Twin Spica

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Twin Spica


caption =
ja_name = ふたつのスピカ
ja_name_trans = Futatsu no Supika
genre = Science fiction, Drama, SupernaturalInfobox animanga/Manga
title =
author = Kō Yaginuma
publisher = Media Factory
demographic = Seinen
magazine = Comic Flapper
first = 23 January 2001
last = ongoing
volumes = 14Infobox animanga/Anime
of title =
director = Tomomi Mochizuki
studio = Group TAC
network = flagicon|Japan Animax, NHK
flagicon|Philippines Animax, QTV 11
flagicon|Brazil flagicon|Singapore flagicon|Argentina flagicon|Malaysia Animax
first = 1 November 2003
last = 27 March 2004
episodes = 20

Nihongo|"Twin Spica"|ふたつのスピカ|Futatsu no Supika is a Japanese science fiction manga series by Kō Yaginuma. It began serialization in the seinen magazine "Comic Flapper" in January 2001. "Twin Spica" tells the story of a group of Japanese high school students training to become astronauts.

The manga has been adapted by Group TAC as a 20-episode anime television series that first aired on NHK's BS-2 satellite service between 1 November 2003 and 27 March 2004. The anime has been translated into English and other languages by the anime television network Animax, which has broadcast the series on its networks in several regions, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Latin America.

The series title comes from the binary star system Spica. It is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Spica is really two stars that circle each other, though from a distance they appear as one, which parallels the series' running theme of friendship.

tory

The primary setting of "Twin Spica" in the near future at the Tokyo Space Academy, where high school students train to become astronauts. nihongo|Asumi Kamogawa|鴨川アスミ has dreamed of going to space since she was a child. Her experiences in school and her relationships with her friends, family and teachers are the central themes of the story. The manga and anime series both have a relaxed, slice of life pace.

Several chapters of the manga and episodes of the anime are flashbacks and explore the childhood of Asumi and some of the other characters. When she was a baby, Japan's first manned rocket (called nihongo|Shishigō|獅子号 "Lion") crashed into Asumi's hometown of Yuigahama, killing many people and critically injuring her mother, who finally died after many years in a coma. While trying to accept her mother's death, six year old Asumi met nihongo|Lion-san|ライオンさん|Raion-san, the ghost of a young astronaut who had been on board the rocket. Inspired by Lion-san's stories of space, Asumi made it her goal to become an astronaut herself.

The early storylines of the manga and the anime adaptation are very close to each other, but later they diverge as the anime sets up an original ending. The anime covers most of the manga's story from volumes 1-3 and takes bits and pieces from later volumes.

Characters

;nihongo|Asumi Kamogawa|鴨川 アスミ|Kamogawa Asumi :*anime voices|Akiko Yajima:The story's main character. After her mother died when she was young, she grew up with her father. She is the only one who can see Lion-san, whom she met soon after her mother's death. After meeting Lion-san, she becomes determined to become an astronaut. When her name is written in kanji (her name is in katakana), "asu" means "tomorrow" (or in this case "future") and "mi" means "look".

;nihongo|Lion-san|ライオンさん|Raion-san :*anime voices|Takehito Koyasu:Lion-san meets Asumi when she is young and introduces himself as a ghost. He wears a large lion mask that covers his entire head. He comforts Asumi during the difficult time after her mother's death, and fosters her interest in space. He had a relationship with Asumi's elementary teacher, Yuuko Suzunari and gave her a small lion doll with a wedding ring inside before he died. His real name is Takano.

;nihongo|Marika Ukita|宇喜多 万里香|Ukita Marika :*anime voices|Akiko Kimura:A classmate of Asumi's, she is a loner and generally treats her peers coldly. She justifies her attitude by reflecting on the difficult childhood she endured, which comprised mostly of studying in isolation. Marika's backstory is unusual, but is only touched upon in the anime.

;nihongo|Shinnosuke Fuchūya|府中野 新之介|Fuchūya Shinnosuke :*anime voices|Toshiyuki Toyonaga:Asumi's childhood friend, whose ends up following her to take the astronaut course. He likes Asumi and always looks after her but hasn't really revealed his feelings to her. He is nicknamed nihongo|Fucchi|ふっち by Kei.

;nihongo|Kei Ōmi|近江 圭|Ōmi Kei :*anime voices|Fuyuka Ōura:The first girl Asumi meets during the Space School entrance exam. Sociable, gregarious and frank, she is Asumi's first female friend in the astronaut course.

;nihongo|Shū Suzuki|鈴木 秋|Suzuki Shū :*anime voices|Yuki Kaida:The top student of their course, Shū is often depicted as a laid-back, easy going guy. Despite the facade, he tries his best to reach for his dream—to become an astronaut.

;nihongo|Tomorō Kamogawa|鴨川 友朗|Kamogawa Tomorō :*anime voices|Kenyu Horiuchi:Asumi's father

;nihongo|Kyōko Kamogawa|鴨川 今日子|Kamogawa Kyōko :*anime voices|Hiroko Kasahara:Asumi's mother

;nihongo|Ringo Sakashita|坂下 リンゴ|Sakashita Ringo :*anime voices|Junko Ishī:Ringo is the dorm manager for the Kamome dorms.

;nihongo|Kasane Shibata|柴田 かさね|Shibata Kasane :*anime voices|Tomoe Hanba:Kasane, a survivor of the Shishigou incident, is Asumi's childhood friend. Because of the crash, she has a horrible burn mark on her left arm. In the present, Kasane goes to an all-girls school. In the manga, her first reappearance shows her sleeping in Asumi's dorm room, which is a few volumes after her reappearance in the anime.

;nihongo|Sano-sensei|佐野先生|Sano-sensei :*anime voices|Yasunori Masutani:Sano is one of the teachers in the space school. Sano attempts to sabotage Asumi because he falsely believes her father was partially responsible for the Shishgou disaster. He gets in trouble for this and resigns. He resurfaces in the manga with insights on the Shishigou incident and, once again, gets in trouble for it. However, he eventually becomes reconciled with Asumi's father.

;nihongo|Shimizu Takashi|島津タカシ:*anime voices|Daisuke Fujita:Takashi is a classmate of Asumi in junior high school. He was also her classmate in elementary school but he was too sickly to regularly attend school. His story is mainly shown in the flashback episode/chapter, "Asumi's Sakura".

;nihongo|Kiriu|桐生:Kiriu is an orphan and is initially shown as activist against space exploration. He closely resembles Takashi Shimizu, Asumi's junior high friend. He first meets Asumi on a rally against a rocket launch and gets mad at her. Their relationship, which is not in the anime, develops in the manga. In the end, however, Kiriu leaves to do volunteer work elsewhere.

;nihongo|Tokushima Mikan|徳島みかん:Mikan is Asumi's underclasswoman in the space school.

Music

Opening Theme
*"Venus Say" :Lyrics by: Haruichi Shindō:Composition and arrangement by: Akimitsu Honma:Performed by: Buzy

Ending Theme
*nihongo|"Look Up to the Stars in the Night"|見上げてごらん夜の星を|Miagetegoran Yoru no Hoshiwo :Lyrics by: Rokusuke Ei:Composition by: Taku Izumi:Arrangement and performed by: BEGIN

Original Soundtrack performance: Kazunori Miyake

Manga

"Twin Spica" is published by Media Factory in the magazine "Comic Flapper", and collected in 14 tankōbon volumes as of March 2008.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=3517&page=28 | title=Twin Spica (manga) | publisher=Anime News Network | accessdate=2008-03-28]

Graphic novel list/header
OneLanguage = yes
Width=50%Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 1
RelDate = January 2002
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0428-9Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 2
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0440-1
RelDate = April 2002Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 3
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0468-5
RelDate = November 2002Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 4
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0490-6
RelDate = May 2003Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 5
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0906-2
RelDate = October 2003Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 6
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0944-4
RelDate = April 2004Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 7
ISBN = 978-4-8401-0984-0
RelDate = December 2004Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 8
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1307-6
RelDate = May 2005Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 9
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1349-6
RelDate = December 2005Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 10
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1377-9
RelDate = March 2006Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 11
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1635-0
RelDate = November 2006Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 12
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1687-9
RelDate = March 2007Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 13
ISBN = 978-4-8401-1984-9
RelDate = December 2007Graphic novel list
OneLanguage = yes
VolumeNumber = 14
ISBN = 978-4-8401-2205-4
RelDate = March 2008

In addition, an illustration book (ISBN 978-4-8401-1380-9, published March 2006) and an official guide to the anime (ISBN 978-4-8401-1041-9, published April 2004) have been published.

References

External links

* [http://www.comic-flapper.com "Comic Flapper" official website] ja icon
* [http://www.g-tac.co.jp/spica/spica_top.html "Twin Spica"] on animation studio Group Tac's website ja icon
* [http://www3.nhk.or.jp/anime/spica/ "Twin Spica"] on broadcaster NHK's website ja icon
* [http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/spica/index.html "Twin Spica"] on music distributor Starchild's website ja icon
* [http://www.animax-asia.com/synopsis/default.asp?pid=97 "Twin Spica"] on Animax East Asia's website
*ann anime|3084