Twittering Birds Never Fly

(Redirected from Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai)

Twittering Birds Never Fly (Japanese: 囀る鳥は羽ばたかない, Hepburn: Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kou Yoneda. A sequel to Yoneda's previous one-shot stories Don't Stay Gold (2008) and Though They Drift, They Do Not Sink, But Nor Do They Sing (2009), it has been serialized in the boys' love (BL) manga magazine ihr HertZ, formerly known as HertZ, since August 2011. The manga was adapted into an anime film trilogy produced by Blue Lynx and animated by Grizzly beginning in 2020. It also inspired an original animation DVD (OAD) adaptation of Don't Stay Gold and an ongoing audio drama produced by Frontier Works.

Twittering Birds Never Fly
Cover of the first volume of the manga series
囀る鳥は羽ばたかない
(Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai)
GenreBoys' love[1]
Manga
Written byKou Yoneda [ja]
Published byTaiyoh Tosho [ja]
English publisher
ImprintH&C Comics ihr HertZ Series
Magazineihr HertZ (formerly HertZ)
DemographicJosei
Original runAugust 1, 2011 (2011-08-01) – present
Volumes8 (List of volumes)
Audio drama
StudioFrontier Works
Original runOctober 23, 2013 (2013-10-23) – present
Anime film
Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Clouds Gather
Directed byKaori Makita
Produced byBlue Lynx
Written byHiroshi Seko
Music byH ZETTRIO [ja]
StudioGrizzly
Licensed by
ReleasedFebruary 15, 2020 (2020-02-15)
Runtime85 minutes
Original animation DVD
Don't Stay Gold
Directed byKaori Makita
Produced byBlue Lynx
Written byHiroshi Seko
Music byH ZETTRIO
StudioGrizzly
Licensed by
ReleasedMarch 1, 2021 (2021-03-01)
Runtime24 minutes
Anime film
Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Storm Breaks
StudioGrizzly
Licensed by
  • NA: Sentai Filmworks
Anime film
Untitled film
Licensed by
  • NA: Sentai Filmworks

Synopsis

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The series follows Yashiro, a young, high-ranking yakuza boss and president of a front corporation. He is assigned a new bodyguard, Chikara Doumeki, who discovers that his employer is a hypersexual masochist. Yashiro develops an attraction to Doumeki, who rejects his advances. Yashiro later discovers that Doumeki is impotent. The two slowly fall in love, but must fight through their own trauma and the hyper-masculine yakuza world if they hope to be together.

Characters

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Yashiro (矢代)
Voiced by: Tarusuke Shingaki (audio drama, film)[2][3]
A high-ranking yakuza boss. While outwardly demanding but cheerful, he is secretly a sadomasochist who was sexually abused as a child by his step-father. He has difficulty in maintaining close personal relationships with others.
Chikara Doumeki (百目鬼 力, Dōmeki Chikara)
Voiced by: Wataru Hatano (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Yashiro's personal bodyguard. Formerly a police officer, he was forced to leave after going to prison. He became Yashiro’s bodyguard to earn more money. He is handsome and stoic, but suffers from sexual impotence.
Kanji Kageyama (影山 莞爾, Kageyama Kanji)
Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Yashiro's friend since high school. A doctor, he runs his clinic as a legitimate business during the day but tends to Yashiro's wounded underlings at night. He has a sexual fetish for scars and scabs.
Eishin Kuga (久我 瑛心, Kuga Eishin)
Voiced by: Yūki Ono (audio drama, film)[2][3]
A 22-year-old former delinquent who grew up in a juvenile institution. His chest is covered in burn scars from his abusive childhood.
Takahito Misumi (三角 隆仁, Misumi Takahito)
Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Yashiro's boss, mentor, and former lover.
Atsushi Ryuuzaki (竜崎 篤士, Ryūzaki Atsushi)
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (audio drama, film)[2][3]
The boss of the Matsubara yakuza.
Kazuaki Hirata (平田 和明, Hirata Kazuaki)
Voiced by: Akimitsu Takase (audio drama, film)[2][3]
The boss of the Shinseikai yakuza.
Yuusuke Nanahara (七原 祐輔, Nanahara Yūsuke)
Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Yashiro's subordinate.
Hayato Sugimoto (杉本 隼人, Sugimoto Hayato)
Voiced by: Takahiro Miyake [ja] (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Yashiro's subordinate.
Shizuma Amou (天羽 静真, Amō Shizuma)
Voiced by: Takuya Satō (audio drama, film)[2][3]
Misumi's personal secretary.
Tsunakawa (綱川)
Voiced by: Yōji Ueda (audio drama)[2]

Media

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Manga

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Twittering Birds Never Fly has been serialized in the boys' love (BL) manga magazine ihr HertZ, formerly known as HertZ,[4] since August 1, 2011.[5][6] In Japan, the series has been collected into seven tankōbon volumes published by Taiyoh Tosho as of March 1, 2021.[7] The first volume includes two prequel one-shot stories by Yoneda: Don't Stay Gold, originally published in the BL manga magazine Drap on March 31, 2008, depicting the relationship between Kuga and Kageyama;[8] and Though They Drift, They Do Not Sink, But Nor Do They Sing (漂えど沈まず、されど泣きもせず, Tadayoedo Shizumazu, Saredo Naki mo Sezu), originally published in HertZ on June 1, 2009, chronicling Yashiro's teen years and his friendship with Kageyama in high school.[9] A limited edition of the series' fourth volume was packaged with a bonus manga booklet, Distant Flame (遠火, Tōbi), revealing Doumeki's first encounter with Yashiro prior to becoming his underling.[10][11]

In North America, an English-language translation of the first three volumes of the series was published by Juné, the BL imprint of Digital Manga, from 2014 to 2017.[12][13][14] After a three year hiatus, the fourth volume was published digitally on December 4, 2020, and in print on January 12, 2021.[15][16] The fifth and sixth volumes were published by Juné in late 2021.[16][17][18] Twittering Birds Never Fly has also been translated into Chinese by Sharp Point Press,[19] French by Taifu Comics,[20] German by Manga Cult,[21] Italian by Flashbook Edizioni,[22] Korean by Ruvill,[23] Polish by Wydawnictwo Kotori,[24] and Spanish by Ediciones Tomodomo.[25]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 January 30, 2013[26]978-4-8130-3013-3September 24, 2014[13]978-1-56970-327-4
2 November 1, 2013[27]978-4-8130-3034-8January 28, 2015[28]978-1-56970-336-6
3 June 1, 2015[29]978-4-8130-3080-5March 21, 2017[14]978-1-56970-362-5
4 September 30, 2016[10][30]978-4-8130-3219-9 (standard)
978-4-8130-3127-7 (limited)
December 4, 2020 (digital)[16]
January 12, 2021 (print)[16]
978-1-56970-389-2
5 November 30, 2017[31]978-4-8130-3168-0September 17, 2021 (digital)[32]
October 26, 2021 (print)[33]
978-1-56970-387-8
6 May 1, 2019[34]978-4-8130-3220-5November 16, 2021 (digital)[35]
December 13, 2021 (print)[36]
978-1-56970-388-5
7 March 1, 2021[37][38]978-4-8130-3278-6 (standard)
978-4-8130-4024-8 (limited)
January 3, 2023[39]978-1-5697-0408-0

Audio drama

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An audio drama adaptation of Twittering Birds Never Fly has been produced by Frontier Works since 2013, featuring Tarusuke Shingaki as the voice of Yashiro and Wataru Hatano as the voice of Doumeki.[1]

Title Release date JAN
Twittering Birds Never Fly October 23, 2013[40] JAN 4562207987875
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 2 September 24, 2014[41] JAN 4571436893420
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 3 January 27, 2016[42] JAN 4571436907950
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 4 February 8, 2017[43] JAN 4571436926807
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 5 February 28, 2018[44] JAN 4571436945174
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 6 February 21, 2020[45] JAN 4589644719548
Twittering Birds Never Fly Volume 7 July 28, 2021[46] JAN 4589644770587

Anime films

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An anime film adaptation, Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Clouds Gather, was announced on April 26, 2019, and released on February 15, 2020. The film is animated by Grizzly and produced by Blue Lynx.[47][48] The film's primary production staff includes Kaori Makita as director and Hiroshi Seko as scriptwriter; the film's score is composed by piano trio band H ZETTRIO.[1][49] A sequel film, Twittering Birds Never Fly – The Storm Breaks, was announced on February 15, 2020.[50] An as-of-yet untitled third Twittering Birds Never Fly film has also been announced.[51]

The three films were licensed in English by Sentai Filmworks for theater bookings, virtual screenings, and home video releases in North America.[52] The first film, The Clouds Gather, was released on Blu-ray on February 2, 2021.[53]

Original anime DVD

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An original anime DVD (OAD) adapting Don't Stay Gold was announced on February 15, 2020.[50] It was packaged with a special edition of the seventh volume of the manga series on March 1, 2021.[54] The OAD was licensed in English by Sentai Filmworks and began streaming on HIDIVE on September 10, 2021.[55]

Reception

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Over 1.5 million copies of Twittering Birds Never Fly are in print in Japan as of February 2020.[56]

In 2014, Twittering Birds Never Fly was listed as a top recommended boys' love (BL) title in a national survey of Japanese bookstore employees.[57] The manga was shortlisted for the Sugoi Japan Award 2016.[58]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 25, 2019). "Kou Yoneda's Twittering Birds Never Fly Boys-Love Manga Gets Anime Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k ドラマCD「囀る鳥は羽ばたかない」公式サイト. Frontier Works (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 26, 2019). "Twittering Birds Never Fly Boys-Love Anime Film's New Trailer Reveals 8 More Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  4. ^ 「ihr HertZ」創刊のお知らせ. B's-Garden (in Japanese). Taiyoh Tosho. April 20, 2012. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Original text: 「それに伴い、雑誌名が『HertZ』から『ihr HertZ(イァ ハーツ)』に、レーベル名も『ミリオンコミックス』から『H&C Comics』となります。」 Translation: "Accordingly, the magazine name will change from HertZ to ihr HertZ, and the label name will change from 'Million Comics' to 'H&C Comics'."
  5. ^ 執筆一覧(2011年). Tobakuchi: Kou Yoneda's Commercial Information Blog (in Japanese). December 4, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Original text: 「8月・大洋図書HertZ band.45『囀る鳥は羽ばたかない』連載1話目 P44」 Translation: "August: Taiyoh Tosho's HertZ band.45, Twittering Birds Never Fly, serialization, 1st chapter, 44 pages."
  6. ^ "HertZ band.45". B's-Garden (in Japanese). Taiyoh Tosho. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2021. Original text: 「2011年08月01日 発売」 Translation: "Released on August 1, 2011."
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