Shangri-La - The Ideal and Reality of the Future City ■Overview of the work "Shangri-La" is a TV anime series based on the novel by Eiichi Ikegami, which aired from April 5 to September 13, 2009. Set in Tokyo, which has been transformed into a forested city as a measure against global warming, the series depicts the struggles and conflicts of people seeking a utopia. Animation was produced by GONZO and the director was Makoto Bessho. The 24-episode series tells an epic story interwoven with social issues in a dystopian near-future setting. ■Broadcast information "Shangri-La" was broadcast on the following stations: - Chiba TV: April 5, 2009 to September 13, 2009, every Sunday from 24:00 to 24:30
- Teletama: April 5, 2009 to September 13, 2009, every Sunday from 25:30 to 26:00
- KBS Kyoto: April 6, 2009 to September 14, 2009, every Monday from 25:00 to 25:30
- Television Kanagawa: April 6, 2009 to September 14, 2009, every Monday from 25:15 to 25:45
- Sun Television: April 7, 2009 to September 15, 2009, every Tuesday from 24:00 to 24:30
- TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting: April 7, 2009 to September 15, 2009, every Tuesday from 25:53 to 26:23
- TOKYO MX: April 8, 2009 to September 16, 2009, every Wednesday from 25:30 to 26:00
- TV Hokkaido: April 9, 2009 to September 17, 2009, every Thursday from 25:30 to 26:00
- TV Aichi: April 9, 2009 to September 17, 2009, every Thursday from 25:58 to 26:28
- Anime One: April 10, 2009 to September 18, 2009, updated every Friday at 17:00
- BS11: June 5, 2009 to November 13, 2009, every Friday from 24:00 to 24:30
- AT-X: May 8, 2010 to October 16, 2010, every Saturday from 8:00 to 8:30
- Tochigi TV: June 29, 2012 to December 14, 2012, every Friday from 23:30 to 24:00
■ Story Due to the effects of global warming, Tokyo in the near future has been transformed into a tropical city. In this forest-covered city, privileged citizens live in the tower-like, multi-layered city of Atlas, while ordinary people live on the ground, fearing the threat of rainstorms and subsidence. Meanwhile, the protagonist, 18-year-old Hojo Kuniko, leads an armed guerrilla force in the dangerous jungle-like forest. In order to secure a future where everyone can live happily, she takes a giant boomerang made of carbon fiber and challenges the government forces who are pushing for a unilateral "forestation" that has left the ordinary people behind. ■Explanation "Shangri-La" is set in Tokyo, which is rapidly being transformed into a forested city to prevent global warming. However, it is not a utopia. It is a blockbuster that was serialized in the monthly Newtype magazine and became a hot topic in various media. The original work is a novel by Eiichi Ikegami published by Kadokawa Bunko, and the anime adaptation was produced by GONZO. It is directed by Makoto Bessho, with series composition by Hiroshi Ohnogi and character design by Range Murata. ■Cast The voice actors for the main characters are as follows: - Kuniko Hojo: Mikako Takahashi
- Karin Ishida: Yuka Iguchi
- Beauty Country: Yui Ariga
- Kusanagi Kunihito: Ishii Makoto
- Momoko: Joji Nakata
- Miko: Yoshitada Otsuka
- Sayoko: Rie Ishizuka
- Naoko Hojo: Naoko Kyoda
- Takehiko: Kenyu Horiuchi
- Canary: Miyu Irino
- Tarshan: Hidetoshi Nakamura
- Ryoko Naruse: Rei Igarashi
- Kudo Shogo: Takahiro Sakurai
- Soichiro Hata: Daisuke Hirakawa
- Imagi Retsune: Nakamura Yuichi
- Shion Imaki: Jun Fukuyama
- Clarice: Kumiko Watanabe
- Abidin: Kanji Suzumori
- Chan: Hiroyuki Yoshino
- Medusa: Tetsuya Kakihara
- Furukawa: Tetsuya Kakihara
- Mizuhiko: Tomoko Kaneda
- Rena: Akino Watanabe
- Nao: Naoko Sakakibara
- Yuka Yamazaki: Yurie Yamashita
- Takehiko (as a boy): Yuka Nishigaki
- Yasuko (younger sister): Hisayo Mochizuki
- Yuri Gamagori: Sachika Misawa
- Loli Grandpa: Chafurin
- Military grandfather: Fumihiko Tachiki
- Old Turtle: Mitsuo Iwata
- Magical Gina: Matsumoto Tamaki
■ Main staff The production staff is as follows: - Original story: Eiichi Ikegami (published by Kadokawa Bunko)
- Executive Producers: Shinichiro Inoue, Junji Fujita
- Planning: Takeshi Yasuda, Kenji Yano
- Produced by: Takeshi Yasuda, Shinichiro Ishikawa, Nobuhiko Sako, Hiroyasu Asami, Yoshifumi Kezuka
- Director: Masato Bessho
- Series Composition: Hiroshi Ohnogi
- Character design: Range Murata
- Anime character design, chief animation director: Kumi Ishii
- Mechanical design: Yoshinori Sayama, Fumihiro Katakai, Tomohiro Kawahara
- Design works: Takuhito Kusanagi, Umanosuke Iida
- Art design: Hajime Sato
- Creative producer: Mori Takeshi
- Creative Supervisor: Shingo Takehan
- Art director: Shigemi Ikeda
- Color design: Osamu Mikasa
- Director of photography: Katsushi Sato
- Edited by: Kengo Shigemura
- Sound Director: Yota Tsuruoka
- Music: Hitomi Kuroishi
- Music producer: Yoshimoto Ishikawa
- Music Production: flyingDOG/JVC Entertainment
- CG Producer: Hiroaki Matsuura
- CG Supervisor: Daisuke Suzuki
- CG Director: Yasuhiro Kato
- Monitor graphics: Yosuke Nanjo
- Photography Supervisor: Toru Fukushi (T2studio)
- Plugin cooperation: Kengo Watanabe
- HD Editing: Kengo Shigemura, Tomoko Sato
- Online editing: Sony PCL (Eiji Suzuki, Takahiko Kojima)
- Recording engineer: Satoshi Yano
- Sound effects: Hidemi Tanaka
- Assistant engineer: Mai Sari
- Recording studio: Studio 2010
- Sound production: Rakuonsha
- Sound Production: Yoshimi Sugiyama
- Comic serialization: Monthly Shonen Ace (published by Kadokawa Shoten)
- Manga: Tadashi Torimaru
- Title logo design: Shinji Higuchi
- Planning cooperation: Hiroshi Mizuno, Soichi Tsuji, Shoji Murahama
- Assistant producer: Hirotaka Nabae
- With the cooperation of: Shuichi Takashino, Akiyo Hirayama, Jun Fukuda, Mio Matsumoto, Hiroki Higuchi, Yoshimi Nakajima, Isao Ishikawa
- Advertising: Yosuke Nishiyama, Takashi Tachizaki
- Promotional cooperation: Masao Ito, Yusuke Suzuki, Jun Sugiura, Kenichi Yamaguchi, Tomoya Yamamoto, Monthly Newtype editorial department
- Production desk: Wataru Yamamoto
- Setting production: Emiko Iimura, Shoichi Suzuki
- Producers: Hisashi Imamoto, Tsutomu Kojima, Tsuneo Takechi, Yuka Harada, Yoshifumi Kominato
- Animation Production: GONZO
- Produced by: Shangri-La Production Committee (Kadokawa Shoten, GDH, Clockworks, NTT docomo, Sony PCL)
■ Main Characters The details of the main characters are as follows: - Hojo Kuniko
An 18-year-old girl who is expected to become the next president of the anti-government armed guerrilla organization "Metal Age." Possessing genius physical abilities and instincts, she tackles everything with a positive attitude. - Mikuni
A mysterious 8-year-old girl of the privileged class. She suffers from an illness that prevents her from being exposed to sunlight, and lives in a special room called the "Moon Palace" at the Atlas Corporation. - Kusanagi Kunihito
A lieutenant in the 10th Artillery Battalion. He relentlessly pursues the Metal Age in order to build Atlas, which is promoted by the government. Although he grew up in an ordinary family, he is intelligent and honest to the core. - Momoko A glamorous transsexual who is forever 28 years old. She has high physical abilities, extraordinary beauty, and extraordinary fighting ability. She is Kuniko's adoptive mother.
- Nagiko Hojo
Kuniko's grandmother. The first president of Metal Age, who was once called the "Tyrannical Dragon of Asia." She has mastered the art of rulership and excels in a variety of knowledge. - Sayoko
A lady-in-waiting who dotes on Mikuni to an abnormal degree and serves him devotedly. It is a mystery how she ended up at Atlas Corporation, but she is a former forensic pathologist and a masochistic sadist who has difficulty accepting herself. - Takehiko
A central member of Metal Age, he is a militant who leads their activities. He has a strong sense of justice and has dedicated his life to overthrowing the government. For some reason, Kuniko and Momoko always bully him. - Miiko is a plump transvestite. She used to work at the same transvestite pub "Tropical Fish" as Momoko. She is best friends with Kuniko. She dreams of moving to Atlas and rebuilding "Tropical Fish" with Momoko.
- Ryoko Naruse
The head of the Atlas Corporation. He takes great pleasure in baiting others, and leads a group of guards called "Z4" (Zettfier). - Karin Ishida
He is one of the creators of the economic carbon forecasting system "Medusa". At the age of 10, he was able to control "Medusa" and play money games. He is a genius carbonist who believes that money is everything in the world. - Hiruko
The CEO of the Atlas Corporation. His existence is shrouded in mystery, but he is apparently essential to the existence of Atlas. If he does not replace his host once every few years, his existence cannot be maintained. - Kudo Shogo
He is the leader of the handsome boys squad and has a calm, glasses-wearing personality. He is always smiling and speaks politely to the younger guys, including Retsune, but when his eyes shine behind his glasses, he becomes frightening. He is a strategist and is respected by Soichiro. He often listens to Retsune and the others' opinions, but when it's time to make a decision, he makes it right. - Soichiro Hata
A cool and beautiful young man. He is in charge of reporting information from the government and other sources to Ryoko, and is also the person Ryoko talks to about strategy. He and Retsune call each other by their first names. Sometimes they even get into undercover battles. - Reon Imaki
He is a member of the attack force under Ryoko's direct command. His rank is second lieutenant, but when carrying out Ryoko's orders, he is as capable as a field officer. He is a hot-blooded and manly man, but he has an abnormal love for his younger brother, Shion. - Shion Imaki
He always brings chiffon cake and Earl Grey tea to Ryoko. Unlike his brother, Retsune, he is a shy boy and is often scolded by Ryoko. - Tomoka Yamazaki
A friend of Kuniko's who attends an all-girls high school. For some reason, she can't stand up to Kuniko. Although she has a slightly gloomy personality, she does give Yuri some opinions. - Yuri Gamagori
A friend of Kuniko's, she is laid-back. She tries to see only the good in things. She hates her last name, so she has a strong desire to get married and feels uneasy if she isn't constantly in love.
■Subtitle The subtitles for each episode are as follows: - Episode 1: The Girl Returns (2009/04/05)
- Episode 2: Ikebukuro Jukai (2009/04/12)
- Episode 3: Tenchi stratification (2009/04/19)
- Episode 4: Super Akihabara (2009/04/26)
- Episode 5: Madness and Storm Dance (2009/05/03)
- Episode 6: The Imaginary Front (2009/05/10)
- Episode 7: Sad Revenge (2009/05/17)
- Episode 8: Lipstick Miserable (2009/05/24)
- Episode 9: Heavenly Revelation (2009/05/31)
- Episode 10: The Sword of Words (2009/06/07)
- Episode 11: Mugen Kotori (2009/06/14)
- Episode 12: Change of life (2009/06/21)
- Episode 13: Flying Girl (2009/06/28)
- Episode 14: The Changing City (2009/07/05)
- Episode 15: Lost defeat (2009/07/12)
- Episode 16: Mad Tree Prison (2009/07/19)
- Episode 17: Dark Night Passage (2009/07/26)
- Episode 18: Two-headed Kitan (2009/08/02)
- Episode 19: Tokyo Air Raid (2009/08/09)
- Episode 20: Continuous articulation (2009/08/16)
- Episode 21: Disappearance of the sacred place (2009/08/23)
- Episode 22: Eternal Bonds (2009/08/30)
- Episode 23: Overture to Collapse (2009/09/06)
- Final episode: Utopia (2009/09/13)
■ Theme songs and music The theme songs and insert songs are as follows: - OP1: Kimishini Tamou Kotonakare Lyrics: Yuho Iwasato Music: Akimitsu Honma Arrangement: Akimitsu Honma Singer: May'n
- ED1: Let there be light in the morning of the beginning.
・Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi ・Composition: Hitomi Kuroishi ・Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi ・Singer: midori - ED2: The Dream of the Butterfly Hidden in the Moon Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Composition: Hitomi Kuroishi Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi Singer: midori
- IN1: Orange Candy Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Music: Hitomi Kuroishi Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi Singer: Magical Gina (Tamaki Matsumoto)
- IN2: Prayer to Heaven Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Music: Hitomi Kuroishi Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi Singer: Hitomi
- IN3: Aiming for Shangri-La Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Music: Hitomi Kuroishi Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi Singer: Hitomi
■ Evaluation and impressions "Shangri-La" depicts the gap between ideals and reality against the backdrop of the practical issue of global warming. The story is set in Tokyo, which has been transformed into a forest city, and depicts the conflict between the privileged class and the common people, as well as the struggles of the people living within it. The main character, Hojo Kuniko, is a character with strong will and drive, making a strong impression on viewers. Other characters, such as Mikuni and Kusanagi Kunihito, are also unique and play important roles in adding excitement to the story. GONZO, the animation studio, has created a realistic depiction of near-future Tokyo, enhancing the visual appeal of the film. In particular, the scenes that simultaneously show the beauty and danger of the forested city are stunning. The music also plays an important role in enhancing the atmosphere of the story, and the opening and ending songs resonate with viewers. However, the storyline is a little complicated, and some viewers may find parts difficult to understand. Also, the characters' actions and motivations can sometimes seem abrupt. Nevertheless, as a work that deals with social issues, it encourages deep contemplation and gives the viewer a lot to think about. ■ Recommendation points "Shangri-La" deals with the important modern issue of global warming, and is especially recommended for those who like stories set in a near-future dystopia. It is also recommended for those who want to enjoy the adventures of a strong-willed protagonist and unique characters. In addition, the beautiful animation and music are also part of the appeal, so it is a work that will satisfy those who seek visual and auditory enjoyment. This work is a must-watch for those who are looking for an anime with a social issue theme, and for those who want to enjoy a deep story and character development. Experience the epic story set in a near-future Tokyo and the drama of the people living there. |
