World Trigger, also known in short form as WorTri, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Ashihara. It was initially serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from February 2013 to November 2018, and transferred to Jump Square in December 2018. Its chapters have been compiled by Shueisha into 22 tankōbon volumes as of June 2020. An anime television series adaptation produced by Toei Animation was broadcast on TV Asahi from October 2014 to April 2016. A second season has been announced. In North America, the manga has been licensed for an English-language release by Viz Media.
Synopsis
Setting
In Mikado City, a "gate" to a different world suddenly opens one day. Monsters called "Neighbors" start appearing from the gate. Humans are overwhelmed at first when their weapons are found to be useless against Neighbors, until a mysterious organization appears that is able to repel the Neighbors' attacks. The organization is called the National Defense Agency, or "Border", and has appropriated the Neighbor technology called "Triggers", which allows the user to channel an internal energy called Trion and use it as a weapon or for other purposes. By activating a trigger, the body of users is replaced by a battle-body made of Trion which is stronger and more resistant.
Plot
Four years later, people in Mikado City have grown used to the occasional battles with the Neighbors, and have returned more or less to their everyday lives. Border has become popular. One day, a mysterious white-haired student named Yūma Kuga transfers to the local school. Kuga is actually a strong humanoid Neighbor, a fact that he wants to hide from Border. In the school he meets another student, Osamu Mikumo, who is secretly a C-class Border trainee. Since Kuga is completely oblivious about life in Mikado City, it falls to Mikumo to guide him through it, and to prevent him from being discovered by Border.
Media
Manga
World Trigger is written and illustrated by Daisuke Ashihara. The series started its serialization in the 11th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump published on February 9, 2013. Due to health issues on the part of the author, it was put on hiatus after the 50th issue in November 2016. The series returned in the 48th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump on October 29, 2018 and ran until the 52nd issue on November 26, then it was transferred to Jump Square on December 4, 2018. Shueisha has compiled the series into twenty-two tankōbon volumes as of June 2020. In North America, Viz Media licensed the series for an English-language release in 2014.
Anime
In May 2014, an anime adaptation of World Trigger was announced to start airing in October of the same year. The series is produced by Toei Animation and was broadcast on TV Asahi from October 5, 2014 to April 3, 2016. The series is directed by Mitsuru Hongo with series composition by Hiroyuki Yoshino. Toshihisa Kaiya and Hitomi Tsuruta are the character designers and animation directors, and the music is composed by Kenji Kawai. The cast includes Nobuhiko Okamoto, Rie Kugimiya, Hideyuki Tanaka, Nao Tamura, Jun Fukuyama, Tomo Muranaka, Yūki Kaji and Yūichi Nakamura. The series was slated to run for 50 episodes, but ended up having 73 episodes. In summer 2015, the World TriggerSummer Festival 2015 event announced World Trigger: Isekai Kara no Tōbōsha, a brand new series with an original story not presented in the World Trigger manga, and with new characters and concepts. This "new series" actually ended up being the "Fugitive Arc" of the anime, which ran from Episodes 49 to 63. On March 7, 2016, it was confirmed that the World Trigger anime would end, after it was announced that TV Asahi would be replacing the time slot airing it with sports programming. The Nagoya trio Sonar Pocket performed the anime's first opening theme, "GIRIGIRI". The second opening theme is "Ashita no Hikari" by AAA. In North America, Toei announced in July 2015 that they would be producing an English dub with Ocean Productions. The series began airing in the United States on Primo TV on January 16, 2017. The English dub became available on Crunchyroll on February 11, 2020. During Jump Festa '20, it was announced that the series will receive a second season, with the cast reprising their roles. Toei Animation is returning to produce the anime.
Video games
A PlayStation Vita action game developed by Artdink titled World Trigger: Borderless Mission was released in Japan on September 17, 2015. An iOS and Android game developed by Ganbarion titled World Trigger: Smash Borders was released on July 21, 2015. It was later released on PlayStation Vita on February 17, 2016. Both were published by Bandai Namco Games.
Reception
In the year of 2016, a survey conducted by Oricon found that World Trigger was the 20th best-selling manga, with over 1.2 million copies sold. Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network said that "World Trigger is an exciting read that distributes its information organically rather than relying on info-dumps." In a 2016 reader's poll on goo, the series ranked the fifth most likely to become a Weekly Shōnen Jump signature series. However, the anime received criticism stemming from Toei's handling of the adaptation. Gabriella Ekens from Anime News Network referred to the production as "incompetent" and "baffling", stating "World Trigger isn't a bad show, but it's a terrible adaptation." The series ranked 10th in the Tokyo Anime Award Festival's top 100 TV anime series of 2016. During NHK'S top 100 anime voting, World Trigger placed 158 out of 400, tied with .
