Fafner in the Azure

Fafner in the Azure
Japanese DVD cover art of the first volume
蒼穹のファフナー (Sōkyū no Fafner)
Genre	Drama, Mecha, Sci-Fi
Anime television series
Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor
Directed by	Nobuyoshi Habara
Produced by	Gou Nakanishi Takashi Noto Takatoshi Chino
Written by	Yasuo Yamabe (Series Composition) Kazuki Yamanobe (Script, episodes 1-15) Tow Ubukata (Script, episodes 12-25)
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Xebec
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation
Original network	TV Tokyo
English network	US Funimation Channel
Original run	July 4, 2004 – December 26, 2004
Episodes	26
Light novel
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Illustrated by	Hisashi Hirai
Demographic	Male
Imprint	Dengeki Bunko
Published	January 10, 2005
Original video animation
Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left
Directed by	Nobuyoshi Habara
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Xebec
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation
Released	December 29, 2005
Runtime	51 Minutes
Manga
Illustrated by	Mikami Akitsu
Published by	Mediaworks
English publisher	Digital Manga Publishing
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Dengeki Daioh
Original run	April 27, 2005 – January 27, 2006
Volumes	2
Anime film
Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth
Directed by	Toshimasa Suzuki
Produced by	Gou Nakanashi
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Xebec
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation
Released	December 25, 2010
Runtime	88 Minutes
Anime television series
Fafner in the Azure: Exodus
Directed by	Nobuyoshi Habara
Produced by	Gou Nakanishi Kotaro Sudo Ryu Hashimoto
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Xebec, XEBECzwei
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation
Original network	MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS
English network	SEA Animax Asia
Original run	January 8, 2015 – December 26, 2015
Episodes	26
Manga
Written by	Xebec
Illustrated by	Tomomi Matsushita
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Sirius
Original run	Fall 2014 – present
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Fafner in the Azure: The Beyond[1]
Directed by	Takashi Noto
Produced by	Gou Nakanishi
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Music by	Tsuneyoshi Saito
Studio	Xebec, XEBECzwei
Original run	2017 – scheduled

Fafner in the Azure (Japanese: 蒼穹のファフナー, Hepburn: Sōkyū no Fafunā) is a 2004 Japanese mecha drama anime series produced by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. It is directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and written by Yasuo Yamabe, Kazuki Yamanobe and Tow Ubukata (Le Chevalier D'Eon, Mardock Scramble) with character designs from Hisashi Hirai (Infinite Ryvius, s-CRY-ed, Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny, Linebarrels of Iron) and mecha designs by Naohiro Washio. It aired in TV Tokyo from July 4, 2004 to December 26, 2004 for 26 episodes.

The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The anime is subtitled Dead Aggressor. A television special subtitled RIGHT OF LEFT aired on December 29, 2005, a feature film subtitled HEAVEN AND EARTH had a theatrical release in Japan on December 25, 2010 and a sequel subtitled EXODUS, which aired in MBS and several stations on January 8, 2015. The series heavily borrow elements from Norse Mythology, referencing some of the terminology used.

Plot

Fafner in the Azure (2004)

Main article: List of Fafner in the Azure characters

At the beginning of the story, much of the world has been destroyed by the Festum and the remote Japanese island of Tatsumiyajima (竜宮島, lit. Dragon Palace Island) has only remained unscathed by virtue of an advanced cloaking shield. The island's young people continue with their daily lives unaware of these events, but after many years of peace a lone Festum discovers Tatsumiya and attacks. The adults activate Tatsumiya's hidden defense systems and attempt to repel the attacker but to no avail. Many of them are killed by the Festum in a process of assimilation. In desperation, they order the deployment of a mecha called the Fafner Mark Elf, but its pilot is killed en route to the hangar. Left with no further options, they send a young boy named Kazuki Makabe as the replacement pilot assisted by Sōshi Minashiro from within the Siegfried System.

The Festum is destroyed, but with Tatsumiya Island's whereabouts exposed, the adults choose to relocate the island. Production is accelerated on additional Fafner units and more children are recruited to pilot them. It is also revealed that the cloaking was not meant to conceal Tatsumiya Island from only the Festum, but from the rest of humanity who would seek to use its technology in the greater war against them.

Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left (2005)

A prequel to the first series. Yumi Ikoma and Ryou Masaoka are children who have been selected to take part in a top secret mission, to be the pilots of the first Fafner combat units; the last chance of survival for the human race. The enemy is ruthless, remorseless and is able to read the minds of humans. Therefore, the details of this mission are kept a secret even from the personnel involved. The young pilots must use all their courage and faith in order to survive and complete their mission or the fate of mankind would be compromised.

Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth (2010)

The year is 2148. Two years after the end of the original Fafner in the Azure TV series, Tatsumiya Island and its surviving residents have returned to some semblance of recovery. However, things have become desperate for our hero, Kazuki; nearly blind now, and partially crippled from his battles with the Festum two years earlier, he clings to the promise his fallen friend Sōshi made to him to return to the island and set things right again. Kazuki's hopes flare when a lifeform is detected within an unmanned submarine that comes floating into Tatsumiya Bay one night, but the person aboard isn't Sōshi; it is a mysterious "boy" named Misao Kurusu who may not be entirely human, and who claims to have been sent by Sōshi. With Misao's arrival, hostilities break out anew between the Human Army and the Festum, and the Fafner pilots are thrown into the most desperate battle of their lives - this time, with the fate of TWO races riding on their shoulders.

Fafner in the Azure: Exodus (2015)

2150 A.D. The fight against the Festum, a silicon-based alien lifeform that destroyed much of the world, enters a new phase. The first Azure Operation crushed the Artic Mir, scattering its pieces around the world. Soon those fragments began to act of their own volition. While the majority of the Mir wage war, embracing a hatred for mankind, some of the Festum chose to co-exist with humanity. There were humans who also thought it was possible. Mankind and the Festum, co-existing. The concept questioned the very reason for the war, giving birth to even more hatred. This is no longer simply a fight between humans and the Festum.

Under such circumstances, Tatsumiya Island disappeared from the front lines, going silent. Through the encounter with Misao Kurusu two years ago, the island had a means to converse with the Mir. It gave the island a unique capability. The children of ALVIS, prepared for battle, sought a way to better understand the enemy.

And now, a new chapter is about to begin on the island. A girl who understands the Festum language. A girl the Festum protected. When the two meet, they will open the door to a new world...

Media

Anime

Main article: List of Fafner in the Azure episodes

The series features two pieces of theme music and one insert theme. Angela performed the opening theme entitled "Shangri-La", the insert theme "Proof" in episode 15, and the ending theme "Separation". Sōkyū no Fafner: RIGHT OF LEFT, a 50-minute prequel special to the television series, aired on December 29, 2005. The ending theme "Peace of Mind" for the special was also performed by Angela. The TV series was originally licensed by Geneon under the shortened title, Fafner, but has since been out of print.^[2] The series is set make its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel on October 29, 2012.^[3]

A film, titled Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor: Heaven and Earth premiered in Japan on December 25, 2010. Once again, Angela performed all theme songs (image, opening and insert) for the film. "FORTUNES" and "Rikai to Hakai e no Prelude (Prelude to Comprehension and Destruction)" are used as image theme song for the movie. "Sōkyū (Azure)" is used as ending theme and "Sayonara no Toki Kurai Hohoen de (At Least, Smile When We Are Saying Goodbye)" is used as insert theme for the movie.

A twitvideo post from lead vocalist Atsuko announced that a sequel to the Fafner in the Azure series has been green-lit for production. The announcement was originally made at the live streaming event, Soukyuu Sakusen, which was for the film. The sequel, titled, Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor -EXODUS-, was released in 2015.^[4][5] It takes place two and a half years after Heaven and Earth. A sequel, titled Fafner in the Azure: The Beyond, was announced at the Sōkyū no Fafner Soshi Minashiro Birthday Festival in Yokohama in December 29, 2016. A teaser trailer of the sequel was officially streamed on January 6, 2017.^[6]

At New York Anime Festival/New York Comic Con 2011, Funimation Entertainment had announced that both the TV series and film were both licensed and will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2012.^[7]

Light novel

A novelization of the series was written by Tow Ubukata, and featured illustrations by Hisashi Hirai. It was published in English by Digital Manga Publishing.

Manga

Two manga adaptations of the Fafner in the Azure story have been released and they both share the same title as the TV series.

The first one is illustrated by Mikami Akitsu. It ran in Dengeki Daioh magazine from July 4, 2004 to December 26, 2004 and was collected into two tankōbon volumes by MediaWorks. Digital Manga Publishing licensed this manga for release in North America and published the volumes on July 7, 2010 and April 30, 2011.

The second one is illustrated by Tomomi Matsushita. It's currently being serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Shōnen Sirius magazine. As of November 2015, it has been collected into three tankōbon volumes.

Music and Drama CD

Numerous soundtracks, drama CDs and character CDs have been released for the series.

Fafner features music composed by Tsuneyoshi Saito and performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

Japanese band angela consistently write and perform all of Fafner's opening, insert and ending theme songs that achieve strong sales and popularity. They also released a Fafner tribute album titled "Yakusoku" (約束, lit. "Promise") on December 25, 2008, celebrating the series' fifth anniversary.

Video games

Fafner in the Azure was adapted into a video game released for the PlayStation Portable in early 2005. It follows the storyline of the first season almost directly with two bonus missions and also features new weapons such as the dimension gun. It offers a unique style of gameplay being a 3-Dimensional, real-time Role-Playing-Game (RPG).

In 2009, the series made its debut into the long-running Super Robot Wars series as a part of Super Robot Wars K for the Nintendo DS. It returned in 2013 in Super Robot Wars UX for the Nintendo 3DS, which also marks the debut of the series' movie sequel, Heaven and Earth.

See also

• Fafnir - a character in Norse Mythology who turns himself into a dragon to protect its treasure.
• Fenrir - a monstrous wolf in Norse Mythology who is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök.
• Mjölnir - Hammer of the god Thor, one of the most fearsome weapons in Norse Mythology.

References

External links

• Sōkyū no Fafner: Dead Aggressor Official Japanese website (in Japanese)
• Sōkyū no Fafner: Heaven and Earth Official Japanese website (in Japanese)
• Sōkyū no Fafner: Heaven and Earth Official English website (in English)
• Sōkyū no Fafner: EXODUS Official Japanese website (in Japanese)
• Sōkyū no Fafner: EXODUS Official English website (in English)
• Sōkyū no Fafner: Dead Aggressor (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Sōkyū no Fafner: Dead Aggressor Official Chronology (in English)