW
Original run 11 April 2000 – 4 July 2000 (12)
Episodes 13[4]
Related works
  • Boys Be... Alive , musical
  • Boys Be... Alive -Try Again- , musical

Boys Be... (ボーイズ・ビー Bōizu Bī?) 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 Shōnen Magazine. The second manga series is licensed in North America by Tokyopop and the anime is licensed by The Right Stuf International. The anime is licensed in Singapore by Odex. The first DVD volume of the series was released in North America on February 28, 2006. Comcast and serval 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.

Contents

[edit] Description

The anime focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of first love and teenage romance. Six students struggle in their quest to find the perfect partner. Their only enemies are their adolescent limitations.

Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which loosely sums up the episode's content. Boys Be..., while centered on Kyoichi and Chiharu, actually revolves about seven or eight main characters and their love lives.

[edit] Characters, Backgrounds, and Cast

Kyoichi Kanzaki (神崎恭一 Kanzaki Kyōichi?)
He is a high school student having difficulty expressing his love for his childhood friend, Chiharu Nitta. Their relationship has encountered turbulence, resulting in a one-time affair with Shoko Sayama.
Yoshihiko Kenjo (剣城美彦 Kenjō Yoshihiko?)
Extremely 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. However, after her return to France, he met during baseball practice his girlfriend Natsue Horikawa. He also had a run-in with young idol Jyunna Morio when she escaped and got lost from her studio taping.
Makoto Kurumizawa (胡桃沢マコト Kurumizawa Makoto?)
He is the epitome of a girl-obsessed guy, keeping an electronic database of almost all the girls at Otowa-no-Mori with him (to a point of bribing some informers to get the scoop), 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 (who acted as the bridge between them), 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, but he forgot about her when he saw that girl again...
Chiharu Nitta (新田千春 Nitta Chiharu?)
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, hence her affair with a guy named Yuki Okazaki. Though not in an actual relationship with Kyoichi, she was asked by Okazaki if she had a boyfriend to which she replied that "he" wouldn't mind. Thus, 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?)
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 eventually fell in love when Rika dumped him.
Aki Mizutani (水谷亜紀 Mizutani Aki?)
Her boyfriend is a photographer now working in Hokkaidō, hence her limited love interludes. For most of the series she's maintaining a long-distance relationship.
Erika Kawai ( Kawai Erika?)
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. But 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, so it couldn't happen. But 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?)
This French-Japanese transfer student had a run-in with Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that sauntered into 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. Luckily he caught her falling...and after getting a feel of her "lumpy" side, he daydreamed about her... At the start of the second episode, she was the one secretly watching Yoshihiko from a library window.
Jyunna Morio ( Morio Jyunna?)
She is a popular pop idol, and her image is practically plastered on everything from bottled water to TV screens. But Yoshihiko doesn't know that, even mistaking her for a girl in a Santa suit distributing flyers. Eventually Yoshihiko became her unwitting "reindeer" for the rest of the day. Earlier in the series Yoshihiko and his eventual girlfriend Natsue went to one of her concerts.
Nao Nitta ( Nitta Nao?)
She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin 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?)
She is a renegade student (with temper to match) hoping to make it big in the music business. With her relationship with Kyoichi, she found the confidence to successfully weather out rivals for a spot in a J-pop band. She dropped out of school to work on her career full-time.
Mizuki Takano ( Takano Mizuki?)
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. She may still have a long way to go, but Makoto urged her on. He pledged not to forget her...until the next girl, that is.
Chiharu Reicha ( Reicha Chiharu?)
This Finnish-Japanese ex-Tokyoite girl encountered Kyoichi when he went to Hokkaidō, acting as his impromptu tour guide that "charges one kiss per transaction." She's flirtier, more daring, and freer than the Chiharu he knows, and rides a Harley-Davidson. Both cleared each other's minds during their stay together. She is a wood sculptor, as well.

‡ 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?)
She is Kyoichi's smart-alecky sister who loves to tease him, but never goes overboard. 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?)
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 already had 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?)
He happens to be 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 eventually 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.
Ueno ( Ueno?)
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 Hokkaidō. And his inspiration is none other than Aki herself.

[edit] 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."
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."
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 as you fall in love, reality becomes a wonderful story, better than any novel."
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."
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."
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."

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..."
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..."
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."
Episode 10
Autumn Chapter Episode 3: Solitary Cross.
  • "All sound has died out, and the cold, dark night fills the room. Unable to get to sleep, holding on to the covers. Suddenly, that's when it strikes, as if your chest is being squeezed and wanted to cry. A painful and uneasy feeling. From the depths of the heart, a thing called "loneliness" will come
  • "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..."
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..."
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."
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."
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))

[edit] 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
  • Naisho no Kimochi by Aki Maeda

[edit] References

  1. ^ Boys Be... (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-02-23.
  2. ^ Boys Be... 2nd Season (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-29.
  3. ^ Boys Be... L CO-OP (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-29.
  4. ^ Boys Be... (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-02-23.

[edit] External links