Queen's Blade
Encyclopedia
is a series of visual combat books
published by Hobby Japan
based on the licensed works from Flying Buffalo
's Lost Worlds. First published in 2005, it features sexually suggestive depictions of an exclusively female cast of characters. The overall plot of the game revolves around a tournament called the Queen's Blade, which is held every four years to determine a Queen. Only young women who are considered beautiful in their hometown are allowed to enter.
The series later evolved into a media franchise, spanning four manga adaptations, three anime adaptations, three light novels, and a video game adaptation. The series is later followed by a sequel called , featuring all-new characters as well as remakes of previous characters, and a supplement called , featuring licensed characters from other games and series. Figures of the characters made by various manufacturers, such as Kaiyodo
with their Revoltech series, have also been produced along with several memorabilia.
Beginning with the 7th series, it uses all-new game rules compatible with the Lost Worlds books. At Anime Expo
2010, Hobby Japan announced that they will release English translations of the gamebooks in North America in the near future.
The original gamebooks feature characters designed by many popular artists, including Hirokazu Hisayuki
(My-HiME
), Kazuhiro Takamura, and Eiwa.
adaptation of Queen's Blade, entitled , was produced by ARMS
. Directed by Kinji Yoshimoto, the anime aired twelve episodes in Japan from April 2 to June 18, 2009 on AT-X
, with subsequent broadcasts on Chiba TV
, Sun Television, and Tokyo MX. The series aired uncensored on AT-X, while being heavily censored on other channels. Six uncut DVD and Blu-ray Disc
volumes were released by Media Factory
between June 25, 2009 and November 25, 2009, each DVD/BD volume containing one of six OVA
s. A second season, , aired on AT-X and other channels from September 24 to December 10, 2009. Six DVD/BD volumes were released by Media Factory between December 22, 2009 and May 25, 2010, each containing six OVAs which continue from the first six.
In North America, the anime is licensed by Media Blasters
under the title Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin, and released three DVD volumes of the first season (each containing four episodes) between May 18 and October 26, 2010. A Blu-ray
box set of the season was later released on February 15, 2011. The second season was released in North America as Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye, and sold two volumes (each containing six episodes) between May 24, 2011 and July 19, 2011. A Blu-ray box set was released on September 27, 2011.
An OVA
series, called , was announced on the May issue of Monthly Hobby Japan. The series takes place after the events of the Queen's Blade tournament but before the Rebellion series, and chronicles the characters on their separate paths. The episodes were released on six DVD and Blu-ray volumes from August 25, 2010 to March 30, 2011.
In July 2011, the Queen's Blade official website announced that two OADs will be bundled with the Queen's Blade Premium Visual Book and Queen's Blade Rebellion Premium Visual Book on DVD on October 29, 2011 and January 28, 2012, respectively. Produced by ARMS under the directorship of Yōsei Morino, the OVAs will take place after Beautiful Fighters, and will introduce characters from the Rebellion series.
The opening theme for the first season is "Get the Door" by Rie Ohashi, while the ending theme is by Ayako Kawasumi
, Mamiko Noto
, and Aya Hirano
, the voices for Leina, Tomoe, and Nanael, respectively. The opening theme for the second season is by ENA while the ending theme is "buddy-body" by Rie Kugimiya
, Yuko Goto
, and Kanae Ito
, the voices for Melona, Menace, and Airi, respectively. For the OVA, the ending theme is by All 19 Beautiful Warriors, consisting of the entire female voice cast of the series.
adaptation based on the first anime series was serialized in the October 2008 issue of Media Factory
's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive
, and released three volumes between February 2, 2009 and January 23, 2010.
Another manga
adaptation of Queen's Blade illustrated by Iku Nanazuki called , began serialization in the December 2007 issue of Comp Ace
. A spinoff of the original, the series centers on Elina searching for her older sister Leina, and it introduces Frolell, a servant of the Vance family who travels with Elina on her journey to bring Leina back. Five tankōbon
were released by Kadokawa Shoten
between June 26, 2008 and June 26, 2010.
A third manga adaptation, called , is illustrated by AstroguyII and began serialization in the December 2007 issue of Dengeki Black Maoh
, and continued in Dengeki Maoh after the latter stopped circulation, albeit with new chapters delivered bimonthly. The first tankōbon was released by ASCII Media Works
on March 27, 2009 under their Dengeki Comics
imprint, with a total of three volumes currently available as of December 18, 2010.
adaptation of Queen's Blade, called , is illustrated by Eiji Okita with illustrations by Eiwa. The first volume was released on April 27, 2007 by Hobby Japan under their HJ Bunko
imprint, and released five volumes until November 1, 2008. A bonus novel called was published on March 1, 2008, with illustrations provided by Hirotaka Akaga.
A light novel based on the first anime series, written by Okita and illustrated by Tsumotu Miyazawa, was also published by Hobby Japan, and released two volumes between August 1, 2009 and October 1, 2009.
called was developed by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation Portable
. It was released on December 17, 2009, and features all-new characters and an original storyline exclusive to the game in addition to recurring characters from the original series. A limited edition of the game, called the Gekitō Pack, was also released, featuring a Cute figure from Figma
and a bonus character voice CD.
Gamebook
A gamebook is a work of fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making effective choices. The narrative branches along various paths through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages...
published by Hobby Japan
Hobby Japan
HobbyJAPAN CO. is a Japanese hobby magazine and publishing company, specializing in roleplaying, war, and tabletop games, as well as action figures, toys, and artbooks for successful anime, manga and light novel franchises.- Role-playing games :...
based on the licensed works from Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo
Flying Buffalo Incorporated is a Scottsdale, Arizona game company that publishes role playing games, card games, gaming materials, and runs Play-by-mail games....
's Lost Worlds. First published in 2005, it features sexually suggestive depictions of an exclusively female cast of characters. The overall plot of the game revolves around a tournament called the Queen's Blade, which is held every four years to determine a Queen. Only young women who are considered beautiful in their hometown are allowed to enter.
The series later evolved into a media franchise, spanning four manga adaptations, three anime adaptations, three light novels, and a video game adaptation. The series is later followed by a sequel called , featuring all-new characters as well as remakes of previous characters, and a supplement called , featuring licensed characters from other games and series. Figures of the characters made by various manufacturers, such as Kaiyodo
Kaiyodo
thumb|320px|Kaiyodo Figure Museum Kurokabe is a Japanese company dedicated to figurines and garage kits. Its headquarters is in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture. While the company mostly focuses on anime related characters, it recently has acquired other licenses, e.g...
with their Revoltech series, have also been produced along with several memorabilia.
Beginning with the 7th series, it uses all-new game rules compatible with the Lost Worlds books. At Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2010, Hobby Japan announced that they will release English translations of the gamebooks in North America in the near future.
Story
In the Continent, a tournament called the Queen's Blade is held every four years to determine the most beautiful and powerful Queen. Held in , the Queen's Capital, various fighters from all over the Continent travel to the Capital to defeat Aldra, the current Queen. The overall story of Queen's Blade focuses on Leina, the heiress to Count Vance and next in line for the throne, as she travels to Gynos, encountering many other warriors also competing in the Queen's Blade for their own intentions.The original gamebooks feature characters designed by many popular artists, including Hirokazu Hisayuki
Hirokazu Hisayuki
is a Japanese character designer and animation director for Sunrise.-Works:* Future GPX Cyber Formula Saga: Character Design, Chief Animation Director* Future GPX Cyber Formula Sin: Character Design, Chief Animation Director...
(My-HiME
My-HiME
is an anime series, created by Sunrise. Directed by Masakazu Obara and written by Hiroyuki Yoshino, the series originally premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo from September 2004 to March 2005...
), Kazuhiro Takamura, and Eiwa.
Gamebooks
- Series 1 (Leina and Risty) - Released November 25, 2005.
- Series 2 (Irma and Nowa) - Released December 28, 2005.
- Series 3 (Tomoe and Echidna) - Released June 9, 2006.
- Series 4 (Menance and Elina) - Released September 29, 2006.
- Series 5 (Airi and Leina 3D) - Released December 22, 2006.
- Series 6 (Nanael and Cattleya) - Released March 16, 2007.
- Series 7 (Nyx and Melpha) - Released June 29, 2007.
- Series 8 (Melona and Claudette) - Released October 18, 2007.
- Series 9 (Ymir) - Released February 15, 2008.
- A limited-edition second-player color version of Ymir was distributed exclusively by online hobby shop Post Channel.
- Series 10 (Aldra and Alleyne) - Released June 20, 2008.
Anime
An animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation of Queen's Blade, entitled , was produced by ARMS
ARMS Corporation
is a Japanese anime studio which has been involved in the production, animation, or Japanese distribution of a substantial number of releases.The famous animator and character designer Rin Shin is the chief animation director for several productions by ARMS which have an above average amount of...
. Directed by Kinji Yoshimoto, the anime aired twelve episodes in Japan from April 2 to June 18, 2009 on AT-X
AT-X (company)
is a Japanese anime television network owned by . AT-X, Inc. was founded on June 26, 2000 as a subsidiary of TV Tokyo Medianet, which, in turn, is a subsidiary of TV Tokyo. Its headquarters are in Minato, Tokyo. AT-X network broadcasts anime via satellite and cable since December 24, 1997.AT-X is...
, with subsequent broadcasts on Chiba TV
Chiba TV
, doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neibouring prefectures. It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent...
, Sun Television, and Tokyo MX. The series aired uncensored on AT-X, while being heavily censored on other channels. Six uncut DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
volumes were released by Media Factory
Media Factory
is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...
between June 25, 2009 and November 25, 2009, each DVD/BD volume containing one of six OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
s. A second season, , aired on AT-X and other channels from September 24 to December 10, 2009. Six DVD/BD volumes were released by Media Factory between December 22, 2009 and May 25, 2010, each containing six OVAs which continue from the first six.
In North America, the anime is licensed by Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
under the title Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin, and released three DVD volumes of the first season (each containing four episodes) between May 18 and October 26, 2010. A Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
box set of the season was later released on February 15, 2011. The second season was released in North America as Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye, and sold two volumes (each containing six episodes) between May 24, 2011 and July 19, 2011. A Blu-ray box set was released on September 27, 2011.
An OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series, called , was announced on the May issue of Monthly Hobby Japan. The series takes place after the events of the Queen's Blade tournament but before the Rebellion series, and chronicles the characters on their separate paths. The episodes were released on six DVD and Blu-ray volumes from August 25, 2010 to March 30, 2011.
In July 2011, the Queen's Blade official website announced that two OADs will be bundled with the Queen's Blade Premium Visual Book and Queen's Blade Rebellion Premium Visual Book on DVD on October 29, 2011 and January 28, 2012, respectively. Produced by ARMS under the directorship of Yōsei Morino, the OVAs will take place after Beautiful Fighters, and will introduce characters from the Rebellion series.
The opening theme for the first season is "Get the Door" by Rie Ohashi, while the ending theme is by Ayako Kawasumi
Ayako Kawasumi
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "" and "". She is a skilled pianist, having practiced the piano since childhood....
, Mamiko Noto
Mamiko Noto
is a Japanese voice actress working under Office Osawa. She was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, and graduated from Hokuriku Gakuen Senior High School.-Voice:...
, and Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...
, the voices for Leina, Tomoe, and Nanael, respectively. The opening theme for the second season is by ENA while the ending theme is "buddy-body" by Rie Kugimiya
Rie Kugimiya
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with I'm Enterprise.Kugimiya's most famous roles include Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Happy in Fairy Tail, Kagura in Gintama, Nagi Sanzenin in Hayate no Gotoku!, Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Louise in Zero no Tsukaima, Taiga Aisaka in Toradora!, and...
, Yuko Goto
Yuko Goto
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Production Baobab. In direct contrast to her cute-and-vulnerable moé typecasting, Yūko in real life is a devotee of biker culture who dresses and acts as such when not working, right down to her motorcycle...
, and Kanae Ito
Kanae Itō
is a Japanese voice actress and singer who was born in Nagano Prefecture. She is affiliated with Aoni Production and music publisher Lantis.- History :...
, the voices for Melona, Menace, and Airi, respectively. For the OVA, the ending theme is by All 19 Beautiful Warriors, consisting of the entire female voice cast of the series.
Manga
An anthology comic of Queen's Blade was published by Hobby Japan with four volumes released between April 25, 2007 and February 25, 2008. A mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation based on the first anime series was serialized in the October 2008 issue of Media Factory
Media Factory
is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...
's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Alive
Monthly Comic Alive
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006.-Serialized titles:*Asobi ni Ikuyo!*Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai*Bone Crusher*Chaos;Head -Blue Complex-*D-Frag...
, and released three volumes between February 2, 2009 and January 23, 2010.
Another manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of Queen's Blade illustrated by Iku Nanazuki called , began serialization in the December 2007 issue of Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
. A spinoff of the original, the series centers on Elina searching for her older sister Leina, and it introduces Frolell, a servant of the Vance family who travels with Elina on her journey to bring Leina back. Five tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
were released by Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
between June 26, 2008 and June 26, 2010.
A third manga adaptation, called , is illustrated by AstroguyII and began serialization in the December 2007 issue of Dengeki Black Maoh
Dengeki Maoh
is a Japanese seinen magazine published by ASCII Media Works . It first went on sale on October 27, 2005 and is sold every month on the twenty-seventh. The magazine features information on video games, manga, and light novels...
, and continued in Dengeki Maoh after the latter stopped circulation, albeit with new chapters delivered bimonthly. The first tankōbon was released by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
on March 27, 2009 under their Dengeki Comics
Dengeki Comics
is a manga publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company ASCII Media Works and is aimed at a male audience. Aside from the main Dengeki Comics label, there is the related Dengeki Comics EX label which publishes a lesser number of manga volumes...
imprint, with a total of three volumes currently available as of December 18, 2010.
Light novels
A light novelLight novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
adaptation of Queen's Blade, called , is illustrated by Eiji Okita with illustrations by Eiwa. The first volume was released on April 27, 2007 by Hobby Japan under their HJ Bunko
HJ Bunko
is a publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Hobby Japan. It was established in July 2006 and is a light novel label that is aimed at a young adult male readership...
imprint, and released five volumes until November 1, 2008. A bonus novel called was published on March 1, 2008, with illustrations provided by Hirotaka Akaga.
A light novel based on the first anime series, written by Okita and illustrated by Tsumotu Miyazawa, was also published by Hobby Japan, and released two volumes between August 1, 2009 and October 1, 2009.
Video games
A role-playing gameRole-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
called was developed by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. It was released on December 17, 2009, and features all-new characters and an original storyline exclusive to the game in addition to recurring characters from the original series. A limited edition of the game, called the Gekitō Pack, was also released, featuring a Cute figure from Figma
Figma
is a Japanese action figure line produced by Max Factory and distributed by Good Smile Company. A large number of the figures are based on bishōjo anime characters, and are available with various accessories, such as exchangeable faces...
and a bonus character voice CD.
Other
- Queen's Blade Fan Disc: character dress-up software published in 2006.
- Queen's Blade i: A mobile phone game using game rules from the combat picture book series. Service host by DigitalMediaLab,Inc. and it supports FOMAFomaFoma may refer to:* FOMA , a Japanese mobile telecommunications service* Sergei Fomenko, nicknamed "Foma", Ukrainian musician...
703i and 901i series. Carriers include NTT DoCoMoNTT DoCoMois the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
. - Queen's Blade Collection Card ver.2.0: A currently-produced card series with individual biography cards for each character (minus the Rebellion series so far), plus artwork cards and bubble gum.
External links
- Official site
- Official anime website
- Queen's Gate official site
- Flying Buffalo's Queen's Blade Page
- Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin at Media BlastersMedia BlastersMedia Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
- Queen's Gate: Spiral Chaos official site
- Queen's Blade: Spiral Chaos official site
- Queen's Blade i official page