Title: Kurogane no Linebarrel (鉄のラインバレル)

Website: http://www.linebarrels.jp/english/index.html

Genre: Action, mecha

Number of Episodes: (unknown)

Company: GONZO

Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Kouichi Hayase’s life has always been a mediocre one, if not dismal. However, those days of being bullied by classmates and escaping to a fantasy of being a hero are put to an end when a certain “accident” bestows on him a girl and a gigantic humanoid robot called “LINEBARREL”. The extraordinary power that Kouichi obtains puts him and everything around him on a sudden rollercoaster ride of battles, intrigues and friendship! During the course of his adventure, the boy starts to learn what life has to offer; he meets new friends, bids farewell to the old ones, but most of all he now has considerable responsibilities and is forced to confront the world around him. (kurogane no linebarrel)

Based on comic by Eiichi shimizu & Tomohiro Shimoguchi

Hikari no Shiawase has a nice article about the manga’s first chapter with some images.

Personal Thoughts:

Looks like mecha with some angst. It’s going to be the storyline that distinguishes it from everyone else. Gundam, Rahxephon, etc. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens to this series now that GONZO heads are leaving. Sadness… =(

Update: Wow… now that I’ve watched the first episode, I have to say that I don’t care for this show at all. Lesse… where have we seen this story before? Weak boy, finds a super powerful robot and a cute, mysterious girl, then gets thrown into the midst of some military struggle between opposing forces. Can you name that particular anime? I’m SOOOOOOO tired of this stuff. And the characters aren’t even the slightest bit interesting. The whiney main characters makes me want to throttle his little angsty neck! *grr* What a waste… *sigh*

(Champion RED, Akitashoten)

Creative Producer : Goro Taniguchi

Written by Kiyoko Yoshimura

Scripts & Special Settings : Shigeru Morita

Character Designs : Hisashi Hirai

SFX Director : Ichiro Itano

Mecha Designs : Tsutomu Suzuki

Sound Director : Masafumi Mima

Music : Conisch

Directed by Masamitsu Hidaka

Animation Production : GONZO

Cast of Voice

Tetsuya Kakihara (Kouichi Hayase)

Mamiko Noto (Emi Kizaki)

Jun Fukuyama (Hisataka Katou)

Yuuichi Nakamura (Reiji Moritsugu)

Miyuki Sawashiro (Satoru Yamashita)

Kana Ueda (Shizuna Endou)

Rie Kugimiya (Izuna Endou)

Noriko Shitaya (Risako Niiyama)

Sayaka Ohara (Yui Ogawa)

Johji Nakata (Kunio Ishigami)