Aoi Bungaku Series

This television anime consists of 12 episodes and is composed of six works: Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human" and "Run, Melos!," Sakaguchi Ango's "In the Grove," Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro," and Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "The Spider's Thread" and "Hell Screen." The project began in June 2007 with advance planning for the centennial of Osamu Dazai's birth (in 2009). It was promoted by Shueisha Bunko through the "Natsu no Isshii Natsui-chi Fair," which brought together manga artists from Weekly Shonen Jump to redesign and publish covers for classic Japanese literature. Takeshi Obata, known for "Death Note" and "Hikaru no Go," handled the covers for "No Longer Human" and "Kokoro." Tite Kubo, creator of "Bleach," was responsible for "In the Grove," "The Spider's Thread," and "Hell Screen." Takeshi Konomi, author of "The Prince of Tennis," designed the cover for "Run, Melos!." When adapted into a television anime, these manga artists were also responsible for the original character designs. Japanese actor Masahiro Sakai served as the narrator for the TV anime and also voiced the male protagonists in all six stories. A theatrical film version edited from the four episodes of "No Longer Human" was released in December 2009.