is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series, and the first to be produced by

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

. The series was first aired on

NHK BS-2 , also known by its romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestrial television channels (NHK General TV and NHK ...

and ran for twenty six episodes, from October 24, 2000 until May 1, 2001. Created by Shō Aikawa and directed by

Tetsurō Amino is a Japanese anime director, born on October 10, 1955, in Chiba Prefecture. In 1988, he started using his name in katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases ...

, the series' character designer and chief animation director was the late Hiroshi Ōsaka. The series was subsequently aired by the anime television network

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX in all caps, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Launched on July 1, 1998, Animax is the first 24-hour network in the world dedicated to anime.The Anime Biz' - ...

, who also aired it across its English language networks in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. For the 25th anniversary of the studio, it was made available worldwide (excluding Japan) on

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

on March 17, 2025.

Story

The series is set within the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

of Japan, following a small boy named Hiwou. The townspeople have lived simply, making "Clockwork Dolls" or "karakuri" for festivals. Hiwou's father left the family on a long trip, and their mother has since died. The children live with friends. Their simple life vanishes when the "Wind Gang" appears, destroys the city with their own clockwork dolls, and captures its citizens. Hiwō and his siblings and friends, Shishi, Machi, Tetsu, Mayu, Sai, and baby Jyobu (who are exploring a cave at the time), escape unharmed and embark on a quest to save the town. They take with them Homura, a huge clockwork doll that functions like a giant robot. Along the way, they are forced to use their clockwork dolls as weapons - something they were never supposed to do, according to Hiwō's father. Early in the series, they meet Arashi, a member of the Wind Gang, and Hana and Yuki, two samurai daughters who ended up traveling with the group. Hiwō and his friends encounter a number of historical figures, before these people entered the history books during the Meiji Restoration.

Production

Staff

*Director: Tetsuro Amino *Music: Hiroshi Yamaguchi *Original creator: Shō Aikawa *Character Design: Hajime Jinguji, Hiroshi Osaka *Art director: Nobuto Sakamoto *Mecha design: Junya Ishigaki *Director of Photography: Youichi Ōgami *Color Coordination: Kenji Chiba *Historical Verification: Tetsunori Iwashita *Main Animation Director: Hiroshi Osaka *Sound director: Yasuo Uragami *Animation Production: BONES

Cast

Houko Kuwashima is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is capable of playing a variety of roles, ranging from young boys to feminine women. She is affiliated with Aoni Production. Her first major role was as Yurika Misumaru in '' Martian Successor Nadesi ...

as Hiwō *

Kaori Mizuhashi is a Japanese voice actress who is employed by Arts Vision. Her major voice roles include Meiru Sakurai in ''Megaman NT Warrior'', Mami Tomoe in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Kuki Shinobu in ''Genshin Impact'', Lava and May in '' Arknights' ...

as Machi *

Rikako Aikawa is a Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress affiliated with Atomic Monkey. She was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She was originally a child actor, child actress. Her real name after she married Mitsuo Iwata, a Japanese ...

as Shishi *

Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original '' Futari wa Pretty Cure' ...

as Mayu *

Haruna Ikezawa is a Greek-born Japanese actress, voice actress,singer and author. Her major roles in anime include: Gō Seiba in ''Bakusō Kyōdai Let's & Go!!'', Haruna Hiroko in ''Hamtaro'', Yoshino Shimazu in ''Maria-sama ga Miteru'', Momoka Nishizawa i ...

as Hana *

Omi Minami is a Japanese voice actress, essayist and columnist. She is mostly known for her work in anime and video game roles, with starring roles as Hyatt in ''Excel Saga'', Ruri Hoshino in '' Martian Successor Nadesico'', Majic in '' Orphen'', as well ...

as Yuki *

Kazuhiko Inoue is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and singer. His notable works include Anthony Brown in '' Candy Candy'', Joe Shimamura in the 1979 iteration of '' Cyborg 009'', Jerid Messa in '' Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'', Kakashi Hatake in ''Naruto ...

as Ryōma Sakamoto *

Nobuo Tobita is a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Ibaraki Prefecture. He is represented by Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of Kamille Bidan ('' Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam''), Albert Heinrich/004 ('' Cyborg 009'' (2001)), and Sueo Maruo ('' Ch ...

as Sai * Shinasichiro Miki as Arashi * Yoko Teppouzuka as Tetsu * Yuko Mizutani as Alexander *

Yūji Takada is a Japanese actor and voice actor represented by Ōsawa Office. Takada has featured in numerous anime television series and drama series, and has also appeared as a narrator in numerous productions. In 1998, he made his debut in an anime with ...

as Aka *

Masako Ebisu Masako (written: , , , or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * *, (1888–1940), 6th daughter of Emperor Meiji *, Japanese long-distance runner *, Japanese voice actress *, Japanese linguist *, ...

as Narrator *

Chisato Nakajima is a Japanese actress and voice actress affiliated with Aoni Production. Her hobbies include painting, singing, and tennis. She is most known for the roles of Mari-san, Alisa Mackintosh in ''Kinnikuman'' and Percy the Small Engine in the Japa ...

as Child (ep 2) *

Yukimasa Kishino is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. He is also active in the theatrical entertainment field and is the chairman of his own theatrical group, ''Gekidan Kishino Gumi''. Some of the members of this group include fellow voice actors Kujir ...

as Gennosuke (ep 6)

Music

Opening theme

''Hiwou no Theme'' by ''

Hiroshi Yamaguchi is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Written forms Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters. Here are some examples: *浩, "wide expanse, abundance, vigorous" *弘, "vast, broad, w ...

Ending theme

''CROSSROAD'' by ''

Kumiko Endō Kumiko (くみこ, クミコ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Written forms Kumiko can be written using different kanji and can mean: *久美子, "forever, beauty, child" *空見子, "sky, see, child" *公美子, "public, beauty, child" *� ...

References

External links

Official site
* 1999 manga 2000 anime television series debuts Crunchyroll anime Bandai Entertainment anime titles Bones (studio) Kodansha manga NHK original programming Films with screenplays by Shō Aikawa Seinen manga {{Anime-television-series-stub