Hell or Utopia awaits...Original anime "Sonny Boy" to air in 2021! PV and comments have arrived!

It was announced that the original TV anime "Sonny Boy" will be broadcast in 2021.

For the original TV anime "Sonny Boy," Hisashi Eguchi will be the first person in 18 years since "Uninhabited Planet Survive" to draft a character for a TV anime, and it will also be the first time that Ginko BOYZ will sing the anime theme song.

Comments from director Shingo Natsume, Hisashi Eguchi, and Kazunobu Mineta of Ginko BOYZ, as well as a concept visual drawn by Hisashi Eguchi, the original character designer, have arrived. A teaser PV with the theme song "Shonen Shoujo" written by Ginko BOYZ was also released.

Teaser PV

Concept Visual

Empty classrooms, boring days. It was supposed to be an ordinary summer vacation. Suddenly, the school begins to drift through another dimension, and 36 boys and girls are left behind, awakening to their psychic powers. Why? Why? Amidst a whirlpool of questions, a life of survival in a world filled with unreasonableness begins.

This is a coming-of-age science fiction survival ensemble drama from Shingo Natsume, director of the worldwide hit anime "One-Pan Man," and animation studio Madhouse, creator of "Summer Wars" and "DEATH NOTE," among others. The edgy visuals and unique worldview that could only be created by these two artists working together again is one of the charms of this work.

The characters are designed by Hisashi Eguchi, a manga artist and illustrator whose genre-less work has captivated many people. He delicately and vividly depicts the expressions of boys and girls who are suddenly thrown out of their peaceful daily lives.

It is also noteworthy that the theme song of the film is sung by Ginko BOYZ. Ginko BOYZ is a rock band that has enraptured many fans with its tingling sound of the pain of adolescence, and their 2005 album "Kimi to Boku no Taisai Sekai Taisen-teki Koi Kakumei" (You and Me: The Third World War-like Love Revolution) drew attention for its jacket illustration by Hisashi Eguchi.

The theme song, "Shonen Shoujo" (Boy and Girl), uses a vivid melody line to depict the blue season of adolescence, a period of oscillation between childhood and adulthood, and resonates strongly with the worldview of "Sonny Boy". Vocalist Kazunobu Mineta's singing voice, which runs through the noisy soundtrack, is also impressive.

Will the "boys and girls" reach hell or utopia? An unforgettable "summer" is about to begin.

Comments (titles omitted, in Japanese only)

Director/Screenplay: Shingo Natsume
For me, "Sonny Boy" is a kind of a personal novel in which I put all the things I like into the film and put it all out there.
I was allowed to make the story and images as selfishly as I wanted, and I think this is the first and last time I will ever be able to do such a thing. I think this is the first and last time I've been able to do something like this, and because of that, it should be an unusual and unique piece of visual art.
I was very happy to be able to ask Mr. Eguchi, whom I have been watching as a fan, to draft the characters, and to have Mr. Mineta of Ginko Boyz, whom I have been listening to for a long time, sing the theme song.
I fell in love with the heroine portrayed by Mr. Eguchi, and when I heard the theme song by Mr. Mineta, I felt all was forgiven.
I know it is an original anime and completely unknown to you, but if the visuals have made you feel scared, I would like to encourage not only anime fans but also Mr. Eguchi and Ginko BOYZ fans to watch the show.
The production team is full of energetic staff, and the video is filled with enthusiasm.
The film is a work that can be interpreted in any way you like. I hope you will take it as you will.
I would be happy if you could feel something in the characters and their endings, and if even one of those feelings remains in your heart after you have finished watching the film.

Character Design: Hisashi Eguchi
It had been 18 years since "Survive, an Uninhabited Planet" in 2003, so I was very excited to be the character designer for a TV animation series.
（The story of "Sonny Boy" is not easy to predict, and it is not a simple story. The mystery deepens with each episode, and the foreshadowing is revealed as the story unfolds, making it a perfect anime for the age of social networking where viewers can talk about it together.
I have not been able to clearly define the characters of the three main characters, but I wanted to include an emo element in common with all three of them.
I hope that people will watch the film and talk about what they feel in real time with their family and friends, or on social networking sites. As a viewer myself, I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Theme song: Kazunobu Mineta, Ginko BOYZ
This was the first time for me to provide music for an animated film, so I was very happy that it was chosen. I remember the excitement in the staff's voices when they first informed me of the request.
When I received the script, I read the eight episodes in one sitting because of the extraordinary sequence of events that unfolded.
The sky was a dazzling blue in the middle of summer, with cicadas chirping. Then a big rain cloud approaches from the other side. The afternoon grows quieter and quieter. The humidity is rising. The two of us are alone on the rooftop. I felt a gut-punch in my heart saying, "This is the kind of animation I wanted to see. Both the story and the use of color had a feel that was only possible in 2021 under these circumstances. And the character design by Hisashi Eguchi was too good.

I think this is a miraculous work. I hope that it will be an important anime for me and everyone else who has a box that was kept still with its lid on and never revealed to anyone back then.

--About the theme song "Shonen Shoujo
I really wanted to give form to the unidentified feeling of excitement in my heart when I came into contact with this work. I wanted something that would be over in an instant, like the bubbles in a cider.
I hope that the junior high school students who will be the characters in this work will be able to see the warm light. I composed this piece with a kind of prayer in mind.

Work information
TV animation "Sonny Boy
Scheduled to air in 2021

＜Story
August 16th, halfway through the long, long summer vacation. Nagara and his friends, who were in the third year of junior high school, were suddenly involved in an unexpected situation. Not only Nagara herself, but also a mysterious transfer student Nozomi, Mizuho, Asakaze, and 36 other classmates drifted away from the school into another dimension.
They also acquired various "abilities" as they drifted away. Some are overjoyed by their abilities beyond human knowledge and run amok, others try to lead the other students as leaders, and still others desperately search for a way to return to their own world.
Some are spiraling distrust, uncontrollable jealousy, and conflicts stemming from a desire for control. In the face of one unexplainable situation after another, the boys and girls are suddenly thrown into a life of survival. Will Nagara and his friends be able to conquer this world and return safely to their original world? ......

<Staff> Director/Screenplay
Director/Screenplay : Shingo Natsume
Character Planning：Hisashi Eguchi
Character design：Norifumi Kugai
Art Director：Mari Fujino (Studio Pablo)
Color Designer：Ken Hashimoto
Director of Photography: Akane Fusehara
Editing: Yoshiko Kimura
Sound Director: Shoji Hata
Animation Production: Madhouse

Theme Song: Ginko BOYZ "Shonen Shoujo

Official website: sonny-boy.net Official Twitter: @sonnyboy_anime

©Sonny Boy committee