Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens

Kannagi (Japaneseかんなぎ) subtitle referred to as "Crazy Shrine Maidens " is an unfinished manga series of the author and illustrator Eri Takenashi, which was published from December 2005 to December 2008 in Japan within the shōnen magazine Comic Rex. The suspended for health reasons series will return in July 2011 in the same magazine in which since April 2010 also drawn from Takanashis brother Shin'ichi Yūki spin-off manga Kanpachi is published. In 2008, the manga was adapted from A-1 Pictures in the form of an anime television series that was erstausgestrahlt October-December, 2008 in Japan.

Title

The title Kannagi is written in hiragana which only represents the pronunciation, but does not specify a meaning as in Kanji. The usual meaning of the word is an archaic term for servants of the kami ( Shinto gods ) or media, in the case of women partially synonymous with Miko (English shrine maiden ). The series itself is set in the fictional town of Kannagi at the Kannagi Shrine in spelling神 薙, which are especially geared divine (神, kami kan ) Protection against landslides (薙, nagi ) refers.

Another meaning of Kannagi is " divine Nagi, Nagi God " ( Nageia nagi - a Podocarpus plants).

Action

As a young boy met Jin Mikuriya (御 厨 仁, Mikuriya Jin ) a divinity radiating girl at the sacred tree ( shinboku ) of the Kannagi Shrine. Years later, he carves for a school project for the face of the girl from the wood of this tree Nagi a character who wakes up suddenly to life. This introduces himself as Shinto local patron goddess ( ubusunagami ) Nagi (ナギ), the awakened after many years of sleep by the craftsmanship of Jin. Nagi has the goal of the impurities in the form of invisible for human beings which attack to eliminate them, which now spread after felling their sacred tree. However, it has lost, so that Jin can also see and touch these creatures to help her not only their specific memories of their past, but also a large part of their forces. Nagi's character is rather mischievous and childish, but occasionally emerges a second personality that radiates a divine clemency and corresponding capabilities.

Since Nagi needs the help of Jin, as she pulls his half-sister disguised in his apartment. First, only Jin's childhood friend Tsugumi Aoba (青葉 つぐみ, Aoba Tsugumi ) noted entangle the two initially very fast in their history of lies and call a misunderstanding after another out.

Nagi has a younger sister named pliers (ざんげ, dt " confession " ) whose force is still intact, because their tree is still standing and she joined the, in their opinion, more powerful religion of Christianity and dresses accordingly as a nun. Pliers are to mild and compassionate to the outside, but is rather intriguing and slightly sadistic. Clamp is not interested in the hunt for impurities but it to consolidate its divinity in which it makes people believe in it, how it is a local idol. Pliers uses the body of Jin's classmate Hakua Suzushiro (凉城 白 亜, Suzushiro Hakua ) as their vessel ( Yorishiro ). Since Hakua has psychic powers and evil spirits attracted, she was often branded as obsessed and wanted to kill himself, to pliers offered her to serve her as a vessel. Hakua loves Jin, because he did not find her skills as a child, the only strange. Pliers turn helps Hakua this love Jin's win.

In addition to the hunt for impurities so entbricht also a struggle between pliers and Tsugumi to love Jin. Such situations and exaggerated ideas of individuals, it always comes back to comic situations in otherwise normal everyday life.

Manga

The manga Kannagi is written by the artist Eri Takenashi and illustrated. Previously, she drew comics anthology of works by Type-Moon and Leaf. Kannagi published since 9 December 2005 in the shōnen magazine Comic Rex. Since August 9, 2006 first hardback ( tankōbon ) issued by the publisher Ichijinsha. Until June 27, 2013 eight editions of it appeared in Japan, each of which was sold along with a pinup, which was created in collaboration with prominent artists. The artists of the pinups were Takashi Takeuchi (from Type-Moon ), Ryukishi07 (from 07th expansion), Itaru Hinoue ( Key ), Yun Koga ( illustrator of the manga Loveless ), Ume Aoki ( Hidamari Sketch artist of the manga ), Zekkyō ( draftsman the manga to Toradora! ) Namori ( Yuru Yuri Manga signatory of ) and Atsushi Nishigori ( character designer and animation director of Gurren Lagann and the anime for The Idolm @ ster ).

In the January 2009 issue of Comic Rex was announced that the manga is temporarily suspended due to the health status of the author. As a result, the first very short notice formulated the rumor spread that the manga had been discontinued due to insults from fans. The entered against the publisher Ichijinsha and explained that author Eri Takenashi an urgent operation had to undergo and currently befände back on the road to recovery.

From the April 2010 issue of an offshoot called Kanpachi, which is drawn by Eri Takanashis brother Shin'ichi Yūki (结 城 心 一) was published in the Comic Rex. On 27 October 2010, the first anthology and on December 27, 2013, the sixth appeared.

Following an announcement by the publisher in September 2010, the author wrote on June 24, 2011 in a blog posting that the manga will be continued in the appearing on July 27, 2011 September issue of the magazine, with the release schedule due to their health, will be irregular. The seventh anthology finally appeared on 27 April 2012, three and a half years after the sixth.

On July 22, 2010 Bandai Entertainment announced that it has licensed the manga for English-language edition. The first English anthology was published on 7 June 2011.

Anime

In 2008, A-1 Pictures produced an anime implementation of the manga. Directed by Yutaka Yamamoto and wrote the screenplay Hideyuki Kurata. For the first time the thirteen- part television series was broadcast on 4 October to 27 December 2008, Tokyo MX and staggered to eleven other stations on a weekly basis.

Also in the credits, except for the consequences of 7 and 13 illustrations have been used by various artists according to Pinups of the manga. These were: the animation director Satoshi Kadowaki (门 胁 聡), Takashi Takeuchi, Okama, Itaru Hinoue, Ume Aoki, Hanaharu Naruco, Zekkyō, Tōru Minazuki (水 无 月 彻; Leaf ), Takahiro Kimura (木村 贵 宏) and Ricca Ōkouchi (大 河内RICCA ), Shin'ichi Yūki, Kiyohiko Azuma ( Azumanga Daioh manga by the artist and Yotsuba &! ) and Eri Takenashi.

The series was released in Japan from November 2008 to May 2009 on seven DVDs, with the last DVD a 14 episode contained (OVA ). Bandai Entertainment licensed it for the U.S. market and released the first of two cabinets, each with seven episodes on 17 July 2009 and the second on 24 September 2009.

Synchronization

Music

The music of the series was composed by Satoru Kosaki. In the opening credits of the title, motto ☆ Hade ni ne was! ( motto ☆ 派手 に ね, dt! " more striking " ) are used. This was how the guy Musuhi no Toki (産 巣 日 の 時, dt as: "Time of creativity " ) interpreted by Haruka Tomatsu.

Reception

At the beginning of the broadcast of the series studied fans the template for the represented places that were eventually found in the Greater Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, in which also the author of the manga was born. As a template for the shrine there was Hanabushi Shrine (鼻 节 神社, Hanabushi -jinja ) in neighboring Shichigahama. The cry went out because of the " pilgrimages " to the fans by more than five times and visited at New Year ( hatsumōde ) even people from distant prefectures and Hong Kong this. Something similar happened a year earlier on the occasion of the anime Lucky Star with the Washinomiya Shrine.

The industrial and trading company tagajo - Shichigahama held between 25 July and 16 August, a tourism campaign in, inter alia, the works Eri Takenashi were issued and at the Cultural Shichigahama Kokusaimura (七ケ浜 国際 村) is a replica of that shown in the anime Kannagi Shrine was built.