Samurai Flamenco
| Samurai Flamenco | |
 Cover of the first DVD and Blu-ray of the series | |
| サムライフラメンコ (Samurai Furamenko) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Superhero, comedy-drama |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Takahiro Omori |
| Written by | Hideyuki Kurata |
| Music by |
agehasprings Kenji Tamai |
| Studio | Manglobe |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | Fuji TV (Noitamina) |
| Original run | October 10, 2013 – ongoing |
| Episodes | 22 |
| Manga | |
| Samurai Flamenco Another Days | |
| Written by | Seiko Takagi |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | G Fantasy |
| Original run | October 2013 – ongoing |
Samurai Flamenco (サムライフラメンコ Samurai Furamenko) is a television anime series directed by Takahiro Omori at Manglobe, and currently airs on Fuji TV's noitaminA block.[1] It focuses on Masayoshi Hazama, a young adult who aspires to become a superhero despite having no superpowers to fight. The series has been licensed in North America for streaming and home video release by Aniplex of America.[2] A manga series by Seiko Takagi is also being published by Square Enix.
Plot
Male model Masayoshi Hazama decides to become a superhero, despite having no superpowers or the technology to create a high-powered suit. He becomes the hero, Samurai Flamenco and begins to fight crime in the name of justice. Police officer Hidenori Gotō finds out about Samurai Flamenco and his real identity by a twist of fate, which leads to him getting involved into lots of trouble, especially when they come across enemies that were not thought to exist outside of fiction. Nonetheless, these two young men will come face to face with hardships of being crime-fighters while discovering what it truly means to be a hero of justice.
Characters
Main characters
- Masayoshi Hazama (羽佐間 正義 Hazama Masayoshi) / Samurai Flamenco (サムライフラメンコ Samurai Furamenko) / Flamen Red (フラメンレッド Furamen Reddo)
- Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda
- A male model who decides to follow his childhood dream of becoming a superhero known as Samurai Flamenco, which is often mockingly shortened to Samumenco. He has a love for tokusatsu shows since he was a child, which came from his grandfather, who invented Samurai Flamenco. Originally confronting regular thugs in his alternate persona, Masayoshi starts fighting real monsters from the "Torture" organization when they start threatening the city. After Torture's defeat, Masayoshi is recruited to lead the "Samurai Sentai Flamenger" (サムライ戦隊フラメンジャー Samurai Sentai Furamenjā) as Flamen Red against another evil cadre, known as "From Beyond" (フロム・ビヨンド Furomu Biyondo). When not fighting, Masayoshi has a shy demeanor thus he is usually dominated by other people such as Mari and Joji. He is 20 years old.
- Hidenori Gotō (後藤 英徳 Gotō Hidenori)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
- A policeman who is diligent in his work, but doesn't have a strong sense of justice. He finds out who Samurai Flamenco is one day, and his daily life has become busy and troublesome since. Hidenori has a long distance relationship with his girlfriend. He is 24 years old.
Mineral Miracle Muse / Flamenco Girls
- Mari Maya (真野 まり Maya Mari) / Flamenco Girl (フラメンコガール Furamenko Gāru) / Flamenco Diamond (フラメンコダイヤ Furamenko Daiya)
- Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu
- One of the members of the female idol group Mineral Miracle Muse (ミネラル★ミラクル★ミューズ Mineraru Mirakuru Myūzu), who serves as the composer and lyricist. Her talents and bright, energetic personality makes it easier to get along with everybody. She becomes a magical girl called Flamenco Girl, later Flamenco Diamond of the Flamenco Girls (フラメンコガールズ Furamenko Gāruzu) and knows that Masayoshi is Samurai Flamenco. As opposed to Masayoshi's traditional sense of justice, Mari uses a more brutal, vengeance-based method of taking down criminals. Mari has a fetish for men in uniform, as she begins to blush whenever she sees Hidenori wearing his police uniform and tries to get him to dress up for her. After being kidnapped and tortured by King Torture, Mari develops a distant, angry personality and a hatred for superheroes, living in hiding with Hidenori. She is 18 years old.
- Mizuki Misawa (三澤 瑞希 Misawa Mizuki) / Flamenco Ruby (フラメンコルビー Furamenko Rubī)
- Voiced by: M·A·O
- One of the members of Mineral Miracle Muse, she serves as the leader, taking care of the group and others until she is recruited by Mari to join her superhero team as Flamenco Ruby. She is 19 years old and is from the Kansai region.
- Moe Morita (森田 萌 Morita Moe) / Flamenco Sapphire (フラメンコサファイア Furamenko Safaia)
- Voiced by: Erii Yamazaki
- One of the members of Mineral Miracle Muse, she later becomes Flamenco Sapphire, the third Flamenco Girl. She is a high-school student with a reserved, yet carefree personality. Moe is attracted to Mari, who often kisses her in moments of passion. She is also a native English speaker. She is 17 years old.
Flamengers
- Anji Kuroki (黒木 闇児 Kuroki Anji) / Flamen Black (フラメンブラック Furamen Burakku)
- Voiced by: KENN
- Recruited by Joji to be one of the "Flamengers", he joins the team as Flamen Black and acts as the team's weapons specialist. He is 24 years old.
- Sakura Momoi (桃井 桜 Momoi Sakura) / Flamen Pink (フラメンンピンク Furamen Pinku)
- Voiced by: Yukari Tamura
- The only female member of the "Flamengers", she joins the team as Flamen Pink, acting as the team's public relations official. She enjoys knitting despite considering it an overly feminine hobby and joined the team because of her crush on her "darling" Joji Kaname. She hails from a rich family, but was disowned because of her obcession with Kaname, who is already married. She is 23 years old.
- Soichi Aoshima (青島 蒼一 Aoshima Sōichi) / Flamen Blue (フラメンンブル Furamen Burū)
- Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo
- Joji's friend from 10 years before, he joins the "Flamengers" as Flamen Blue, acting as the team's second-in-command and strongest fighter. He originally rejected Masayoshi's position as the leader, wanting to be Flamen Red himself due to his friendship and dedication to Joji, but eventually grows to respect Masayoshi. Despite looking very young, he is the oldest member of the team at 28 years old.
- Hekiru Midorikawa (緑川 碧 Midorikawa Hekiru) / Flamen Green (フラメングリーン Furamen Gurīn)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga
- The stoic member of the "Flamengers" who becomes Flamen Green, the team's strategist and tactical analyst. He is 22 years old.
Other characters
- Joji Kaname (要 丈治 Kaname Jōji)
- Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi
- An action actor who was the star of the hero TV show called Red Axe (レッドアックス Reddo Akkusu), he now likes to travel all around the world visiting his fans. He once claimed that he was Samurai Flamenco, but later becomes Masayoshi's combat trainer after he claims to the media that Samurai Flamenco is his pupil, inspired by Masayoshi's strong sense of justice. Joji is rarely around to train Masayoshi, however, due to his travels. After the fall of King Torture (キング・トーチャー Kingu Tōchā), Joji reveals that he is a member of a secret organization and recruits Masayoshi and four other youngsters to become the "Flamengers," explaining his frequent absences and flighty nature. He also eventually reveals that he actually is Red Axe, and has been really fighting monsters alongside other tokusatsu heroes like "Harakiri Sunshine" in secret for years. He is 43 years old.
- Jun Harazuka (原塚 淳 Harazuka Jun)
- Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa
- A middle-aged man who works in the development department for the stationery company, Monsters Stationery, who provides Masayoshi with weapons disguised as stationery to assist in his crimefighting work. He is 48 years old.
- Sumi Ishihara (石原 澄 Ishihara Sumi)
- Voiced by: Chie Nakamura
- A competent, strict manager for the entertainment production company Caesar Pro. She is Masayoshi's employer and despite suspecting that he is Samurai Flamenco, she works hard to protect his identity until he reveals it to the public. She is 28 years old.
- Akira Konno (今野 明 Konno Akira)
- Voiced by: Satoshi Mikami
- Manages the website High Rollers Hi!, a news website, he takes an interest in Samurai Flamenco and schemes to discover his true identity. He is 31 years old.
- Totsuka (戸塚 Totsuka)
- Voiced by: Masayuki Katou
- First name unknown. Gotō's co-worker at the police box, and the section chief. He prefers to keep his mind on work.
Anime
For the first part of the series, the opening theme for the anime is "JUST ONE LIFE" performed by Spyair and the ending theme song is "Date TIME" (デートTIME Dēto Taimu), performed by Haruka Tomatsu, Erii Yamazaki, and M·A·O as their characters' band Mineral Miracle Muse. For the second part, the opening is "Ai Ai Ai ni Utarete Bye Bye Bye" (愛愛愛に撃たれてバイバイバイ Ai Ai Ai ni Utarete Bai Bai Bai) by FLOW and the ending is "Flight 23-ji" (フライト23時 Furaito Nijūsanji) also performed by Mineral Miracle Muse, which will be released on a mini-album titled Koidama Cholesterol (恋玉コレステロール Koidama Koresuterōru).
Manga
A manga of Samurai Flamenco titled Samurai Flamenco Another Days featuring a new story is being written by Seiko Takagi. The series debuted in Square Enix's G Fantasy magazine in October 2013.[3] Its first tankobon volume will be released in Japan on March 27, 2014.[4]
References
- ↑ "Noitamina Reveals Samurai Flamenco Hero Anime". Anime News Network. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Aniplex USA to Release Superhero Anime Samurai Flamenco". Anime News Network. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
- ↑ "Samurai Flamenco Anime Gets Manga Adapation". Anime News Network. September 23, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ "サムライフラメンコ Another Days (1)" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Samurai Flamenco (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
