Hanasakeru Seishōnen
Encyclopedia
is a manga
series written and illustrated by Natsumi Itsuki
. Set in the modern era, the story follows the path to romance of fourteen-year-old Kajika Burnsworth, daughter of powerful industrialist Harry Burnsworth, owner of the Burnsworth international conglomerate giant. Kajika agrees to participate in a "marriage game" with her father, in which she must select her future husband out of three men that her father has supposedly preselected for her.
Despite its shōjo-romance undertones, the story itself evolves as a power political mystery involving a small, middle eastern country called Raginei. Raginei as a country is only 1,000 years old, but became extremely wealthy within the last 50 years or so due to a change in ideals implemented by past King Machaty that allowed the international export of oil. While Kajika searches for her suitors and puzzles over the concept of love, the country is thrown into political turmoil and Kajika's friendship with Prince Rumaty Ivan, as well as the Burnsworth relationship with Raginei, lands her right in the middle of it all.
While there, Kajika gets talked into the "marriage game" by her father. In this game, she has to meet and choose a possible future husband out of three males that her father has supposedly handpicked. He does not, however, tell her details regarding their identities and leaves it to Kajika to discover the bachelors on her own. According to the rules, if she picks one of the three men, Harry will tell Kajika her true destiny. Her childhood friend, Lee-Leng Fang, is charged with helping her on her mission while protecting her as her guardian. As leader of the powerful Fang family, Lee-Leng is most qualified for the task, though whether Lee-Leng is comfortable with helping Kajika find a husband remains to be seen.
She first meets Eugene Alexandr De Volkan, a beautiful man whom she calls Mustafa because of his uncanny resemblance to the now dead snow leopard she once loved. Second is Prince Rumaty Ivan of Raginei, though Kajika takes a while to decide whether Rumaty is, in fact, one of the men her father selected for her. The third bachelor Kajika meets is Carl Rosenthal of the Rosenthal family and corporation, a Burnsworth competitor. Carl's father hates Harry Burnsworth, to the point where he becomes obsessed with discrediting him. Carl, on the other hand, finds room to be more forgiving, especially with the developing friendship between himself and the gentle, understanding Kajika Burnsworth. All three men are unique in their own ways and Kajika ends up liking each of them very much. As such, she does her best to make all of them a part of her life.
Meanwhile, nearly a year after meeting Prince Rumaty, his country plummets into political turmoil and the King dies. Prince Rumaty is blamed for the King's death, despite his presence in another country during the event and he is banned from returning Raginei under the threat of death. Harry Burnsworth shelters Rumaty, leaving him in the care of Lee-Leng, who becomes somewhat of a tutor of diplomacy to him. The Prince grows up during his two years at the Burnsworth estate and eventually makes his move to re-enter the country and bring things back under control.
Kajika, Lee-Leng, Eugene, and Carl Rosenthal get caught up in the country's troubles and all four of them are trapped within its borders when chaos breaks out. Lee-Leng is injured during a coup d'tat battle at the airport and he and Kajika are both sheltered by a Rumaty-supporting faction led by Isaac Noei, once a high-ranking officer in the Royal guard. No one is safe from danger. Officials are murdered, elite families are arrested, priests are framed, and even Noei's hideout is raided.
Two pivotal events occur in Raginei that bring the story to climax. It is during the events in Raginei that Kajika realizes which man she loves most. Also, by the time Prince Rumaty reaches Raginei, Kajika's destiny is revealed to her and the "marriage game" is thus over.
. The manga was serialized in Hakusensha
's shōjo magazine (aimed at teenage girls), LaLa
from February 24, 1987 to March 24, 1987 and again from August 24, 1989 and August 24, 1994.
. Directed by Chiaki Kon
, the first episode premiered on NHK
on April 5, 2009.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series written and illustrated by Natsumi Itsuki
Natsumi Itsuki
is a Japanese shōjo manga artist best known for writing science fiction manga. She debuted in 1979 with Megumi-chan ni Sasageru Comedy in LaLa. She won the 1993 Seiun Award for best science fiction manga for Oz and the 1997 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Eight Clouds Rising...
. Set in the modern era, the story follows the path to romance of fourteen-year-old Kajika Burnsworth, daughter of powerful industrialist Harry Burnsworth, owner of the Burnsworth international conglomerate giant. Kajika agrees to participate in a "marriage game" with her father, in which she must select her future husband out of three men that her father has supposedly preselected for her.
Despite its shōjo-romance undertones, the story itself evolves as a power political mystery involving a small, middle eastern country called Raginei. Raginei as a country is only 1,000 years old, but became extremely wealthy within the last 50 years or so due to a change in ideals implemented by past King Machaty that allowed the international export of oil. While Kajika searches for her suitors and puzzles over the concept of love, the country is thrown into political turmoil and Kajika's friendship with Prince Rumaty Ivan, as well as the Burnsworth relationship with Raginei, lands her right in the middle of it all.
Plot
Fourteen-year-old Kajika Burnsworth, daughter of powerful industrialist Harry Burnsworth, has spent the first part of her life living on an island in the Caribbean with a snow leopard named Mustafa. She is finally sent off to school in Japan, but is called away to her father's home in New York very soon after.While there, Kajika gets talked into the "marriage game" by her father. In this game, she has to meet and choose a possible future husband out of three males that her father has supposedly handpicked. He does not, however, tell her details regarding their identities and leaves it to Kajika to discover the bachelors on her own. According to the rules, if she picks one of the three men, Harry will tell Kajika her true destiny. Her childhood friend, Lee-Leng Fang, is charged with helping her on her mission while protecting her as her guardian. As leader of the powerful Fang family, Lee-Leng is most qualified for the task, though whether Lee-Leng is comfortable with helping Kajika find a husband remains to be seen.
She first meets Eugene Alexandr De Volkan, a beautiful man whom she calls Mustafa because of his uncanny resemblance to the now dead snow leopard she once loved. Second is Prince Rumaty Ivan of Raginei, though Kajika takes a while to decide whether Rumaty is, in fact, one of the men her father selected for her. The third bachelor Kajika meets is Carl Rosenthal of the Rosenthal family and corporation, a Burnsworth competitor. Carl's father hates Harry Burnsworth, to the point where he becomes obsessed with discrediting him. Carl, on the other hand, finds room to be more forgiving, especially with the developing friendship between himself and the gentle, understanding Kajika Burnsworth. All three men are unique in their own ways and Kajika ends up liking each of them very much. As such, she does her best to make all of them a part of her life.
Meanwhile, nearly a year after meeting Prince Rumaty, his country plummets into political turmoil and the King dies. Prince Rumaty is blamed for the King's death, despite his presence in another country during the event and he is banned from returning Raginei under the threat of death. Harry Burnsworth shelters Rumaty, leaving him in the care of Lee-Leng, who becomes somewhat of a tutor of diplomacy to him. The Prince grows up during his two years at the Burnsworth estate and eventually makes his move to re-enter the country and bring things back under control.
Kajika, Lee-Leng, Eugene, and Carl Rosenthal get caught up in the country's troubles and all four of them are trapped within its borders when chaos breaks out. Lee-Leng is injured during a coup d'tat battle at the airport and he and Kajika are both sheltered by a Rumaty-supporting faction led by Isaac Noei, once a high-ranking officer in the Royal guard. No one is safe from danger. Officials are murdered, elite families are arrested, priests are framed, and even Noei's hideout is raided.
Two pivotal events occur in Raginei that bring the story to climax. It is during the events in Raginei that Kajika realizes which man she loves most. Also, by the time Prince Rumaty reaches Raginei, Kajika's destiny is revealed to her and the "marriage game" is thus over.
Primary characters
- Kajika Louisa Kugami Burnsworth (花鹿・ルイーサ・陸深・バーンズワース) - Central character, only daughter of Harry Burnsworth and heiress to the family estate. Voiced by Aya EndoAya Endois a Japanese voice actress from Yamagata, Japan.- Voice acting roles :-Video games:*Agarest Senki 2 *Ar tonelico III *Chaotic *Koumajou Densetsu: Stranger's Requiem *Rune Factory 3...
/ Played by AKIRA - Li-ren Fang/Huang (Li-Ren, 倣立人) - Kajika's guardian and life-long friend. He is also the leader of the Fang family, a worldwide network of powerful people (legal and illegal alike). Voiced by Toshiyuki MorikawaToshiyuki Morikawais a prolific Japanese male voice actor from Yokohama, Kanagawa, was affiliated with Arts Vision. Lately, however, he has become the head of that a voice actor company he founded in Apr 2011. His name is also sometimes mistranslated as Tomoyuki...
& Marina InoueMarina Inoueis a voice actress and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex division. As for voice acting career, she's employed by Sigma Seven...
(young) / Played by Yuki Kubota - Eugene Alexandr De Volkan - Bachelor #1, whom Kajika calls Mustafa because of his physical resemblance to her childhood friend, a Snow Leopard. Voiced by Daisuke OnoDaisuke Onois a Japanese voice actor who works for Mausu Promotion. He was born in Kōchi Prefecture. He won the 4th Seiyū Awards for best voice actor for his role as Sebastian Michaelis in Kuroshitsuji.-Anime:2002*Full Metal Panic!...
/ Played by Yuusuke Hirose - Prince Rumaty Ivan of Raginei - Bachelor #2. King-to-be of the country Raginei. Much of the story becomes central to Prince Rumaty and his country as the story unfolds. Voiced by Daisuke NamikawaDaisuke Namikawais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Across Entertainment.He started acting in 1984. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Hirakawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. Despite his wide range of voice casting, he is usually cast as young,...
/ Played by Genki Ookawa (1st play) & Shinotani Hijiri (2nd play) - Carl Rosenthal - Bachelor #3. Heir to the Rosenthal estate. He is also claustrophobic. Voiced by Jun FukuyamaJun Fukuyamais a voice actor. He was previously represented by Aoni Production and Production Baobab, and is now represented by . In 2007, he won the first Seiyu Awards for the best actor in leading role as Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass...
/ Played by Yasuhisa FuruharaYasuhisa Furuhara' is a Japanese actor, best known for the leading role of Sousuke Esumi/Go-On Red in the 2008 tokusatsu series Engine Sentai Go-onger.-Filmography:Television* Nobuta wo produce as Takuzo Wakui...
Secondary characters
- Mahaty Sheik Di Raginei - Grandfather of Prince Rumaty Voiced by Daisuke NamikawaDaisuke Namikawais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Across Entertainment.He started acting in 1984. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Hirakawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. Despite his wide range of voice casting, he is usually cast as young,...
/ Played by Genki Ookawa - Issac Noei - Raginei imperial soldier. Voiced by Hiroshi TsuchidaHiroshi Tsuchidais a Japanese voice actor and actor affiliated with 81 Produce. Tsuchida is best known for his role as Saizou/NinjaBlue in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.-TV Anime:*Naruto *Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo *Honey and Clover...
/ Played by JURI - Harry Burnsworth - Father of Kajika
- Somand - Prince Rumaty's elder brother and Crown Prince. Voiced by Hozumi Goda / Played by Hiroki SuzukiHiroki Suzuki (Junes)is a Japanese actor and singer from Osaka Prefecture represented by Junes Acting & Modeling. His debut acting roles were as Reira in the live action adaptation of the Fuuma no Kojirou manga and Shun Kisaragi in the live action adaptation of the Here is Greenwood manga...
. - Sezun Hafez - Chamberlain to Prince Rumaty, younger brother of Quinza. Voiced by Miyu IrinoMiyu Irinois a Japanese voice actor born in Tokyo.He is a good friend of voice actor Mamoru Miyano. He is nicknamed "Miyu-Miyu" by CLAMP members....
/ Played by Takuya Yabuki - Najayra - Prince Rumaty's insane cousin aka Raginei Oracle/Priestess. Voiced by Satomi AraiSatomi Araiis a Japanese voice actress from Saitama Prefecture affiliated with Yūrin Pro.-Television Animation:2003*Digimon Frontier *Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch 2004*Fafner in the Azure...
- Quinza Hafez - Chamberlain to Prince Rumaty, older brother of Sezun. Voiced by Takehito KoyasuTakehito Koyasuis a Japanese voice actor.-Career:Koyasu is part of the voice actor quartet Weiß consisting of Weiß Kreuz voice castmates Shinichiro Miki, Tomokazu Seki, and Yuuki Hiro...
/ Played by Hayashi Shuji - Eddy Roberts - Raginei news reporter. Voiced by Yasuhiro Mamiya
- Zao Monchen - Second hand to Li-ren. Voiced by Junichi Suwaba / played by Takehisa Takayama
- Ip Yun - Gang-street leader. Played by Ryusuke Nakamura
- Toranosuke V Haga - Kajika's bodyguard. Voiced by Tetsuya KakiharaTetsuya Kakiharais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with 81 Produce . Until the age of 18, he resided abroad in Düsseldorf, Germany.He is currently affiliated with "Kiramune" in 2010, a music label by Bandai Visual Co., Ltd...
/ Played by Rakuto TochiharaRakuto Tochiharais a Japanese actor and child actor from Tokyo, a graduate of Horikoshi High School. His debut role was in Boogiepop Phantom where he voiced the character Poom Poom. He later had a starring role in the 2005 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Hibiki and its film Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Senki as... - Yamate Yui - Kajika's friend from Japan. Voiced by Miyu MatsukiMiyu Matsukiis a Japanese voice actress. Her hometown is Hiroshima Japan.-Anime cast in:*Ayakashi as Hime Yakushiji*ARIA The NATURAL as Ayano *Binchō-tan as Pukashuu*Claymore as Flora*D.C. ~Da Capo~ as Yoriko Sagisawa*D.C.S.S...
- Ioe - Voiced by Taketoshi Kawano
- Izmal - Cousin to Rumaty and intense believer of Najayra's fortunetelling. Voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu
- Kathleen Burnsworth - Kajika's grandmother. Voiced by Tamie Kubota & Akiko KimuraAkiko Kimurais a Japanese voice actress.-Anime:*Basara *Ceres, The Celestial Legend*Corrector Yui *Get Backers *Happy Lesson *Hunter × Hunter ...
(young)
Manga
Hanasakeru Seishōnen is written and illustrated by Natsumi ItsukiNatsumi Itsuki
is a Japanese shōjo manga artist best known for writing science fiction manga. She debuted in 1979 with Megumi-chan ni Sasageru Comedy in LaLa. She won the 1993 Seiun Award for best science fiction manga for Oz and the 1997 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo manga for Eight Clouds Rising...
. The manga was serialized in Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
's shōjo magazine (aimed at teenage girls), LaLa
Lala
Lala VC was an Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth soldiers.-Details:...
from February 24, 1987 to March 24, 1987 and again from August 24, 1989 and August 24, 1994.
Anime
The manga was adapted into an anime by Studio PierrotStudio Pierrot
is a Japanese animation/animation studio, founded in 1979 by former employees of Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters is located in Mitaka, Tokyo.The company has a simple logo of the face of a clown...
. Directed by Chiaki Kon
Chiaki Kon
is a Japanese anime director who directed the anime adaptations of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter. She also worked the storyboard and dramatization for the anime Midori Days and did the Opening Animation for Shōnen Onmyōji.-External links:...
, the first episode premiered on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
on April 5, 2009.