Lamune

Lamune (ラムネ) is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Neko Neko Soft. Originally released on July 30, 2004, for the PC. It was followed by an all-ages version for the PlayStation 2, and was released on August 25, 2005. A twelve-episode anime series based on the visual novel, entitled Lamune: Garasu Bin ni Utsuru Umi (ラムネ 〜ガラスびんに映る海〜), was produced by Trinet Entertainment and Picture Magic and aired between October 11, 2005, and December 27, 2005. Light novels, drama CDs, and one volume of a manga adaption have also been produced.

Plot
Kenji Tomosaka moves to a coastal town as a child. The sea spread in front of him shines like ramune, reflecting the sunlight of the summer.

He meets Nanami Konoe, who lives next door. As time passes, their shared memories have accumulated. They think of their normal lives and relationship as precious things.

The sun begins to shine strongly, cicadas begin to buzz, and the sky clears up. For Kenji and Nanami, it is not just another ordinary summer.

Main characters

 * Kenji Tomosaka (友坂 健次)
 * (anime)
 * Kenji is the male leading character of the story. He is a 2nd year high school student. He and his childhood friend, Nanami, are inseparable; they take turns waking each other, walk to and from school together and tend her family's vegetable field on the outskirts of town. He owns a vintage Triumph motorcycle, passed down to him by his father. He had wanted that motorcycle ever since he was a child, and his father finally decided to give it to him, even though it is always breaking down. Kenji really likes Nanami, however he is too shy to confess his feelings and therefore teases her to hide them.


 * Nanami Konoe (近衛 七海)
 * (PC)/Yūko Gotō(anime/PS2)
 * Nanami is the female leading character of the story. She has a long lavender hair. She is Kenji’s childhood best friend, next door neighbor and classmate at school. Her family owns a vegetable field on the outskirts of town which she tends with Kenji's help. She and Kenji take turns waking each other up every morning.
 * Profile:
 * Birth date: May 20
 * Favorite food: Home-grown vegetables
 * Favorite drink: 100% fruit juice


 * Suzuka Tomosaka (友坂 鈴夏)
 * (PC)/Mikako Satō(anime/PS2)
 * She is Kenji's younger light blue-haired sister. Suzuka is a gentle, active and innocent character.
 * Profile:
 * Birth date: August 22
 * Favorite food: Spaghetti with tomato sauce
 * Favorite drink: Lemon tea


 * Hikari Nakazato (仲里 ひかり)
 * (PC)/Akane Tomonaga(anime/PS2)
 * Hikari is Kenji and Suzuka's older cousin. She is short and has a long, golden hair done in twin tails. She is somewhat quick-tempered and is a tomboy. Hikari may be annoying at times but she really cares for her cousins and Nanami, and is willing to help them when they're in trouble. Hatano, Kenji's friend and classmate, is crazy about Hikari and pesters her when she visits her cousins during summer. She loves spicy food.
 * Profile:
 * Birth date: March 20
 * Favorite food: Tom yam kung
 * Favorite drink: Milk or almost all of carbonated soft drinks


 * Tae Isawa (石和 多恵)
 * (PC)/Natsumi Yanase(anime/PS2)
 * Tae is the Student Council President and Kenji’s senpai in school. She has a short dark purple hair and is often seen wearing her jersey. She is a very mature, good-tempered and responsible person. She has three younger siblings (two brothers and one sister) to take care of.
 * Profile:
 * Birth date: February 2
 * Favorite food: Mitarashidango (a kind of dango)
 * Favorite drink: Hojicha


 * Hiromi Sakura (佐倉 裕美)
 * (PC)/Hiroko Taguchi(anime/PS2)
 * Hiromi is Suzuka's black-haired classmate. She is a soft-spoken and timid girl who has been infatuated with Kenji since childhood. She confesses to him just before she has to move away.
 * Profile:
 * Favorite food: Anmitsu, Mitsumame
 * Favorite drink: Ramune


 * Misora Ayukawa (鮎川 美空)
 * (anime/PS2)
 * Misora is a biker girl whose bike, a Honda CB400 SUPER BOL D'OR, breaks down just outside town while she is touring in the countryside. She stays at Kenji's house until the required parts are delivered and works at Nanami's family's cafe to earn the money she needs for the repairs. She has pink hair with a cowlick and two short twin tails.
 * Profile:
 * Favorite food: French toast
 * Favorite drink: Sports drink

Side characters

 * Hatano (端野)
 * (anime/PS2)
 * Kenji’s friend and classmate, Hatano serves as comic relief. He has a crush on Kenji's cousin, Hikari, and tries to make moves on her whenever she visits but is always turned down. He would do anything for her to the point of becoming her slave.


 * Kagami Konoe (近衛 各務)
 * (PC)/Erika Narumi(anime/PS2)
 * Kagami is Nanami's mother who runs a kissaten or coffee shop right across the street from their house. She has a kind and gentle personality. Because of her youthful appearance, she is often mistaken for Nanami's elder sister.


 * Kenryū Tomosaka (友坂 健柳流)
 * (anime/PS2)
 * Kenji and Suzuka’s father who is a judo instructor at Suzuka's school. He is very strict when teaching her and does not accept failure. He is also adamant that Kenji takes care of his motorcycle.

Music (game)

 * Opening Theme
 * "Just Kidding 76's" (なんてね76's)
 * Performed by: Hiromi Satou
 * Lyrics by: Tomo Kataoka
 * Composition and arrangement by: Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden)


 * Ending Theme
 * "Lamune" (ラムネ)
 * Performed by: Duca
 * Lyrics by: Tomo Kataoka
 * Composition by: Hijiri Anze
 * Arrangement by: Katsumichi Harada


 * Insert Theme (PC)
 * "Evening Calm" (夕凪)
 * Performed by: KAKO
 * Lyrics by: Yanachī
 * Composition by: Jan Amano
 * Arrangement by: Takehiro Kawabe


 * Insert Theme (PS2)
 * "Two(Lamune 79's)" (ふたり(ラムネ79's))
 * Performed by: KAKO
 * Lyrics by: Nachi Kio
 * Composition and arrangement by: Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden)

Music (anime)

 * Opening Theme
 * "The Melody of Lemonade’s Color" (ラムネ色のメロディ): Episodes 01 - 12
 * Performed by: Mayu
 * Lyrics by: Tomu
 * Composition by: Raito
 * Arrangement by: Yougo Kanno


 * Ending Theme
 * "Summer vacation": Episodes 01 - 11
 * Performed by: Ayumi Murata
 * Lyrics by: Tomu
 * Composition and arrangement by: TARAWO
 * "Just Kidding 76's" (なんてね76's): Episode 12 insert ending theme.
 * Performed by: Hiromi Satou
 * Lyrics by: Tomo Kataoka
 * Composition and arrangement by: Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden)


 * Insert Theme
 * "A Sea Bluer than Ever" (いつもより青い海): Episode 01
 * Performed by: Tae Isawa (CV: Natsumi Yanase)
 * Lyrics and composition by: Yuuko Yamaguchi
 * Arrangement by: Kazuo Satou
 * "The Meteor of Dreams" (夢いっぱいの箒星): Episodes 03 & 05
 * Performed by: Suzuka Tomosaka (CV: Mikako Satou)
 * Lyrics by: Tomu
 * Composition by: Nozomu Nakamura
 * Arrangement by: KANKE
 * "Kira Kira": Episodes 06 & 10
 * Performed by: Nanami Konoe (CV: Yūko Gotō)
 * Lyrics and composition by: Nozomu Nakamura
 * Arrangement by: Kazuo Satou
 * "Time Machine" (タイムマシーン): Episodes 07 & 09
 * Performed by: Misora Ayukawa (CV: Ryouko Shintani)
 * Lyrics and composition by: Ritsuko Miyajima
 * Arrangement by: Fumikazu Takenaka
 * "Lovely Season" (大好きなSeason): Episode 07
 * Performed by: Hikari Nakazato (CV: Akane Tomonaga)
 * Lyrics and composition by: Rie
 * Arrangement by: Yasufumi Yamashita
 * "The Sky of Sometime" (いつかの空): Episode 09
 * Performed by: Hiromi Sakura (CV: Hiroko Taguchi)
 * Lyrics by: Himi Izutsu
 * Composition by: YORI
 * Arrangement by: Yousuke Sugimoto
 * "Eyes Sunshine" (瞳サンシャイン): Episode 10
 * Performed by: Tae Isawa (CV: Natsumi Yanase)
 * Lyrics and composition by: Yuuko Yamaguchi
 * Arrangement by: Kazuo Satou

DVD
Six DVDs of anime series were released by Interchannel in Japan.
 * Lamune DVD Vol.1 (Eps. 01 - 02)
 * Lamune DVD Vol.2 (Eps. 03 - 04)
 * Lamune DVD Vol.3 (Eps. 05 - 06)
 * Lamune DVD Vol.4 (Eps. 07 - 08)
 * Lamune DVD Vol.5 (Eps. 09 - 10)
 * Lamune DVD Vol.6 (Eps. 11 - 12)

CD Albums
Opening and ending Single albums
 * Opening theme song Single: "The Melody of Lemonade’s Color" (ラムネ色のメロディ) performed by Mayu.
 * Ending theme song Single: "Summer vacation" (NECM-12104) performed by Ayumi Murata.
 * Lamune Original Soundtrack Complete Edition composed by Yūko Fukushima.

Character image songs and drama albums

Six character image songs and drama albums were released by Interchannel in Japan.
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.1 Nanami Konoe (CV: Yuko Gotō) "Kira Kira" (NECM-12113)
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.2 Hikari Nakazato (CV: Akane Tomonaga) "Lovely Season" (大好きなSeason)
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.3 Suzuka Tomosaka (CV: Mikako Satō) "The Meteor of Dreams" (夢いっぱいの箒星)
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.4 Tae Isawa (CV: Natsumi Yanase) "Eyes Sunshine" (瞳サンシャイン)
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.5 Misora Ayukawa (CV: Ryōko Shintani) "Time Machine" (タイムマシーン)
 * Lamune Characters Collection Vol.6 Hiromi Sakura (CV: Hiroko Taguchi) "The Sky of Sometime" (いつかの空)

Books
One game fanbook for the PS2 version was published by JIVE in Japan.
 * Lamune ~The Glass Jar that Reflects the Sea~ Visual Guide Book - ISBN 978-4-86176-242-0
 * Release date: October 2005

A light novel mainly adapted between episode 07–08, was published by Megami Bunko (Gakken). Written by Takamitsu Kouno, and illustrated by Genichiro Kondo.
 * Lamune - ISBN 4-05-903507-6
 * Release date: February 2006

Paradigm has published two 18 prohibited light novels based on the game, the first was published in early November 2004, the second was published in January 2005. both books were written by Okada Runa and illustrated by Ankoromochi. One focuses on Nanami's scenario, and the other focuses on Tae.

Manga
A manga illustrated by Rino Fujii was published in the Japanese manga magazine Comp Ace on Jan 26, 2006, published by Kadokawa Shoten.

Anime
A twelve-episode anime series was produced by Trinet Entertainment and Picture Magic. It is based on the visual novel and is entitled Lamune: Garasu Bin ni Utsuru Umi (ラムネ 〜ガラスびんに映る海〜). The anime was directed by Jun Takada, and airs on the networks Chiba TV, Kansai TV, Teletama, Tokai TV, and tvk.

Staff

 * Original Work: Neko Neko Software
 * Director: Jun Takada
 * Producer: Yoshihiro Ikeda, Saburo Ōmiya, Takashi Nakanishi
 * Executive Producer: Masaki Kobayashi, Akira Akamatsu
 * Series Composition: Takamitsu Kōno
 * Script: Daisuke Ishibashi, Takamitsu Kōno, Tsutomu Kaneko
 * Storyboard: Jun Takada, Tetsuya Endo
 * Episode Director: Jun Takada, Shintaro Itoga
 * Character Draft: Yūki Osamu, Mochi Ankoro
 * Character Design: Gen'ichiro Kondo
 * Composite Director: Atsushi Nakayama
 * Art Supervision: Tadao Kubota
 * Color Design: Maki Tanaka
 * Sound Manager: Kaoru Machida
 * Sound Producer: Kōichi Izuka
 * Sound Works: Trinet Entertainment
 * Music: Yuuko Fukushima
 * Music Producer: Kazuo Ōnuki
 * Music Works: Interchannel
 * Animation Director: Chiyoko Sakamoto, Megumi Noda, Yuka Hasegawa
 * Animation Producer: Toshirō Sakuma (Picture Magic), Takashi Nomura (Radix Ace Entertainment)
 * Assistant Producer: Kōsaku Sakamoto (Trinet Entertainment)
 * Animation Production: Trinet Entertainment, Inc., Picture Magic
 * Animation Production Assistant: Radix Ace Entertainment Co., Ltd.