A3!

A3! (Japanese: エースリー, Hepburn: Ēsurī, acronym for "Act! Addict! Actors!"[2]) is a Japanese mobile game developed by Liber Entertainment. The game was released on January 27, 2017, in Japan and was later given a worldwide English release on October 23, 2019. The success of the game led to several adaptations for the franchise, including stage plays and an anime series.

A3!
エースリー
(Ēsurī)
Game
DeveloperLiber Entertainment
Publisher
  • Liber Entertainment
  • Cybird (worldwide)
GenreLife simulation[1]
Platform
Released
  • JP: January 27, 2017
  • WW: October 23, 2019
Anime television series
Directed by
Written byNaoki Hayashi
Music by
Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, SUN, KBS, BS11
Original run January 14, 2020 – December 29, 2020
Episodes24

Plot

Mankai Company is a theatre company for actors, who are split into four troupes and named after the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Having incurred a huge debt over the years after the sudden disappearance of its former director, Mankai Company is at the risk of shutting down. The player character joins as the director of the theatre company in order to save it from being shut down by repaying the debt with a one-year time limit.[1]

Characters

Spring
Sakuya Sakuma (佐久間 咲也, Sakuma Sakuya)
Voiced by: Kodai Sakai[3] (Japanese); Greg Ayres[4] (English)
Masumi Usui (碓氷 真澄, Usui Masumi)
Voiced by: Yūsuke Shirai[3]
Tsuzuru Minagi (皆木 綴, Minagi Tsuzuru)
Voiced by: Kōtarō Nishiyama[3]
Itaru Chigasaki (茅ヶ崎 至, Chigasaki Itaru)
Voiced by: Shintaro Asanuma[3]
Citron (シトロン, Shitoron)
Voiced by: Masashi Igarashi[3]
Chikage Utsuki (卯木 千景, Utsuki Chikage)
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano

Summer
Tenma Sumeragi (皇 天馬, Sumeragi Tenma)
Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi[3]
Yuki Rurikawa (瑠璃川 幸, Rurikawa Yuki)
Voiced by: Shunichi Toki[3]
Muku Sakisaka (向坂 椋, Sakisaka Muku)
Voiced by: Yoshitaka Yamaya[3]
Misumi Ikaruga (斑鳩 三角, Ikaruga Misumi)
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirose[3]
Kazunari Miyoshi (三好 一成, Miyoshi Kazunari)
Voiced by: Ren Ozawa (2017-2020),[3] Tomoru Akazawa (2020-present)[5]
Kumon Hyodo (兵頭 九門, Hyōdō Kumon)
Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka

Autumn
Banri Settsu (摂津 万里, Settsu Banri)
Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro[3]
Juza Hyodo (兵頭 十座, Hyōdō Jūza)
Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi[3]
Taichi Nanao (七尾 太一, Nanao Taichi)
Voiced by: Kento Hama[3]
Omi Fushimi (伏見 臣, Fushimi Omi)
Voiced by: Kentaro Kumagai[3]
Sakyo Furuichi (古市 左京, Furuichi Sakyō)
Voiced by: Yoichi Hose[3] (Japanese); Christopher Wenkamp[4] (English)
Azami Izumida (泉田 莇, Izumida Azami)
Voiced by: Seiya Konishi

Winter
Tsumugi Tsukioka (月岡 紬, Tsukioka Tsumugi)
Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru[3]
Tasuku Takato (高遠 丞, Takatō Tasuku)
Voiced by: Takuya Satō[3]
Hisoka Mikage (御影 密, Mikage Hisoka)
Voiced by: Junta Terashima[3]
Homare Arisugawa (有栖川 誉, Arisugawa Homare)
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga[3]
Azuma Yukishiro (雪白 東, Yukishiro Azuma)
Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara[3]
Guy (ガイ, Gai)
Voiced by: Satoshi Hino

Other characters
Izumi Tachibana (立花 いづみ, Tachibana Izumi)
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka (Japanese); Monica Rial[4] (English) (anime)

Media

Game

A3! was launched for the iOS and Android on January 27, 2017.[6] Cybird licensed the game for English release. Originally scheduled for a June 2018 release,[7] the English version was later released on October 23, 2019.[8][9]

On December 18, 2020, Liber Entertainment announced that Ren Ozawa's voice will be removed from the game following his domestic abuse allegations.[10] On December 25, 2020, he was replaced by Tomoru Akazawa, who had portrayed Kazunari in the stage plays.[5]

Music
Main article: A3! discography

The music production for the game included artists such as Masayoshi Onishi, Yuki Kimura, Hige Driver, R.O.N, Elements Garden member Asuka Oda, Ryōta Suemasu, Takeyuki Tonegawa, Round Table member Katsutoshi Kitagawa, Yuyoyuppe, and Tweedees member Reiji Okii.[6] The music is published by Pony Canyon.

Stage plays

A series of stage plays titled Mankai Stage A3! has been running since 2018.[11] The first stage play, Mankai Stage A3! Spring & Summer 2018, ran from June 28 to July 8, 2018, in Tokyo and July 13 to July 16, 2018, in Kyoto, before returning to Tokyo for another run from October 26 to November 4, 2018. The Spring and Summer shows were alternated on a rotational schedule.[12] The second stage play, Mankai Stage A3! Autumn & Winter 2019, ran from January 31 to February 11, 2019, in Tokyo, February 23–24, 2019 in Yamaguchi, and February 27 to March 3, 2019, in Osaka, before returning to Tokyo from March 15 to March 24, 2019, for a final run.[13]

After the first two-stage plays, the production company produced new shows with full runs for each troupe. Mankai Stage A3! Spring 2019 ran from April to June 2019, while the fourth stage play, Mankai Stage A3! Summer 2019, ran from August to September 2019.[14] Mankai Stage A3! Autumn 2020 ran from January to March 2020, while Mankai Stage A3! Winter 2020 is scheduled to run from April to June 2020.[15]

In addition to the stage plays, the cast of Mankai Stage A3! hosted their own radio program, Mankai Stage A3! Radio, which began broadcast on October 6, 2018, on Nippon Broadcasting System.[16] The cast has also participated in Avex's Stage Fes concerts with other 2.5D musical acts.[17] Their first solo concert, Four Seasons Live 2020, took place in September 2020.[18]

Mankai Stage A3! has endorsed brands such as Utena[19] and Orangina.[20]

Anime

A television anime adaptation was announced in February 2019, with Keisuke Shinohara directing, and Masayuki Sakoi acting as series director, featuring Naoki Hayashi writing the scripts. Masaru Yokoyama and Kana Hashiguchi are composing the music. The series is animated by P.A.Works and Studio 3Hz.[21] The anime adaptation is split into two parts, with A3! Season Spring & Summer planned to air from January to March 2020 and A3! Season Autumn & Winter from July to September 2020.[2][22] Funimation acquired English distribution rights to the series and released both subtitled and dubbed versions on their website.[23] Muse Communication also acquired the distribution rights for the series in Southeast Asia aand South Asia, and is streaming it on their Muse Asia YouTube channel and iQIYI.[24]

A3! Season Spring & Summer began on January 14, 2020, and the theme song for the series is "Act! Addict! Actors!"[2] Episode 4 was initially announced to have been delayed "due to production issues"[25] and then subsequently for another two weeks,[26] before the official anime production announced that the entire series would be rebroadcast from the beginning on April 6, 2020, and aired till June 22, 2020.[27] A3! Season Autumn & Winter was delayed to air from October 13 to December 29, 2020 due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[28] Masayuki Sakoi took over full directing responsibilities for A3! Season Autumn & Winter, and Nozomi Nagatomo took over character designing from Mariko Komatsu. Kōhei Honda is also replacing Hiroko Tanabe as art director.[29]

Episode list
No.Title [30][lower-alpha 2]Directed by [30]Written by [30]Original air date [31]
Part 1 (Spring)
1"To a Future in Full Bloom"
Transcription: "Mankai no Mirai e" (Japanese: 満開の未来へ)		Emi YamashitaNaoki HayashiJanuary 14, 2020 (2020-01-14)
2"Romeo and Julius"
Transcription: "Romio to Juriasu" (Japanese: ロミオとジュリアス)		Harume KosakaNaoki HayashiJanuary 21, 2020 (2020-01-21)
3"Good Night, Theater"
Transcription: "Oyasumi Shiatā" (Japanese: おやすみシアター)		Daisuke TsukushiNaoki HayashiJanuary 28, 2020 (2020-01-28)
4"A New Challenge"
Transcription: "Arata na Chōsen" (Japanese: 新たな挑戦)		Kenshirō OkadaNaoki HayashiApril 28, 2020 (2020-04-28)
5"On Love - Spring Edition"
Transcription: "Koi ni Tsuite Haru" (Japanese: 恋について・春)		Yūji TokunoNaoki HayashiMay 5, 2020 (2020-05-05)
6"The Show Must Go On!"Makoto NakazonoNaoki HayashiMay 12, 2020 (2020-05-12)
Part 1 (Summer)
7"A New Season"
Transcription: "Atarashii Kisetsu" (Japanese: 新しい季節)		Nao MiyoshiNaoki HayashiMay 19, 2020 (2020-05-19)
8"The Thousand and One Nights"
Transcription: "Senya Ichiya Monogatari" (Japanese: 千夜一夜物語)		Chie YamashiroKurasumi SunayamaMay 26, 2020 (2020-05-26)
9"Summer Camp"
Transcription: "Hajimari no Natsu Gasshuku" (Japanese: はじまりの夏合宿)		Hitomi EfukuNaoki HayashiJune 2, 2020 (2020-06-02)
10"True Friends"
Transcription: "Hontō no Otomodachi" (Japanese: 本当のオトモダチ)		Masaki UtsunomiyaKurasumi SunayamaJune 9, 2020 (2020-06-09)
11"My Weakness"
Transcription: "Ore no Yowasa o" (Japanese: オレの弱さを)		Harume KosakaNaoki HayashiJune 16, 2020 (2020-06-16)
12"Summertime Survival!"
Transcription: "Kokufuku no Summer!" (Japanese: 克服のSUMMER！)		Aya OkadaNaoki HayashiJune 23, 2020 (2020-06-23)
Part 2 (Autumn)
13"Autumn Turmoil"
Transcription: "Haran no Aki" (Japanese: 波乱の秋)		Daisuke TsukushiNaoki HayashiOctober 13, 2020 (2020-10-13)
14"A Mismatched Buddy Pair"
Transcription: "Fuzoroi na Badi" (Japanese: ふぞろいなバディ)		Shintaro ItogaKurasumi SunayamaOctober 20, 2020 (2020-10-20)
15"One-Man Shows"
Transcription: "Hitori-shibai" (Japanese: 一人芝居)		Harume KosakaKurasumi SunayamaOctober 27, 2020 (2020-10-27)
16"Become Someone Different"
Transcription: "Chigau Dareka ni" (Japanese: 違う誰かに)		Nao MiyoshiNaoki HayashiNovember 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)
17"A Confession"
Transcription: "Kokuhaku" (Japanese: 告白)		Shigeki AwaiNaoki HayashiNovember 10, 2020 (2020-11-10)
18"Portrait of A Punk"
Transcription: "Baddo Bōi Pōtoreito" (Japanese: バッドボーイ・ポートレイト)		Yūichi NakazawaNaoki HayashiNovember 17, 2020 (2020-11-17)
Part 2 (Winter)
19"Season of Reunion"
Transcription: "Saikai no Kisetsu" (Japanese: 再会の季節)		Natsumi HigashidaNaoki HayashiNovember 24, 2020 (2020-11-24)
20"An Act-Off"
Transcription: "Taiman Act" (Japanese: タイマンACT)		Hitomi EfukuKurasumi SunayamaDecember 1, 2020 (2020-12-01)
21"Responsibility and Commitment"
Transcription: "Sekinin to Kakugo" (Japanese: 責任と覚悟)		Yoshitaka KoyamaKurasumi SunayamaDecember 8, 2020 (2020-12-08)
22"Discord"
Transcription: "Fukyōwaon" (Japanese: 不協和音)		Nao Miyoshi
Takahiro Tamano		Naoki HayashiDecember 15, 2020 (2020-12-15)
23"Stand by Me"
Transcription: "Tonari ni Tatteitai Omae de" (Japanese: 隣に立っていたいお前で)		Shigeki AwaiNaoki HayashiDecember 22, 2020 (2020-12-22)
24"Once More, with Feeling"
Transcription: "Mō Ichido, Koko Kara" (Japanese: もう一度、ここから)		Harume KosakaNaoki HayashiDecember 29, 2020 (2020-12-29)

Reception

A3! was downloaded by 800,000 users within the first three days of the original Japanese release, with 300,000 of the registrations taking place on the day of release.[1] By February 21, 2017, the game had a cumulative total of 2 million downloads.[6] A3! was nominated for the Google Play Best of 2017.[32][4]

Notes
  1. Credited as シリーズディレクター (Series Director) for episodes 1–12, and as 監督 (Director) for episodes 13–24.
  2. All English titles are taken from Funimation.

References
  1. "A3!". Cybird. 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  2. Loo, Egan (November 3, 2019). "A3! Anime Reveals January 13 Premiere, Opening Song Info". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. "TVアニメ「A3!」SEASON SPRINGの本PV、春組・夏組の歌うED主題歌は3月発売". Natalie (in Japanese). December 9, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  4. Martin, Theron; Silverman, Rebecca (January 13, 2020). "The Winter 2020 Anime Preview Guide: A3! Season Spring & Summer". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  5. Loo, Egan (December 25, 2020). "A3! Anime Replaces Ren Ozawa With Tomoru Akazawa". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  6. Loveridge, Lynzee (February 26, 2017). "A3! Mobile Game Theme Tops Oricon Chart". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  7. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 29, 2018). "A3! Male Actor-Training Game Gets English Worldwide Release". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  8. Sherman, Jennifer (October 23, 2019). "A3! Male Actor-Training Game Launches in English". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  9. "Ikemen Actor Training Game 'A3!' Releases Internationally". Cybird. October 23, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2020 – via Anime News Network.
  10. ""元恋人DV報道"小澤廉、アプリゲーム『A3!』声優降板 ボイス無音化で対応" [Mobile game A3! removes Ren Ozawa and mutes voice clips after domestic violence case with former spouse]. Oricon (in Japanese). December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  11. "カントク！オレたちを…咲かせてください！イケメン役者育成ゲーム「A3!」舞台化". Natalie (in Japanese). February 8, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  12. "「A3!」ビジュアルと全公演情報を発表、春組＆夏組に横田龍儀・陳内将ら". Natalie (in Japanese). February 15, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. "「A3!」AUTUMN & WINTER 2019上演決定！古市左京役の藤田玲が続投". Natalie (in Japanese). July 16, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  14. "MANKAI STAGE「A3!」新作上演決定！春組・夏組それぞれの単独公演開催". Natalie (in Japanese). January 3, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  15. "MANKAI STAGE「A3!」秋組・冬組単独公演、2020年に実施決定". Natalie (in Japanese). June 2, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  16. "「A3!」冠ラジオ番組スタート、舞台版キャストが週替わりでパーソナリティに". Natalie (in Japanese). September 28, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. "ステフェス開催決定！A3!、キンプリ、スタミュ、KYOTO SAMURAI BOYSが参加". Natalie (in Japanese). November 11, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  18. "「エーステ」初のライブ「Four Seasons LIVE 2020」9月に開催". Natalie (in Japanese). January 1, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  19. "ウテナのコールドクリーム×「A3!」冬組単独公演がコラボレーション". Natalie (in Japanese). March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  20. "オランジーナ×「A3!」コラボ、咲也＆天馬の手のひらにあごを乗せよう". Natalie (in Japanese). October 12, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  21. Loo, Egan (February 3, 2019). "A3! Anime's Teaser Video Reveals Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  22. Loo, Egan (August 18, 2019). "A3! Anime's Promo Reveals Winter/Summer 2020 Airing, More Cast, More Staff". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  23. Mateo, Alex (December 20, 2019). "Funimation to Stream Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, A3!, Smile Down the Runway Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  24. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 13, 2020). "Muse Asia Streams A3! Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  25. Loo, Egan (January 31, 2020). "A3! Anime Episode 4 Delayed From Monday Until Further Notice". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  26. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 10, 2020). "A3! Anime Episode 4 Delayed Again for 2 More Weeks". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  27. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 20, 2020). "A3! Anime to Restart Broadcast From 1st Episode on April 6". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  28. Loo, Egan (March 21, 2020). "A3! Season Autumn & Winter Anime to Premiere in October After COVID-19 Delay". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  29. Loo, Egan (September 8, 2020). "A3! Season Autumn & Winter Anime Reveals Updated Staff, October 12 Debut, Winter Troupe Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. "STORY｜アニメ「A3!(エースリー)」公式サイト" (in Japanese). Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  31. "放送情報" (in Japanese). Tokyo MX. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  32. Loveridge, Lynzee (December 3, 2017). "A3!, Idolm@ster, Bang Dream, Symphogear, More Games Nominated for Google Play Best of 2017". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
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