''NieA 7''

NieA_7
NieA_7 DVD cover vol4
ニアアンダーセブン (Nia Andā Sebun)
Genre	Comedy-drama, Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Yoshitoshi ABe, gK
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA Tokyopop
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Kodakawa Comics Ace Extra
Magazine	Monthly Ace Next
Original run	October 1999 – January 2001
Volumes	2
Anime television series
NieA under 7 - domestic poor @nimation
Directed by	Tomokazu Tokoro
Produced by	Shojiro Abe, Yasuyuki Ueda
Written by	Takuya Satō
Music by	Yoshio Owa
Studio	Triangle Staff
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Geneon Entertainment
Original network	WOWOW
English network	US ImaginAsian
Original run	April 26, 2000 – July 19, 2000
Episodes	13
Manga
NieA_7 Scrap
Written by	Yoshitoshi ABe, gK
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Kodakawa Comics Ace Extra
Magazine	Monthly Ace Next
Original run	June 2001 – present
Volumes	1
Manga
NieA_7 Recycle
Written by	Yoshitoshi ABe, gK
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic	Shōnen
Imprint	Kodakawa Comics Ace
Magazine	Monthly Ace Next
Original run	October 24, 2012 – present
Volumes	1

NieA_7 (ニアアンダーセブン, Nia Andā Sebun), also known as NieA under 7, is a a doujinshi Manga series created by graphic designer Yoshitoshi ABe and later published by Kadokawa Shoten on their montly Shōnen magazine Monthly Ace Next from October 1999 to January 2001. The manga revolves around Mayuko, a poor, introverted student who lives above a Japanese bathhouse, and NieA, a freeloading, freewheeling alien who lives in her closet, who is considered an outcast by her own kind.

The manga is adapted into a 13-episode anime series by Triangle Staff and aired on WOWOW from April 16 to July 19, 2000. Much of anime's staff was made up of people who had worked on Serial Experiments Lain (director Takuya Sato was the storyboard artist for Lain, Yoshitoshi ABe was the character designer for Lain, etc.); it is commonly supposed that they chose to do this light-hearted series to cool off^[1] after the dark and psychologically intense Serial Experiments Lain. This idea is further supported by the character Chiaki, a UFO fanatic who shares a name with Chiaki J. Konaka, the script writer for Lain.

Plot

The series touches lightly upon issues of discrimination, stereotypes, alienation, city life vs small town life, and assimilation. Mayuko, who attends a cram school, is a young girl living away from her family and expresses a lot of melancholy. NieA, who is apparently placed in an inferior class by her fellow aliens due to being a physical minority among them, immediately accuses anyone who calls her a "stupid no-antenna" or the like, of discrimination. Other aliens adopt various stereotypical cultural styles, one chooses Indian dress and opens a convenience store, another chooses to associate herself with the Chinese Revolution. This theme of the outsider alien is carried through in the brief comic live-action sequence which ends each episode, "Dalgit's Tidbit of Indian Information."

Characters

• Mayuko Chigasaki

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Tricia Dickson (English)

Mayuko "Mayu" Chigasaki lives in a room at the Enohana Bathhouse. She is hardworking, polite, honest, and very self-conscious. Mayuko spends all of her time and energy just making ends meet. She shares an apartment with NieA who she often refers to as a "free loader".

• NieA

Voiced by: Yuko Miyamura (Japanese); J-Ray Hochfield (English)

NieA is a lower-class or "under-seven" alien; she has no antennae. She lives with Mayuko and builds spaceships out of junk. She shares an apartment with Mayu who she often gets into arguments with about money and food.

• Genzo Someya

Voiced by: Akira Okamori (Japanese); Josh Phillips (English)

• Chada

Voiced by: Angelino Schintu (Japanese); Wil Castillo (English)

• Momo Enoshima

Voiced by: Chieko Ichikawa (Japanese); Linda Bendik (English)

• Chiaki Komatsu

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese); Zarah Little (English)

• Shuhei Karita

Voiced by: Hozumi Goda (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English)

• Chie Karita

Voiced by: Mari Ogasawara (Japanese); Lauren Bendik (English)

• Kotomi Hiyama

Voiced by: Rumi Ochiai (Japanese); Robyn Nolting (English)

• Geronimo Hongo

Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (Japanese); Justin Gross (English)

• Nenji Yoshioka

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese); Eric Da Re (English)

• Karna

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese); Casey Strand (English)

Media

Manga

NieA_7 was created by Yoshitoshi ABe as an independent doujinshi Manga following the end of Serial Experiments Lain. The manga was picked up by Kadokawa Shoten, initially serialized on their monthly magazine Monthly Ace Next from October 1999 to January 2001 with a total of 14 chapters over 2 tankōbon volumes. Two sequel mangas were created by the author, NieA_7 Scrap and NieA_7 Recycle were serialized on Monthly Ace Next on June 2001 and October 24, 2012, respectively. The original manga was currently been licensed by Tokyopop.

Chapters

Anime

The anime adaptation, titled NieA under 7 - domestic poor @nimation was animated by Triangle Staff, directed by Tomokazu Tokoro and written by Takuya Satō. It aired on the Japanese BS Satellite channel WOWOW from April 16 to July 19, 2000. The opening theme is titled "Koko Made Oide" (ここまでおいで, Koko made oide, lit. Come On Over Here) by SION while the ending theme is titled "Venus to Chiisana Kamisama" (ヴィーナスと小さな神様, Vuīnasu to Chīsana Kamisama, lit. Venus and the Little God) by Maria Yamamoto. For episode 13, the ending theme is "KA MOA'E" by Yoshio Owa.

Geneon Entertainment licensed the anime outside Japan. However the license has expired following Geneon's exit in North America.

Episodes

References

External links

• NieA_7 (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• NieA_7 (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• NieA_7 on IMDb