The Familiar of Zero

The Familiar of Zero
Cover of the first light novel volume
ゼロの使い魔 (Zero no Tsukaima)
Genre	Adventure, Harem, Fantasy, Romantic comedy
Light novel
Written by	Noboru Yamaguchi
Illustrated by	Eiji Usatsuka
Published by	Media Factory
English publisher	Seven Seas Entertainment (cancelled)
Demographic	Male
Imprint	MF Bunko J
Original run	June 25, 2004 – ongoing
Volumes	20 (+3 side stories)
TV anime
Directed by	Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Studio	J.C.Staff
Licensed by	Geneon (expired)
Network	CTC
Original run	July 3, 2006 – September 25, 2006
Episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Manga
Written by	Nana Mochizuki
Published by	Media Factory
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Monthly Comic Alive
Original run	August 2006 – October 2009
Volumes	7
Game
Zero no Tsukaima: Shōakuma to Shunpū Concerto
Developer	Marvelous Interactive
Publisher	Marvelous Interactive
Genre	Visual novel
Rating	Ages 12 and up
Platform	PlayStation 2
Released	February 15, 2007
TV anime
Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi
Directed by	Yū Kō
Studio	J.C.Staff
Network	CTC, tvk
Original run	July 9, 2007 – September 24, 2007
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Manga
Zero no Tsukaima Gaiden: Tabatha no Bōken
Written by	Takuto Kon
Published by	Media Factory
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Monthly Comic Alive
Original run	December 2007 – August 2010
Volumes	5
TV anime
Zero no Tsukaima: Princesse no Rondo
Directed by	Yū Kō
Studio	J.C.Staff
Network	CTC, tvk
English network	Arts Central
Original run	July 6, 2008 – September 21, 2008
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Zero no Tsukaima: Princesses no Rondo
Directed by	Yū Kō
Studio	J.C.Staff
Released	December 24, 2008
Runtime	24 minutes
TV anime
Zero no Tsukaima Final
Directed by	Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Studio	J.C.Staff
Network	AT-X
Original run	January 7, 2012 – scheduled
Anime and Manga Portal

The Familiar of Zero (ゼロの使い魔, Zero no Tsukaima^?) is a fantasy and comedy-oriented series of Japanese light novels written by Noboru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka. The story features several characters from the second year class of a magic academy in a fictional magical world with the main characters being the inept mage Louise and her familiar from Earth, Saito Hiraga. The series has been adapted three times as an anime series by J.C. Staff. The first season aired in Japan between July and September 2006 and was directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki. The second season, entitled Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi, was directed by Yū Kō and aired in Japan between July and September 2007. A third anime adaptation, titled Zero no Tsukaima: Princesse no Rondo, was directed by Yū Kō and aired between July and September 2008. A fourth and final anime season titled Zero no Tsukaima F will air in January 2012. The first anime series was licensed by Geneon Entertainment in English, but the licensed expired in 2011. A manga version drawn by Nana Mochizuki was serialized in Media Factory's manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive between August 2006 and October 2009.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Story 1.2 Main characters 1.3 Setting 1.4 Magic 2 Media 2.1 Light novels 2.2 Anime 2.2.1 Music and audio CDs 2.3 Manga 2.4 Visual novel 3 Notes and references 4 External links

Plot

Story

The Familiar of Zero follows the adventures of the protagonists Louise and her familiar Saito. Louise is a second year student at the Tristain Academy of Magic. In this world, those who can use magic are either mages or nobles, and those who cannot use magic are known as "commoners" or "plebeians".

Louise is terrible at magic, and can never use it the way she wants to, as her attempts of using magic ends up as a general explosion. She is given the nickname "Louise the Zero" by her classmates, due to the inability to use any of the four common magic elements, whereby a mage's power is determined by the number of elements they can use ranging from a single element, one (dot mage), two (line) three (triangle) and four (square). Early in the school year, the second year students summon their familiars; this is considered a special ritual where a mage summons their eternal protector and partner, which usually is some sort of magical creature. Louise manages to summon a human commoner named Saito Hiraga, leaving her totally humiliated. Due to the sacredness of the ritual, Louise is left with no choice but to reluctantly accept Saito as her familiar. She proceeds to treat Saito as any other familiar only worse, making him sleep on a bed of hay and beats him with a whip for little to no reason, among other things.

Louise and Saito's relationship develops during the course of the story to the point where they risk their lives to save the other. Though, Saito is usually the one to do so since Louise is almost always the one in danger. Together they face many mysteries and uncover unexpected truths, including the nature of Saito's mysterious power, and the truth behind Louise's inability to cast magic.

Main characters

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière (ルイズ・フランソワーズ・ル・ブラン・ド・ラ・ヴァリエール, Ruizu Furansowāzu ru Buran do ra Variēru^?)

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese), Cristina Vee (English)

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière is the main female character and third daughter from the noble family La Vallière which owns the north-eastern territory in Tristain. She is a second year student at the Tristain Academy of Magic. Louise is a terrible mage who is often scorned by her fellow classmates because her spells always fail; she is nicknamed "Louise the Zero" after her zero success rate and zero attributes. This has led her to be very bitter and occasionally cruel.

At first, she treats Saito like a dog, making him sleep on a straw bed, and beating him and chaining him up for perceived bad behavior. At first, Louise hates Saito, but over time grows fond of him and eventually falls in love with him. However,when she thinks he has perverted thoughts about other girls, or is otherwise angered by him, she still strikes out at him with a whip or blows him up with her magic.

Saito Chevalier de Hiraga (平賀才人, Hiraga Saito^?)

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese), Jonathan Meza (English)

Saito Hiraga, the main male character and primary protagonist of the story, is from modern-day Earth (specifically Tokyo, Japan). While walking down the street a portal opened in front of him, and when he touched it he was sucked through, landing in the Tristain Academy of Magic. At first, Saito had no idea where he was, and was thoroughly disoriented, mainly due to unfamiliar territory and the fact that, at first, he cannot understand the language the others are speaking. His attitude is generally carefree yet he blows up easily when anyone he cares for is in danger, particularly Louise. Though he at first wishes to return home, he adapts to his strange new situation relatively quickly.

There are runes inscribed into Saito's hand as a result of his being bound to Louise. They read or Gandalfr (ガンダールヴ, Gandāruvu^?, actually "Gundolf"). These runes glow when his Gandalfr powers activate. As a Gandalfr, a familiar that exists to protect a Void Wizard, Saito has the ability to use any object that was made with the intent of being used as a weapon at an high level of skill. He also becomes significantly stronger, faster and tougher. This physical augmentation fades almost instantly when he stops using the power, which can result in him falling unconscious if he had been previously wounded. He is said to be the left hand of god.

His partner, the talking sword Derflinger, was also the partner of the Gandalfr six thousand years previously. Saito protects Louise with a passion, a result of both his duty as a Gandalfr and his feelings for her. He eventually falls in love with Louise despite the abusive way she treats him.

Tabitha/Charlotte Helene Orléans de Gallia (タバサ/シャルロット・エレーヌ・オルレアン, Tabasa/Sharurotto Erēnu Orurean^?)

Voiced by: Yuka Inokuchi (Japanese), Jennifer Alyx (English)

Tabitha is a quiet girl who is a classmate and the best friend of Kirche, as well as being Louise's classmate. Throughout the series she is almost always reading a book. Later it was revealed that the name Tabitha is an alias; she is in fact Charlotte, daughter of the King's murdered brother, and the rightful heir to the throne of Gallia. Her specialty is wind magic. She is also a chevalier knight, which is the lowest rank of knight. Her familiar is a nature dragon named Sylphid. She also develops feelings for Saito after being rescued.

Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst (キュルケ・アウグスタ・フレデリカ・フォン・アンハルツ・ツェルプストー, Kyuruke Augusuta Furederika fon Anharutsu Tserupusutō^?)

Voiced by: Nanako Inoue (Japanese), Lauren Landa (English)

Louise's well-endowed classmate. Fire magic is her specialty—drawn from her strong passion for love. The territory she is from has long since had a dislike for the La Vallière family. She flirts and has dated many of the academy boys. Kirche's schemes and aggressive invitations for Saito to sleep with her, even though he is against it, leads to him getting hit by the jealous Louise. Kirche transfers this crush onto Professor Colbert, whom she had financially helped in building Ostland. Her familiar is a salamander called Flame. Kirche and her closest friend Tabitha often help Saito and Louise out of the troubles they get into.

Guiche de Gramont (ギーシュ・ド・グラモン, Gīshu do Guramon^?)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Nicholas Manelick (English)

Guiche is one of Louise's classmates. Despite being in love with Montmorency, he remains a conceited playboy. He comes from a royal family. He always carries an artificial rose with him, the stem of which is his wand. He also likes to dote upon his familiar, a giant mole named Belldandy. His specialty is earth magic.

Montmorency Margarita la Fère de Montmorency (モンモランシー・マルガリタ・ラ・フェール・ド・モンモランシ, Monmoranshī Marugarita ra Fēru do Monmoranshi^?)

Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi

Montmorency is one of Louise's classmates. Like most Tristain nobles, she has a great deal of pride. She has an affinity for the water element, and her familiar is a frog. It is shown that she cares deeply for Guiche, her boyfriend, though acts indifferently when she is expected to act romantically. She has skill with creating various potions, including a prohibited love potion.

Siesta (シエスタ, Shiesuta^?)

Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh (English)

Siesta is a maid at the academy and has a crush on Saito. Although knowing of the relationship between Saito and Louise and its accompanying sharp ups and downs, Siesta believes she can provide Saito a more gentle and caring love relationship. Although timid, her love for Saito draws her to take increasingly confident actions to win Saito's love, including reticent lying following an unveiled a rather pathetic seduction attempt, and donning various costumes to attempt to win Saito's affection. Siesta is actually descended from a World War II Japanese pilot who was stranded in Tristain.

Henrietta de Tristain (アンリエッタ・ド・トリステイン, Anrietta do Torisutein^?)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi

Henrietta is the Princess of Tristain. She is loved by her nationals and is also an old respected friend of Louise. She is very envious of Louise. Henrietta eventually succeeds the throne and becomes queen. She takes charge of Tristain's defense against the Albion invasion after the assassination of the Albion prince Wales with whom she was in love. She also seems to have developed some sort of feelings and a special trust for Saito.

Agnes (アニエス, Aniesu^?)

Voiced by: Michiko Neya

Agnes is Captain of the Tristain musketeers in service of Henrietta. She first appears in the second season. Her character is a military woman who is a strict disciplinarian. She hates Mages, especially those who use the fire element. Agnes often says that mages should not become too dependent of their magic, because in battles, there will be no time to cast spells before the enemy's swords and guns come into play. There is some evidence that Agnès is a lesbian, although she is mostly portrayed as being uninterested in sexual pursuits and only worried about fighting and revenge. The anime backs this up to a certain extent: she is seen looking completely bewildered shortly after kissing Louise (in an attempt to draw attention away from themselves). In the third season, upon finding Colbert was alive, she gives up thirsting for vengeance, deciding to end the hatred so his students would respect her.

In the novels, Saito confronted the advancing Albion army(Volume 7:Chapter 9) and was saved by Tifania. Agnes was asked by Henrietta to find Saito. She found him in Tifania's village, and discovered he had lost his Gandalfr powers. She then retrains Saito, with some success.

Tiffania Westwood (ティファニア ウエストウッド, Tiffania Uesutouddo^?)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

Tiffania is a well endowed half-elf who Saito remembered as "the big-breasted Elf who saved his life". She also has feelings for Saito. After her royal heritage is recognized by Henrietta, Tifania moved to the Academy, where she was ostracized at first due to her elven origin, but was later accepted with Saito's help. There is not much information about her magical abilities, but she is implied to be a void user like Louise. She is also a cousin of Henrietta, which gives her royal status. She seems to have knowledge of the four Void Users and Familiars. She had once accessed Joseph's music box when it was in Albion, where she learned a spell that allowed her to wipe memories.

Her beauty and kindness are a source of admiration for many of her classmates at the Academy, and just like all other women who gets close to Saito, she is a constant source of jealousy for Louise.

Setting

Halkeginia

Halkeginia (ハルケギニア, Harukeginia^?) is the continent that the story of The Familiar of Zero takes place on. Halkeginia's social structure is similar to the feudal class systems of Europe in the Middle Ages, with magic-users being considered nobles. The continent itself is vaguely reminiscent in shape of western Europe, with many of the countries carrying ancient and Roman names.

Tristain

Tristain (トリステイン, Torisutein^?) is the nation in which the majority of the story takes place. It is a small monarchal country located in the northwest of Halkeginia. It is under threat from Albion. Tristain is home to a highly acclaimed magical academy which attracts students from nearby countries known as the Tristain Academy of Magic.

Militarily, the country is weak, with only a small permanent force, which forces it to make marriage alliances with other countries. The capital city is Tristania (トリスタニア, Torisutania^?).

Germania

Germania (ゲルマニア, Gerumania^?) is the largest kingdom in Halkeginia, and is also regarded as the strongest in terms of military might. It is regarded as a more barbaric and down-to-earth type of country, with its men considered to be brutish. Gemania is located to the northeast of Tristain. Germania is the ancient Roman for the region that is now Germany, the natives were at the time considered by the Romans to be barbarians.

Gallia

Gallia (ガリア, Garia^?) is another kingdom in Halkeginia, located to the southeast of Tristania. Germania is on its eastern border, in the Alden Forest. It is the second largest country in Halkeginia. Within the Gallia Royal Family, murders and assassination attempts have led to an unstable royalty. There is a city named La Rochelle in the mountains, which is a major port. Gallia is reminiscent of modern day France, which in the Roman era was called Gaul.

Albion

Albion (アルビオン, Arubion^?), nicknamed the white country, is a floating island nation which is in a period of political strife. According to the storyline, a group of nobles known as Reconquista initiated a coup d'etat against the royalty, and over the course of the story, succeed in killing the entire Albion Royal Family. Cromwell, the leader of the Albion rebellion, seeks to spread his power elsewhere, and begins by attacking Tristain. Albion is the ancient Greek name for the main island of Great Britain upon which are the modern nations England, Wales, and Scotland.

Cromwell is named after the leader of the Roundheads during the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell, who successfully ousted the Monarchy, and establishing a brief reign as Lord Protector until the return of Charles II.

Romalia

Romalia (ロマリア, Romaria^?) is a holy empire, located to the south of Gallia. Reminiscent of Italy, and specifically the Holy Roman Empire (and the Vatican City, it is mentioned, that they have a pope and officials who are bound to celibacy), which once formed northern Italy and much of central Europe.

Magic

The nobles of Halkeginia are magi, otherwise known as wizards or magicians, and must use a wand or a staff to cast spells. Not all magi are nobles as some have given up their nobility to use their magic for thievery or to work as mercenaries.

There are four primary magic elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. Magi have an affinity to one of those elements. There is a fifth element, the legendary lost branch of element, known as void. Magi can combine different magical elements or even stack the same element on top of itself to make spells more powerful. The power of a mage is determined by how many elements he or she can combine. There are four ranks of magician based upon this factor. Those who cannot combine any element together have the first rank, which is symbolized as a dot. Most magic students are in this class. The ability to combine two, three or four elements together leads to a magic user being referred to as a line, triangle, or square mage. In myths, there is a fifth rank called pentagram mage.

One of the major themes is that humans and technology from Earth displaced into the world of Halkeginia are considered to be highly magical since Halkeginia itself has relatively primitive science and technology. For example, a magical item called the "Staff of Destruction" is, in reality, a human-made Vietnam-era M72 LAW rocket launcher. Other examples of Earth technology, often weaponry, appear throughout the story.

Media

Light novels

The Familiar of Zero began as a series of light novels written by Noboru Yamaguchi and illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka under the original title Zero no Tsukaima. The first volume was published in Japan on June 25, 2004, and as of February 25, 2011, 20 volumes have been published by Media Factory. Further publication was threatened by Yamaguchi's advanced cancer,^[1] but the surgery on August 4, 2011 was successful,^[2] and Yamaguchi plans to put out the 21st of 22 planned volumes as early as October 2011.^[3] A side-story, Tabitha's Adventure, initially available as a cellular-phone online serial, has been released in three published volumes to date. Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the series in 2007 under the title Zero's Familiar,^[4] but later cancelled the release of the novels.

Anime

The Familiar of Zero has been adapted three times into an anime series by the animation studio J.C.Staff. The first season aired in Japan between July 3 and September 25, 2006, and contained thirteen episodes. In April 2007 at Anime Boston, Geneon announced that they had picked up the English dubbing rights of the first season of the anime series under the title The Familiar of Zero.^[5] In July 2008, Geneon Entertainment and Funimation Entertainment announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon Entertainment still retained the license, Funimation Entertainment assumed exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. The Familiar of Zero was one of several titles involved in the deal.^[6] Funimation released a complete box set of the series on November 4, 2008. However, as of August 2011, the rights to the series expired due to low sales.^[7]

The second season under the extended title Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi (ゼロの使い魔 ～双月の騎士～^?, lit. The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Two Moons) aired in Japan between July 9 and September 24, 2007, containing twelve episodes. A third season, also containing twelve episodes, entitled Zero no Tsukaima: Princesse no Rondo (ゼロの使い魔～三美姫の輪舞(プリンセッセのロンド)～^?),^[8] aired on Japan's Chiba TV between July 6 and September 21, 2008, and Arts Central in Singapore between July 10 and September 24, 2008. A fourth and final season titled Zero no Tsukaima F will begin airing on January 7, 2012.^[9][10][11]

The TV and DVD versions of the first two seasons are the same with some bonus trailers and other short clips. However, the TV version of the third season was censored to some extent. The frames became dark and/or blurry when some scenes took place. The DVD version also has an unaired original video animation episode.

Music and audio CDs

The three anime seasons used two pieces of theme music each; one opening theme and one ending theme. The first season's opening theme is "First kiss" by Ichiko, released on July 26, 2006, and the ending theme is "My True Feelings" (ホントノキモチ, Honto no Kimochi^?) by Rie Kugimiya, released on August 9, 2006. The second season's opening theme is "I Say Yes" by Ichiko, released on July 25, 2007, and the ending theme is "Suki!? Kirai!? Suki!!!" (スキ!? キライ!? スキ!!!, lit. Love?! Hate?! Love!!!^?) by Rie Kugimiya, released on August 8, 2007. The first seasons original soundtrack was released on August 23, 2006, and the second seasons' soundtrack was released on August 22, 2007. The third season's opening theme is "You're The One" by Ichiko and the ending theme is "Gomen ne" by Rie Kugimiya.

Both the first and second seasons released four character song albums each. The first CD is for Louise and Saito which is sung by Rie Kugimiya and Satoshi Hino. The second CD is for Montmorency and Guiche which is sung by Mikako Takahashi and Takahiro Sakurai; the first two CDs were both released on September 6, 2006. The third CD is for Kirche and Tabitha which is sung by Nanako Inoue and Yuka Inokuchi. The fourth, and final CD from the first season, is for Henrietta and Siesta which is sung by Ayako Kawasumi and Yui Horie; the third and fourth CDs were both released on September 21, 2006. The first CD for the second season is for Louise which is sung by Rie Kugimiya. The second CD is for Henrietta which is sung by Ayako Kawasumi; the first two CDs were both released on October 10, 2007. The third CD is for Siesta which is sung by Yui Horie. The fourth, and final CD from the second season, is for Eleanor and Cattleya which is sung by Kikuko Inoue and Kotomi Yamakawa; the third and fourth CDs were both released on October 24, 2007.

Two audio dramas were released for the second season. The first is a compilation of radio drama episodes from The Familiar of Zero Internet radio show Zero no Tsukaima on the radio: Tristain Mahō Gakuin e Yōkoso and was released on July 25, 2007. The second album is a drama CD featuring the characters Louise, Kirche, and Tabitha—voiced by Rie Kugimiya, Nanako Inoue, and Yuka Inokuchi respectively — which was released on September 5, 2007.

Manga

A manga series illustrated by Nana Mochizuki was serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive between the August 2006 and October 2010 issues, published by Media Factory. Seven tankōbon volumes have been released by Media Factory under their MF Comics imprint. Compared to the anime, characters appear younger in the manga. In Indonesia, the manga has been licensed and released up to volume three by Elex Media Komputindo in English under the title The Familiar of Zero, and in Czech Republic by Zoner Press.^[12] A sequel series known as Zero no Tsukaima Chevalier began serialization in the March 2010 issue of Comic Alive. There are also other spin-offs such as Zero no Chukaima: Yōchien nano! and Zero no Tsukaima Gaiden: Tabatha no Bōken.

Visual novel

A visual novel under the title Zero no Tsukaima: Shōakuma to Shunpū Concerto (ゼロの使い魔 小悪魔と春風の協奏曲^?, lit. The Familiar of Zero: Goblins and the Spring Breeze Concerto) was developed by Marvelous Interactive playable on the PlayStation 2. The game was released in limited and regular editions on February 15, 2007 in Japan.

Notes and references

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• J.C. Staff's The Familiar of Zero website (Japanese)
• Official PS2 game website (Japanese)
• The Familiar of Zero (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia