Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin
, is a Japanese manga series written by George Abe and illustrated by Masasumi Kakizaki. It was serialized in Shogakukan's "seinen" manga magazine "Weekly Young Sunday" from November 2002 to July 2008, when the magazine ceased publication, and the series was then transferred to "Weekly Big Comic Spirits", published from June 2009 to January 2010. Its chapters were collected in twenty-two "tankōbon" volumes. The story is set in the 1950s and focuses on six junior delinquents aged sixteen to seventeen that are sent to the Shōnan Special Reform School. They learn to cope with  the atrocities and unfairness they encounter there. A twenty-six episode anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse and directed by Hiroshi Kōjina was broadcast on Nippon TV from April to September 2010. As of March 2010, the manga had over 3.3 million copies in circulation. In 2006, the manga won the 51st Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category. Plot. Set in the 1950s, the story centers around six junior delinquents and their mentor at the Shōnan Special Reformatory near Tokyo. The manga follows the boys' lives during their time in the school and the years after they leave , highlighting the struggles the lower class faced in post-war Japanese society. Media. Manga. "Rainbow" is written by George Abe and illustrated by Masasumi Kakizaki. Abe wrote the series based on his own experience in prison. The manga began its serialization in Shogakukan's "Weekly Young Sunday" on November 21, 2002. After "Weekly Young Sunday" ceased its publication on July 31, 2008, the series was transferred to "Weekly Big Comic Spirits", starting on June 15, 2009. The series finished on January 4, 2010. Shogakukan collected its chapters in twenty-two "tankōbon" volumes, released from April 5, 2003, to February 27 , 2010. Anime. An anime television series adaptation of 10 volumes of the manga was produced by Nippon Television, VAP and animation studio Madhouse and directed by Hiroshi Kōjina, with Hideo Takayashiki handling series composition, Ai Kikuchi designing the characters and Yū Takami composing the music. The series ran for 26 episodes on Nippon TV from April 6 to September 28, 2010. The opening theme is "We're Not Alone", performed by Coldrain, and the ending theme is "A Far-Off Distance", performed by Galneryus. Funimation simulcasted the series with English subtitles in 2010. Reception. As of March 2010, the manga  had over 3.3 million copies in circulation. In 2006, "Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin" won the 51st Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category, sharing the award with "A Spirit of the Sun".