Blue Dragon (TV series)

Shu (シュウ, Shuu)

Voiced by: Keiko Nemoto (Japanese)

Voiced by: Yuri Lowanthal (English)

He is an impulsive and adventurous kid. Originally from the fictional village of Talta, Shu does not give up in the face of adversity and it is thanks to his stubbornness that he will be able to defeat evil. Despite all the small flaws that make him up, Shu is honest, loyal, selfless and courageous. He has a great sense of duty and friendship and love are very important to him. He often happens to say stupid things or get lost in long speeches. Shu's shadow is Blue Dragon, one of the seven shadows of light, who will join him in the fight against the forces of evil. Bouquet is in love with him and, in the second season (especially during the last episodes) the girl seems to be finally reciprocated.

Zola (ゾラ, Zora)

Voiced by: Romi Park (Japanese)

Voiced by: Cindy Robinson (English)

She is a pirate of the skies, antagonist in the finale of the first anime series. She is cold and detached, always in control of the situation. He has white, waist-length hair, a dark complexion and a saber from which he never separates. Her shadow is the Killer Bat, which she obtained when she and Nene and her father visited the ruins dedicated to it. It was here that her father died protecting her from a landslide, and Zola, desperate, succumbed to the darkness and fell under their control. Its real goal is to restore the world to its original state, which is darkness, in which there is neither light nor shadow. He will succeed in this regard by deceiving all the descendants of the knights of the light, or his traveling companions plus Logi and Deathroy. Darkness will engulf most of the world, until Shu and the others defeat them.

Jiro (ジーロ, Jiro)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese)

Voiced by: Sam Regal (English)

He is a skilful and strong boy, gifted with a certain technique and strategy, who however has only one major flaw, which Zola repeatedly accuses him of: he is much, too impulsive, almost more than Shu. He is motivated to defeat Nene by a great desire for revenge, as he is responsible for the destruction of his village and the death of his family. His shadow is Minotaur, which he discovers he owns after the destruction of his village. Initially he has an arrogant and individualistic attitude, but, over time, he will open up more to other people, becoming more kind and helpful.

Kluke (クルック, Kurukku)

Voiced by: Erino Hazuki (Japanese)

Voiced by: Michelle Ruff (English)

She is the best friend of Shu, a little girl expert in mechanics. She is good, sensitive, cautious but also easy to get angry (at least in the first season of the anime). Over the course of the story, she becomes close friends with both Bouquet and Jiro, who ends up feeling a great affection for her, because she reminds him of her younger sister. She is initially very jealous of the interactions between Shu and Bouquet, but will eventually cease to be. Kluke falls in love with Andropov, during the final episodes of the first season. Andropov is madly in love with her.

Marumaro (マルマロ, Marumaro)

Voiced by: Sakiko Uran (Japanese)

Voiced by: Martin Klein (English)

He is a creature that Shu and his friends meet shortly after they leave Talta village. He is a yellow dwarf with always squinting eyes, which makes it impossible to determine their color. Its shadow is an immense saber-toothed tiger, called the Tiger, whose most dangerous ability is surprising speed. He usually has an immature and casual demeanor, fascinated by beautiful girls, including Bouquet, although he still shows he has a big heart and is always ready to help his friends. During the battles he never backs down, calling himself the "champion of justice" each time.

Bouquet (ブーケ, Buke)

Voiced by: Saki Nakajima (Japanese)

Voiced by: Melissa Fahn (English)

She is a girl in love with Shu, who claims to be his girlfriend. Sometimes she is a little distracted, but also sensitive and more attentive to the feelings of others than she seems. Overall, Bouquet is very kind and beautiful. Her shadow is Hippo, who can unite with her and transform into any person, animal and object. Bouquet belongs to the Ra tribe, and therefore has the power to make himself invisible, but not his clothes, and therefore has to undress to disappear. She gets the bonding ability from Us, which will allow her to increase the power of Blue Dragon and Tiger by giving them superior armor and strength.

Noi (ノイ, Noi)

Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese)

Voiced by: Katie Liegh (English)

Blue Dragon (ブルードラゴン, Bruu Doragon)

Voiced by: Masaya Takatsuka (Japanese)

Voiced by: Lex Lang (English)

Killer Bat (キラーバット, Kira Bat)

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (Japanese)

Voiced by: Richard Epcar (English)

Minotaur (ミノタウロス, Minotaurosu)

Voiced by: Kōji Ochiai (Japanese)

Voiced by: Kirk Thornton (English)

Phoenix (フェニックス, Fenikkusu)

Voiced by: Konomi Koboi (Japanese)

Voiced by: Michelle Ruff (English)

Saber Tiger (サーベルタイガー, Sarberu Taigar)

Voiced by: Jin Horikawa (Japanese)

Voiced by: Neil Kaplan (English)

Hippotamus (ヒポポタマス, Hipopotamasu)

Voiced by: Chō (Japanese)

Voiced by: Michael Sorich (English)

As Shu's village was being attacked by an unknown enemy, he and his friends, Jiro and Kluke decide to defend their home. They soon meet Zola and receive the powers of Shadow, an ability that lets them transform their shadow into a powerful monster. Shu receives one of the most powerful monsters, Blue Dragon, and they all set out to defeat their enemy.

Akira Toriyama, character designer for the Blue Dragon video game, said that Studio Pierrot approached him about an anime adaptation in February 2006. In his own words, he said:

I knew that [Hironobu] Sakaguchi had been working on assembling staff to produce a game, although at the time Blue Dragon hadn't yet been formally announced. According to the materials, it was to be a fantasy world like Lord of the Rings, with a detailed world view and story. This may be my final anime, I'm a little worried (about it). There's incredible pressure, but at the same time, there's a sense of accomplishment – that it's worth doing. Blue Dragon will be a masterpiece, not simply because I'm working hard on it, but because the staff is expecting nothing less.[3]

An anime adaptation directed by Yukihiro Matsushita, written by Akatsuki Yamatoya, animated by Studio Pierrot and co-produced by SKY Perfect Wellthink, TV Tokyo and Pierrot was announced in November 2006.[4] The anime began airing April 7, 2007, featuring a different vocal cast than that used for the game. It also ignored most of the game's plot.[5] It aired on TV Tokyo, and ran for 51 episodes.[6]

A second season of Blue Dragon—Blue Dragon: Trials of the Seven Shadows (BLUE DRAGON 天界の七竜, Burū Doragon: Tenkai no Shichiryū)—premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2008.[7]

On April 16, 2007, Viz Media announced that it had licensed the anime for release in North America and Europe.[8] An edited English language dub of the series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network, on April 5, 2008. It also aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami Jetstream service until Jetstream was cancelled on January 30, 2009.[9] Since then it has been discovered that Viz Media did make an uncut version of the Blue Dragon anime in English. This uncut version released by Manga Entertainment had the first 24 episodes released on DVD (exclusively in the UK) over three 2 disc DVD sets with the release date of further DVD sets cancelled due to lack of sales. These uncut episodes unlike the US DVD releases fully restores the original Japanese opening and closing, all edited scenes from the Cartoon Network version are restored including the original music, as well as having the option to view the series in Japanese with English subtitles. On July 22, 2011, Viz Media started streaming Blue Dragon episodes on VizAnime Tubi, and Hulu.[10] At Otakon, Viz Media representative Amy Mar said that if the streaming numbers are good, they might release the uncut episodes on physical media.[11] The fully uncut Season 1 is findable as a dub on the Italian copies of the DVD.

• Blue Dragon (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia