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Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor
(蒼穹のファフナー: Dead Aggressor, Sōkyū no
Fafner: Dead Aggressor
?) is a 26-episode anime series produced by Xebec. The story focuses
on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an
escalating war against giant aliens called Festum.
The character designs were created by Hisashi Hirai, who is also known for his
work on Infinite
Ryvius, s-CRY-ed, Gundam SEED, and Gundam SEED Destiny.
Plot
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 Tatsumiyajima and attacks. The adults activate
Tatsumiyajima's hidden defence systems and attempt to repel the
attacker but to no avail. In desperation they order the deployment
of 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 Soushi Minashiro
from within the Siegfried System.
The Festum is destroyed but with Tasumiyajima's whereabouts
exposed the adults choose to abandon the island's current location.
Production is accelerated on the additional Fafner units and more
children are recruited to pilot them. It is also revealed that the
cloaking was not meant to conceal Tatsumiyajima from only the
Festum, but the rest of humanity who would seek to use its
technology in the greater war against them. Before long this is
precisely what happens and Tatsumiyajima is coerced into giving the
Fafner Mark Sechs to the Neo United Nations.
Fafner
Types
- Fafner Mark Elf (XI)- Kazuki's boarding
machine. Capable of atmospheric flight to a certain extent.
- Fafner Mark Acht (VIII)- Relatively basic
Fafner used by Kenji Kondō.
- Fafner Mark Sieben (VII)- Flight-capable
Fafner based around the Mark Sechs. It is piloted by Maya
Tōmi.
- Fafner Mark Sechs (VI)-Flight-capable in
atmosphere. Used very briefly by Shōko in Episode 6.
- Fafner Mark Funf (V)- Defense-use Fafner
equipped with the Aegis Shield. Used by Mamoru Kodate.
- Fafner Mark Vier (IV)- Heavy assault unit
briefly used by Kōyō Kasugai.
- Fafner Mark Drei (III)- Specialized Fafner
used by Sakura Kaname. Can charge energy into its right hand to use
the "Fafner Finger" attack. Later piloted by Canon Memphis.
- Fafner Megatherion model- Michio's Fafner,
which is very different from the Nothung models made by Tatsumiya.
This model is made by the Neo UN.
- Fafner Babylon model- Kanon's Fafner, which is
very different from the Nothung models made by Tatsumiya. This
model is made by the Neo UN.
- Fafner Gnosis model- The mass-production
Fafner models made by the Neo UN. Their reliability is
questionable. Their armaments consist of a right-arm Machine gun
and a left-arm beam cannon, which, as seen in the anime, are mostly
useless against even the most common Sphinx-type Festums.
- Fafner ? model- A second mass-production
Fafner of the Neo UN seen during Operation Heaven's Door which is
capable of flight. Might be Megatherion units.
- Fafner Mark Sein- Initially supposed to be
piloted by Michio Hino, it became Kazuki's second boarding machine,
delivered to him by a Festum in Master Form (Festums that take on
human appearance) after Mark Elf was captured by the Neo UN and its
core implanted into Mark Sein. The Festum in question is called
Mjolnir and is the Festum his mother Akane Makabe merged with, thus
having her looks. This unit changed form and abilities drastically
after 'melting' inside a Festum, which among other things made it
pilotable only by Kazuki.
- Fafner Mark Nicht- A Salvator-model Fafner
created by the Neo UN. It is a black version of the Mark Sein's
original form using the core of the sunken remnaints of the Mark
Vier. It was intended to be piloted by Yukie Kariya during
Operation Heaven's Door, but it was stolen by the Master Form
Festum Idun. It shares abilities from both Mark Sein and the
Festum.
- Fafner Titan Model (TSX)- Seen in Right of
Left piloted by Ryō and his classmates, it appears to be a
pre-production model Fafner. At least four were produced. The
Assimilation Phenomenon also appears to be accelerated when using
the Titan models. Armaments seems to consist of Arm Machineguns, a
prototype version of the Ruga Lance simply called Naginata, and a
multi-tube Missile launcher.
- Fafner Mark I- This appears to be the first
Nothung Model made by Tatsumiya island. It was supposed to be
piloted by Sōshi Minashiro (as seen in Right of Left), but
apparently he can't use it because of his scarred eye. It's a basic
unit that became Michio's after the destruction of the
Megatherion.
- Fafner Mark II- Also seen in Right of Left. It
appears to have been built at the same time as the Mark I as their
piloting tests were at the same time and they seem to have
virtually identical configurations. This was Karin Kuramae's unit
which she tried to board in the first episode. Most if it were used
to repair/rebuild Mark Elf after Kazuki's first battle.
- Zero Fafner- The prototype Fafner model only
mentioned in official background information. After its initial
test phase some high ranking members of Alvis defected to the Neo
UN.
- Mk.I-III+XI apparently share the same body design, as do Mk.VI
& VII and IV & VIII, respectively, according to the
Memorial Book.
- Considering there was less left of Mk.VII than of Mk.XI after
their respective near-destructions, it is safe to assume that one
of the two unseen Fafner Nothung model units (Mk.IX & X) was
used for its reconstruction.
Weapons
These are all listed and used in the anime and/or
game.
- Aegis Shield- Mounted on protectors either on
the shoulders or the back. It is essentially a portable Welle
Shield, and is used to block Festum attacks.
- Cluster Bomb
- Dimension Gun- A large cannon/bazooka type
weapon capable of inflicting a large amount of inter-dimensional
damage. Can only fire one shot. Appears only in the game.
- Dragon Tooth- A high-caliber sniper rifle with
a 'tooth' to dig into the ground for stability.
- Durandal- A small sidearm for taking on light
targets. Ineffectual against Festums.
- Electromagnetic Launcher - A railcannon type
weapon. It is usually referred to as the "Rail Gun".
- Fafner Finger- Used by Mark Drei initially.
Concentrating energy into its right hand, the Fafner shoves it
through the Festum's core, destroying it. It highly resembles the
"god finger" attack used by the God Gundam.
- Fenrir System- A self-destruct system that is
assumed to activate automatically, should the Fafner be
assimilated. It creates a miniaturized black hole similar to the
Festums upon detonation.
- Fire Drake
- Garm-44- A semi-automatic rifle with 100
rounds, scaled to Fafner size.
- Gegner- A small energy weapon, used typically
against small Festums.
- Gelatic Bullet-
- Lindwurm- The Fafner's carrier-type vehicle.
It is guided by the Siegfried System. Its armaments include Missile
Pods, Grapple Pods, and a rotating Laser Cannon.
- Long Sword- Mounted in a compartment within
the Lindwurm. A solid shaft with a laser-edge running up the blade.
Proved to be marginally effective against Festums.
- Medusa- A shoulder mounted energy cannon.
Contains considerable power, comparable to that of the Lindwurms
Tail Laser Cannon.
- Mine Blade- A short laser-edged knife. The
blade is apparently made of nanomachines and can reshape itself, if
broken. It bears an uncanny resemblance to the 'progressive knife'
of the renowned series Evangelion in both appearance and use.
- Piram- A handheld spike launcher. Once the
spike hits the target, it sends an electric charge through the
cable to damage or immobilize it.
- Punch- A basic punching attack. Usually aided
by a piston to provide more of a kick.
- Razing Cutter- Small wires stored in the
Fafner's knuckles that shoot out and envelope enemies. The wires
can be charged to cut through materials.
- Ruga Lance- The Fafner's main weapon. Usually
used as a sword, but can be expanded to open a gap. Once a gap is
made, an energy shot can be launched.
- Scorpion
- Thermotics Blade
Cast and
Crew
Media
Anime
The series features two pieces of theme music. Angela performed the opening theme
entitled "Shangri-La" and the ending theme "Separation". [1]
Sōkyū no Fafner: RIGHT OF LEFT, a 50-minute prequel
special to the television series, aired on December 29, 2005. The
opening theme "Piece of Mind" for the special was also performed by
Angela. [2]
A new project has been announced under the name "Fafner: Dead
Agressor: Heaven and Earth," which will start in 2010.
The main series was licensed by U.S publisher Geneon, who published it
under the shortened title Fafner.
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.
Video
games
Fafner in the Azure was adapted into a video game
released for the Playstation
Portable in early 2005. It follows almost directly to the
storyline 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).
It also came out in Super Robot Taisen K for NDS at 2009.
Reception
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.
See also
References
External
links
Madman
Entertainment
Geneon
TV Tokyo
Wikis
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