High Card
High Card (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Homura Kawamoto, Hikaru Muno, and TMS Entertainment. It consist of a manga series, a novel series, drama CDs, and an anime television series by Studio Hibari, which premiered in January 2023. The project's theme is poker,[2] with everything from the title to the names of fictional locations referencing some form of playing card game.
| High Card | |
 Anime key visual | |
| Created by |
|
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| High Card -♢9 No Mercy | |
| Written by | Homura Kawamoto |
| Illustrated by | Ebimo |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| Magazine | Manga UP! |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | August 31, 2022 – present |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Junichi Wada |
| Written by |
|
| Music by | Ryo Takahashi |
| Studio | Studio Hibari |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS Kyoto, SUN, BS11 |
| Original run | January 9, 2023 – present |
| Episodes | 6 |
During a preview of the anime series at Anime NYC in November 2022, Kawamoto and Muno further explained that High Card was heavily inspired by the Kingsman movies, including their decision to put the setting in a fictional kingdom outside of Japan, hoping to appeal to a wider audience across the world.[3]
Plot
The royal family of the Kingdom of Fourland holds a secret deck of 52 "X-Playing cards," each of which bestow a superhuman power or ability to whoever uses them. However, the cards were nearly stolen one month ago, and then scattered across the land. In the present, a thief named Finn is struggling to raise funds for his orphanage before the landlord clears it out. After hitching a ride to a casino, Finn soon finds himself inducted into High Card, a special group tasked by the King to recover all 52 cards, while working undercover as salesmen for the Pinochle car company. However, High Card must deal with threats from rival car company "Who's Who" seeking to crush Pinochle, and the Klondike mafia family who wants the X-Playing cards for their own nefarious ends.
Characters
The agents of High Card. From left to right: Vijay Kumar Singh, Leo Constantine Pinochle, Finn Oldman, Chris Redgrave and Wendy Sato.
- Finn Oldman (フィン・オールドマン, Fin Ōrudoman)
- Voiced by: Gen Satō[4]
- The newest member of High Card, a skilled pickpocket with great eyesight and focus allowing him to think multiple steps ahead. After trying to quickly raise money to save the orphanage where he grew up, Finn soon found himself embroiled in the battle over the X-Playing cards. He holds the 2 of Spades, with the ability "Neo New Nambu," which summons a loaded Nambu revolver into his hand, and can summon extra bullets into his free hand.
- Chris Redgrave (クリス・レッドグレイヴ, Kurisu Reddogureivu)
- Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda[4]
- A flirty womanizer and skilled driver with a sweet tooth. He recruits Finn after seeing his skills first-hand in Bell End, and becomes his mentor at Pinochle's Old Maid branch. He wields the 5 of Hearts, with the "Calorie's High" ability, allowing him to convert excess calories to heal injuries instantly that would otherwise prove fatal.
- Leo Constantine Pinochle (レオ・コンスタンティン・ピノクル, Reo Konsutantin Pinokuru)
- Voiced by: Shun Horie[4]
- The 14-year-old son of the Pinochle company's CEO, and the manager of the Old Maid office, with an abrasive demeanor that often grates on his colleagues. However, his position in society and his money puts him at the top of High Card. Leo wields the 7 of Diamonds, with the "Never No Dollars" ability that allows him to instantly swap any amount of money physically nearby for an object of equivalent value.
- Wendy Sato (ウェンディ・サトー, Wendi Satō)
- Voiced by: Haruka Shiraishi[4]
- The daughter of a master swordsman from the Far East, Wendy handles the accounting for Pinochle's Old Maid office. She wields the Ace of Spades that summons "Love and Peace," a large sword with a mind of its own.
- Vijay Kumar Singh (ヴィジャイ・クマール・シン, Vijai Kumāru Shin)
- Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara[4]
- A highly intelligent PhD student at the University of Cribbage and a good cook who manages the systems at Pinochle's Old Maid office, but his aloof personality makes him difficult to approach for most people. He wields the 3 of Clubs, with the power "Green Green," allowing him to communicate with nearby plants and control them.
- Bernard Symons (バーナード・シモンズ, Bānādo Shimonzu)
- Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji[5]
- Leo's butler who serves as an administrator for High Card who does everything from serving tea to servicing cars at Pinochle's Old Maid branch.
- Theodore Constantine Pinochle (セオドール・コンスタンティン・ピノクル, Seodōru Konsutantin Pinokuru)
- Voiced by: Daisuke Ono[5]
- The CEO of Pinochle, Leo's father, and the head of High Card who works directly under the King.
- Owen Alldays (オーウェン・オールデイズ, Ōwen Ōrudeizu)
- Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki[6]
- Theodore's personal secretary who carries out his orders faithfully.
- Norman Kingstadt (ノーマン・キングスタット, Nōman Kingusutatto)
- Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki[7]
- The flamboyant and charismatic CEO of "Who's Who" in a one-sided rivalry with his childhood friend Theodore, though he does not reciprocate.
- Blist Blitz Broadhurst (ブリスト・ブリッツ・ブロードハースト, Burisuto Burittsu Burōdohāsuto)
- Voiced by: Shunsuke Takeuchi[7]
- Norman's personal secretary and bodyguard. In contrast to his boss, Blist prefers to keep a strictly professional attitude while on the job, constantly reminding Norman about pay and labor regulations even as he works to collect X-Playing cards for him. He is also a Player with the "Million Volt" power, which lets him channel electricity through his body.
- Brandy Blumenthal (ブランディ・ブルーメンタール, Burandi Burūmentāru)
- Voiced by: Mie Sonozaki[7]
- Norman's other personal secretary and bodyguard who sees his obsession with his rival and the X-Playing cards as a waste of time, even as she provides support for him.
- Ban Klondike (バン・クロンダイク, Ban Kurondaiku)
- Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki[8]
- The head of the Klondike family, known throughout Fourland as ruthless mafia boss, though he appears to have a softer side when dealing with women and children. Ban seeks the X-Playing cards for his own ends and has a shared history with Theodore and Norman.
- Tilt (ティルト, Tiruto)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga[8]
- A young Klondike executive who serves as a mediating force for inter-family struggles, and manages the search for the X-Playing cards.
- Bobby Ball (ボビー・ボール, Bobī Bōru)
- Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro[8]
- A member of the Klondike family who works under Tilt to acquire the X-Playing cards, and is cruel to nearly everyone he meets. He wields the 3 of Diamonds with the "Marble Rumble" power that lets him turn anything he grabs into marbles, which he can then use as projectile weapons.
- Greg Young (グレッグ・ヤング, Gureggu Yangu)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa[9]
- A veteran Inspector within the Shield Police Department, and one of the few people outside High Card who is aware of its existence as well as the X-Playing cards. Greg is an old friend of both Ban and Theodore.
- Sugar Peace (シュガー・ピース, Shugā Pīsu)
- Voiced by: Rie Takahashi[9]
- A novice detective who works under Greg.
- Lindsey Betz (リンジー・ベッツ, Rinjī Bettsu)
- Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa[10]
- The Director of the Sun Fields Orphanage, a good-natured man struggling to keep the orphanage open while having trouble paying rent to an uncaring landlord.
- Lucky Lunchman (ラッキー・ランチマン, Rakkī Ranchiman)
- Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba[10]
- A card sharp blessed with incredible luck thanks to the 10 of Diamonds ability, "Unlucky Poky," which granted him preternatural luck and thus prevented him from being harmed. After being threatened into giving up his card, he is soon killed after losing his luck along with the card.
Media
Anime
On June 9, 2021, it was announced that Homura Kawamoto, Hikaru Muno, and TMS Entertainment were working on a multimedia franchise, which include an anime television series.[11] The project is done in collaboration with KADOKAWA Co., Ltd. and Sammy Co., Ltd..[12]
The series is produced by Studio Hibari and directed by Junichi Wada, with Kenichi Yamashita, Kazuhiko Inukai, Shingo Nagai, and Naoki Kuroyanagi writing the scripts; Nozomi Kawano designing the characters; and Ryo Takahashi composing the music.[4] It premiered on January 9, 2023, on AT-X and other networks.[9]
The opening theme song is "Trickster" by Five New Old, while the ending theme song is "Squad!" by Meychan.[5][13] Crunchyroll licensed the series[14] and is set to premiere at the same time as Japan on January 9, 2023.[15]
| No. | Title [16] | Directed by [lower-alpha 1] | Written by [lower-alpha 1] | Storyboarded by [lower-alpha 1] | Original air date [17] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "One Shot" | Tomohiro Matsukawa | Kenichi Yamashita | Junichi Wada | January 9, 2023 | |
| A girl named Iris infiltrates a castle, steals a suitcase from the vault, and escapes with a magic power that allows her to summon several explosives. However, an unseen woman summons a gust of wind that breaks open the case and scatters its contents, a special deck of playing cards, far and wide. One month later, a pickpocket named Finn steals items from multiple people. After overhearing that the landlord is planning to wipe out the Sun Fields Orphanage where he grew up to build luxury apartments, Finn tries to raise funds quickly, only to find that the pawn shop owner won't fence his stolen goods, except for a special 2 of Spades card that Finn refuses to part with. So Finn hitches a ride to Bell End and hits a casino, winning at the poker table, until a card sharp named Lucky Lunchman cleans him out of his winnings. A casino pit boss takes both Finn and Lucky into a dark room, suspecting them of cheating. Suddenly, one of the guards unveils a 3 of Diamonds and transforms it into a pair of gloves that turn anything he grabs into marbles. The man threatens to kill Lucky's family until he releases his own card, the 10 of Diamonds. However, a car salesman with the 5 of Hearts appears and begins fighting with the fake guard. Finn steals the 10 of Diamonds and escapes in the confusion by stealing a car, only to find both men chasing after him. All three men manage to survive the fiery crash, but the marble man takes out the car salesman and demands Finn give him his card. Finn decides to test out his 2 of Spades, and summons a loaded revolver that pierces both the marble and the attacker's arm. However, the car salesman appears alive, as both he and Finn point their guns at each other. | ||||||
| 2 | "Make a Choice" | Moe Sasaki | Kazuhiko Inukai | Moe Sasaki | January 16, 2023 | |
| As Finn and the car salesman hold each other at gunpoint, Vijay suddenly speeds onto the scene at his own car and uses his own card's power to tangle Finn in vines. Finn later finds himself waking up in the back room of the Pinochle car dealership on Old Maid Street. The salesman from before, Chris Redgrave, is about to kill Finn when Bernard receives a call from the Pinochle President and decides to give Finn a chance to prove himself. After being introduced to the other members of the dealership working with High Card, Finn is soon hired as an apprentice car seller and assigned to work under Chris. The next morning, Finn is quickly thrown into his first assignment when a bulletproof monster is robbing an armored truck. Chris and Finn confront the man, but quickly find their powers are useless against "Rockin Rock," the power of the 3 of Hearts. Chris baits the attacker into attacking him through the windshield of his car, and drives them both into the river. The attacker releases his card's power before he drowns, while Finn uses his own focus to fire a few shots through the car's window allowing Chris to escape the sunken car. Afterwards, the President tells Bernard that Finn will be fired if he doesn't continue showing results, while the other High Card members mock Finn for having a weak card. | ||||||
| 3 | "Crazy Rich" | Arata Mita | Shingo Nagai | Arata Mita | January 23, 2023 | |
| Finn rushes to the rescue of a rich boy being kidnapped in broad daylight by two men named Jake and Carter. The two men blame the boy's father for closing down their factory and leaving them poor, but the boy claims not to know how to contact his father for their ransom demand. After rushing into a Chinese restaurant, local police arrive and arrest all four of them. Finn and the boy walk out of the police station, and the other two are broken out of their cell by their sister, Nix. Finn tries to appeal to the rich boy by buying him a hot dog and taking him on a ride on the Shield Underground, but the two of them are taken prisoner by Nix who wields the 7 of Clubs power, "Lethal Scoville," able to create flames of different size and power. While the kidnappers are busy praying to their fire god, Finn uses a key he stole from Jake to unlock their handcuffs, and uses his Nambu to bury the brothers under a pile of scrap metal. However, Nix is able to melt Finn's bullets before they reach her. Suddenly, Chris arrives on the scene and tosses a suitcase filled with a million dollars in cash at the boy. The boy turns out to be another High Card member named Leo, and he uses his 7 of Diamonds power, "Never No Dollars," to swap most of the cash for a bazooka that punches through the flame and takes out Nix. However, the explosion also knocks over the giant scrap metal idol, with Finn saving Leo before he is crushed under it with Nix. The next day, Finn discovers that Leo is actually the son of the Pinochle President and the head of their Old Maid office. Leo later delivers Nix's card to Owen, as his father ignores him while leaving the room. | ||||||
| 4 | "Samurai Girl" | Noriyuki Nomata | Kenichi Yamashita | Moe Sasaki | January 30, 2023 | |
| Finn swipes a client from Chris at the Pinochle dealership as Wendy arrives late to work. The following night at the Crazy Eights bar, Chris tells Finn about unwritten rules of their job, which include never letting Wendy get too drunk, or draw her sword. The next day, Wendy remembers the words of her late father and manages to arrive on time. However, Chris finds himself taken hostage in a bank robbery. Wendy decides to rush to the scene as the others follow on their own. Chris gets gunned down trying to shield a couple escaping hostages, but revives with his card's power. Vijay manages to trap the thieves' escape van and Wendy uses her card, the Ace of Spades, and summons "Love and Peace." She manages to knock out the thieves with her sheathed sword, but one of the thieves takes Vijay at knifepoint and reveals himself as another Player: John Doe, with the 4 of Hearts power "Agent S," allowing him to split himself up to four extra bodies at once. Feeling trapped by the clones and the words of her father, Wendy unsheathes the sword and lets the spirit of Love and Peace take over. Love-P easily defeats John Doe, but then starts attacking the other High Card members before Finn manages to knock the sword out of her hands, causing Love-P to sleep again. | ||||||
| 5 | "Power Game" | Arata Mita | Kazuhiko Inukai | Arata Mita | February 6, 2023 | |
| Junior Detective Sugar Peace grows increasingly suspicious of how multiple cases have been closed at the Shield Police Department, and how all Persons of Interest connected to Pinochle are mysteriously let go without any follow-up. John Doe promises to turn state's evidence against the Klondike family if he is given witness protection. Sugar hands John off to another detective while she begins to stake out the Pinochle dealership and the people who work there, but can't get any leads. A few nights later, veteran detective Greg Young attends a charity event held by Ban Klondike, and Sugar arrests Finn for pointing a gun at her. Greg watches Ban unveil a captive John Doe, and slowly snaps his neck in front of the assembled crowd without touching him. Meanwhile, a woman from the Klondike family crushes Sugar's police car under a bus using some telekinetic power, and nearly makes Finn shoot Sugar, but aims away at the last second, claiming that this was a warning. As the rain stops, Finn warns Sugar not to continue the investigation. Greg tries to find out from Ban what happened to the X-Playing cards over the past month, and Ban only tells him about "X-Blind." The next day, Sugar claims she can't let her investigation go, while Greg informs her of John Doe's death. | ||||||
| 6 | "Take Back Five" | Tomohiro Matsukawa | Shingo Nagai | Tomohiro Matsukawa | February 13, 2023 | |
| A man tells the legend of the land of Trapla, the predecessor to Fourland, locked in war until a mage presented a band of 52 knights with a magic card, which they each used to swear a blood oath to a boy the mage called their True King. Though the knights died in battle, the powers of their cards remained, and the boy used the cards to expel the barbarians from Trapla, allowing him to become the first King of Fourland. The story is told by an auctioneer on a cruise ship as he reveals the auction about to take place, where the main attraction is the X-Playing Card 5 of Diamonds, though the man is unaware of its true power. The CEO of "Who's Who," Norman Kingstat, and his two secretaries have arrived to win the card at the auction. Meanwhile, the members of High Card launch a heist to swap the magical 5 of Diamonds with a fake card. The plan manages to go well at first, until one of Norman's secretaries, Blist, uses his Million Volt power to attack Chris before he can make the switch. As Norman and Leo get involved in a bidding war, the card finally arrives onstage, but Finn's seasickness ruins Leo's chance. However, the card is stolen anyway by the telekinetic woman from Klondike, who escapes in a helicopter. | ||||||
| 7 | "Love & Fake" | TBA | TBA | TBA | February 20, 2023 | |
Print
A manga and novel adaptation of the franchise have been announced.[11] The side story manga, titled High Card -♢9 No Mercy, began serialization in Square Enix's online manga magazine Manga UP! on August 31, 2022.[6]
Notes
- Information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
References
- "Aniplus Asia Airs High Card Anime". Anime News Network. December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- Cecil, Dyllan (June 10, 2021). "Kakegurui Creator Now Working on High Card, a New Multimedia Series". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- Sugah, Jamie (January 9, 2023). "HIGH CARD Creators Promise An Exciting Series - The Geekiary". The Geekiary. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- Loo, Egan (March 8, 2022). "Poker-Themed High Card Anime's English-Subtitled Teaser Announces Staff, 2023 Airing". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- Mateo, Alex (July 6, 2022). "Poker-Themed High Card Anime Reveals Promo Video, Cast, Staff, Opening Theme". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 31, 2022). "High Card Anime Reveals More Cast, Side Story Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 30, 2022). "High Card Anime Reveals More Cast Members, Opening Song Artist". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- Loo, Egan (October 30, 2022). "High Card Anime Casts Tomokazu Seki, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Chiharu Sawashiro". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- Loo, Egan (November 19, 2022). "High Card Anime's 2nd Video Unveils More Cast, January 9 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 26, 2022). "Eiji Hanawa, Shigeru Chiba Join Cast of High Card Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 9, 2021). "Kadokawa, TMS, Sammy Reveal High Card Multimedia Project With Planned Anime, Manga, Novels". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- https://tmsanime.com/news/high-card-original-tv-animation
- Mateo, Alex (December 15, 2022). "Meychan Performs High Card Anime's Ending Theme Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- Mateo, Alex (January 4, 2023). "Crunchyroll to Stream Technoroid Overmind, High Card, Nijiyon, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, More Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2022/11/19-1/high-card-tv-anime-sets-january-9-premiere-with-new-visual-trailer
- "Sutōrī｜Terebi Anime "Hai Kādo" Kōshiki Saito" STORY｜TVアニメ「HIGH CARD」公式サイト [Story｜TV Anime "High Card" Official Website]. highcard-anime.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- "On'ea｜Terebi Anime "Hai Kādo" Kōshiki Saito" ON AIR｜TVアニメ「HIGH CARD」公式サイト [On Air｜TV Anime "High Card" Official Website]. highcard-anime.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- "トランプ×異能力バトルプロジェクト「HIGH CARD」PV公開、キャストに佐藤元・増田俊樹ら". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 20, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- High Card (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
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