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Studio Trigger Reveals New Kiznaiver Original TV Anime

The November issue of Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha Ltd.'s PASH! magazine is revealing Studio Trigger's new original TV anime project titled Kiznaiver on Saturday.

Hiroshi Kobayashi (Rage of Bahamut Genesis assistant director, Kill la Kill episode director) will make his directorial debut with the anime at Studio Trigger, and Mari Okada (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, anohana, The Anthem of the Heart) is writing the script. Shirow Miwa (Dogs: Bullets & Carnage, supercell illustrator) is drawing the original character designs, while Mai Yoneyama (Japan Animator Expo "Hill Climb Girl," Kill la Kill animation director) is adapting those character designs for animation.

The anime's setting is a fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his.

The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.

Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city's population is decreasing. The story is set in this town where Katsuhira and the others live.

In an interview in the magazine, scriptwriter Okada stated that the keyword for the series is "kizuna" (connection). The title itself is a play on "kizuna" and "naive." Okada noted that she wrote the title before the story outline.

The anime's characters include:

Katsuhira Akata: The story's protagonist. His sense of pain and his own feelings are dulled. His moods barely fluctuate, and he pays little attention to other people.

Noriko Sonosaki: A mysterious and beautiful girl who experienced kizuna (connection) with Katsuhira and the others, and assigns them missions. She is even more emotionless than Katsuhira, and feels no human kindness.

Hajime Tenga: A muscular idiot who tends not to look before he leaps. While he presents a rude front, he possesses the potential for leadership.

Tsuguhito Yuta: A handsome and self-satisfied honor student who is always surrounded by girls. He is a selfish and calculating man with an underhanded nature, and is cold to other men.

Honoka Maki: A girl who exudes a calm, grown-up air, and who tends not to group with people. She tends to say mean things, glare menacingly, and is generally unsociable.

Chidori Takashiro: Katsuhira's friend, and the class representative-type who always sees to everyone's needs (or is nosy, if viewed negatively). Does she hold complex feelings for Katsuhira?

Niko Niiyama: A mysterious yet spontaneous girl who says she can see fairies. Her personality is clear not just in her attitude but also in her fashion.

Yoshiharu Hisomu: A handsome man with a distinct face that anyone can recognize, but he is surrounded by many mysteries. His multiple piercings and his bandaged look are extremely distinctive.