S-CRY-ed

s-CRY-ed (Japanese: スクライド, Hepburn: Sukuraido), also known as s.CRY.ed or Scryed, is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series which first aired in Japan on TV Tokyo. The series is written by Yōsuke Kuroda, produced by Sunrise, and directed by Gorō Taniguchi, with music composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa. It is set in an alternative time in Kanagawa Prefecture where a phenomenon gave 1% of its people supernatural powers; they are known as Alters. The plot follows a young Alter mercenary known as Kazuma, as well as Ryuho, a man working for the Alter special forces known as HOLY, who become rivals as their areas clash. The series' concept originated in 1999 when Taniguchi was working on Infinite Ryvius. He wanted to create another series that would contain themes similar to it, as well as new ones centered mostly on how people adapted to the 21st century. The prototype of the series was released as a one-shot manga called "s-CRY-ed 0" drawn by Yasunari Toda, compiled in the S-CRY-ed Anime Book (Japanese: スクライド アニメブック) by Akita Shoten. The final manga version of s-CRY-ed (also drawn by Yasunari Toda), was serialized in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion before the anime's broadcast. A novelization by Kazuho Hyodo has been published. Additionally, a two-part recollection film was released by Sunrise. Both the anime and the manga have also seen English release. s-CRY-ed has been popular in Japan, often appearing on polls taken by Japanese magazines, and once took third place in the Anime Grand Prix awards. Critical reception to the series has been generally positive, with reviewers noting while initial episodes might be simple, the plot becomes more interesting as the series unfolds.