Special A

"'Infobox animanga/Header
name = S・A (Special A)


caption = "Special A" anime
ja_name = S・A（スペシャル・エー）
ja_name_trans = S・A (Supesharu Ē)
genre = Drama, Romantic comedyInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Maki Minami
publisher = flagicon|Japan Hakusensha
publisher_other = flagicon|Germany Carlsen Comics
flagicon| United States VIZ Media
flagicon|Singapore Chuang Yi
flagicon|Indonesia M&C Comics
flagicon|Italy J-Pop Edizioni
demographic = shōjo
magazine = flagicon|Japan Hana to Yume
flagicon|Germany Daisuki
first = April 1 2003
last = ongoing
volumes = 14Infobox animanga/Anime
director = Miyao Yoshikazu
studio = Gonzo
network = Chiba TV
first = April 6 2008
last = Sept 14 2008
episodes = 24 [Ann anime|id=8769. Accessed 2007-12-08.] nihongo|"S.A"|S・A（スペシャル・エー）|S・A (Supesharu Ē), also known as "Special A", is a shōjo manga by Maki Minami. Serialization started in "ZA Hana to Yume", only appearing bimonthly. After Chapter 4 the manga became serialized in the biweekly magazine "Hana to Yume". "Special A" has been licensed in Asian countries, Germany, and the U.S. (by VIZ Media). Currently there are 14 published volumes (in Japan). It was announced in "Hana to Yume" that "Special A" would have an anime adaptation, animated by Gonzo and AIC. [ [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-10-04/special-a-shojo-manga-to-be-animated-for-television Anime adaptation] , Anime News Network, retrieved on 2007-10-08]

Plot

Hikari Hanazono has always been second to Kei Takishima. When they were six years old, their pro-wrestling loving fathers introduced them to each other. Assuming that she was the best in wrestling, young Hikari challenged Kei to a wrestling match only to be thoroughly defeated by him. Ever since that fateful incident, Hikari swore to beat Kei in school grades, sporting events - anything. To do this, she has enrolled in the same school as Kei since elementary. Now she attends Hakusenkan, an ultra elite school, that costs her carpenter father a lot of money. Hikari and Kei are the top two students in the school, with Kei holding firmly to that number one position. While Hikari considers Kei to be a rival and important friend, she is completely unaware that Kei loves her. The story primarily focuses on Hikari and her constant attempts to defeat her one and only rival, Kei, and how she finds love in their rivalry.

etting

Hakusenkan (or Private Hakusen Academy) is the best school in the prefecture. The classes are separated into A-F based on grades. The A class is only open for the top students in each grade. The top seven within the A class, from first year to third year, are known as the Special A or SA class (hence the title). The members of SA are highly respected. The SA class has its own building, dubbed "The School's Paradise" and attending class is optional (Only Hikari attends). They also have a kitchen, where Akira makes her afternoon tea. Their uniform is also different from the standard uniform. The members of the SA have been close friends since elementary school.

Characters

;nihongo|Hikari Hanazono|華園 光|Hanazono Hikari anime voices|Yuko Goto|:Hikari is the protagonist of the story and is ranked 2nd in the school. She is energetic and kindhearted, but rather dense when it comes to love. She is the daughter of a carpenter. When she was six years old she experienced her first defeat and humiliation when she lost to Kei Takishima in a pro-wrestling match. In order to beat Kei, Hikari convinced her father to allow her to attend Kei's prestigious elite school and strives to defeat Kei at anything, from academics to athletics. ;nihongo|Kei Takishima|滝島 彗|Takishima Kei anime voices|Jun Fukuyama|:Kei is Hikari's rival and holds the 1st position in the entire school. He is good at everything he does and is always a smooth winner. He is the son of the CEO of Takishima Corporation. Kei has been in love with Hikari since they were children, but Hikari has been too dense to realize his feelings for her. He maintains a stoic and cool facade most of the time, except for when Hikari is in trouble.

;nihongo|Jun Yamamoto|山本 純|Yamamoto Jun anime voices|Tsubasa Yonaga|:Jun is ranked 3rd in school and is the son of a music producer and a talented vocalist. He is a nice guy and is usually quiet like his twin sister, Megumi. Like Megumi, he is very possessive of Ryuu and seems to worry Ryuu as much as he worries about the two of them. Jun is rather shy around girls, which resulted in a split personality who is able to charm women effortlessly.

;nihongo|Megumi Yamamoto|山本 芽|Yamamoto Megumi anime voices|Ayahi Takagaki|:Megumi holds the 4th position in school and is the older twin sister of Jun. She and her brother are very close to Ryuu, whom they have known since they were children. Megumi refuses to speak so as to preserve her singing voice and writes what she wishes for people to know on a sketchpad. When she sings, her voice is so devastatingly powerful that everyone ends up dazed and disoriented afterward.

;nihongo|Tadashi Karino|狩野 宙|Karino Tadashi anime voices|Hiro Shimono|:Tadashi ranks 5th in school and is the son of the school's director. He suffers from a bit of wanderlust, likes to travel alone and do whatever he wants or sees fit. He enjoys eating sweets, especially food made by Akira. He seems to end up as the character most comically attacked (frequently by Akira and Kei) because of his careless comments or reckless behavior.

;nihongo|Akira Toudou|東堂 明|Tōdō Akira anime voices|Hitomi Nabatame|:Akira holds the 6th position in school and is very fond of Hikari; as a result, she is very protective of her. She loves afternoon tea and is very fond of cute girls. Akira apparently is in love with Tadashi and she never seems to hold back when hitting him. She is the daughter of the owner of an airline company.

;nihongo|Ryuu Tsuji|辻 竜|Tsuji Ryū anime voices|Kazuma Horie|:Ryuu ranks 7th in the entire school cohort. He is the son of the CEO of a sports company and one of his family's clients is Yahiro's family. He is an animal lover and is very good at handling children. The twins, Megumi and Jun, are unusually close to him, because they have been together since childhood. It is hinted that perhaps he is smarter than 7th place, but spends the majority of the time during exams worrying about Jun and Megumi, who tend to become bored or sleep during tests.

Media

Drama CDs

On February 23 2007, a "Special A" drama CD was released in Japan. It focuses on Valentine's Day.

Voice cast:
*"Hikari Hanazono": Masumi Asano
*"Kei Takishima": Kenichi Suzumura
*"Tadashi Karino": Masakazu Morita
*"Akira Toudou": Yuu Asakawa
*"Jun Yamamoto": Souichiro Hoshi
*"Megumi Yamamoto": Tamaki Nakanishi
*"Ryuu Tsuji": Hirofumi Nojima
*"Yahiro Saiga": Daisuke Namikawa
*"Sakura Ushikubo": Yumi Kakazu
*"Aoi Ogata": Daisuke Ono

A second drama CD was released on June 18 2008. It focuses around the boys of the S.A class. The CD also includes background music tracks from the anime.

*"Hikari Hanazono": Yuko Goto
*"Kei Takishima": Jun Fukuyama
*"Tadashi Karino": Hiro Shimono
*"Akira Toudou": Hitomi Nabatame
*"Jun Yamamoto": Tsubasa Yonaga
*"Megumi Yamamoto": Ayahi Takagaki
*"Ryuu Tsuji": Kazuma Horie
*"Sakura Ushikubo": Natsuko Kuwatani

A third drama CD is set for release in August 2008. It will focus on the girls of the S.A class and will include more tracks of the background music from the anime. It uses the anime cast.

Anime

In issue 21 2007 of Hana to Yume, it was announced that "S.A" would have a 24 episode anime adaptation. The anime began airing in Japan on April 6th, 2008. Different voice actors portray each character.

Cast

*"Hikari Hanazono": Yuko Goto
*"Kei Takishima": Jun Fukuyama
*"Jun Yamamoto": Tsubasa Yonaga
*"Megumi Yamamoto": Ayahi Takagaki
*"Tadashi Karino": Hiro Shimono
*"Akira Toudou": Hitomi Nabatame
*"Ryuu Tsuji": Kazuma Horie

*"Yahiro Saiga": Kisho Taniyama
*"Satoru Takishima": Megumi Ogata
*"Sakura Ushikubo": Natsuko Kuwatani
*"Aoi Ogata": Kōji Yusa
*"Young Kei", "Sui Takishima": Kaori Shimizu
*"Hajime Kakei": Yoshinori Fujita

Music

;1st Opening theme: "Special Days" (episodes 1 - 12):Performed by Yuko Goto, Hitomi Nabatame and Ayahi Takagaki

;1st Ending theme: "Hidamari no Gate" (nihongo2|陽だまりのゲート) (episodes 1 - 12, 24):Performed by Jun Fukuyama, Hiro Shimono, Tsubasa Yonaga, Kazuma Horie

;2nd Opening theme: "Gorgeous 4U" (episodes 13 - 24):Performed by Jun Fukuyama, Hiro Shimono, Tsubasa Yonaga, Kazuma Horie

;2nd Ending theme: "Special Gyutto Good Luck!" (nihongo2|スペシャル☆ギュッとGood luck!) (episodes 13 - 23):Performed by Yuko Goto, Hitomi Nabatame, and Ayahi Takagaki

References

External links

* [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=7889 Special A (manga) at Anime News Network]
* [http://special-a.jp/index.html Special A - official site for the anime]