No. 6
| No. 6 | |
Cover of the first bunkobon novel
|
|
| Genre | Science fiction, Dystopia |
|---|---|
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Atsuko Asano |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Imprint | Ya!Entertainment |
| Original run | October 10, 2003 – June 14, 2011 |
| Volumes | 9 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Atsuko Asano |
| Illustrated by | Hinoki Kino |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Magazine | Aria |
| Original run | March 2011 – December 2013 |
| Volumes | 9 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Kenji Nagasaki |
| Written by | Seishi Minakami |
| Music by | Keiichi Suzuki |
| Studio | Bones |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network |
Fuji TV (noitamina) Kansai TV |
| Original run | July 7, 2011 – September 15, 2011 |
| Episodes | 11 |
No. 6 is a nine-volume novel series written by Atsuko Asano and published by Kodansha between October 2003 and June 2011. A manga adaptation drawn by Hinoki Kino began serialization in the March 2011 issue of Kodansha's Aria magazine. An anime television series adaptation by Bones began airing in Japan in July 2011.
The story takes place in the "ideal" and perfect city known as "No.6". Shion, a boy raised in the elite and privileged environment of his home, gives shelter to another boy, who only gives his name as "Rat" or "Nezumi" on the former's 12th birthday. What Shion soon discovers is how drastically life will change after meeting with the mysterious Rat, whom he had saved one unforgettable, stormy night.
Shion is an intelligent, idealistic boy who was on his way to going into the Special Curriculum for gifted students, specializing in Ecology, until his fateful encounter with Nezumi on his twelfth birthday. Although he knew Nezumi was a wanted fugitive, he cared for the bullet wound in his arm (or shoulder in the manga adaptation), fed him, and sheltered him for the night in his room. Following a police investigation, he was punished for taking in a known fugitive and was stripped of his elite status in their caste-based society. He and his mother were forced to move from their elite home in Kronos to Lost Town and he was no longer allowed to enter the Special Curriculum.
Four years later, Shion, now 16, works for the Park Maintenance of No.6 where he controls waste management robots. One day, Shion and his coworker discover the body of an apparently old man in the park. When the man's death is not reported in the news, and Shion finds out that the body belonged to a man only 31 years old, he becomes suspicious of a government cover-up. Shion later witnesses his coworker age rapidly and die as a wasp emerge from his neck. Shion is then arrested under the pretense of being suspected for murdering his coworker. Nezumi saves him from the authorities and takes him to West Block, the slums outside the city. Shion nearly dies himself when he is infected with a parasitic wasp, but Nezumi saves him a second time, though Shion is left with white hair and a scar that looks like a red snake curling from his ankle to his neck. Later in the story, he works part-time for Dogkeeper. He is childhood friends with Safu, and his development generally centers on trying to come to terms with the underlying brutality of the world he lives in while still retaining his humanity.
While at first he thinks of Nezumi as his best friend, it later becomes apparent that he has begun to fall in love with him; Shion becomes slowly aware of this after spending some time speaking with Nezumi that resulted in Shion kissing the other. He dubbed it a 'good night kiss', which seemed to be more of a 'goodbye kiss' in order to confess his own feelings. They kiss again in the finale - with less confusion over whether it was romantically inclined - as they said their goodbye, with Shion deciding to patiently wait for him until the right time comes.
...
Wikipedia