K (TV series)

For other uses, see K Project (disambiguation).

K (also called K Project) is a Japanese anime series created by the animation studio GoHands and GoRA, a group consisting of seven anonymous authors known as Kōhei Azano, Tatsuki Miyazawa, Yukako Kabei, Yashichiro Takahashi, Hideyuki Furuhashi, Suzu Suzuki, and Rei Rairaku. The series is directed by Shingo Suzuki, who also serves as its character designer. It began airing on MBS on October 5, 2012. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia. The series is set when Japan is secretly being ruled by seven Kings of psychic clans called the Seven Clans of Color. Yashiro Isana, a seemingly normal student of Ashinaka High School, is targeted by HOMRA of the Red Clan and Scepter 4 of the Blue Clan, following the murder of pacifist Tatara Totsuka from HOMRA. With the help of a highly skilled swordsman named Kuroh Yatogami and a feline Strain with the ability of sensory interference named Neko, Yashiro rediscovers his true identity.

K
Promotional artwork for the anime featuring the main cast of characters.
Genre	Action, science fantasy
Created by	GoRA GoHands
Manga
K: Memory of Red
Written by	GoRA
Illustrated by	Yui Kuroe
Published by	Kodansha
Magazine	Aria
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	May 28, 2012 – August 15, 2013
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Shingo Suzuki Hiromichi Kanazawa Susumu Kudō
Produced by	Hiroo Maruyama Haruki Hayashi Gō Nakanishi
Written by	Tatsuki Miyazawa (GoRA)
Music by	Mikio Endō
Studio	GoHands
Licensed by	Crunchyroll NA: Viz Media
Original network	MBS, TBS, CBC, AT-X, BS-TBS
English network	NA: Neon Alley SEA: Animax Asia
Original run	October 5, 2012 – December 28, 2012
Episodes	13
Further information Manga K: Stray Dog Story Written by GoRA Illustrated by Yui Kuroe Published by Kodansha Magazine good! Afternoon Demographic Seinen Original run November 2012 – March 2013 Volumes 1 Manga K: Days of Blue Written by GoRA Illustrated by Yui Kuroe Published by Kodansha Magazine Aria Demographic Shōjo Original run November 5, 2013 – July 28, 2014 Volumes 2 Manga K: The First Written by GoRA Illustrated by Rin Kimura Magazine GFantasy Demographic Shōnen Original run December 18, 2013 – March 18, 2015 Manga Gakuen K Written by GoRA Illustrated by Jirō Suzuki Magazine Monthly GFantasy Demographic Shōnen Original run January 18, 2014 – January 18, 2016 Manga K: Lost small world Written by GoRA Illustrated by Yoru Ōkita Magazine Hatsu Kiss Demographic Shōjo Original run June 13, 2014 – June 13, 2016 Manga K: Countdown Written by GoRA Illustrated by Yui Kuroe Published by Kodansha Magazine Aria Demographic Shōjo Original run December 27, 2014 – July 28, 2015 Anime film K: Missing Kings Directed by Shingo Suzuki Hiromichi Kanazawa Produced by Haruki Hayashi Written by GoRA Music by Mikio Endō Studio GoHands Licensed by AUS: Crunchyroll NA: Viz Media UK: Anime Limited Released July 12, 2014 (2014-07-12) Runtime 73 minutes Video game Gakuen K: Wonderful School Days Developer Otomate Publisher Idea Factory Genre Visual novel Platform PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita Released PlayStation Portable October 30, 2014 PlayStation Vita October 22, 2015 Manga K: Missing Kings Written by Hideyuki Furuhashi Illustrated by Haruto Shiota Published by Square Enix Magazine Monthly GFantasy Demographic Shōnen Original run April 18, 2015 – August 18, 2015 Manga K: Dream of Green Written by GoRA Illustrated by Yui Kuroe Published by Kodansha Magazine Aria Demographic Shōjo Original run September 28, 2015 – February 28, 2016 Anime television series K: Return of Kings Directed by Shingo Suzuki Hiromichi Kanazawa Produced by Haruki Hayashi Hiroshi Kamei Kō Ōno Written by Yashichiro Takahashi (GoRA) Music by Mikio Endō Studio GoHands Licensed by AUS: Crunchyroll NA: Viz Media UK: Anime Limited Original network MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS, AT-X English network SEA: Animax Asia Original run October 3, 2015 – December 26, 2015 Episodes 13 Manga K: Return of Kings Written by Hideyuki Furuhashi Illustrated by Haruto Shiota Published by Square Enix Magazine Monthly GFantasy Demographic Shōnen Original run October 17, 2015 – present Anime film series K: Seven Stories Directed by Shingo Suzuki Produced by Haruki Hayashi Hitomi Saitō Written by Rei Rairaku (GoRA) Music by Mikio Endō Studio GoHands Licensed by AUS: Crunchyroll BI: Anime Limited NA: Viz Media Released July 7, 2018 (2018-07-07) – December 1, 2018 (2018-12-01) Runtime 59–66 minutes Films 6

A manga prequel called K: Memory of Red, drawn by Yui Kuroe was serialized in Kodansha's Aria between May 28, 2012 and August 15, 2013. Another prequel manga, K: Stray Dog Story, ran in Kodansha's good! Afternoon between November 2012 and March 2013. A third manga K: Days of Blue, was serialized in Kodansha's Aria between November 2013 and July 2014, and a fourth, K: Countdown, ran in Aria from December 2014 to July 2015, while a fifth, K: Missing Kings, ran in Monthly GFantasy from April to August 2015. Five more manga series; K: The First, Gakuen K, K: Lost small world, K: Dream of Green, and K: Return of Kings, are also still ongoing. Furthermore, two light novels, called K Side:Blue and K Side:Red, were released in October and November 2012. A third light novel called K Side:Black and white was released in May 2013 and another one, K - Lost small world was released in April 2014.

A sequel film was released on July 12, 2014. A visual novel is also in development by Otomate.

A sequel anime project was announced on the official Twitter account of the series. The new anime series, K: Return of Kings, aired from October 3, 2015 to December 26, 2015, rounding up the anime series and delivering its ending.

A new anime project featuring an original story by GoRA and GoHands, titled K: Seven Stories, has been green-lit. GoHands and Shingo Suzuki are returning to produce and direct the anime, respectively.

Plot

See also: List of K characters

Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technologically advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with everyone. Nothing seems wrong about him, except perhaps his habit of forgetting where his school-issued PDA is. However, nothing normal has been happening since the recent murder of Tatara Totsuka, prominent member of the infamous HOMRA. No one knows who exactly killed him but the man responsible bears an uncanny, identical appearance to Yashiro. Seeking vengeance, the Red Clansmen of HOMRA set out to get Yashiro and kill him. Everyone suspects that Yashiro is the murderer.

Media

Anime

See also: List of K episodes

The anime began airing on October 5, 2012. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia. It was also being streamed on VizAnime video site. The opening theme song is "KINGS" by Angela and the ending theme song is "Tsumetai Heya, Hitori" (冷たい部屋、一人) by Mikako Komatsu. Insert songs include "Circle of Friends" by Yūki Kaji and "Itsuka no Zero Kara" (いつかのゼロから) by Angela. The anime has a movie sequel released in 2014. Viz has also licensed the second season.

Film

It was announced that there will be a sequel to the anime series in the form of a film. The movie was released on July 12, 2014. Its title is "K: Missing Kings" and includes a new character Mishakuji Yukari. The movie takes place one year after anime in the summer. Viz Media has licensed the movie.

It was announced that there will be a six-part film series, titled "K: Seven Stories" and was released between July 7, 2018 and December 1, 2018. Viz Media has licensed the film series.

Light novels

No.	Title	Release date	ISBN
	K SIDE : BLUE	2012/10/18	978-4062838177
Author is Hideyuki Furuhashi (GoRA), illustrator is Shingo Suzuki (GoHands)
	K SIDE : RED	2012/11/15	978-4062838184
Author is Rei Rairaku (GoRA), illustrator is Shingo Suzuki (GoHands)
	K SIDE : BLACK & WHITE	2013/5/21	978-4062838320
Author is Tatsuki Miyazawa (GoRA), illustrator is Shingo Suzuki (GoHands)
	K -Lost Small World-	2014/4/2	978-4062838665
Author is Yukako Kabei (GoRA), illustrator is Shingo Suzuki (GoHands)

Manga

K -Memory of Red- (K-メモリー・オブ・レッド-)

Illustrated by Yui Kuroe, written by Rei Rairaku (GoRA). Spin-off that focuses on Homra. The story follows events that took place before the TV series.

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	2012/10/12	978-4063805963
001. Homra Part 1 (吠舞羅 (前編)) 002. Homra Part 2 (吠舞羅 (後編)) 003. Strange Love (ストレンジ・ラブ) 004. Memory Part 1 (Memory (前編)) 005. Memory Part 2 (Memory (後編))
2	2013/3/13	978-4063806205
006. Horse sashimi panic Part 1 (馬刺しパニック (前編)) 007. Horse sashimi panic Part 2 (馬刺しパニック (後編)) 008. Rainy Day 009. Kamamoto of Summer (夏のKamamoto) 010. In the Crypt Part 1 (あなぐらの中 (前編))
3	2013/10/7	978-4063806526
011. In the Crypt Part 2 (あなぐらの中 (後編))) 012. The elegant day of King and Princess (王と姫の優雅な一日) 013. Summer Night Ghost (サマーナイトゴースト) 014. King (キング) 015. HAPPY BIRTHDAY 016. After the sweet memory

K Stray Dog Story (K ストレイ・ドッグ・ストーリー)

Illustrated by Saki Minato, written by Tatsuki Miyazawa (GoRA). Spin-off that focuses on Kuroh Yatogami.

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	2013/4/5	978-4063878837

K -Days of Blue- (K-デイズ・オブ・ブルー-)

Illustrated by Yui Kuroe, written by Rei Rairaku (GoRA). Spin-off that focuses on Scepter 4. The story follows events that took place before the TV series.

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	2014/4/7	978-4063806878
001. (東京法務局戶籍課第四分室寮棟) 002. LONELY BABY 003. (淡島の休日) 004. (痕) 005. (白あん煮込み豆腐パニック(前編))
2	2014/8/12	978-4063807134

K - The First

Illustrated by Rin Kimura, written by Suzu Suzuki (GoRA). Mainly a re-telling of the story in the TV series.

Gakuen K

Illustrated by Jirō Suzuki, written by Hideyuki Furuhashi (GoRA). Comedy spin-off where all the K characters are going to high school together.

K: Lost small world

Illustrated by Yoru Ōkita, written by Yukako Kabei (GoRA). Focuses on Yata's and Fushimi's past.

K: Countdown

Illustrated by Yui Kuroe, written by Rei Rairaku. The story reveals what happens after the Missing Kings movie from the viewpoints of different characters.

K: Missing Kings

Illustrated by Haruto Shiota, written by Hideyuki Furuhashi. K: Missing Kings is an adaptation of the film of the same name, and ran in the Monthly GFantasy magazine from April 18, 2015, to August 18, 2015.

K: Dog and Cat

Illustrated by Rin Kimura, written by Hideyuki Furuhashi. About Neko and Kuroh. The story takes place between the first season and the movie. Published in G-Fantasy between May 18 and November 18, 2015.

K: Dream of Green

Illustrated by Yui Kuroe, written by Rei Rairaku. Began publication in Aria on September 28, 2015.

K: Return of Kings

The K: Return of Kings manga is an adaptation of the anime television series of the same name, written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Haruto Shiota. It began serialization in the G Gantasy magazine on October 17, 2015.

Visual novel

A visual novel adaptation was developed by Otomate and subsequently released in 2014. The game is targeted towards a female audience, allowing the player to be the heroine of the story. The player takes on the role of an original character named Saya Konohana (木野花 沙耶, Konohana Saya) who does not show up in the anime. The objective of the game is to pursue one of the available heroes using the school as a setup.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• K at IMDb 
• K Web Radio (in Japanese)
• K (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia