BrandWikiReturn

Sega Hard Girls

Sega Hard Girls (セガ・ハード・ガールズ) is a Japanese multimedia project produced as a collaboration between ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint and video game company Sega. The project re-imagines various Sega video game consoles as anthropomorphized girls in modern Japan.

The project has inspired a light novel series written by Tōru Shiwasu with illustrations by Kei Garō, which was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine between 2013 and 2014, and an anime television series adaptation titled Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls (Hi☆sCoool! セハガール) by TMS Entertainment, which aired in Japan between October and December 2014. A crossover video game with Idea Factory's Hyperdimension Neptunia franchise, Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls, was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan in November 2015, and in North America and Europe in October 2016.

Premise

The project focuses on various anthropomorphized Sega consoles, known as "Sega Hard Girls" or "SeHa Girls" for short, each with their own unique personality. The anime series follows three such girls; Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, and Mega Drive, who must graduate from Sehagaga Academy, a special school located in Haneda, Tokyo (the real-life location of Sega's corporate offices), by venturing into the worlds of various Sega games and earning medals. The light novels instead depict the girls as goddesses who come to live with the book's protagonist, high school student Isao Sugawara, and purify other goddesses who have been cursed to become vengeful spirits.

Characters

  • Dreamcast (ドリームキャスト)
  • A pink-haired cheerful girl who wants to make friends with everyone and to excel in school. She wears a white and orange dress with a Dreamcast controller as her headgear, and can also access the internet using a dial-up modem. In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Yumemi Segamori".
  • Sega Saturn (セガサターン)
  • [1]
  • A black-haired serious girl seeking to accomplish great things in life who is the object of several male Sega characters' affections. She wears a silver coat with black dress and a huge black ring hanging on her neck. In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Hotaru Segamori".
  • Mega Drive (メガドライブ)
  • [2]
  • A blonde-haired cool and genius girl who knows everything, holding a wealth of knowledge in her 16-bit encyclopedia. She wears black and pink attire, large eyeglasses, and has a Mega Drive controller as her hairclip. In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Mayo Kudo".
  • Sega Mark III (セガ・マークIII)
  • An upbeat girl who wears bunny ears and likes to perform magic tricks.
  • Master System (マスターシステム)
  • A silver haired girl who has a Master System controller on her sleeve. She has a talent for music.
  • Game Gear (ゲームギア)
  • A moody negative girl with multicolored hair. She tires easily and prefers to stay indoors, often leaving class early.
  • Robo Pitcher (ロボピッチャ)
  • A small sports enthusiast who dislikes being treated as a child. She has a split personality that changes based on whether she's playing baseball or tennis.
  • Visual Memory (ビジュアルメモリ)
  • A blue-haired fairy-like girl who loves to talk and can shrink herself down at will.
  • SC-3000 (エスジー・サンゼン)
  • A fighting instructor with a stubborn personality who wields a naginata. In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Sachie Sanzenin".
  • SG-1000 (エスジー・セン)
  • A timid crybaby who carries a giant controller on her back.
  • SG-1000 II (エスジー・センII)
  • A white-haired girl who can float and has psychic powers, but whose mood is difficult to read.
  • Mega-CD (メガCD)
  • A royal knight armed with sword and shield. She cares for animals and children, but is naive and easily fooled.
  • Mega Drive 2 (メガドライブ2)
  • Mega Drive's little sister, who tries to act more mature than she actually is.
  • Mega CD 2 (メガCD2)
  • A sporty and impulsive girl who rides around on a hoverboard.
  • Super 32X (スーパー32X)
  • A fairy-like girl who likes to tease others. In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Kyoka Kanzaki".
  • Genesis (ジェネシス)
  • A self-obsessed American cowgirl. She prefers the nickname "Jenny". In the light novel, she goes by the alias "Jenny Amachi".
  • TeraDrive (テラドライブ)
  • An intelligent and graceful girl who loves to read and sometimes talks to herself.

Other characters

  • Center-sensei (センター先生)
  • A teacher at Sehagaga Academy, featured in the anime series. He issues lessons to his students via a monitor, with his avatar being based on Professor Asobin, a rabbit mascot character that appeared in several early Sega game manuals.[3] His true identity, revealed in the final episode, is that of former Sega game designer and programmer Yuji Naka.[4]
  • Isao Sugawara (菅原勇雄)
  • The protagonist of the light novel series. He is a teenager living in Haneda with his younger sister Yui, and is set to one day become head of the Anamori Inari Shrine. While initially cynical and skeptical of the supernatural, his interactions with the Sega Hard Girls gradually restore his original optimistic personality.
  • Hatsumi Sega (瀬賀初美)
  • The protagonist of Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls. Initially amnesiac and going by the nickname "Segami", she is eventually revealed to be a goddess embodying Sega as a whole.

Media

Light novels

A light novel series, titled Gendai Nihon ni Yatte Kita Sega no Megami ni Arigachi na Koto (現代日本にやってきたセガの女神にありがちなこと), was written by Tōru Shiwasu, with illustrations by Hatsune Miku artist Kei Garō. It began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine on June 10, 2013.[5] ASCII Media Works published the first volume on December 10, 2013 under Dengeki Bunko imprint[6] while the second volume followed on June 10, 2014.[7]

Anime

An anime adaptation titled ''Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls'', which was produced by TMS Entertainment using the MikuMikuDance animation software, aired in Japan between October 8[8] and December 24, 2014 on Animax and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The series was directed by Sōta Sugawara, who also co-wrote the anime's screenplay with Masayuki Kibe. The CG character designs used in the anime were co-designed by Sugawara and Kio, who based the designs on Kei Garō's original concepts. Shigeyuki Watanabe handled the CG direction.[8] The opening theme is "Sehagaga Ganbacchau!!" (セハガガがんばっちゃう!!) sung by Dreamcast (Mao Ichimichi), Sega Saturn (Minami Takahashi) and Mega Drive (Shiori Izawa). The ending theme is "Wakai Chikara (Sega Hard Girls Mix)" (若い力-SEGA HARD GIRLS MIX-), based on the Sega company song "Wakai Chikara",[9] sung by SC-3000 (Mai Aizawa), SG-1000 (Yū Serizawa), SG-1000 II (Naomi Ōzora), Game Gear (Minami Tanaka) and Robo Pitcher (Haruna Momono).

An additional OVA was released as part of the DVD box set on November 3, 2016.[10] The Japanese DVDs included download codes for the show's character models for use in MikuMikuDance.[11] The anime was licensed in North America by Discotek Media, and was released via a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack on May 30, 2017; the OVA is not included in the North American release.[12][13]

Episode list

Episode list

Manga

An anthology manga series, Chikiu Boueitai! SeHa Girl (ちきう☆防衛隊！ セハガール), featured stories written and drawn by multiple creators. The series was serialized in Dengeki Maoh magazine in 2014, and was later compiled in a single tankōbon volume in February 2015.[14]

Video games

The Sega Hard Girls version of Dreamcast makes a cameo appearance in Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax; the game's updated release, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax Ignition, adds an additional stage based on ''Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls''.[15]

A crossover game with Compile Heart's Hyperdimension Neptunia series, titled Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls (超次元大戦 ネプテューヌVSセガハードガールズ 夢の合体スペシャル),[16][17] was released for PlayStation Vita in Japan on November 26, 2015[18] and later on released in North America on October 18, 2016[19] as well as Europe on October 21, 2016.[20] A high-definition port of the game for Windows was released on June 12, 2017 via Steam.[21]

Other games have featured the characters during limited time events, such as Kaden Shoujo and Super Robot Wars X-Ω.[22][23] A 2013 crossover event in Sega's Samurai & Dragons game for PlayStation Vita featured additional Sega Hard Girls based on Sega arcade boards.[24] These characters were originally planned to appear as part of the main franchise, but were excluded due to concerns of them being too niche and the project already featuring too many characters.[25]

Online radio show

An online radio show, SeHa Girls' Hardcore Sega Info Radio (セハガールのハードなSEGA情報RADIO), known as SeHaRadi (セハラジ) for short, featured the voice actresses of the franchise providing updates on Sega Hard Girls media and merchandise, commenting on Sega related news, and answering listener questions.[26] The series premiered on October 12, 2024 on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting's Super! A&G+ digital radio station, and aired for 195 episodes, concluding on July 1, 2018.[27]

External links

References

  1. Superdimension Neptune vs. Sega Hard Girls Behind the Voice Actors, retrieved August 4, 2017^
  2. Faye Mata Twitter, October 24, 2016, retrieved October 25, 2016^
  3. Damien McFerran. Video: Meet The Early Sega Mascots That Time Forgot Nintendo Life, February 11, 2016, retrieved September 22, 2025^
  4. 11 月8 日（日）開催 セガ・ハード・ガールズ単独ライブ 『セハガガライブ！～ソフトでハードな感謝祭！！～』ゲスト出演者決定！ SEGA, February 21, 2023, retrieved September 22, 2025^
  5. Sega Hardware Inspires Sega Hard Girls Novel, Oreimo Crossover Anime News Network, April 14, 2013, retrieved April 10, 2014^
  6. http://asciimw.jp/search/mode/item/cd/311977400000 ASCII Media Works, retrieved April 10, 2014^
  7. http://asciimw.jp/search/mode/item/cd/312096300000 ASCII Media Works, retrieved July 8, 2014^
  8. Sega Hardware Girls' Hi sCoool! SeHa Girl Anime Previewed in Video Anime News Network, August 26, 2014, retrieved August 29, 2014^
  9. Brian Crecente. Listen to Sega's wonderfully cheesy official company song, 'Young Force' Polygon, October 25, 2016, retrieved October 25, 2016^
  10. Sega Hard Girls Return for "Hi-sCool! Seha Girls" Bonus Episode Crunchyroll, September 23, 2016, retrieved October 20, 2016^
  11. Paul Chapman. Japanese "hi-sCool! Seha Girls Complete DVD" Includes New Bonuses Crunchyroll News, November 3, 2016, retrieved September 22, 2025^
  12. Seha Girls - Discotek Media Facebook, February 3, 2015, retrieved February 4, 2015^
  13. Hi-Scoool! SeHa Girls Release Facebook, March 3, 2017, retrieved March 8, 2017^
  14. 公式コミック『ちきう☆防衛隊！ セハガール』が『チェンクロ』のオリジナルSR付きで単行本化！ Dengeki Online, February 27, 2015, retrieved September 22, 2025^
  15. Test du jeu Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls sur Vita Jeuxvideo.com, October 21, 2016, retrieved September 22, 2025^
  16. 【速報】PS Vita『超次元大戦 ネプテューヌVSセガハードガールズ 夢の合体スペシャル（仮）』発表！ Dengeki Online, March 15, 2015, retrieved March 15, 2015^
  17. Neptunia x Sega Hard Girls PS Vita Game Unveiled Anime News Network, March 15, 2015, retrieved March 15, 2015^
  18. Hyperdimension Neptunia VS Sega Hard Girls Japanese release date set Gematsu, August 25, 2015, retrieved August 25, 2015^
  19. Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls Idea Factory, retrieved October 24, 2016^
  20. Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls Idea Factory, retrieved October 24, 2016^
  21. Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls for PC launches June 12 - Gematsu Gematsu, May 30, 2017, retrieved May 30, 2017^
  22. Paul Chapman. "Sega Hard Girls" Team Up with "Kaden Shoujo" Crunchyroll News, August 8, 2015, retrieved December 12, 2025^
  23. バンナム、『スーパーロボット大戦X-Ω』で「新天地！ その名は・・・地獄」開催！ 「マジンカイザーSKL」が新規参戦、「ヘボット！」は期間限定参戦 gamebiz【ゲームビズ】, retrieved December 12, 2025^
  24. 新たな仲間を引き連れて、セガっ娘が集結！ セガ・ハード・ガールズ スペシャルパックキャンぺーン開催!! Samurai & Dragons, retrieved April 13, 2026^
  25. 佐藤和也 （編集部）. 形を変えても記憶と魂を残すのが重要--擬人化プロジェクト「セガ・ハード・ガールズ」 CNET Japan, December 28, 2014, retrieved April 13, 2026^
  26. "セガ・ハード・ガールズ"井澤詩織さん＆M・A・Oさんがパーソナリティーを務めるラジオ番組がスタート Famitsu, October 3, 2014, retrieved April 13, 2026^
  27. １９５回（最終回） - セハガールのハードなSEGA情報RADIO『セハラジ』 Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, July 1, 2018, retrieved April 13, 2026^