The Japanese trend of anthropomorphizing things as attractive humanoids ranges from physical objects to intangible concepts. The creators of the the Particle Boys~ project decided to steer the phenomenon into the scientific arena by personifying elementary particles (e.g. fermions, bosons) as charming young men.

In the project's story, Higgs is a transfer student into the elite science school ILC (International Linear Collider) Academy in Japan. Elec is his senior, and they join up with other particles to form the Uroboros group dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the universe.

The characters, from left to right in the image above, are Up Quark, Down Quark, Higgs Bozon, Gluon Adler, and Elec Smith. Illustrator Minato Yaguchi designed the characters.

Up is a third-year student and Down's twin brother who loves craftsmanship. He has a sociable personality but a violent disposition. Down also loves craftsmanship. He is an introvert who can't be separated from Up. Meals Up makes are his favorite food, and he worries that he is a bit heavier than Up. Higgs looks weak, but in reality, he has another side as well. Gluon panics if his room is in disarray, and his favorite foods are sticky items such as sticky rice and grated yam. Elec is popular with everyone, and he has to be careful because he can manipulate static electricity. Although he looks young, he is the oldest of the group.

The project's official Twitter account is posting four-panel manga about the characters.

Stamps for the LINE messaging and social media app and various character goods are available for purchase. The project will also have a booth at the "Zenkoku Ji-Beer Festival in Ichinoseki" local beer event in Ichinoseki, Iwate on August 19-20.

[Via Nijimen]