Twinkle Stars
Twinkle Stars | |
![]() Cover of the first volume of Twinkle Stars, featuring Sakuya Shiina | |
星は歌う (Hoshi wa Utau) | |
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Genre | Drama,[1] romance[2] |
Manga | |
Written by | Natsuki Takaya |
Published by | Hakusensha |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Hana to Yume Comics |
Magazine | Hana to Yume |
Demographic | Shōjo |
Original run | 5 June 2007 – 20 January 2011 |
Volumes | 11 |
Twinkle Stars (
Plot
Sakuya Shiina is the president of a star-gazing club at her high school. On her eighteenth birthday, she receives a pink dress from Chihiro, a handsome and mysterious boy around her age who suddenly appears at her birthday party. She initially believes that Chihiro is a friend of Kanade, her guardian, but she later learns that Kanade had invited him to the party thinking that he was her boyfriend. Kanade then becomes offended for being deceived, but Sakuya becomes even more intrigued by Chihiro. She finally gets her chance to meet Chihiro again, and during a discussion about the stars (in which Sakuya says that the star Alphard, the brightest star in the constellation Hydra, is her favorite), Chihiro suddenly exclaims that he hates Sakuya and disappears once again. Sakuya becomes even more troubled when, a few days later, Chihiro suddenly enrolls at her school and becomes a classmate. As the story goes on, Sakuya's feelings towards Chihiro grows, and Chihiro starts warming up to her.
Characters
- Sakuya Shiina (椎名 サクヤ, Shiina Sakuya)
- Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (audio drama)[3]
- The heroine of the story. She lives with Kanade in a house close to the sea and works part-time at a shop run by the family of her friend Yuuri. She left her own home because she was receiving no support from her father, and her step-mother was psychologically abusing her. She has always had a fascination with stars and studies them with the encouragement of her teacher. The first chapter begins on the day of her eighteenth birthday when she meets Chihiro. She has two friends: Hijiri Honjou and Yuuri Murakami. After her sudden meeting with Chihiro, she begins to develop romantic feelings towards him.
- Chihiro Aoi (葵 千広, Aoi Chihiro)
- Voiced by: Takashi Kondō (audio drama)[3]
- A mysterious boy who shows up at Sakuya's eighteenth birthday party, even though he was a total stranger both to Sakuya and Kanade, her guardian. As the story progresses, Sakuya falls for him and he warms up to her, despite his own troubling past. It is hinted that Sakuya reminds him of his first love Sakura during his middle school days. As the story progresses, he develops feelings for Sakuya, often showing kind emotions toward her. He has also gotten jealous of Sakuya and Yuuri's close relationship.
- Kanade Miyako (宮古 奏, Miyako Kanade)
- Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (audio drama)[3]
- Kanade sheltered Sakuya after she was given up by her father; he and Sakuya are cousins (Sakuya's father is the younger brother of Kanade's mother). He comes from a family where his parents expected him to be perfect. When Kanade eventually reaches his limit regarding this, his parents disown him and he goes to live on his own, taking Sakuya with him at the request of her father. He is an artist (potter) and university student, but has made few friends and is apparently "taking a break", according to Sakuya. He is presented as a lazy and difficult person, making people younger than he is (like Sakuya) work. Sakuya defends this behavior, as she doesn't mind working and because Kanade saved her. Despite this, Sakuya is very important to Kanade, though at first, he found her annoying and a nuisance. After struggling with himself, Kanade decides to get a regular job as a construction worker to show some responsibility towards her.
- Yuuri Murakami (村上 優里, Murakami Yūri)
- Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (audio drama)[3]
- One of Sakuya's best friends. He calls Kanade a "lowlife" because he thinks Kanade takes advantage of Sakuya. Yuuri lives with his older brother Yuuto and their grandmother (his parents are deceased). His family owns a shop in town, where Sakuya works part-time. Yuuri first met Sakuya at the high school opening ceremony and, unintentionally, verbally bullied her about her sad attitude at school. However, after quarreling with his older brother, he came to understand Sakuya's feelings of being abandoned and later apologized to Sakuya, who forgave him and smiled. Yuuri is protective of Sakuya and defends her whenever he catches someone at school tormenting her. He is in love with Sakuya and becomes upset whenever people around him hint that he might have romantic feelings for her. Although he is popular among his classmates, Yuuri is short for his age and is sensitive about height; even so, he excels at sports and often becomes conceited when complimented on his athletic abilities.
- Hijiri Honjou (本条 聖, Honjō Hijiri)
- Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (audio drama)[3]
- Another one of Sakuya's best friends. Hijiri comes from a wealthy family who seem to own a lot of land in town, including the land where Yuuri's family's shop was built. Hijiri is also very protective of Sakuya. She is very beautiful but has a dark and menacing side. An intimidating person, Hijiri has been referred to as a "wolf in sheep's clothing", and even overwhelms the majority of her teachers. She initially seems to have feelings for Kutani, even after he rejects her confession, but later reconciles that her feelings for Kutani may have developed in response to her belief that Saki would never fall in love with her. When she realizes Saki's feelings for her are genuine, Hijiri begins to reciprocate. Though her name is "Hijiri", she is referred to as "Sei" by Sakuya because the kanji in her name can be alternatively pronounced as such. She is also the president of her class.
- Saki (沙己)
- Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (audio drama)[3]
- A long-time servant for the Honjou family who serves as Hijiri's butler. He is completely devoted to Hijiri, though she thinks he is annoying and treats him like a dog. A cheerful and kindhearted young man, Saki is very attuned to Hijiri's moods and behaviors, more so than Hijiri realizes. His devotion to Hijiri and his cheerful nature stems from meeting her when he had been at the lowest point in his life; despite being only a young child, she dragged him all the way to her house and he came to believe that she had given him a second chance at life. His regular declarations of love and gestures of affection to Hijiri are largely met with a violent reaction from her but are entirely sincere, which Hijiri has difficulty accepting.
- Shizuka Kutani (久谷 静, Kutani Shizuka)
- Sakuya, Chihiro, Hijiri, and Yuuri's homeroom teacher and also a math teacher at the high school. He is the sponsor for the Star-gazing Club and encourages and supports Sakuya. Yuuri calls him "Shizuka-chan" and accuses him of making fun of his height. Kutani also seems to have the habit of losing his contacts and glasses. Apparently, he has a girlfriend.
- Yuuto Murakami (村上 優人, Murakami Yūto)
- Yuuri's older brother. He is in charge of the family shop where Sakuya works. Yuuto acts more like a parent to Yuuri and still treats him like a child. On Children's Day, he hung up Yuuri's koinobori, even though Yuuri is much too old for such traditions at the age of eighteen. Although he is generally a gentle person, it is hinted that Yuuto used to get into a lot of fights when he was younger.
- Sakura Amamiya (天宮 桜, Amamiya Sakura)
- Chihiro's first love, a girl he met in middle school who was frequently bullied because she came from a wealthy household. She was treated as an outcast by her classmates. She and Chihiro became close because of their mutual feelings of loneliness, but her fragile emotional state resulted in an attempted suicide by hanging herself. She remains comatose and hospitalized in Tokyo. Sakura eventually awakens and calls Chihiro, resulting in him visiting her.
- Yuichi Aoi (葵 悠一, Aoi Yūichi)
- Chihiro's uncle, the brother of Chihiro's mother. He took Chihiro in when Chihiro's mother abandoned him. He is a good-hearted man who hopes that by moving away from Tokyo, Chihiro can begin high school with fewer emotional burdens. As a result, Yuichi and his wife worry about Chihiro but are delighted when they learn that Chihiro has friends.
Media
Manga
Twinkle Stars was written and illustrated by
The series was originally licensed for an English-language release in Singapore by
No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English (Singapore / Australia, New Zealand / North America) release date | English (Singapore / Australia, New Zealand / North America) ISBN | |
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1 | 18 January 2008[19] | 978-4-592-18601-4 | 7 September 2009 (SG)[7] 10 January 2011 (AUS/NZ)[8] 22 November 2016 (NA)[2] | 978-981-276-939-8 (SG) 978-981-276-940-4 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36023-4 (NA) | |
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2 | 19 May 2008[20] | 978-4-592-18602-1 | 2 December 2009 (SG)[7] 10 March 2011 (AUS/NZ)[21] 22 November 2016 (NA)[2] | 978-981-276-972-5 (SG) 978-981-276-971-8 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36023-4 (NA) | |
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3 | 19 September 2008[22] | 978-4-592-18603-8 | 6 January 2010 (SG)[7] 10 May 2011 (AUS/NZ)[23] 21 March 2017 (NA)[24] | 978-981-276-996-1 (SG) 978-981-276-997-8 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36024-1 (NA) | |
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4 | 19 January 2009[25] | 978-4-592-18604-5 | 4 May 2010 (SG)[7] 10 July 2011 (AUS/NZ)[26] 21 March 2017 (NA)[24] | 978-981-4297-36-3 (SG) 978-981-4297-36-3 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36024-1 (NA) | |
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5 | 19 May 2009[27] | 978-4-592-18605-2 | 21 December 2010 (SG)[7] 10 September 2011 (AUS/NZ)[28] 1 August 2017 (NA)[29] | 978-981-4297-97-4 (SG) 978-981-4297-97-4 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36095-1 (NA) | |
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6 | 18 September 2009[30] | 978-4-592-18606-9 | 5 September 2011 (SG)[7] 10 November 2011 (AUS/NZ)[31] 1 August 2017 (NA)[29] | 978-981-4306-50-8 (SG) 978-981-4306-50-8 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36095-1 (NA) | |
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7 | 19 January 2010[32] | 978-4-592-18607-6 | 7 February 2012 (SG)[7] 10 March 2012 (AUS/NZ)[33] 7 November 2017 (NA)[34] | 978-981-4306-51-5 (SG) 978-981-4306-51-5 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36096-8 (NA) | |
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8 | 19 May 2010[35] | 978-4-592-18608-3 | 10 May 2012 (AUS/NZ)[36] 7 November 2017 (NA)[34] | 978-981-4372-43-5 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36096-8 (NA) | |
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9 | 17 September 2010[37] | 978-4-592-18609-0 | 10 January 2013 (AUS/NZ)[38] 20 March 2018 (NA)[39] | 978-981-4372-55-8 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36098-2 (NA) | |
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10 | 19 January 2011[40] | 978-4-592-18610-6 | 10 July 2013 (AUS/NZ)[41] 20 March 2018 (NA)[39] | 978-981-4372-87-9 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36098-2 (NA) | |
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11 | 19 April 2011[42] | 978-4-592-18037-1 | 10 November 2013 (AUS/NZ)[43] 20 March 2018 (NA)[39] | 978-981-4372-88-6 (AUS/NZ) 978-0-316-36098-2 (NA) | |
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Audio drama
A Twinkle Stars
Reception
In his review of the series for Otaku USA, Che Gilson praised Twinkle Stars as a "solid shojo romantic drama" with "charming girls, cute guys, a good sense of pacing, and pathos." He further praised Takaya's ability to portray her characters' "inner and outer emotional states with art." However, he noted that Twinkle Stars contains "many of the same elements" as Takaya's previous series, Fruits Basket, including "a frustrating penchant for passive heroines."[1]
References
- ^ a b Gilson, Che (15 February 2017). "[Review] Twinkle Stars". Otaku USA. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "Twinkle Stars, Vol. 1". Yen Press. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g 高屋奈月原作『星は歌う』に出演のドラマCDキャスト陣からコメント到着!. Animate Times (in Japanese). 18 January 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ The first chapter of Twinkle Stars was published in the thirteenth issue of Hana to Yume in 2007. While the issue's cover date is listed as 20 June 2007, it was actually released on 5 June 2007.
- 花とゆめ 2007年 表示号数13. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
Year on cover: 2007. Month on cover: 6. Day on cover: 20.
- 花とゆめ2007年13号 (HanaYume-2007-13). Comic Holmes (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2019.
Date on sale: 2007/06/05.
- "June Serialization Update, New Manga from Fruits Basket Creator". ComiPress. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
According to Hana to Yume's official website, a new manga from Natsuki Takaya, creator of Fruits Basket, will debut in Hana to Yume issue 13, on sale June 5th.
- Koulikov, Mikhail (20 May 2007). "New Manga from Fruits Basket Creator Set to Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
The June 5 issue of the shōjo anthology Hana to Yume will feature the start of Hoshi wa Utau...
- 花とゆめ 2007年 表示号数13. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- The Mainichi Newspapers Co. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2020.on 17 February 2014.
Natsuki Takaya, the author of the hit manga Fruits Basket, has been serializing the manga Hoshi wa Utau in Hana to Yume for a while now, and its final episode is published in the 4th issue of the same magazine, on sale on the 20th.
- Takaya, Natsuki (20 January 2011). 花ゆめ発売. Cat, Mouse, Star, and Moon: Natsuki Takaya's Official Blog (in Japanese). Archived from the original
The final episode of Hoshi wa Utau is in Hana to Yume, on sale today (since the date changed)...!
External links
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 March 2012) (in Japanese)
- Twinkle Stars (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia