The World of Narue

The World of Narue
Cover for the ADV Films complete collection release
成恵の世界 (Narue no Sekai)
Genre	Romantic comedy, Science fiction
Manga
Written by	Tomohiro Marukawa
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	^NA CPM Manga
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Shōnen Ace
Original run	April 26, 1999 – December 26, 2012
Volumes	13
Anime television series
Directed by	Toyoo Ashida Hiromitsu Morita
Written by	Yuu Sugitani
Music by	Takayuki Negishi
Studio	Studio Live
Licensed by	^NA Æsir Holdings
Network	MBS, CBC, Chiba TV, Kids Station
English network	^NA Anime Network ^SG Viki ^US AZN Television, ImaginAsian, Anime Selects
Original run	April 4, 2003 – June 28, 2003
Episodes	12

The World of Narue (Japanese: 成恵の世界 Hepburn: Narue no Sekai) is an anime and manga series about Kazuto Izuka, a fourteen-year-old boy who meets a somewhat weird but cute and charming girl named Narue Nanase, who claims she is an alien. The show is about the trials and tribulations of the young couple as they get to know each other. The title is taken from A. E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A (Japanese title: 非Aの世界 Naru ē no Sekai).

The manga, spanning 12 volumes as of August 2011, is authored by Tomohiro Marukawa and published by Kadokawa Shoten since 2000. The manga was licensed in North America by the now-defunct CPM Manga.^[1] In 2014, the manga received the Seiun Award for Best Comic.^[2]

The anime series ran on MBS between April 4, 2003 and June 28, 2003 and is 12 episodes long. Central Park Media licensed and released it in a four-disc DVD collection in 2004 under their US Manga Corps label.^[3] Following the 2009 bankruptcy and liquidation of Central Park Media, ADV Films picked up the anime series for release on July 21, 2009.^[4] Following the closure of A.D. Vision, the series is now distributed by successors Section23 Films and Æsir Holdings.^[5]

Plot

Kazuto Izuka is your average fourteen-year-old boy. That is, until he has a run-in with another student at his school, Narue Nanase, when she saves him from an attacking alien creature. During the ordeal, Kazuto discovers that Narue is actually half alien herself and that her father is part of a galactic exploration team. With the encouragement of his friend, Masaki Maruo, Izuka asks Narue out on a date. Narue is reluctant at first, but after Kazuto assures her that he is not bothered by her alien heritage, Kazuto and Narue start their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. However, like any couple, they have to deal with their fair share of problems; such as Narue's alien sister, Kanaka, and Hajime Yagi, Narue's classmate and ufologist, who does not believe Narue is really an alien and thinks that she is lying to get attention.

Characters

Kazuto Izuka (飯塚 和人 Izuka Kazuto)

Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (Japanese); Jamie McGonnigal (English)

Kazuto is the male protagonist, an average fourteen-year-old middle schooler who falls in love with an alien girl. He has a kind personality and is also an otaku who likes the magical girl anime series, Magical Girl #4. He cannot swim but ends up going to the pool, the beach, and the ocean with Narue.

Narue Nanase (七瀬 成恵 Nanase Narue)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Veronica Taylor (English)

Narue is the female protagonist, who is half-alien and half-earthling and also a fourteen-year-old middle schooler. She is given the offer to go into space many times but thinks of Earth as her home and does not want to leave. She has an innocent personality and is delighted when Kazuto accepts her as part-alien. She calls him "Kazu".

Masaki Maruo (丸尾 正樹 Maruo Masaki)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Jimmy Zoppi (English)

Maruo is a friend of Kazuto's and tries to give hints to Narue. He is also a childhood friend of Yagi.

Hajime Yagi (八木 はじめ Yagi Hajime)

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese); Michele Knotz (English)

Yagi is a classmate of Kazuto's and a sci-fi enthusiast. She does not want to believe Narue is an alien, so she acts hostilely towards her early on. When she befriends Kanaka, who had trouble adjusting to school, Yagi is shown to be somewhat of a loner. Yagi and Narue eventually get over their misunderstandings, partly due to Kanaka, and are able to become friends.

Kanaka Nanase (七瀬 香奈花 Nanase Kanaka)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Rachael Lillis (English)

Kanaka is the older half-sister of Narue and a full-blooded alien, but she is actually twelve-years-old mentioned in the anime. She actually appears younger than Narue when she shows up due to complications of time dilation. Kanaka is surprised and confused at what has happened while she was away and acts rashly at first, causing trouble. She soon adjusts to her family on Earth, though Kanaka still has a bratty, mischievous personality.

Bathyscaphe (バチスカーフ 罰襟巻, Bachisukāfu)

Voiced by: Mami Kosuge (Japanese); Carol Jacobanis (English)

Bathyscaphe is Kanaka's caretaker. Although she appears to be human, her true form is a retired Escort Destroyer class starship.

Haruna (ハルナ)

Voiced by: Yumi Tōma (Japanese); Debora Rabbai (English)

Haruna is a Fast Escort Destroyer class starship that has gone AWOL and is hiding out in human shape as a waitress at a beach restaurant. She was frightened to meet Bathyscaphe, but Bathyscaphe assured her that as a retired ship she is not obligated and will not report Haruna to the alien authorities. Later Haruna marries the proprietor of the beach restaurant.

Tadashi Nanase (七瀬 正 Nanase Tadashi)

Voiced by: Jun'ichi Sugawara (Japanese); Dan Green (English)

Narue's father, who is an alien, sent to Earth to study its culture and people, and fell in love with Narumi Mutsuki, who is a human woman.

Narumi Mutsuki (鳴海むつき Mutsuki Narumi)

Voiced by: Maria Kawamura (Japanese); Jessica Calvello (English)

Narue's mother, who is a human woman, who fell in love with Tadashi Nanase, who is an alien. She took him into her home to help him with his investigation.

Tail Messa (テイルメッサー Teiru Messā)

Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishumura (Japanese); Tristan Goddard (English)

Head Inspector. He tries many times to persuade Narue to leave Earth and go to space, but seems to have a soft spot for Narue's family and friends. Tail Messa helped Narue's father emigrate from Planet Nihon when it became obvious convincing him otherwise was impossible, and as Head Inspector he helped arrange for the Turugistani refugee ship Ninurta to settle on Planet Nihon, thus solving a sticky diplomatic - and romantic - situation that threatened to break up Narue and Kazuto.

Rin Asakura (朝倉 鈴 Asakura Rin)

Voiced by: Oma Ichimura (Japanese); Jessica Calvello (English)

Official title: Intelligence Mecha for the Office of the Head Inspector. Android space fighter used by Tail Messa to help defend Earth. When she first appeared, she tried to seduce Kazuto away from Narue (under orders from Tail Messa), but finds out that their bond is very strong and unbreakable. After that she warms up to them and they become good friends. Rin appears to draw mainly Earth-based duties.

Ran Tendo (天堂 蘭 Tendō Ran)

Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese); Shannon Conley (English)

Official title: Tactical Mecha for the Office of the Head Inspector. Android space fighter used by Tail Messa to help defend Earth. More pragmatic than Rin. Ran and Rei operate from the escort carrier Binten to defend Earth from, e.g., terrorists and berserker androids. Ran can fly by transforming her ponytails into twin propulsion units.

Rei Otonashi (音無 麗 Otonashi Rei)

Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani (Japanese); Mena Roberts (English)

Official title: Strategic Mecha for the Office of the Head Inspector. Android space fighter used by Tail Mesa to help defend Earth. Rei is more composed than either Rin or Ran but when surprised she can fire missiles in an instant. Rei can transform her long hair and cap into a delta wing and radome for airborne surveillance duty.

Akira Nitta (新田 昭 Nitta Akira)

One of Narue's male classmates, very short, and very withdrawn. Nitta idolizes Narue because she is one of the few people at school who treats him kindly. His adventures include finding and wearing Narue's teleportation headband - with humorous results - and exorcising a ghost with the help of Yagi and Kudo. Nitta is constantly on library duty because he hasn't the guts to demand his classmates take their turns. (Manga only)

Kyoko Kudo (工藤 杏子 Kudō Kyōko)

Voiced by: Kanako Tateno (Japanese); Lisa Ortiz (English)

One of Narue's female classmates and a snobby bully with a helpful side. On at least one occasion she warmed to Nitta considerably; perhaps he tickled her mothering instinct.

Yuki Kashiwazaki (柏崎 ゆき Kashiwazaki Yuki)

Voiced by: Yūko Gotō (Japanese); Mandy Bonhomme (English)

Aya Kanazawa (金沢 あや Kanazawa Aya)

Voiced by: Nami Kurokawa (Japanese); Catherine Kim (English)

Manaka Daito / Magical Girl #4 (大当 真名花 / 魔砲少女四号ちゃん Daitō Manaka / Mahō Shōjō Yongōchan)

Voiced by: Sakura Nogawa (Japanese); Lisa Ortiz (English)

Heroine of the eponymous, fictional anime television series show with the world of Narue. By the power of the Magical Cannon #4, Manaka transforms from a serious young archery club member to Magical Girl #4, the Magical Girl of Love and Peace. The name and costume design both derive from the Panzer IV tank, known as Yongo Sensha (IV号戦車) in Japanese.

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"My Girlfriend is an Alien" "Boku no Kanojo wa Uchūjin" (ボクの彼女は宇宙人)	April 5, 2003
On a rainy day after school, Kazuto Izuka sees a stray dog on the street on his way home. When he is about to pick it up, it suddenly turns into a monster. A strange girl named Narue Nanase comes to save him, hitting the monster with her baseball bat, but she soon runs off and leaves her baseball bat behind. The next day, Kazuto and his classmate Masaki Maruo both learn that Narue might be an alien. However, another classmate named Hajime Yagi disbelieves such a thing. With Maruo's help, Kazuto follows Narue to return the baseball bat to her, offering to have tea with him to thank her for saving him the day before. When she takes him to her place, her father Tadashi Nanase is held captive by an space ninja, who was disguised as the dog monster from before. With her magical headband which she calls her forward connector, she teleports herself across the room and hits the space ninja with her baseball bat before he attempts to kill Tadashi. Since Kazuto is okay with the fact that Narue is really an alien, she uses her forward connector to show him outer space filled with many spaceships.
2	"The First Date" "Hajimete no dēto" (はじめてのデート)	April 12, 2003
The following day on the way to school, Kazuto tells Maruo what happened on the previous day. Kazuto is able to ask Narue out on their first date together to the movie theater. However, since he has no experience in dating, he enlists Maruo to give some advice. Yagi feels let down for being made fun of by Kyoko Kudo for her interest in extraterrestrial life. The next day, as Kazuto and Narue enjoy their date at the mall, Maruo discreetly monitors them, only for Yagi to crash in on them, accusing Narue of faking her identity as an alien. When Kazuto and Narue prepare to enter the movie theater, Kazuto somehow loses the movie tickets, and Narue helps him find them, remembering that they were left in the arcade room. During the movie, Narue falls asleep, much to Kazuto's nervousness. However, after the movie, she apologizes to him for doing so. At night, a depressed Yagi is cheered up by Maruo, who tells her to look at an aurora that fills the starry sky. Although Narue could have used her forward connector to teleport herself home, she would rather have Kazuto walk her home instead.
3	"A Secret Base for Two" "Futari no kimitsu kichi" (二人の秘密基地)	April 19, 2003
Kazuto has Narue visit his house, showing her to his room, though it is filled with fanservice magazines he tries to hide. Kazuto's eccentric mother and sister both are surprised that Kazuto has brought a girl home, much to Kazuto's embarrassment. Kazuto shows Narue how his computer works, from turning on the operating system to printing out a screensaver. Kazuto's mother and sister each bring coffee and cookies, interrupting their special moment together. Afterwards, Kazuto decides to show Narue his favorite anime series called "Magical Girl #4" to watch together. Narue insists on showing Kazuto her "secret spot", which happens to be a mountainside area, where they lay on the grass under the starry sky. When Narue wakes up, she notices that Kazuto is still asleep, soon learning that a time stasis shield is place around the area. Tail Messa, the head inspector of the Galaxy Federation, has come to tell Narue that she and Tadashi must soon leave this world and return to the planet Nihon. Kazuto wakes up in his room, where a mountain rock is left sitting on the table.
4	"My Younger Older Sister" "Toshishita no oneechan" (年下のお姉ちゃん)	April 26, 2003
Narue learns that her older sister, Kanaka Nanase, exists and is coming to visit with her caretaker, Bathyscaphe. When Kanaka goes to see Tadashi, she mistakes Narue as his wife, making her very angry and causing her to run away. When she checks back with Bathyscaphe in her escort ship, she realizes that Narue is her little sister who is dating Kazuto. After Bathyscaphe beams Kazuto up into the escort ship, Kanaka learns that Narue is technically older than her due to time dilation. Bathyscaphe lands the escort ship, reconfiguring it into a house. After Narue tells Kazuto about her late mother, she visits Kanaka, who is upset about how much Tadashi has changed over the years. As Narue tries to restrain her, she accidentally shocks Narue with her stun gun, leaving Narue with a high fever. Kanaka, who believes that no one cares about her, is told by Kazuto that Narue was really looking forward to meeting her. The four wait all night long until Narue wakes up the next day, much to Kanaka's happiness.
5	"Kanaka Goes to School" "Kanaka Gakkō e iku" (香奈花学校へ行く)	May 3, 2003
Kanaka will start attending school the next day. At night, Kanaka finds Yagi, who heard of an unidentified flying object sighting the day before, unbeknownst it was Bathyscaphe's escort ship. To please Yagi, Kanaka has Bathyscaphe project an image of the escort ship in the sky to seem believable. Before school begins, Yagi haggles Kazuto about his encounter with spaceships, much to his annoyance. Kanaka is having a hard time adjusting to school life. Kyoko continue to bully Yagi by writing a message about her and Kazuto on the chalkboard, but Narue shows up to erase the message and leaves without saying a word. Yagi befriends Kanaka and later invites her over to hang out at her place all afternoon, but Narue is told by Bathyscaphe to retrieve Kanaka. Yagi now knows that Narue and Kanaka are related, which is a letdown on her part. When the two teleport back to the house in the evening, Kanaka slaps Narue and tells her that Yagi has been the only one who has treated her right from the beginning. The next morning, Kanaka, taking Kazuto with her, helps Narue and Yagi get along as they all walk to school.
6	"The Impact of Love" "Koi wa Impact!" (恋はインパクト)	May 10, 2003
Kazuto wakes up the next morning only to meet a young girl by the name of Rin Asakura, who claims to be his little sister, unaware of her unusual powers of influence. When Narue sees them walking to school together, she suddenly feels unhappy and worried. Narue runs to the school roof and Yagi, who follows her there, notes that Narue is having feelings of jealousy towards Kazuto. When school lets out, after Rin uses her powers to calm down many students arguing over her, she takes Kazuto with her down the street. She reveals that she is from outer space and that she has been watching him all along. Bathyscaphe has detected mind control pulses coming from Rin, who is really an android. When Narue teleports to their location, Rin nearly forces Kazuto to kiss her in front of Narue. However, when Kazuto manages to reject Rin, she begins to malfunction and fall over onto the road. It is shown that Messa assigned Rin to bring Narue back to Nihon. When an oncoming truck approaches, Rin snaps out of it and rescues Kazuto from being run over. Although she failed her mission, she realizes how much Kazuto really loves Narue, before departing back to Messa. Narue shares a kiss with Kazuto, much to his surprise.
7	"The Pool: Clear Danger!" "Pūru!? Kiki sanbatsu" (プール！？危機三発)	May 17, 2003
Complaining about the hot summer weather, Kanaka decides that she and her friends should go to the public swimming pool to relax. However, the place is overfilled with people, so she uses a wristband device signalling to a round receiver to find an uncrowded place to swim. Since Kazuto cannot swim, Kanaka gives him a mysterious hair gel that allows him to swim, but it backfires when he swims too fast. Kanaka uses her wristband device again to take the others to a beach, seemingly on a secluded island. While Kazuto and Narue are building a sand castle and Maruo and Yagi are exploring the place with exotic animals, Kanaka is seen riding a mammoth, chasing the four to a cave. Kanaka soon falls off the mammoth and damages her wristband device, sending Maruo and Yagi into a jungle in ruins and Kazuto and Narue in a rain forest. Maruo and Yagi later find Kazuto and Narue crossing a bridge, but it breaks and Narue falls into the water. Kazuto jumps in to save her, but they both drop into a waterfall. They are miraculously saved by Bathyscaphe, who time warps everything back to normal. It turns out the round receiver is a virtual video game console and the wristband device is its controller. Due to her misbehavior, Bathyscaphe confiscates the virtual video game from Kanaka.
8	"A Message From Earth" "Chikyū kara no messēji" (地球からのメッセージ)	May 24, 2003
Kazuto, Narue, Kanaka and Bathyscaphe share a good lunch together, and when the subject of Narue's late mother comes up, Narue tells the back-story of how Tadashi first met Narumi Mutsuki. Fifteen years ago, Tadashi had been assigned as a cultural investigator for the Galaxy Federation, but Messa had come to tell him that his assignment was cancelled and that he must return to Nihon. However, a frightened Tadashi fell into a streaming river, washing up on the other side, where Narumi carried him back to her home. There, he spent a few days with her together and eventually fell in love with her. Tadashi explained to Narumi that he was an alien studying how the various cultures and populations of Earth can coincide peacefully, contrasting from that of Nihon. Messa, having tracked down Tadashi to bring him back to Nihon, was outsmarted when Narumi suddenly appeared and drove off with Tadashi. Moreover, Rei Otonashi and Ran Tendo, two androids under Messa, were unable to catch them when they crossed through a forest. To this day, Messa allowed Tadashi to live peacefully on Earth with Narumi even after she had died.
9	"A Starship in Love" "Koisuru Hoshi Fune" (恋する星船)	May 31, 2003
Kazuto, Narue, Kanaka and Bathyscaphe go to the beach. While Kazuto and Narue plan to collect seashells in the ocean, Kanaka and Bathyscaphe encounter Haruna, an exiled alien starship disguised as a human woman who now works as a waitress at a beach front cafe. Haruna fears that Bathyscaphe would report her, but the latter is a retired escort ship, thus not obligated to do so. Haruna recalls to when she first landed on the beach at nightfall and hid her starship form, later falling in love with Akio Shimada, the manager of the beach front cafe. When a tsunami occurs, Haruna reveals her disguise and calms the waves. During this time, Bathyscaphe saves Kazuto from drowning in the ocean. Even though Akio now knows that Haruna is a starship, he still wants to be with her forever. The next day, it is revealed that Rin erased the memories of the bystanders who witnessed Haruna destroying the tsunami. Rin, who was supposed to return Haruna to military service, no longer needs to worry about tracking her down anymore. Narue is sad that all of her seashells got lost in the tsunami, much to the amusement of everyone else.
10	"The Great Cosplay Plan!" "Kosupure Taisaku Ikusa" (コスプレ大作戦)	June 7, 2003
Kazuto and Narue are supposed to go on a date together, but Kazuto instead goes to a cosplay expo, which features Kiriri Kaibashira, the voice actress for Magical Girl #4. Kazuto is overjoyed to finally meet Kiriri in person, but Narue becomes fed up, especially due to Kiriri's snotty attitude towards her, which causes her to walk away. Narue has no one else to turn to until she finds Yagi, who helps her research about cosplay. The two later cross paths with Kiriri, who tells them about an upcoming cosplay contest in the weekend, mentioning that she invited Kazuto to participate as a judge. This encourages Narue to enter the contest and make her own costume, with the help of Yagi, to impress Kazuto and to show Kiriri up. Meanwhile, Kazuto feels that Narue has been avoiding him for the past few days, giving him much concern. As time is soon running out, Yagi and Narue beg Maruo to help them make the armor and cannon of the costume overnight. During the contest, Narue makes a stunning appearance on stage and pleases the crowd, but Kazuto faints at the sight of this. He wakes up backstage with Narue at his side. Even though Narue wins the contest, yet does not accept the prize money, Kazuto tells her that he likes her just the way she is.
11	"A Private Little Wedding" "Chīsa na kekkonshiki" (小さな結婚式)	June 14, 2003
Kazuto, Narue, Maruo, Yagi and Kanaka are cram studying for the midterm exams. Not before long, Kanaka receives a letter from Haruna, who invites them all to visit Akio's family onsen following the midterm exams. After a warm welcome by Haruna, they all relax in the hot springs, and hilarity ensues as Maruo, who tries to take a peek, realizes that the girls' bath is over the boys' bath. After they all enjoy a nicely cooked dinner, the subject about the possibility of Haruna and Akio getting married is brought up, though an alien starship being wedded with a human seems to be quite a complicated matter. Narue comes up with a plot to have her friends arrange an unofficial marriage. While Kazuto and Narue go outside to retrieve some flowers in the mountains, Bathyscaphe convinces a worried Kanaka that her mother and father were happily married. The next day, Akio is taken by surprise when he sees Haruna in a wedding dress. The wedding takes place, and the groom kisses the bride. Narue wants to become a bride one day, just like her late mother.
12	"The Night Of The Festival" "Matsuri no Yoru" (祭の夜)	June 21, 2003
Kazuto and Narue meet up with Maruo and Yagi at a local festival. After playing some carnival games and paying respects at a local shrine, Kazuto and Narue are surrounded by space ninjas who initiate a time stasis shield in the area. When three space ninjas attack them, Rin intercepts and allows Kazuto and Narue to escape into the forest. Rin explains to the two that a starship piloted by space ninjas forced its way through a stargate, targeting Kazuto and Narue. Kanaka, Bathyscaphe and Tadashi, who all later show up to the local festival, find out about the time stasis shield. After Rin gives Kazuto and Narue each a versatile weapon, the three space ninjas catch up to them. Kazuto and Narue struggle to fight against the space ninjas. Bathyscaphe manages to capture one of the space ninjas, while Rei and Ran arrives to capture the other two space ninjas. However, Ran, infected with a berserker virus, betrays the group and tries to kill Narue. Rin has no choice but to shock Ran, after having shot Rei, who shielded Narue from a blast. With the space ninjas detained, Messa appears to confirm if Kazuto is truly willing to stay by Narue's side no matter the risk. After Messa leaves, the time stasis shield is lifted, and fireworks begin to burst in the sky.

Manga volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
01	June 28, 2000	ISBN 4-04-713346-9	May 2004	ISBN 1-58664-961-2
02	September 25, 2000	ISBN 4-04-713365-5	September 2004	ISBN 1-58664-962-0
03	April 25, 2001	ISBN 4-04-713416-3	November 2004	ISBN 1-58664-963-9
04	February 26, 2002	ISBN 4-04-713477-5	January 11, 2006	ISBN 1-58664-964-7
05	December 12, 2002	ISBN 4-04-713516-X	TBA	ISBN 1-57800-725-9
06	March 1, 2004	ISBN 4-04-713601-8	—	—
07	December 25, 2004	ISBN 4-04-713679-4	—	—
08	July 26, 2005	ISBN 4-04-713736-7	—	—
09	October 26, 2006	ISBN 4-04-713882-7	—	—
10	March 26, 2008	ISBN 978-4-04-715039-3	—	—
11	May 26, 2010	ISBN 978-4-04-715455-1	—	—
12	August 8, 2011	ISBN 978-4-04-715762-0	—	—
13	February 26, 2013	ISBN 978-4-04-120589-1	—	—

Note: Only the first 3 volumes were released in US bookstores and are currently out of print. The 4th and 5th volume only saw limited releases through online orders. Since the closure of CPM, the manga has not been picked up by another US publisher.

References

1. "CPM May Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
2. 2014年 第45回星雲賞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-09-13.
3. "CPM April Release". Anime News Network. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
4. "ADV Adds Grave of the Fireflies, Now and Then, Here and There". Anime News Network. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
5. "ADV Films Shuts Down, Parent Transfers Assets to Other Companies". Anime News Network. Retrieved 18 February 2013.

External links

• The Official World of Narue Website (Japanese)
• The World of Narue (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• The World of Narue at the Internet Movie Database