Kagerou Project
| Kagerou Project | |
 Cover of the first light novel, featuring Shintarō Kisaragi and Ene | |
| カゲロウプロジェクト | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action, Supernatural, Tragedy |
| Light novel | |
| Kagerou Daze | |
| Written by | Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) |
| Illustrated by | Sidu |
| Published by | Enterbrain |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Male |
| Imprint | KCG Bunko |
| Original run | May 30, 2012 – present |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Manga | |
| Kagerou Daze | |
| Written by | Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) |
| Illustrated by | Mahiro Satou |
| Published by | Media Factory |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Shojo |
| Magazine | Monthly Comic Gene |
| Original run | June 15, 2012 – present |
| Volumes | 8 |
| Anime television series | |
| Mekakucity Actors | |
| Directed by |
Yūki Yase Akiyuki Shinbo |
| Studio | Shaft |
| Licensed by | |
| Network | Tokyo MX, GTV, GYT, BS11, AT-X |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 12, 2014 – June 28, 2014[n 1] |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Anime film | |
| Kagerou Daze -in a days- | |
| Directed by | Sidu |
| Released | Q4 2016 |
The Kagerou Project (カゲロウプロジェクト Kagerō Purojekuto, lit. "Heat Haze Project"), also known as "Kagerou Daze" (カゲロウデイズ Kagerō Deizu, lit. "Heat Haze Daze"),[1] is a Japanese mixed-media project. It started as a Vocaloid song series created by Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) (じん(自然の敵P)). The story revolves around the Mekakushi Dan, a group of teenagers with unusual eye-related powers.
The series became popular on the video sharing website Niconico after the release of the song "Kagerou Daze", which also gave the series its name. The song has amassed over 3 million views and is the most popular song of the project. Six light novels have been released, written by Jin and illustrated by Sidu (しづ Shizu). A manga adaptation with illustrations by Mahiro Satou (佐藤まひろ Satō Mahiro), began serialization in Monthly Comic Gene on June 15, 2012. A 12-episode anime adaptation titled Mekakucity Actors (メカクシティアクターズ Mekakushiti Akutāzu, lit. "Blindfold-city Actors")—"Mekakucity" being a portmanteau of "mekakushi" ("blindfold" in Japanese) and "city"—aired between April 12 and June 28, 2014. The series was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and produced by Shaft.
Plot
Shintarō Kisaragi is an 18-year-old hiki-NEET who has not left his room in two years, engrossing himself with his computer and the internet. However, on August 14, due to the messing about of the cyber girl Ene, who lives inside his computer, Shintarō spills soda on his computer keyboard and is forced to go outside to buy a new one, due to the fact that during the Obon festival none of the stores will deliver until August 17. Shintarō goes to the department store, where a group of criminals break in and hold the people inside hostage for ransom. Here he comes in contact with a group of teenagers calling themselves the "Mekakushi Dan" (メカクシ団, lit. "Blindfold Gang"), who stop the robbery with their mysterious eye powers and force Shintarō to join into their group.
Before this occurs, Shintarō's younger sister, Momo Kisaragi, is a popular idol who has the ability to attract people's attention. This is due to the "Drawing Eyes" ability, which she cannot control and causes people to look at her wherever she goes. One day, while fleeing from a horde of fans, she meets the Mekakushi Dan leader, Tsubomi Kido, who invites Momo to join, which she does. While meeting the first four members of the Mekakushi Dan, Marry trips and gets Momo's phone wet, they all go to the department store to buy a new phone for Momo. Kido uses her ability to keep people from staring at Momo, but while in the store, they find out Shintarō is there at the same time. The terrorists break in and take all the shoppers hostage, but with Kido's eye power, she, Momo, Marry, Seto, and Kano are invisible and thus do not get caught. They work together to stop the heist, though Shintarō passes out, and they bring him to their hideout and introduce him and Ene as members once the former awakens. They all go to the amusement park and have fun afterwards.
The prologue is told in the second novel, -a headphone actor-. Takane Enomoto and Haruka Kokonose, students of Kenjirō Tateyama, plan a class booth for their school's cultural festival. Haruka gets an idea to host a shooting booth; however this idea could not be fulfilled due to Kenjirō spending all their booth funds on a rare specimen. Takane, being a highly skilled gamer, decides that instead of a shooting booth with a large amount of equipment, they should make a video game of a first-person shooter. Kenjirō would be in charge of programming, Haruka was in charge of illustration and Takane was responsible for playing as the opponent. Their plan captured a great amount of attention, good and bad.
Characters
Mekakushi Dan
- Kido (キド Kido) / Tsubomi Kido (木戸 つぼみ Kido Tsubomi)
- Voiced by: Yūko Kaida
- Kido is member No. 1 of the Mekakushi Dan and its current leader. She is often mistaken as a male due to her ambiguous appearance. The other members of the Dan call her "Danchō" (lit. gang leader). Like Kano and Seto, she is addressed by her last name, even by her closest friends. Many state that her song is "Mekakushi Code" (メカクシコード lit. Blindfold Code).
- She was born as the second daughter of a wealthy family, but due to being the illegitimate child between her father and his mistress, she always felt out of place, even at home. Because she was always treated cautiously by those around her, she harbored a strong desire to "disappear". One day, her father's business went bankrupt, driving him to set their house on fire. After being burned to death in the blaze, Kido came into contact with the Heat Haze along with her sister (Voiced by: Yuki Kaida) and was possessed by the snake with the "Concealing Eyes" ability, thus acquiring the power to hide her presence, as well as the presence of anyone else within a two meter radius. Becoming friends with Seto and Kano in the same orphanage, she was later adopted by the Tateyama family. Encouraged by Ayano that having red eyes was the sign of a hero, they started the Mekakushi Dan.
- Seto (セト Seto) / Kōsuke Seto (瀬戸 幸助 Seto Kōsuke)
- Voiced by: Sōichirō Hoshi, Sayori Ishizuka (young)
- Seto is member No. 2 of the Mekakushi Dan. He is often portrayed as the "nice guy" of the group, and gets along very well with Marry. Like Kano and Kido, he is addressed by his last name, even by his closest friends. His song is "Shōnen Brave" (少年ブレイブ, "Brave Boy").
- As a young boy, his small body and timid nature resulted in him being often bullied, and he had trouble speaking with people. He considered an abandoned dog to be his only friend, and wished that he could "understand how people felt without using words". One stormy day, he witnessed some kids trying to throw his dog into a river. Despite his efforts, the dog was thrown in, and Seto threw himself into the river in order to save it. As he drowned, he came into contact with the Heat Haze and was possessed by the snake with the "Stealing Eyes" ability, acquiring the ability to read others' minds upon eye contact. However, he generally dislikes using his eye ability as he feels that it makes communication redundant, and rarely uses it. He eventually was adopted by the Tateyama family along with Kido and Kano. Together they created the Mekakushi Dan after being encouraged by Ayano.
- Kano (カノ Kano) / Shūya Kano (鹿野 修哉 Kano Shūya)
- Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tachibana, Yuki Kaida (young)
- Kano is member No. 3 of the Mekakushi Dan. He is depicted as a deceitful young man, to the point where no one can tell if he's lying or telling the truth. His song is "Yobanashi Deceive" (夜咄ディセイブ, "Night Tales Deceive").
- When Kano was younger, he did not attend preschool or kindergarten and instead lived alone with his mother in an apartment. His emotionally unstable mother raised her hand against him from time to time, and the neighbors spread rumors that he was being abused by her. However because he believed that he was wrong for upsetting his mother, he desired strongly to "hide the bruises/wounds on his body" from those around him because they were the reason the neighbors disliked his mother. One day, his apartment was broken into by thieves. Kano's mother was stabbed and killed as she tried to protect him. He was stabbed to death as well when he tried to fight against the thieves, coming into contact with the Heat Haze. He was then possessed by the snake with the "Deceiving Eyes" ability, acquiring the power to deceive how people around him perceive him and anything in immediate contact with him. He was eventually brought to an orphanage and was later adopted by the Tateyama family, where he met Kido, Seto, and Ayano. They created a gang and Kano gave it its name, the Mekakushi Dan—"Mekakushi" being a pun on Kido's eye ability. Unlike Seto, Kano uses his eye ability frequently, shifting outward emotions on a whim while never showing what he is truly feeling on the inside.
- Marry (マリー Marī) / Marry Kozakura (小桜 茉莉 Kozakura Marī)
- Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
- Marry is member No. 4 of the Mekakushi Dan, and the first non-founding member. She is 1/4 Medusa and has white hair that wiggles when she is happy or frightened and naturally occurring red eyes. Her appearance is that of a fourteen-year-old girl, but due to her gorgon blood, her actual age is 140 years. Marry is extremely shy around strangers, and will often hide behind Seto, Kido, or Momo. Her songs are "Kūsō Forest" (空想フォレスト, "Imagination Forest") and "Marry no Kakū Sekai" (マリーの架空世界, "Marry's Fictional World").
- When Marry was younger, she lived in a small house in the woods with her mother, Shion, who was half Medusa. While growing up, she was constantly warned by her mother that should they make eye contact with others, the person would be turned to stone. One day, when she was playing outside against her mother's warnings, she was found and tortured by a group of boys. Shion successfully turned Marry's attackers to stone, but the two were both beaten to death, and were brought into the Heat Haze by Azami, Shion's full Medusa mother (hence Marry's grandmother). Upon entering it, Azami planted the snake with the "Combining Eyes" ability, the core of the Medusa, into Shion, who willingly gave it up to Marry so that she could have a second chance at life. As a result, along with the "Eye Contact" ability she had since birth, which allowed Marry to temporarily paralyze anyone she made eye contact with, Marry also acquired the ability to unify all of the "snakes".
- After coming back to life, she lived in isolation for over a hundred years. By chance, Seto visited the forest and found her. He has since managed to bring her to the outside world and invited her to join Mekakushi Dan. After coming to the Mekakushi Dan's hideout and joining the group, she started a side job making fake flowers in her room, which generates a negligible income. She is said to be a fujoshi, or a girl who loves boy's love. In Route XX, her Combining Eyes ability is stolen from her by the snake of 'Clearing Eyes', and, through means yet unrevealed, she reverses time in order to save everyone.
- Momo (モモ Momo) / Momo Kisaragi (如月 桃 Kisaragi Momo)
- Voiced by: Nanami Kashiyama
- Momo is member No. 5 of the Mekakushi Dan. She is the younger sister of Shintarō and a popular idol, which greatly disrupts her normal life and causes a lot of stress for her. Unlike her brother, she does badly at school, and is too quite a clumsy yet cheerful girl. Momo's tastes are also shown to be rather strange. Her songs are "Kisaragi Attention" (如月アテンション) and "Otsukimi Recital" (オツキミリサイタル, "Moon Viewing Recital").
- When Momo was younger, she was constantly overshadowed by her brother Shintarō causing her to yearn for attention. After a drowning accident at a beach, she was swallowed up by the Heat Haze with her father who had tried to save her and given the snake of "Drawing Eyes", which is capable of catching people's attention regardless of their preferences. After an incident where she attempts and fails to be normal, Kido recruits her to the Mekakushi Dan.
- Ene (エネ Ene) / Takane Enomoto (榎本 貴音 Enomoto Takane)
- Voiced by: Kana Asumi
- Ene is member No. 6 of Mekakushi Dan. She is a mischievous cyber girl who lives in Shintarō's computer, but is also able to travel to other electronic devices. Once a human named Takane Enomoto (榎本 貴音), her personality as Ene is a cheerful prankster, a sharp contrast to Takane's pessimistic outlook at life. Her songs are "Jinzō Enemy" (人造エネミー, "Artificial Enemy"), "Headphone Actor" (ヘッドフォンアクター), "Ene no Dennō Kikō" (エネの電脳紀行, "Ene's Cyber Journey") and "Yūkei Yesterday" (夕景イエスタデイ, "Yesterday Evening").
- As a human, she suffered from an illness which caused her to lose consciousness at random times. Because of this, she was placed in a separate class at school with Haruka Kokonose, who she harbored feelings for. As a human, Takane was ranked second in the country on a game called 'Dead Bullet -1989-' under the name of "Senkou no Maihime" (lit. Dancing Princess of the Spotlight)' and often stayed up late at night playing. This caused her often to have a bad-tempered personality. She died after being poisoned by Kenjirō. Upon entering the Heat Haze, she is given the snake of "Opening Eyes," giving her immortality. After becoming Ene, she was sent to Shintarō's computer in an email from an unknown sender. Shintarō refers to her as a 'virus' as she constantly plays pranks on him by deleting his files and threatening to upload his embarrassing poems on to the internet. Ene joins the Mekakushi Dan after helping to stop a terrorist attack at a local department store with Shintarō.
- Shintarō (シンタロー Shintarō) / Shintarō Kisaragi (如月 伸太郎 Kisaragi Shintarō)
- Voiced by: Takuma Terashima
- Shintarō is member No. 7 of Mekakushi Dan. He is the main protagonist of the story and has an IQ of 168. While he was in school, his intelligence caused him to have an apathetic personality. His songs are "Lost Time Memory" (ロスタイムメモリー) and "Tōmei Answer" (透明アンサー, "Transparent Answer").
- After a while, he became interested in the girl who sat next to him in class, Ayano Tateyama. Despite Ayano always being cheerful and friendly to him, Shintarō would treat Ayano with coldness. After Ayano's suicide, he becomes a hikikomori addicted to the internet. A year after, he was sent a mysterious virus named Ene, and as he was unable to control her actions, his lifestyle was at a loss. After stopping a terrorist attack with Ene, he became involved with Mekakushi Dan. He possesses the "Retaining Eyes", which allow him to remember all of the past (including the routes). His ability is shown in episode 8 of the anime adaptation.
- Ayano's death results in two possible routes for the Mekakushi Dan, as shown in Lost Time Memory. In Route 1, also known as the Good End Route, Shintarō (often portrayed in a red jersey) goes out and meets the Mekakushi Dan instead of staying at home and mourning. In Route XX, also known as the Bad End, Shintarō (often portrayed in full black), still mourning over Ayano's death at 18 years old, becomes fed up with Ene and kills her through unknown means, causing him to have a mental breakdown. The Red Shintarō dies while saving Konoha from shooting himself, while the Black Shintarō commits suicide by slitting his throat with a pair of red scissors.
- Hibiya (ヒビヤ Hibiya) / Hibiya Amamiya (雨宮 響也 Amamiya Hibiya)
- Voiced by: Misuzu Togashi
- Hibiya is member No. 8 of Mekakushi Dan. He is mentioned to be mature for his age, and is shown to have an immense, unrequited crush for Hiyori. He joins Mekakushi Dan after being spotted escaping the hospital he was at after an accident. His songs are "Kagerou Daze" (カゲロウデイズ, "Heat Haze Daze") and "Otsukimi Recital" (オツキミリサイタル, "Moon-viewing Recital").
- He is the youngest member of the group at 12-years-old and has the "Eye Focusing" ability, meaning he can see distant objects from an aerial view. He is originally from a village in the countryside and came with Hiyori Asahina to the city for the summer. He stayed at Hiyori's sister's house for the visit and met Konoha, who was living there at the time. He has a very intense (unrequited) love for Hiyori. Hibiya sees Hiyori die in a traffic accident and somehow becomes stuck in a time loop trying to save her from dying each time ending with him sacrificing himself to try and save Hiyori. He comes in contact with the Heat Haze and is given the snake of 'Focusing Eyes'.
- Konoha (コノハ Konoha) / Haruka Kokonose (九ノ瀬 遥 Kokonose Haruka)
- Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
- Konoha is member No. 9 of Mekakushi Dan. Shown to be a rather absent-minded individual, he has a large appetite, similar to his former human self as Haruka. His songs are "Konoha no Sekai Jijō" (コノハの世界事情, "Konoha State of The World"), "Yūkei Yesterday" (夕景イエスタデイ, "Yesterday Evening"), "Outer Science" (アウターサイエンス) and "Summertime Record" (サマータイムレコード).
- As a human, he suffered from an illness which caused him to have "attacks" and collapse, making it easy for him to die, hence making him wish for a body that would not be as vulnerable, and hence being placed in a separate class with Takane Enomoto. With the interference of Kenjirō, he suffers a stroke and dies, entering the Heat Haze with Takane, and therefore receiving the "Awakening Eyes" ability, which allows him to live in his ideal body at the cost of his memory. As a result, he uses his eye ability to take the form of his game character. After this, the amnesiac him stays at Ayaka's house, where he meets Hibiya and Hiyori and attempts to save them from the Heat Haze.
- An alternate version of Konoha also appears in Outer Science, speculated to be due to the trauma from "opening his eyes" and the corruption by the snakes. He is called Black Konoha (also dubbed as Kuroha by fans, kuro (黒) meaning 'black') and kills everyone in Route XX. In Route 1, for unknown reasons, he attempts to shoot himself in the head, only to be saved by Shintarō. In the anime, it is revealed to be the snake of 'Clearing Eyes', Kenjirō's eye ability. After possesses Konoha, he overwhelms Kido, Kano, and Seto.
- Ayano (アヤノ Ayano) / Ayano Tateyama (楯山 文乃 Tateyama Ayano)
- Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
- Ayano is member No. 0 of the Mekakushi Dan and was the daughter of Kenjirō and Ayaka Tateyama. Shown to be a happy-go-lucky girl with rather poor grades, she was the deskmate of Shintarō, and it is suggested that her poor grades stemmed from her family matters. Her songs are "Tōmei Answer" (透明アンサー, "Transparent Answer") and "Ayano no Kōfuku Riron" (アヤノの幸福理論, "Ayano's Theory of Happiness").
- After her parents adopted three young children with red eyes, Kido, Seto, and Kano, she decided to fulfill her role as "big sister" by creating the Mekakushi Dan to encourage them. After the death of her mother in a landslide and the discovery that her father was experimenting on her friends in an attempt to bring her back to life, Ayano grew increasingly concerned of the safety of her brothers and sister. She committed suicide and jumped off the roof of her school in an attempt order to try and save her family and friends from the plot of the snake that gives Kenjirō the 'Clearing Eyes.' She gets possessed by a snake and obtains the 'Favoring Eyes,' which allows her to project her thoughts and emotions unto others.
- The Ayano that Black Shintarō meets is revealed to be Kano, who does so to spite Shintarō, whom he believes caused Ayano's death. In Route 1, after Red Shintarō meets her in the Heat Haze, she passes her eye ability to him and dies permanently.
Other characters
- Kenjirō (ケンジロウ Kenjirō) / Kenjirō Tateyama (楯山 研次朗 Tateyama Kenjirō)
- Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara
- Kenjirō is the father of Ayano and husband of Ayaka. He was also Haruka and Takane's homeroom teacher and is Momo's tutor. His song is "Dead and Seek" (デッドアンドシーク).
- He possesses the ability of 'Making Eyes Clear' and seems to know about Medusae. When he was in university, he fell in love with Ayaka, who turned him down, not interested in a such a pathetic man. This caused him to become much more hard working and taking studying more seriously. After that, he was able to marry Ayaka. Together they had Ayano and adopted Kido, Kano and Seto. Kenjirō was interested in the theory of Medusae and researched it with Ayaka, only to be caught in a landslide with her and die. He came in contact with the Heat Haze and was possessed by the snake of 'Clearing Eyes'. He became much more engrossed in research after Ayaka's death, eventually experimenting on and killing his two students (Takane and Haruka), this was done while possessed by the snake of 'Clearing Eyes'. His fate is that he dies and reunites with Ayaka in the Heat Haze; in Route XX, the snake of 'Clearing Eyes' (while it's possessing Konoha) kills him.
- Hiyori (ヒヨリ Hiyori) / Hiyori Asahina (朝比奈 日和 Asahina Hiyori)
- Voiced by: Kotori Koiwai
- Hiyori is a stubborn young girl from the countryside who yearns for the city. She is very popular at her school and has her own fan club. She drags Hibiya to the city with her in order to get Momo's autograph and stays at her sister Ayaka's house. She falls in love with Konoha who was staying there at the time. She becomes involved in a traffic accident and gets stuck in a time loop trying to save Hibiya, but while Hibiya successfully escapes the Heat Haze, she passes away. Her song is "Kagerou Daze" (カゲロウデイズ, "Heat Haze Daze").
- Shion (シオン Shion) / Shion Kozakura (小桜 紫苑 Kozakura Shion)
- Voiced by: Akemi Okamura
- Shion is a 1/2 medusa and Marry's mother. When Shion was younger, she lived with her parents Azami and Tsukihiko. She loves Marry very much, and in order to protect her she refrains from letting Marry play outside. One day, Marry bypasses her mother's orders and plays outside anyways, however some boys come to attack her. She sacrifices herself in order to save Marry, and uses her eye power to turn the boys to stone; but the strain on her body was too much and she passes away with Marry.
- She gets consumed by the Heat Haze and is given the 'Combining Eyes' ability, however she passes the power on to Marry and sends her to the outside world. Her song is "Gunjō Rain"群青レイン ("Ultramarine Rain").
- Azami (アザミ Azami) / Azami (薊)
- Voiced by: Satomi Arai
- Azami is a full medusa and Shion's mother. Snakes grow from her hair, each with a unique power. She once thought humans were 'dull creatures that die easily' but fell in love with a human named Tsukihiko and started a family. After realizing how short human lives were compared to her immortality, she goes away to use the power of the snakes to create a Never Ending World (The Heat Haze) where she could live with her family forever. It is currently unclear if she waited for her family to arrive in the Heat Haze, before realising that her husband would have died by then, or that when she returned, the villagers attacking her house made her revert to her original ideology, causing her to return to the Never-Ending World alone.
- Many years later, her daughter and granddaughter, Shion and Marry were killed on August 15. Knowing this, she was unable to bear her grief and ordered the Heat Haze to "bring in every person who died on August 15", giving the ability of 'Combining Eyes' to Shion to allow her to return to life (who gave it to Marry). This causes her to lose control of the Heat Haze, thus drawing in every person who had died on August 15, the day Marry died. Her song is "Shinigami Record" (シニガミレコード, "Death-God Record").
- Ayaka (アヤカ) / Ayaka Tateyama (楯山 絢香 Tateyama Ayaka)
- Voiced by: Mako Hyōdō
- Ayaka is Ayano's mother, Kenjirō's wife and Hiyori's sister. She became interested in the myth about Medusae and fell in love with Kenjirō at university. She gave birth to Ayano and adopted Kido, Kano and Seto from the orphanages after hearing about their strange abilities. She died in a landslide with Kenjirō while researching, passing on her trademark red clips to Ayano.
- Tsukihiko (ツキヒコ Tsukihiko)
- Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu
- A soldier who fell in love with Azami. Tsukihiko is an albino man, and has long been considered a 'monster' by the other villagers. He tells Azami that he is also a monster, and that they should spend their life together. Together, they had Shion and live peacefully until villagers attacked their home, mistakenly thinking he had been held captive. His song is "Shinigami Record" (シニガミレコード, "Death-God Record").
- Black Konoha (黒コノハ Kuro Konoha) / Snake of Clearing Eyes (目が冴える蛇 Me ga Saeru Hebi)
- Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
- Azami's snake who tricked her into creating the Heat Haze. It is the true antagonist of the series. It took control of Kenjirō's body and survived under his wish of reuniting with his wife, going to extremes by doing so. Its true goal, however, is living forever. In every timeline, it transfers itself to Konoha's body and possesses it, this causes Konoha's appearance to change as well. It then kills all the members of the Mekakushi Dan besides Marry, and forces her to reset the timeline. In the true timeline, it is defeated when Kenjirō's wish is granted and it has to comply to Konoha's wish, which was bringing Hiyori back life, so it becomes her surrogate life.
- Its songs are "Outer Science" (アウターサイエンス) and "Dead and Seek" (デッドアンドシーク).
Media
CD / DVDs
The series began as a series of soundtracks that were released alongside the novels. The soundtracks were produced by Jin and released by IA Project. The first soundtrack is titled Mekakucity Days (メカクシティデイズ Mekakushiti Deizu) and was released on May 30, 2012. It was followed by a single, "Children Record" (チルドレンレコード Chirudoren Rekōdo), on August 15, 2012. A second soundtrack titled Mekakucity Records (メカクシティレコーズ Mekakushiti Rekōzu) was released on May 29, 2013.
Songs
| No. in series | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | "Children Record" "Chirudoren Rekōdo" (チルドレンレコード) |
| The opening song of the Kagerou Project. It quickly gained 1,000,000 views after its record release. It was released on a special DVD single. Currently, it has over 2.3 million views and is Jin's second most popular song (the other being "Kagerou Daze"). | |
| 2 | "Jinzō Enemy" "Jinzō Enemī" (人造エネミー) |
|
This song has reached over 700,000 views in Nico Nico Douga. Apart from being the first song in the series, it is also Shizen no Teki-P's first work. It tells the story of Ene, a cybergirl living in Shintarō's computer. However, Shintarō is a hikiNEET due to the grief of losing his close friend, Ayano Tateyama. Towards the end of the song, Shintarō attempts to kill Ene by deleting her as she has become a "toy that can only talk". | |
| 3 | "Mekakushi Chord" "Mekakushi Kōdo" (メカクシコード) |
|
The song has over 1,000,000 views on Nico Nico Douga. This is Kido's song, despite mostly being about the Dan rather than herself. This song used to be known as "Mekakushi Code", but was later called "Mekakushi Chord" in the "daze" PV and by official English translations of light novel and manga chapters named after the song. The song describes the Dan as a gang that Kido leads, with various different members ranging from cyber beings to hikiNEETs. They too go on missions regularly, with some assistance from Kido's ability to "blindfold". | |
| 4 | "Kagerou Daze" "Kagerō Deizu" (カゲロウデイズ) |
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This song was uploaded on September 30, 2011, and quickly gained in views, becoming Shizen no Teki-P's most popular song, and in turn the most popular song in the series. It has reached over 3,000,000 views in Nico Nico Douga. It also gave the Kagerou Project its name. This song was also featured in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd. On August 15, Hibiya and Hiyori are playing in the park, when they sight a black cat which Hiyori chases after, resulting in her death in a car accident and the two being trapped in a time loop. Hibiya then attempts to save Hiyori in vain, but when he finally succeeds, it is revealed that Hiyori will continue to try to save him and vice versa. | |
| 5 | "Headphone Actor" "Heddofon Akutā" (ヘッドフォンアクター) |
|
The video of "Headphone Actor" reached over 1,500,000 views on Nico Nico Douga. A theory is that it is a metaphor for Takane's feelings trying to reach Haruka. On a normal day, the country's president announced that the world was going to end, but by guidance of her future self (Ene), Takane was successfully able to escape as she still had someone she needed to meet. The scientist at her destination congratulates her before bombing the town. | |
| 6 | "Kūsō Forest" "Kūsō Foresuto" (空想フォレスト) |
|
This song has also received a million views on Nico Nico Douga, and is the first IA song to do so. It is also known as "Sōzō Forest" (想像フォレスト, "Imagination Forest"). Jin later decided to officially call it "Kūsō Forest" instead of "Sōzō Forest", but it is still more commonly known by its previous name. The story of Marry is mentioned, with her living alone and sheltered in a house, longing to go outside. Once, against her mother's warnings, she went out, and was tortured, only to be saved by her Medusae mother who turned her attackers to stone, but died of the stress using her power caused. Later, Seto chances upon her house, and recruits her to the Dan. | |
| 7 | "Tōmei Answer" "Tōmei Ansā" (透明アンサー) |
|
Nicovideo broadcast is not available because the music video was originally meant to be exclusive to the album Mekakucity Days. A person who uploaded the video onto Nico Nico Douga was posing as Jin and revealed as the fake he was later on. Shintarō, who developed an apathetic outlook towards life, was encouraged by his deskmate, Ayano. However, she later committed suicide, and the trauma of losing her caused him to become a hikiNEET. | |
| 8 | "Ene no Dennō Kikō" (エネの電脳紀行) |
| The song is featured on the Mekakucity Days (メカクシティデイズ) album, but there is not much known about it yet. A song that connects right after "Headphone Actor". A story about Ene who lost her human body and lives now in the cyber world. | |
| 9 | "Kisaragi Attention" "Kisaragi Atenshon" (如月アテンション) |
|
This song quickly became popular after its music video release. It had over 100,000 views after only one day from its release. Momo is a popular idol who attempts to be normal for a day, but fails in doing so and causes a riot. This results in her crying in an alley, where Kido finds and recruits her to the Mekakushi Dan. After joining the Dan, she becomes much happier and begins learning to control her eye power. | |
| 10 | "Konoha no Sekai Jijō" (コノハの世界事情) |
|
This song has reached over 1,000,000 views on Nico Nico Douga, and is the first Miku and IA duet to achieve that. It is also the third song in this series to do so. The video has currently reached over 1,500,000 views. An alternate point of view of "Kagerou Daze", this time from Konoha's. He is somehow dragged into the time loop as well, but as he is not meant to be there, he cannot do anything to stop Hiyori and Hibiya's countless deaths and feels helpless about it. | |
| 11 | "Dead and Seek" "Deddo ando Shīku" (デッドアンドシーク) |
|
The song is featured on the Mekakucity Days (メカクシティデイズ) album, but there is not much known about it yet. It tells Kenjirō's story. Ever since Ayaka and Ayano's deaths, Kenjirō's sanity has been slowly decreasing, to the extent that he began experimenting on his students, and became despairing. It is suggested that he may have had a part to play in Heat Haze. | |
| 12 | "Shinigami Record" "Shinigami Recōdo" (シニガミレコード) |
|
The song is featured on the Mekakucity Days (メカクシティデイズ) album, but there is not much known about it yet. It tells Azami's story. A Medusae all alone, Azami was treated as a monster and found humans to be dull creatures due to their mortality. She was proven wrong upon meeting a young albino outcast, Tsukihiko, whom she eventually fell in love and had a family with. Knowing that he would someday die, she then created the Never-Ending World to make their time eternal. | |
| 13 | "Gunjō Rain" "Gunjō Rein" (群青レイン) |
|
The song was released on the DVD single "Children Record" (チルドレンレコード). It got an extra manga chapter in the limited edition release of Mekakucity Records (メカクシティレコーズ). Shion, as Marry's mother, hopes that the rain will never stop so that Marry will never be able to go outside, as she is aware of the dangers of the outside world due to their status as Medusae. As she dies, however, she regrets not telling Marry how much she loved her and hopes that she will get to see the outside world someday. | |
| 14 | "Yobanashi Deceive" "Yobanashi Diseibu" (夜咄ディセイブ) |
|
Jin announced Yobanashi Deceive several months before its publication and finished it in January 2013. In an interview he stated that the song goes from blues, over funk, to rock. After being released on February 17, 2013, also the same day the project was started two years ago, it quickly hit 100.000 views in just one night. Being Kano's song, he begins talking with the listener about a story of a boy who became a monster who always lied, being able to even shapeshift into Kido and Seto, but lost sight of his true heart after being buried under so many lies. He, however, claims this all to be a made-up story. | |
| 15 | "Shōnen Brave" "Shōnen Bureibu" (少年ブレイブ) |
|
Jin announced a music video to be released a bit after the last album was published, but it was cancelled due to heavy spoilers the video would have contained. The music video was included in Mekakucity V's; a screening of the video was held in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka on December 25, 2013. As a child, Seto was frail and therefore bullied, resulting in his only friend being a dog, with whom he wished to be able to understand. However, he was drowned trying to save the dog, thereby receiving the "Stealing Eyes". Being able to read minds made him decide to escape to a secluded place without any thoughts, where he met Marry in the forest. | |
| 16 | "Yūkei Yesterday" "Yūkei Iesutadei" (夕景イエスタデイ) |
| The song is about Takane and Haruka when they were human, and how Takane had a crush on Haruka. | |
| 17 | "Ayano no Kōfuku Riron" (アヤノの幸福理論) |
| Kido, Seto and Kano are adopted into the Tateyama family, and Ayano, as the big sister, forms the Mekakushi Dan to make them happy. However, after Ayaka's death, Kenjirō gradually descends into madness and when Ayano discovers him experimenting on and killing Haruka and Takane, she fears for her siblings' safety, and commits suicide in order to enter the Heat Haze and get an eye ability to help save her family. | |
| 18 | "Otsukimi Recital" "Otsukimi Risaitaru" (オツキミリサイタル) |
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After posted by Jin, this video quickly became the 1st in the Nico Nico Douga ranking. After Hiyori's death, Hibiya is significantly affected, and Momo attempts to cheer him up through various means. | |
| 19 | "Lost Time Memory" "Rosu Taimu Memorī" (ロスタイムメモリー) |
| In this song, it reveals that Ayano's death opened two paths for the Dan. In Route 1, Shintarō meets the Dan and saves Black Konoha from committing suicide, instead dying for him and meeting Ayano, who gives him the "Favoring Eyes" and eventually leads to Summertime Record. In Route XX, Shintarō continues to grieve over Ayano, eventually killing Ene and committing suicide, and failing to reach Ayano, which leads to Outer Science. | |
| 20 | "Outer Science" "Autā Saiensu" (アウターサイエンス) |
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Outer Science is known as the bad end of the story. The trauma of "opening" his eyes causing Konoha to be possessed by the snake of 'Clearing Eyes', nicknamed 'Black Konoha', he steals Marry's "Combining Eyes" ability and kills everyone. Through unknown means, Marry turns back time to try to save everyone at the end. | |
| 21 | "Marry no Kakū Sekai" "Marī no Kakū Sekai" (マリーの架空世界) |
| The song tells about Marry's feelings when creating the never-ending world. After the snake of 'Clearing Eyes' kills everyone, Marry turns back time in order to try to protect everyone. | |
| 22 | "Summertime Record" "Samātaimu Recōdo" (サマータイムレコード) |
|
The song is the official ending and last song and music video of the project. The song tells what happens with Mekakushi Dan and with the characters after the end of the story. The Good End of the story, it describes how the Dan comes back together again after everything is over and they have lost their eye powers. However, having grown up and become "adults", they can hardly remember themselves and each other from their times in the Dan anymore. They say goodbye to each other, and if they can remember they will all meet again. | |
Light novels
The Kagerou Daze light novels are written by Jin with illustrations from Kagerou Project music video maker Sidu. The first volume was released on May 30, 2012 by Enterbrain on their KCG Bunko imprint, and six volumes have been released as of March 30, 2015. Yen Press has been releasing the novels in English in North America since May 26, 2015.[2]
| No. | Title | Japanese release | English release | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kagerou Daze I -in a daze- カゲロウデイズ ‐in a daze‐ | May 30, 2012[3] ISBN 978-4-04-728059-5 | May 26, 2015 ISBN 978-0-316-25947-7 | ||
| |||||
| The hikiNEET Shintarō Kisaragi and Ene, the cyber being living in his computer, are introduced. After he ventures out to a nearby department store for a replacement keyboard, he gets caught up in a terrorist plot. Halfway through the novel, the point of view swaps to his sister, Momo Kisaragi, and tells her story of how she met the Mekakushi Dan. | |||||
| 2 | Kagerou Daze II -a headphone actor- カゲロウデイズII -a headphone actor- | September 29, 2012[4] ISBN 978-4-04-728339-8 | September 22, 2015 ISBN 978-0-316-34204-9 | ||
| |||||
| Takane Enomoto and her high school life with Haruka Kokonose is shown. | |||||
| 3 | Kagerou Daze III -the children reason- カゲロウデイズIII -the children reason- | May 30, 2013[5] ISBN 978-4-04-728944-4 | January 26, 2016 ISBN 978-0-316-30875-5 | ||
| |||||
| Hibiya Amamiya and how Mekakushi Dan came to meet him is the focus. | |||||
| 4 | Kagerou Daze IV -the missing children- カゲロウデイズIV -the missing children- | August 30, 2013[6] ISBN 978-4-04-729099-0 | July 19, 2016 ISBN 978-0-316-30876-2 | ||
| |||||
| Azami's past and her meeting with Tsukihiko is shown. It also shows Shintarō's adventures with Mekakushi Dan and exploring the mysteries of their eye powers. | |||||
| 5 | Kagerou Daze V -the deceiving- カゲロウデイズV -the deceiving- | March 29, 2014[7] ISBN 978-4-04-729530-8 | September 20, 2016 ISBN 978-0-31-654528-0 | ||
| |||||
| The original Mekakushi Dan with Ayano Teteyama is a focus and reveals more about Shūya Kano's involvement in the plot. | |||||
| 6 | Kagerou Daze VI -over the dimension- カゲロウデイズVI ‐over the dimension‐ | March 30, 2015[8] ISBN 978-4-04-730326-3 | — | ||
| |||||
| Haruka Kokonose's point of view is shown. | |||||
| 7 | Kagerou Daze VII カゲロウデイズVII | August 29, 2016 | — | ||
There is an anthology series called Mekakushi Dan: Watchers (メカクシ団:ウォッチャーズ Mekakushi Dan: Uotchāzu) that is made up of short stories from a Pixiv contest.
| No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mekakushi Dan: Watchers Anthology -Ahōshitsu Shōjo o Meguru Hito Natsu no Bōkentan- (メカクシ団:ウォッチャーズ アンソロジー -消失少女をめぐるひと夏の冒険譚-) | December 26, 2014 | ISBN 978-4-04-730186-3 |
| 2 | Mekakushi Dan: Watchers Novel -Shōjo no Kimochi to Bokura no Chikara- (メカクシ団:ウォッチャーズ ノベル -少女のキモチとぼくらのチカラ-) | February 28, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-730187-0 |
| 3 | Mekakushi Dan: Watchers Replay -Shōshitsu Shōjo Sōsaku dai Sakusen Re;PLAY- (メカクシ団:ウォッチャーズ リプレイ -消失少女捜索大作戦 Re;PLAY-) | February 28, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-730188-7 |
There is a novel anthology series named Kagerou Daze Novel Anthology (カゲロウデイズノベルアンソロジー Kagerō Deizu Noberu Ansorojī) made from other Pixiv competitions.
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 30, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-730255-6 |
| 2 | March 30, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-730308-9 |
Manga
The Kagerou Daze manga is illustrated by Mahiro Satou.[9] It began serialization in Media Factory's Monthly Comic Gene on June 15, 2012.[10] The first tankōbon volume was released on November 27, 2012;[11] seven volumes have been released as of June 27, 2015.[12] Yen Press will release the manga in English in North America, with the first volume released on April 21, 2015.[2][13]
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 27, 2012[11] | ISBN 978-4-84-014762-0 | April 21, 2015[13] | ISBN 978-0-316-25949-1 |
| 2 | March 27, 2013[14] | ISBN 978-4-84-015039-2 | July 21, 2015 | ISBN 978-0-316-34619-1 |
| 3 | August 27, 2013[15] | ISBN 978-4-84-015316-4 | October 27, 2015 | ISBN 978-0-316-34620-7 |
| 4 | March 27, 2014[16] | ISBN 978-4-04-066513-9 | January 19, 2016 | ISBN 978-0-316-26997-1 |
| 5 | June 27, 2014[12] | ISBN 978-4-04-066595-5 | April 19, 2016 | ISBN 978-0-316-27019-9 |
| 6 | December 27, 2014[17] | ISBN 978-4-04-067234-2 | July 16, 2016 | ISBN 978-0-31-627022-9 |
| 7 | June 27, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-067544-2 | October 25, 2016 | ISBN 978-0-31-654535-8 |
| 8 | March 26, 2016 | ISBN 978-4-04-068235-8 | — | — |
There is also an ongoing anthology series called Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック Kagerō Deizu Kōshiki Ansorojī Komikku) and each volume goes with a certain theme. It is written and illustrated by various people including Kagerou Daze light novel artist and music video creator Sidu, the Kagerou Daze manga artist Mahiro Satou, and Kagerou Project music video creator Wannyanpu (わんにゃんぷー Wannyanpū).
| No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Upper- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-UPPER-) | January 26, 2013 | ISBN 978-4-04-066267-1 |
| 2 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Downer- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-DOWNER-) | March 27, 2013 | ISBN 978-4-84-014795-8 |
| 3 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Summer- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-SUMMER-) | July 27, 2013 | ISBN 978-4-04-066533-7 |
| 3 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Summer- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-SUMMER-) | July 27, 2013 | ISBN 978-4-04-066533-7 |
| 5 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Spring- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-SPRING-) | March 27, 2014 | ISBN 978-4-04-066514-6 |
| 6 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Bitter- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-BITTER-) | July 26, 2014 | ISBN 978-4-04-066826-0 |
| 7 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Sweet- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-SWEET-) | November 27, 2014 | ISBN 978-4-04-067210-6 |
| 8 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Spicy- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-SPICY-) | March 27, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-067508-4 |
| 9 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Fantasy- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-FANTASY-) | August 27, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-067581-7 |
| 10 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Remember- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-REMEMBER-) | November 27, 2015 | ISBN 978-4-04-067853-5 |
| 11 | Kagerou Daze Official Anthology Comic -Future- (カゲロウデイズ公式アンソロジーコミック-FUTURE-) | March 26, 2016 | ISBN 978-4-04-068236-5 |
Anime
A Kagerou Project anime titled Mekakucity Actors (メカクシティアクターズ), directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and produced by Shaft,[18] began airing on April 12, 2014.[19][n 1] The anime has been licensed for streaming by Aniplex of America.[20] The opening theme is "Daze" sung by Maria from Garnidelia and the ending theme is "Days" by Lia. For episode six, the opening theme is "Headphone Actor" (ヘッドフォンアクター) and the ending theme is "Yūkei Yesterday" (夕景イエスタデイ); both songs are sung by LiSA. For episode eight, the ending theme is "Lost Time Memory" (ロスタイムメモリー) sung by Kōta Matsuyama from Byee the Round. For episode nine, the opening theme is "Ayano no Kōfuku Riron" (アヤノの幸福理論) sung by Aki Okui. All songs are composed by Jin.
A Kagerou Project short anime film titled Kagerou Daze -in a days- (カゲロウデイズ-in a days-) will be directed by Sidu. It is being produced with MX4D presentation in mind and will premiere in Q4 2016.[21]
Notes
References
- ↑ カゲロウデイズ公式ビジュアルファンブック‐ [Kagerou Daze Official Visual Fanbook] (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
- 1 2 "Yen Press Licenses Akame Ga Kill!, Sword Art Online: Progressive, Kagerou Daze". Anime News Network. June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズ ‐in a daze‐" [Kagerou Daze -in a daze-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズII -a headphone actor-" [Kagerou Daze II -a headphone actor-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズIII -the children reason-" [Kagerou Daze III -the children reason-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズIV -the missing children-" [Kagerou Daze IV -the missing children-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズV -the deceiving-" [Kagerou Daze V -the deceiving-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ "カゲロウデイズVI ‐over the dimension‐" [Kagerou Daze VI -over the dimension-] (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Monthly Comic Gene Kagerou Daze" (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- ↑ 月刊コミックジーン 12年07月号 (in Japanese). Mangaoh. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
- 1 2 カゲロウデイズ 1 [Kagerou Daze 1] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
- 1 2 カゲロウデイズ 5 [Kagerou Daze 5] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
- 1 2 "Kagerou Daze, Vol 1 (manga)". Amazon. ISBN 0316259497. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ↑ カゲロウデイズ 2 [Kagerou Daze 2] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ↑ カゲロウデイズ 3 [Kagerou Daze 3] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ↑ カゲロウデイズ 4 [Kagerou Daze 4] (in Japanese). Media Factory. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
- ↑ "Kagerou Daze 6" (in Japanese). CD Japan. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
- ↑ "Madoka Magica's Shinbo, SHAFT Animate Vocaloid Producer Jin's Kagerō Project". Anime News Network. August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Kagerō Project's Mekaku City Actors Anime Slated for April". Anime News Network. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ↑ "Aniplex USA to Stream The irregular at Magic High School, Mushishi: The Next Chapter". Anime News Network. March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
- ↑ "Kagerou Project Gets Immersive MX4D Anime Short Film in Winter". Anime News Network. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Anime official website (Japanese)
- Anime official website
- Jin's official website (Japanese)
- Mekakucity Actors (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
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