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Anime Spotlight - Alice & Zoroku

by ANN Staff,

On air starting April 2, 2017

Streaming available at: Crunchyroll

Key Staff

Director: Katsushi Sakurabi
(Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Gunparade March)
Series Composition: Fumihiko Takayama
(Gunparade March, Sweet Blue Flowers)












Trailer

Introduction

An emotional science fiction fantasy story about finding something precious once forgotten. This anime adapts the award-winning manga that won the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival's New Face Award in 2013.

Story

So, this is a story about my beloved, irreplaceable family.

Up until that point, the girl didn't know about the "outside world." It was filled with things she had never touched, scenery she had never seen, and people she had never met... In the face of such a broad new world, she was surprised, wavered, and her eyes were opened on the impulse of curiosity.

The girl's name: Sana. She was born and raised at a facility called the "Laboratory" without ever knowing anything about the outside world. This girl has the special power to materialize anything she imagined. Those with special powers like Sana were called "Alice Dreams."

And so, in this new world on the outside, the girl met an elderly man. His name: Zoroku Kashimura. The elderly man was a stubborn one who hated "incorrect things" and would not budge from his opinion of "bad things are bad." Sana's meeting with Zoroku would greatly change her destiny.

The mysterious organization that is hunting Sana down, other Alice Dreams that appear one after another, and kind people that Sana encounters... By going through the looking glass, "Alice," a girl who knows little to nothing about society, learns about the true form of the world.

...Yes. This is a story of when I was still freely able to go to the dream world.

Characters

Sana
Voice: Hitomi Owada

A girl who escaped from the place called the "Laboratory" because of her admiration for the outside world. She has the superpower to overwrite the laws of physics of anything around her at the will of her imagination. It might be because she holds this great power that she is quite selfish and naïve about the world. She meets Zoroku while on the run from a mysterious organization.

Zoroku Kashimura
Voice: Akio Otsuka

An elderly man with grey hair, thick eyebrows, and an expression that always makes it seem like he's unhappy. A man of few words, Zoroku hates things that are incorrect or unjust. If you looked up "stubborn old man" in the dictionary, you'd probably find his picture right next to it." He lives together with his granddaughter Sanae. His life changes when he calls out to Sana when he finds her in trouble in town.

Sanae Kashimura
Voice: Aki Toyosaki

Zoroku's granddaughter who always has a smile on her face. She started living with her grandfather after her parents passed away when she was young. She's a gentle, easy-going girl who is good at cooking.

Asahi Hinagiri
Voice: Natsumi Fujiwara

A girl who was kept at the same laboratory as Sana, and just like her, she is one of the Alice Dreams. Her power allows her to summon anything, as long as it has a chain attached to it. She's the free spirit elder sister of the Hinagiri twins.

Yonaga Hinagiri
Voice: Akari Kito

The younger sister of the Hinagiri twins. Just like her elder sister Asahi, she's one of the Alice Dreams that was kept at the laboratory. She has the ability to summon an arrow to shoot at will. The opposite of her unbridled sister, Yonaga is a cautious girl who often takes on a support role.

Shizuku Ichijo
Voice: Ami Koshimizu

A woman from the government's Cabinet Intelligence Bureau Special Mobile Unit who supports Sana after she escapes to the outside world. Shizuku is an Alice's Dreams herself with a strong superpower. She apparently has a primary school teaching license.

Ryu Naito
Voice: Hochu Otsuka

An old acquaintance of Zoroku and Shizuku's superior at the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau. He's had his eye on the pharmaceutical company Kreis & Clark Japan for quite some time. He seems like a quite loose and easy-going man, but he is in fact quite capable.

Noriko Yamada
Voice: Yuki Hirose

A genius hacker who single-handedly created the system that can locate Alice's Dreams. She did this because she loves Shizuku... perhaps even a bit too much. She was scouted by the Cabinet Intelligence Bureau for her impressive skills. Noriko often teams up with her beloved Shizuku.

"Minnie C." Tachibana
Voice: Mamiko Noto

Real name: Miriam C. Tachibana. A former member of the American military, she gained the power to summon her husband Joe's arms at any time after he passed. After discovering this power, she was invited to work at Kreis & Clark Japan. She loves Japan so much that she always wears a Kimono.

Koichi Kito
Voice: Masaya Matsukaze

A staff who works at the Kreis & Clark Japan laboratory. He sheltered and researched Alice's Dreams with the most irregular of superpowers, including Sana. After Sana escaped the lab, he took command of the force tracking her down.

Kureo
Voice: Shu Uchida

One of the Alice's Dreams kept at the laboratory. A boy with a pessimistic air to him who has the power to materialize any inanimate object he draws.

Cast

Sana
Hitomi Owada
Zoroku Kashimura
Akio Otsuka
Sanae Kashimura
Aki Toyosaki
Asahi Hinagiri
Natsumi Fujiwara
Yonaga Hinagiri
Akari Kito
Shizuku Ichijo
Ami Koshimizu
Ryu Naito
Hochu Otsuka
Noriko Yamada
Yuki Hirose
"Minnie C." Tachibana
Mamiko Noto
Koichi Kito
Masaya Matsukaze
Kureo
Shu Uchida

Staff

Original Story
Tetsuya Imai (serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Monthly Comic Ryu magazine)
Director
Katsushi Sakurabi
Series Composition
Fumihiko Takayama
Character Designs
Kazunori Iwakura
Art Setting
Yoshinori Hirose
Art Director
Takumi Yanagihara
Color Setting
Kana Tanabe
Director of Photography
Yoshio Okouchi
Editing
Masahiro Goto (REAL-T)
Music
TO-MAS
Opening Theme Song
"Wonder Drive" by ORESAMA
Ending Theme Song
"Chant" by toi toy toi (kotringo edition)
Sound Director
Yoshikazu Iwanami
Animation Production
J.C.STAFF

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