Someday's Dreamers (Japanese: 魔法遣いに大切なこと, Hepburn: Mahōtsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto, lit. "Things That Are Precious to a Mage") 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.

Someday's Dreamers
Japanese volume one cover
魔法遣いに大切なこと
(Things That Are Precious to a Mage)
GenreComing-of-age[1]
Manga
Written byNorie Yamada
Illustrated byKumichi Yoshizuki
Published byKadokawa Shoten
English publisher
MagazineComic Dragon
DemographicShōnen
Original runMay 2002January 2003
Volumes2
Anime television series
Directed byMasami Shimoda
Produced by
  • Akio Matsuda
  • Satoshi Fujita
  • Shun Shimizu
  • Masaru Kōno
Written byNorie Yamada
Music byTakefumi Haketa
Studio
Licensed by
Original networkTV Asahi, All-Nippon News Network
Original run January 9, 2003 March 27, 2003
Episodes12
Manga
Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound
Written byNorie Yamada
Illustrated byKumichi Yoshizuki
Published byFujimi Shobo
English publisher
MagazineMonthly Dragon Age
DemographicShōnen
Original runDecember 2003February 2006
Volumes5
Manga
Someday's Dreamers: Summer Skies
Written byNorie Yamada
Illustrated byKumichi Yoshizuki
Published byKadokawa Shoten
MagazineMonthly Shōnen Ace
DemographicShōnen
Original runFebruary 26, 20082009
Anime television series
Someday's Dreamers II: Sora
Directed byOsamu Kobayashi
Produced by
  • Akio Matsuda
  • Naomi Sudō
  • Noboru Sugiyama
  • Kazuo Ōnuki
Written byNorie Yamada
Music byTakefumi Haketa
StudioHal Film Maker
Licensed by
Original networkTV Asahi
Original run July 2, 2008 September 24, 2008
Episodes12
Live-action film
Directed byShun Nakahara
Written byNorie Yamada (original concept and screenplay)
StudioNikkatsu
ReleasedDecember 20, 2008
Runtime100 minutes

Someday's Dreamers was also adapted into an anime television series that was animated by J.C.Staff under the direction of Masami Shimoda. It is loosely based on the storyline of the first manga series, with new characters added to the story. It ran for a total of 12 episodes on TV Asahi and was later licensed by Geneon Entertainment USA. After the closure of Geneon USA, the series was relicensed by Sentai Filmworks.[2]

Another story set in the same universe, Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound (魔法遣いに大切なこと 太陽と風の坂道, Mahōtsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Taiyō to Kaze no Sakamichi), written and drawn by the same author and illustrator, was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Dragon Age. It ran from December 2003 to February 2006 and was later released in five bound volumes. In 2006, Tokyopop released the manga in the United States.

In 2007, Norie Yamada and Kumichi Yoshizuki began work on a third title in the Someday's Dreamers universe, titled Summer Skies (魔法遣いに大切なこと 〜夏のソラ〜, Mahōtsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora). It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Ace and began its run in the April issue, released on February 26, 2008. Summer Skies was scheduled to have a live action movie adaptation released on December 20, 2008, though it was originally scheduled for a summer 2008 premiere.[3][4] The story was also adapted into an anime television series, following the new main character, Sora. The series is directed by Osamu Kobayashi and is animated by Hal Film Maker. It aired on TV Asahi from July 2, 2008 to September 24, 2008.[4]

Plot

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Someday's Dreamers

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The story is set in present-day Tokyo. Much of the setting is based upon real areas, the more obvious ones being the Shibuya Crossing and the Tokyo Tower. The main backdrop of the series where all the characters reside is Shimokitazawa, roughly six minutes west of Shibuya on the Keio Inokashira Line. The Bureau of Magic is in Tokyo, which employs Mage Labor for certain special requests by everyday people. However, the mages must only use their magic with special permission, and any unlicensed use results in a penalty. The story is very gentle and centers around the protagonist, a witch named Yume Kikuchi (菊池 ユメ, Kikuchi Yume), a second-year senior high school student from Tono in Iwate prefecture. In order to train as a magic user, she travels to Tokyo during her summer break to apprentice under the charming Masami Oyamada (小山田 雅美, Oyamada Masami). The story tells of Yume's trials and tribulations as she works toward her eventual graduation as a full-fledged magic user licensed by the Bureau of Magic. There is a strong undercurrent of romance which is never resolved.

Mahōtsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora

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Sora Suzuki is a cheerful girl with magical abilities who lives with her mother in the small town of Biei, Hokkaido. With the intention to honour a promise made to her late father, she successfully applies for a magic internship in Tokyo and temporarily moves into a boarding house in the city. Over the course of a summer month, she meets other teenagers studying to become accredited mages, including an initially aloof boy who appears to lack magic abilities. Under the guidance of their mentors, the apprentices learn more about magic, each other, and life in general as they attend formal classes and work to fulfil contractual assignments for clients.

In the manga, Sora has a strange trait to her magic that manifests itself despite her ire; whenever Sora casts a spell, the result always involves sunflowers, though otherwise almost always how Sora intended it. This is absent in the anime.

Cast

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Someday's Dreamers

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Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora

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Music

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The composer of the anime soundtrack, Takefumi Haketa, hoped that girls would identify with the lead role and created music which had a nostalgic feel to it, evoking both English and Irish suburbs, but also memories of the European Middle Ages. Using traditional instruments such as Irish whistles, he created tracks based on jigs, reels and a real salsa track. For two themes, he employed the voices of a 10-member-strong choir of schoolchildren. The vocal songs were also arranged by Haketa and sung by Miki Taoka. The CD of the soundtrack was released in the U.S. in 2003 by Pioneer Anime LDC, Inc.

Songs

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Someday's Dreamers

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Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora

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  • Opening theme: "Fly Away" by Thyme
  • Ending theme: "Kawaita Hana" (乾いた花) by micc

Media

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Manga

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No. Original release date Original ISBN North American release date North American ISBN
01March 7, 2006[5]978-1-59816-178-6
02July 11, 2006[5]978-1-59816-179-3
No. Original release date Original ISBN North American release date North American ISBN
01December 12, 2006[5]978-1-59816-642-2
02April 10, 2007[5]978-1-59816-643-9
03August 7, 2007[5]978-1-59816-644-6
04December 11, 2007[5]978-1-59816-645-3
05March 11, 2008[5]978-1-4278-0201-9

Anime

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Episode list

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Someday's Dreamers

Episode # Episode name
01 Sunset of a Steel Frame Part One
02 Sunset of a Steel Frame Part Two
03 The Greatest News
04 A Summer Night and a Mage
05 An Apron and Champagne
06 I Want to Become a Mage
07 A Mage Who Couldn't Become a Mage
08 Enormous Power in the Name of Love
09 Yume, the Girl and a Seed of Summer
10 Magic's Whereabouts
11 A Broken Rainbow
12 Things Important to a Mage

Episode list

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Someday's Dreamers II: Sora

Episode # Episode name
01 From Biei
02 Tokyo
03 Sora
04 Gouta
05 Shimokitazawa
06 Friend
07 Crossroad
08 Mage
09 First Love
10 Life
11 Graduation
12 The Summer Sky

References

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  1. ^ Ressler, Karen (February 6, 2015). "Viz Offers Someday's Dreamers, More Clamp Manga from Tokyopop Digitally". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Sentai Filmworks Licenses Someday's Dreamers Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Someday's Dreamers to be Made into Live-Action Film". Anime News Network. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  4. ^ a b "Someday's Dreamers Adapted into New Anime This Summer". Anime News Network. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Manga+Comics: Book Catalog". Tokyopop. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2009.

Further reading

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