Xenosaga: The Animation
Xenosaga: The Animation | |
ゼノサーガ THE ANIMATION (Zenosāga: Za Animēshon) | |
---|---|
Genre | Mecha |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Shigeyasu Yamauchi Tsuyoshi Kouga (chief director) |
Written by | Yuichiro Takeda |
Music by | Funimation Entertainment (2008–present) |
Original network | TV Asahi |
English network | |
Original run | January 5, 2005 – March 23, 2005 |
Episodes | 12 |
Xenosaga: The Animation (
The anime was created mostly without the involvement of Namco following the success of the first game, though any new characters were created with Namco's permission. The characters were redrawn for the anime by
Plot
The story of Xenosaga: The Animation is based on the narrative of Xenosaga Episode I, a game developed for the PlayStation 2 by Monolith Soft and Namco.[1][2][3] Set in a science fiction reality thousands of years in the future, humanity lives in multiple planets forming the Galaxy Federation after being forced to abandon Earth following a disaster tied to a mystical artifact called the Zohar; Earth has since become known as Lost Jerusalem. Humanity has come under attack from a hostile alien race called the Gnosis, which is immune to normal weapons. The narrative follows Shion Uzuki, a scientist working for Vector Industries, and the anti-Gnosis battle android KOS-MOS. The two are driven from their ship the Woglinde by a Gnosis attack triggered after the Woglinde picked up the Zohar.[1][3] The anime roughly follows the plot of Episode I, although some events are altered or condensed.[4]
Production
An anime adaptation of Xenosaga was initially unplanned, but after the game's commercial success worldwide, an anime adaptation was commissioned.[5] The anime was produced by Toei Animation, in association with TV Asahi and under supervision from Namco and the Xenosaga production team. The series was directed by Tsuyoshi Koga and co-produced by Satoko Matsuda and Takao Yoshizawa. The supervising director was Shigeyasu Yamauchi, who had acted as a director for the Ojamajo Doremi and Saint Seiya series. The script was written by Yuichiro Takeda, an anime scriptwriter who had worked on Banner of the Stars and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar.[2][6][7] Character designs were handled by Nobuteru Yūki, whose previous work included Record of Lodoss War. Mech designs were created by Hiroyuki Taiga, who had worked on Beast Wars: Transformers.[7] The character designs were meant to emulate the artstyle of Episode I while adjusting them to be distinct from the originals.[2][4]
No staff from the original game's production were involved in creating the anime. While all the original characters were included, some original characters were created and incorporated by Toei under approval from the game's developers.[5] Due to the twelve-episode run, some elements of the plot of Xenosaga Episode I needed to be altered, or were changed by the staff of the anime as long as they did not stray too far from the source material. Some aspects were also incorporated based on future developments in Xenosaga Episode II. Character roles were shifted around, such as Shion's brother Jin Uzuki being introduced and featured in a larger role, and supporting character Luis Virgil being given a much larger role in the overall narrative. Other minor characters such as Miyuki were removed entirely.[4] A major scene from the game, the discovery of the Zohar on Earth, was left out of the anime. Despite this, the policy was to keep in as much of the original game's plot and scenes as possible, right down to the unresolved mysteries presented in the game.[5]
The anime's soundtrack was composed by
Release
Xenosaga: The Animation was first announced in November 2004.
Reception
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2011) |
The anime received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics.
Legacy
Following the end of production on the anime, Takeda was asked by series creator Tetsuya Takahashi to write the script for Xenosaga I & II, a re-imagining of the first two Xenosaga games for the Nintendo DS. Multiple staff involved in the anime's production, including Yamashita, were involved in the game's production.[21][22] Xenosaga I & II released on March 30, 2006.[23]
References
- ^ a b Sato, Ike (June 8, 2001). "Xenosaga Preview". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 8, 2001. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e 「ゼノサーガ」アニメ化! 「Xenosaga THE ANIMATION」1月からテレビ朝日で放映 (in Japanese). Game Watch Impress. November 10, 2004. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c Carle, Chris (June 19, 2007). "Xenosaga Anime Series Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on September 11, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 4-8612-7148-7.
- ^ a b c Carle, Chris (June 19, 2007). "Xenosaga Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b ゼノサーガ THE ANIMATION - Staff (in Japanese). Toei Animation. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b Niizuki, Hirohiko (November 10, 2004). "Xenosaga anime series to air in Japan". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 12, 2004. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b ゼノサーガ THE ANIMATION - Information (in Japanese). Toei Animation. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ 「Xenosaga THE ANIMATION」アフレコ収録スタート! 出演声優のコメントをお届け (in Japanese). Dengeki Online. December 10, 2004. Archived from the original on January 1, 2006. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ ゼノサーガ THE ANIMATION (in Japanese). Toei Animation. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ Xenosaga THE ANIMATION / バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト (in Japanese). Xenosaga: The Animation Website. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ "Xenosaga Premieres August 30 on Anime Network". Anime News Network. August 7, 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ "Funimation Picks Up Over 30 Former AD Vision Titles". Anime News Network. July 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- Funimation. November 30, 2009. Archived from the originalon February 24, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ "North American Anime, Manga Releases: September 11-17". Anime News Network. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ "Anime Reviews - Xenosaga". Them Anime. 2005. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ Brienza, Casey (March 3, 2009). "Xenosaga: The Animation DVD - Complete Collection Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ Harris, Jeffrey (September 20, 2007). "Xenosaga: The Animation - Enter the Gnosis Review". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ Orr, Omari (May 22, 2009). "Xenosaga: The Animation Complete Collection". Mania.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
- ^ ISSN 1541-4817.
- ^ ゼノサーガ エピソードI・II / 製品概要 / バンダイナムコゲームス公式サイト (in Japanese). Xenosaga I & II Website. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ ゼノサーガ I・II / 原案・監修高橋氏・脚本竹田氏スペシャル対談! (in Japanese). Xenosaga I & II Website. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ Xenosaga.jp -Xenosaga EPISODE III- PRODUCTS (in Japanese). Xenosaga Portal Site. Archived from the original on July 17, 2006. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)