Beatless

Japanese logo of BEATLESS

Beatless (BEATLESS, Bītoresu) is a Japanese science fiction serial novel written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by Redjuice. It was originally serialized in Newtype magazine and then was serialized English exclusively on Tokyo Otaku Mode until March 2014.

An anime adaptation by Diomedéa, which premiered on January 12, 2018 in the Animeism and streams exclusively on Amazon Video worldwide. Additionally, the series has inspired three spin-off manga series, titled Beatless, Beatless: Dystopia, and Ptolemy's Singularity.

Story[]

One-hundred years into the future. A world in which society is mostly operated by humanoid robots called hIE. With the introduction of an ultra-advanced AI that surpasses human intelligence, beings that mankind is yet to fully comprehend made from materials far too advanced for human technology begin coming into being. Lacia, an hIE equipped with a black coffin-shaped device, is one of these. In boy-meets-girl fashion, 17-year-old Arato Endo has a fateful encounter with the artificial Lacia. For what purpose were these artificial beings created? Amid questions regarding the coexistence of these artificial beings and humans, a 17-year-old boy makes a decision...

Author[]

Satoshi Hase was first place winner of the 6th Sneaker Taishō Award for his work, Senryaku Kyoten 32098 Rakuen. His work Enkan Shōjo (Kadokawa Shoten) is also published under the same label. He has also been nominated for the 30th Japan SF Taishō Award and 41st Seiun Award for Anata no Tame no Monogatari (Hayakawa Publishing), as well as nominated in the Best Japanese Short Story of the Year category for the 42nd Seiun Award for allo, toi, toi.

Illustrator[]

Redjuice (stylized "redjuice") rose to fame in 2011 as the original character designer on the TV anime Guilty Crown. Currently, he actively creates illustrations and character designs for TV anime and games. As a member of the creative group supercell, he is an up-and-coming creator who has also worked on illustrations for various CD jackets. In addition, he is active on TOM as a Special Creator.

Media[]

Manga[]

Main article: Beatless (Manga)

The novel has inspired three separate manga series. Kagura Uguisu published the two-volume manga series Beatless: Dystopia in Kadokawa's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace between 2012 and 2013. A single-volume four-panel spin-off manga, titled Beatless, was published by Kila. Ptolemy's Singularity (天動のシンギュラリティ), a spin-off manga series written by Gun Snark and illustrated by Mitsuru Ohsaki, was launched on Kadokawa's Famitsu Comic Clear website on April 11, 2014, with a preview chapter having been published on March 14. It has been compiled into four volumes to date.

Light Novel[]

Main article: List of Light Novel Volumes

Satoshi Hase serialized the novel, with illustrations by Supercell member Redjuice, in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine in 2012. The novel was compiled and published in book form on October 10, 2012. In 2013, Tokyo Otaku Mode began hosting an English translation of the novel, with animated versions of Redjuice's illustrations done by Wit Studio and animator Satoshi Kadowaki.

Anime[]

Main article: Beatless (anime)

An anime television series adaptation premiered on January 13, 2018. The series is directed by Seiji Mizushima at Diomedéa and written by Tatsuya Takahashi and Gō Zappa, with character designs by Hiroko Yaguchi. The series will run for 24 episodes. The first opening theme is "Error" by Garnidelia and the first ending theme is "Primalove" by ClariS. The second opening theme is "Truth." by TrySail,and the second ending theme is "Shapeless" by Tokyo Performance Doll. The series is streaming exclusively on Amazon Video worldwide.

Beatless

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