The 7 Seeds manga series created by Yumi Tamura features a varied cast of diverse characters, each in different teams. There is no set main character. Instead, the story switches perspectives between each teams and different characters.
Every member of a team has a name containing a kigo , [1] a poetic seasonal word, related to the team name — for example, all of the members of the Spring team have names traditionally associated with spring. Each team consists of seven members plus a guide trained in wilderness survival.
There are currently five teams living in the world of 7 Seeds. Summer Team B, Spring Team, Winter Team, and Fall Team were placed in cryogenics around the same time. Summer Team A was placed 17 years before them, [2] while Mozu was frozen a few years after Team A. Every team resurfaced at different times. The five teams are listed in order of appearance in the series, which is different from the order in which they were revived from cryonic preservation in the series' chronology.
Summer Team B is created after the other four Japanese teams as a backup and consists of people who are healthy but rebellious or otherwise not well-adjusted to society. They emerge from cryonic preservation at the start of the series near an island in the East China Sea off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture in western Kyūshū, and travel to the seed cache at the foot of Bungo Fuji in Ōita Prefecture.
The Spring Team emerges from cryonic preservation a few months after Summer Team B near an island off the coast of the Kantō region of central Honshu, and travel to Ogino Fuji in Kanagawa Prefecture, where they find a note from Natsu of Summer Team B. Later, Hana invites Takahiro, the surviving member of Winter Team, to join the Spring Team.
The Winter Team emerges from cryonic preservation in the Pacific Ocean off the southern coast of Hokkaidō about fifteen years before the start of the series. Three members die during the thawing process; on the way to the cache at Mt. Meakandake, they are attacked by a saber toothed tiger, killing their guide and Mutsuki. The remaining three, Mitsuru, Fubuki, and Takahiro, form a close relationship as they fight for survival.
The Fall Team emerges from cryonic preservation about three years before the start of the series in the Sea of Japan off the coast of the Kansai region of western Honshu, and travel to Kobe Fuji in Hyogo Prefecture. They are led by Akio and Ran, who overthrew the Team guide Ryoya and keep the rest of the members enslaved with tasks such as raising corn, tending livestock and weaving fabric. Months after they meet Arashi, Natsu, and Semimaru from Summer Team B, the sky starts to rain ashes, which makes their hideout, field and everything they have built useless and unlivable. The Fall Team sets out to visit other Fuji and to find a safe place to live in.
The members of Summer Team A were specially chosen for the Seven Seeds Project by the Japanese government. This project genetically engineered and conceived about 100 babies, born from carefully selected egg cells and sperms. Because of this, none of the members of Summer Team A have a family name. These babies are raised on an island and taught wilderness survival until they reach the age of 17. At that time, a last test is carried out to select the seven that are put in cryonic preservation.
"Failures" or dropouts from this project are said to have left the island to join the rest of society, but it is revealed that they are actually killed and disposed of. Each child is instructed in seven classes of technologies: water, fire, wind, earth, plant, animal, and medical, and at age 13, they choose two classes to specialize in. In the end, one survivor is selected to represent each class. They emerge from cryonic preservation in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Kyūshū, a little later than Spring Team.
The posthumous characters that get a main focus in the Ash arc. Their story is told primarily from the point of view of Mark Ibaraki, a comedian who recollects his days at the shelter on a diary that Hana and the others find in the underground shelter. [9] The shelter's events lasted a few years after the strike of the meteor, but it halted due to the spread of the Acari X virus.
As she did in her other previous works already, Yumi Tamura placed strong emphasis on the deep connection of the protagonists with the nature surrounding them by having them interact with various animals who often play an important role in supporting the characters.
Fubuki and Mitsuru-san paired up with others dogs and gave birth to many puppies. The whole dog population consists of almost hundred dogs by now. They're scattered in several smaller packs all over Honshu. Their appearances vary a lot. Still deeply attached to Aramaki although they don't live with him all the time anymore, they come when he calls for them and do various tasks for him like hunting, guarding duty, trailing tracks or searching for water and food sources. Their help was a great support for Aramaki and enabled him to survive in this dangerous new world all alone for 15 years.
A male wolf-like dog companion of Aramaki's since he was a puppy, and named after the late Fubuki of Team Winter. He's the Son of the nameless dog from Hokkaido who led Aramaki to safety after his other comrades perished. Fubuki was the Alpha Male of Aramaki's pack consisting of almost a hundred other adults and puppies, scattered in several smaller packs all over Honshu. Fubuki, together with the rest of the adult dogs of Aramaki's pack, had been “infected” by the spores of mushroom in Chapater 119, resulting in impending death due to said mushroom growing on their body. Together with the rest of the adult dogs of the pack, they intentionally set themselves ablaze and made a perimeter around the forest overrun with said mushroom to prevent any infected animals from leaving the burning forest, and prevent the humans from entering said forest.
A female dog named after the late Mitsuru of Team Winter. She has accompanied Aramaki ever since she was a puppy. She's the daughter of the nameless dog from Hokkaido who led Aramaki to safety after his other comrades perished. Mitsuru-san also seems to be the female alpha dog of Aramaki's entire pack consisting of almost hundred dogs by now, scattered in several smaller packs all over Honshu. She perished with the rest of the adult dogs of the pack in the blaze which engulfs the forest in Chapter 119.
An adult male dog from Aramaki's pack. Fubuki and Mitsuru-san paired with other dogs (as shown in a flash back), and each giving birth to a lot of puppies. They're almost a hundred dogs by now, scattered in several smaller packs all over Honshu. Derek leads the search team for Hana. He looks very wolf-alike. His special feature are two white circles around the eyes. He perished in the blaze that engulfs the forest in Chapter 119.
Since he's often being bullied by the other dogs, Ayu adopts him as her own dog as per Aramaki's suggestion. Kuroda loves to tease his mistress and licks her all over whenever he gets the opportunity. His fur is completely black; he looks like a mixture between Tibetan Terrier and Shih-poo.
He's hungry all the time and often trails off. But it isn't bad all the time because this way he was able to find Momota and deliver his call for help to Hana's team. Ball resembles a Laekenois, with scrubby light fur and black ears. He's very trusting even to strangers.
A puppy from the latest litter of Fubuki and Mitsuru-san. The brother of Battery. Very curious and reckless. Looks like a Tibetan Terrier, dark coat, fair muzzle and legs. When he and his brother went astray on an adventure tour, he finds Hana and warns her of a reptile closing in on her.
A puppy from the latest litter of Fubuki and Mitsuru-san. The brother of Diamond. Very curious and reckless. Looks like a Maltese, with fair coat, curled tail and snapped off ears. When he and his brother went astray on an adventure tour, he is being chased by a large reptile, but Hana rescues him just in time.
A tabby cat who was Natsu's pet in the past, before she was sent to the future. She deeply misses him.
A baby flesh eating rabbit. Natsu wanted to keep it as her pet and Arashi suggested its name. However, it was killed by Mozu in order to prevent it from attracting the rest of its pack.
A llama-alike animal with a very keen sense for edible and dangerous food. She was given as a present from Izayoi to Team Summer B as they parted from Team Autumn. Ever since then, her delicious milk and her sharp instincts have been a great help to Team Summer B. She's also strong and can carry heavy luggage, even persons. Not even travelling on a ship does pose a problem to her.
Arashi, Semimaru and Natsu at some point of the story discovered a flightless kind of birds and decided to take in some of them as a supply of eggs and bird meat. Because they're so trusting to humans, the cynical Semimaru decides to call them Moron Birds.
During their adventure in the ghost ship Fuji, Arashi picked up a pair of turtles which had been preserved in a hibernation state. Which kind of turtles they are, whether they're actually alive (and whether they're really a male and a female) is still unknown, though.
A still nameless, cheeky young foal which got attached to Hana and sticks close to her after its mother's death. White, curly fur, very beautiful and cute, but an extremely stubborn child, too.
A little family of boars, consisting of the mother and four baby boars. They befriend Hana and protect her as she just woke up from her fall into the whirlpool. But they have to painfully separate again because Chisa unknowingly killed and cooked one of the young boars, resulting in Hana accidentally eating her little friend.
Two llama-alike animals with a very keen sense for edible and dangerous food. They live with Team Autumn. The llamas' delicious milk and their sharp instincts have been a great help to Team Autumn. They are also strong and can carry and pull heavy luggage, even persons.
Gengorou took care of many different animal species since he was part of the animal class during Summer A's time of education. He loved them deeply and built up a strong relationship especially to Tango and Aoba, but during Summer A's test he had to kill most of them with his own hands because they became dangerous to his comrades. It broke his heart.
A tame large male brown bear which was reared by Gengorou ever since he was a cub. He was very trusting towards humans and got quite attached to Gengorou. But during Team Summer A's test he was probably deliberately infected with rabies and tossed out in the middle of the mountains. Pained and puzzled, he attacked Koruri's team and took away one of Ukai's eyes. Ukai shot him several times in return and Aoba died slowly, suffering great pains. [13]
A tame large male tiger which was reared by Gengorou ever since he was a cub. He was very trusting towards humans and got quite attached to Gengorou. But during Team Summer A's test he was probably deliberately infected with rabies and tossed out in the middle of the mountains. Pained and puzzled, he attacked and killed several Summer A candidates. Gengorou took responsibility and strangled him to death. [14]
A large saber-toothed tiger alike cat who killed several members of Team Winter. But after being killed by Aramaki, it turned out that the tiger also was just a mother who did her best to feed her cub. The cub ran away from Aramaki and was probably killed in the flame of the bushfire.
A cute little dog owned by Maria. She brought it along with her into Ryugu Shelter, but Takashi took it away and quarantined it because he thought Ten-ten might be the "hidden carrier" of Acari X - a seemingly healthy parasite host showing no symptoms of illness, but infecting those around him. The dog was never seen again; he probably got disposed of. This entire thing caused Maria great grief. Ten-ten's fur was completely black; his appearance resembled a Shih-poo.
Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, is a shōjo manga series written by Hisaya Nakajo. The manga was serialized in Japan in Hakusensha's semi-monthly shōjo manga magazine, Hana to Yume. The series was concluded with the Japanese release of volume 23 in August 2004.
This Ugly yet Beautiful World is a Japanese anime television series created by Shouji Saeki and Hiroyuki Yamaga. It was animated by Gainax and Shaft.
Someday's Dreamers is a Japanese manga series written by Norie Yamada and illustrated by Kumichi Yoshizuki. It was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Comic Dragon magazine from May 2002 to January 2003 and was later collected in two bound volumes. In 2006, Tokyopop released the manga in the United States under the name Someday's Dreamers.
Here is Greenwood is a 9-volume Japanese manga written and illustrated by Yukie Nasu, revolving around the activities of four boys in Greenwood Dormitory at a fictional prestigious Japanese all-boys private school named Ryokuto Academy. The manga was serialized in Hana to Yume from 1986 to 1991 and published in English by Viz Media. It has been adapted into a six-episode anime OVA and a live-action television series.
Hourglass of Summer is a Japanese visual novel that was released by Princess Soft. It was brought to the U.S. by the Hirameki International Group. It was one of the first interactive dating games to be translated into English. Originally, it was released exclusively in Japan in a PlayStation 2 format that could only be played on Japanese systems. Later, a PC version, also exclusively Japanese, was released, only this time with erotic content added to it. The U.S. version was released as an interactive DVD that didn't contain sexual content.
Arashi no Yoru ni is the first in a series of children's books authored by Yūichi Kimura and illustrated by Hiroshi Abe. In 1995, the book won the 26th Kōdansha Literature Culture Award and the 42nd Sankei Children's Literature Culture Award.
Kirarin Revolution is a Japanese manga series by An Nakahara. The series ran in the shōjo manga magazine Ciao from March 2004 to June 2009, with side stories running in Pucchigumi in 2006. The manga sold a cumulative total of over 10 million copies and was awarded Best Children's Manga at the 2006 Shogakukan Manga Awards.
7 Seeds is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yumi Tamura. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future, long enough after a meteorite hits Earth that new species have evolved, and follows the struggles of five groups of young adults to survive after they are revived from cryonic preservation. The title comes from five groups of individuals in cryogenic chambers along with supplies, called "seeds", laid down by the Japanese government.
Natsu no Arashi! is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi. The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Wingshōnen manga magazine from August 2006 to September 2010, with its chapters collected in eight bound volumes. Natsu no Arashi! was also adapted into two anime television series by Shaft under the direction of Akiyuki Shinbo, Shin Oonuma, and Kenichi Ishikura and broadcast in Japan from April 5, 2009 to December 27, 2009. Maiden Japan licensed the series for US release on November 12, 2019 on Blu-ray.
Game Center Arashi is a Japanese manga by Mitsuru Sugaya, which ran in CoroCoro Comic from 1978 to 1984. It focus on Arashi Ishino, a young gamer whose life revolves around video games. The manga, which is one of the earliest Japanese video game-themed comics, sold over 5 million copies. The series was adapted as a popular anime television show that aired in 1982 in Japan on Mondays from 7:00pm to 7:30pm.; and in Hong Kong.
KimiKiss is a Japanese dating simulation game for the PlayStation 2. Developed by Enterbrain in 2006, KimiKiss has become a media franchise, which includes 5 manga adaptations, a light novel, and an anime television series directed by Ken'ichi Kasai.
Kamen no Maid Guy is a comedy manga series written and illustrated by Maruboro Akai. The manga started serialization in the Japanese shōnen manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age in 2004.
Taishō Baseball Girls. is a Japanese light novel series written by Atsushi Kagurazaka and illustrated by Sadaji Koike. Tokuma Shoten published four novels from April 2007 to June 2010. It has been adapted into a drama CD, a manga series serialized in Monthly Comic Ryū, and an anime television series animated by J.C.Staff aired between July and September 2009. The anime had been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks and Section23 Films released the complete collection on November 16, 2010.
Ladies versus Butlers! is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Kōzuki, with accompanying illustrations by Munyū. The series includes 13 novels released between September 2006 and March 2012, published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation by the illustrator group Nekoyashiki-Nekomaru was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Moeoh magazine between the June 2008 and December 2008 issues. A drama CD based on the novels was released in September 2009. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Xebec and directed by Atsushi Ōtsuki aired in Japan from January to March 2010. The anime has been licensed by Media Blasters for release in North America.
Mix is a Japanese baseball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuru Adachi. It is a sequel to Touch. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday since May 2012. As of September 2023, the chapters have been compiled into twenty-one tankōbon volumes. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation by OLM was broadcast from April to September 2019. A second season was broadcast from April 2023 to September 2023.
First Love Monster or Hatsukoi Monster is a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Akira Hiyoshimaru and published in Kodansha's Aria magazine. An anime television adaptation aired from July to September 2016.
Convenience Store Boy Friends is a Japanese multimedia project developed by Kadokawa's B's Log Comic magazine with collaboration by Lawson. The project started in 2015 and has already released mooks and bundles with drama CDs. It centers around a group of male high school students who always stop at a convenience store on their way home from school. An anime television series adaptation animated by Pierrot and directed by Hayato Date aired from July 6 to September 28, 2017 on TBS.
Zoids Wild is an anime series based on the Zoids model kits produced by Takara Tomy. The 5th Zoids anime, the anime is part of a cross-media relaunch of the franchise encompassing a new toy line, manga series, and video game for the Nintendo Switch, which were predominantly aimed at boys aged 10–12. Streamed from 7 July 2018 to 29 June 2019, this was the final series produced by Allspark Animation before being absorbed into Entertainment One on 9 October 2020.
Takane and Hana is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Shiwasu. The series has been serialized in Hana to Yume since 2014. The story follows the interactions of 16-year-old Hana Nonomura and 26-year-old Takane Saibara after Hana takes her sister's place in an arranged marriage meeting with Takane. The series received a live-action television series and a drama CD in 2019.
Scarlet Nexus is a Japanese anime television series adaptation of the video game of the same name. It is produced by Sunrise and aired from July to December 2021.