L'étranger series

The L'étranger series (Japanese: エトランゼシリーズ, Hepburn: Etoranze Shirīzu, lit. "Stranger series")[2][3] is a Japanese yaoi manga series written and illustrated by Kanna Kii. The first book, L'étranger de la Plage (海辺のエトランゼ, Umibe no Etoranze) was serialized in the bimonthy manga magazine On BLUE from 2013 to 2014, and published in English by the digital distribution platform Renta! as The Stranger by the Beach. It was followed up with a sequel series titled L'étranger du Zéphyr (春風のエトランゼ, Harukaze no Etoranze, lit. "Stranger in the Spring Breeze"). An anime film adaptation of L'étranger de la Plage by Studio Hibari is set to debut in theaters on September 11, 2020.

L'étranger series
Cover of the Japanese version of L'étranger de la Plage, first released on July 25, 2014 (2014-07-25)
エトランゼシリーズ
(Etoranze Shirīzu)
GenreYaoi[1]
Manga
L'étranger de la Plage
Written byKanna Kii
Published byShodensha
English publisher
Renta!
ImprintFeel Comics On BLUE
MagazineOn BLUE
DemographicJosei
Original runJuly 2013 – 2014
Volumes1
Manga
L'étranger du Zéphyr
Written byKanna Kii
Published byShodensha
ImprintOn BLUE Comics
MagazineOn BLUE
DemographicJosei
Original runJuly 25, 2014 (2014-07-25) – present
Volumes3
Anime film
L'étranger de la Plage
Directed byAkiyo Ohashi
Written byAkiyo Ohashi
Music byMina Kubota
StudioStudio Hibari
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2020 (2020-09-11)

Plot

L'étranger de la Plage

Shun Hashimoto is a gay novelist living in Okinawa who meets Mio Chibana, an orphaned high school student living with his relatives after his mother's death. However, Mio's reaction reminds him of the estrangement from his parents after they discovered his sexual orientation. As Shun and Mio grow closer, Mio confesses that he is moving to the city, but promises to keep in contact once there.

Three years later, Mio suddenly moves back and confesses he is in love with Shun, but Shun is overcome with guilt from depriving him of a "normal" life. Meanwhile, Shun's childhood friend and ex-fiancée, Sakurako, arrives at the island to persuade him to return to Hokkaido due to his father's poor health. Shun is adamant on staying with Mio, but Mio urges him to return to reconcile with his family. Realizing Mio is genuinely in love with him and sensing the truth in his words, Shun decides to return to Hokkaido and asks Mio to accompany him.

L'étranger du Zéphyr

With Mio accompanying him, Shun visits his parents' house in Hokkaido and discovers Fumi, his younger brother adopted during his absence, and Sakurako had tricked him into reconciling with his father. Shun and Mio move in with the Hashimotos, with Shun's father and Fumi struggling to fully accept them as a couple.[4] During Parents' Observation Day at Fumi's school, Shun unexpectedly runs into Wada, his classmate and first, albeit unrequited love.[5] In the spring, Shun publishes his first novel and instantly gains media attention in spite of his anonymity due to being branded as a gay novelist. Five years later, Shun has taken a break from writing novels, while Fumi has become rebellious and resents him for rejecting Sakurako.

Characters
Shun Hashimoto (橋本 駿, Hashimoto Shun)
Voiced by: Taishi Murata (drama CD, film)[6]
Shun is a 27-year-old gay novelist. Originally from Hokkaido, he moved to Okinawa to live with his grandmother after his parents discovered his sexual orientation. While he is attracted to Mio, he is reluctant to disclose his thoughts, as he often believes that Mio would never understand what being gay is like and would be better off not dating him.
Mio Chibana (知花 実央, Chibana Mio)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (drama CD, film)[6]
Mio is a 20-year-old freeter. After his mother's death, he briefly moves to Okinawa, where he meets Shun. Initially offended at Shun's attitude, he soon falls in love and pursues him romantically when he returns to Okinawa. Mio attempts to get better understanding of Shun's concerns, despite Shun constantly dismissing his advances.
Sakurako (桜子)
Voiced by: Yū Shimamura (drama CD, film)[7]
Sakurako is Shun's childhood friend who has known he was gay since high school. Through an arranged marriage, she was also Shun's fiancée until he came out to his parents during the wedding ceremony. Despite this, Sakurako is still in love with him.
Eri (絵理)
Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura (drama CD)
Eri is a woman who previously lived with Shun and his grandmother in Okinawa before moving out to live with her girlfriend, Suzu.
Suzu (鈴)
Voiced by: Sayaka Nakaya (drama CD)
Suzu is Eri's girlfriend.
Fumi Hashimoto (橋本 ふみ, Hashimoto Fumi)
Voiced by: Kumiko Watanabe (drama CD)
Fumi is Shun's younger brother, who was adopted from an orphanage and raised during Shun's absence. He is in love with Sakurako and finds it difficult to accept Shun and Mio's relationship.
Wada (和田)
Wada is Shun's classmate from high school who discovered Shun was gay after realizing Shun was in love with him. His wife, Yoneko, is a lawyer and a fan of Shun's work. They both have a daughter named Chiho from Yoneko's first marriage, who is in Fumi's class and does not get along with Wada.

Media

Manga

L'étranger de la Plage is written and illustrated by Kanna Kii, and it is her debut manga work.[1] It was serialized in the bimonthy manga anthology On BLUE from 2013 to 2014. The chapters were later released in one bound volume by Shodensha under the Feel Comics On BLUE imprint. The manga is distributed in English by Renta! under the title The Stranger by the Beach.[8]

The manga was followed up with a sequel series titled L'étranger du Zéphyr, which began publication in vol. 14 of On BLUE that was released on July 25, 2014.[9] The chapters were later released in bound volumes by Shodensha under the On BLUE Comics imprint.

L'étranger de la Plage was adapted into a drama CD starring Taishi Murata as Shun and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Mio and was released on August 26, 2016.[10] An exclusive talk CD was included at a bonus for a limited time at Animate.[4] A drama CD adaptation of volume 1 of L'étranger du Zéphyr was released on October 27, 2017.[6][11]

L'étranger de la Plage
No.TitleJapanese releaseEnglish release
1The Stranger By the Beach
Umibe no Etoranze (海辺のエトランゼ)		July 25, 2014 (2014-07-25)[12]
978-4396783488		September 8, 2016 (2016-09-08)[13]

L'étranger du Zéphyr
No.TitleJapanese release dateJapanese ISBN
1Harukaze no Etoranze (春風のエトランゼ 1)July 25, 2015 (2015-07-25)[14]978-4396783648
2Harukaze no Etoranze (春風のエトランゼ 2)July 25, 2016 (2016-07-25)[4]978-4396783884
3Harukaze no Etoranze (春風のエトランゼ 3)July 25, 2017 (2017-07-25)[5]978-4396784201

Anime film

On October 25, 2019, Fuji TV announced that they were producing an anime film adaptation of L'étranger de la Plage as part of its Blue Lynx yaoi anime label, set for a theatrical release on September 11, 2020.[1][15] The film will be animated by Studio Hibari and directed by Akiyo Ohashi.[1] Kii, who had previously been an animator, will be supervising the film and is in charge of the character designs.[1] The film will be distributed by Shochiku.[1] Mina Kubota will compose the music for the film, while the band MONO NO AWARE will perform the film's theme song, "Zokkon" (From the Bottom of My Heart).[16]

Reception

In 2014, L'étranger de la Plage was ranked #5 on the list of recommended boys' love stories in a survey of 470 employees across 400 bookstores nationwide in Japan.[17] Referring to Kii's experience as an animator, Kozue Aou from Kono Manga ga Sugoi! praised her use of color contrasts, long shots and close-ups of the characters, and camera work that "speaks eloquently about the character's heart."[12]

The second volume of L'étranger du Zéphyr debuted at #48 on Oricon, selling 17,457 copies in its first week.[18] Kozue Aou from Kono Manga ga Sugoi! described the first volume of L'étranger du Zéphyr as "expressive" and a "first-class product" that "reflects the complex emotions of each character", describing Shun and Mio's journey to Hokkaido as having "warmth" that was realistic.[14]

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References
  1. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 24, 2019). "Kanna Kii's Umibe no Étranger Boys-Love Manga Gets Anime Film Next Summer". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  2. "紀伊カンナ「エトランゼ」シリーズで好きなキャラは？次号on BLUEで大特集". Natalie (in Japanese). August 26, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  3. Inoue, Satoshi; Fudanshi, Kizuitara (July 17, 2019). "BLラバーの書店員が選ぶ「水もしたたるイイ男たち！ビーチでBL」３選". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  4. "紀伊カンナのピュアBL「春風のエトランゼ」ドラマCDに村田太志、松岡禎丞". Natalie (in Japanese). July 22, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  5. "「春風のエトランゼ」3巻本日発売で、紀伊カンナのサイン入りポスター当たる". Natalie (in Japanese). July 25, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  6. "BLCDコレクション『恋する暴君7』『恋する暴君8』発売決定！　『海辺のエトランゼ』続編のドラマCD第1巻も登場！". Animate (in Japanese). June 22, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  7. "『海辺のエトランゼ』新キャスト解禁！". L'etranger Anime Official Website. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  8. "The Stranger by the Beach". Renta!. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  9. "BL誌で市川春子×紀伊カンナ、友人対談". Natalie (in Japanese). July 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  10. "紀伊カンナさん「海辺のエトランゼ」ドラマCD化！". On BLUE (in Japanese). Ameba Blogs. February 16, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  11. "10月27日（金）発売『BLCDコレクション　春風のエトランゼ1』主演声優の村田太志さん＆松岡禎丞さんにインタビュー！". Animate (in Japanese). October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  12. Aou, Kozue (August 8, 2014). "【日刊マンガガイド】『海辺のエトランゼ』 紀伊カンナ". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. @Renta_Yaoi (March 22, 2019). "THE STRANGER BY THE BEACH (Umibe no Étranger) by Kanna Kii now available in English! twme.jp/papy/05MR" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. Aou, Kozue (August 20, 2015). "『春風のエトランゼ』第1巻 紀伊カンナ 【日刊マンガガイド】". Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (in Japanese). Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  15. "Umibe no Étranger Boys-Love Anime Film Reveals Cast, Staff, September 11 Opening". Anime News Network. March 30, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  16. "MONO NO AWARE Performs Umibe no Étranger Boys-Love Anime Film's Theme Song". Anime News Network. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  17. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 6, 2015). "Japan's Bookstore Employees Rank Top Boys-Love Manga of 2014". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  18. Ressler, Karen (August 3, 2016). "Japanese Comic Ranking, July 25-31". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
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