Hand Shakers (ハンドシェイカー, Hando Sheikā) is a Japanese action anime television series produced by GoHands with collaboration of production company Frontier Works and publisher Kadokawa. It aired from January 10 to March 28, 2017.
Reception towards the anime was largely negative, with criticism being directed at its overall quality. While the animation was noted for its complexity and fluidity, many critics felt that the overall saturated visuals and unorthodox camera angles made it hard to enjoy, as it can cause serious health issues for some viewers with epilepsy.
A sequel named W'z, which is set a decade after the events of Hand Shakers, premiered on January 5, 2019.
Contents
Plot
Hand Shakers takes place in Osaka in "AD20XX". The story revolves around Tazuna Takatsuki, a high-school student with a knack for mechanics, who accepts a certain repair request and visits a university research facility. There, he meets Koyori Akutagawa, a lone girl asleep on a bed. As though being led by something, Tazuna touches her fingertips—and a voice flows into him from a place unknown. Tazuna is left bewildered as a new world, Ziggurat, lies before him. Now together as Hand Shakers, the duo must fight to earn the right to confront God, where they will be able to make a wish. With "Nimrods", powers born from one's psyche after holding hands, the many groups of Hand Shakers must battle to defeat God.
Characters
Hand Shakers
Tazuna (タヅナ) / Tazuna Takatsuki (高槻 手綱, Takatsuki Tazuna)
Voiced by: Sōma Saitō (Japanese); Justin Briner (English)
A kind high-school student who is especially good at mechanics and is always running around doing repairs for other people. He is more focused than the average person, but worries about the fact that this makes him unaware of his surroundings. He became a Hand Shaker after holding hands with Koyori while she was sleeping in a laboratory. Koyori, who will die if he lets go of her hand, reminds him of his younger sister who died. This motivates him to protect her as Koyori does not have a Nimrod to fight by herself. Chizuru later gives him the code name of "Single Gear". In W'z, Tazuna currently travels around the world in order to look for clues about the whereabouts of Koyori's twin, Mayumi, and her partner, Nagaoka.
Koyori (コヨリ) / Koyori Akutagawa (芥川小代理, Akutagawa Koyori)
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese); Lara Woodhull (English)
A white-haired girl who is Tazuna's partner. Before meeting him, she had been put to sleep to conserve her life force, but after having her hand held by Tazuna she woke up and they became Hand Shaker partners. She reminds Tazuna of his younger sister and even though she is expressionless and does not speak, she is extremely compassionate and cares very deeply about Tazuna. Koyori receives the code name "Sprocket Gear" from Hibiki after successfully activating her Nimrod. The 13th episode reveals that she only survived her coma because Musubu, Tazuna's younger sister, had previously authorized the donation of her organs before her death. In W'z, Koyori works as a researcher at Kita Asuka Academy. She hoped to find her older twin sister, Mayumi, together with her partner, Nagaoka. Unfortunately, she was no longer able to use her Nimrods.
Lily (リリ) / Riri Hojo (北条璃々, Hōjō Riri)
Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese); Natalie Hoover (English)
The student council president at Tazuna's school and a highly respected honor student. She often asks Tazuna for help with repairs and is secretly a Hand Shaker, with her own younger brother as her partner. She has a talent for tarot card reading and, using this skill, she often advises those around her. Due to her parents' constant quarrels, Riri turns overprotective towards her younger brother. She also loves him dearly. By meeting 'God', Riri hopes to live in a world where both her and Masaru will be able to live together in peace. After being defeated by Tazuna & Koyori, Riri returns home and was informed of the news of her parents' divorce. In W'z, Riri is a fine grown woman. Since Masaru was adopted, He and Lily have since become married.
Others
Makihara (マキハラ) / Nagamasa Makihara (槇原長政, Makihara Nagamasa)
Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (Japanese); Anthony Bowling (English)
A professor at a university who actually researching the truth behind Hand Shakers. To put Koyori on safety, he has been putting her on sleep before meeting Tazuna.
Musubu (ムスブ) / Musubu Takatsuki (高槻 結, Takatsuki Musubu)
Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (Japanese); Jad Saxton (English)
Tazuna's deceased younger sister who died from an illness. Before her death, she allowed the donation of her organs, leading to Koyori and Mayumi's miraculous survival.
Tazuna's father (タヅナの父, Tazuna no chichi)
Voiced by: Shintaro Asanuma (Japanese); Chuck Huber (English)
Tazuna's father.
Tazuna's mother (タヅナの母, Tazuna no haha)
Voiced by: Satomi Satō (Japanese); Tia Ballard (English)
Tazuna's mother. Often seen being lovey dovey with her husband.
Tomoki (トモキ) / Tomoki Tachibana (橘 友樹, Tachibana Tomoki)
Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi (Japanese); Derick Snow (English)
Shigure (シグレ) / Shigure Hanasaki (花咲時雨, Hanasaki Shigure)
Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English)
Media
Anime
The project was announced in March 2016, but the project site was relaunched in July 2016. Kadokawa and GOON TRAX produced the music for the anime. The opening theme song, titled "One Hand Message", is performed by OxT, while the ending theme, titled "Yume Miru Ame", is performed by Akino Arai. The anime was celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Animate chain of anime character goods stores. The anime ran for 12 episodes. An unaired episode was released on July 26, 2017, titled Hand Shakers EX. Crunchyroll has licensed the series in North America. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and aired it on Animax Asia and later on its own Muse Asia YouTube channel.
Reception
The anime was widely panned by critics and audiences, who found its visual aesthetic unappealing and overstimulating. Reviewing the first two episodes, James Becket of Anime News Network described the series as "mystifying, maddening, and bizarre.", noting is motion sickness-inducing art direction and bland, uninspired writing.
