Omamori Himari
Encyclopedia
, often abbreviated as , is a Japanese manga
series written and illustrated by Milan Matra. The manga began serialization in the May 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo
's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age
, and the first tankōbon
was released by Kadokawa Shoten
on February 7, 2007. A four-panel
spinoff ran in Monthly Dragon Age from November 2009 to November 2010, and a 12-episode anime
adaptation produced by Zexcs
aired in Japan between January and March 2010. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press
, and released the first volume on October 26, 2010. In Japanese culture, an omamori
is an amulet worn as either a good luck charm or to ward off evil spirits, in reference to the title character's role in the story as a bodyguard.
samurai girl. Himari reveals to him that some of his ancestors were part of the twelve Demon Slayer families that have been slaying demons since the feudal era. She has sworn an oath to protect Yuto from the demons that are out to kill him, but Yuto's allergy to cats makes it somewhat difficult to deal with.
Later on, Yuto encounters various girls who take a liking to him: Shizuku, a mizuchi
in the form of a small child; Lizlet, a tsukumogami
in the form of a busty tea-serving maid
; and Kuesu, another Demon Slayer who is revealed to be Yuto's fiancé and an object of Yuto's lost past.
As the series progresses, Yuto and the group encounter some powerful ayakashi, with some of them being allies, and Yuto eventually makes a life-changing decision to fight for his belief of coexistence between human and ayakashi.
's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age
. The first tankōbon
was released on February 1, 2007 by Kadokawa Shoten
under their Dragon Jr. imprint, and sold eight volumes as of April 9, 2011. An official guidebook to the series (sold as Volume 0) was released by Kadokawa Shoten on October 24, 2009. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press
, and released the first volume on October 26, 2010, with a total of five volumes available as of November 22, 2011. The manga is also licensed in Taiwan by one of Kadokawa Shoten's subsidiary companies, Kadokawa Media.
A four-panel
spinoff illuratrated by Nikubanare called began serialization in the November 2009 issue of Monthly Dragon Age, and ended in the November 2010 issue. A compilation called was released by Kadokawa Shoten on April 9, 2010.
A bonus two-part side story, called , also illustrated by Nikubanare, was released by Kadokawa Shoten on September 9, 2011. The stories were serialized in the May 2011 and June 2011 issues of Monthly Dragon Age.
adaptation written by Kougetsu Mikazuki and illustrated by Matra began serialization in the July 2008 issue of Fujimi Shobo
's Dragon Magazine. The first volume was released by Fujimi Shobo on July 19, 2008 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint, with a total of four volumes available as of January 20, 2010. The light novels consists of side stories that differ from the manga's plot, and introduces new novel-exclusive characters.
show promoting the anime called aired on Animate
and ran 13 episodes from November 12, 2009 to April 30, 2010. The show was hosted by Ami Koshimizu
and Iori Nomizu
, the voices of Himari and Rinko, respectively, and guest voices from the anime series appeared for each radio episode. The theme song used is "love and peace" by Koshimizu. A CD containing all 13 episodes was released on August 13, 2010.
and directed by Shinji Ushiro aired on TV Saitama and Chiba TV
from January 6 to March 24, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, NTV
, TV Kanagawa, TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting
, and Sun Television. Six DVD compilation volumes were released by Kadokawa Pictures
between March 26 and August 28, 2010. English-subtitled simulcasts were provided by Crunchyroll
on its video portal.
The opening theme for the series is by AyaRuka, consisting of singers Aya Sakamoto and Ruka Kawada. The ending theme is "BEAM my BEAM" by , consisting of the main female cast. with the seventh episode version sung by Ami Koshimizu
, the eighth episode version sung by Iori Nomizu
, the ninth episode version sung by Kei Shindo
, the tenth episode version sung by Asuka Ōgame
, and the eleventh episode version sung by Yuki Matsuoka
. The ending theme for episode 12 is by Yuto Amakawa (Daisuke Hirakawa
). The CD singles of "Oshichau zo!!" and "BEAM my BEAM" were released on February 24, 2010 by Columbia Music Entertainment
.
charts between August 2 and August 8, 2010, and #22 between August 9 and August 15, 2010. Volume 8 reached #19 on the Oricon charts between April 4 and April 10, 2011, and #30 between April 11 and April 17, 2011.
In North America, the third volume of Omamori Himari made The New York Times
Manga Best Seller List, reaching #7 between April 24 and April 30, 2011.
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 Milan Matra. The manga began serialization in the May 2006 issue of Fujimi Shobo
Fujimi Shobo
is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...
's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age
Monthly Dragon Age
is a Japanese manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between Monthly Comic Dragon and Monthly Dragon Junior, two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in April 2003, and the magazine is sold on the ninth of each month. The...
, and the first tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
was released by Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
on February 7, 2007. A four-panel
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
spinoff ran in Monthly Dragon Age from November 2009 to November 2010, and a 12-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation produced by Zexcs
Zexcs
is a Japanese animation studio located in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. It was established on January 23, 1998 and is known for doing the animation production of a number of series such as MY HiMe, Sister Princess, and Speed Grapher...
aired in Japan between January and March 2010. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press
Yen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
, and released the first volume on October 26, 2010. In Japanese culture, an omamori
Omamori
Omamori are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. The word mamori means protection, with omamori being the sonkeigo form of the word, "to protect.".-Design and function:...
is an amulet worn as either a good luck charm or to ward off evil spirits, in reference to the title character's role in the story as a bodyguard.
Story
Seven years ago, Yuto Amakawa's parents died in a car accident, leaving him alone without a single relative, the only item left of his family being a strange and mysterious amulet given to him by his late grandmother. Ever since then, his childhood friend Rinko Kuzaki (and her parents) has cooked and taken care of him. His life takes a drastic turn on his 16th birthday when he meets Himari, a cat spiritBakeneko
A is, in Japanese folklore, a cat with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. In the last case,...
samurai girl. Himari reveals to him that some of his ancestors were part of the twelve Demon Slayer families that have been slaying demons since the feudal era. She has sworn an oath to protect Yuto from the demons that are out to kill him, but Yuto's allergy to cats makes it somewhat difficult to deal with.
Later on, Yuto encounters various girls who take a liking to him: Shizuku, a mizuchi
Mizuchi
was a Japanese dragon and water deity.The name mizuchi is written with several Japanese kanji, usually the Chinese characters for jiao 蛟 "4-legged dragon" and qiu 虬 or 虯 "hornless dragon"...
in the form of a small child; Lizlet, a tsukumogami
Tsukumogami
Understood by many Western scholars as a type of Japanese yōkai, the Tsukumogami was a concept popular in Japanese folklore as far back as the tenth century, used in the spread of Shingon Buddhism...
in the form of a busty tea-serving maid
French maid
French maid refers to a strongly modified style of servant’s dress that evolved from typical maids’ black and white afternoon uniforms of the nineteenth century . The designs of the French maid dress can range widely from a conservative look to revealing...
; and Kuesu, another Demon Slayer who is revealed to be Yuto's fiancé and an object of Yuto's lost past.
As the series progresses, Yuto and the group encounter some powerful ayakashi, with some of them being allies, and Yuto eventually makes a life-changing decision to fight for his belief of coexistence between human and ayakashi.
Manga
Omamori Himari began serialization in the May 2006 issue of Fujimi ShoboFujimi Shobo
is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...
's manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age
Monthly Dragon Age
is a Japanese manga magazine published by Fujimi Shobo. The magazine began as a combination between Monthly Comic Dragon and Monthly Dragon Junior, two former magazines published by Fujimi Shobo. The first issue was published in April 2003, and the magazine is sold on the ninth of each month. The...
. The first tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
was released on February 1, 2007 by Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
under their Dragon Jr. imprint, and sold eight volumes as of April 9, 2011. An official guidebook to the series (sold as Volume 0) was released by Kadokawa Shoten on October 24, 2009. The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press
Yen Press
Yen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
, and released the first volume on October 26, 2010, with a total of five volumes available as of November 22, 2011. The manga is also licensed in Taiwan by one of Kadokawa Shoten's subsidiary companies, Kadokawa Media.
A four-panel
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
spinoff illuratrated by Nikubanare called began serialization in the November 2009 issue of Monthly Dragon Age, and ended in the November 2010 issue. A compilation called was released by Kadokawa Shoten on April 9, 2010.
A bonus two-part side story, called , also illustrated by Nikubanare, was released by Kadokawa Shoten on September 9, 2011. The stories were serialized in the May 2011 and June 2011 issues of Monthly Dragon Age.
Light novel
A light novelLight novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
adaptation written by Kougetsu Mikazuki and illustrated by Matra began serialization in the July 2008 issue of Fujimi Shobo
Fujimi Shobo
is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...
's Dragon Magazine. The first volume was released by Fujimi Shobo on July 19, 2008 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint, with a total of four volumes available as of January 20, 2010. The light novels consists of side stories that differ from the manga's plot, and introduces new novel-exclusive characters.
Internet radio
An internet radioInternet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
show promoting the anime called aired on Animate
Animate
is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...
and ran 13 episodes from November 12, 2009 to April 30, 2010. The show was hosted by Ami Koshimizu
Ami Koshimizu
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Production Baobab management. She was born in the city of Kokubunji in Tokyo Prefecture. She is an award winning voice actress.-Career:*She graduated from Aomori Yamada High School...
and Iori Nomizu
Iori Nomizu
is a Japanese voice actress, actress, singer and songwriter affiliated with Production Ace-Anime cast in:Leading roles in bold.2009*Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu *Sora no Otoshimono 2010...
, the voices of Himari and Rinko, respectively, and guest voices from the anime series appeared for each radio episode. The theme song used is "love and peace" by Koshimizu. A CD containing all 13 episodes was released on August 13, 2010.
Anime
A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by ZexcsZexcs
is a Japanese animation studio located in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan. It was established on January 23, 1998 and is known for doing the animation production of a number of series such as MY HiMe, Sister Princess, and Speed Grapher...
and directed by Shinji Ushiro aired on TV Saitama and Chiba TV
Chiba TV
, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...
from January 6 to March 24, 2010, with subsequent broadcasts on Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
, TV Kanagawa, TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting
TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting
is a Japanese TV station affiliated with TX Network , broadcasting in Fukuoka Prefecture.-History:At the point of establishment, the company was named as "TXN Kyushu", because the name "TV Kyushu", which owner side intended to apply, was already registered as a company name by a cable TV station in...
, and Sun Television. Six DVD compilation volumes were released by Kadokawa Pictures
Kadokawa Pictures
is a Japanese movie studio.-History:One of the most famous studios in Japan and founded in 1942 as , it is best known for having produced the giant monster Gamera film series and the Daimajin Trilogy. It also produced the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyoshiro film series and the television series Shōnen Jet...
between March 26 and August 28, 2010. English-subtitled simulcasts were provided by Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
on its video portal.
The opening theme for the series is by AyaRuka, consisting of singers Aya Sakamoto and Ruka Kawada. The ending theme is "BEAM my BEAM" by , consisting of the main female cast. with the seventh episode version sung by Ami Koshimizu
Ami Koshimizu
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Production Baobab management. She was born in the city of Kokubunji in Tokyo Prefecture. She is an award winning voice actress.-Career:*She graduated from Aomori Yamada High School...
, the eighth episode version sung by Iori Nomizu
Iori Nomizu
is a Japanese voice actress, actress, singer and songwriter affiliated with Production Ace-Anime cast in:Leading roles in bold.2009*Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu *Sora no Otoshimono 2010...
, the ninth episode version sung by Kei Shindo
Kei Shindo
is a female Japanese voice actress from Chiba, Japan.-Anime cast in:*Glass Mask as Ruri Egawa *Ikkitousen as Ryuubi Gentoku *Jigoku Shōjo as Aya's follower *Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori as Emi Motegi...
, the tenth episode version sung by Asuka Ōgame
Asuka Ōgame
is a Japanese voice actress from Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. She is affiliated with Sigma Seven.-Anime:2009*Chrome Shelled Regios as Mayshen Torinden*Sora no Otoshimono as Daedalus2010*Chu-Bra!! as Akemi; Shimada...
, and the eleventh episode version sung by Yuki Matsuoka
Yuki Matsuoka
is a voice actress from the Hirano-ku ward of Osaka. She graduated from Otemae Women's University in Nishinomiya. She is affiliated with Production Baobab.- 2001 :*Mo~tto! Ojamajo Doremi *Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san...
. The ending theme for episode 12 is by Yuto Amakawa (Daisuke Hirakawa
Daisuke Hirakawa
is a Japanese voice actor. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Namikawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. He is the official Japanese voice actor for Orlando Bloom. For some roles, he is also known as Hirai Tatsuya.- Career :At first, as he...
). The CD singles of "Oshichau zo!!" and "BEAM my BEAM" were released on February 24, 2010 by Columbia Music Entertainment
Columbia Music Entertainment
is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
.
Reception
In Japan, the fourth volume of Omamori Himari reached #29 on the Tohan charts between November 11 and November 17, 2008. Volume 5 reached #15 on the Tohan charts between April 7 and April 13, 2009, and #27 between January 11–17, 2010. Volume 7 reached #16 on the OriconOricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts between August 2 and August 8, 2010, and #22 between August 9 and August 15, 2010. Volume 8 reached #19 on the Oricon charts between April 4 and April 10, 2011, and #30 between April 11 and April 17, 2011.
In North America, the third volume of Omamori Himari made The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Manga Best Seller List, reaching #7 between April 24 and April 30, 2011.
External links
- Official website
- Omamori Himari at Fujimi ShoboFujimi Shobois a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...