World War Blue

World War Blue (Japanese: 蒼い世界の中心で, Hepburn: Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de, lit. In the Center of the Blue World) is a Japanese fantasy manga series written by Anastasia Shestakova and illustrated by Crimson. The series is a re-imagining of the console wars between Sega and Nintendo featuring characters inspired by video games. An anime adaptation by 5th Avenue began airing in Japan on October 20, 2012.

World War Blue
Cover of the first manga volume
蒼い世界の中心で
(Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)
GenreFantasy[1]
Manga
Written byAnastasia Shestakova
Illustrated byCrimson
Published byRed Road
English publisher
ImprintMicro Magazine Comics
DemographicShōnen
Original run2007 – present
Volumes10
Anime television series
Directed byTetsuya Yanagisawa
Produced byCrimson (executive)
Uchiyama Shigeo
Takahashi Kōta
Sekido Kimoto?
Written byCrimson
Takao Fusō[2]
Music byTomohiko Kishimoto
Studio5th Avenue
Licensed by
Original networkTokyo MX, AT-X, TV Saitama
English network
Original run October 20, 2012 – April 4, 2013
Episodes3

Plot

A parody of the console wars, the series tells the story of two nations, the Segua Kingdom and Ninteldo Empire, locked in a struggle for dominance over the land of Consume. After years of war, the Segua Kingdom is on the defensive until a boy named Gear appears boasting of his incredible speed and powers, but what he does not know is that another person out there is more powerful than he is.

Characters

All of the characters are inspired by characters from various video game franchises.

Segua Kingdom
Gear (ギア, Gia)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (Japanese); Matt Shipman (English)[3]
A young man from Marcthree Village who possesses incredible speed. When he was young, his father left him to fight in the war; following the death of his friend Til, he too joins the Segua Army in order to get revenge against the Ninteldo Empire. His father is shown to be General Alex, Segua's strongest killer. He is based on the title character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and named after the Game Gear console.[4]
Nel (ネル, Neru)
Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese); Cait Page (English)[3]
A young girl with pointy ears who is Gear's childhood friend. After her parents were killed in the Marcthree massacre, she was taken in by Gear and Til. She thinks of Gear as her older brother. Nel is based on Nei from Phantasy Star II.[5]
Til (ティル, Tiru)
Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese); Clifford Chapin[6] (English)
Gear's best friend who was killed by Ninteldo soldiers, prompting Gear to get revenge. He is based on Tails from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.[7]
Opal (オパール, Opāru)
Voiced by: Izumi Kitta (Japanese); Brittany Lauda (English)[3]
An archer who is the second strongest in the Segua Special Forces. She prides herself on never missing with her arrows. She starts to fall in love with Gear after he shows her his true nature and strength. Opal is based on Opa-Opa from the Fantasy Zone series.[8]
Ramses (ラムセス, Ramusesu)
Voiced by: Yukiko Monden (Japanese); Theresa Buchheister (English)[3]
The lieutenant general of the Segua Army.

Ninteldo Empire
Marcus (マルクス, Marukusu)
Voiced by: Atsushi Ono (Japanese); Mike Pollock[9] (English)
The moustached general of the Ninteldo Empire, who helped it gain control of 90% of Consume. He is occasionally seen riding a green dinosaur named Yozu. Marcus is based on the title character from the Mario series.[10]
Zelig (ゼリグ, Zerige)
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese); Chris Niosi (English)[9]
One of the top soldiers of the Ninteldo Empire. He is based on Link from The Legend of Zelda series.[11]
Guliji (グリージ, Guriji)
Voiced by: Mike Pollock (English)[9]
Marcus' younger brother and a commander in the Ninteldo Army.
Fae (ファーエ, Fāe)
Voiced by: Amanda Lee (English)[9]
Masa (マーサ, Māsa)
Karvai (カーヴァイ, Kavai)
Voiced by: Kira Buckland (English)[9]
Saroid (サーロイド, Sāroido)
Foster (フォスタ, Fosuta)
Pirika (ピリカ, Pirika)

Other nations
Tejirov (テジロフ, Tejirof)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese); Y. Chang (English)[3]
A mercenary from the island of Lorgue who was once Ramses' upperclassman at the Puzzle Academy. He is able to produce magical barriers and has a tendency to make various dirty jokes. He is based on the Tetris game.[12]
Bays (ヴァイズ・ブル, Baizu Buru)
Voiced by: Kouta Ōshita (Japanese); Jack Paque (English)
A strong warrior of Tatrand.
Crystal (クリスタル)
Voiced by: Kyoko Narumi (Japanese); Michaela Laws (English)
The supreme queen of the Slovia Kingdom.

Media

Manga

The original manga by Anastasia Shestakova and illustrated by Crimson began release on Red Road's mobile service from 2007. Nine tankōbon volumes have been released as of 2012. Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed the series for release in North America. The first volume was released in Summer of 2013.[13]

Volume list
No. Title Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1Sonic the Brown Rat
Onsoku no Dobunezumi (音速のドブネズミ)		July 30, 2007[14]978-4904277072
2Z Zone
Zetto Zōn (Ｚゾーン)		October 4, 2007[15]978-4904277089
3Grease Heel
Gurīso Hiru (グリーソヒル)		December 30, 2007[16]978-4904277096
4Shining & Darkness
Shainingu ando Dakunesu (シャィ二ング&ダクネス)		July 10, 2008[17]978-4904277102
5The Beings of God Fell
Kami no Ochimono (神の落ちモノ)		December 25, 2008[18]978-4904277119
6-
- (-)		March 23, 2009[19]978-4904277126
7-
- (-)		March 23, 2009[20]978-4904277133
8-
- (-)		June 30, 2009[21]978-4904277140
9-
- (-)		December 12, 2009[22]978-4904277225

Anime

An anime adaptation was produced by 5th Avenue. The first episode was aired on Tokyo MX from October 20, 2012[1][23][24][25] and was also simulcast by Crunchyroll.[26] Episode 2 aired on December 27, 2012, and episode 3 aired on April 4, 2013.[27] On September 11, 2016, Media Blasters announced that they would dubbed and distribute the series.[28] On January 11, 2017, Toku announced that it will premiere the World War Blue anime series in February.[29][30] Later this month, was announced to begin on February 6.[31]

The opening theme is "Retrospective World" by Hiro Shimono and Nobuhiko Okamoto whilst the ending theme is "0 and 1's Flowers" (0と1の花, Zero to Ichi no Hana) by Izumi Kitta and Suzuko Mimori.

Episode list
# Title Original airdate English airdate
1"The Hard Wars of Consume"
"Konshūmu Tairiku Hādo Sensō" (コンシューム大陸厳しい戦争)		October 20, 2012 (2012-10-20)February 6, 2017
In the continent of Consume, two nations, the Segua Kingdom and the Ninteldo Empire, are at war with each other, with Ninteldo ruling over 90% of the continent due to the strength of their leader, General Marcus. In the Segua Kingdom, a boy named Gear travels with his childhood friend, Nel, to the capital, seeking to join the Segua Army in order to avenge the death of his best friend Tial at the hands of Ninteldo. Segua's vice-general, Ramses, tests Gear by pitting him against 50 of her soldiers, which he defeats instantly with his amazing speed. Impressed by his strength, Ramses enlists Gear in the special forces, alongside an archer named Opal, and tasks them with the mission of rescuing their strongest warrior, General Alex, who is being held prisoner in the Ninteldo-allied country of Tatrand. Later that night, Gear is called out by Opal, who doesn't approve of him and challenges him to a fight for his right to stay in the army. Gear manages to win instantly with a direct attack, earning her praise after he explains how he admires those who aim to go forward. The next morning, Ramses introduces the third special forces member, a somewhat perverted mercenary named Tejirov, who decides to train Gear for the operation, his barriers winning against Gear's speed.
2"Killer"
"Kirā" (キラー)		January 3, 2013 (2013-01-03)February 13, 2017
Tejirov trains Gear, Opal and Nel to use their "Killer" abilities, special skills possessed by only a small fraction of people in Consume. Ramses and Tejirov discuss the possibility that Gear is the son of a man named General Alex. Gear asks Tejirov about other Killers especially the strongest ones. The group start their mission to rescue General Alex from Hope Fortress. While on their way, they find a wounded Segua scout who asks to be "absorbed". Tejirof and Opal explain that Killers can absorb the life forces of others, gaining their strength, but that there are limits to how many one can absorb (Gear can absorb two). They are interrupted by the appearance of the Vaiz, one of Tatrand's Killers. Tejirov cages him in a wall of light so they can escape. Once inside the fortress, Opal plays decoy so the others can get past D. Fisher, another Tatrand Killer. Tejirov, Gear and Nel reach General Alex's cell, where Gear finds out that he is noneother than his father.
3"Lost Star & KID"
"Rosutosutā to kiddo" (ロストスター&KID)		April 4, 2013 (2013-04-04)February 20, 2017
Gear finds out that General Alex is his father, but cannot rescue him because of the wound Alex got in the cell. Tejirov tells Gear that he must instead absorb Alex. He refuses at first, but Alex said says he has no choice and forces Gear to touch him. Before he is absorbed, he tells Gear the story of his mother, the only killer Alex considered to be his equal, whom he had to absorb after they were so badly wounded in combat that they could only survive if one of them absorbed the other. Opal is left unable to move after her battle with D. Fisher and is nearly killed by Vaiz's brother Voiz, but it rescued by a newly energized Gear, who joins the siege on the fortress. Tejirov leaves to prevent Bays from interfering with Gear, leaving Opal in Nel's care, but Vaiz surrenders, remarking that the battle is already lost. In the end, Segua takes Hope Fortress, and Gear is given the nickname of "Blue Sonic", becoming infamous throughout both the Ninteldo empires and their allied countries.

References

Citations
  1. "Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de Fantasy Manga Gets Anime". Anime News Network. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  2. "スタッフ&キャスト" [Staff and Cast]. Micro Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  3. "Media Blasters Reveals English Dub Cast for World War Blue Anime". Anime News Network. November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. "Gear (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  5. "Nel (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  6. "Media Blasters Announces Additional World War Blue English Dub Cast". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. "Til (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  8. "Opal Zalpha (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  9. "Media Blasters Reveals More English Dub Cast for World War Blue Anime". Anime News Network. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  10. "Marcus (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  11. "Zelig (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  12. "Tejilof (Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de)". MyAnimeList.net.
  13. Seven Seas Declares World War Blue
  14. "Volume 1 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  15. "Volume 2 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  16. "Volume 3 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  17. "Volume 4 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  18. "Volume 5 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  19. "Volume 6 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  20. "Volume 7 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  21. "Volume 8 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  22. "Volume 9 Release Date". Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  23. "Nobuhiko Okamoto Leads Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de Cast". Anime News Network. 2012-08-11. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  24. "クリムゾン原作「蒼い世界の中心で」TVアニメは今秋開始". natalie.mu (in Japanese). 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  25. "Aoi Sekai Slated for October 20 Broadcast". Anime News Network. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  26. "Crunchyroll to Stream Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de Anime". Anime News Network. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  27. アニメーションシリーズ. 蒼い世界の中心で (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  28. https://twitter.com/Media_Blasters/status/781949811423600640
  29. "World War Blue Anime Premieres on TOKU This Month". Anime News Network. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  30. "Premieres are coming to TOKU in February!". TOKU on Youtube. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  31. "World War Blue Anime Premieres on TOKU on February 6". Anime News Network. 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

Sources
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