Weiß Kreuz
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| Weiß Kreuz (Kapitel) (USA Title: Knight Hunters) | |
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| ヴァイスクロイツ (Weiß Kreuz) |
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| Genre | Shōjo, Adventure, Drama |
| TV anime : Weiß Kreuz (USA Title: Knight Hunters) | |
| Directed by | Kiyoshi Egami Kazutoku Tanahashi (ep.17 - 24) |
| Studio | Studio DEEN |
| Network |  TV Tokyo ABC 5 , GMA 7 |
| Original run | April 8, 1998 – September 30, 1998 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| OVA: Verbrechen and Strafe | |
| Directed by | Unknown |
| Studio | Studio DEEN |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Released | 2000 |
| Runtime | |
| TV anime : Glühen (Glowing) (USA Title: Eternity File) | |
| Directed by | Hitoyuki Matsui |
| Studio | Unknown |
| Network | Kids Station |
| Original run | November 28, 2002 – February 20, 2003 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Manga: Forever White | |
| Authored by | Ken'ichi Kanemaki, Kyoko Tsuchiya |
| Publisher | |
| Serialized in | Unknown |
| Original run | unknown – unknown |
| No. of volumes | 1 |
| Manga: Weiß: An Assassin And White Shaman | |
| Authored by | Kyoko Tsuchiya |
| Publisher | Shinshokan Publishing |
| Serialized in | Wings |
| Original run | 1997 – |
| No. of volumes | 2 |
| Manga: Ranjatai~Zankou | |
| Authored by | Yuuji Kawara |
| Publisher | |
| Serialized in | Unknown |
| Original run | unknown – unknown |
| No. of volumes | 1 |
| Manga: Weiß Kreuz Side B | |
| Authored by | Koyasu Takehito, Shoko Ohmine |
| Publisher | Studio DNA |
| Serialized in | Zero Sum |
| Original run | 2003 – |
| No. of volumes | 5 |
- The title of this article contains the character ß. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as "Weiss Kreuz".
Weiß Kreuz (ヴァイスクロイツ Vaisu Kuroitsu, incorrect German for "White Cross". The correct form would be "Weißes Kreuz"), released in the United States as Knight Hunters: Weiß Kreuz by Media Blasters, is an anime about four assassins that work in a flower shop called "The House of Kittens", a reference to their feline codenames. The assassins are members of a group called Weiß (white), which is run by Persia of the mysterious Kritiker organization.
There is also a manga serial called Weiß Side B, authored by voice actor Takehito Koyasu and drawn by Shōko Ōmine. It is published by Ichijinsha and currently serialised in Zero Sum (Saiyuki Reload).
Several drama CDs have also been released.
This series is popular with fans of shōnen-ai and yaoi, due to a cast full of mostly bishōnen males. Though there is some fan speculation that some or all of the main characters may be homosexual, this is never concretely established in the series or manga.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Weiß
- Fujimiya Aya (Real name: Fujimiya Ran)
- Birthday: July 4
- Age: 20
- Height: 178 cm, about 5'10"
- Bloodtype: A
- Codename: Abyssinian
- Image Flower: Rose
- Weapon of choice: Katana (Japanese sword)
- Seiyuu: Takehito Koyasu, the creator of the series.
- A man whose sister is in a mysterious coma. His parents were killed and his sister run over by Takatori Reiji, thus he joins Weiß seeking only revenge. As a constant remainder of the purpose behind his actions, he takes on his sister's name and wears one of her earrings. Because of his past tragedy and current resolve, he is strongly silent and seems very cold. Although Aya was the last of the four to join Weiss, he wields a great deal of authority over the team during their missions.
- Tsukiyono Omi
- Birthday: February 29
- Age: 17
- Height: 163 cm, about 5'4"
- Bloodtype: O
- Codename: Bombay (Weiß Kreuz), Persia (Weiß Kreuz Glühen)
- Image Flower: Freesia
- Weapon of choice: Bow and Arrow, Crossbow w/ Darts
- Seiyuu: Hiro Yuuki
- Due to his computer skills, Omi is in charge of gathering information and planning Weiß's missions. He doesn't remember his life before Kritiker, the underground crime-fighting organization Weiß was commissioned by, at the start of the series, but as the action unfolds he discovers he is in fact Takatori Mamoru, son of Takatori Reiji - head of the Takatori family, who are in some way related to almost all the missions the boys have to take. He has a tough time trying to figure out where his loyalty should lie, but in the end realizes that what he truly desires is to stop the corruption his biological family spreads. But he found out that he is really Takatori Shuuichi's biological son instead--and this is the reason he assumes the position "Persia" in Glühen.
- Hidaka Ken
- Birthday: December 23
- Age: 19
- Height: 175 cm, about 5'9"
- Bloodtype: B
- Codename: Siberian
- Image Flower: Gentian
- Weapon of choice: Bagh nakh (tiger claw), a pair of gloves with claws that extend when he makes a fist (work similar to the claw of Wolverine from X men)
- Seiyuu: Tomokazu Seki.
- Once a talented professional soccer goalie in the J-League, he was forced to quit due to a gambling scandal, despite the fact that he was completely innocent. It turns out his best friend, Koichiro Kase, drugged him so he would throw a game in favor of the gamblers. Ken doesn't know this, however, and is beaten up and left for dead in a burning warehouse when Kase tells him he found the leader of the gambling ring who set Ken up in the first place. Ken doesn't discover Kase's lies, believing him long gone, until he meets Kase some years later, attempting to figure out why his best friend is one of Weiß's targets. In the end, Kase, who is working very close under a man whom Weiß needs to kill, sets Ken up once more, giving him a false lead and then shooting at Ken himself. When Kase sees him one last time, Ken doesn't grant him any mercy, although he is tormented by his actions afterwards.
- Kudou Yoji
- Birthday: March 3
- Age: 21
- Height: 182 cm, about 6'
- Bloodtype: AB
- Codename: Balinese
- Image Flower: Cattleya
- Weapon of choice: Steel garrotte wire released from his watch
- Seiyuu: Shinichiro Miki
- A ladies man and a former private detective. We discover by way of some painful flashbacks and explanations on Yoji's part that he once ran a Private Investigator Agency with his true love, a woman with sunglasses and a distinctive beauty mark, Murase Asuka. She was shot and killed (possibly. See below) investigating the member's only Liott club which hides a prostitution ring. He joined Weiß to protect all the other women of the world because he couldn't protect his love, and this explains his insensitive-seeming practice of only accepting missions that have to do with women of legal age.
[edit] Other characters
- Fujimiya Aya
- Age: 18
- The younger sister of Ran who was run over by the car of Takatori Reiji on her 16th birthday. She has been comatose ever since. Despite the fact that she is now eighteen years old, her body has not physically aged at all. As a result, she becomes a target of Schwarz. Aya is commonly referred to as Aya-chan to differentiate her from her older brother.
- Tomoe Sakura
- Age: 16
- A girl with a striking resemblance to Ran's younger sister. She becomes quite close to Ran, who pushes her away because he fears she will be in danger if she comes to know him, and somewhat because her resemblance to his sister brings him pain. She uses her physical resemblance to Ran's sister in order to protect Aya-chan from Schwarz later on.
- Manx
- Also Known As: Erika
- Persia's red-headed secretary, whom Yoji always hits on but never gets anywhere with. She has feelings for Takatori Shuuichi, but does not act on them due to their professional relationship and his remaining love for his brother's late wife.
- Birman
- Along with Manx, Birman serves as a liaison between Weiß and Persia, bringing them their missions and information from Kritiker.
- Botan
- A Kritiker agent who assists Birman in guiding Weiß, and takes a particular interest in Aya due to his own personal reasons for joining the organization.
- Persia
- Real name: Takatori Shuuichi
- Also Known As: Marigold (Eternal Rain drama CD), King (Crashers: Knight and Ran)
- The head officer of the police force by day and head of Kritiker, an underground organization fighting for justice, by night. It turns out that he is brother to Reiji Takatori and the most important: Omi's biological father (with Reiji's wife; and that is the reason why Reiji did not pay the ransom for Omi).
- Sakaki Ouka
- A frequent patron of the flower shop, Ouka is a privileged schoolgirl who is especially fond of Omi. Unfortunately for both of them, she is also Takatori Reiji's illegitimate daughter, which results in her being caught up in Weiß's struggles against Schwarz and the Takatori family.
[edit] Enemies
[edit] Schwarz
The main enemies in the series are another group of assassins called Schwarz ("Black" in German), all of whom have supernatural powers. Schwarz begrudgingly work as bodyguards for the Takatori family, and this is how they meet Weiß. Later in the series, Schwarz is seen assisting a mysterious group known as "Eszet" (the spoken word for the German alphabetic character "ß", also spelled "Esset" or "SS" in some cases) in resurrecting their deceased leader. Weiß are to Kritiker what Schwarz are to Eszet.
- Brad Crawford
- Age: 27
- Height: 185 cm, about 6'1"
- Ethnicity: American
- Codename: Oracle
- Special power: precognition
- Weapon of choice: gun, fists
- Seiyuu: Ryoutarou Okiayu
- Very focused, although what drives him is unknown. He is the leader of Schwarz.
- Schuldig
- Real name: unknown
- Age: 22
- Height: 180 cm, about 5'11"
- Ethnicity: German
- Codename: Mastermind
- Special power: telepathy, which enables him to act and react with superhuman speed
- Weapon of choice: gun
- Seiyuu: Hikaru Midorikawa
- Both sadistic and masochistic to an extent, Schuldig enjoys messing with people's heads, which is all too easy given his power of telepathy. He claims that people's minds taste like honey; however, he also complains that at times he can't tell which thoughts are his.
- Naoe Nagi
- Age: 15
- Height: 160 cm, about 5'3"
- Ethnicity: Japanese
- Codename: Prodigy
- Special power: telekinesis
- Weapon of choice: none
- Seiyuu: Nozomu Sasaki
- Nagi was shunned as a child by the people around him because of his telekinetic powers, and as a result he is very solemn and embittered towards the world. He joined Schwarz to take revenge on the world for the way he was treated.
- Farfarello
- Age: 20
- Height: 180 cm, about 5'11"
- Ethnicity: Irish
- Real Name: Jei
- Codename: Berserker
- Special power: cannot feel pain
- Weapon of choice: an extendable poniard, various knives, gun
- Seiyuu: Ryuusei Nakao
- Called demented by most, as his multitude of scars and ability to grin at insane acts of violence toward others and himself makes this accusation seem true. When he learned as a child that his real mother was Ruth, the nun who had been his teacher, Jei snapped and murdered his adoptive parents and sister, then blocked out the memory, developing a vendetta against God and Christians.
[edit] Schreient
A group of four female assassins employed and cared for by the scientist Masafumi Takatori. "Schreiend" is the German word for "crying" or "yelling"
- Hell
- Age: 27
- Height: 175 cm, about 5'9"
- Real name: Chizuru Aoi
- Name meaning: bright
- Weapon of choice: shuriken
- Seiyuu: Masako Katsuki
- She is the leader of Schreient, carrying out her lover's will. She was once a member of the Japanese Self Defense Force. "Hell" is the German word for "bright" or "clear"
- Schön
- Age: 24
- Height: 170 cm, about 5'7"
- Real name: Karen Kitaura
- Name meaning: pretty
- Weapon of choice: whip
- Seiyuu: Miki Itou
- She was once a model, and has more than a healthy appreciation for her own beauty: it is a scratch to the face that angers her the most in one battle. "Schön" is the German word for "beautiful".
- Neu
- Age: 22
- Height: 170 cm, about 5'7"
- Real name: Asuka Murase
- Name meaning: new
- Weapon of choice: martial arts
- Seiyuu: Kotono Mitsuishi
- A strike to her face in one battle breaks her visor and reveals to Youji the eyes of someone he believed dead: Asuka. The anime never conclusively states whether she is or is not however, and she seems to have no memory of Youji. "Neu" is the German word for "new".
- Tot
- Age: 17
- Height: 160 cm, about 5'5"
- Real name: Nanami Hibino
- Name meaning: dead
- Weapon of choice: an umbrella
- Seiyuu: Yuko Mizutani
- She acts much, much younger than she is, although a definitive reason is never given. Like most of Schreient, her character is never fully fleshed out. She is involved in a short, sweet love affair with Schwarz's Nagi before her apparent death. "Tot" is the German word for "dead".
[edit] The (Evil) Takatoris
A family that seems to be involved in all the crimes Weiß deal with.
- Reiji Takatori
- The head of the family. Once thought to be Omi's father. He killed Aya's parents to cover up the fact that he'd been embezzling from the bank where Aya's father worked, leaving Mr. Fujimiya to take the blame, and ran Aya-chan down with his limousine when she escaped the explosion he had set off in their home to cover his crime.
- Hirofumi Takatori
- Reiji's eldest son, one who reveals to Omi who he truly is. Hirofumi supports Reiji's ambitions and curries favor with potential political allies by doing things like staging hunts where they can chase down and kill human prey.
- Masafumi Takatori
- Reiji's second eldest son and the scientist who backs Schreient. Masafumi's goal is to create a chemical formula which will make him immortal and godlike, and to accomplish that goal he performs illegal experiments on unwilling victims.
[edit] Weiß Kreuz Kontakt
Kontakt (contact) is the first of the Weiß anime series. It runs 26 episodes and follows Weiß in its mission to "defeat the dark beasts" that haunt Tokyo. The beginning episodes lend some back story to Ran, Ken, and Yohji, and show their motivations for being in Weiß. Omi's history becomes part of the Kontakt storyline and is delved into halfway through. Kontakt introduces Kritiker, Schwartz, Estet and Schrient. Kontakt uses the character designs created by Kyoko Tsuchiya, and features the lowest quality of animation of the three Weiß Kreuz anime series.
[edit] Weiß Kreuz OVA: Verbrechen & Strafe
The second Weiß series, "Verbrechen & Strafe" (crime & punishment), is a two-episode OVA that takes place a short time after the end of the anime, and before the events detailed in the last set of Drama CDs. In hiding, Ran, Ken, Yohji and Omi work out of a mobile home, using their flower-selling business as a cover. Their location is never specified, but it is possibly in the area of Yokota Air Base or Camp Zama, which are both American miliary bases near Tokyo. They are sent to kill a young man named Akira, who is wanted by the American government. However, Ken and Omi decide to decline the mission after they hear Akira's (and his younger sister Kaori's) story. Kritiker doesn't take their defection well, and amends the mission. Yohji and Ran are instructed to target their team mates as well.
The OVA is notable because of the darker, bloodier storyline and the higher quality of animation compared to the first series.
[edit] Weiß Kreuz Glühen
The third series, called "Weiß Kreuz Glühen," (white cross glowing) is a 13-episode series which is set after the first. Several of the original Weiß members are not immediately visible; two new ones are introduced in the first episode: namely, Izumi Sena and Aguri Kyo. Also, Omi has assumed the position of Persia left by his father. Glühen takes place at Koua Academy. The animation quality is far higher than the original series. However, the character design is vastly different due to legal disputes with the original character designer, Kyoko Tsuchiya. The new character designs are a point of polarization among WK fans, with some fans adoring them and others reviling them. Schwarz also appears in Glühen; they also have changed appearances due to the lawsuit.
[edit] Spinoff
Koyasu also created the radio play "Crashers: Knight and Ran." This spinoff covers the time that Aya (Ran) spent with Crashers (another 4-person group that is also under Persia) before he joined Weiss. Crashers also appears in Weiß Kreuz Glühen.
[edit] Trivia
- Other than this series, the Weiss quartet have yet to voice characters together in another anime. Some anime feature three of them: Neon Genesis Evangelion (Seki, Koyasu, and Yuuki), Get Backers, Full Metal Panic, and Initial D (Seki, Koyasu, and Miki); or feature two of them: Matantei Loki Ragnarok (Koyasu and Miki), Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, Samurai Deeper Kyo, and Meine Liebe (Seki and Koyasu; Yuuki also plays a minor role in Gundam SEED). However, note that EVA was done before Weiss was formed. Perhaps Koyasu's experiences working with Yuuki and Seki prompted him to include them as part of the quartet (Koyasu Takehito was the creator of the series. Also, in Eva, his character and Yuuki's were colleagues.).
- However, Yuuki voiced a minor character in the first two episodes of the Initial D Fourth Stage series. In this sense, Initial D can be seen as another series where all "Weiss-boys" have played together, since the other three voice the main characters there. Interestingly, in the Angel Sanctuary drama CDs, all four members voiced important secondary characters, with Koyasu as Kira Sakuya (who was also Lucifer in the manga), Seki as Sandalphon, Miki as Katan and Yuuki as Raziel.
- On the other hand, it is interesting that Yui Horie (Aya-chan) provides the voice for Mayura Daidouji in Matantei Loki Ragnarok, who is an ideal female for Freyr (Koyasu), while Aya/Ran (Koyasu) vows to revenge for his sister Aya-chan.
- Although he did not work in the anime version, Koyasu worked with Seki in the sound drama of Fruits Basket.
- The plotline involving masked villainess Neu and Yoji's love interest Murase Asuka (both characters voiced by Mitsuishi Kotono) in Weiss Kreuz strongly resembles the plotline involving Mwu la Fllaga, Neo Lorrnoke (both characters voiced by Takehito Koyasu) and Mitsuishi's character Murrue Ramius in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. Destiny is a sequel to the original Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, in which Koyasu and Mitsuishi's characters form a romantic relationship.
- In the second half's end credits, Aya is seen sitting in a stall labelled "giraffe's sleeping quarters." Koyasu's favorite animal is the giraffe.
- This series also shows the characters of Aya (Koyasu) and Schuldig (Midorikawa) are enemies. This is the same in Gundam Wing with Heero Yuy(Midorikawa)and Zechs Merquise(Koyasu) are enemies.
