Studio Trigger will be fully revealing its new original anime series, titled Kiznaiver, in the November issue of PASH! magazine from Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha Ltd. Hiroshi Kobayashi, the assistant director for Rage of Bahamut Genesis and episode director for Kill la Kill, makes his debut as director for the upcoming series, with a script written by Mari Okada, who previously worked on Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Anohana and The Anthem of the Heart. Character designs are being handled by Supercell illustrator Shirow Miwa, which are being adapted for the anime series by Kill la Kill animation director Mai Yoneyama.
Several characters have been revealed:
- Katsuhira Akata: The protagonist. He has a dull sense of pain and feelings in general, and has a mostly static mood, giving little attention to people around him.
- Noriko Sonosaki: Even more emotionless than Katsuhira, she is a beautiful, mysterious woman who assigns him and the others missions after experiencing kizuna (connection) with them. She feels no human kindness.
- Hajime Tenga: A muscular, hot-headed idiot who often acts without thinking. He has the potential for leadership, despite coming across as rude.
- Tsugoto Yoshida: A handsome, confident, womanizing honor student. He is devious, selfish and calculating, and is while cold towards other men, is often surrounded by girls.
- Honoka Maki: A mature, calm woman who tends to stay by herself without grouping up with others. She tends to be antisocial, often saying mean things and glaring menacingly at other people.
- Chidori Takashiro: Katsuhira’s class rep-type friend who tends to help other people get what they need (or meddle, depending on your point of view). She might have feelings for Katsuhira.
- Niko Niiyama: Mysterious and spontaneous, she claims to be able to see fairies. One can clearly see her personality not just in how she acts but in how she dresses.
- Yoshiharu Hisomu: A handsome, distinctive and easily recognizable, if mysterious man. He has several piercings and a bandaged look that make him clearly stand out.
The story is set in the fictional Sugomori City, a city built on reclaimed land with a decreasing population. One day, Sonosaki tells Katsuhira that he has been selected to be a Kiznaiver. The city has the “Kizuna System” which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connecting him with classmates who are completely different from him in personality and circumstances. The Kizuna System was designed to help implement world peace by connecting people through wounds dealt to them, with everyone connected to it known as a Kiznaiver. When one of these people is injured, the system distributes the injury to others connected to the system.
Okada stated in an interview with PASH! magazine that the keyword for the series is “kizuna”, or “connection”. The title is a portmanteau of “kizuna” and “naïve”, and Okada apparently came up with the title before she wrote the story outline.
