Figure 17
Encyclopedia
is an original anime
series created by Genco and OLM, Inc. and directed by Naohito Takahashi. The series featured character designs by Yuriko Chiba
and music by Toshihiko Takamizawa (of the rock band The Alfee
). The series is unusual due to it having an hour time slot per episode (46 minutes of actual episode) rather than the standard half hour time slot.
But her life changes when an alien spaceship comes crashing down to earth in the forest behind her house. There she discovers the pilot, unconscious and wounded, and a monster who is trying to kill him. When the monster attacks, the alien wakes and tries to fight off the monster. Tsubasa, in her fright, runs for the ship to hide from the monster. The monster quickly takes care of the alien, killing his Figure, and then tries to reach into the ship to get at Tsubasa.
In its effort to reach her, the monster accidentally cracks the container of a Figure, the contents of which leaks out onto the floor next to Tsubasa. Moments later, the liquid converges with her, joining with her, transforming her into Figure 17. Together, Tsubasa and the Figure fight and defeat the monster.
When the battle is over, the Figure, its holding case destroyed, separates from Tsubasa into what appears to be an exact duplicate of her in both appearance and memories. The Figure introduces herself as Hikaru. The alien awakens, but his Figure was destroyed protecting him. Together, all three return to Tsubasa's house and stay the night in her room.
The next day the alien introduces himself as D.D. and explains that he was transporting the seeds of a monster called a Maguar, when suddenly one of the seeds hatched and attacked him, causing him to crash his ship on earth. Unfortunately, the Maguar that Tsubasa defeated was only 1 of 6 that he had been transporting, and that the other 5 have escaped the ship and are each scattered somewhere throughout Hokkaidō
.
He tells the girls that he needs them to help him destroy the remaining 5 Maguar since the atmosphere of the earth has enhanced both Tsubasa's Figure and the Maguar in a similar way, while he waits for reinforcements.
To facilitate the problem of suddenly having a twin that no one knows about, D.D. decides to modify the memories of Tsubasa's father, making him think that he had twin daughters all along, and that Hikaru was simply living elsewhere with an aunt. So, while D.D. continues to monitor the Maguar from his ship, Tsubasa and Hikaru live together at Tsubasa's house, go to school together at Tsubasa's school, fight together as Figure 17 against the Maguar, and essentially become twins in more than just the appearance.
Each episode consists of about 35–40 minutes of Tsubasa's & Hikaru's school life, and is typically concluded by about 5–10 minutes of Maguar fighting. In the end, this series is more about Tsubasa growing up and learning how to cope with what life deals her and becoming more mature, than the alien-monster fighting which is present throughout each episode and drives the plot.
's satellite anime channel AT-X. This anime is unusual in that the episodes are about twice as long as most standard TV anime broadcast episodes, at 46 minutes per episode.
In the United States
, the series was broadcast on the ImaginAsian
network.
The music was composed by Toshihiko Takamizawa of the band The Alfee
, which recorded the opening theme "Boy" and the ending theme "Fairy Dance" (both songs available on their 2001 album Glint Beat). In an interview, Takamizawa was told that Figure 17 was a mix of John Carpenter
's The Thing and the J-Drama series Kita no Kuni Kara (From a Northern Country).
distributed the series on DVD in Japan in single-episode volumes, totaling 13 volumes. It was licensed in North America
by Media Blasters
(under the AnimeWorks label) and released in six DVD volumes from 2003 to 2004, as well as a boxed set in 2005. This version was also licensed in Australia
and New Zealand
by Madman Entertainment
.
. Spanning only two volumes, the adaptation is considerably shorter than the TV series, condensing most of the series' storyline, removing some of the supporting characters and shortening the fight scenes to only a few pages. The manga was licensed in North America and translated in English by ADV Manga
.
and published by Dengeki Bunko
.
, consists of the background music. The opening and ending themes are not available on this disc. In addition, an image album was released, featuring songs performed by Akiko Yajima and Fumiko Orikasa.
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....
series created by Genco and OLM, Inc. and directed by Naohito Takahashi. The series featured character designs by Yuriko Chiba
Yuriko Chiba
is an animator and character designer. She was one of the founders of Oriental Light and Magic and a former member of Studio Giants along with Naohito Takahashi...
and music by Toshihiko Takamizawa (of the rock band The Alfee
The Alfee
The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group composed of Masaru Sakurai , Kōnosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa...
). The series is unusual due to it having an hour time slot per episode (46 minutes of actual episode) rather than the standard half hour time slot.
Plot
The anime covers a small portion of the life of the timid, shy, Shiina Tsubasa, a grade schooler who is forced to move to Hokkaidō from Tokyo with her father as he pursues his dream of becoming a baker. At her new school, she is so shy and unsociable that her classmates ignore her at best, and abuse her inability to defend herself at worst.But her life changes when an alien spaceship comes crashing down to earth in the forest behind her house. There she discovers the pilot, unconscious and wounded, and a monster who is trying to kill him. When the monster attacks, the alien wakes and tries to fight off the monster. Tsubasa, in her fright, runs for the ship to hide from the monster. The monster quickly takes care of the alien, killing his Figure, and then tries to reach into the ship to get at Tsubasa.
In its effort to reach her, the monster accidentally cracks the container of a Figure, the contents of which leaks out onto the floor next to Tsubasa. Moments later, the liquid converges with her, joining with her, transforming her into Figure 17. Together, Tsubasa and the Figure fight and defeat the monster.
When the battle is over, the Figure, its holding case destroyed, separates from Tsubasa into what appears to be an exact duplicate of her in both appearance and memories. The Figure introduces herself as Hikaru. The alien awakens, but his Figure was destroyed protecting him. Together, all three return to Tsubasa's house and stay the night in her room.
The next day the alien introduces himself as D.D. and explains that he was transporting the seeds of a monster called a Maguar, when suddenly one of the seeds hatched and attacked him, causing him to crash his ship on earth. Unfortunately, the Maguar that Tsubasa defeated was only 1 of 6 that he had been transporting, and that the other 5 have escaped the ship and are each scattered somewhere throughout Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
.
He tells the girls that he needs them to help him destroy the remaining 5 Maguar since the atmosphere of the earth has enhanced both Tsubasa's Figure and the Maguar in a similar way, while he waits for reinforcements.
To facilitate the problem of suddenly having a twin that no one knows about, D.D. decides to modify the memories of Tsubasa's father, making him think that he had twin daughters all along, and that Hikaru was simply living elsewhere with an aunt. So, while D.D. continues to monitor the Maguar from his ship, Tsubasa and Hikaru live together at Tsubasa's house, go to school together at Tsubasa's school, fight together as Figure 17 against the Maguar, and essentially become twins in more than just the appearance.
Each episode consists of about 35–40 minutes of Tsubasa's & Hikaru's school life, and is typically concluded by about 5–10 minutes of Maguar fighting. In the end, this series is more about Tsubasa growing up and learning how to cope with what life deals her and becoming more mature, than the alien-monster fighting which is present throughout each episode and drives the plot.
Cast
| Character | Japanese Voice actor | English Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Tsubasa Shiina | Akiko Yajima Akiko Yajima , born May 4, 1967, is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture.-Anime:*Battle Athletes Victory *Berserk *The Big O *Blood+... |
Kay Jensen |
| Hikaru Shiina | Fumiko Orikasa Fumiko Orikasa is a Japanese voice actress and singer who works for Atomic Monkey. Her record label is Geneon Entertainment. Shopping is one of her hobbies. She is a skilled dancer, and is referred to as "Oririn" by fellow voice actors and fans. She also performed a fair number of anime insert and character image... |
Willow Armstrong |
| Shinji Ogawa | Takako Honda Takako Honda is a Japanese voice actress. She is the dubbing voice actress for Halle Berry.-Roles:*Bleach *Cobra the Animation * Cyborg 009 - Child Joe Shimamura *D.Gray-man... |
Dave Lelyveld |
| Sho Aizawa | Kyoko Tsuruno | David Duncan McNeill |
| Isamu Kuroda | Houchu Ohtsuka | Steve Kramer Steve Kramer (actor) Steven M. Kramer is an American voice actor for many anime titles. He has also done voice acting for various Power Rangers series in the past, with the best-known of those roles being the voice of Darkonda in Power Rangers in Space. His wife, Melora Harte, is a voice actress... |
| Orudina | Kikuko Inoue Kikuko Inoue is a popular Japanese voice actress and singer. She has been part of the singing groups DoCo and Goddess Family Club, among others, and is the manager of her voice-acting company, Office Anemone. Inoue tends to play the "perfect girlfriend" or "motherly" role in many series, but she has also played... |
Mia Bradly |
| Hideo Shiina | Masamichi Sato | Ron Allen |
| Noriko Itou | Naoko Takano | Olivia O'Conner |
| Mina Sawada | Rie Kugimiya Rie Kugimiya is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and... |
Sue Beth Arden |
| D.D. / Daisuke Domoto | Rikiya Koyama Rikiya Koyama ' is a Japanese actor and voice actor who is a member of Haiyuza Theatre Company.He has done popular voicing roles in Hajime no Ippo, Utawarerumono and Kamen no Maid Guy.He is also known by the nicknames "Rikki" and "Riki-chan".- Biography :... |
Lex Lang Lex Lang Walter Alexis "Lex" Lang is a two-time Emmy Award–winning American voice actor, producer and entrepreneur. He is the cofounder of The Love Planet Foundation, a non-profit organization which creates educational materials for children on the importance of recycling, world water awareness, and the... |
| Asuka Karasawa | Ryoka Yuzuki Ryoka Yuzuki Ryōka Yuzuki is a voice actress who was born in Anjo, Aichi, Japan. Her younger sister is an adult comic strip artist Sayumi Sakuragi .... |
Julie Ann Taylor Julie Ann Taylor Julie Ann Taylor is an American voice actress who is best known for her role of Ai Tanabe in Planetes, Mutsumi Otohime in Love Hina, Yukari Hayasaka in Paradise Kiss and Taiga Fujimura in Fate/Stay Night among others... |
| Kenta Hagiwara | Yuko Kato | Jeff Garcia Jeff Garcia Jeffrey Jason "Jeff" Garcia is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at San Jose State University.... |
| Rin Ibaragi | Ai Satou | Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson Barbara Goodson is an American actress known mostly for her versatility in voicing original and dubbed cartoons. She is voted one of the ten best women to do the voices for young males in cartoons... |
| Akiko Hibino | Yuko Kato | Lynn Fischer Lynn Fischer Lynn Fischer is a voice actress.-Anime Roles:* Argento Soma - P.A., Kroka Leonov* Battle Athletes Victory - Nerilian* Figure 17 - Ms... |
| Toru | Shinji Kawada Shinji Kawada is a Japanese voice actor. He also has also done voice work, especially in eroge, under the name .-Anime:*.hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet *Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo *Buso Renkin... |
Liam O'Brien Liam O'Brien Liam Christopher O'Brien is an American voice actor and voice director perhaps best known for his roles as Gaara of the Sand in Naruto, Captain Jushiro Ukitake in Bleach, War in the video game Darksiders, 'Vincent Law' in Ergo Proxy and 'Illidan Stormrage' in the 'Warcraft' game series... |
| Principal Hayashi | Shinji Kawada | Steve Kramer |
| Haruo Taki | Toshihiko Nakajima Toshihiko Nakajima is a Japanese voice actor who was affiliated with Ken Production but is now associated with Gekidan 21 Seiki Fox.-Notable voice roles:*Carlos in Cowboy Bebop*Lemint in Fushigiboshi no Futagohime*Kojiro Murdoch in Gundam Seed*Hachiemon in Inuyasha... |
Doug Erholtz Doug Erholtz Douglas J. Erholtz is an American voice actor. He is well known for voicing Asuma Sarutobi from Naruto and Ichimaru from Bleach.- Anime roles :* Battle B-Daman - Joe, Biarce* Bounty Dog - Additional Voices... |
| Kyoko Ibaragi | Kyoko Tsuruno | Sue Beth Arden |
| Sakura Ibaragi | Yui Horie Yui Horie is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL... |
Julie Maddalena Julie Maddalena Julie Lynn Maddalena is an American voice actress, sometimes credited as Julie Kliewer.-Anime Roles:* 3x3 Eyes - Ken-Ken * Battle Athletes Victory - Tanya Natdhipytadd... |
| Shinichi Ibaragi | Toru Ohkawa Toru Ohkawa is a seiyū from Kagoshima Prefecture who is affiliated with Mausu Promotion.He is a Hanshin Tigers fan.-Television animation:* Ai No Kusabi * Amatsuki * Baki the Grappler... |
Michael McConnohie Michael McConnohie Michael D. McConnohie is a voice actor and is the President of the Nevada-based Voxworks voice-acting corporation. He is known for his recognizable deep booming voice and is generally known for playing more charismatic characters... |
| Tokio Aoyama | Yoshiko Kamei Yoshiko Kamei is a Japanese voice actress from Ibaraki Prefecture. She is affiliated with Mausu Promotion.-Animation:*Atashin'chi *Baby and Me *Beyblade *B't X... |
David Duncan McNeill |
| Atsushi | Yukimasa Obi Yukimasa Obi is a Japanese voice actor who works for 81 Produce.-Notable voice roles:*Zero Enna in The Candidate for Goddess*Atsushi in Figure 17*Frioniel in Final Fantasy II *Kitagawa in Futakoi*Kazuya Ohara in Hamtaro... |
Dave Lelyveld |
| Narrator | Miki Itou | Julie Ann Taylor |
Production notes
Figure 17 first aired on TV TokyoTV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
's satellite anime channel AT-X. This anime is unusual in that the episodes are about twice as long as most standard TV anime broadcast episodes, at 46 minutes per episode.
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the series was broadcast on the ImaginAsian
ImaginAsian
ImaginAsian Entertainment is a multi-media company based in New York City. Its main feature is a television network, iaTV, which premiered in 2004 and which focuses on entertainment featuring people of East Asian and South East Asian descent. There is also some South Asian content...
network.
The music was composed by Toshihiko Takamizawa of the band The Alfee
The Alfee
The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group composed of Masaru Sakurai , Kōnosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa...
, which recorded the opening theme "Boy" and the ending theme "Fairy Dance" (both songs available on their 2001 album Glint Beat). In an interview, Takamizawa was told that Figure 17 was a mix of John Carpenter
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction.- Early life :Carpenter was born...
's The Thing and the J-Drama series Kita no Kuni Kara (From a Northern Country).
Anime
Bandai VisualBandai Visual
, is a Japanese anime, film production and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai Co., Ltd. and a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., which is based in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Since the reorganisation of Namco Bandai Holdings in 2006, Bandai Visual now heads the group's Visual and...
distributed the series on DVD in Japan in single-episode volumes, totaling 13 volumes. It was licensed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
(under the AnimeWorks label) and released in six DVD volumes from 2003 to 2004, as well as a boxed set in 2005. This version was also licensed in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
.
Manga
A manga adaptation of the series was illustrated by Guy Nakahira and published in the magazine Dengeki DaiohDengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
. Spanning only two volumes, the adaptation is considerably shorter than the TV series, condensing most of the series' storyline, removing some of the supporting characters and shortening the fight scenes to only a few pages. The manga was licensed in North America and translated in English by ADV Manga
A.D. Vision
A.D. Vision was an American international multimedia entertainment company headquartered in Houston, Texas, prior to its collapse and distress sale to four other Houston-based companies in 2009...
.
Novel
A novelization of the series was penned by screenplay writer Shoji Yonemura with illustrations by character designer Yuriko ChibaYuriko Chiba
is an animator and character designer. She was one of the founders of Oriental Light and Magic and a former member of Studio Giants along with Naohito Takahashi...
and published by Dengeki Bunko
Dengeki Bunko
is a publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works . It was established in June 1993 with the publication of Hyōryū Densetsu Crystania volume one, and is a light novel imprint aimed at a male audience...
.
Soundtrack
The series' soundtrack, released by LantisLantis (company)
is a Japanese company that specializes as a music publisher label for Japanese musicians, anime soundtracks and video game soundtracks. It was established on November 26, 1999, and in May 2006, it was bought by, and became a subsidiary of, Bandai Visual...
, consists of the background music. The opening and ending themes are not available on this disc. In addition, an image album was released, featuring songs performed by Akiko Yajima and Fumiko Orikasa.