World War Blue

World War Blue (蒼い世界の中心で, 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.

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.

Consume continent

Segua Kingdom

Gear (ギア, Gia)

^[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)

^[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.^[4]

Til (ティル, Tiru)

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.^[4]

Opal (オパール, Opāru)

^[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.^[4]

Ramses (ラムセス, Ramusesu)

^[3]

The lieutenant general of the Segua Army. She is based on the Columns game.^[4]

Alex (アレックス, Arekkusu)

Gear's father, and general of the Segua Army who is considered the strongest killer. He is based on the title character from the Alex Kidd series.^[4]

Stella (ステラ, Sutera)

Gear's mother, and General Alex's wife.

Satanna Itsuna Segua (サターナ・イツナ・セグア)

The 5th queen of Segua Kingdom.

Sakira (サキラ)

Satanna's royal guard captain.

Gadra? (ガドラ)

The former king of Segua Kingdom, and Satanna's father.

Ninteldo Empire

Marcus (マルクス, Marukusu)

^[5]

The moustached general and emperor 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.^[4]

Zelig (ゼリグ, Zerigu)

^[5]

One of the top soldiers of the Ninteldo Empire. He is based on Link from The Legend of Zelda series.

Guliji (グリージ, Guriji)

^[5]

Marcus' younger brother, the prince of the Ninteldo Empire and a commander in the Ninteldo Army. Guliji is based on Luigi from the Mario series.^[4]

Fae (ファーエ, Fāe)/Miss Reset (ミス・リセット, Misu・Resetto)

^[5]

She is based on the Fire Emblem series.

Masa (マーサ, Māsa)

He is based on the Mother series.

Karvai (カーヴァイ, Kavai)

^[5]

She is based on the title character from the Kirby series.

Saroid (サーロイド, Sāroido)

She is based on Samus Aran from the Metroid series.

Foster (フォスタ, Fosuta)

He is based on Fox McCloud from the Star Fox series.

Doll Digorg? (ドル・ディゴルグ)

The original Ninteldo general who possesses extraordinary strength. He is based on the title character from the Donkey Kong series.

Digorg? Jr. (ディゴルグ・ジュニア)

Kusamura

It is a region south of Ninteldo, where a family of 151 siblings lives.

Pirika (ピリカ, Pirika)

She is based on Pikachu from the Pokémon series.

You (ユゥ, Yuu)

Lead daughter of the 151 siblings.

Illegal pirates

Fake Digorg? (偽ディゴルグ)

Fake Digorg? Jr. (偽ディゴルグ・ジュニア)

Fake Dash (偽ダッシュ)

Slovia

Crystal (クリスタル＝エフェレフ)

The supreme queen of the Slovia Kingdom. She is based on the crystals from the Final Fantasy series.

Garland (カーランド＝エフェレフ)

Babido Republic

Kichou Kazuo (キチョウ＝カズオ)

Bakudou Shiroko (バクドウ＝シロコ)

Decolian

Asimov East (アシモフ・イースト)

Akagi East (アカギ・イースト)

Hercule (ハーキュリー)

Blocks (ブロックス)

Tatoland/Tatrand

Bays (ヴァイズ・ブル, Baizu Buru)

A strong warrior of Tatrand. He is based on Bub and Bob from the Bubble Bobble series.

E-vazer? (イ・ベイザー)

The legendary invader that had invaded Consume continent.

Puzzle magical academy/Puzzle Academy

It is a school located at southwest end of the Consume continent.

Other continent

It is a continent north of Consume continent.

Rug Federation

It is a land with extremely cold weather. The currency is ruble.

Tejirov (テジロフ, Tejirof)

^[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.^[4]

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.^[6]

Complete version was published by Micro Magazine.

Volume list (doujin edition)

Volume list (complete edition)

Anime

An anime adaptation was produced by 5th Avenue. The first episode was aired on Tokyo MX from October 20, 2012^[1][7][8][9] and was also simulcast by Crunchyroll.^[10] Episode 2 aired on December 27, 2012, and episode 3 aired on April 4, 2013.^[11] On September 11, 2016, Media Blasters announced that they would dub and distribute the series. On January 11, 2017, Toku announced that it will premiere the World War Blue anime series in February.^[12][13] Later that month, was announced to begin on February 6.^[14]

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.

References

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. ^ Høgset, Stig. "Aoi Sekai no Chushin de". THEM Anime Reviews
5. ^ "Media Blasters Reveals More English Dub Cast for World War Blue Anime". Anime News Network. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
6. ^ "Seven Seas Declares World War Blue". Animenewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
7. ^ "Nobuhiko Okamoto Leads Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de Cast". Anime News Network. 2012-08-11. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
8. ^ "クリムゾン原作「蒼い世界の中心で」TVアニメは今秋開始" (in Japanese). natalie.mu. 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
9. ^ "Aoi Sekai Slated for October 20 Broadcast". Anime News Network. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
10. ^ "Crunchyroll to Stream Aoi Sekai no Chūshin de Anime". Anime News Network. 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
11. ^ "ja:アニメーションシリーズ" (in Japanese). 蒼い世界の中心で. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
12. ^ "World War Blue Anime Premieres on TOKU This Month". Anime News Network. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
13. ^ "Premieres are coming to TOKU in February!". TOKU on Youtube. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
14. ^ "World War Blue Anime Premieres on TOKU on February 6". Anime News Network. 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

External links

• Official (doujin series) website (in Japanese)
• Micro Magazine (complete edition) website (in Japanese)
• Micro Magazine (TV series) website (in Japanese)
• Seven Seas Entertainment page
• original story verification blog (in Japanese)