Silent Möbius

Silent Möbius

Volume 12 of the VIZ Media release, portraying the entire AMP.
サイレントメビウス
(Sairento Mebiusu)
Genre Action, Science fiction, Cyberpunk, Paranormal, Drama
Manga
Written by Kia Asamiya
Published by Fujimi Shobo
English publisher
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Comic Dragon
Original run 1989 – 1999
Volumes 12
Anime film series
Directed by Part 1:
Kazuo Tomizawa
Part 2:
Yasunori Ide
Written by Part 1:
Kei Shigema
Part 2:
Manabu Nakamura
Music by Kaoru Wada
Studio AIC
Licensed by
Released 1991 – 1992
Runtime Part 1:
54 minutes
Part 2:
58 minutes
Films 2
Anime television series
Directed by Hideki Tonokatsu
Written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki
Music by Jimmie Haskell
Studio Radix
Licensed by
Original network Animax, TV Tokyo
English network
Original run 7 April 1998 – 29 September 1998
Episodes 26

Silent Möbius (Japanese: サイレントメビウス, Hepburn: Sairento Mebiusu) is a twelve-volume manga series created by manga artist Kia Asamiya. Both anime versions have been licensed by Bandai Entertainment. It is heavily influenced by the film Blade Runner and is centered on the lives of a dedicated group of all-female police officers with protecting Tokyo from an invasion of extra-dimensional creatures called Lucifer Hawks.

The series has been adapted into animation twice, once as a pair of films and again as a 26 episode television series.

A new manga series started in 2013 which serves as a sequel to the original series. This series, titled Silent Möbius QD, ended in 2015.[1]

Story

The Attacked Mystification Police.

In 1999, Gigelf Liqueur, aided by the Magician's Guild, set into motion a plan to open a gate between Earth and the world of Nemesis. The intent was to exchange Earth's polluted air and water with clean air and water from Nemesis. To aid in this endeavor, a huge cyclotron was built under Tokyo. Unfortunately for all involved, Ganossa Maximilian—Gigelf's old apprentice—sabotaged the plan, opening the gate early and perverting the gate for his own means. Following this event, Gigelf and the Magician's Guild battled an invasion of Lucifer Hawk (the name for the inhabitants of Nemesis) for a number of years. Gigelf was killed in 2006 and it would seem that the rest of the Guild met similar fates over the next few years.

In 2023, Rally Cheyenne, daughter of Guild member Lufa Cheyenne and born of mixed heritage (her father was from Nemesis), felt partially responsible for the growing attacks on innocent humans by marauding creatures from Nemesis. She started the organization with a mere three officers (Kiddy Phenil, Lebia Maverick and Nami Yamigumo) and a sub-commander (Mana Isozaki). Over the next few years, she added Yuki Saiko, Katsumi Liqueur and Lum Cheng to the team, aiding in the fight to protect Earth from the vicious Lucifer Hawk.

Voice cast

Characters English Japanese
Katsumi Liqueur Nicole Oliver Naoko Matsui
Robert DeVice Barry Levy Kouichi Hashimoto
Mana Izosaki Caroline Savenkoff Mami Koyama
Grosspoliner Don Brown Kiyoshi Kawakubo
Lebia Maverick Ellen Kennedy Miho Nagahori
Yuki Saiko Kelly Sheridan Maya Okamoto
Kiddy Phenil Lisa Ann Beley Hiromi Tsuru
Nami Yamigumo Nicole Amos Chieko Honda
Lum Chang Nicole Oliver Akiko Hiramatsu
Rally Cheyenne Marcy Goldberg Toshiko Fujita
Ralph Bombers Paul Dobson Yasunori Matsumoto

Manga

The manga series started in 1989 and was published in the magazine "Comic Dragon". It ended in 1999 after 12 volumes. In 2013, Asamiya began a new Silent Mobius series, titled Silent Möbius QD, which takes place 17 years after the original story.[2]

It is published in English by Udon Entertainment; previously it was published in English by Viz Media.[3]

Adaptions

Films

Between 1991 and 1992, two animated film adaptions were produced by AIC. Part 1 was directed by Kazuo Tomizawa, and written by Kei Shigema. Part 2 was directed by Yasunori Ide and written by Manabu Nakamura. Kaoru Wada produced the scores for both series. These films have been compiled into a single film in some versions.

TV series

In 1998, a 26-episode animated TV series was produced by animation studio Radix. Hideki Tonokatsu served as director, while Hiroyuki Kawasaki served as writer. American composer Jimmie Haskell produced the score for the series. A second season was planned but it was canceled due to low ratings.

# Title Original air date
01 "Awake"
"Kakusei (=Awakening)" (覚醒) 		April 7, 1998
Rally Cheyenne, chief of the "Attacked Mystification Police", had invited Katsumi Liqueur to Tōkyō in order to give her new information about the death of Katsumi's mother Fuyuka. But right before the landing, the airplane with Katsumi on board is attacked by a demon, a "Lucifer Hawk". 
02 "Decide"
"Ketsudan (=Determination)" (決断) 		April 14, 1998
Katsumi is thinking about what Rally told her about the nature of the Lucifer Hawks; she still wants to be a normal woman, having nothing to do with all that supernatural stuff. While the AMP tries to hide Katsumi in a hotel, a Lucifer Hawk of Category 1 breaks their amulet seals and offers information to Katsumi about how her late father Gigelf, the most powerful mage of his time, is related to their existence in this world. 
03 "Tokyo Underground"
"Tōkyō no Soko (=The Basement of Tōkyō)" (東京の底) 		April 21, 1998
Katsumi lacks police skills because of her office worker life. In order to give her a crash course of police work, the AMP requests the assistance of Mobile Police member Robert de Vice who just returned from arrest because of insubordination. 
04 "Break-In"
"Bureiku-in (=Break-in)" (ブレイク·イン) 		April 28, 1998
During a battle against a Lucifer Hawk, Katsumi disobeys orders and attempts to defeat the enemy in a solo stunt, infuriating the other team members, most notably Kiddy Phenyl. Yuki Saiko, the AMPs "good spirit", goes out to settle things and manages to keep the AMP members' friendship alive and firm. 
05 "Let's Have A Party"
"Paati no Yoru (=The Night of the Party)" (/ パーティの夜) 		May 5, 1998
Due to certain incidents and jurisdiction issues, AMP's reputation amongst the other police departments is far from being positive. Yuki Saiko decides that a party might help to relieve some tensions. Roy de Vice even receives his own personal invitation from Katsumi, but police inspector Ralph Bowmers remains more than skeptical. 
06 "Megadyne"
"Owari Naki Tatakai (=Endless Battle)" (終わりなき戦い) 		May 12, 1998
Despite their previous animosities, Ralph Bowmers and Kiddy Phenyl have begun dating each other. But when Ralph tells Kiddy about his newest case, a Megadyne cyborg named Wire, Kiddy is faced with a gloomy part of her past. 
07 "Kagome Kagome"
"Ushiro no Shōmen (=Behind the Facade)" (うしろの正面) 		May 19, 1998
AMP member Nami Yamigumo is taken home by her older sister Nana to her underground Shinto temple where she is meant to follow family tradition and find out about herself. 
08 "Yes, My Master"
"Keishō (=The Succession)" (継承) 		May 26, 1998
Once again a Lucifer Hawk tries to make Katsumi side with him, when her own magical dagger (a present from her mother) suddenly turns against her and she gets hurt. Later, Katsumi hears a powerful voice that she cannot resist to follow. 
09 "Tokyo Antique"
"Katsute Ai Shita Machikado (=A Street Corner that once was Subject to Love)" (かつて愛した街角) 		June 2, 1998
Katsumi's apartment has been damaged by the recent battles against Lucifer Hawks. While in search for a new home, she tries to stay at different AMP member's location, which turns out to be troublesome. 
10 "XRP-77"
"Meikyū no Kioku (=Memories of a Labyrinth)" (迷宮の記憶) 		June 9, 1998
When the TV news report a case of two young women having been mysteriously killed, Yuki Saiko has to face a part of her childhood than she hoped to have buried forever. 
11 "Alice in Logic-Space"
"Kikai Shikake no Arisu (=Alice's Machine Mechanism)" (機械仕掛けのアリス) 		June 16, 1998
The Tokyo computer network malfunctions. Is this a terrorist attack or a game? And who is that Cheshire cat laughing from Lebia Maverick's computer terminal? 
12 "Sister"
"Norowareta Kizuna (=A Cursed Bond)" (呪われた絆) 		June 23, 1998
While LH attack various locations in Tōkyō, the important events take place in Rally Cheyenne's AMP headquarter—and damage is done. 
13 "Category 4"
"Daiyon no Yōma (=A Demon of the Fourth Type)" (第四の妖魔) 		June 30, 1998
Katsumi Liqueur has left the AMP and lives together with Roy de Vice now. But when the TV stations report about the Lucifer Hawks of Category 4 (hybrids between humans and Lucifer Hawks), she is made aware that she must make a choice about her own identity. 
14 "Möbius Klein"
"Jokyoku (=Prelude)" (序曲) 		July 7, 1998
At long last, Rally Cheyenne tells Katsumi Liqueur what happened back in the days of the Silent Crisis, what Katsumi's father Gigelf tried to achieve with the "Project Gaia", and how Gigelf's former assistant Ganossa Maximilian interfered in order to turn our world into a hell. 
15 "Lum Cheng"
"Kaorun no Shōjo (=The Girl from Kowloon)" (九竜の少女) 		July 14, 1998
The Chinese elemental mage and self-acclaimed Feng Shui master Lum Cheng, granddaughter of old Magician's Guild member Avalanche Wong, joins the AMP as their sixth team member. However, she proves uncooperative and takes a strong dislike to Katsumi who remembers her own problems when she was new there, and decides to teach Lum Cheng how to live in this town. 
16 "Labyrinth"
"Koku no Meikyū (=The Labyrinth of Time)" (刻の迷宮) 		July 21, 1998
Yuki's fight with a Lucifer Hawk has an unexpected result: she is hurled 30 years into the past, to a pre-apocalyptic Tōkyō! With seemingly no way of returning to her normal lifetime, she is taken in by a young man, Tōru Washio. 
17 "Destiny"
"Musubiau Yūbe (=The Evening of the Final Encounter)" (結びあう夕べ) 		July 28, 1998
Kiddy Phenyl finds herself framed for murder and is on the run with the police ordered to shoot her on sight. But Ralph Bowmers is confident that she is innocent and undertakes an investigation of his own. 
18 "DOMULL"
"Wakare Yuku Yoru (=The Night of Separation)" (別れゆく夜) 		August 4, 1998
Something strange is going on after the Mobile Police Division goes into top secret mode after an incident involving a mass murder with only one survivor. Roy de Vice and Ralph Bowmers are both suspicious of their superiors, while Lebia Maverick is assigned to investigate for AMP. 
19 "Back of a Coin"
"Sasurai no Hate (=The End of the Wanderings)" (さすらいの果て) 		August 11, 1998
Katsumi is troubled by Roy's vow that if she ever becomes possessed by her Lucifer Hawk side, he will kill both her and himself. Lum Cheng uses an unusual tactic to cheer her up. Later, Ganossa Maximilian attempts to use Katsumi and Roy's very real love for each other to his advantage. 
20 "LOVE"
"Ai (=Love)" (愛) 		August 18, 1998
Katsumi and Roy struggle to escape from Ganossa, and in so doing realize their love for one another. But their problems have just begun... 
21 "Dark Side of the Moon"
"Tsuki no Umareta Yoru (=The Night when the Moon was Reborn)" (月の生まれた夜) 		August 25, 1998
During the six months following the death of Roy De Vice there have been no serious Lucifer Hawk incidents and the importance of AMP has been drastically downgraded. After being missing for all this time, Katsumi finally shows up again. However, based on some disturbing comments made by AMP's second chief Mana Isozaki, Kiddy is uncertain as to whether she can be trusted anymore. 
22 "CRYING"
"Anten (=A Turn to the Worse)" (暗転) 		September 1, 1998
Katsumi seems to be in anguish over Lebia being seriously injured, but Mana and Rally wonder if she may have intentionally caused the accident herself. They fear that she has been possessed by the demon sword "Medium", and staged the crash to remove the most skillful defender of the Police computer files. This would enable Ganossa to seize the "Avalanche files" about Project Gaia—something he absolutely needs. 
23 "Life Again"
"Saisen Seshimono (=Reactivation)" (再生せしもの) 		September 8, 1998
What with Katsumi a traitor and AMP about to be disbanded, morale is low. Yuki cannot believe what has happened and her abilities are out of control. Kiddy gets a disturbing piece of information from Ralph. Along with Lum Cheng and Lebia she is dispatched to the huge Cyclotron below the town—and the three are shocked by what they find. 
24 "HELL ROAD"
"Jigoku e no Michi (=The Road to Hell)" (地獄への途) 		September 15, 1998
The AMP team is in a shambles, with Katsumi having turned into their most powerful enemy and the ESPer Yuki being driven to hysteria by her visions about different possible futures. Rally is summoned by Ganossa to meet him alone; she goes, despite knowing that this is in all likelihood a trap. And then another AMP member turns out not to be what she appeared to be. 
25 "Count Down"
"Shitō (=Battle to the Death)" (死闘) 		September 22, 1998
As AMP headquarters is steadily taken over by the Lucifer Hawks, Kiddy and Lum Cheng confront Katsumi and conclude that attempting to reason with her is hopeless. Mana decides to employ the desperate L-Mission self destruct program in hopes of destroying the Hawks en masse. The building, and later Tōkyō as a whole, is ordered to be evacuated. But the AMP members are torn between obeying orders to flee and attempting to rescue their comrades. 
26 "TOMORROW"
"Kibō (=Hope)" (希望) 		September 29, 1998
Katsumi is horrified by what she finds after breaking out of Medium's control. At a press conference, the government comes clean about the existence of Lucifer Hawks and AMP. The AMP crew takes stock and vows to continue onwards to total victory over the Hawks. 

References

  1. ↑ "Silent Möbius QD Manga to End". Anime News Network. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-07-08/silent-mobius-qd-paranormal-police-sequel-manga-to-launch
  3. ↑ Aoki, Deb. "Udon to Publish New Editions of Silent Möbius Manga." About.com. Saturday February 21, 2009. Retrieved on September 5, 2009.

Further reading

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