Kekkai scythes

Kekkai scythes
Original title	血界戦線

genre	Action, fantasy
Manga
country	Japan Japan
author	Yasuhiro Nightow
publishing company	Shūeisha
magazine	Jump SQ → Jump SQ. 19
First publication	January 5, 2009 - ...
expenditure	10+
Anime television series
Country of production	Japan Japan
original language	Japanese
year	2015
Studio	Bones
length	24 (episodes 1–12) 50 (episode 13) minutes
Episodes	13
Director	Rie Matsumoto
music	Taisei Iwasaki
First broadcast	April 5 - October 4, 2015 on MBS
synchronization

Kekkai Sensen ( Japanese 血界戦線 ) with the English sub-title Blood Blockade Battlefront is a manga by Yasuhiro Nightow that has been published since 2009. In 2015 it was adapted as an anime television series.

action

Three years earlier, a gate to the Otherworld opened in New York , in the course of which the separation between the two worlds broke open and New York became Hellsalem's Lot, a melting pot of people and monsters, everyday life and the paranormal. In order to maintain the balance between humans and monsters, the secret society Libra was founded under the leadership of Klaus von Reinhertz. Due to a mix-up, the photographer Leonardo Watch ends up in this society, who previously received the ability of an all-seeing eye from a mysterious being at the expense of his sister's eyesight.

The episodic plot tells the adventures of Libra.

characters

Leonardo Watch ( レオナルド・ウォッチ , Reonarudo Wotchi ): Leonardo came to Hellsalem's Lot with his family in the hope that a cure for his paraplegic sister Michaela could be found in this supernatural city. Upon arrival, a mysterious entity appeared to them that gave him the "artificial eyes of the gods" ( 神々の義眼 , kamigami no kigan ); however, Michaela had to sacrifice her eyesight for it. Due to a mix-up by Zapp, Leonardo became a Libra member. Although he cannot fight like the other members, his eyes show him the true nature of everything supernatural and enable him to see through every illusion.

Klaus von Reinhertz ( クラウス・ V ・ラインヘルツ , Kurausu Fon Rainherutsu ): Klaus von Reinhertz is the leader of Libra. With his stocky figure and a strong underbite, he looks like an animal and is terrifying to others. In reality he loves to take care of plants, is very accommodating and almost overly honest. He fights with his fists and is a master of the "brain grid style blood fighting techniques" ( ブレングリード流血闘術 , Buren Gurīdo-ryū Kettōjutsu ), with which he can use his blood to create various cross-shaped weapons to defeat his opponents or to seal.

Zapp Renfro ( ザップ・レンフロ , Zappu Renfuro ): Zapp Renfro, a member of Libra, indulges in gambling and women. He often loses his temper and is referred to by Steven as "incorrigible human scum". He tries to attack his boss Klaus at every opportunity and is turned off by him to protect Leonardos. However, he has a natural talent for blood techniques, in his case the "Kagutsuchi [variant] of the big dipper blood methods" ( 斗流血法・カグツチ , Tōryu Keppō - Kagutsuchi ), with which he turns his blood into a blade or inflamed Can transform threads.

Chain Sumeragi ( チェイン・皇 , Chein Sumeragi ): Chain appears as an attractive woman, but is a liaison officer of the werewolf intelligence service with Libra and is referred to as the "invisible werewolf" ( 不可視の人狼 , fukashi no jinrō ). However, this relates less to invisibility in the narrower sense than to the fact that it can gradually weaken its existence, which allows it to appear transparent or even to be able to go through walls, whereby an excessive weakening would end its existence. Due to this ability, she works for Libra mainly for intelligence tasks. Her relationship with Zapp is like that of a dog and cat, while she has feelings for Steven.

Steven A. Starphase ( スティーブン・ A ・スターフェイズ , Sutībun Ē Sutāfeizu ): Steven is number 2 on Libra and a man of many connections. He fights with kicking techniques and is a user of the "Esmeralda blood freezing path" ( エスメラルダ式血凍道 , Esumeraruda-shiki Kettōdō ), with which he can cool his blood and freeze opponents.

KK ( K ・ K ): KK is a member of Libra, is married and wears an eye patch. She fights with firearms and her "954 Blood Bullet Arts" ( 954血弾格闘技（ブラッドブレットアーツ）, 954 Buraddo Buretto Ātsu ), with which she can turn her blood into electricity and electroshock opponents.

Gilbert F. Altstein ( ギルベルト・ F ・アルトシュタイン , Giruberuto Efu Arutoshutain ): Gilbert is Klaus' butler. Its most striking feature is that it is bandaged all over the body, but it has the ability to quickly regenerate even the most severe injuries. He works for Libra as an information gatherer and driver.

Deldro Brody & Dog Hummer ( デルドロ・ブローディ＆ドグ・ハマー , Derudoro Burōdi & Dogu Hamā ): A member of Libra that unites the human Dog and the otherworldly serial killer Deldro in one body. Aligura loved Deldro's murderous character, but also the handsome Dog, so she combined the two by swapping Dog's blood for Deldro's liquefied body. This allows Dog Brody's immense powers to be used, which also functions as living armor. Due to their dangerousness, Brody & Hummer, as the hybrid creature is called, are usually kept in prison and are only used by Libra in emergencies.

Femt ( フェムト , Femuto ): Femt is the self-proclaimed "King of Depravity" ( 堕落王 , Daraku-ō ) and one of the 13 kings, the mighty beings of the Otherworld. He is the crime boss of Hellsalem's Lot and loves destruction and chaos.

Aligura ( アリギュラ , Arigyura ): Aligura is one of the 13 kings. As the "Queen of Stubbornness " ( 偏執王 , Henshū-ō ), d. H. monomaniacally , it is always focused on one thing, currently on Brody & Hummer.

White / Mary ( ホワイト , Howaito ): White only appears in the anime. Leonardo meets her in a cemetery near the hospital, where she is being treated for a heart problem. White calls himself a ghost.

Black / William ( ブラック , Burakku ): Black is White's brother William, who shares his body with the "King of Despair" ( 絶望王 , Zetsubō-ō ).

publication

After completing his work Trigun Maximum , Nightow began his work on Kekkai Sensen , which first appeared as a pilot chapter in Shūeisha's manga magazine Jump Square on May 2, 2008 (issue 6/2008), but differed from the later version in its type and a was modern vampire hunting history. On January 5, 2009 (issue 2/2009) the first chapter of the series was called, which was still called Kekkai Sensen - Mafūgai Kessha ( 血界戦線 - 魔封街結社 - ), but only until the next but one issue on March 4, 2009 (Issue 4/2009), then switched to the first edition of Jump SQ.19 on May 19, 2010 via a single chapter in the sister magazine Jump SQ.M in October 2009 (Vol. 002) . However, the magazine was discontinued on February 19, 2015 , with another chapter reappearing in Jump Square on May 4, 2015 (6/2015).

The individual chapters have been summarized in ten anthologies ( Tankōbon ) so far (as of May 2015)

Mafūgai Kessha ( 魔封街結社 ), January 4, 2010, ISBN 978-4-08-874723-1
Sekai to Sekai no Game ( 世界と世界のゲーム ), November 4, 2010, ISBN 978-4-08-870109-7
Shingeki no Blood Hammer ( 震撃の血槌 ), February 5, 2011, ISBN 978-4-08-870228-5
Kenkyaku no Eden ( 拳客のエデン ), December 2, 2011, ISBN 978-4-08-870339-8
Z no Ichiban Nagai Hi ( Z の一番長い日 ), June 4, 2012, ISBN 978-4-08-870435-7
Jinrō Daisakusen ( 人狼大作戦 ), December 4, 2012, ISBN 978-4-08-870558-3
Macro no Kesshiken ( マクロの決死圏 ), June 4, 2013, ISBN 978-4-08-870868-3
Genkai Byōtō Rises ( 幻界病棟ライゼズ ), December 4, 2013, ISBN 978-4-08-870869-0
Erakyōku Blues ( 鰓呼吸ブルース ), June 4, 2014, ISBN 978-4-08-880078-3
Yōgan Genshikō ( 妖眼幻視行 ), April 4, 2015, ISBN 978-4-08-880233-6

In the US, the manga was licensed by Dark Horse Comics , who started publishing it on September 27, 2011, and in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing .

Adaptations

Anime

Studio Bones adapted the manga, directed by Rie Matsumoto , who also directed the sound, while the scripts were written by Kazunao Furuya. The character design comes from Toshihiro Kawamoto and that of the creatures from Kōji Sugiura.

The first eleven episodes were broadcast from April 5 to July 5, 2015 after midnight (and thus on the previous television day ) on MBS in the Kantō region and the following day on Tokyo MX in Tokyo Prefecture and via satellite nationwide on BS11 . The final 12th episode in double length followed on October 4, 2015 on MBS and later on BS11 and Tokyo MX.

In North America, the series was licensed by Funimation , which it streams as a simulcast parallel to the Japanese broadcast with English subtitles and dubbed it a week later.

On July 29, 2015, the German publisher KSM announced that it had secured the rights to the anime. A publication in Germany was planned for 2016.

Another adaptation was announced on November 29, 2016.

music

The jazzy series music was composed by Taisei Iwasaki , while the opening credits Hello, World! by the rock band Bump of Chicken and the final title Sugar Song to Bitter Step ( シュガーソングとビターステップ , Shugā Songu to Bitā Suteppu ) by the rock band Unison Square Garden . The double A single Hello, World! / Colony , the second title being the theme of the first Kiseijū movie , was released on April 22, 2015 and entered the Oriconcharts at number 2 . The single for the final title was released on May 20, 2015.

radio play

In October 2012, the Vomic segment (suitcase word from voice and comic ) ran the Sakiyomi Jum-Bang! on TV Tokyo , in which Shūeisha's manga are presented as a “spoken comic”, a radio play about Kekkai Sensen .

synchronization

role	Japanese speaker ( seiyū )
role	radio play	Anime
Leonardo Watch	Ryōta Osaka	Daisuke Sakaguchi
Klaus von Reinhertz	Tarusuke Shingaki	Rikiya Koyama
Zapp Renfro	Yoshimasa Hosoya	Kazuya Nakai
Chain Sumeragi	Seiko Yoshida	Yu Kobayashi
Steven A. Star phase	Kenji Hamada	Mitsuru Miyamoto
KK	-	Ai Orikasa
Deldro Brody	-	Keiji Fujiwara
Dog lobster	-	Mamoru Miyano
Gilbert F. Altstein	Shin'ya Fukumatsu	Banjō Ginga
Femt	-	Akira Ishida
Aligura	-	Satomi Korogi
White, Black	-	Rie Kugimiya

Web links

Manga website (Japanese)
Anime website (Japanese)
Manga and Anime in Anime News Network (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Funimation Adds Blood Blockade Battlefront Anime. In: Anime News Network. April 3, 2015, accessed May 21, 2015 .
^ Funimation Streams Seraph of the End English Broadcast Dub Clip. In: Anime News Network. May 13, 2015, accessed May 21, 2015 .
↑ sumikai.com KSM licenses Blood Blockade Battlefront
↑ Blood Blockade Battlefront - Yasuko Kamo is writing the script for the new Blood Blockade Battlefront anime. In: Sumikai. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016 .
↑ コロニー / Hello, world! (初回限定盤) | BUMP OF CHICKEN . In: Oricon Style. Retrieved May 21, 2015 (Japanese).
↑ シュガーソングとビターステップ | UNISON SQUARE GARDEN. In: Oricon Style. Retrieved May 21, 2015 (Japanese).

[1] Funimation Adds Blood Blockade Battlefront Anime. In: Anime News Network. April 3, 2015, accessed May 21, 2015 .

[2] Funimation Streams Seraph of the End English Broadcast Dub Clip. In: Anime News Network. May 13, 2015, accessed May 21, 2015 .

[3] sumikai.com KSM licenses Blood Blockade Battlefront

[4] Blood Blockade Battlefront - Yasuko Kamo is writing the script for the new Blood Blockade Battlefront anime. In: Sumikai. November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016 .

[5] コロニー / Hello, world! (初回限定盤) | BUMP OF CHICKEN . In: Oricon Style. Retrieved May 21, 2015 (Japanese).

[6] シュガーソングとビターステップ | UNISON SQUARE GARDEN. In: Oricon Style. Retrieved May 21, 2015 (Japanese).