Kin-iro Mosaic

Kin-iro Mosaic (きんいろモザイク, Kin'iro Mozaiku, lit. Golden Mosaic), also known by the abbreviation Kinmoza! (きんモザ), is a Japanese 4-panel manga written and illustrated by Yui Hara. The series began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max magazine from June 2010. A 12-episode anime adaptation by Studio Gokumi aired in Japan between July and September 2013, and a second season, titled Hello!! Kin-iro Mosaic (ハロー!! きんいろモザイク), began airing from April 5, 2015.

Plot

Shinobu Omiya is a young girl who once stayed in England, where she met Alice Cartalet, enjoying the time spent with her. One day, Shinobu receives a letter from Alice saying she is coming to Japan. Surely enough, Alice appears and joins Shinobu and her friends Aya Komichi and Yoko Inokuma at her school, soon followed by Alice's friend from England, Karen Kujo.

Characters

Shinobu Omiya (大宮 忍, Ōmiya Shinobu)

Voiced by: Asuka Nishi

A graceful, optimistic 15-year old girl, who is nicknamed Shino by her friends. She previously stayed over at Alice's home in England, although she herself is rather bad at English and has generally bad grades. She loves western culture, especially blonde hair. As an airhead, she often misinterprets Alice's advances towards her, but she shows that she cares more about Alice than others.

Alice Cartalet (アリス・カータレット, Arisu Kātaretto)

Voiced by: Manami Tanaka

A girl from England who transfers into Shinobu's school and stays at her house. She loves Japanese culture but has a complex about her height (139cm). Despite being shorter than Karen, she is actually older than her. Alice loves Shinobu and tends to get jealous if she shows interest in others, or if others show interest in her. She was the first to call Shinobu 'Shino' of her friends.

Aya Komichi (小路 綾, Komichi Aya)

Voiced by: Risa Taneda

Shinobu's classmate, who is rather bashful towards Yoko, often not being honest with her feelings. She frequently misinterprets situations between herself and Yoko, responding indignantly and blushing. She is a smart student, but has a habit of forgetting things, and generally prefers indoor activities.

Yoko Inokuma (猪熊 陽子, Inokuma Yōko)

Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama

Shinobu's classmate and childhood friend since elementary school, who often serves as the tsukkomi character. Cheerful, boyish, and very energetic, she seems to be oblivious of Aya's sentiment towards her. She has two younger siblings: a brother and sister.

Karen Kujo (九条 カレン, Kujō Karen)

Voiced by: Nao Tōyama

A half-British, half-Japanese girl who comes from a rich family and was Alice's friend back in England. She also comes to Japan and enrolls in Shinobu's school. She is very energetic, fun-loving and carefree, not even worrying about her grades or her getting fat. She often wears a Union Jack parka jacket over her school uniform and generally speaks in broken Japanese.

Isami Omiya (大宮 勇, Ōmiya Isami)

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura

Shinobu's older sister who is a fashion model. She is often worried about Shinobu and the fact that she is very careless and absent-minded but she manages to handle her very well.

Sakura Karasuma (烏丸 さくら, Karasuma Sakura)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō

Shinobu's English teacher, who is often seen wearing a tracksuit jersey. She is kind, meek and absent-minded. Alice sees her as a rival for Shino's affections. She has two older brothers.

Akari Kuzehashi (久世橋 朱里, Kuzehashi Akari)

Voiced by: Saori Ōnishi

A home economics teacher who appears after a year has passed in the story and is the homeroom teacher of class 2-A. She likes cute things and wants to get along with her students, but always ends up intimidating them.

Honoka Matsubara (松原 穂乃花, Matsubara Honoka)

Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa

Karen's classmate who is a member of the tennis club.

Kouta Inokuma (猪熊 空太, Inokuma Kōta) and Mitsuki Inokuma (猪熊 美月, Inokuma Mitsuki)

Voiced by: Megumi Han and Rie Murakawa

Yoko's younger siblings, who are both twins. They are often notorious liars, making up weird tales.

Media

Manga

The original manga by Yui Hara began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max magazine from June 2010. Five tankōbon volumes and an anthology comic have been released as of November 27, 2014.^[2][3]

Anime

A 12-episode anime adaptation was produced Studio Gokumi, with direction by Tensho and character design by Kazuyuki Ueda.^[1][4] The series aired in Japan on AT-X between July 6 and September 21, 2013 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.^[5][6][7] The respective opening and ending themes are "Jumping!!" and "Your Voice", both performed by Rhodanthe* (Asuka Nishi, Manami Tanaka, Risa Taneda, Nao Tōyama and Yumi Uchiyama).^[8] The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks under the title Kinmoza!.^[9] A second season, titled Hello!! Kin-iro Mosaic, began airing on April 5, 2015, once again simulcast by Crunchyroll and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.^{[10][11][12][13]} The respective opening and ending themes are "Yumeiro Parade" (夢色パレード, Dream-colored Parade) and "My Best Friends", both performed by Rhodanthe*. As with the first season, the second season has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks under the title, Hello! Kinmoza!.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Kin-iro Mosaic (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia