Boys Be... (ボーイズ・ビー Boizu Bi) is a manga created and written by Masahiro Itabashi and illustrated by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, which was in 2000 adapted into a 13 episode anime series by Hal Film Maker.
Three different Boys Be... manga series were serialized by Kodansha in Shukan Shonen Magazine. The second manga series is licensed in North America by Tokyopop and the anime is licensed by The Right Stuf International. The anime is licensed in Singapore by Odex. The first DVD volume of the series was released in North America on February 28, 2006. Comcast is currently showing 'Boys Be' On Demand in the United States.
The anime focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of first love and teenage romance. Six students struggle in their quest to find the perfect partner. Their only enemies are their adolescent limitations.
Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which loosely sums up the episode's content. Boys Be..., while centered on Kyoichi and Chiharu, actually revolves about seven or eight main characters and their love lives.
• Kyoichi Kanzaki - He is a high school boy having difficulty expressing his love for his childhood friend, Chiharu Nitta. Their relationship has encountered turbulence, resulting in a one-time affair with Shoko Sayama. His voice was provided by Kenichi Suzumura.
• Yoshihiko Kenjo - Extremely talented in sports (especially baseball), but has no interest in it whatsoever. He also seems to have no interest in girls... until the day he met Aya Kurihara. However, after her return to France, he met during baseball practice his girlfriend Natsue Horikawa. He also had a run-in with young idol Jyunna Morio when she escaped and got lost from her studio taping. His voice was provided by Hideo Ishikawa.
• Makoto Kurumizawa - He is the epitomy of a girl-obsessed guy, keeping an electronic database of girls with him, even using dating simulators and guide books. He is also the only techno-geek in the group. After he botched his date with Erika Kawai, he ended up with her best friend, Yumi Kazama. His voice was provided by Akira Ishida.
• Chiharu Nitta - She is the athletic love interest of Kyoichi, running for their school's track and field team. She has been Kyoichi's friend since childhood, but she also has difficulty expressing love, hence her affair with a guy named Okazaki Yuki. Her voice was provided by Kazusa Murai.
• Yumi Kazama - This spectacled girl loves to dress in odd clothes, like wearing a sea lion costume at the beach. She acted as an "Erika Kawai Simulator" for Makoto... and eventually fell in love when Rika dumped him. Her voice was provided by Miki Nagasawa.
• Aki Mizutani - His boyfriend is a photographer now working in Hokkaido, hence her limited love interludes. For most of the series she's maintaining a long-distance relationship. Her voice is by Yuri Shiratori.
• Erika Kawai - The only daughter of a rich family, she was dated by Makoto based upon the results of his dating simulator. Yumi had to help him with her in exchange for dropping his laptop from the third floor and wrecking it. But Erika dumped him, thinking Makoto loves Yumi instead. Her voice is by Michiko Neya.
• Natsue Horikawa - She had the desire to stand at the pitchers' mound during the annual Koshien high school baseball championship, but she is a girl, so it couldn't happen. But she did guide Yoshihiko out of his disinterest in the sport... and they ended up as lovers. Her voice is by Aika Mizuno.
• Aya Kurihara - This French-Japanese transfer student had a run-in with Yoshihiko when he looked for a ball that sauntered into the library's window. When he crawled to look for it, he knocked the stool where she was standing. Luckily he caught her falling... Her voice is by Misato Fukuen.
• Jyunna Morio - She is a popular pop idol, and her image is practically plastered on everything from bottled water to TV screens. But Yoshihiko doesn't know that, even mistaking her for a girl distributing flyers. Her voice is by Rika Komatsu.
• Nao Nitta - She is Chiharu's cute but frail cousin with an overprotective brother. Makoto tried courting her, but her brother is always a step ahead of him. Her voice is by Chie Ishibashi.
• Shoko Sayama - She is a renegade student hoping to make it big in the music business. With her relationship with Kyoichi, she found the confidence to successfully weather out rivals for a spot in a J-pop band. She dropped out of school to work on her career full-time. Her voice is by Yuka Imai.
• Mizuki Takano - When Makoto broke his leg due to a scooter accident, he was confined to the hospital where Mizuki was an intern. She became his nurse. She may still have a long way to go, but Makoto urged her on. He pledged not to forget her... but... Her voice is by Junko Noda.
• Chiharu - This Finnish-Japanese ex-Tokyoite girl encountered Kyoichi when he went to Hokkaido, acting as his impromptu tour guide that "charges one kiss per transaction." She's flirtier, more daring, and free than the Chiharu he knows, and rides a Harley-Davidson. Both cleared each other's minds during their stay together. She is a wood sculptor, as well. Her voice is by Megumi Hayashibara.
Note that there are two women named Chiharu in the story.
From
Wikipedia