Star Driver

Star Driver also known as Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto (Japanese: STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト, Hepburn: Sutā Doraibā Kagayaki no Takuto, lit. STAR DRIVER: Shining Takuto) is a Japanese anime television series created and animated by Bones. It was broadcast for twenty-five episodes on MBS and TBS from October 2010 to April 2011. The anime was licensed in North America by Aniplex of America and was streamed with English subtitles on Hulu, Crackle and Crunchyroll. A compilation film was released on February 9, 2013 in Japan by Shochiku.

Star Driver
Cover of the first DVD volume
STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト (Sutā Doraibā Kagayaki no Takuto)
Genre	Action, mecha^[1]
Created by	Bones
Manga
Illustrated by	Key by Ylab
Published by	Square Enix
Magazine	Young Gangan
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	September 17, 2010 – December 2, 2011
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Takuya Igarashi
Produced by	Hiroo Maruyama Ryō Ōyama Nobuyuki Kurashige Yoshihiro Ōyabu Makoto Furukawa Hirofumi Inagaki
Written by	Yōji Enokido
Music by	Satoru Kōsaki (Monaca)
Studio	Bones
Licensed by	^AUS Madman Entertainment ^NA Aniplex of America
Original network	JNN (MBS)
English network	^AU C31 Melbourne ^SEA Animax Asia
Original run	October 3, 2010 – April 4, 2011
Episodes	25 (List of episodes)
Anime film
Star Driver: The Movie
Directed by	Takuya Igarashi
Produced by	Toshihiro Maeda Kiwa Watanabe Hiroshi Kawashima Yoshirō Tsuchiya
Written by	Yoji Enokido
Music by	Monaca Satoru Kōsaki Kakeru Ishihama Keigo Hoashi Keiichi Okabe Ryūichi Takada
Studio	Bones
Released	February 9, 2013
Runtime	150 minutes
Anime and manga portal

Plot

Main article: List of Star Driver characters

Star Driver takes place on the fictional Southern Cross Isle. One night, a boy named Takuto washes up on shore swimming from the mainland. He later enrolls in Southern Cross High School as a freshman and makes new friends. However, beneath the school is a group of mysterious giants called Cybodies, which can be controlled by humans in an alternate dimension known as Zero Time. Takuto, The "Galactic Pretty Boy" (銀河美少年, Ginga Bishōnen), finds himself dragged into opposition with the "Glittering Crux Brigade" (綺羅星十字団, Kiraboshi Jūjidan, lit. Glittering Star Cruciform Group), a mysterious group that intends to take possession of the island's Cybodies for their own purposes as well as break the seals of the island's four Shrine Maidens, whose powers prevent the Cybodies from functioning outside of Zero Time.

Media

Anime

See also: List of Star Driver episodes

The series is directed by Takuya Igarashi, with character designs by Yoshiyuki Ito and Hiroka and Misa Mizuya. The anime premiered on October 3, 2010^[2] and ended on April 3, 2011.^[3] The series was collected by Aniplex in a total of nine DVD and Blu-ray volumes.^[4] A Blu-ray box was also released on January 23, 2013.^[5]

In North America, Aniplex of America premiered the first episode at the 2010 New York Comic Con/New York Anime Festival on October 9, 2010.^[6] Bandai Entertainment formerly licensed the series in 2011.^[7] The series was streamed with English subtitles by Aniplex of America on Hulu, Crackle, and Crunchyroll starting on August 17, 2011.^[8]

Music

Opening themes

• "Gravity Ø" by Aqua Timez (1-13)
• "Shining☆Star" by 9nine (14-24)

Ending themes

• "Cross Over" by 9nine (1-13)
• "Pride" by Scandal (14-25)

Insert Maiden songs

• "First Galaxy" by Takuto Tsunashi (Mamoru Miyano)
• "Monochrome" (モノクローム, Monokurōmu) by Sakana-chan (Haruka Tomatsu)
• "Komorebi no Contact" (木漏れ日のコンタクト, Komorebi no Kontakuto, Sunbeam Contact) by Wako Agemaki (Saori Hayami)
• "Innocent Blue" (イノセント・ブルー, Inosento Burū) by Mizuno Yō (Rina Hidaka)
• "Shūshoku no Aria" (秋色のアリア, Aria of Autumn Color) by Nichi Keito (Ami Koshimizu)

Manga

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Key by Ylab, was serialized in Square Enix's Young Gangan from September 17, 2010, to December 2, 2011.^[9][10] Square Enix collected its chapters in three tankōbon volumes, released from February 26, 2011, to January 25, 2012.^[11][12][13]

References

1. "Fudanshi Full!, Star Driver Manga End in Japan". Anime News Network. December 5, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
2. "Star Driver Kagayaki No Takuto Robot Anime Announced". Anime News Network. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
3. "STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト". Aniplex. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
4. "STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト". Aniplex. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
5. "STAR DRIVER輝きのタクト Blu-ray BOX". Star Driver. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
6. "Mardock Scramble, Star Driver Premieres At New York Comic Con". Anime News Network. 2010-09-09.
7. "Bandai Ent. Adds Star Driver Kagayaki No Takuto Anime". Anime News Network. 2011-04-23.
8. "Hulu, Crackle, Crunchyroll to Stream Star Driver". Anime News Network. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
9. . Young Gangan Official Site (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
10. ヤンガン新連載「神と一緒に」、寺田克也ら描くドラクエも. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 2, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
11. STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト 1 (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
12. STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト 2 (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
13. STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト 3 (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved July 28, 2021.

External links

• Official website
• Star Driver (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia