Yuki Yuna is a Hero

Yuki Yuna is a Hero (結城友奈は勇者である, Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru) is a 12-episode Japanese anime television series produced by Studio Gokumi and directed by Seiji Kishi as part of a media project called Takahiro IV Project. The series aired in Japan between October 16 and December 25, 2014 on MBS. The anime has been licensed by Pony Canyon's North American label Ponycan USA. Two prequel light novel series and three accompanying manga series have been published by ASCII Media Works. A PlayStation Vita video game was released in Japan in February 2015. A visual novel for Windows was released in December 2014 with the first DVD and Blu-ray Disc volume for the anime, with a second released with the sixth volume in May 2015.

Plot

The story takes place on the Japanese island Shikoku in the fictional Divine Era, in the far future. Yūna, Mimori, Fū, and Itsuki are all members of the Sanshu Middle School Hero Club (讃州中学勇者部, Sanshū Chūgaku Yūsha-bu), dedicating themselves to helping those that request help. One day in their regular daily lives, the Hero Club members are suddenly caught in an explosion of light and transported to a strange forest, where they encounter mysterious monsters known as Vertex which seek to destroy the Shinju (神樹, "Divine Tree"), the guardian deity which protects and blesses humanity. Using a special phone application granted by Taisha, an organization dedicated to the Shinju, Yuna and her friends must transform into "heroes" with magical powers so to protect their world from imminent destruction.

Characters

Yuna Yuki (結城 友奈, Yūki Yūna)

Voiced by: Haruka Terui^[1] (Japanese); Xanthe Huynh^[2] (English)

A second-year in middle school and member of the Hero Club. She prides herself on being a hero, helping out others in needs and always remaining optimistic. She uses armored fists for powerful close-range combat during her hero form and has a cow-like familiar named Gyūki (牛鬼) who, unlike the other familiars, likes to roam freely; she later gets another, cat-like familiar named Kasha (火車). As a result of using her Mankai form, she loses her sense of taste. Later, she uses the Mankai form for a second time and loses the use of her legs. Having fallen into a coma due to her efforts, she regains consciousness after Mimori's voice reaches her. She soon recovers and regains her sense of taste and the ability to walk.

Mimori Togo (東郷 美森, Tōgō Mimori)

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori^[1] (Japanese); Erika Harlacher^[2] (English)

Yūna's best friend and fellow classmate and club member who lives next door to her and often prefers to be called by her family name. Mimori takes pride in her national heritage and is always ready to defend her country and protect its people. She had lost the use of her legs, along with some of her memories, allegedly due to a car accident. In her hero form, she uses guns and sniping rifles for long-range combat and her ribbons serve as appendages for moving around. She also has three familiars, Gyōbudanuki (刑部狸), Aobōzu (青坊主), and Shiranui (不知火). Later, she gets another familiar named Kawabataru (川蛍). As a result of using her Mankai form, she loses her hearing in her left ear. Like the rest of her Hero Club friends, she recovers after the events of the final episode and regains her memory and the ability to walk.

Prior to the series, during the events of Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru, she was adopted under the name of Sumi Washio (鷲尾 須美, Washio Sumi) and fought alongside her elementary school classmates Sonoko and Gin. She originally used a bow and arrow in her hero form but later upgraded to a silver rifle. The loss of her legs and memory were actually a result of her using Mankai twice, after which she was returned to her original family and relocated next to Yūna due to her high affinity. Upon meeting Sonoko again, she learns both the truth about the Hero System and the true nature of Shinju.

Fu Inubozaki (犬吠埼 風, Inubōzaki Fū)

Voiced by: Yumi Uchiyama^[1] (Japanese); Erica Mendez^[2] (English)

A third-year in middle school and the president of the Hero Club. She is the older sister of Itsuki, who she has been looking after following the death of their parents. She is knowledgeable about Shinju and the Vertex and was the one who gave her fellow members the app needed to fight against the Vertex. She uses a large sword in her hero form and her familiar is Inugami (犬神). Later she gets another familiar named Kamaitachi (鎌鼬). As a result of using her Mankai form, she loses vision in her left eye, but regains it back after the events of the final episode. It is also revealed that her parents were killed by Vertex, and as such her original motivation for fighting Vertex was for revenge. Details about the exact situation of the parent's death is not given.

Itsuki Inubozaki (犬吠埼 樹, Inubōzaki Itsuki)

Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa^[1] (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker^[2] (English)

A first-year in middle school and member of the Hero Club. She is Fū's younger sister and respects her dearly. She uses vines to attack her enemies in her hero form and her familiar is Kodama (木霊). Later, she gets another familiar named Ungaikyō (雲外鏡) As a result of using her Mankai form, she loses her voice, but regains it after the events of the final episode.

Karin Miyoshi (三好 夏凛, Miyoshi Karin)

Voiced by: Juri Nagatsuma (Japanese); Sarah Anne Williams^[2] (English)

An experienced, but somewhat stubborn hero who transfers into Yūna and Mimori's class and joins the Hero Club to supervise the other heroes. She uses a pair of katanas in her hero form and her familiar is Yoshiteru (義輝, voiced by: Kaneta Kimotsuki). In episode 11, as a result of using Mankai four times, she loses the use of her right arm, right leg, her hearing and vision, but later regains them after the events of the final episode.

Sonoko Nogi (乃木 園子, Nogi Sonoko)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Christine Marie Cabanos (English)

Mimori's classmate during elementary school, who she nicknamed "Wasshi", who first appears in Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru and uses a large trident in her hero form. As a result of using Mankai twenty times, she loses the use of most of her limbs and becomes unable to move, and afterwards is put in direct supervision of Taisha as a trump card. She later appears in the anime series, where she informs Yūna and Mimori about the truth behind the Hero System. After the events of the final episode, she is shown to have regained her lost body functions.

Gin Minowa (三ノ輪 銀, Minowa Gin)

Voiced by: Yumiri Hanamori

Mimori and Sonoko's classmate during elementary school who appears in Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru and uses a pair of large blades in her hero form. She dies protecting Mimori and Sonoko, prompting Taisha to change the Hero System, implementing faeries and Mankai. Her terminal is eventually given to Karin.

Media

Print media

A prequel light novel titled Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru (鷲尾須美は勇者である, lit. Washio Sumi is a Hero), written by Takahiro and illustrated by Bunbun, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine between April 30, 2014^[3] and November 29, 2014.^[4] The novel takes place two years before the anime's time frame.^[5] Another light novel series, titled Nogi Wakaba wa Yūsha de Aru (乃木若葉は勇者である, lit. Nogi Wakaba is a Hero), written by Takahiro and illustrated by Bunbun, began serialization in Dengeki G's Magazine on July 30, 2015.^[6] Nogi Wakaba takes place 300 years before the anime's time frame during the first Vertex attack on the world. It follows Sonoko Nogi's ancestor, Wakaba Nogi as its protagonist and the first Shikoku hero team consisting of her, Hinata Kamisato, Yūna Takashima, Chikage Kōri, Tamako Doi and Anzu Iyojima.^[7]

A manga adaptation of Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru, illustrated by Mottsun*, began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Comic from June 30, 2014.^[8] A manga titled Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha-bu Shozoku (結城友奈は勇者部所属, lit. Yūki Yūna is a Hero Club Member), written by Takahiro and illustrated by Kotamaru, began serialization in Dengeki G's Magazine from July 30, 2014. The first volume of a third manga, titled Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru and illustrated by Tōko Kanno, was released on November 27, 2014.^[4] Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru later started serialization in Dengeki G's Comic on December 26, 2014.^[9][10]

Anime

The 12-episode anime television series is produced by Studio Gokumi and directed by Seiji Kishi.^[11] Planned by Takahiro, the anime's screenplay is written by Makoto Uezu, and the character design is provided by Takahiro Sakai. The series aired in Japan on MBS between October 16 and December 25, 2014 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The opening theme is "Hoshi to Hana" (ホシトハナ, Star and Flower) and the ending theme is "Aurora Days"; both are performed by Sanshū Chūgaku Yūsha-bu (Haruka Terui, Suzuko Mimori, Yumi Uchiyama, Tomoyo Kurosawa, and Juri Nagatsuma). The ending theme for episode four (acoustic version) and episode nine is "Inori no Uta" (祈りの歌, Song of Prayer) by Tomoyo Kurosawa. The anime has been licensed by Pony Canyon's North American label Ponycan USA and released the series with an English dub on Blu-ray Disc and DVD from April 10, 2015.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Episode list

Video games

Two visual novels for Windows, developed by Minato Soft and featuring scenarios written by Takahiro and Osamu Murata, are bundled with the first and sixth DVD and Blu-ray Disc volumes of the anime series released on December 17, 2014 and May 20, 2015, respectively. Each visual novel features ten different scenarios original to the game and is fully voiced by the original cast. The graphics are handled by Studio Gokumi.^[16][17] An action video game developed by FuRyu titled Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru: Jukai no Kioku (結城友奈は勇者である 樹海の記憶, lit. Yūna Yūki is a Hero: Memories of the Tree Sea) was released on February 26, 2015 for the PlayStation Vita.^[18][19]

References

External links

Anime websites

• Official website (Japanese)
• Official website (English)
• Yuki Yuna is a Hero (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Other websites

• Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru: Jukai no Kioku official website (Japanese)
• Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru at ComicWalker (Japanese)
• Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha-bu Shozoku at ComicWalker (Japanese)
• Washio Sumi wa Yūsha de Aru at ComicWalker (Japanese)