Needless

Needless

Cover of Needless volume 1 as published by Shueisha
ニードレス
Genre Action, Biopunk, Black comedy, Science fantasy
Manga
Written by Kami Imai
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Ultra Jump
Original run 2003 – 2013
Volumes 17
Anime television series
Directed by Masayuki Sakoi
Written by Satoru Nishizono
Music by Tatsuya Kato
Studio Madhouse
Licensed by
Original network Tokyo MX, MBS, TVS, tvk, THK
Original run July 2, 2009 – December 10, 2009
Episodes 24

Needless (Japanese: ニードレス, Hepburn: Nīdoresu) is an action comedy science fiction manga and anime series by Kami Imai. Serialized in Shueisha's seinen magazine Ultra Jump beginning in 2003, an anime adaptation by Madhouse began airing on July 2, 2009.[1]

Synopsis

This anime is set in the year 2130 (the beginning date remains unclear), 50 years after World War III. The war has left a crater where Tokyo once stood, a place now filled with contaminated rubble. This spot, known as "The Black Spot", has no electrical power and is seen as a dark spherical patch from outer space and one of many Black Spots across Japan. The Black Spot eventually becomes populated by outcasts, some of whom, as a result of the contamination, gain various powers called "fragments". Those in possession of such fragments come to be known as "Needless".

The manga is divided into two separate parts. Part I introduces the characters, starting with the meeting between Adam Blade and Cruz Schild. The arc's events result in the two opposing sides battling at Simeon tower. The battle ends when Adam Arclight, loses interest in the Blade faction, and releases the full power of "PF Zero", causing a huge explosion that destroys the area around the Simeon Tower and scattering the participants in the process. Cruz wakes up alone in the ruins of the Simeon Tower after perceiving an encouraging vision of Adam Blade.

Part II follows Cruz on his journeys to find his scattered friends. In a surprising event over the course of one such journey he meets Mio, who decides to join up with him in order to see Blade again. During their journeys they encounter a number of successful situations while making new allies. Meanwhile, Adam Arclight, aware of Cruz's survival, orders his execution. As of the latest release, Cruz is found alongside the majority of his friends.

Characters

The Misfits (Blade Faction)

Adam Blade (アダム・ブレイド, Adamu・Bureido)
Adam Blade is a destroyer priest who lives in the church in Sector 533. He has a metal collar engraved with the characters '079.AB.' affixed to his neck. He has inhuman strength and endurance as well as accelerated healing, plus a skeletal structure attached with a special metal called Orichalcum. It was revealed that he is a clone of the strongest Needless, 'The Second Christ'. His only flaw is his attraction to cute, young girls. His fragment 'Zero' allows him to learn the attacks of his enemies, after being hit by it or seeing it, also being able to combine other abilities learned as well. His special move is 'Death Verdict', the final pronouncement when taking an enemy's life.
Eve Neuschwanstein (イヴ・ノイシュヴァンシュタイン, Ivu・Noishuvanshutain)
Eve Neuschwanstein is Blade's partner. She is bad at remembering other people's names. Even though she has the appearance of a young girl, she is proven to be a capable fighter. Her fragment is 'Doppelganger', an ability which allows her to shapeshift into anything (from a drill on her arm to other person's appearances). She is also shown to be able to shapeshift into a wall, which is inorganic. The weakness of this power is that she needs a lot of calories to use it. Therefore she often drinks an energy drink named 'Super Gel Dero Doro Drink', which contains 5000 kilocalories.
Cruz Schild (クルス・シルト, Kurusu・Shirudo)
Cruz Schild is a young boy, whose big sister Aruka is presumably killed during a Testament attack. He is a bit of a wimp, but shows certain qualities and strengths and is the only known survivor of the uprising against Simeon. He remains highly committed to the memory of Aruka, often addressing her directly in his thoughts, and is seen carrying a pendant with a picture of her in it. He is often used as a sort of gofer by some of the other team members (most notably Blade and Eve). While shown as physically weak compared to most of the other characters, his keen observational skills and raw intellect more than make up for this deficiency.
Gido (ギド)
Gido an elderly scientist with an attitude, and his real name is Gin Rikudo (六道 銀, Rikudo Gin). He lives with Blade and Eve in the church as their father figure. He has no fragment, but is extremely intelligent and knowledgeable about current events. He seems to know more about Arclight than he lets on. Eventually it was discovered that he was the head of the Simeon initiative to clone the Second and presided over the creation of the two Adams and Eve, after 77 failures where the clone bodies would tear themselves apart. He handled the children's early development and after Arclight's actions destroyed their establishment, he took them away and raised them. Since the incident, he took care of Blade and Eve and lived with them in the Black Spot to avoid chase from the government.
Disc (ディスク, Disuku)
Disc is a cyborg who resided in Iron Mountain. Even though she has the appearance of a young girl, she is actually 100 years old. After the incident in Iron Mountain, she joins forces with Blade to take out Simeon. Her fragment is 'Scan', which allows her to learn her opponent's power and other things such as their BWH measurements. She was found by Cruz along with Eve after the PF Zero blast, but her body is damaged. From then until City arc, she only appears as a head, using her pigtails to move, and controlling a testament for long distance travel. She has grown affectionate of Cruz ever since he cross-dressed as a girl.
Momiji Teruyama (照山 最次, Teruyama Momiji)
Momiji Teruyama is a Needless with flame abilities who first appears to fight Blade to avenge his fallen comrades and was easily beaten. However, it is revealed that the one that he is searching for is Adam Arclight, not Adam Blade. He joins forces with Blade to fight against Simeon Tower. His abilities include 'Little Boy', where he lights his fist on fire to create an explosive punch. He can also use the ability 'Vulcan Shock Ignition', which basically looks like a giant fireball which he throws at the enemy.
Set (セト, Seto)
Set is a young girl holding a large sword with a skull design handle. She is a prominent member of the Black Spot's mercenary guild. For a while, due to unknown circumstances, Blade became her partner. Her fragment is 'Gravitation', an ability that lets her control gravity. She is obsessed with money and became a mercenary to earn tons of it. After the PF Zero Blast, she reappeared alongside Blade and Solva and finished off Hatfield. She and Solva remained behind to defend the town from future attacks.
Solva (ソルヴァ, Soruvua)
Solva is a young girl with magnets in her hair. Her fragment, which is 'Magnetic World', grants her power to manipulate metals and create a magnetic shock wave. Disc mentioned that her fragment is a unique magnetic field and that she can repel almost every attack in a hundred meter radius. She is sweet and charming on the outside but is a menace and a sadistic person on the inside. Solva is the leader of a gang of bandits called The Predators. After being defeated by Blade and Set, she seems to have become Set's partner, when Blade left them. She is a megalomaniac, in which her desire is for everyone to bow down before her as the ruler of Black Spot. After the PF Zero Blast, she reappeared along Blade and Set and killed Hatfield. She and Set remained behind to defend the town from future attacks.

Simeon Upper Management (Arclight Faction)

Adam Arclight (アダム・アークライト, Adamu・Aakuraito)
Adam Arclight is a mysterious man similar to Blade with the characters '078.AA.' affixed to his neck, revealed to be attempt to create a clone of the strongest Needless, 'The Second Christ'. But Arclight's right eye and heart rejected the cloned cells and he was deemed a failure and left for dead at a landfill. However, Arclight survived, and made it back to the laboratory to absorb the Second's corpse to become incredibly powerful. From there, Arclight rose through the ranks of Simeon and took over interests in the Black Spot, building the Simeon Tower while using the Needless Hunt to find a means to cure his continued genetic defect. His fragment 'Positive Feedback Zero', is an ability similar to Adam Blade's fragment that allows him to learn the attacks of his enemies, either from physical conduct or seeing it. But Arclight's fragment has the added effect of combine learned abilities and intensifying the strength each time it is used, along with altering his body structure when needed. Eventually, Arclight is revealed to be a clone of the real Adam Arclight and is destroyed once he served his purpose.
Riru Roukakuji (楼閣寺 離瑠, Rōkakuji Riru)
Riru Roukakuji is a well endowed woman who is one of the Simeon Tower's Four Elite, serving as both Arclight's right-hand woman and leader of the Simeon Girl Squadron. Her fragment is 'Psychokinesis', a form of telekinesis and she is possibly the only one who possesses it, as hinted by Disc that this ability is pretty rare and the most powerful out of all fragments. Originally a subject in Eve series, Riru ruled her own Black Spot until she met Arclight, falling in love with him. While the manga has her betrayed by Saten and her own subordinates, the anime depicts Riru sacrificing herself to fully restore Archlight's physical form.
Saten (左天)
The strongest of Simeon Tower's Four Elite, Saten is one of Arclight's first followers yet acts on his own agenda as he withholds information like Blade's residence. During his fight with Eve, revealed to have feelings for her, Saten went easy on her and feigned defeat so she can save Cruz. His fragment 'Thermal Energy Conversion' allow him to use his Fourth Wave (Daiyon Haddou]) ability to absorb thermal energy and redirect it in various ways like freezing objects or releasing absorbed energy as a powerful thermal wave. Eventually, revealing his true fragment to be 'Positive Feedback Zero', Saten is revealed to be the real Adam Arclight as he eliminates both his body double and Riru once they outlived their purpose. In the anime's story, Saten was originally Gido's assistant Kyoji Kanazuki who the Triple Six Committee made into a pseudo-Adam. Eventually, once he memorize Eve's Doppelganger Fragment, Saten turned on Triple Six and then seemingly kills Arclight. But Arclight reconstitutes himself, stealing Saten's power while using satellites to destroy the traitor's body.
Uten (右天)
Uten is another one of the Four Elite of the Simeon Tower and the right-hand man of Arclight. His fragmenet is 'Bermuda Athport', which allows him to turn anything transparent. He hides this with hidden knives and guns and other tricks to make it seem like he has the power to create anything out of thin air. He is a true magician who only seems amazing until the trick is discovered. He is defeated and killed by Eve when Cruz exposed his power. It is revealed that Uten is not his real name but the name he took when he became Arclight's hand.
Aruka Schild (アルカ・シルト, Aruka・Shirudo)
Aruka Schild is the older sister of Cruz Schild as well as a member of the resistance force that were massacred by Simeon, usually wearing featureless white masks. She was believed to have died while protecting Cruz from a Testament. In reality, she is the final member of the Four Elite of the Simeon Tower and the one that leaked the resistance force's information to Simeon. Her fragment, 'Agni Schiwatas' (or 'The Breath of Fire' in English) allows her to speed up kinetic energy resulting in massive explosion and melting solid objects. Like Cruz, she can also analyze the abilities and weaknesses of others, using this insight along with her power to crush her enemies in seconds.
Kafka (カフカ, Kafuka)
Kafka is the first Needless to be defeated by both Blade and Eve. He works for Simeon and was an assassin sent out to kill Blade. His fragment 'Kandata String' allows him to generate powerful threads from his body, also create variations in the form of strings of cloth and tentacles. He is one of three members in a special group called the "Flea Team", alongside Gregoire and Zamusa, tasked to scout for information.
Gregoire (グレゴール, Guregōru)
Gregoire is a woman seen at the meeting after the battle at Simeon Tower. She has pointed ears, reportedly linked to her fragment which is called 'Hell's Ear', which allow her to hear any conversation. She is one of three members in a special group called the "Flea Team", alongside Kafka and Zamusa, tasked to scout for information.
Zamusa (ザムザ)
Zamusa is a man seen at the meeting after the battle at Simeon Tower. His fragment 'Clairvoyance' allows him to see to solid objects. He is one of three members in a special group called the "Flea Team", alongside Kafka and Gregoire, tasked to scout for information.
Hatfield (ハットフィールド, Hattofīrudo)
Hatfield is a Needless in dandy clothes, complete with a hat, suit and cane. He is an extremely intelligent and crafty villain His fragment, which is called 'Rainmaker', allows him to summon and control rain, as well as manipulate water into any kinds of weapon, including hammer and razor blades. His signature attack is 'Rain Laser', which fires super compressed streams of water that can pierce through even steel or diamonds. Hatfield states that only a few Needless can actually challenge him in an outdoor fight. He was able to defeat his enemies single-handed without so much as taking a single hit. Hatfield fights in a way he thinks is gentlemanly in that he allows his opponents the chance to attack him as a group, but he is not above using underhand methods to win if things do not go his way.
Ishiyama (いしやま)
A member of the Triple Six Committee. His fragment allows him to look into other's memories. He also has displayed superhuman athleticism and stick to walls.

Simeon Girl Squadron

Setsuna (セツナ)
Setsuna is another one of three the members of the Simeon Girl Squadron. She seems to be the leader of the three as well as the oldest. Her fragment is 'Speed', being able to travel at speeds.
Kuchinashi (梔)
Kuchinashi is another one of the three members of the Simeon Girl Squadron. A silent girl whose fragment is 'Fragrance', an ability that can control the brain and nervous system of the body once they inhale it. The scent of her fragment comes from a large fan on her left arm. She writes what she wants to say on a notepad. After Kurumi was killed, Kuchinashi used her most powerful fragrance 'Lilith Temptation', which makes people see their greatest desire. But it failed on Blade because he already had his desire, to be in a room full of cute girls.
Mio (未央)
Mio is one of the three members of the Simeon Girl Squadron. She appears to be the youngest out of the three by both appearance and the way she speaks. Her fragment is 'Power', giving her superhuman strength. She has an affection for Blade, and is one of the few people in the series who refers to Cruz by his name.
Kurumi (胡桃)
Kurumi, though not a direct member of the Simeon Girl Squadron, fought with them during the battle in Shelter No. 3. Her fragment is 'Black Attraction', which allows her to implant ESP Viruses into people to control their thoughts and their actions. Kurumi's fragment is not meant for battle so that makes her only an observer.
Nanami (七海)
Nanami is a member of a rival girl squad team of Setsuna's, her fate is much different between manga and anime. In the manga, Nanami was paralyzed by Kuchinashi and thrown into a wall by Mio, killing her, after it is revealed that she made them look bad. In the anime she loses a contest to Setsuna's three girl team and is humiliated. Her fragment gave her the power over water.
Misaki (美咲)
Misaki is another member of a rival girl squad team of Setsuna's, her fate is much different between manga and anime. As it was revealed that they had told Ruri of a failure on Mio's part, Setsuna use her fragment ability and went behind Misaki and stab her hand through Misaki's abdomen, killing her. In the anime she is humiliated along with Nanami. Her fragment allowed her to control land.
Rin (凜)
Rin is introduced as a student of the normal class in St. Rose Academy. She is a member of the newspaper club and is the culprit behind the "Invisible Bomber" incidents. Rin hid the fact she was a Needless from St. Rose in order to stay in the normal class because the Needless class had the risk of death during training. The reason behind the bombings were to kill off the top students in the normal class so that she would make it over the cut line and be placed in the active squad. Her fragment is called 'Bionic Compressor', which allows her to increase air pressure. She is defeated by the Black Madam and is expelled from St. Rose Academy.
The Black Madam (マダム・ブラック, Madamu・Burakku)
The Black Madam is the headmistress of St. Rose Academy. She is the one who oversees young Needless girls training them into killer girls. She strongly believes in the ideals of the academy, stating that in the language of flowers, the "rose" stands for "beauty, "maiden, and secrets". This belief is so strong that the Black Madam was not angry when at the fact that Rin killed her fellow students, but rather it was for the cowardly way she killed them and for letting her power to make her conceited and unladylike. The Black Madam dresses like a Victorian aristocrat complete with an umbrella, outfitted with steel. She states her reason is because she believes that damage is identified by the amount of damage the wearers clothes have, therefore she cannot be harmed by what she wears. Her fragment is called 'Wind', giving her control over wind.

Other

Kanna (カンナ)
Kanna is a young girl who apparently attacked Solva and her group along with her two henchmen. She seemed to control both fire and ice. In reality it was through a machinery behind her throne and Solva and her group were the bandits. Kanna defends her father's treasure, the only patch of land in the Black Spot where flowers grow, giant sunflowers to be specific. Much later, Cruz's search for Set and Solva led them to Kanna's town only to find that Simeon had taken it over, With Kanna and her two helpers currently fighting them. It is also revealed that Kanna really is a Needless whose fragment is 'Over Technology', giving her the power to wield pieces of metal into complex machines as long as her idea of design is very specific and complex.
Zakard (ザカート)
Zakard is the leader of the Black Spot resistance force. He and his group attempted to stop Arclight from conquering the Black Spot and murdering innocent Needless. Zakard was very observant, suspecting Aruka from the start but realizing that Cruz was a truly honest soul. So he gave Cruz a pendant with her picture saying it was from her, not telling him it actually contained the data chip Arclight wanted so badly. However he did fall for the Aruka's trap and he and his resistance force were faced with Arclight and the Four Elite. Zakard personally fought Arclight. Zakard was in truth a Needless with a powerful fragment called 'Boulder Avalanche', which allowed him to make an armor of regenerative rock formed around him. But Zakard was still dominated and destroyed by Arclight and his many copied fragments. But Zakard was still defiant to the end, and denied Arclight what he most wanted for a while.
Secondaria (セカンダリ, Sekandari)
Secondaria is a maid who reported to Saten during the initial fight in Shelter No. 3.
Strom (ストレム, Sutoremu)
Strom is one of the most powerful Needless with ice abilities with dark skin and a bizarre fashion sense that stems from his daughters personal taste. His personality while fighting is like his fragment, cold and brutal. He does not hesitate to give blows that would cripple or kill his enemies, the exception seen is with woman which may stem from his daughter's influence, and he finds pleasure in fighting and destroying his opponents. Saten has stated that Strom is the one Needless (other than Arclight) that Saten can not win against due to Strom having the power to rob Saten of all the heat he can utilize with his fragment.

Terminology

Testaments

Large spider-like machines built by Simeon to patrol areas and destroy resistance forces. They are formidable opponents, able to heavily injure Blade before being dispatched. Ruri has been secretly building massive Testaments for the latest Simeon controlled area. Also, Disc has an armada of refurbished Testaments for her protection at Iron Mountain.

Simeon Tower

A large pharmaceutical and technology research organization. It was said that Simeon conducted human experiments for the purpose of immortality. The company appears to have great influence throughout Japan. The Black Spot branch is headed by Adam Arclight himself, and is his base of power.

Iron Mountain

A mysterious base that is said to hold almost all of mankind's history. It was assumed to be destroyed during World War III, but appears to be in perfect condition. In the anime, its only inhabitants are Disc and her battalion of Testaments.

The Second Christ

A man who emerged from the wreckage of Japan to help the survivors after the Third World War. Considered the original and most powerful Needless, he was capable of using all fragment powers. He was considered the second coming of Christ, and thus known as 'The Second Christ'. After his disappearance, many believed his power was divided and spread to each individual now known as Needless, which is why their power is called Fragment. But what he truly was, how he came into existence is unknown. In Episode 21 of the Anime, it was suggested that The Second Christ was murdered by the Triple Six Committee, claiming that too many enemy nations are after his blood.

Media

Anime

An anime adaptation of the original manga began airing on Tokyo MX on July 2, 2009. Directed by Masayuki Sakoi. There are 24 episodes. The thirteenth episode had been reported as the finale but this was proved false upon its airing. The opening theme is "Modern Strange Cowboy" by GRANRODEO and the ending is "Aggressive Zone" by Needless★Girls, composed of the voice actresses of the series, Aya Endo, Eri Kitamura, Emiri Katō, Saori Gotō and Yui Makino. The second opening is "Scarlet Bomb!" by Aki Misato and the second ending is "WANTED! for the love" by Needless★Girls. Japanese progressive thrash metal band Gargoyle also contributed the songs "Magma Kid" and "Shi ni Itaru Kizu" to the show's official soundtrack.

North American anime distributor Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series and would release the series. The first complete set was shipped on Blu-ray and DVD February 11, 2011.[2] The second complete set was released on April 12, 2011.[3]

The anime has considerably toned down the gore and violence of the manga, however the fanservice has been increased. But the most noticeable change is that the anime follows only until the moment where the PF Zero blast should occur. Instead of Arclight spreading Cruz's friends and leading to the second part of the story, the anime ends with a final fight against Arclight in the Simeon Tower.

Episode list

No. Title Original airdate
1 "Adam Blade"
"Adamu ・ Bureido" (アダム・ブレイド) 		July 2, 2009
Cruz Schild, a survivor of the uprising against the Simeon Tower, is saved by a priest named Adam Blade, who destroys a spider-like patrolling machine known as a Testament in pursuit, nearly taking his life. Gido treats Blade in a church, and Eve Neuschwanstein later meets with the rest there. Eve scolds Cruz for what the Resistance has started against the Simeon Tower, causing him to run away to an abandoned shelter. An assassin sent from the Simeon Tower named Kafka attempts to kill Cruz, but Blade and Eve come to the rescue. Kafka tries to entangle Blade with his threads, but the latter easily breaks free. Eve duplicates Cruz's appearance and switches places with him as a distraction. Blade then learns how to control his own threads to defeat Kafka. 
2 "Eve Neuschwanstein"
"Ivu ・ Noishuvanshutain" (イヴ・ノイシュヴァンシュタイン) 		July 9, 2009
While Cruz helps buy Eve a specific beverage near a warehouse, the two encounter Uten, one of the four elite from the Simeon Tower. Uten, expressing his tricks as a magician using barriers, attacks Eve with a barrage of knives, putting her at a disadvantage. Then, he creates a bed of nails on the ground, trapping them on a floating platform. After Eve shields herself using the soft drink, Cruz figures out from the splashes that the floor is actually invisible. As Uten's power of transparency is exposed, Eve transforms her arm into a drill to break through the concrete wall Uten was hiding behind, cancelling out his power and uncovering the surrounding area. 
3 "Momiji Teruyama"
"Teruyama Momiji" (照山最次) 		July 16, 2009
A mysterious man with flame powers named Momiji Teruyama goes inside the church, on a mission to kill a man named "Adam". Blade reveals his name as such and challenges Teruyama to a duel, while Eve takes Cruz to a safe place to hide. Soon enough, Blade learns how to control flames and punches Teruyama. The two go outside, where Teruyama launches a giant fireball at Blade. After dodging the attack, Blade learns how to launch his own fireball and combines it with threads for a surprise attack. Gido realizes that Teruyama was not sent from the Simeon Tower to find Blade. Instead, Teruyama says he was searching for Adam Arclight, the head of the Simeon Tower, having to apologize for the confusion. 
4 "Iron Mountain"
"Aianmaunten" (アイアンマウンテン) 		July 23, 2009
With his body becoming fragile, Arclight send three girls from the Simeon Girl Squadron to have Blade captured to have his body replaced. Teruyama leads Blade, Eve, Cruz and Gido underground to talk to an informant via secret computer, who tells the group to meet at Iron Mountain for information about Arclight. During a long journey, the group sees some thugs harassing a young girl. Blade, with his flaw of an attraction to young girls, immediately takes down the thugs. The girl, recognized as Mio, follows the group to Iron Mountain, where they enter a laboratory filled with rebuilt Testaments. After making past all the death traps, they finally meet the informant named Disc, a cyborg who appears to be a young girl, who states that Blade is one of the clones of the "Adam Project". 
5 "Simeon Girl Squadron"
"Shimeon shōjo butai" (シメオン少女部隊) 		July 30, 2009
Two girls of the Simeon Girl Squadron, Setsuna and Kuchinashi, infiltrate the laboratory and destroy the rebuilt Testaments sent out by Disc. Eve fights Setsuna, one who can attack at great speeds, while Blade battles Kuchinashi, one who sprays a fragrance that allows her to paralyze and control his body. Afterwards, Disc activates the defense walls to prevent Eve and Blade from further damage. Mio then asks Cruz to take get to the restroom, handing him her stuffed teddy bear, which turns out to be very heavy, and knocks him unconscious. She is revealed as the third member of the Simeon Girl Squadron, having the ability of power, which gives her superhuman strength. Mio carries Cruz and exits with Setsuna and Kuchinashi out of the laboratory after Eve duplicated Setsuna's appearance to sound the alarm. However, Eve switched bodies with Cruz during that time, and she tries to take them all on. In the end, she ends up being their hostage. 
6 "Goldy Locks"
"Gorudirokkusu" (ゴルディロックス) 		August 6, 2009
Disc decides to join the group to search for Eve and face the Simeon Girl Squadron. Meanwhile, Eve has escaped from the Simeon Girl Squadron when they took a brief stop. The squadron finds a mansion armed with a security system. Eve is there as well, looking for something to replenish her energy. The squadron falls through many traps while trying to find Eve in the kitchen. After entering the bank vault, with Eve setting off the alarm, the four girls are sent down a tunnel to the cannon, blasting them out into the sky. At the church, Disc and the others see a live broadcast of Arclight on screen in the sky, mandating the citizens to attend an inaugural event in the Simeon Tower at noon the following day. After the squadron returns to the tower, Eve is then held captive inside. 
7 "Adam Arclight"
"Adamu ・ Aakuraito" (アダム・アークライト) 		August 13, 2009
Riru Roukakuji, leader of the Simeon Girl Squadron, sends Setsuna, Kuchinashi and Mio on a mission to retrieve a golden safe from a bank against their rivals, Nanami and Misaki, to see who will truly represent the squadron for the inaugural event. Nanami and Misaki arrive there and use their respective powers of water and earth to tear up the bank and restrain the bank owner. Setsuna, Kuchinashi and Mio, first misled by the location, later arrive and cause further destruction, then manage to obtain the safe. During the inaugural event, some members of the Resistance try to charge at Arclight, but they are easily overpowered and consumed by him. However, Blade comes after Arclight, after the latter tried to apprehend two children. 
8 "Riru Roukakuji"
"Roukakuji Riru" (楼閣寺離瑠) 		August 20, 2009
Everyone gathered around the Simeon Tower watch as Blade and Arclight go head-to-head in battle. After Arclight counters Blade's threads and fireball, Disc deduces that Arclight has the same ability as Blade, but the former's power is much stronger than the latter's. The citizens try to evade the area, but Riru barricades them with dog-like Testaments surrounding the area. Riru, revealed as another one the four elite from the Simeon Tower, uses her ability of psychokinesis to raise a whole monument over the citizens as a threat for them to stay put. Blade goes into the tower alone upon Arclight's request. He enters a room called Shelter No. 3, a battlefield resembling that of a large-scale bedroom, where he will be fighting the Simeon Girl Squadron in order to save Eve from captivity. Disc uses her ability to scan in an attempt to reprogram one of the Testaments, while Teruyama does his very best to keep it from crushing her. 
9 "Shelter No. 3"
"Dai 3 sherutā" (第3シェルター) 		August 27, 2009
After Disc successfully reprograms the Testament, it is recalled into the tower for assumed repair. Cruz, Gido, Teruyama and Disc hide inside of it to gain entry. After evading the engineers and the guards, they crawl through the air vents, where Disc hacks into the security camera system to locate Blade. Meanwhile, Blade seems to struggle as he fights the Simeon Girl Squadron, having no chance for an attack. Cruz and company travel to an underground plant, but they are cornered by guards and Testaments. However, they are saved by Set and Solva, who easily defeat the squadron when they arrive. 
10 "Set & Solva"
"Seto × Soruvua" (セト×ソルヴァ) 		September 3, 2009
Long ago, Blade and Set were former partners in a guild and met Solva while taking a trip on a bus. Blade and Set protected the passengers from two bandits who tried to rob the bus. Later, Solva asks them to retrieve the money stolen from the bandits, but from drinking poisoned tea, they are soon captured by the two bandits and their boss, Kanna, who can control both fire and ice. The guild members come to rescue Blade and Set, but Kanna stops them in their tracks. Set uses her ability to control gravity to subdue the bandits, and she destroys Kanna's throne after figuring out it was the source of producing fire and ice. However, it was Kanna that hired Blade and Set to kill Solva, not the other way around. Solva uses her power of magnetism in response, but Blade and Set defeat her using their abilities. As a reward, Kanna show the two her late father's sunflower garden. Solva asks to join the two on their journey, to which they accept. 
11 "Black Attraction"
"Burakku ・ Atorakushon" (ブラック・アトラクション) 		September 10, 2009
The Simeon Girl Squadron still wants to pick a fight with the group. Blade, Teruyama, Set and Solva take on the squadron altogether, merging their abilities into one combined attack. Setsuna, Kuchinashi and Mio call a surrender and release Eve. When Blade goes to see Eve, she attacks him out of nowhere, drilling a hole in his chest. This is because Kurumi, a fourth member of the squadron, used her ability to control the mind, manipulating Eve's thoughts and actions. While Disc performs emergency medical procedures on Blade, Gido believes that if the group can get Eve back to normal, then it would allow her to switch places with Blade and heal his body. When Solva tries to come after Kurumi, the former finds out that the latter is a holographic image of herself. Even when Cruz figures out that Eve will exhaust after a short while, Setsuna reveals that a concentrated beverage is installed into Eve in order to maintain her energy. 
12 "Kurumi"
"Kurumi" (胡桃) 		September 17, 2009
Although Cruz detects a security camera is hidden in the room, he theorizes that Kurumi is hiding somewhere in the room. Teruyama, Set and Solva merge their abilities to control the power, speed and direction of a giant baseball. They send the baseball into the bookshelf where Kurumi was hiding, stabbing her on impact. Cruz explains his reasoning of how he knew where Kurumi was hiding, pointing out that she would only be behind a large book placed on the second shelf based on the layout of the room. After Kurumi falls to her death, Eve seems to return back to normal. However, this is not true since she is still brainwashed, aside from the fact that Kurumi died. After Teruyama, Set and Solva incur severe injuries from Eve's surprise attack, Disc tells Cruz and Gido that there could still be a way to return Eve back to normal. 
13 "Byakugou"
"Byakugō" (白毫) 		September 24, 2009
In order to save Eve, Blade would need to learn the ability to control the mind. The Byakugou, a jewel placed on his forehead, would be able to drain out the power of his enemy if it is placed on their forehead. As Disc continues to recover Blade, Gido acts as decoy against the Simeon Girl Squadron, while Cruz sneaks past them to get to Kurumi's body. Saten, another of the four elite from the Simeon Tower, suddenly appears and instills fear on everyone. He sends Cruz with Kurumi's body next to Disc near Blade's body, and Blade reawakens after learning the ability to control the mind, before the squadron tries to finish him off. Using the ability, Blade commands Eve to destroy the viruses inside of her, returning her back to normal. Eve heals Blade's wounds completely while fending the squadron off at the same time. Blade then takes on the squadron alone while Eve goes off to heal the rest of the group. 
14 "Lilith Temptation"
"Ririsu ・ Tenputēshon" (リリス・テンプテーション) 		October 1, 2009
Kuchinashi, having spoken for the first time, uses her ultimate attack, a fragrance which makes people see their greatest desire in an alternative dimension. Teruyama easily defeats Blade and Arclight; Eve guesses everyone's name right in a game show; Set finds a pile of gold underground, thanks to Disc; Solva sees Arclight and Saten captured, and she becomes ruler; Gido reunites with Kazumi Ogiha, one of his former laboratory partners; and Cruz is surprised to see that his sister, Aruka Schild, is still alive. Disc, not affected by the strong scent, watches as the Simeon Girl Squadron effortlessly beats up the ones affected. However, Cruz, realizing he is in a trance, runs away from his sister, which snaps him out of it. Blade reveals that he is not affected by the strong scent since he is already surrounded by cute girls. He takes out Kuchinashi and Mio first, allowing the affected ones to come back to their senses. Learning the ability of speed, he attacks Setsuna head on. But before Blade has the opportunity to finish her off, Saten intervenes. 
15 "Fourth Wave"
"Dai shi hadō" (第四波動) 		October 8, 2009
Saten freezes Kurumi's body and tells the Simeon Girl Squadron to take her away, before beginning his fight with Blade and covering the floor with ice. He uses his ability to absorb thermal energy and redirect it in various ways, such as fire, ice and wind. Blade uses the Byakugou to learn this ability, but it fails to work. A mask woman, said to be the last of the four elite from the Simeon Tower, appears, as she takes on Teruyama, Set and Solva all at once. As Blade and Eve face off against Saten, Cruz speculates how Saten's ability works. 
16 "Aruka Schild"
"Aruka ・ Shirudo" (アルカ・シルド) 		October 15, 2009
Cruz concludes that Saten uses his ability in the order of absorption and redirection. The masked woman uses her ability to speed up kinetic energy, breaking Set's sword right before her eyes. Teruyama and Solva attack the mask woman, cracking her mask and revealing her to actually be Aruka, Cruz's long-lost sister. She is actually a spy from the Simeon Tower, sent to leak top-secret information about the Resistance. There is a data chip inside Cruz's pendant containing that information, as she was ordered to retrieve the data chip to Arclight. In order to protect Cruz from harm, Set and Solva attack Aruka, but they are no match against her since she has already figured out their abilities. Even Teruyama's immunity to heat has no effect against Aruka's ability. Aruka then severely injures Cruz, but as she attempts to kill him, Blade stands in her way. 
17 "Resistance"
"Rejisutansu" (レジスタンス) 		October 22, 2009
As Cruz starts to die, he has an out-of-body experience back into the past to when the Resistance was planning to launch an attack against Arclight. Zakard, the leader of the Resistance, gives Cruz the pendant to treat it with the utmost importance. When the Resistance tries to ambush Arclight on his way to the Simeon Tower, the four elite ones kill off much of the Resistance. Aruka is soon unveiled to be an informant for Arclight, much to Zakard's surprise. Zakard uses his ability to make an armor of regenerative rock formed around him, as he begins to battle Arclight. However, Arclight easily defeats Zakard with a series of learned abilities, and Arclight then crushes Zakard after the latter says that the data chip is not longer in his possession. Meanwhile, Cruz and Aruka were being chased by a Testament. When Cruz was hiding in the sewer, Aruka actually destroyed the Testament and made it out alive. Cruz, returning from his out-of-body experience, takes his final breath, leaving everyone in the room in shock. 
18 "Agni Schiwatas"
"Agunisshuwattasu" (アグニッシュワッタス) 		October 29, 2009
Cruz is somehow still barely alive but in a comatose state; Blade and Eve are separately still busy fighting Aruka and Saten, respectively; and Teruyama, Set and Solva are still in critical condition. Aruka explains that by unlocking all parts of the brain, one would utilize their ability to the fullest. Saten gives Eve the opportunity to give her time to heal Cruz by faking his defeat. Aruka uses her ability to speed up kinetic energy in order to trap Blade in flames. Disc delivers an electrical charge through Eve to jump-start Cruz's heart. Blade uses his ability to absorb the fire, confirming how Saten and Aruka's abilities are alike. Blade then sends a giant, electrical fireball toward Aruka, so powerful that not even she can withstand it. 
19 "Positive Feedback Zero"
"Pojitibufīdobakku ・ Zero" (ポジティブフィードバック・ゼロ) 		November 5, 2009
Aruka still gets up from her defeat and immediately charges toward Cruz, but she suddenly withholds her punch. Arclight finally shows his face, ensuring that the citizens are in good hands, seeing a live performance hosted by an all-female rock band. He takes them to the top floor of the left wing of the tower, where he reveals that his heart and right eye are artificial, and he wants Blade's body to become all powerful. Blade is unable to land a blow when he engages in battle against Arclight. Moreover, Arclight not only has the ability to learn other abilities, but his ability is also much stronger in comparison. Arclight punches right through Blade seemingly as a finishing move, but the latter takes this opportunity to use his Byakugou to learn Arclight's ability, causing Arclight's past memories to be projected through several images. 
20 "A - B"  November 12, 2009
In the past, Gido was among the scientists working on the "Adam Project". After seventy-seven failures, Gido was told that the project may be discontinued if the current test subject yields no results. Ishiyama, head of the Triple Six Committee, orders for this project to be terminated as a result. However, Gido and his team are given a chance to continue the project, in charge of two test subjects later recognized as Blade and Arclight. Upon completion of the project, Arclight was deemed a failure, while Blade turned out a success. Arclight is disposed into a landfill near the laboratory. Gido is asked by Kazumi, one of his lab partners, to go on a vacation together. Later on, Kyouji Kannazuki, another one of his lab partners, is worried about Gido, after Kazumi had been lost in a laboratory accident. Gido introduces Blade to Eve as his mating partner. 
21 "A - A"  November 19, 2009
Blade frustrates over the fact that Eve has problems in memory development, but he still manages to get along with her. One day, Eve takes Blade with her to the roof of the laboratory, skipping his scheduled training, which has Gido and Kannazuki worried of where they might have gone. At night, the two see the starry sky for the first time. When Gido and Kannazuki find Blade and Eve, they prohibit Eve to see Blade until he completes his training. The laboratory is breached by an unknown intruder, who takes out the engineers and guards. When the intruder, revealed as a derailed Arclight, approaches Eve, Blade blocks him and fights back. Arclight then enters into a restricted area in the underground plant which contains remnants of the "Second", fusing with it to absorb its incredible power. The laboratory is consequentially destroyed, but thanks to Blade and Eve, Gido manages to survive the explosion along with them. 
22 "The Triple Six Committee"
"666-Ri iinkai (Toripurushikkusu)" (666人委員会（トリプルシックス）) 		November 26, 2009
The reverse rejection reaction between Blade and Arclight is divided into three stages. The past memories are projected through several images, both of their abilities suddenly negates each other, and only one body will remain. Blade and Arclight engage in an intense battle, a fight to the finish. Although Blade manages to critically wound Arclight, the latter shows that he can regenerate his body. Saten, working for the Triple Six Committee, freezes all the committee members to death, after he sees that he no longer needs maintenance on his body thanks to Eve's abilities. Blade pushes Arclight to the outside, busting through the protective glass window. However, Saten appears outside the tower, revealing that he possesses the Byakugou, already having learned all acquired abilities. Furthermore, Saten is revealed to be Kannazuki, one of Gido's lab partners. Saten then takes Arclight and blasts him into flames. 
23 "Saten"
"Saten" (左天) 		December 3, 2009
Saten claims himself as the new leader of the Simeon Tower. He wants to claim Eve as the bearer of his future children, so he forcefully takes her into his arms and knocks her unconscious. It is implied that there are traces of Kazumi inside of Eve after the laboratory accident. Teruyama, Set and Solva combine their abilities for a grand attack, but Saten overpowers them with that of his own. Not even Setsuna, Kuchinashi and Mio can stop him with their abilities. After Riru mourns for Arclight and reminisces of her life spent with him, she uses her body as a sacrifice to revive him. Blade attempts to use his Byakugou on Saten, but the latter starts to dig into the former's chest. Arclight, first appearing as Riru, subdues Saten and shows that his heart and right eye are completely healed. Arclight then uses his Byakugou on Saten, but this does not start a reverse rejection reaction. Instead, by using the field generators around the tower, this consumes all of Saten's learned abilities while it erases his very existence at the same time. Before he vanishes, he returns Eve to Gido, who cries out for him. 
24 "Cruz Schild"
"Kurusu ・ Shirudo" (クルス・シルト) 		December 10, 2009
Arclight, reborn as the "Second" using a mass of fragment cells, desires to annihilate all of humanity, even those with special abilities, to create a new world. After deeply damaging Cruz, Arclight easily defeats Blade, Teruyama, Set and Solva one by one, as they each come to fight him. However, when he tries to finish them all off, the fragment cells begin to reject his body at the top of the mass. Cruz is awakened by Eve's healing ability. The Simeon Girl Squadron join forces with the Blade Faction in an effort to stop Arclight, but they have no idea how to reach Arclight. Aruka suggests for Cruz to come up with a plan to reach Arclight before time runs out. The group is to create a catapult to get Blade to the top of the mass, each of them using their unique abilities. At the top, Blade uses his Byakugou on Arclight, finishing him off for good. 

Reception

The anime drew comparisons to the work of Hiroyuki Imaishi.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Anime of Kami Imai Needless Manga Reportedly Leaked". Anime News Network. 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  2. ↑ "Section23 Films Adds Needless TV Series". Anime News Network. 2010-11-09.
  3. ↑ "Section23 Films Announcs April Slate". Anime News Network. 2011-01-17.
  4. ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/needless/dvd-collection-1
  5. ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/needless-part-1/dvd
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