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 in 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), aired between April and June 2015.

Plot

Shinobu Omiya is a Japanese high school girl who, five years ago, had a homestay in England with a girl named Alice Cartelet. 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 high school girl, nicknamed Shino by her friends, who previously stayed over at Alice's home in England. She dreams of becoming an interpreter, but generally has bad grades in English, among other subjects. She loves western culture, especially blonde hair. As an airhead, she often misinterprets Alice's advances towards her, but she shows that she loves Alice more than blonde haired girls in serious moments.

Alice Cartelet (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 short stature. Alice loves Shinobu, to the point of obsession, and tends to get jealous if she shows interest in others, or if others show interest in her.

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, mostly because of not being able to admit her love to Yoko. 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, however if she had to choose, she would choose Aya before anyone else. 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, because of 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. She is kind of a lolicon for Alice, but she spends most of her time with Kuzehashi.

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. Originally she was paired with Karen, but she seems to get closer to Karasuma in recent chapters.

Honoka Matsubara (松原 穂乃花, Matsubara Honoka)

Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa

Karen's classmate who is a member of the tennis club and is often seen bringing Karen homemade snacks. Much like Shinobu, she also has a fascination with blonde hair and sees Alice and Karen as royalty. Her family owns a restaurant. Because of her blonde hair fetish, she develops a major crush towards Karen.

Kota 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 brother and sister, who are both twins. They are often notorious liars, making up weird tales, and generally speak in monotone. They also help Aya to be more honest with Yoko.

Media

Manga

The original manga by Yui Hara began serialization in Houbunsha's Manga Time Kirara Max magazine in June 2010. Six tankōbon volumes and an anthology comic have been released as of June 27, 2015.^[3][4]

Anime

A 12-episode anime adaptation was produced by Studio Gokumi, with direction by Tensho and character design by Kazuyuki Ueda.^[1][5] The series aired in Japan on AT-X between July 6 and September 21, 2013 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.^[6][7][8] 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).^[9] The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks under the title Kinmoza!.^[10] A second season, titled Hello!! Kin-iro Mosaic, aired between April 5, 2015 and June 21, 2015, once again simulcast by Crunchyroll.^{[11][12][13][14]} 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!.^[15]

Appearances in other media

Characters and songs from Kin-iro Mosaic appear alongside other anime characters in the rhythm game Miracle Girls Festival, which is developed by Sega for the PlayStation Vita.^[16][17]

References

External links

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