Punch Line
Punch Line (Japanese: パンチライン, Hepburn: Panchi Rain) is a Japanese anime television series directed by Yutaka Uemura and produced by MAPPA with scripts by Kotaro Uchikoshi, music by Tetsuya Komuro, and character designs by Shōta Iwasaki. The series aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina block between April 9, 2015 and June 25, 2015 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll.[note 1][2][3] The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
Punch Line | |
Key visual | |
パンチライン | |
---|---|
Genre | Adventure, comedy, supernatural[1] |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Yutaka Uemura |
Written by | Kotaro Uchikoshi |
Music by | Tetsuya Komuro |
Studio | MAPPA |
Licensed by | |
Original network | Fuji TV (Noitamina) |
Original run | April 9, 2015 – June 25, 2015 |
Episodes | 12 |
Manga | |
Punch Line Max | |
Written by | Kotaro Uchikoshi |
Illustrated by | Ginichi |
Published by | Kadokawa Corporation |
Magazine | Dengeki G's Comic |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | September 30, 2015 – December 29, 2016 |
Volumes | 2 |
Other media | |
A video game adaptation developed by 5pb. was released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016 in Japan, and was released in May 2019 in North America and Europe. A manga, titled Punch Line Max, taking place after the anime series, was published by Kadokawa Corporation in Dengeki G's Comic from September 30, 2015 to December 29, 2016 and compiled in two volumes. It was illustrated by Ginichi, and based on an original idea by Uchikoshi.[4]
Plot
Yūta Iridatsu lives at the Korai House apartment complex with four girls: Mikatan Narugino, Ito Hikiotani, Meika Daihatsu, and Lovera Chichibu. One day, following a busjacking incident, Yūta finds himself ejected from his own body and becoming a spirit. Guided by the cat spirit Chiranosuke, Yūta must learn to master his spirit powers in order to protect his housemates from the various circumstances they find themselves in. However, if Yūta sees a girl's panties twice in a row within a short amount of time, Earth will be destroyed by a meteor.
Characters
- Yūta Iridatsu (伊里達 遊太, Iridatsu Yūta)
- Voiced by: Marina Inoue
- The main protagonist. Yūta's soul was separated from his body following the bus hijacking incident. Yūta must search for Sacred Tome of Koraikan in order to return to his physical body. Whenever he sees a girl's panties, he gains a burst of strength known as Über-fy powers, but upon seeing panties twice in succession, Yūta gains too much stimulation and loses consciousness, which somehow results in a meteor destroying Earth, though he can go back in time to prevent that. He has a small amount of spiritual abilities, which increases upon 'levelling up', but can also perform more advanced abilities, such as possession, when there is cinnamon in the vicinity. In episode 7, it is revealed that Yūta was originally a boy named Pine (パイン, Pain) who ended up switching bodies with a girl named Chiyoko. As such, Yūta is biologically female, with his legal name being Yū Iridatsu (伊里達 遊, Iridatsu Yū). "Yūta Iridatsu" is a pun on the phrase "astral projection" (幽体離脱, yūtai ridatsu).[5]
- Mikatan Narugino (成木野 みかたん, Narugino Mikatan)
- Voiced by: Sora Amamiya
- A member of the idol group "Seas May", who secretly fights crime as the magical girl Strange Juice. Whenever she is flustered or alone, she ends up speaking in the Tsugaru dialect which she picked up in her early childhood. Similar to Yūta, she possesses Uber-fy powers for her crimefighting, but these have a strong side-effect on her body which requires constant medication. It is later revealed that she is Chiyoko (ちよ子), whose soul went out of the body Yūta possesses and into the body of Guriko.[6] When the characters in her name are read differently, her name is a pun on the phrase "ally of justice" (正義の味方, seigi no mikata).[5]
- Ito Hikiotani (曳尾谷 愛, Hikiotani Ito)
- Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki
- A NEET who spends most of her time playing online games and taking care of her pet Muhi, a bear cub. Her name is a pun on the term "HikiOtaNEET" (ヒキオタニート), a portmanteau of hikikomori, otaku, and NEET.
- Meika Daihatsu (台初 明香, Daihatsu Meika)
- Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
- A robot who happens to be the landlady of the apartment all the characters are living in. She is also a genius inventor, and has unrivalled hacking skills. However, she has very poor physical reflexes. She speaks in the Kansai dialect. Her name is a pun on the phrase "great inventor" (大発明家, Daihatsumei-ka).[6] She is Pumpkin Chair.
- Lovera Chichibu (秩父 ラブラ, Chichibu Rabura)
- Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu
- A gyaru who works as an exorcist. Despite her profession, she does not believe in the existence of spirits. She can be temporarily possessed by Yūta when there is cinnamon in the vicinity. Her name is a pun on "chichi burabura " (乳ブラブラ, lit. "breasts dangling").[6]
- Chiranosuke (チラ之助, Chiranosuke)
- Voiced by: Yuri Yoshida
- A talking cat spirit who informs Yūta about spirit powers and serves as a guide to get him to save the world. In episode 12, it is revealed that Chiranosuke is a cat that Ito Hikiotani's friend from technical school gave to her. He/she is a chinchilla, which is a type of Persian Cat.
- Ryūto Teraoka (寺岡 龍都, Teraoka Ryūto)
- Voiced by: Kenji Akabane
- The leader of the QMay terrorist organisation. He is later revealed to be Guriko (ぐり子), whose soul currently possesses Yūta's original body.
- Chihaya Tomoda (友田 千早, Tomoda Chihaya)
- Voiced by: Jun Oosuka
- Ito's homeroom teacher, who has a deranged admiration for Ito. Merging with Q-May's spirit, Tomoda becomes a masked soldier, referred to the residents as "Turtle Man" (亀男, Kame Otoko), and is able to use Über-fy powers.
- Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢 賢治, Miyazawa Kenji)
- Voiced by: Marina Inoue
- A costumed vigilante who shows up out of nowhere and possesses the same Uber-fy powers as Yūta. It is later revealed that this is another version of Yūta, who goes back in time from a previous time loop and possesses his present day body whenever the plan to save the world fails, eventually becoming an identity the present Yūta assumes when he goes back in time.
- Akina Iridatsu (伊里達 秋奈, Iridatsu Akina)
- Voiced by: Mariko Honda
- Yūta's foster sister, who found him after he had switched into Chiyoko's body. She is the one who sends Yūta the Kenji Miyazawa costume.
Media
Anime
Punch Line was first announced on November 24, 2014.[7] The series is directed by Yutaka Uemura at MAPPA and written by Kotaro Uchikoshi with character design by Shōta Iwasaki and music composed by Tetsuya Komuro. The series aired on Fuji TV's noitaminA programming block between April 9, 2015 and June 25, 2015 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The opening theme is "Punch Line!" by Shokotan ♥ Denpagumi while the ending theme is "Honey Honey Honey" (蜜蜜蜜) by AyumiKurikaMaki. The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
Video game
A Punch Line video game was developed and published by 5pb. for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2016 in Japan,[8][9] and was published by PQube in 2018 in North America and Europe.[10] The game plays as a visual novel adventure game, and expands on the story of the anime, adding new alternative endings.[10] Uchikoshi and Komuro reprise their roles from the anime as writer and composer, respectively, along with the series' voice cast.
Notes
- Technically it premiered on April 10, but the timeslot for Punchline is listed as April 9, 2015 at 24:55.
References
- "Punch Line". Sentai Filmworks. May 30, 2018.
- "Noitamina announces Punch Line original anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
- "Crunchyroll to Stream Noitamina's Punch Line Anime". Anime News Network. Anime News Network. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
- "Punch Line TV Anime Gets Manga This Fall". Anime News Network. August 8, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ノイタミナアニメ『パンチライン』ゲーム版発表! アニメ&ゲーム制作のきっかけを、打越鋼太郎氏に独占インタビュー(前編) (Interview with scriptwriter) (in Japanese). famitsu.com. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- "Official website for punchline" (in Japanese). Aniplex. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-11-27/noitamina-announces-punch-line-original-anime/.81501
- "パンチライン まとめ [Vita]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- "パンチライン まとめ [PS4]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
- Romano, Sal (2018-04-12). "Punch Line game coming west this summer [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Punch Line (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia