Magic Knight Rayearth
Magic Knight Rayearth ( jap.
action
Magic Knight Rayearth is split into two sequential storylines; the separation takes place between volume 3 and 4 (in the anime between episode 20 and 21).
Part 1
The three 14-year-old students Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are drawn into a parallel world called Cephiro during a class trip to the Tokyo Tower . There they learn that it is their fate to awaken the legendary Mashin and become Magic Knights in order to free the captured Princess Emeraude and thus save Cephiro. Otherwise they cannot return to their world. For this purpose they are given magical powers. Her opponent is the gloomy priest Zagato, whose motives remain in the dark for the time being. Accompanied by Mokona, a rabbit-like mythical creature, they fight against Zagato's servants. Through their friendship and the strength of their hearts they overcome all obstacles - because in the world of Cephiro the strength of the heart decides. Eventually they find the princess and learn that Zagato and Emeraude are lovers. The priest wanted to free Emeraude from her fate as a pillar , which ordered her to receive Cephiro with the power of her heart and to suppress all personal desires. Ultimately, the Magic Knights have to kill them both and return to their world in horror.
Part 2
Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are deeply unhappy with the outcome of their adventure and wish they could return again. Their wish suddenly comes true and the three meet old friends, former opponents and a new threat, because invaders from three other worlds named Othsam, Chizetha and Faleng try to become the new pillar and thus to conquer Cephiro. A competition begins in which all parties try to find their way to the pillar. Ultimately, Hikaru becomes the pillar and decides to abolish this system so that a tragedy like that of Princess Emeraude does not repeat itself. Even though they're still unhappy about Emeraude, they had to do it.
Characters
The Magic Knights
- Hikaru Shido ( 獅 堂 光 , Shidō Hikaru ) - Little Hikaru is spirited and the only one of the three who enthusiastically pounces on her Magic Knight task. She is the first to receive her magic powers, she uses fire magic. Since her parents a kendo - Dojo operate, Hikaru is a skilled swordsman. Her name means "light / glow of the lion shrine".
- Umi Ryuzaki ( 龍 咲 海 , Ryūzaki Umi ) - The elegant Umi is the only daughter of rich parents. At the beginning she looks a bit snobbish, but that later turns out to be wrong. She is hot-headed and constantly argues with Mokona. As a fencer, Umi already knows how to handle weapons. She also uses water magic. Her name means "sea of dragon flowers".
- Fuu Hooji (鳳凰 寺 風Hōōji Fū ) - Fuu is the most sensible of the three, she is smart and prudent. Her special weapon is the bow, as she operates Kyūdō . Fuu uses wind spells; In contrast to her friends, she not only has offensive magic, but also healing and defense spells. Her name means "Wind of the Phoenix Temple". She falls in love with Princess Emeraude's brother, Felio.
opponent
- Zagato - The Soru priest or high priest of Cephiro is a powerful magician and a former apprentice to Guru Clefs. He wanted to free Emeraude out of love and against her will from her existence as a pillar. He didn't care that by doing this he abandoned his world.
- Alcione - The sorceress was an apprentice Guru Clefs and assigned to the protection of Emeraude. She now serves Zagato because she loves him. But love is not mutual. She is the first opponent of the Magic Knights, but underestimates the children and is hit with a fire arrow by Hikaru. When she drags herself back to her lover, seriously injured, he turns away from her and leaves her to her fate. In the anime, Alcione does not die in the process, but has an appearance as Debonair's servant in part 2.
- Ascott - The Summoner. He still looks like a child himself, but has the ability to summon monsters. He calls them his friends and they are very important to him. Since everyone calls this monster evil and no one wants to understand that they are actually quite dear, Ascott is desperate. He then makes a deal with Zagato, which promises him that nothing more will happen to his monsters and that he can always play with them. So he attacks the Magic Knights, but Umi fights back his monsters and rebukes him. She makes it clear to him that he is throwing his "friends" into disaster and she can see how nice his monsters are. This impresses little Ascott and he wants to grow up very quickly. As a result, Ascott is in love with Umi in the second part, but she never notices.
- Eagle Vision - Eagle is an officer in Othsam's Army and commander of the battleship NSX. He is on his way to Cephiro to become a pillar - presumably to find a remedy for the increasing environmental pollution on his high-tech home world. Eagle knows the Pillar's duties, but is terminally ill and does not shy away from it. During a fight, Eagle gets into his fighting robot "FTO". His closest confidants are his first officer Geo Metro and the young mechanic Zazu Tork . Eagle's close relationship with Lantis (and Geo) is sometimes interpreted as homosexual , but this is in no way supported by official sources, as both he and Lantis have special feelings for Hikaru.
- Asuka - The Crown Princess of Faleng is still a child, but possesses considerable magical abilities. She wants to become a pillar of Cephiros, although she does not know what his duties are. Her friend San Yun and her old tutor Chan Anh are at her side .
- Tahta and Tatra - The two sisters are princesses of Chizetha. Tahta is a hothead and determined to become a pillar of Cephiros by all means in order to enlarge her country. Her older sister Tatra is much more relaxed and sometimes looks childlike and naive, but she also has a serious and wise side. In the fight, the two use the support of two Djinns , Rakuun and Rashiin .
Further
- Guru Clef - The small but centuries-old Clef is the greatest magician of Cephiros, but even he cannot save the world. He receives the three girls on arrival, explains the situation to them and gives them their first magical powers.
- Presea - Is the highest ranking Faru Forge Master. She makes the personal weapons of the Magic Knights from the legendary mineral escudo
- Mokona - Mokona resembles a large white rabbit with a red gem on its forehead. Mokona can only speak one word: “Puu!” - but the creature has a number of powers that the Magic Knights use enormously on their journey. It turns out that Mokona is the creator of Cephiros.
- Felio - A young man with a large sword who suddenly shows up and helps the Magic Knights for a while. It later turns out that he is the brother of Emeraude and Prince Cephiros. He falls in love with Fuu, and in the second part the two more or less officially become a couple.
- The Mashin or evil spirits - Mashin (魔神) means "magical god". They are very powerful beings who transform into giant robots and can then be used by other people as oversized combat suits. They are conscious and can communicate with their bearers. Each Magic Knight gets his mashin in the course of the first part: Hikaru gets Rayearth, whose real form is a huge flaming lion , Umi the dragon Ceres and Fuu the giant bird Windom. Other powerful people in Cephiro also own mashin.
- Kardina - She is a professional dancer and Laru warlock from the country of Chizetha who makes money through various assignments, so she met Zagato. Her manner is carefree and she actually doesn't want anything bad to anyone. At Zagato, she also met Rafalgar with whom she later had a liaison.
- Rafalgar - He is the strongest Daru swordsman and Emeraudes personal bodyguard. He was put under a spell by Zagato. Later he was in a relationship with Kardina.
- Lantis - The mysterious and silent Lantis is Zagato's younger brother and Cephiro's best Kairu magic knight. Before he went to Othsam he was in command of Princess Emeraude's bodyguard. He had a close relationship with his brother and has a special friendship with Eagle Vision. He is very fond of Hikaru and falls in love with her too. Around him there is always a little fairy or elf named Primera who is also very in love with him.
Origin and style
The manga was created on the initiative of an editor of Nakayoshi magazine , who was looking for a series for girls over the age of 12, as they no longer buy the magazine. In order to make the magazine more attractive to this somewhat older target group, the editor turned to Clamp, who at that time were already known for the series RG Veda and Tokyo Babylon . The artists borrowed the names of many of the characters from Japanese and international car brands, as these are easier for readers to remember.
The manga is kept in a detailed and filigree drawing style.
publication
The manga appeared in Japan from November 1993 to April 1996 in the manga magazine Nakayoshi published by Kodansha . The chapters were later published in six edited volumes.
Tokyopop published the manga in North America, Pika Édition in France and Planeta DeAgostini in Spain. There are also translations into Swedish, Portuguese and Italian. A German version was published by Carlsen Comics .
In November 2009 and April 2010 the series was republished in two 600-page anthologies by Carlsen.
Adaptations
Anime
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | 魔法 騎士 [マ ジ ッ ク ナ イ ト] レ イ ア ー ス Majikku Naito Reiāsu |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| year | 1994 |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 49 + 1 |
| genre | Magical girl , adventure , fantasy , shōjo |
| idea | CLAMP |
| production | Masahito Yoshioka, Michihiko Suwa, Shigeki Nakamura |
| music | Hayato Matsuo |
| First broadcast | October 17, 1994 - November 27, 1995 on Yomiuri TV |
In 1994 the Tokyo Movie Shinsha studio produced a 49-part anime television series and a television special under the direction of Toshihiro Hirano . The character design was created by Atsuko Ishida and the artistic direction was taken over by Tsutomu Ishigaki . The plot of the series differs from that of the manga in some places. On the one hand, this was due to the partially parallel production of anime and manga, which meant that not everything was coordinated, and on the other hand, some scenes were not allowed to be shown on television at the request of the producers, so that adjustments were necessary.
The series was aired from October 17, 1994 to November 27, 1995 by Japanese broadcaster Yomiuri TV . The anime has been translated into English, Spanish, French, and Italian, among others.
In 1997 the series was followed by an original video animation entitled Rayearth , which consists of three episodes of 45 minutes each. The production was directed by Keitaro Motonaga and Toshiki Hirano, the character design was created by Megumi Kadonosono . The plot is not based on the manga, and the characters sometimes have different roles. Here it is not the girls who travel to Cephiro, but the Cephiroans come to earth - most of them with hostile intentions. Once again, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu become Magic Knights and save the world. The OVA was also translated into several languages and was also published in German by Anime Virtual .
synchronization
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music
The music for the television series was composed by Hayato Matsuo. The opening songs are Yuzurenai Negai ( ゆ ず れ な い 願 い ) by Naomi Tamura, Kirai ni Narenai ( キ ラ イ に な れ な い ) by Ayumi Nakamura and Hikari to Kage o Dakishimeta mama ( 光 と 影 を ま ま た た め ) by Naomi ま め め . We used the songs for the Broadcast Asue no Yūki ( 明日への勇気 ) Keiko Yoshinari, Lullaby - Yasashiku Dakasete ( ら·ら·ば·い~優しく抱かせて~ ) of Minako Honda and Itsuka Kagayaku ( いつか輝く ) of Keiko Yoshinari.
The music for the OVA was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi, the credits All you need is love by Naomi Tamura.
Video game
A role-playing game for the Sega Saturn and the Super NES was released for the television series . The former was even localized for a release in the United States - the last SEGA Saturn title to appear in North America. There was also one game for Sega Pico , two for Game Boy and two for Sega Game Gear .
Merchandise
For the series, dolls, stationery, models, costumes, clocks and other items appeared in Japan. In addition, three art books for the manga, 4 script collections and 2 anime albums for the television series as well as several soundtracks were published.
Success and reception
According to an editor of Nakayoshi magazine, Magic Knight Rayearth saw a huge increase in sales and was a huge success.
According to the specialist magazine AnimaniA, the manga was able to inspire not only girls, but also many boys through the mixture of magical girl, action and adventure. The quality of the television series is very good for its time, even if it does not do justice to Clamp's drawings. The OVA was "graphically brilliant" and kept more gloomy than the series. The plot is kept quite simple compared to other works by the draftsman. But the story is full of surprising twists, profound and humorous.
Malindy Hetfeld from Splashcomics describes the main characters in the manga as "cute and personable" , but the characters are not very distinctive and not very convincing.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e AnimaniA No. 3/99 p. 26 ff.
- ↑ The Manga phenomenon. The history of the origins of Japanese comics and their significance for German publishers and libraries. Diploma thesis by Andrea Ossmann, 2004
- ↑ a b Malindy Hetfeld: Splashcomics Special: Magic Knight Rayearth. September 26, 2004, accessed July 3, 2009 .
- ^ Magic Knight Rayearth - Anthology Edition. Carlsen Verlag, accessed March 24, 2015 .
- ↑ MangasZene No. 13, p. 12
- ↑ Clamps Wonderworld No. 4, p. 14
- ↑ AnimaniA No. 38, p. 92
- ↑ AnimaniA No. 39, p. 96
- ↑ AnimaniA No. 2/2002, p. 37
Web links
- Anime News Network about the manga , the television series and the OVA (English)
- Magic Knight Rayearth on CLAMP's website (Japanese)