From Far Away Manga Gets Long-Awaited Anime, Fans Debate Noriko's New Look

Japanese fan reactions (excerpted from 287)

• A masterpiece I've reread more times than I can count. Congrats on the anime! 😊

  何度も読み返した傑作 アニメ化おめでとうございます😊

  — @ターコイズ-h7e90 likes

• I was already shocked when Red River got an anime, but this one shocked me even more — I legit didn't understand what I was reading for a second.

  天河アニメ化もビックリしたけど、彼方からはそれ以上にビックリしたし何言ってるのか一瞬解らなかった

  — @touminsitai21 likes

• Back when I was a punk kid who assumed this was "a girls' manga," I just happened to pick up my mom's copy — and ended up completely hooked, to the point it became my all-time favorite. And now, of all things, it's getting an anime... I'm genuinely floored. Honestly Noriko's look being different bugs me a little, but the vibe feels true to the original, so I'm looking forward to it with high hopes. Anyway, thank you... An anime, of all things.

  当時、女の子が読むものと思い込んでいたクソガキだった俺が、母ちゃんの読んでいた原作漫画を何気になく読んで以来ハマり最推しと化したあの少女コミックが今になってアニメ化とは……驚きましたホントに。 正直、典子の姿が変わっているのが気にはなりますが、雰囲気は原作通りといったところで期待を大に放映を心待ちにしています。とにかく、ありがとう…… まさかのアニメ化

  — @jobannni7991110 likes

• 😂😂😂 Part of me wishes it got animated back during the original run, but there's something moving about seeing From Far Away brought to life by today's cast too 😂 Really looking forward to it 😊😊😊

  😂😂😂 連載当時にアニメ化、見たかったと思いつつ、今の声優さん達の彼方からが見られるのも感慨深いです😂 楽しみにしています😊😊😊

  — @ちーちー-b4f31 likes

• Kyoko Hikawa used to be my favorite mangaka — I owned every single volume! Fujiomi, Izark... dark-haired, stoic guys were basically my ideal type back then, lol. And looking back now, it's refreshing that Noriko wasn't some chosen saint or prodigy, just an ordinary girl. So happy this is getting an anime ♡

  当時ひかわきょうこさんが1番好きな漫画家さんでした、全巻持ってました！ 藤臣くん、イザーク…黒髪硬派男子が理想の男の子だった笑 典子は聖女でも才能がある訳でもない普通の女の子だったのも今となっては新鮮で良い、アニメ化嬉しい♡

  — @coinspink42877 likes

• I'm not from the original generation of readers, but I love this series so I'm happy. Tomoyo-chan voicing Noriko! And Kumagai-san fits Izark's coolness perfectly. I do have some anxiety about how the storytelling will turn out, but I hope this becomes a chance for a lot more people to discover this masterpiece ❤

  リアル世代ではないのですが大好きな作品なので嬉しいです。 ともよちゃんがのりこちゃん！ イザークのクールさに熊谷さんもぴったりですね。 作劇がどうなっていくのかなぁとやっぱり不安はありますが、たくさんの人がこの名作に触れる機会になったらいいなと思います❤

  — @koyutei5 likes

• I tried to write a comment but I love this story so, so much that my head is a total mess of hype and dread and I can't even form a coherent sentence. All I can do is bow my head to the ground and beg the production team: please make this with love, understanding, and respect for the original.

  コメント書こうと思ったけど彼方からという物語が好きで好きで好きすぎて期待やら不安やらで頭ぐっちゃぐちゃで冷静な文章が思いつかないし書けない とにかく原作への愛と理解とリスペクトをもって制作してくださいと地面に頭を擦り付けて制作陣にお願いする次第です

  — @朔也-c9x126 likes

• It's a manga I love, so I'm half thrilled, half wishing they'd just not do it. Especially once it starts moving and talking — it's just too different from the image I had while reading.

  好きな漫画なので 嬉しさ半分 辞めて欲しさ半分 動いて声が入ると特にな 読んでいた時のイメージと違い過ぎてな

  — @りすこ-q6k59 likes

• Compared to Red River, this one actually looks like I'll be able to watch it without much friction (*´艸`) Noriko's face feels a little off, but I'm glad Izark and Kaimos both look true to the original!

  天は赤い河のほとりより、彼方からの方が違和感無く見られそう(*´艸`) のりこの顔がちょっと違うかなーという感じではあるけれど、イザークもケイモスも原作通りのお顔で嬉しいです！

  — @ねこあき-c7l157 likes

• Honestly the art style from back then would've been the perfect match for this.

  あの頃の絵がベストマッチだよね

  — @Larene8539 likes

• Yeah, it screams late-90s cel animation to me — same goes for Red River.

  90年代セルアニメ末期のイメージだよな。天は赤い河のほとりもだが

  — @ナナシ-f7p48 likes

• The old Fruits Basket staff actually included people who'd later work on stuff like Jujutsu Kaisen — the direction and animation were solid, and they adapted the art nicely for TV back then.

  あの頃のフルバのスタッフって呪術廻戦とか参加してるようなスタッフもいたし、演出も作画も安定感あったし絵もいい感じにアニメ用に直せてたよね

  — @やらる-c5i10 likes

• I think this will land better as an anime than Red River did. It's a series I truly love, so I'm just happy it's finally happening.

  天赤よりも、ひかわさんのほうがアニメになった時に受け入れられるな 本当に好きな作品だから、アニメになってくれてうれしい

  — @kuruppo-v6z106 likes

• And on top of that, Hikawa-sensei herself is supervising, so it's nothing but reassurance and excitement from me.

  しかもひかわさんが監修に入るから安心と期待しかない

  — @白黒からす麦4 likes

• Hikawa-sensei's work is filled with this really distinct, soft atmosphere — no matter how close another team tries to stay to the original, it's just... hard to fully recreate that, you know?

  ひかわきょうこ先生の作品は独特のやわらかい空気感に満たされてるから、他人が作るとどんなに原作に寄せてくれてもどうしても…ね

  — @センかな30 likes

• Noriko's face kind of looks like a different person to me. The male characters feel closer to Hikawa-san's original art though? Guess it's just hard to animate the delicate linework of shoujo manga.

  典子のお顔が何か違う人に見えるような。男性キャラはひかわさんの絵に近いかな？少女漫画の繊細な絵を動かすのは難しそう。

  — @yuk7446183 likes

• Hikawa-san has a soft touch, but she can also draw insane action when she wants to.

  ひかわさん柔らかいタッチだけどめちゃくちゃアクション描ける人なんだよな

  — @ナナシ-f7p30 likes

• Izark and the others are all faithfully on-model, so why is Noriko the only one whose face looks totally different? Kind of a bummer.

  イザークたちはちゃんと原作通りのデザインなのに　なぜノリコだけ顔つきが全然違うのか　ちょっと残念です

  — @千春-c7k173 likes

• Ugh... I never even considered that Noriko might just be too cute to recreate in animation. (so frustrating)

  くっ･･･ノリコ可愛すぎてアニメで再現出来ないとは盲点（悔しい

  — @月城花影29 likes

• The original Noriko is actually a very anime-friendly, easy-to-reproduce design. You could keep her exactly as-is and still pull off the comedy scenes fine. If she got changed for some "modernizing it for the Reiwa era" reason, that would be a real shame.

  原作のノリコ、もの凄く再現もアニメ化しやすい絵ですよ。あのまま崩さずにギャグシーンも行けますし。 令和向けにとかの理由でいじられてしまったのならもの凄く残念。

  — @ドラ好きお涼12 likes

• Whoa, a real serious reply, lol. Okay, let me get real too. Honestly, you're right that it wouldn't be impossible "if they really put their backs into it," but given this studio's budget and the character designer they've got, this is probably just what counts as reasonable for them. Put more bluntly: there's no one on the production team who's enough of a "fan" to actually get what makes Noriko cute. Judging by the animation quality, it doesn't feel like a title the production side is putting much faith in either... which is a shame, honestly. I've got more to say but I'll leave it here before this gets too long, lol.

  うお、マジレスですねｗ では私もマジレスで 正直貴方の言う通り、「肝いりでなら」できなくはないとは思いますが、今回のあのスタジオの予算や作画監督ではこれで妥当って事なんでしょう もっと述べるならノリコの可愛さを正確に汲み取れるような「ファン」が制作陣に居ないという事です 作画のレベルから言って、制作側からも期待されている作品ではない感じがします･･･残念ですけれどね もっと言いたい事はいくつかありますが長くなるのでこの辺でｗ

  — @月城花影14 likes

• Adapting shoujo manga into animation is genuinely hard. Gotta appreciate the effort from the people making it — and I think Noriko turned out cute, so I'm satisfied.

  少女漫画を映像化するの、むずいよね 制作者の努力に感謝でしょ ノリコが可愛くて良かった

  — @mrd-ph1tx21 likes

• A little disappointed Noriko's voice wasn't quite what I personally imagined, but everything else feels good. The character designs aren't bad either — fully recreating Hikawa-sensei's exact style was probably never realistic anyway. Looking forward to fall 😊

  ノリコの声の個人的イメージが違ったのは残念だけど、他はいい感じ。キャラデザも悪くないかな。ひかわ先生のテイスト完全再現は難しいだろうし 秋が楽しみですな😊

  — @のののなの-s5q43 likes

• The character designs feel a bit rough. The movement's kind of stiff, and yeah, Noriko's face is off — but even saying all that, I'm still super excited for the anime ♪

  キャラデザがちょっと雑な感じ。 動きがギクシャクしてるしノリコの顔が違う！ とか言ってますがアニメすっごく楽しみ♪

  — @黒猫じろう22 likes

• Wait, is Kaimos really doing his long-range strike with hands that dainty...

  ケイモス、そんな女子みたいな手で遠当てするのか…

  — @まるふく-o4b14 likes

• That classic thing where a shoujo anime turns a guy's rugged hands into these dainty, slender fingers — it's happened here too ( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ... Unforgivable as a hand fetishist. Hikawa-sensei's male characters have simple linework, but their hands are properly big and rugged — genuinely "these hands would protect you" hands. Animation director, please, redraw them! I'm begging you!!

  女性向け漫画のアニメ化でよくある男性のゴツイ手が白魚のような手に変化する現象がここにも( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ… 手フェチとしては許せぬ所業。特にひかわ先生の男性の手は線は少ないけど、ちゃんと大きくてごつごつして 本当に守ってくれる大きな優しい手なんですよね。作画監督さまちゃんと描き直してくださいませ！！頼みます！！

  — @きいち-l2p9 likes

• Right?! It's shocking — his hands look like a mannequin's 😢

  ​@きいち-l2pショックですよね、マネキンみたいな手😢

  — @まるふく-o4b4 likes

• Phew, glad someone else called that out too 😅

  良かった、指摘してくれる民いた😅

  — @azul26831 likes

• Izark and Noriko are actually moving now!! I'm so moved!

  イザーク、ノリコが動き始めた！！感動です！

  — @ぱじぇたん87 likes

• Whoaaaa... Noriko and Izark are moving... Just that alone has me emotional. Now I want to see Mr. Blue next.

  ふおおおぉぉ ノリコとイザークが動いてるよぉ…。 それだけでも感動 次はMr.ブルーが見たい

  — @warabi09996 likes

• Wait, hold on — did the Golden Forest just... stop being golden!?

  あれ？金の森が金の森じゃなくなった！？

  — @130m421 likes

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