Invader Zim theme by Jeff Leezer (punchjeff)
Download: InvaderZim.p3t
(5 backgrounds)
 | This article contains wording that promotes the subject through exaggeration of unnoteworthy facts. (January 2024) |
| Invader Zim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Jhonen Vasquez |
| Directed by |
|
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Kevin Manthei Mark Tortorici |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin | United States South Korea |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 27 (46 segments) (+1 pilot) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Animator | Sunwoo Entertainment |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | March 30, 2001[11] – December 10, 2002 |
| Network | Nicktoons |
| Release | June 10 – August 19, 2006 |
| Related | |
| Invader Zim (comics) Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus | |
Invader Zim is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz), from the planet Irk, and his mission is to conquer Earth and enslave the human race along with his malfunctioning robot servant GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons). He is antagonized by Dib (Andy Berman), a young paranormal investigator who is determined to stop Zim from succeeding.
Nickelodeon contacted Jhonen Vasquez about pitching ideas for an animated series for their older demographic[12][13][14] and Invader Zim was the first thing he pitched. In Vasquez's words "it went from pitch to series without hardly any waiting".[15] As the series went on, ratings declined and budgetary issues became more frequent.[16] Before the second season was completed, Nickelodeon cancelled the series, leaving several episodes unfinished.[17] The show originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2002,[16][11] with six of the completed second-season episodes initially going unreleased. These episodes were first made available on DVD in 2004 and later made their television debut on the Nicktoons Network in 2006.[16][18]
Invader Zim received positive reviews from critics and audiences,[16] with praise primarily directed at its humor, writing, animation, art-style, and the way it pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable on children's television. In the years following its cancellation, Invader Zim has often been listed as one of Nickelodeon's best shows.[19][20][21][22][23] The series won an Annie Award, an Emmy Award and a World Animation Celebration Award, and received nominations for seven additional Annie Awards and two Golden Reel Awards. Invader Zim has spawned its own fan convention called InvaderCON and a plethora of official merchandise,[16] including video games, toys, clothing and accessories, among many other products. Despite its early cancellation and short run, due to increasing popularity and above-average merchandise sales[9][24][25] it has been widely regarded as a cult classic.[9][25][26][27][28][29]
A monthly comic book series of the same name was released on July 8, 2015, as a continuation of the television series and published by Oni Press until August 4, 2021.[30][31] A film based on the television and comic series[32][33] titled Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, premiered on Netflix on August 16, 2019, marking Invader Zim's first new animated production since its Nickelodeon airing.[34]
Plot[edit]
Bottom: Professor Membrane, Ms. Bitters, Almighty Tallest Red, and Almighty Tallest Purple.
The series centers on Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz),[35] a member of the extraterrestrial Irken species and the Irken Empire from the planet Irk. The empire's goal is universal conquest and has a social hierarchy based solely on physical height. The empire's leader is called The Almighty Tallest; at the beginning of the series the position is jointly held by two equally tall individuals (Wally Wingert and Kevin McDonald). Zim is an outcast; he is delusional, very short, overzealous, narcissistic, and megalomaniacal.
An absentminded Zim nearly destroyed Irk and the Irkens during the empire's first invasion, Operation Impending Doom I. He was punished by exile to the Irken food court planet Foodcourtia, although he failed to recognize the reason for his banishment. After learning that Operation Impending Doom II was being planned, Zim unilaterally "quits being banished" to attend the Great Assigning on the convention center planet Conventia. At the Great Assigning, The Tallest appoints Irkens as Invaders, advance scouts tasked with infiltrating and preparing target planets for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim successfully pleads to be made an Invader, and receives a "secret mission" intended to prevent interference with the invasion; the target "mystery planet" is on the outskirts of the known universe and is not confirmed to exist. He is issued GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons), an ineffective and erratic Standard Issue Information Retrieval (SIR) unit hastily made from spare parts found in a trash can.
After a six-month journey across the universe, Zim arrives at the "mystery planet" which turns out to be a dark, dystopian, and satirical version of Earth centuries into the future, with rampant mindless consumerism, although it appears that humans have abolished all wars. A delighted Zim quickly goes to work and sets up his base in a random suburb; The Tallest are dismayed by his success. A short-statured Zim disguises himself as a human child with a green complexion (which he claims is caused by a "skin condition"). The show follows his attempts to conduct espionage by attending a local school (spelled "Skool") and planning to conquer and enslave the world at his base. Opposing Zim is his classmate Dib (Andy Berman), a paranoid young boy who is obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural and the only human (besides his sister) who sees through Zim's disguise. Dib is determined to expose and thwart Zim, despite the hostility and mockery he receives from his oblivious peers for doing so.
Supporting characters include Dib's cynical and apathetic sister Gaz (Melissa Fahn); Zim and Dib's demonic teacher Ms. Bitters (Lucille Bliss); and Dib and Gaz's famous, but neglectful father Professor Membrane (Rodger Bumpass). Later in the series, other alien characters begin to appear, including Tak (Olivia d'Abo), a fellow Irken seeking revenge against Zim; Lard Nar (Fred Tatasciore), the leader of a resistance group called The Resisty who wants to overthrow the Irken Empire; and Sizz-Lorr (Jim Wise), Zim's former employer from Foodcourtia who attempts to recapture him.
Episodes[edit]
| Season | Episodes | Segments | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||
| Pilot | May 11, 2004 (DVD) December 24, 2011 (TV) | Nicktoons | ||||
| 1 | 20 | 36 | March 30, 2001 | July 12, 2002 | Nickelodeon | |
| 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | December 10, 2002[n 1] | Nickelodeon[n 1] | |
| 6 | 9 | June 10, 2006 | August 19, 2006 | Nicktoons | ||
| Enter the Florpus | August 16, 2019 | Netflix | ||||
Production[edit]
Conception and early development[edit]
There was no way I was gonna say 'no'. The fact that they took a chance on someone a lot of people wouldn't have given a kids show to is one of the coolest things that ever happened to me in my life. — Jhonen Vasquez[15]
Prior to the creation of Invader Zim, Nickelodeon desired a series to suit its 11–15 year old demographic.[36][37] Nickelodeon producer Mary Harrington was searching for something that had a similar "edge" to The Ren & Stimpy Show, when she came across a comic book called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and was impressed with the art-style and character designs in the series. Harrington contacted the creator of JtHM, then-22-year-old Jhonen Vasquez, who had zero experience in animation at the time, and asked him if he would like to pitch an animated series to Nickelodeon. Vasquez accepted the offer.[38][39][40]
Vasquez knew from the start that his previous works were definitely not suitable for Nickelodeon, so instead of adapting something he had already done, he decided to make something new. Since he was creating a show for a children's network, Vasquez compiled together many things he loved during his own childhood, including robots, monsters, horror films, science fiction films, paranormal investigators, Monty Python, the works of Douglas Adams, and aliens.[39] Before settling on the darker concept of an alien invader, Vasquez briefly considered doing a more light-hearted show along the lines of Mork & Mindy, with a zany alien misunderstanding Earth customs and ultimately, learning a lesson at the end. Vasquez said that while this idea probably would have found more success on Nickelodeon, he quickly dropped the idea, believing it would not fit his style of writing.[40] Vasquez came up with the entire premise for Invader Zim in about an hour, while sitting in bed when he could not sleep. He was inspired by the idea of an alien who came from an incredibly advanced race and has access to such powerful and advanced technology that he could easily take over or destroy the Earth single-handedly, but instead he decides to stay in school all day, never even thinking to sneak out.[41]
A pilot for Invader Zim was pitched to Nickelodeon in 1999,[40][42] which led to the series being green-lit. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed over the course of Invader Zim, other than restricting certain language and visuals that may not be suitable for children. Vasquez cited that the biggest change for himself was going from working alone on a comic to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, saying "it's an absolute misery".[4] However, he said the experience of working on Invader Zim was "incredibly gratifying", but also "fiendishly frustrating".[4][43]
Animation[edit]
Invader Zim was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, California with Nick Digital providing the CGI animation services and Sunwoo Entertainment in South Korea providing the 2D animation services. Salami Studios provided the post-production and sound services for most episodes of the series, and Encore and Hollywood Digital provided the post-production services for a few episodes in season one. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than in season one.[44] Invader Zim's art style is stylized with sharp edges, thick black outlines, big heads, small or elongated bodies, and big eyes for the characters. Invader Zim's art-style was initially difficult for the animators to learn. Director Steve Ressel even admitted that it was the hardest style he had ever worked on, citing the characters' heads as the most complicated aspect of their designs.[43]
Invader Zim was one of the first animated television shows to merge 2D animation with CGI animation.[43] When the development on Invader Zim was first getting started, Steve Ressel consulted with the crew of Futurama to figure out how to integrate 2D animation with CGI animation, since they were one of the first animated television shows that merged the two mediums. When the Futurama crew saw the show they were very impressed by how seamlessly the Invader Zim crew integrated both mediums, specifically in the episode "The Wettening".[43]
While the average episode of an eleven-minute animated television show usually has around 80–120 pages of storyboards per episode, Invader Zim's storyboards were around 250–350 pages per episode. This is because Invader Zim has a very dedicated attention to detail outlining every ounce of a character's movements and method of acting, which is something Nickelodeon was very impressed by.[43]
The episode "Zim Eats Waffles" was originally supposed to be one long shot, panning between Dib's reaction and his computer screen. This was because the animators wanted to try to have the longest single shot in animation history. However, this idea was scrapped, due to it limiting the episode's storytelling capabilities and it being too difficult to animate. Despite this decision, the majority of "Zim Eats Waffles" still ended up being one continual scene.[43]
Voice acting[edit]
When casting voice actors for Invader Zim, Vasquez did not want actors who were just capable of doing zany voices because it sounded less natural to him. He made a point to cast people with speaking voices that were naturally distinct and out of the ordinary so that the cast did not have to do unnatural voices, but could instead just speak naturally.[43][45]
Mark Hamill was originally hired to do the voice of Zim for the pilot episode, but was replaced before the pilot was shown to Nickelodeon executives because Vasquez felt his voice did not feel right for the character.[43] Hamill was replaced by voice acting professional Billy West, who remained the voice of Zim for the pilot. After the show was picked up for a full series, Vasquez decided to replace West with Richard Steven Horvitz (who was already voicing the character of Daggett on fellow Nickelodeon series, The Angry Beavers), saying that West was "too well known" and that he wanted all of the voices for the main characters to be unique and not voices people had heard before. Also, due to Futurama still being on the air at the time, Vasquez did not want the same voice actor to be the lead in two contemporaneous sci-fi comedies.[46]
Vasquez wanted someone with no experience in voice acting to play the part of GIR, as a reflection of how broken and messed up GIR really is.[43] Vasquez wanted someone who sounded unprofessional, but all of the actors who auditioned for GIR were "good actors" who just did a "stock crazy robot voice", which he found dissatisfying. Vasquez then asked his friend, Rosearik Rikki Simons, who was working with him on his comic called I Feel Sick at the time, to try to audition for GIR, saying he "couldn't screw it up anymore than anyone else".[47] Simons did a few different voices for his audition for GIR, including one where he was trying to imitate his mother-in-law, but decided it was too "shrieky". He then remembered when he used to play with hand puppets with his father as a kid and tried to do one of those voices. Simons was also a colorist on Invader Zim and in November 1998, the same month he auditioned for GIR, he also helped color the pilot episode.[43] Vasquez said he gave Simons the part of GIR because he was "bad at it", and that fit the character.[48] When voicing GIR, Simons' voice was edited to make it sound higher-pitched and metallic. While Simons eventually learned to perform the voice without the high-pitch editing, the metallic quality still had to be added. Unedited versions of Simons' voice-overs can be heard in voice recordings for the unfinished episodes.[46]
Music[edit]
Kevin's music wasn't just an addition to the show, it was crucial for the show to be what it was. Without his intense sounds lending a sense of urgency and seriousness to the ridiculous proceedings within Zim, I could never have given the good little children of the Earth as many nightmares as I did. — Jhonen Vasquez[49]
Vasquez asked his friend Mark Tortorici to come up with the theme music for Invader Zim. Vasquez said all he really wanted for the theme music was military music to represent Zim mixed with futuristic electric orchestral music. Once the direction for the music was settled on, Tortorici produced the theme music on an Alesis QS8 very quickly and it did not go through many changes, but they did reorchestrate it for the TV series and stuck with it from that point on.[50][51]
Vasquez's team selected Michael Tavera, who is known for composing the music for The Land Before Time, An American Tail, and Stitch! The Movie, to compose the music for the pilot episode of Invader Zim. Vasquez said that he asked for several of the tracks that Tavera produced to be discarded and that ultimately the team had less than half of the number of tracks that they planned to submit.[51] According to Vasquez, he and Tavera were not "a great fit" for one another creatively. Vasquez described the pilot music as having a "more 'children's television' sound," with a "much more traditional and not as surprising" theme as he wanted, but added that the music "worked for the pilot."[51] Tavera's cover version of Tortorici's theme music did not appear in the pilot as there was no opening credits sequence.[51] Vasquez said that members of the Invader Zim crew laughed at Tavera's version of the theme because it was "cheesy," adding that the reaction was not mean-spirited and that Tavera had received little information about the series before submitting the music.[46][51]
Tavera did not become a part of the regular Invader Zim crew, and was replaced with Kevin Manthei, who is also known for composing the music for Generator Rex, The Sims 2 (PSP), and Robot Chicken, to compose the series' music.[51] Manthei's music for the series is industrial and techno in nature.
The anime internet radio station "Anime Stuff R" produced a radio broadcast special titled "The Kevin Manthei Invader Zim-phony Special" which featured a majority of the music Kevin Manthei composed for Invader Zim. The broadcast special was hosted by Kevin Manthei, DJ Richard Rae and Tom Mitchell (DJ Tomzer1) and was broadcast from September 13, 2002, to October 15, 2002. The entire broadcast is 5 hours, 26 minutes, and 28 seconds long and includes music from every episode of Invader Zim, except for "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever". The broadcast was extremely popular, so Anime Stuff R (temporarily renamed "Anime Stuff Z" for the special) decided to release a CD of the broadcast. However, due to financial reasons, they only made 100 copies of this CD. There are 325 tracks on the CD and the interior of the CD cover features messages from both Kevin Manthei and Richard Rae.[52][46]
Kevin Manthei's message says:
When I was approached by Richard E. Rae about the possibility of an internet radio show featuring hours and hours of my "Invader Zim" music, I was thrilled. What a great opportunity to let the fans of "Invader Zim" hear the music!
Richard went way beyond what I thought the show was going to be, and he poured his heart and soul into producing the "Zim-phony". Richard is not just a fan, he's a professional who uses his passion for music and his willingness to work hard at it to produce great shows. I am honored that he and Tom took the time to put the "Zim-phony" and this "Special Edition" together.
Happy listening!
Richard Rae's message says:
We took chances with the "Zim-phony Special".
I took a chance by approaching Kevin Manthei with the idea. Kevin took a chance in trusting his music to someone he only knew from e-mail. My friend Tom took a chance too, okaying a show with music from an American cartoon series instead of a Japanese Anime. These chances definitely paid off! The "Zim-phony Special" broke every Anime Stuff R ratings record, thanks to the overwhelming response to this show from you, the "Invader Zim" fans. Of course, the "Zim-phony" is all about the excellent music of the remarkable Kevin Manthei. I certainly owe Kevin more thanks than I can ever hope to articulate for his terrific support during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.
This Mini CD you're holding is proof that some chances are definitely worth taking. Thank you for listening!
Challenges and censorship[edit]
Invader Zim would frequently find itself at odds with network censorship. In The Medium-Sized Book of Zim Scrips Vol. 1, series writer Eric Trueheart would characterize the relationship between the Zim staff and the executives at Nickelodeon as "a little dysfunctional", and that "the executive assigned by Nickelodeon to oversee our show - who was, and still is, a decent guy, by the way - probably felt like he had to keep a lid on an inexperienced show creator, and as a result clamped down harder than he should have."[53]: 70 Trueheart also speculated that the channel's other programming also had an effect on how the executives treated the show, stating that "Nickelodeon probably looked to Rugrats as the model of what a cartoon should be ... Invader Zim was none of these things."[53]: 77 Ultimately, "There was a just a conflict in personalities, intentions, and modus operandi ... The reality was just not a great fit, and yes, it was a problem."[53]: 71
In some episodes, it was originally intended for certain characters (such as Keef and Iggins) to be killed off at the end of an episode, but Nickelodeon would not allow any characters to be killed off and demanded the crew add certain details suggesting that they survived or in some cases, rewrite the episodes to where they would not die. They complied but did so in an intentionally forced and sarcastic way to purposely convey their disagreement and reluctance toward the decision, such as the sarcastic "No animated characters were harmed in the filming of
South Park Characters
South Park Characters theme by cymru12
Download: SouthParkCharacters.p3t
(3 backgrounds)
P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip
Instructions:
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Kiddy Grade
Kiddy Grade theme by Wicketnezz
Download: KiddyGrade.p3t
(13 backgrounds)
| Kiddy Grade | |
 Éclair (left) and Lumière with LaMuse and Planet Aineias in the background. | |
| キディ・グレイド (Kidi Gureido) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Created by | gímik Gonzo |
| Light novel | |
| Kiddy Grade Pr. ("Pre-story") | |
| Written by | Tomohiko Aoki |
| Illustrated by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Imprint | Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko |
| Demographic | Male |
| Original run | September 1, 2001 – February 1, 2002 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Keiji Gotoh |
| Written by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Music by | Shirō Hamaguchi |
| Studio | Gonzo |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | Fuji Television |
| English network | |
| Original run | October 8, 2002 – March 18, 2003 |
| Episodes | 24 |
| Manga | |
| Kiddy Grade Reverse | |
| Written by | HIYOHIYO |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Magazine | Shōnen Ace |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Published | March 1, 2003 |
| Manga | |
| Kiddy Grade Versus | |
| Written by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Illustrated by | Arikui Fujimaru |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Magazine | Dragon Jr. |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | March 1, 2003 – November 1, 2003 |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Fumihiko Shimo |
| Illustrated by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Imprint | Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko |
| Demographic | Male |
| Original run | November 1, 2002 – September 1, 2003 |
| Volumes | 3 |
| Light novel | |
| Kiddy Grade EX-Partner ("Extra story") | |
| Written by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Illustrated by | Megumi Kadonosono |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Published | September 25, 2003 |
| Light novel | |
| Kiddy Grade Secret Affair | |
| Written by | Hidefumi Kimura |
| Illustrated by | Megumi Kadonosono |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Published | January 29, 2004 |
| Anime film | |
| Kiddy Grade -Ignition- | |
| Directed by | Keiji Gotoh |
| Studio | Gonzo |
| Released | April 7, 2007 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Kiddy Grade -Maelstrom- | |
| Directed by | Keiji Gotoh |
| Studio | Gonzo |
| Released | June 23, 2007 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Kiddy Grade -Truth Dawn- | |
| Directed by | Keiji Gotoh |
| Studio | Gonzo |
| Released | September 1, 2007 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
Kiddy Grade (Japanese: キディ・グレイド, romanized: Kidi gureido) is a Japanese 24-episode anime series produced in 2002 and created by gímik and Gonzo Digimation and directed by Keiji Gotoh. The series is licensed and distributed in North America by FUNimation Entertainment.
In October 2006, news of a Kiddy Grade sequel was announced, under the working title of Kiddy Grade 2 (キディ・グレイ) (K-G.2), to be animated by Asread (Shuffle! anime).[1] On February 26, 2009 it was re-announced[2] under the new title Kiddy Girl-and (キディ・ガーランド, Kidi Gārando) along with news of a new manga adaptation, Kiddy Girl-and Pure (キディ・ガーランド ぴゅあ, Kidi Gārando Pyua). The sequel is set 50 years after the original series and introduces two new female protagonists, Ascœur (アスクール, Asukūru)[3] and Q-feuille (ク・フィーユ, Ku Fīyu).[4]
Overview[edit]
Story and setting[edit]
Kiddy Grade takes place in a future where the human race has expanded and inhabits a multitude of planets in the universe with fantastic technology. Unsurprisingly, crime has grown alongside technology, and thus the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs (GOTT, German for "God") is formed as a sort of universal police force. Within this organization, there is a special (and secret) branch known as the ES Force (ES standing for "Encounter of Shadow-work"), consisting of twelve physically young people who possess amazing superpowers. Each ES member operates with another as a team, and the series' focus is a team of two low-level members, Éclair and Lumière. As the series progresses, they start to see the darker side of GOTT and its secrets.
Characters[edit]
Most of the central characters in the series are ES members of GOTT "Shadow Unit". The Shadow Unit is a group of superpowered individuals that acts as the elite enforcement division of GOTT and hence, of the Galactic Union. Their powers are ranked by "class", of which three are named in the series: C class is the lowest, S is high, and G is the highest. At the beginning of the series, it is believed that no ES member possesses G class abilities but it is later revealed to be false. ES members are organized in pairs of the same class and each is issued a customized and very advanced spaceship and a guard robot.
The protagonists of the series are Éclair and Lumière, a C class pair of ES agents, who have a long back-story together from before joining GOTT. Their past is gradually revealed throughout the series as they come to realize and accept it. Their spaceship is called La Muse (French: The Muse) and their guard robot is Donnerschlag (German: Thunderclap); both are also part of their back-story. As ES members, Éclair and Lumière report directly to the chief of GOTT, Eclipse, a strict and collected woman whose orders they cannot disobey. Often accompanying them in the early episodes is the Galactic Union auditor Armbrust (German: Crossbow) who appears to have multiple hidden agendas.
Other ES members are: Alv and Dvergr (S class), an arrogant pair who eventually become Éclair and Lumière's antagonists; Tweedledee and Tweedledum (S class), fraternal twins with a complicated relationship towards the protagonists; Viola and Cesario (C class) who are generally on good terms with Éclair and Lumière; Un-ou and A-ou (S class), former mercenaries with a long-standing rivalry with them; and Sinistra and Dextera (S class), a bishōnen pair held in high regard by all their colleagues for their professionalism. Also of note are Mercredi, Eclipse's personal assistant with a hidden agenda, and Chevalier d'Autriche, the Secretary General of GOTT whose past is intertwined with Éclair's.
Media[edit]
Anime[edit]
Kiddy Grade originally aired on Fuji Television in Japan from October 8, 2002 – March 18, 2003. The series ran for 24 episodes and was produced by Gonzo. The series currently airs on the FUNimation Channel in both its "syndicated block" and its 24-hour channel. In 2007, the series was re-released as three movies (each 80–90 minutes in length) to specific Japanese theatres.[5][6] The following are the individual titles for each film and their release dates.
- Ignition (initial screening April 8, 2007, DVD released July 27, 2007)
- Maelstrom (initial screening June 23, 2007, DVD released September 28, 2007)
- Truth Dawn (initial screening September 1, 2007, DVD released December 21, 2007)
Crew[edit]
- Keiji Gotoh – Director
- Hidefumi Kimura – Scenario
- Megumi Kadonosono – Character design
- Shirō Hamaguchi – Composer
Theme songs[edit]
- Opening
- "Memories of the Future" (Mirai no Kioku) by Yuka
- Ending
- "Future" by Little Viking
Print media[edit]
The Kiddy Grade franchise started right in the form of a series of light novels, published by Kadokawa Shoten under the label of Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko from 1 September 2001 to 1 February 2002 and later collected into two volumes (Kiddy Grade Pr1, September 1, 2001 and Kiddy Grade Pr2, February 1, 2002). Following are other light novel dedicated to the characters of the series were published: Kiddy Grade, 3 volumes published from 1 November 2002 to 1 September 2003; Kiddy Grade EX-Partner, single volume published September 25, 2003; and finally Kiddy Grade Secret Affair, single volume published January 29, 2004.
The series was adapted into two manga series. The first, Kiddy Grade Reverse was made by Hiyohiyo and published in the magazine Shonen Ace of Kadokawa Shoten, before being collected in a single volume published on 1 March 2003. The second series, Kiddy Grade Versus was made by Hidefumi Kimura and Arikui Fujimaru and published in the magazine Dragon Jr Kadokawa Shoten, before being collected in two volumes published February 27, 2003 (the first volume) and 1 November 2003 ( the second volume).
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Keiji Gotoh. "Gotoh Keiji Home Page" (in Japanese). pp. Goto Keiji Information. Retrieved October 26, 2006.
- ^ "キディ・ガーランド -WORKS ON WEB-" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 26, 2009.
- ^ "キディ・ガーランド -WORKS ON WEB-" (in Japanese). pp. キディ・ガーランド データベース. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "キディ・ガーランド -WORKS ON WEB-" (in Japanese). pp. キディ・ガーランド データベース. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ "Anime News Network". Retrieved February 21, 2007.
- ^ "Kiddy Grade Homepage" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 21, 2007.
Further reading[edit]
- Dong, Bamboo (March 5, 2004). "Kiddy Grade DVD 1: Peacekeeper + Artbox w/ballcap Limited Edition". Anime News Network.
- Coulter, Bryce (December 14, 2007). "Kiddy Grade Box Set". Mania. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
- Johnston, Chris (December 2004). "Kiddy Grade Volume 8". Newtype USA. Vol. 3, no. 12. p. 178. ISSN 1541-4817.
External links[edit]
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Official FUNimation KIDDY GRADE website
- Kiddy Grade (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
| Television series |
Itachi Uchiha, A True ShinobiItachi Uchiha, A True Shinobi theme by AgnosticGamer Download: ItachiUchiha.p3t
P3T Unpacker v0.12 This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit! Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip Instructions: Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme. The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract. The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: Joker 1Joker 1 theme by myownscars Download: Joker1.p3t
P3T Unpacker v0.12 This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit! Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip Instructions: Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme. The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract. The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: JokerJoker theme by myownscars Download: Joker.p3t
 Look up joker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Joker(s) or The Joker(s) may refer to: Common meanings[edit]
Fictional characters[edit]Print[edit]
Film and television[edit]
Video games[edit]
People[edit]
Films[edit]
Magazines[edit]Music[edit]Albums[edit]
Songs[edit]
Roller coasters[edit]Science[edit]
Sports[edit]
Transportation[edit]
Other uses[edit]
See also[edit] Search for "joker" on Wikipedia.
 This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Joker.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Norn Iron SimpsonsNorn Iron Simpsons theme by JONNYRDG Download: NornIronSimpsons.p3t
P3T Unpacker v0.12 This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit! Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip Instructions: Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme. The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract. The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: CartoonsCartoons theme by hamsandwich666 Download: Cartoons.p3t
Redirect to:
Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme by Michaelangelo Download: TMNT.p3t
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder. The franchise began as a comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which Eastman and Laird conceived as a parody of elements popular in superhero comics at the time. The first issue was published in 1984 by Eastman and Laird's company Mirage Studios and was a surprise success. In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensed the characters to Playmates Toys, which developed a line of Turtles action figures. About US$1.1 billion of Turtles toys were sold between 1988 and 1992, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time. The action figures were promoted with an animated series, which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade. It was succeeded by several other television series. Several films were released; the first, released in 1990, became the highest-grossing independent film up to that point. Numerous video games have also been released, including several developed by Konami. Eastman sold his share of the Turtles franchise to Laird in 2000. In 2009, Laird sold it to Viacom, now Paramount Global. The franchise has continued with new comic book series, television series, films, and video games. History[edit]1983–1986: Conception and first comics[edit]  The comic book authors Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird met in Massachusetts and began working on illustrations together. In 1983, Laird invited Eastman to move in with him in Dover, New Hampshire.[1] That November, Eastman drew a masked turtle standing on its hind legs armed with nunchucks to make Laird laugh.[2] Laird added the words "teenage mutant".[1] The concept parodied several elements popular in superhero comics of the time: the teenagers of New Teen Titans, the mutants of Uncanny X-Men and the ninja skills and training of Daredevil, combined with the comic tradition of funny animals such as Howard the Duck.[3] Eastman and Laird developed the concept into a comic book. They considered giving the turtles Japanese names, but instead named them after the Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, which Laird said "felt just quirky enough to fit the concept".[2] They developed a backstory referencing further elements of Daredevil: like Daredevil, the Turtles are altered by radioactive material, and their sensei, Splinter, is a play on Daredevil's sensei, Stick.[3] In March 1984, Eastman and Laird founded a comic book company, Mirage Studios, in their own home.[2] Using money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle, they printed copies of the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and advertised it in Comics Buyer's Guide Magazine.[2] This attracted the interest of comic distributors, and all 3,000 copies were sold in a few weeks.[2] Sales of further issues continued to climb.[2] 1987–1989: Toys, animation and video games[edit]  Co-creators Kevin Eastman (top) and Peter Laird In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensed Turtles to Playmates Toys.[3] Between 1988 and 1997, Playmates produced Turtles toys including around 400 figures and dozens of vehicles and playsets. About US$1.1 billion of Turtles toys were sold in four years, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time, behind GI Joe and Star Wars.[2] Influenced by the success of He-Man, G.I. Joe and Transformers, which had promoted toy lines with animated series, Playmates worked with the animation studio Murakami-Wolf-Swenson to produce the first Turtles animated series,[4] which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade.[3] It introduced Turtles elements such as their color-coded masks, catchphrases, love of pizza and distinct personalities.[3] To make it acceptable to parents and television networks, the series had a lighter tone than the comics, with no expletives, less violence and less threatening villains.[2] In the United Kingdom and some other European regions, the franchise was renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles for the violent connotations of the word "ninja".[5][6] The first Turtles video game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1989, the first of several developed by the Japanese company Konami.[7] It sold approximately four million copies, making it one of the bestselling NES games.[2] In response to concerns that the series was drifting from its origins, Eastman and Laird published an editorial in the comic in 1989, writing: "We've allowed the wacky side to happen, and enjoy it very much. All the while, though, we've kept the originals very much ours."[8] Eastman later said there was "some stuff that we wish we hadn't said yes to", and Laird wrote of his dislike for the softer tone of the animated series.[2] 1990s: First films, franchise expansion and commercial peak[edit]The early 1990s saw the commercial peak of the franchise.[9] The first Turtles film was released in 1990, featuring costumes designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.[9] It was based more closely on the comic than the animated series, with a darker tone.[9] It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1990 and broke the record for the highest-grossing independent film, earning more than US$200 million worldwide.[10][11] A second film, The Secret of the Ooze, was released in 1991. With a rushed production and a lighter tone, it received weaker reviews and was less successful at the box office.[11] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) was aimed at the Japanese market, the largest foreign market for US films at the time, but failed to see release there and saw weaker reviews and sales.[3][11] In 1990, a stage musical featuring the Turtles as a rock band, Coming Out of Their Shells, played 40 shows across the United States.[2] The musical was sponsored by Pizza Hut and promoted with an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[12] A soundtrack album and VHS were released.[2] After the animated series ended, a live-action television series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, was created in 1997 with Saban Entertainment. It introduced a fifth, female turtle, Venus de Milo. The series was canceled after one season.[2] Laird later said it was the only licensed Turtles project he "truly regrets".[2] 2000s–present: Sale to Nickelodeon[edit]Eastman sold his share of the Turtles franchise to Laird in 2000.[3] In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment launched a new animated Turtles series, which ran for seven seasons, concluding in 2009.[2] Laird had a role in the production, creating a closer adaptation of the original comic.[2] A computer-animated Turtles film, TMNT, was released in 2007 and earned $95 million at the box office.[2] On October 21, 2009, it was announced that Laird had sold the franchise to Viacom.[3] He said he had tired of working on Turtles, writing: "I am no longer that guy who carries his sketchbook around with him and draws in it every chance he gets."[13] In August 2011,[14] IDW Publishing launched a new Turtles comic series, with Eastman as co-writer and illustrator.[3] A third animated series[2] premiered in September 2012 on Nickelodeon, and ran for five seasons before ending in 2017.[15] A fourth live-action Turtles film, produced by Platinum Dunes, Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and produced by Michael Bay, was released on August 8, 2014. It received negative reviews, but was a box-office success.[3] A sequel, Out of the Shadows, directed by Dave Green, was released in June 2016.[16] A fourth animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiered in 2018 and ran for two seasons.[17] A film sequel was released in 2022 on the streaming service Netflix.[18] Mutant Mayhem, an animated film co-written and produced by Seth Rogen, was released in August 2023. It received positive reviews, with praise for its performances, script and stylized animation; several critics named it the best Turtles film.[19] Characters[edit]In most versions, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are created when four baby turtles are exposed to radioactive ooze, transforming them into humanoids.[20] They fight evil in New York City,[10] where they reside in the sewers.[21] Leonardo, the leader, is the most disciplined and skilled turtle;[22] an expert swordsman, he wields two katana and wears a blue bandana.[23] Raphael, the strongest and most hot-headed turtle,[22] wears a red bandana and uses a pair of sai.[23] Donatello uses his intellect to invent gadgets and vehicles;[22] he wears a purple bandana and uses a bō staff.[23] Michelangelo is the least disciplined and most fun-loving turtle, and is usually portrayed as the fastest and most agile.[22] He wears an orange bandana and uses nunchucks.[23] Splinter is a mutant rat who is the wise adoptive father of the Turtles and teaches them ninjitsu. In some iterations, he was once the pet rat of ninja master Hamato Yoshi; in others, he is a mutated Yoshi.[24] The Turtles are assisted by April O'Neil, who is variously depicted as a news reporter, lab assistant or genius computer programmer.[24][25] In most versions, she is pursued romantically by Casey Jones,[26] a hockey mask-wearing vigilante who usually becomes an ally of the Turtles.[27] The Turtles' nemesis is the Shredder, who leads the criminal ninja clan known as the Foot. His real identity is usually the ninja Oroku Saki.[28] In most versions, the Shredder's second in command is Karai, a skilled martial artist; in some iterations she is the Shredder's daughter.[28] The Shredder allies with Baxter Stockman, a mad scientist who is often transformed into a mutant fly in his appearances,[28] and Krang, an alien warlord. Krang was introduced in the original animated series, and was inspired by the Utrom race from the comics.[28] Also created for the series were the Shredder's buffoonish henchmen, Bebop and Rocksteady, a mutant warthog and rhinoceros.[28] Other villains often faced by the Turtles include the alien Triceratons,[28] the Purple Dragons street gang,[28] and the Rat King, who can command hordes of rats to do his bidding.[28] Comics[edit]Mirage Studios (1984–2014)[edit] Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered in May 1984, at a comic book convention held at a local Sheraton Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was published by their company Mirage Studios in an oversized magazine-style format using black and white artwork on cheap newsprint, limited to a print run of 3000 copies.[29] It was initially intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series.[2] After publication was temporarily assumed by Image Comics for the third volume (see below), Laird (by then the sole owner of the franchise) and Lawson relaunched the main series at Mirage with a fourth volume in 2001. Following the sale of the franchise to Nickelodeon in late 2009, Laird retained the right to continue the Mirage series,[30] but no issues have been released since the release of No. 32 in 2014,[31] and Mirage Studios was wound down in 2021.[32] All total, the main Mirage series lasted for 129 issues, spanning four separate volumes of 62, 13, 23, and 32 issues, respectively.[2] Additional one-shot issues and miniseries were published over the years. Mirage also published a companion book entitled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was designed to fill in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT universe.[33] Image Comics (1996–1999)[edit]In 1996, Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen, seeing they there were no TMNT comics in active publication, oversaw a relaunch of the comics through Highbrow Productions, his studio at Image, with writing by Gary Carlson and art by Frank Fosco. This third volume of the main series, intended as a continuation of the Mirage comics, saw Splinter become a bat, Donatello a cyborg, Leonardo lose a hand and Raphael become scarred and assume the identity of the new Shredder. The series was canceled in 1999 after 23 issues without a conclusion.[2] In 2018, IDW began reprinting the series in full color as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Urban Legends, and commissioned Carlson and Fusco to create three additional issues to tie up the unfinished story.[34] Archie Comics (1988–1995)[edit]From 1988 to 1995, Archie Comics published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, a series aimed at a younger audience.[2] Initially adapting episodes of the first animated series, it soon moved to original storylines.[35] The main series ran for 72 issues;[36] in addition, there were numerous annuals, specials and miniseries. An ongoing spinoff series, Mighty Mutanimals, features a team of supporting characters.[37] Dreamwave Productions (2003)[edit]A monthly comic inspired by the 2003 TV series was published by Dreamwave Productions from June to December 2003. Leonardo told her to do it. It was written by Peter David and illustrated by LeSean Thomas. In the first four issues, which were the only ones directly adapted from the TV series, the story was told from the perspectives of April, Baxter, Casey, and a pair of New York City police officers.[citation needed][citation needed] IDW Publishing (2011–present)[edit]In 2011, IDW Publishing acquired the license to publish new collections of Mirage storylines and a new ongoing series.[38] The first issue of the new series was released in August of that year. Eastman and Tom Waltz wrote the book, with Eastman and Dan Duncan providing art. In 2017 issue No. 73 of the comic was published, making it the longest running comic series in the franchises history.[39] In addition to the main series and spin-offs set within its continuity, IDW also published comics based on the 2012 Turtles animated series[40][41] and the 2018 animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[42] The series ended in April 2024 at issue 150, with a relaunch planned[43] for July 2024.[44] Manga[edit]The Turtles have appeared in several manga series.
Comic strip[edit]A daily comic strip written and illustrated by Dan Berger began in 1990. It featured an adventure story Monday through Friday and activity puzzles on weekends (with fan art appearing later). The comic strip was published in syndication until its cancelation in December 1996. At its highest point in popularity, it was published in more than 250 newspapers. Television series[edit]
Soul Eater (Japanese: ソウルイーター, Hepburn: Sōru Ītā) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and at least one human that can transform into a weapon. Trying to make the latter a "death scythe" and thus fit for use by the academy's headmaster Shinigami, the personification of death, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, in that order; otherwise, they will have to start all over again. The manga was preceded by three separate one-shots published by Square Enix in 2003; the first two published in two Gangan Powered special editions and the last one in Gangan Wing. Soul Eater was regularly serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine from May 2004 to August 2013. Its chapters were collected in 25 tankōbon volumes. A 51-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Bones was broadcast on TV Tokyo from April 2008 to March 2009. The series has also spawned a drama CD, an art book, and three video games. A spin-off manga series, titled Soul Eater Not!, was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from January 2011 to November 2014. Soul Eater was licensed for distribution in North America by Yen Press; it was serialized in Yen Press' Yen Plus manga anthology starting in July 2008, and the first manga volume was released in October 2009. The anime series has been licensed by Funimation. The Soul Eater manga had 19.6 million copies in circulation as of July 2019. Both the manga and anime series have been overall well received, especially for its art style and Gothic setting, often compared by critics to Tim Burton's works like The Nightmare Before Christmas. The series, however, has been criticized for its use of fanservice and similarity to other shōnen series. Synopsis[edit]Setting[edit] Soul Eater is set at Death Weapon Meister Academy (死神武器職人専門学校, Shinigami Buki Shokunin Senmon Gakkō) — "DWMA" (死武専, Shibusen) for short — located in the fictional Death City[6] in Nevada, United States.[7] The school is run by Shinigami, also known as Death, as a training facility for humans with the ability to transform into weapons, as well as the wielders of those weapons, called meisters (職人, shokunin).[6] Attending this school are Maka Albarn and her scythe partner, Soul Eater; assassin Black Star and his partner, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, who turns into various ninja weapons; and Shinigami's son, Death the Kid, and his pistol partners, Liz and Patty Thompson. The meister students' goal is to have their weapons absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, which dramatically increases the weapon's power and turns them into "death scythes" used by Shinigami.[6] Plot[edit]Maka and Soul battle the witch Medusa, who forces Crona, her child and meister of the demon sword Ragnarok, to collect non-evil human souls and eventually transform into a kishin (鬼神), an evil god. Medusa and her cohorts attack DWMA to revive Asura, the first kishin who nearly plunged the entire world into madness before being sealed beneath DWMA by Shinigami. Despite the combined efforts of Maka, Black Star, and Death the Kid, Medusa's group successfully revives Asura, who leaves to spread chaos around the world after a brief battle with Shinigami. Medusa is seemingly killed by meister and DWMA teacher Franken Stein, while Crona surrenders to DWMA and enrolls there. As a result of Asura's spreading madness, Medusa's sister Arachne comes out of hiding and reforms her organization, Arachnophobia, which poses a serious threat to DWMA. Shinigami calls in death scythes from around the world to aid in the fight against Arachnophobia. During this time, Medusa reappears with her soul possessing the body of a young girl, and forms a truce with DWMA so they can annihilate Arachnophobia together. The DWMA students and Medusa's entourage infiltrate Arachnophobia's headquarters, where Maka kills Arachne, only for Medusa to betray DWMA, possess Arachne's body, and brainwash Crona into rejoining her. Meanwhile, Death the Kid is captured by Noah, an artificial construct created from the Book of Eibon. Following this, Maka uses Arachne's soul to turn Soul into a death scythe. The duo become part of the newly formed meister unit Spartoi along with their friends, who rescue Death the Kid and defeat Noah. Crona resurfaces in a city in Russia, destroying it and the death scythe stationed there, before being provoked by Medusa into killing her and getting taken by insanity. Maka is ordered by Shinigami to hunt down Crona; while searching for Crona with her powers, she unwittingly detects Asura's location on the cartoonish moon within the atmosphere. DWMA launches an attack on the moon to defeat Asura, aided by the witches after Death the Kid convinces them to establish a temporary alliance. During the battle, Crona absorbs Asura's body before being overtaken by him. Maka, Black Star, and Death the Kid eventually restore Crona's sanity and defeat Asura by sealing him on the moon with his own blood; Crona willingly remains with Asura to keep him imprisoned, and Maka promises to one day rescue Crona. The DWMA forces return to Earth, where Death the Kid becomes the new Shinigami following his father's death, and establishes a peace treaty with the witches. Production[edit]After the end of his first manga series, B.Ichi, Atsushi Ohkubo created a one-shot story called "Soul Eater" published in June 2003 by Gangan Powered.[8] Japanese readers were so fascinated by it that Ohkubo created two other one-shots called "Black Star" and "Death the Kid", published in September and November 2003, respectively. Since the results were high, the editor of Gangan Comics asked Ohkubo to create a series from his one-shots which became the introductory chapters to Soul Eater. In an interview, Ohkubo said that the series was greatly inspired by ideas from Tim Burton's animations, and by concepts from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Ohkubo also stated he decided to make the main protagonist of the series, Maka Albarn, a female to differ from the traditional male hero found in most shōnen manga, and paired her and the other main characters with those of the opposite sex to demonstrate an equal representation of gender. He also said the series' title, Soul Eater, was intended to refer to Asura and his desire to eat innocent souls, and not to the character, Soul "Eater" Evans.[9] Ohkubo has explained that, when he began Soul Eater, he already had the plot and details like the DWMA fully formed and shared with his editors. He thought too many manga had characters who were developed through flashbacks, which he considered too clever. Therefore, he decided to develop his characters in the present rather than referring to their pasts, and to focus on "action and momentum," so he could "write freely".[10] Media[edit]Manga[edit]Atsushi Ohkubo wrote three one-shot chapters published by Square Enix. "Soul Eater" (ソウルイーター, Sōru Ītā) and "Black Star" (ブラック・スター, Burakku Sutā) were published in the summer and autumn special editions of Gangan Powered, released on June 24 and September 22, 2003, respectively;[8][11] the third one-shot, "Death the Kid", was published in Gangan Wing on November 26, 2003.[12] Soul Eater started in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan on May 12, 2004,[13] and finished after a nine-year run in the magazine on August 12, 2013.[14][15] Square Enix compiled the series' 113 individual chapters into 25 tankōbon volumes, released under their Gangan Comics imprint, between June 22, 2004,[16] and December 12, 2013.[17] Square Enix republished the series in a seventeen-volume kanzenban edition, titled Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition, released from July 12, 2019,[18] to March 12, 2020.[19] The manga has been licensed by Yen Press for distribution in English in North America. The manga was initially serialized in Yen Press' Yen Plus anthology magazine; the first issue went on sale on July 29, 2008.[20] The first English volume of the manga was published on October 27, 2009.[21] The last volume was published on March 24, 2015.[22] In July 2019, Square Enix announced the English release of Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition.[23] The first volume was released on July 28, 2020.[24] Another manga series which ran alongside the main series, titled Soul Eater Not! (ソウルイーターノット!, Sōru Ītā Notto!), was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from January 12, 2011,[25] to November 10, 2014.[26] Five tankōbon volumes were released between September 22, 2011,[27] and December 22, 2014.[28] Soul Eater Not! has been licensed by Yen Press in North America.[29] The five volumes were published between July 24, 2012,[30] and August 4, 2015.[31] Drama CD[edit]A drama CD was released on August 31, 2005, by Square Enix titled Soul Eater (Vol. 1): Special Social Studies Field Trip (ソウルイーター(Vol.1)特別社会科見学, Sōru Ītā (Vol. 1) Tokubetsu Shakaika Kengaku).[32] The CD came bundled with an art book and a script of the CD dialogue. Of the cast used for the drama CD, only Black Star's voice actress Yumiko Kobayashi was retained for the anime voice cast. Anime[edit]A 51-episode anime adaptation was directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Bones, Aniplex, Dentsu, Media Factory, and TV Tokyo; Bones and Aniplex were responsible for the animation and music production respectively.[33] The scenario writer was Akatsuki Yamatoya who based the anime's story on Ohkubo's original concept. Character design was headed by Yoshiyuki Ito, with overall art direction by Norifumi Nakamura. The anime's conceptual design was done by Shinji Aramaki. The episodes aired on TV Tokyo between April 7, 2008, and March 30, 2009,[34] and two animated specials aired on May 29 and June 1, 2008.[35] The series aired in two versions: the regular evening broadcast and a late-night "Soul Eater Late Show" version, which included special footage. The dual broadcast of the series was billed as the "world's first evening and late-night resonance broadcast". The "resonance" term refers to a story concept in which Maka and her living weapon partner, Soul Eater, achieve maximum power by synchronizing their souls.[36] Media Factory collected the episodes in thirteen DVDs, released from August 22, 2008,[37] to August 25, 2009.[38] The series was rebroadcast on TV Tokyo, under the title Soul Eater: Repeat Show (ソウルイーター リピートショー, Sōru Ītā Ripīto Shō), on September 30, 2010, featuring new opening and closing themes.[39] Media Factory and Kadokawa brought the two previous Blu-ray box sets together into one box set released on February 26, 2014.[40] In North America, the anime has been licensed by Funimation, who released the series in four half-season DVD box sets starting with the first volume in February 2010.[2] The anime made its North American television debut on Funimation Channel in September 2010.[41] It later premiered on Adult Swim's Toonami block on February 17, 2013.[4] Video games[edit]Three Soul Eater video games were produced. The first, Soul Eater: Monotone Princess (ソウルイーター モノトーン プリンセス, Sōru Ītā Monotōn Purinsesu) is an action-adventure video game exclusively for the Wii and developed by Square Enix with Bones. It was released on September 25, 2008, in Japan.[42] Two characters that appear in the game, Grimoire (グリモア, Gurimoa) and Ponera (ポネラ), are original characters designed by author Ohkubo; Ponera is the titular Monotone Princess and Grimoire is known as Noah in the manga. A soundtrack called Shibusen's Treasure "Campus Broadcast Music Complete Works" (死武専秘蔵「校内放送楽曲大全」) was released as a pre-order bonus CD.[43] The second game, Soul Eater: Plot of Medusa (ソウルイーター メデューサの陰謀, Sōru Ītā Medyūsa no Inbō) is an action game produced by Namco Bandai Games for the Nintendo DS and was released on October 23, 2008.[44] Despite being created by two different companies, there are similarities between the Nintendo Wii game and the Nintendo DS game. It is a third-person hack-and-slash game.[45] The third game, Soul Eater: Battle Resonance (ソウルイーター バトルレゾナンス, Sōru Ītā Batoru Rezonansu) is a fighting game developed by BEC and produced by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and was released on January 29, 2009. This game follows the story line of the first 24 episodes of the anime series and allows the player to engage in the training and battles the characters experienced first hand. Along with new costumes and items, the player gets to experience the minds and wardrobes of each playable character.[46] Music[edit]Six pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: two opening themes and four closing themes. The first opening theme is "Resonance" by T.M.Revolution for the first 30 episodes, and the single was released on June 11, 2008. The second opening theme is "Papermoon" by Tommy heavenly6 from episode 31 onward; the single was released on December 10, 2008 by DefStar Records. The first closing theme is "I Wanna Be" by Stance Punks for the first 13 episodes and the 51 episode; the single was released on June 4, 2008. The second closing theme is "Style" by Kana Nishino from episode 14 to 26; the single was released on August 13, 2008 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The third closing theme is "Bakusō Yume Uta" (爆走夢歌) by Soul'd Out's Diggy-Mo from episode 27 to 39; the single was released on November 26, 2008 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The final closing theme is "Strength" by Abingdon Boys School from episode 40 through episode 50; the single was released on February 25, 2009.[47][48] The anime rebroadcasting features two additional opening and closing themes. The first opening is "Counter Identity" by Unison Square Garden, released in autumn 2010, and the first ending is "Ao no Kaori" (碧の香り) by Yui Makino, released on November 10, 2010. The second opening is "Ai ga Hoshii yo" (愛がほしいよ) by Shion Tsuji, released on March 9, 2011, and "Northern Lights" by How Merry Marry.[39] The first character song maxi single sung by Chiaki Omigawa (Maka) and Kōki Uchiyama (Soul) was released on August 6, 2008 by Aniplex. The second single by Yumiko Kobayashi (Black Star) and Kaori Nazuka (Tsubaki) was released on September 3, 2008, and the third single by Mamoru Miyano (Kid), Akeno Watanabe (Liz), and Narumi Takahira (Patty) was released on October 1, 2008. Composed and produced by Taku Iwasaki, two CD soundtracks have been released for the Soul Eater anime series. Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 1 was released on August 27, 2008 with 20 tracks, and Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 2 was released on March 18, 2009 with 22 tracks by Aniplex. The theme song for Soul Eater: Monotone Princess is "Soul's Crossing" sung by T.M.Revolution, and is included on the "Resonance" single.[49] Other media[edit]An art exhibition to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary is set to run at Tokyo's Space Galleria from August 23 to September 23, 2024, and at Osaka's Space Gratus from October 25 to November 25 of the same year. A special video featuring Chiaki Omigawa and Koki Uchiyama, Maka and Soul's voice actors respectively, was released alongside a teaser visual for the event.[50][51] Reception[edit]Manga[edit]Soul Eater was the 7th best-selling manga in 2008, with 3,076,351 copies sold.[52] As of October 2012, the manga had over 13 million copies in circulation.[53] As of April 2018, the manga had sold 18.2 million copies worldwide.[54] As of July 2019, the manga had 19.6 million copies in circulation.[18] In her review of the first volume, Danielle Leigh of Comic Book Resources wrote that it is "stylish and fun", favorably comparing Ohkubo's art to Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, which considered paired quite well with references to Anglo-American spooks and horror legends as Jack the Ripper and Frankenstein. Leigh, however, criticized the series for its excessive use of fanservice, and considered that it clashes terribly with the series "pattern oriented, with very little depth" art style.[55] Penny Kenny of Manga Life, gave the first volume a "B+". Kenny praised the series for its action scenes and variety of art styles, commenting that its panels "could have come out of Blade of the Immortal, while others are very Yu-Gi-Oh like", and that others "share the same sensibilities as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas", adding that Ohkubo uses a "nice mix of standard action, comic, horror, and deformed design styles that blend together surprisingly well".[56] Julian Gnam of Otaku USA praised the weapon meister/demon weapon partnerships presented in the story, but criticized the series' fanservice and overall found its plot "conventional", adding that it could come off cliché to the "more jaded manga veteran", stating although, that this makes the series accessible to casual readers.[57] Reviewing the second volume, Chris Zimmerman of Comic Book Bin gave it a 7.5 out of 10. Zimmerman commended the series for its action sequences and wrote that the character designs are "thoughtful and creative", but criticized it for its lack of character development, prioritizing single chapter fights, and making it similar to other shōnen series.[58] Reviewing the first two volumes, Shaenon Garrity of About.com gave the series 2 out of 5 stars. She praised the manga's setting, describing it as a "hyperkinetic Halloween world that's equal parts Shaman King, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and The Nightmare Before Christmas", but stated that "snazzy visuals can't compensate for the bland characters and meandering story". Garrity concluded that the series' popularity comes from its anime adaptation, adding that it is "fun to look at, bright and vibrant and visually imaginative", and in contrast, the original manga is "a lot less fun to sit down and read".[59] Reviewing the first volume of Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition, Nicholas Dupree of Anime News Network gave it a B+. Dupree wrote that the series holds an inherent charm to its world and characters that is hard to find anywhere else, adding that the key is its "spooky, Spirit Halloween-esque design sensibilities". He pointed out, however, that the comedy did not age well, stating that the main characters' gimmicks become repetitive and unfunny, and he felt that its use of sexual humor and fanservice is "questionable at best", and would not blame uninitiated readers if they drop the series for it "being too much". Dupree concluded: "for whatever warts it bears 15 years later, there's still nothing quite like Soul Eater out there".[60] Anime[edit]In her 2008 Anime Preview Guide, Casey Brienza of Anime News Network wrote; "Though Soul Eater should not be surprising anyone with its standard tournament plot structure, it has some serious style to burn. Like D.Gray-man it is deeply indebted to Tim Burton's idiosyncratic gothic-fantasy imagery (think Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas), but this series does, if possible, execute it better".[61] Jacob Hope Chapman of the same website describes the series as "dark but lively, visually imaginative, explosive great fun".[62] James Brusuelas of Animation World Network wrote positively about the series, stating; "this anime knows exactly what it is: fun! The result: a series that takes the guilt out of your guilty pleasure".[63] Holly Ellingwood of activeAnime praised the anime series, and wrote that "It is different, exciting and unexpected at various turns. A large part of its uniqueness and thrills have to do with the original animation style. It is zany while at times being creepy at whim. It is stylin' from start to finish!".[64] Sandra Scholes of the same website, wrote that its story is "full of comedy, fun and dark humour in a Gothic vein", also comparing the series to D.Gray-man and
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