Kokoro Library
The manga was adapted into a 13-episode anime television series directed by Koji Masunari, who is also known as the director of the anime OVA series Read or Die (2001) and Kamichu! (2005). It is described by critics as a prime example of the "iyashikei" or "healing type" anime genre. Plot. "Kokoro Library" is a heartwarming slice of life series depicting the peaceful everyday lives of three orphaned sisters as they take care of the library which also serves as their family home. The anime delves more deeply into the library's history, its connection to the  local town, and challenges faced by the sisters. Kokoro, the youngest, has just joined her sisters Aruto and Iina as an official librarian. The library receives few visitors, and each visit is often the subject of an entire episode. Kokoro learns the meaning of being a librarian, meets her favourite author, and takes a family trip to the seaside. The library is called "the place where miracles happen", although we see nothing more magical than Kokoro's ability to produce rainbows with her watering can. Events take a dramatic twist when phantom thief Funny Tortoise steals a mysterious locked book  which belonged to Kokoro's father, who died when she was very young. Worse, the town mayor announces that the library will be closed due to lack of visitors. Kokoro is heartbroken, but believes the answer may lie in the stolen book, which has meanwhile been returned to the library. The next episode is seen from the point of view of a young soldier named Sant Jordi, during a war which has seen the town heavily bombed. Jordi's positive attitude makes an impression on his comrades, who occupy a ruined library. When the town is approached by an enemy  armored division, Jordi's decision to destroy the bridge without killing the enemy ultimately saves the town. He begins to distribute library books to the townsfolk to lift their spirits in the difficult post-war period, ultimately settling in the town and constructing Kokoro Library. Kokoro, reading the story in what is revealed to be her father's diary of the war, finally has a connection to the parents she never knew. The sisters head to town hall to show the diary to the mayor, hoping to change her mind. They arrive to discover a massive protest against the library 's shutdown—the people of the town have not forgotten Jordi's contributions. The mayor allows the library to remain open, and Kokoro and her sisters continue to live their peaceful days together in the library. Production. Yōsuke Kuroda, a scriptwriter who had highly appreciated Takagi's doujin works published under the name "Boo", heard from Takagi himself that he was going to retire from his company and train to become a manga artist. "It's too late to train to become a manga artist now when you have the ability," he said, and pitched Takagi to the editor-in -chief of Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh, whom he knew. The editor also appreciated Boo's drawing style and immediately gave him a positive response for serialization. At that time, Kuroda was instructed to write a scenario, which he accepted, and the serialization took shape. According to Kuroda, it took only an hour and a half from the time he was informed of Takagi's resignation to the time he informed Takagi that the serialization had been decided. As a result, Kuroda was in charge of the script for both the original story and the animation. "Kokoro Library" was animated digitally , rather than on cels as had been used for Studio Deen's animated productions until the late 1990s. However, limited-edition hand-painted replica cels were made available to collectors for ¥5,000 by online sale. The setting of "Kokoro Library" is ambiguous. The town is identified in signage as "Toaru City" (都亜瑠), a homonym for the phrase "a certain city", although it is never named in dialogue. We are never explicitly told the name of the country where the library is situated, or the year when the series takes place. Rather, it is a pastiche of Japanese and European  cultural elements. Several pieces of mid-20th century technology appear: Iina drives a redecorated World War II Volkswagen Schwimmwagen, while other characters drive the post-war Citroën H Van and Citroën DS. In episode 11, Jordi's side carry the Karabiner 98k used by German troops in World War II, while the enemy armored unit fields the Russian T-34 and GAZ-67; however, neither side's nation is explicitly identified. Modern computers and cameras also appear, along with science fiction androids. The anime was notable as Chiwa Saitō's first major voice acting role. Saitō would go on to perform over three  hundred anime voice roles in the following two decades. Kokoro and the comparoid June make appearances in Nobuyuki Takagi's 2003 manga "Pure Marionation", set eight years after "Kokoro Library". Cast. Main characters. The names of the three sisters together form the phrase "kokoro aru to ii na," meaning "it's good to have a heart". In the anime, it is revealed that the sisters were intentionally given these names by their parents in order to spell out this motto. This phrase appears as a subtitle on the cover of the manga, but is not immediately revealed in the anime , the DVDs for which instead use the subtitle "Do you remember these heartful days?" Anime-only characters. A number of characters are original to the anime but do not appear in the manga. Media. Manga. "Kokoro Library" began serialization in the April 2000 issue of Monthly Comic Dengeki Daioh. It ran until the July 2002 issue, ending on 51 chapters in all. It was collected and published in a set of three A5 loose-leaf volumes between April 2001 and August 2002, under the Dengeki Comics Ex imprint. "A Fan Book" was released in June 2002 containing artwork and interviews . "Kokoro Library" was reprinted in April 2013 in two smaller paperback volumes under the Gum Comics Plus imprint. These volumes featured new cover art by Nobuyuki Takagi which pays homage to the original April 2000 Dengeki Daioh cover. A German translation was released by Egmont Ehapa in 2004. To date, the manga has not received an official English release. Anime. The October 2001 issue of Dengeki Daioh announced the adaption of "Kokoro Library" into an anime. The first episode aired on TV Tokyo on Friday, October 12, 2001, at 01:15am JST (the night of Thursday, October 11 at 25:15am). Its  time slot was used in the previous cours by Noir, and was followed in that slot by . The final free-to-air television episode of "Kokoro Library" was episode 12, which aired on December 28, 2001 (the night of December 27). It was followed by a bonus thirteenth episode, which aired only on premium channel AT-X on February 17, 2002. A repeat of all 13 episodes aired on AT-X in 2002, again on that channel from November 2003 and again from on March 1, 2005. The series was released in Japan on VHS and DVD in 2002. The  first DVD was released January 23, 2002, containing a single episode for ¥2,500. Subsequent volumes were released monthly, containing two episodes per disc for ¥5,800, with the second disc including a box to hold all seven volumes. The first VHS was released on February 21, 2002, containing four episodes for ¥9,800, with each subsequent tape containing three episodes for ¥8,500, for a total of four tapes. Both releases included the thirteenth bonus episode. The final DVD was released on July 24, 2002. The DVD release used the 4:3 aspect ratio and was notable for use of  linear PCM audio rather than the lossy Dolby Digital format. In March 2002, the Japan Library Association announced that copies of the "Kokoro Library" anime would appear in 500 libraries across Japan. From November 2002, all 13 episodes were released on DVD and Video CD in Taiwan by Mighty Media Co., Ltd. All thirteen episodes were subsequently made available in Japan on Amazon Prime Video. To date, the series has not seen an official English translation. Soundtracks. A CD single was released for the series opening theme "Beagle" on October 24, 2001. The CD also includes the ending theme "Tsuki  wa miteru" ("The Moon is Watching Over Me") and off-vocal versions of each. The vocals to both songs were provided by Yasuko Yamano, while the lyrics to both were written by Yuuho Iwasato, who also wrote the lyrics to Cardcaptor Sakura ending "Fruits Candy" and the Macross Frontier insert song "Infinity". Dan Miyakawa composed and arranged "Beagle", and composed "Tsuki wa miteru", which was arranged by Noriyasu Kumagai. The lyrics to "Tsuki wa Miteru" reference the children's book Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle, as well as Kokoro's understanding that, like the moon , her late father continues to watch over her. An anime soundtrack CD, "Kokoro Library Original Soundtrack" (ココロ図書館 オリジナル・サウンドトラック) was released by Victor Entertainment on December 19, 2001. It features 19 tracks from the anime, including the full-length versions of the opening "Beagle" and the ending "Tsuki wa miteru", and the TV size version of "Beagle". The series' soundtrack is provided by Hisaaki Hogari, who also arranged Spice and Wolf ending theme "Ringo Biyori" and Cardcaptor Sakura ending "Fruits Candy". Other. A "Kokoro Library" Fan Book was published on June 10, 2002, shortly before the release of the third manga  volume. It featured previously unpublished concept art, new original color art depicting scenes from the anime, interviews, and a catalog of official merchandise. A piece of PC software was released, titled "Communication Library Kokoro Toshokan" (コミュニケーションライブラリーココロ図書館), which retailed for ¥5,800. It is a program to track the user's book collection. A CD-ROM artbook was announced, the release of which was delayed due to unexpected demand. A large amount of official merchandise was produced for the "Kokoro Library" franchise. They included both dolls and 1/6 scale figures of the three sisters, at least ten separate posters, Broccoli trading  cards, a 2002 calendar, a mouse mat, pencil boards, a bookend, several telephone cards, a CD case, a watch, three pin badges, a memo pad, and even an official replica Kokoro cosplay costume produced by Broccoli subsidiary Cospa and retailing for ¥44,800 (equivalent to US$376 in 2002). An official Kokoro Library website was maintained, which displayed screenshots and a synopsis of each episode, and informed readers of upcoming Kokoro Library releases. While the website was no longer updated after 2002, it is still online as of 2021. TV Tokyo also briefly had a Kokoro Library webpage. Reception. "Kokoro  Library"'s anime adaptation was met to generally positive reviews. The first DVD volume was reviewed by Paul Grisham of Mania.com, where he praised the use of color, saying, "Colors are rich and warm and convey the fairy tale setting of the Kokoro Library and the nearby town effectively." Paul also commented on the audio, calling it "warm and inviting without even the slightest hint of distortion." Jeremy A Beard from THEM Anime Reviews praised the "general pleasant feeling and atmosphere" of the small town depicted in the anime. Despite finding the "overall "Kokoro Library" experience enjoyable", Jeremy remarked that  its "accompanying relaxed pacing" would turn viewers off. Ryusuke Hikawa of Bandai Channel described "Kokoro Library"' as a monumental work which has perfected the "healing type" ("iyashikei") genre of anime, intended to soothe the viewer after a hard day of work. He described it as lyrical and truly heartful, and praised Chiwa Saitō's voice as Kokoro. In the "Anihabara" anime rankings poll of anime fans in the Kantō region for February 2002, "Kokoro Library" was rated #8, and #10 for November 2001. The December 2001 anime song ranking placed "Kokoro Library"s opening "Beagle" at #5, and the ending "Tsuki  wa Miteru" at #8.