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Linebarrels of Iron

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Linebarrels of Iron
File:Linebarrels of Iron.jpg
Anime logo
鉄のラインバレル
(Kurogane no Rainbareru)
GenreDrama, Mecha
Manga
Written byEiichi Shimizu
Tomohiro Shimoguchi
Published byJapan Akita Shoten
MagazineChampion Red
DemographicShōnen
Original runJune 20, 2005 – present
Volumes11[1]
Anime
Directed byMasamitsu Hidaka
Written byKiyoko Yoshimura
StudioGonzo
Released October 3, 2008[2] – present

Linebarrels of Iron (鉄のラインバレル, Kurogane no Rainbareru) is an ongoing Japanese manga series created by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi. The series was first serialized in Akita Shoten's monthly shōnen manga magazine, Champion Red, in 2004.[3][4] It has since been compiled into eleven tankōbon, as of November 20, 2008.[5][1] The story centers around Kouichi Hayase, a fourteen-year-old boy living a mediocre life until an accident turns him into the pilot of a gigantic robot called "Linebarrel", as well as lead him to encounter a mysterious girl.

An anime adaptation of the manga series was announced in the February issue of Animage magazine.[3] The anime is directed by Masamitsu Hidaka and animated by Gonzo. Though the world premiere of the first episode took place at Southern California's 2008 Anime Expo,[6] the series premiered in Japan on the television network TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) on October 3, 2008.[2] To commemorate the series' anime adaptation, Shimizu and Shimoguchi decided to create a one shot manga, recreating the entire first episode of the anime, in which the plot differs in many aspects compared to the beginning of the manga.[4]

Plot

The Linebarrels of Iron story takes place in a fictional alternate future, centering around a junior-high school student named Kouichi Hayase, who escaped his daily life of being bullied as a child by daydreaming about being a hero. His life was forever changed during a class trip in the year 2016 when an artificial satellite fell from orbit. Due to this "accident", Kouichi was left in a coma for half a year, and upon awakening, found himself with strange powers, including superhuman strength. Then, in 2019, a mysterious robot called "Linebarrel" appears before him. It is revealed that the accident from three years ago was not caused by a satellite, but rather by the Machina robot Linebarrel, and that this turned him into a "Factor", which is the name given to Machina pilots. This leads him to encounter Emi Kizaki, a mysterious amnesiac girl whose unknown past seems to be related to Linebarrel. He joins her in fighting for JUDA, the world's largest medical equipment maker, which happens to secretly own several other Machina robots.

Characters

JUDA

From left to right: Emi Kizaki, Captain Igarashi, Satoru Yamashita, Reiji Moritsugu, Kunio Ishigami, Yui Ogawa, Shizuna and Izuna Endo, and Kouichi Hayase.
Kouichi Hayase (早瀬 浩一, Hayase Kōichi) Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara
The 14-year-old protagonist of the series, and pilot of the titular Machina robot, Linebarrel. He was often bullied as a child, and was thus often protected by his two childhood friends. When the accident from three years ago resulted in him receiving superhuman abilities, it eventually turned him into an arrogant and aggressive individual, who disliked being protected. Liked by the entire student body, and viewed as a model student by the teachers, Kouichi secretly hid his more aggressive personality and became the leader of those who used to bully him.
His new found abilities, as well as his more aggressive nature, is a result of becoming a Factor for Linebarrel. Apparently, he was inadvertently killed by Linebarrel during the accident, and was revived by the robot through the insertion of nanobots into his body, making his life connected to Linebarrel.
Emi Kizaki (城崎 絵美, Kizaki Emi) Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
A mysterious girl who knows nothing of her past besides her own name. Her past seems to be connected with Linebarrel, however, and she is later revealed to also be Linebarrel's Factor. When she pilots the robot, its usual white-colored armor changes to black.
Reiji Moritsugu (森次 玲二, Moritsugu Reiji) Voiced by: Yuuichi Nakamura
The chief of JUDA's Special Task Force, and pilot of the short-ranged combat Machina, Vardant. Excelling in intelligence, leadership, and physical strength, he is an expert in battles, never losing his cool and always making sound judgments.
Satoru Yamashita (山下 サトル, Yamashita Satoru) Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro
A Factor in the Special Task Force, Satoru pilots the long-ranged combat Machina, Hind-Kind. He holds Moritsugu in high regard, and follows his orders without question. Possessing a very aggressive combat style, he considers Factors to be murderers, though he, himself, dislikes and avoids taking the lives of others.
Shizuna Endo (遠藤 シズナ, Endō Shizuna) Voiced by: Kana Ueda
The older twin sister of Izuna Endo, and co-pilot of the non-combat Machina, Deceive. Unlike her younger brother, Shizuna has a more brash and direct attitude. Due to their similar appearance, it is initially difficult to tell them apart until she uses the necktie pin given to her by Kouichi as a hairpin.
Izuna Endo (遠藤 イズナ, Endō Izuna) Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
The younger twin brother of Shizuna Endo, and co-pilot of the Machina Deceive, specializing in electronic warfare. He shares his older sister's feminine appearance, but has a more shy and reserved attitude compared to his sister's. Since the twins were raised in various places throughout Japan, Izuna speaks standard Japanese while his sister speaks in a Kansai dialect.
Miu Kujō (九条 美海, Kujō Miu) Voiced by: Aya Hirano
The kind and caring pilot of the Machina Painkiller, specializing in defense combat.
Kunio Ishigami (石神 邦生, Ishigami Kunio) Voiced by: George Nakata
Chief manager of the JUDA corporation, Ishigami often has an eccentric personality, but sometimes has a very intimidating disposition. He takes a special interest in Kouichi and recruits him into JUDA. Later in the series, he is revealed to have been the former leader of the Katou Organization.
Yui Ogawa (緒川結衣, Ogawa Yui) Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara
Kunio Ishigami's personal secretary, she is always reprimanding her boss due to his pranks on Koichi.
Rachel Calvin (レイチェル・キャルヴィン, Reicheru Kyaruvin) Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō
A child prodigy from America and head of JUDA's research and development department.

Katou Organization

Hisataka Katou (加藤 久嵩, Katō Hisataka) Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Current head of the Katou Organization, whose goal is to conquer the world by "reeducating" its people.
Masaki Sugawara (菅原 マサキ, Sugawara Masaki) Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
The First Division Captain of the Katou Organization's attack corps.
Takurō Sawatari (沢渡 拓郎, Sawatari Takurō) Voiced by: Tetsu Inada
The Fourth Division Captain of the Kato-Kikan corps.

Others

Risako Niiyama (新山 理沙子, Nīyama Risako) Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya
Kouichi's protective childhood friend, who has liked him romantically for a long time, and thus gets frustrated when she can not spend time with him.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi, the Linebarrels of Iron manga series was first serialized in Akita Shoten's monthly shōnen manga magazine, Champion Red.[3] The series is still published in the magazine, and has since been compiled into eleven tankōbon, as of November 20, 2008.[1] This is excluding Volume 0, which was simultaneously released with the fifth volume.[5] Akita Shoten also published a book containing details about the anime adaptation, simultaneously releasing it on the same day as the tenth volume.[1]

To commemorate the series' anime adaptation, Shimizu and Shimoguchi decided to create a one shot manga which will be serialized in the forty-fourth issue of the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Champion. It recreates the entire first episode of the anime, in which the plot differs in many aspects compared to the beginning of the manga.[4]

Volume Release date[1] ISBN Chapters
0 December 20, 2006 ISBN 978-4253231602 —
1 June 6, 2005 ISBN 978-4253231619 1 - 5
2 November 1, 2005 ISBN 978-4253231626 6 - 10
3 April 20, 2006 ISBN 978-4253231633 11 - 15
4 August 18, 2006 ISBN 978-4253231640 16 - 19
5 December 20, 2006 ISBN 978-4253231657 20 - 23
6 April 20, 2007 ISBN 978-4253231664 24 - 27
7 August 21, 2007 ISBN 978-4253231671 28 - 31
8 December 20, 2007 ISBN 978-4253231688 32 - 35
9 April 18, 2008 ISBN 978-4253231695 36 - 39
10 September 19, 2008 ISBN 978-4253231701
11 November 20, 2008 ISBN 978-4253234115

Anime

See also: List of Linebarrels of Iron episodes

The production of an anime adaptation for the Linebarrels of Iron manga was first revealed in Animate's preview information for the February issue of the anime and entertainment magazine Animage.[3] It was later announced that Masamitsu Hidaka, most well-known as the director for the Pokémon anime series, will be directing Gonzo studio's anime adaptation.[6]

"A gigantic robot and the girl of your dreams are what you get...at the cost of your life."

-Tagline from English website.

Though the Japanese television premiere of the series was in October 2008, the world premiere of the first episode took place in the United States at Southern California's 2008 Anime Expo, which Masamitsu Hidaka attended as a Guest of Honor.[6] An official English language Linebarrels of Iron website was put up just before the Anime Expo in order to promote the American premiere of the series. Other special screenings for the first episode also took place in France's Japan Expo in July and Germany's Animagic 2008 in August.[7] The previewed first episode contained subtitles as it was still presented with its original Japanese dialogue.[8]

The series first premiered on Japanese television on October 3, 2008.[2] Though the episodes air first on the TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) television network, CBC and Sun-TV also broadcasts the series; CBC airs it within an hour after TBS's initial broadcasts, and Sun-TV airs the episodes a week later.

In an agreement, in which Gonzo's corporate parent, the GDH group, decided to allow popular video-sharing websites to stream some of Gonzo's latest anime titles,[9] Crunchyroll, an anime-sharing site, streams episodes of the Linebarrels of Iron anime two hours after its premiere in Japan.[10] It is also legally available on YouTube, though the only full episode available is episode one; Gonzo uploads only the first half of the following episodes, and to view the rest, viewers are directed to Crunchyroll.[11]

Music

Two pieces of theme music are used for the anime series; one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Kitei no Tsurugi" (鬼帝の剣, lit. Sword of the Demon King) by the Japanese band Ali Project, and the ending theme is "Ame ga Furu" (雨が降る) by Maaya Sakamoto. The Ali Project released the "Kitei no Tsurugi" single on November 19, 2008,[12] while "Ame ga Furu", Maaya's seventeenth single, was released on October 29, 2008.[13]

Reception

While the manga has garnered attention from noted animators and mangakas like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Mamoru Nagano, who are both avid readers of the series and recommends the work,[3] early reviews of the anime adaptation have been generally negative. Four different reviewers from the anime and manga social networking site Anime News Network agree that the storyline is generic and predictable, containing an easily detestable main character [Kouichi]. Though the mecha designs were likable, the anime's characters designs and computer generated graphics were scrutinized and described as not being one of Gonzo's best.[14][15][16] Despite one of the reviewers finding the anime "marginally more tolerable" by the second episode, she comments that, "Whether or not you will be horrified enough to stop watching this show will be determined by your own personal level of tolerance for Kouichi's hubris."[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Linebarrels - Products>Comics". linebarrels.jp. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  2. ^ a b c "Gonzo's 2nd Linebarrels of Iron Promo Video Streamed". Anime News Network. 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Iron Linebarrels Robot Manga to be Animated in 2008". Anime News Network. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  4. ^ a b c "Casshern Sins, Linebarrels of Iron Anime Adapted as Manga". Anime News Network. 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  5. ^ a b "Kurogane no Linebarrels (manga) - volume list". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  6. ^ a b c "1st Linebarrels of Iron Episode to Premiere at Anime Expo". Anime News Network. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  7. ^ "English Linebarrels Anime Site Launched Before AX". Anime News Network. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  8. ^ "Linebarrels of Iron 's English Promo Video Streamed (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  9. ^ "Gonzo Works to be Streamed Simultaneously with Airing". Anime News Network. 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  10. ^ "Gonzo to Stream Linebarrels of Iron on Crunchyroll Today". Anime News Network. 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  11. ^ "YouTube - LINEBARREL's Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  12. ^ "Linebarrels - Products>CD". linebarrels.jp. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  13. ^ "雨が降る/坂本真綾 (Oricon's page for "Ame ga Furu")" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
  14. ^ "The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide - Theron Martin". Anime News Network. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  15. ^ "The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide - Carlos Santos". Anime News Network. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  16. ^ "The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide - Carl Kimlinger". Anime News Network. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  17. ^ "The Fall 2008 Anime Preview Guide - Casey Brienza". Anime News Network. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
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