Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen (魔術士オーフェン, Majutsushi Ōfen, lit. "Sorceror Orphen") is a series of Japanese fantasy adventure novel and manga, two anime television series (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 2: Revenge), and a video game.

Synopsis

Krylancelo Finrandi once attended the most prestigious school of sorcery on Kiesalhima continent, the Tower of Fang. He was sent there as a young child from an orphanage, along with another orphan girl called Azalie. Throughout the years, the two were very close, with Azalie becoming more and more powerful and Krylancelo looking up to her as a sister/mother figure and a best friend. It isn't until one day, Azalie's thirst for knowledge and extracurricular experimentation backfire, and she is horribly transfigured into a hideous creature, a dragon-like beast that departs the Tower in an animal fury, leaving Krylancelo behind. The Fang Tower, however, is unsympathetic. They promote the belief that Azalie is dead in order to cover the grievous error that resulted in her unimaginable transformation, a terrible scandal that would surely destroy the school's reputation and authority. People whom Krylancelo thought were his friends suddenly seem as though they are strangers, even enemies, going along with the Tower's pretense rather than challenge their authority. Furious that they will do nothing to help her and are instead determined to track down the Bloody August and destroy it before the truth can come to light, Krylancelo renounces his former self, declaring Krylancelo to be dead and that he is, instead, Orphen.

After five years, he finds himself living in the quiet town of Totokanta and taking on a student - Majic Lin, his landlord's son. Life is quiet and fairly lazy until the day Cleao Everlasting comes home from boarding school, and stumbles into Orphen's quietly laid plans for the sword that sits on her family's mantle: the Sword Of Baltanders. It turns out that the sword is actually one of three magical artifacts that Orphen will need if he is to save Azalie, and, in fact, was the very sword Azalie used in her experiment that ended with her unfortunate transformation. Before he can obtain it, however, the Bloody August assaults the town looking for the sword, and soon after, Tower's forces show up as well.

To find the other Baltander's relics, Orphen sets off with his apprentice, little miss Everlasting and two short-statured misfits, but at all times they need to stay ahead of the Tower of Fang and its sorcerers, who all believe that bringing Azalie back to her former state would reveal their oversight in containing her increasingly dangerous magic, a mistake so great it could bring the Tower down - and, of course, ahead of Azalie herself who, as the dragon is more powerful than both Orphen and the Tower. Orphen is driven solely by the need to transform Azalie back into her human self at even the cost of his life. But restoring Azalie ends up being only the beginning...

Characters

Main characters

Orphen (オーフェン, Ōfen)

• Voiced by: Shoutaro Morikubo (Japanese); David Matranga (English)

Orphen is the main male lead. Fans claim "he comes off as a 'badass' kind of guy", because of his apparent lack of emotions, dedication to finish what he is working on as soon as possible (his eagerness to stop helping people he feels he doesn't have to help), and his 'coldness' towards people he doesn't know. He is partly an anti-hero throughout the entire series. The only time his attitude changes is when the subject of Azalie is brought up. He will do anything for Azalie, as they have quite a history together but Orphen keeps his feelings and the story about Azalie to himself at first, only opening up later in the series. He and Azalie were brought to the school together because it was believed that they possessed a strong amount of magical power within them. This proved correct; Orphen was a magic-prodigy. Orphen eventually becomes the greatest sorcerer in the world. His true name is Krylancelo Finrandi (キリランシェロ・フィンランディ, Kiriranshero Finrandi), and the sorcerers from the Tower of Fang (Hartia, Azalie, Leticia, Childman, and Flameheart) still refer to him like that. In the novels, Orphen is characterized a little differently, more rough, foulmouthed and seemingly unstable than his anime portrayal. He suffers from increasing megalomania and what seems to be a type of dissociative identity disorder in which he sometimes thinks of Krylancelo and Orphen as different people. By the end of the novels, Orphen is living in obscurity on the outskirts of the continent with a daughter called Ratsbane, whose mother is Cleao Everlasting.

Cleao Everlasting (クリーオウ・エバーラスティン, Kurīou Ebārasutin)

• Voiced by: Mayumi Iizuka (Japanese); Shelley Calene-Black (English)

She is the tomboyish, feisty main female lead. Her father had bought the Sword of Balthanders for her as a gift for her fifteenth birthday shortly before he died. She accompanies Orphen on his journey, allowing him to hold on to the sword as long as he doesn't object to her tagging along. As the sword was a gift to her from her now-deceased father, she claims that she is only coming to ensure that she gets it back. Cleo also travels with a wolf, in her backpack, who she met on her journey. She and Orphen fight quite a bit - mainly silly, funny fights. But having had a crush on him previously, from afar, as the series goes on, she finds her feelings for him grow into something more genuine.

Majic Lin (マジク・リン, Majiku Rin)

• Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese); Spike Spencer (English)

Majic is Orphen's apprentice, and the second-male lead. He is a friend of Cleao's, but in the manga they are not close friends since she's three years older than he is and she also spent a long time at boarding school. In the anime, they were in the same grade in school, but she has since moved on to boarding school. Majic deals with the torment from both Cleao and Orphen on their journey together to save Azalie. His father is paying Orphen to teach him, which at first seems a waste of money to his father. When Orphen repairs a glass that fell with his magic, before the father's eyes, the father's opinion about his money being "thrown out the window" disappears. Majic appears to be a good student, learning as much as he can, and retaining all of what he learns, although his anxiety tends to get the better of him when it comes time to prove himself. Orphen, however, sees significant potential in Magic and encourages him in his training. This gives him courage, which makes his power stronger. Majic looks up to Orphen, and refers to him as "master" upon Orphen's request. All sorcerers call their "teachers", who teach them sorcery, "master." By the end of the novels, Majic has become a famous, world-renowned sorcerer.

Leki (レキ, Reki)

• Voiced by: Konami Yoshida (Japanese); Suzanne Wilkins (English)

One of the race of Deep Dragon (changed to Wolfen in the English Dub), Leki is a cub who is found and adopted by Cleao, although perhaps it could be said that Leki adopted Cleao, as adult Deep Dragons are more powerful and intelligent by far than humans. Like all Deep Dragons, Leki resembles a wolf rather than a reptilian dragon, and when he uses his innate powers, his eyes will glow a bright green color. As Leki is still very young, he often exhibits young animal-like tendencies, such as chasing after a butterfly. He protects and defends Cleao whenever he feels the need to, or when Cleao orders him. She's very good to him; in fact, Cleao often treats him better than her two male companions, Orphen and Majic. Leki will not only protect Cleao, but anyone who he sees in danger. Leki's collar belongs to one of the three artifacts from the Aisle of Balthanders, the Bracelet of Nomafrozis. Near the end of the novel series, before he and Cleo part, he bestows a surmountable amount of magical power upon her so that she may be able to protect herself.

Volkan (ボルカン, Borukan)

• Voiced by: Kazue Ikura (Japanese); John Swasey (English)

One of the two short-statured brothers who follow along with Orphen on his quest. He frequently refers to himself the "Masmaturian Bulldog". Volkan always comes up with their plans (which usually turn out to be poorly thought out, utterly bad ideas, and almost never work). He hates Orphen (whom he refers to as "the black wizard") and his companions, and always finds a way to ruin whatever they had in mind. It is his fault that Orphen often must use his magic on them to make them go away (himself and Dortin). Volkan wants only power and money. Any scheme he has in mind has the end result of getting him one of the two. None of his schemes ever work, however. He constantly bosses Dortin around in a very comical fashion.

Dortin (ドーチン, Dōchin)

• Voiced by: Hekiru Shiina (Japanese); Hilary Haag (English)

Volkan's younger brother. Dortin and Volkan are often viewed as comic relief throughout the series. They are two trolls who are always low on money, and seem to always find a way to mess up whatever Orphen is trying to accomplish. They work in Cleao's basement, cutting up food and whatnot; she is their employer. In regards to his character, Dortin is the voice of reason (that is never paid any attention to) on his and Volkan's quests. He is kind and knowledgeable, but his swirling glasses give him a rather geekish appearance. When Volkan messes up, Dortin always tries to tell Orphen he had no part in Volkan's schemes, but they both wind up being victim's of Orphen's magical blasts anyway. Dortin is shown to be quite caring and loyal, as he begs Orphen for help in saving his brother from mushroom poisoning and, later, in defying Volkan's "order" to run from danger when a friend needed his help.

Supporting characters

Azalie Cait Sith (アザリー・ケットシー, Azarī Kettoshī)

• Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese); Christine M. Auten (English)

She's Orphen's foster sister, best friend - and the Bloody August. They were in the same orphanage and came to the Tower of Fang together, believed to be magical-prodigies. She tutored him a lot, and gave him special attention. She was a great sorcerer - maybe one of the greatest, and is referred to as the "Demon Sorceress" by some at the Tower. However, she had two sides to her. There was the kind, loving Azalie, and then the, as Orphen says, "scary" Azalie. After having her love declaration to someone else rejected, she seemed to be almost obsessed with her studies; she wanted more power, and one of her experiments turned her into Bloody August - name given to the dragon that first appeared in August. In the novels, Azalie is returned to a human state fairly early in the series, but her mind has been warped by her time spent as the beast and the cruelties endured by those in the Tower who had been hunting her. Vengeful, her main goal is to destroy the Tower, which leads her to becoming a major antagonist in the series. She becomes increasingly unstable and Orphen is often torn between his attachment to her and his horror at her remorseless violence.

Childman Powderfield (チャイルドマン・パウダーフィールド, Chairudoman Paudāfīrudo)

• Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese); Jason Douglas (English)

Orphen, Hartia, and Azalie's Master. He is Orphen's primary antagonist for the better part of the anime, as Orphen believes he really wants to kill Azalie. Hartia tries to convince Orphen that Childman isn't his enemy, but in the end, it fails. In actuality, he was trying procure the three talismans in order to restore Azalie himself since he felt personally responsible the tragedy that befell her. And at some point, things get even worse; when he tries to face the Bloody August, Azalie uses white magic to take over his body, leaving Childman's soul trapped within the Bloody August. In the novels, however, Orphen continues to train under Childman after leaving the Tower, doing somewhat unsavory odd jobs for him that he does not wish to bring to the notice of the Tower.

Hartia (ハーティア, Hātia)

• Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese); Randy Sparks (English)

Orphen's childhood friend and fellow sorcerer. They met at the Tower of Fang. He is on Childman's side, instead of Orphen's, however, making it seem as though Hartia is Orphen's enemy. However, Hartia truly cares about Orphen, and has never forgotten their friendship. He is also a fan of the (fictional) manga, Black Tiger, and assumes the guise of its main character and namesake on occasion. However, the manga is fairly obscure, so Majik mistakenly assumes his name refers to the Penaeus monodon, a type of prawn sometimes called "Black Tiger", resulting in Hartia's receiving the nickname, "Shrimp Man", much to his own chagrin. Hartia's appearances are somewhat less prominent in the novel series, though his origins are similar.

Flameheart (フレイムハート, Fureimuhāto)

• Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese); Ty Mayberry (English)

Childman's rival in the Tower of Fang and enemy to Orphen and Azalie. Although he ranks closely to Childman in terms of recognition, it is heavily implied that his mother Lady Shastanassie, one of the Elders, has influenced this. Indeed, he seems to rely on her for everything from emotional consolation to advice in his endeavors. Deprived of her guidance, he becomes quite mentally unstable, as seen at the end of the first season. Childman himself later states that Flameheart actually had very little strength or potential as a sorcerer. Flameheart is an original character that only appears in the anime.

Leticia (レティシャ・マクレディ, Retisha Makuredi)

• Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese); Alissa Alban (English)

A childhood friend Orphen, one of his classmates at the Tower, though she is a few years older. She had a bitter rivalry with Azalie, they are often depicted as fighting in the novels, although Leticia is not nearly as powerful as Azalie and rarely wins in their contests. Her most notable strength is the gift of vocal manipulation, which earned her the nickname "The Scream of Death" while in her studies at the Tower. Later, she is made the Inquisitor of the Tower. She is currently a member of the Tower of Fang and seems to hint at being in love with Orphen. Orphen shortens her name to Tisha in most cases. She appears in volumes five and six of the manga, and is seen throughout nearly all of the first set of novels.

Stephanie

• Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa (Japanese); Karen Coffer (English)

Orphen's old partner. Stephanie used to be a sorcerer named Stephan until he was mortally injured in a battle and had to use all of his remaining power to heal himself. During the healing process, Stephan made some other changes, and is now Stephanie. Now she works as an archaeologist deciphering runes of the 'deities' (called the Nornir or "The Heavenly Ones") that fought against the sorcerers years ago. She is first introduced in the series when the group goes to Alenhatan and her familiarity with Orphen makes Cloae jealous at first. She still lives in Alenhatan and has a boyfriend named Tim (who she eventually marries) but still often seen helping Orphen and the others when they need someone who knows how to read and use the Nornir language/symbols.

Lai

• Voiced by: Katsumi Toriumi (Japanese); Vic Mignogna (English)

Lai is a sorcerer that goes to the Tower of Fang that is friends with Hartia and is one of Childman's apprentices. Lai is portrayed as a powerful seer and is able to find people or things if he goes into a deep meditation. He can also tell people's 'presence' apart, something that gets him in trouble and sealed into ice by Azalie (who was possessing Childman's body at the time) because he noticed that her presence wasn't in the Bloody August anymore. Lai is an original character that appears only in the anime continuity.

Mariabella

• Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Kelly Manison (English)

She is Cleao's older sister and is seen at the beginning of the anime. She first saw Orphen when he was watching over the Sword of Baltanders and thinks he was watching her (and thinking him handsome she develops a crush on him). She at some point was kidnapped by the Bloody August to get Orphen to give the Sword over, but both were eventually rescued by Orphen.

Media

Light novels

The series Orphen came about when author Yoshinobu Akita with Yuuya Kusaka as illustrator created a series of light novels called "Majutsushi Orphen Haguretabi." It consists of 20 novels which were first published by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko label in the Monthly Dragon Magazine between 1994–2003, and was the basis for the first anime and manga series.

Two years after the beginning of the first series, Yoshinobu Akita created a more light-hearted comedy version that still kept the action of the original Orphen series. This series was called "Majutsushi Orphen Mubouhen," spanning only 13 volumes between 1996–2003, which were published the same way as the first series.

As of late 2012, T.O Entertainment have released a brand new series of the Majutsushi Orphen Haguretabi novels. Orphen is now older and is married to Cleao. Whom both give birth to daughters who are also Sorcerers. Majik is a Sorcerer lecturer at the new school that Orphen runs. Orphen is known as the "MA-OH". The books are published in a standard version and also a special edition version which comes with a behind the scenes booklet about the book and a Drama CD which is based on the new novel series itself. Also the original Orphen novel series has seen a reprint as well.

Also published was a Slayers vs. Orphen novel.^[1]

Manga

The manga adaptation was created by writer Yoshinobu Akita and artist Hajime Sawada. The first volume was released stateside by ADV Manga in March, 2005. It tells us about Azalie, Orphen's love-interest, and best friend from six years ago, much sooner than the anime does. In the first manga we are told almost exactly what the eighth episode (titled "Azalie") of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen tells us about her. The story in the manga follows the anime but more the Novels almost exactly, except for information coming up earlier, or later.

The Sorcerous Stabber Orphen manga was created by Yoshinobu Akita and Yuuya Kusaka. The manga is split into two separate series: Majutsushi Orphen Haguretabi, which is six volumes long so far, and the two volume side story known as Majutsushi Orphen MAX. The first volume of the manga series was released in 2005 by ADV Manga.

There is also a special manga that was released called "Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Special Parody," or "Majutsushi O-fuen Haguretabi Spesharu Paarodi." It is a collection of doujinshi of Orphen put into one volume of Orphen.

Anime

• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Sorcerous Stabber Orphen anime series was produced by TBS/Bandai and first released in Japan in 1999, then in North America on DVD by ADV Films in 2001. It features a combination of a fantasy setting, action and gag comedy. It is 24 episodes in length.

• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 2: Revenge: The second anime series was released on DVD in North America in December 2003 by ADV Films. It is 23 episodes in length.

In 2009, Sentai Filmworks released a box set featuring the two seasons of Orphen in an economic box set.^[2]

Video game

A single player console role-playing video game was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2000 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan as Sorcerous Stabber Orphen and by Activision in North America and Europe as Orphen: Scion of Sorcery. It included a whole new adventure and a few video scenes with more sophistication but a minor difference in the voices and personalities of the characters. Reviews of the game were mixed.

References

External links

• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia