Reign: The Conqueror
Reign: The Conqueror | |
Historical Fiction | |
Light novel | |
Written by | Hiroshi Aramata |
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Published by | Kadokawa Haruki Office |
Original run | 1996 – 1997 |
Volumes | 3 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by |
|
Written by | Sadayuki Murai |
Music by | Showtime Beyond |
Original run | September 14, 1999 – December 7, 1999 |
Episodes | 13 |
Anime film | |
Directed by |
|
Written by | Sadayuki Murai |
Music by | Ken Ishii |
Studio | Madhouse |
Released | October 7, 2000 |
Runtime | 90 minutes |
Alexander Senki (Japanese: アレクサンダー戦記, Hepburn: Arekusandā Senki, lit. "Alexander War Chronicle"), released in North America as Reign: The Conqueror and in Europe as Alexander the Great, is a Korean-Japanese anime first released in 1999. A re-imagination of the life of Alexander the Great based on the novel of the same name by Hiroshi Aramata, the series was produced by an international crew that drew from the resources of the worldwide animation community. Character designs and original designs for the show were conceived by Peter Chung (known for Æon Flux) while the show was written by Sadayuki Murai and directed by Yoshinori Kanemori.[1] Most of the production work was handled by Korean animators. [citation needed]
In the original attempt at American distribution, the producers created a
There is also a theatrical version of Reign: The Conqueror, known as Alexander: The Movie in North America, which consists almost entirely of recut footage from the series, with the only new content being short opening and closing scenes. The movie covers the first ten episodes of the anime, ending with Alexander's victory over Darius and the Persian army.
Plot
This section's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (July 2018) |
Alexander is son of
Attalus tricks Philip into thinking that Olympias and Alexander are trying to betray him. Philip banishes Olympias and marries Attalus's daughter Eurydice, who gives birth to a son that Philip desires to become king instead of Alexander. Philip holds a great ceremony to present his new prince to the masses and also constructs a huge golden statue of himself, declaring himself a God. During the ceremony however the statue crumbles and a guard hypnotized by Olympias assassinates Philip.
Following Philip's death Alexander ascends to King and Attalus is executed. Athens plots to fight back against Macedonia, doubting Alexander's strength, but relents once Macedonia defeats Thebes in battle. Alexander places severe demands on Athens but relents on most of them after meeting with the philosopher
While in Egypt Alexander meets Dinocrates, a member of his army who tells him of the great city he'd prefer to create there, Alexandria. Alexander has a vision of himself being in Alexandria 100 years after his death where he visits the place where he was entombed by Ptolemy. Before leaving Egypt Alexander and his men visit the Temple of Ammon where they are told that Alexander will be killed by the one he trusts the most. Ptolemy witnesses a separate prophecy, that he will become Great King of the World. Plotting with Persia, Pythagorean cult members make another attempt on Alexander's life but he is able to fight them off. Darius leads Persia's armies against Macedonia's. Aristotle meanwhile meets with Diogenes, requesting the Plato-Hedron, the device which contains the knowledge of the entire world. Diogenes claims however that he tossed it aside. The two watch as the battle continues. The Macedonian army gains new strength when there is an eclipse of the moon, and the Plato-Hedron appears and ascends to the heavens. As the battle nears its conclusion, Alexander kills Darius, defeating the Persians once and for all.
With Persia now part of his empire, Alexander recruits Satibarzanes, Darius's former adviser and Satrap, to become a top adviser of his. The Macedonian army becomes concerned that Alexander wants to continue heading east rather than return to Macedonia. Philotas dismisses their complaints but doesn't tell Alexander. Aristotle is also concerned with Alexander's actions and tells Cassandra that she will have to kill him should he continue to push eastward. Phillipas, secretly a member of the Pythagorean cult, plots with them to kill Alexander during his wedding to Roxanne through the use of a dancer possessing poison. During the battle she poisons Alexander but is killed before finishing him off. Satibarzanes frames Parmenion and Philotas for treason. Parmenion is killed by the plotters and Philotas is tied up and stoned to death. When Alexander arrives during the stoning, Philotas requests he let him die so as to not show weakness to the Persians. Phillipas, who treats Alexander, has the opportunity to poison Alexander but instead reveals the truth to him and provides Alexander the means to heal himself, then kills himself with the poison intended for Alexander.
After executing Satibarzanes and the other Persian traitors, Alexander leads his forces towards
Alexander and the others continue through India, where they encounter a massive army made up of all the soldiers they have killed over the years. During the battle, Hephaestian is killed when Alexander fights the ghost of Darius. Alexander rides on into a column of light and faces off against
After Alexander and his army return to Macedonia, Aristotle receives a letter from Cassandra informing him that she has chosen to stay with Alexander of her own will. Later, a handmaiden attempts to find Alexander to tell him that Roxanne is pregnant. Elsewhere, Alexander is asked to get out of the light by a child drawing geometric shapes and writing formulas on the ground. Motivated by his own prophecy, Ptolemy attempts to stab Alexander, but Alexander prevents him. He then lets Ptolemy escape, stating that Ptolemy's prophecy is unchanged. Alexander turns back to the child's work, and Cassandra asks what he is looking at. Alexander replies that he is witnessing the world he destroyed being reborn.
At this moment, a soldier appears and announces that they are ready to depart for Arabia. As Alexander walks off, it is revealed that the child's name is Euclid, and he pulls out a small version of the Platohedron. This may imply that the destruction of the world was metaphysical in nature, and that the new world of Euclid and Ptolemy I Soter has replaced the old world of Aristotle and Plato. The final scene depicts Euclid's Platohedron resting on the ground next to his diagrams, catching the sun's dying rays. This fades into a stark image of Alexander atop his horse, set against the sun and a crimson sky.
Cast
Character | Japanese actor | English actor (1-4) | English actor (5-13)
(Pseudonyms in parentheses) |
---|---|---|---|
Alexander | Toshihiko Seki | Andrew Philpot | John DeMita (Will Barrett) |
Philotas | Kousuke Meguro | Alex Fernandez | Lex Lang (George Lennon) |
Cleitus |
Houchu Ohtsuka |
John DeMita | John DeMita (Will Barrett) |
Haphaestion | Kouji Tsujitani
| ||
Ptolemy | Shuichi Ikeda |
Matt McKenzie | Tom Fahn (Marvin Lee) |
Olympias | Junko Mashina | Julia Fletcher | Wendee Lee |
Philip | Yoshisada Sakaguchi | John DiMaggio | Bob Papenbrook (John Smallberries) |
Aristotle | Nachi Nozawa | John Rafter Lee | Alan Shearman (John Wesley) |
Cassandra | Atsuko Tanaka | Denise Poirier | Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Melissa Williamson) |
Parmenion | Tadashi Nakamura | Michael Scott Ryan | Lex Lang (George Lennon) |
Attalos | Takeshi Aono | Dwight Schultz | N/A |
Darius |
Kouichi Yamadera |
Carlos Ferro | Lex Lang (George Lennon) |
Roxanne | Yuko Minaguchi |
Tara Strong | Cindy Robinson |
Antipater | Tamio Ōki | John DiMaggio | Alan Shearman (John Wesley) |
Antigonos | Daisuke Gōri | N/A | Beau Billingslea (John Daniels) |
Diogenes | Kazuo Kumakura | N/A | Roger Rose (Loren Manda) |
Phillipos | Tōru Furuya | N/A | Skip Stellrecht (Jack Aubree) |
Plato | Tetsurō Sagawa | N/A | Bob Papenbrook (John Smallberries) |
Narrator | Shinji Ogawa | Jimmy Silver | Ralph Votrian |
References
- ISBN 978-1476665993.
External links
- Reign: The Conqueror (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Reign: The Conqueror at IMDb
- (in Italian) Alexander (Arekusandaa Senki - Yoshinori Kanemori, Hiroshi Aramata, 1999) (Anime Mundi), detailed production information