General series infopost
Apr. 17th, 2031 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madherokingSo just what IS this series about, anyway? Here's a general overview and other potentially useful or interesting information and links!
What is The Legend of the Legendary Heroes?
An ongoing series of fantasy light novels written by Japanese author Takaya Kagami and serialized in Fujimi Shobo's bi-monthly Dragon Magazine. The first portion of the novels has also been adapted into an anime series that aired starting in the summer of 2010. The novels currently consist of four series; two following the "main" story line and two covering various side- and back-stories. There are also a couple of manga adaptations currently being released.
What is it about?
The story centers around a narcoleptic, unmotivated young man named Ryner Lute, who happens to possess a strange power called the "Alpha Stigma", which allows him to understand any magic just by seeing it. And, coincidentally, runs the risk of making him go completely berserk and kill everything nearby. Ryner meets a certain Sion Astal, the illegitimate son of the king of Roland who dreams of rooting out the rampant corruption and making the country a better place, and soon finds himself swept up into things whether he wants to or not. And from such a seemingly simple beginning, an adventure that could possibly change the fate of the world begins.
How long is it?
The anime is 24 episodes plus an extra recap episode. The novels currently total 37, with 20 of those focusing on the main storyline and the remaining 17 featuring side stories and backstory.
What's the difference between the anime and the novels?
Surprising little, actually. The anime follows the plot of the novels fairly closely, with the most notable difference simply being that due to time constraints the anime often condenses events into a shorter space. For example, two scenes that happened separately in the novels might be merged into a single continuous scene in the anime, with whatever incidental but not plot-relevant bits that happened in between skipped over. Basically, the anime is the abridged version of the novels.
Where can I read/watch it?
The anime has been licensed by Funimation for the United States and Canada, and can be viewed streaming for free in those regions on their official site and youtube page. The novels are unlicensed and largely untranslated, although there are some partial translations on Baka-Tsuki.
Where can I buy it?
Currently, the series is only available for purchase in Japan, where the anime is in the middle of being released on DVD and blu-ray. It's possible to order the books and discs online through some sites such as amazon.co.jp, but of course it will all be in Japanese. At present Funimation has made no announcements concerning plans to dub and release the series in English.
You mentioned there being manga, what about that?
There are currently three (to my knowledge) different manga series being released. The first is under the main title of "The Legend of the Legendary Heroes" and is just a retelling of the story from the novels, though it isn't strictly identical. The second is a manga version of the Fallen Black Hero story, and the third is the "Revision" series which I haven't yet had an opportunity to read, but I believe is another manga version of the main story. There's also a gag manga or two.
That sounds like a lot of stuff, where do I even start?
Honestly, unless you're fluent enough in Japanese to be able to read large amounts of text with few illustrations and little furigana, I would recommend just starting with the anime. It might not be as in-depth and detailed as the novels are, but it really does do a great job of covering the first part of the series. Plus, the more views and more popular the official subtitled version on Funimation's pages gets, the more likely they are to consider bumping it up in priority to actually dub it and release it on DVD. And maybe, just maybe, if the anime is popular enough the Japanese producers might actually consider animating the rest of the series...
If you're determined to read the novels, though, Mr. Kagami has provided a guide as to the order to read the books in for maximum enjoyment of the series.
Anything else I should know?
...not that I can think of offhand! But you can be sure that if I get more useful information I'll add it here, and by all means feel free to use this post for any questions/comments you might have, I'll be happy to answer to the best of my ability. ^_^
What is The Legend of the Legendary Heroes?
An ongoing series of fantasy light novels written by Japanese author Takaya Kagami and serialized in Fujimi Shobo's bi-monthly Dragon Magazine. The first portion of the novels has also been adapted into an anime series that aired starting in the summer of 2010. The novels currently consist of four series; two following the "main" story line and two covering various side- and back-stories. There are also a couple of manga adaptations currently being released.
What is it about?
The story centers around a narcoleptic, unmotivated young man named Ryner Lute, who happens to possess a strange power called the "Alpha Stigma", which allows him to understand any magic just by seeing it. And, coincidentally, runs the risk of making him go completely berserk and kill everything nearby. Ryner meets a certain Sion Astal, the illegitimate son of the king of Roland who dreams of rooting out the rampant corruption and making the country a better place, and soon finds himself swept up into things whether he wants to or not. And from such a seemingly simple beginning, an adventure that could possibly change the fate of the world begins.
How long is it?
The anime is 24 episodes plus an extra recap episode. The novels currently total 37, with 20 of those focusing on the main storyline and the remaining 17 featuring side stories and backstory.
What's the difference between the anime and the novels?
Surprising little, actually. The anime follows the plot of the novels fairly closely, with the most notable difference simply being that due to time constraints the anime often condenses events into a shorter space. For example, two scenes that happened separately in the novels might be merged into a single continuous scene in the anime, with whatever incidental but not plot-relevant bits that happened in between skipped over. Basically, the anime is the abridged version of the novels.
Where can I read/watch it?
The anime has been licensed by Funimation for the United States and Canada, and can be viewed streaming for free in those regions on their official site and youtube page. The novels are unlicensed and largely untranslated, although there are some partial translations on Baka-Tsuki.
Where can I buy it?
Currently, the series is only available for purchase in Japan, where the anime is in the middle of being released on DVD and blu-ray. It's possible to order the books and discs online through some sites such as amazon.co.jp, but of course it will all be in Japanese. At present Funimation has made no announcements concerning plans to dub and release the series in English.
You mentioned there being manga, what about that?
There are currently three (to my knowledge) different manga series being released. The first is under the main title of "The Legend of the Legendary Heroes" and is just a retelling of the story from the novels, though it isn't strictly identical. The second is a manga version of the Fallen Black Hero story, and the third is the "Revision" series which I haven't yet had an opportunity to read, but I believe is another manga version of the main story. There's also a gag manga or two.
That sounds like a lot of stuff, where do I even start?
Honestly, unless you're fluent enough in Japanese to be able to read large amounts of text with few illustrations and little furigana, I would recommend just starting with the anime. It might not be as in-depth and detailed as the novels are, but it really does do a great job of covering the first part of the series. Plus, the more views and more popular the official subtitled version on Funimation's pages gets, the more likely they are to consider bumping it up in priority to actually dub it and release it on DVD. And maybe, just maybe, if the anime is popular enough the Japanese producers might actually consider animating the rest of the series...
If you're determined to read the novels, though, Mr. Kagami has provided a guide as to the order to read the books in for maximum enjoyment of the series.
Anything else I should know?
...not that I can think of offhand! But you can be sure that if I get more useful information I'll add it here, and by all means feel free to use this post for any questions/comments you might have, I'll be happy to answer to the best of my ability. ^_^