K (or referred sometimes as K Project) is a 2012 anime series animated by the studio GoHands and directed by Shingo Suzuki, who also serves as character designer for the series. It began airing on MBS, TBS, and CBC in Japan on October 4, 2012. Animax Asia will also broadcast at the same time. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia.

A manga prequel called K: Memory of Red, drawn by Yui Kuroe has been serialized in Kodansha's Aria since May 28, 2012.^[1] Another prequel manga, K: Stray Dog Story, began running in Kodansha's good! Afternoon on November 2012.^[2] Furthermore, two light novels, called K Side:Blue and K Side:Red, were released in October and November 2012.

Plot Overview[link]

Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technology-advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with everyone. Nothing ever seems wrong about him, except perhaps his habit of forgetting where his school-issued PDA is.

However, nothing normal has been happening since the recent murder of Tatara Totsuka, prominent member of the infamous HOMRA. No one knows who exactly killed him but the man responsible bears an uncanny, identical appearance to Yashiro. Seeking vengeance, the Red Clansmen of HOMRA set out to get Yashiro and kill him.

Everyone suspects that Yashiro is the murderer. But whether the guilt is his is not clear.

Characters[link]

Main characters[link]

Yashiro Isana (伊佐那 社, Isana Yashiro^?)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa

Nicknamed Shiro (白（しろ）^?) by his classmates; he is the leading character of the series. He is supposedly a normal high school student, until he suddenly finds himself being pursued by several factions - HOMRA, SCEPTER 4 and Kuroh Yatogami - who believe him to be the murderer of Tatara Totsuka, a member of HOMRA. He later realizes that unbeknownst to him, Totsuka had taken a video moments before his death, which clearly showed Yashiro as the culprit - even though he cannot remember performing murder at all. He later convinces Kuroh to believe him, which he does, and tries to unravel the mystery behind that murder, and the strange events that surround it in this psychic war between the Kings. Despite his silly, carefree persona, Yashiro is actually extremely clever, and manages to trick even the Blue King, Munakata, in his deceit and guile, and even manipulate Scepter 4 to his advantage using a simple phone call. In episode 11, it's revealed he is Adolf K. Weismann and the Silver King, while the "Adolf K. Weismann" which has been shown since the first episode has his original body being taken over by the Colourless King.

Kuroh Yatogami (夜刀神 狗朗, Yatogami Kurō^?)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

Known as the Black Hound (黒狗, Kuroinu^?) as a title, Kuro (黒（くろ）^?) by Shiro or Kurosuke (クロスケ^?) by Neko, he is a highly skilled swordsman on a mission to hunt down the next "Colorless King" - whom he believes to be Yashiro - on behalf of his late King and master, Ichigen Miwa. Even though he has a cold exterior, he is a good man who allowed Shiro a chance to prove his innocence, cooked meals for him and helped around in the festival as an apparent transfer student. For the first few episodes, Kuroh was convinced through the video that Yashiro was evil as he killed Totsuka in cold blood, and sought to kill him as per his master's request. However, he agrees to give Yashiro the benefit of doubt, and now closely monitors his actions. He slowly grows attached to both Yashiro and Neko. After Shiro awakens as the Silver King, he became his clansman. At the end of episode 13 he is seen escaping in the form of a dog with a sword on his back.

Neko (ネコ, Neko^?)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu

Neko is a Strain, and apparently exists as Shiro's pet cat. She is mischievous, playful and gives Kuroh a hard time. Though she appears to have the ability to create illusions as well as shapeshift or turn invisible at first, later it turns out that her abilities are none other than the ability of sensory interference - where she affects the senses of other human beings to perceive that their surroundings have changed, and so on. She is deeply attached to Shiro and will go to great lengths in order to keep him safe. She refers to him as "Neko's Shiro." It is later revealed she also has the ability to manipulate people's memories which is revealed she was the one who manipulated Shiro's memories into thinking that he was an ordinary high school student. After Shiro awakens as the Silver King, she became his first clansman.

Homra[link]

Mikoto Suoh (周防 尊, Suō Mikoto^?)

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda

The Red King (赤の王, Aka no Ō^?) and leader of Homra; the Third King. He was briefly held in the custody of Scepter 4, as he hoped that Scepter 4 would be able to keep his powers in check and prevent him from hurting the people he loves by accident. But he escapes after receiving a phone call from Totsuka's murderer, which he was angered into searching for. According to Kuroh, he has 'ties thicker than blood' with the members of his clan. He is much more insecure about his power than he may seem. He has known Totsuka since his high school days, and Izumo for even longer. After killing The Silver King, Mikoto allowed Munakata to stab him, knowing it was his time.

Izumo Kusanagi (草薙 出雲, Kusanagi Izumo^?)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai

Homra's second in command and Mikoto's right-hand man. He is the brain of Homra. He speaks in the Kyoto dialect, and is also fluent in English. He is the owner of the Bar Homra, and is extremely protective of it. He has known Mikoto for a long time, and is one of the few who addresses him by his first name. He has a close friendship with Awashima Seri of Scepter 4, as they tend to understand each other, being in the closest position to their kings.^[3]

Misaki Yata (八田 美咲, Yata Misaki^?)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama

Homra's vanguard, he is extremely skilled with a skateboard, which he wields as a weapon. His nickname is "Yatagarasu". He is impatient and passionate, and dislikes being called by his extremely feminine-sounding first name, which his ex-bestfriend Fushimi often taunts him with. Fushimi calls him a "virgin" due to his inability to speak to girls. He calls Fushimi by the nickname 'Saru', meaning "monkey". He is also rather short, and has a height complex which Fushimi never ceases to taunt him about.

Anna Kushina (櫛名 アンナ, Kushina Anna^?)

Voiced by: Yui Horie

The youngest and only female member of Homra, she is also a Strain who dresses in gothic lolita fashion. Anna has the ability of perception using her red crystal marbles, which she forms out of her own blood. She lost her parents in an accident, and met Mikoto through her Aunt who was Mikoto's teacher at the time. She is the mascot character of Homra, and is quite emotionally attached to Mikoto. She loved Tatara's singing, and was his No.1 fan. She has a type of color blindness where she can only recognize the color red.

Tatara Totsuka (十束 多々良, Totsuka Tatara^?)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji

One of the first members of Homra, along with Mikoto and Izumo. He has a personality that attracts people, and he was the mood-maker of Homra. According to Izumo, he was the weakest member. He was a man of many hobbies, including bonsai, guitar, singing, filming, skateboarding and cooking. He was murdered by Shiro who was manipulated by the White Fox Spirit at that time.

Rikio Kamamoto (鎌本 力夫, Kamamoto Rikio^?)

Voiced by: Yūichi Nakamura

A blonde man who wears sunglasses and is the partner of Yata. During the winter he eats excessively and gets overweight, and loses weight in the summer. He has a soft-hearted and caring personality, and is attached to Yata, calling him "Yata-san" despite being older and taller than him, as they used to know each other as children.

Shōhei Akagi (赤城 翔平, Akagi Shōhei^?)

Voiced by: Saito Kanjin

A member of Homra who joined at the beginning of the prequel manga, K - Memory of Red. He is man with a generally carefree persona, and was childhood friends with Bando, who he calls "San-chan".

Saburōta Bandō (坂東 三郎太, Bandō Saburōta^?)

Voiced by: Junichi Yanagida

Bando is a man who wears sunglasses, who cares very much about Akagi but refuses to admit it. He is often bullied by Yata, which is played very much for laughs.

Yō Chitose (千歳 洋, Chitose Yō^?)

Voiced by: Kazuki Shimizu

A playboy who often sleeps around with women due to a terrible breakup which left him unable to get serious with anyone anymore. He is close friends with Dewa, much to the latter's chagrin.

Masaomi Dewa (出羽 将臣, Dewa Masaomi^?)

Voiced by: Akitoshi Kimura

Dewa is a man who wears a derby hat. He is protective of Chitose, but refers to their relationship as one that is "inseparable, yet undesirable".

Eric Surt (エリック・スルト^?)

Voiced by: Kouji Takahashi

Eric was the "dog" of a group involved with the yakuza, "Hikawa". The group was crushed by Homra, and Eric was forced to attempt to murder Totsuka. Afterwards, he joined Homra.

Kōsuke Fujishima (藤島 幸助, Fujishima Kōsuke^?)

Fujishima was the man who found Eric lying in a dumpster, and decided to bring him back to Homra. He feels sympathy for Eric's plight, and holds great care for him.

Scepter 4[link]

Reisi Munakata (宗像 礼司, Munakata Reishi^?)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

The Blue King (青の王, Ao no Ō^?) and Head of the Special Task Force Unit Scepter 4; the Fourth King. He wears glasses, and has a calm, elegant demeanor. He likes puzzles in his spare time. He is shown to be extremely worried about Mikoto's safety despite them being enemies, and was immensely frustrated by how Mikoto does not seem to appear to care about his own life at all. As a King, he is strong and powerful as he easily overwhelmed Kuroh without drawing his saber, but the full extent of his power is yet unknown. Neko nicknames him the "Boss with the Glasses".

Seri Awashima (淡島 世理, Awashima Seri^?)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Reishi's second in command and the only female member of Scepter 4. She has the relationship of bartender and customer with Izumo Kusanagi of Homra. He also gave her the nickname 'Tundra Woman'. She likes anko to such a degree that Kusanagi, Munakata and Fushimi were all visibly sickened. She is named the "Boob Woman" by Neko. Shiro made her a temporary clansman to talk to her privately. Seri is very loyal to Munakata and cares deeply about his safety.

Saruhiko Fushimi (伏見 猿比古, Fushimi Saruhiko^?)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

The third-in-command of Scepter 4. He is unmotivated and lazy, with a bad attitude, despite being extremely capable, much to Seri's chagrin. He has a habit of clicking his tongue. Fushimi was a former member of Homra who betrayed them to join Scepter 4 - he claims to have joined Scepter 4 to gain more power, but his reasons lie deeper than that. He considered Homra a childish group that would never amount to anything. In Episode 10, he even chides Yata by saying that although they "have special powers, all we can do is to play punks and gangsters". He was Yata's close friend since middle school and they joined Homra together. After joining, Yata became more distant from him and always chased after Mikoto with all his heart. Fushimi, who has an interest in nothing but Yata, betrayed Homra in order to get Yata's hatred as his attention towards him. Neko calls him the "Jerk with the Glasses".

Himori Akiyama (秋山 氷杜, Akiyama Himori^?)

Voiced by: Koji Takahashi

Scepter 4 member with A initial.

Yūjirō Benzai (弁財 酉次郎, Benzai Yūjirō^?)

Voiced by: Kimura Akitoshi

Scepter 4 member with B initial.

Ryūhō Camo (加茂 劉芳, Camo Ryūhō^?)

Voiced by: Hirokazu Miura

Scepter 4 member with C initial.

Andy Dōmyōji (道明寺 アンディ, Dōmyōji Andy^?)

Voiced by: Shingo Onizuka

Scepter 4 member with D initial.

Ashinaka High School[link]

Kukuri Yukizome (雪染 菊理, Yukizome Kukuri^?)

Voiced by: Satomi Satō

She is Yashiro's friend and classmate and also a member of the student council committee. Kukuri later loses memory of meeting Shiro, Kuroh and Neko. Despite this, it seems that Kukuri did recall being friends with "someone," but could not remember Yashiro's identity. After the trio rescues Kukuri, she is manipulated by the Colorless King, and stabs Shiro in the abdomen. Whilst still being controlled, she flees from the scene. She is still able to maintain control of her personality despite being possessed. The White Fox Spirit is later freed from her body by Shiro and Kuroh. Kuroh is ordered by Shiro to take Kukuri to safety. She later wakes up in Kuroh's arms, remembering his identity along with Neko's. Though, she is unable to remember Shiro.

Sumika Inaba (因幡 澄香, Sumika Inaba^?)

Voiced by: Kanami Satō

Kukuri's friend.

Sōta Mishina (三科 草太, Mishina Sōta^?)

Voiced by: Kazuki Shimizu

Classmate of Yashiro and Kukuri. He once confessed to Kukuri at the school's clock tower but was rejected.

Chiho Hyūga (日向 千穂, Hyūga Chiho^?)

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida

The student council president of Ashinaka High School.

Sakura Asama (浅間 桜, Asakura Sakuma^?)

Voiced by: Nozomi Yamamoto

A member of the student council.

Other Clans[link]

Daikaku Kokujōji (國常路 大覚, Kokujōji Daikaku^?)

Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka

The Golden King (黄金の王, Ōgon no Ō^?) and the Second King. He was credited for turning Japan into the world's greatest economic and techonological power. It was later revealed that he was a formal lieutenant of the Imperial Japanese Army who witnessed Weismann's experiment during World War II.

Ichigen Miwa (三輪 一言, Miwa Ichigen^?)

Voiced by: Shō Hayami

He is the master of Kuroh Yatogami, as well as his father.^[4] He was formerly the Seventh and Colourless King (無色の王, Mushiki no Ō^?), before his death. He also formerly possessed the celebrated sword "Kotowari" before Kuroh took to possessing it.

Colorless King (無色の王, Mushiki no Ō^?)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

He is the current Colorless King. His powers include entering the bodies of various individuals and completely take them over, being able to control their very mind. However, his body's original soul is forced to interwine with his; by switching several different bodies, the Colorless King loses control of his true self. The Colorless King's power is also known to affect the other Kings.

Media[link]

Anime[link]

The anime began airing in October, 2012. The anime has been licensed by Viz Media in North America^[5] and by Madman Entertainment in Australia.^[6] It is also being streamed on VizAnime video site. The opening theme song is "KINGS" by Angela and the ending theme song is "Tsumetai Heya, Hitori" (冷たい部屋、一人) by Mikako Komatsu. Insert songs include "Circle of Friends" by Yūki Kaji and "Itsuka no Zero Kara" (いつかのゼロから) by Angela. The anime is confirmed to have a second season.^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (Japanese)
• K Web Radio (Japanese)
• Twitter accounts:

  K official account (Japanese)

  GoRA (Japanese)

• K (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopediaes:K (anime)

it:K (anime) ms:K (anime) ja:K (アニメ) ru:K (аниме) th:K (อะนิเมะ) zh:K (動畫)