Broken Blade (ブレイク ブレイド, Bureiku Bureido, a.k.a. "Break Blade") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yunosuke Yoshinaga since September 12, 2006. Flex Comix published the first tankōbon volume of the manga on April 10, 2007.[1] The manga was previously licensed in North America by CMX,[2] which released three volumes before shutting down.[3] The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.[4] The manga was adapted into six 50 minute animated films.[5] Sentai Filmworks has licensed the movie series and released them on DVD and Blu-ray in 2012.[6] The anime movies are also available online on Crunchyroll.[7]
Broken Blade | |
ブレイク ブレイド (Bureiku Bureido) | |
---|---|
Genre | Action, Mecha |
Manga | |
Written by | Yunosuke Yoshinaga |
Published by | Flex Comix COMIC Meteor |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Shōnen Blood (2006) FlexComix Blood (2007–2012) Comic Meteor (2012–2022) |
Demographic | Shōnen, seinen |
Original run | September 12, 2006 – October 12, 2022 |
Volumes | 20 |
Anime film series | |
Directed by | Tetsurō Amino (chief) Nobuyoshi Habara (director) |
Produced by | Ken Ookawara Nao Hirasawa |
Written by | Masashi Sogo |
Music by | Yoshihisa Hirano |
Studio | Production I.G & Xebec |
Licensed by | |
Released | May 29, 2010 – March 26, 2011 |
Runtime | 50 minutes (each) |
Films | 6 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Nobuyoshi Habara |
Music by | Yoshihisa Hirano |
Studio | Production I.G & Xebec |
Original network | Tokyo MX Sun Television BS11 |
Original run | April 6, 2014 – June 22, 2014 |
Episodes | 12 |
The story is centered around a young man named Rygart Arrow, a resident of a world where people can use "magic". This magic is the ability to control and empower quartz, doing many things from creating light to operating machinery to riding giant mecha called 'Golems'. Rygart, however, is one of the few exceptions; as an "un-sorcerer", he cannot utilize quartz, making many aspects of life difficult as well as being looked down upon by the rest of society. Despite this, in his youth he managed to befriend Hodr and Sigyn, the future King and Queen of the Krisna Kingdom; and Zess, the younger brother of the Secretary of War of the Athens Commonwealth.
Years later, Rygart is reunited with Hodr and Sigyn where he learns the Athens Commonwealth has begun an invasion of Krisna. Rygart is also shocked to learn that Zess is leading one of the strike forces. While at the capital, Rygart discovers that he has the ability to pilot a recently discovered ancient Golem which cannot be piloted by magic users. Despite its ancient origins, the golem possesses capabilities and systems far more advanced than the current Golems, and could be key to turning the tide of battle. While hesitant at first, Rygart soon gets involved in the war between Krisna and Athens, in an attempt to save Hodr, Sigyn, and even Zess.
Written and illustrated by Yunosuke Yoshinaga, Broken Blade has been serialized by Flex Comix in the Shounen web manga anthologies Shonen Blood in October and November 2006 issues and FC Blood from January 1, 2007 to February 8, 2012, and in the Seinen manga anthology Comic Meteo since July 25, 2012. The chapters have been published into tankōbon volumes since April 10, 2007. 20 tankōbon volumes with 104 chapters were released and the manga concluded in October 2022. CMX released the first three volumes of the series in English.
No. | Release date | ISBN |
---|---|---|
1 | April 10, 2007[8] | 978-4-7973-4142-3 |
2 | September 12, 2007[9] | 978-4-7973-4433-2 |
3 | March 12, 2008[10] | 978-4-7973-4704-3 |
4 | September 11, 2008[11] | 978-4-7973-5015-9 |
5 | February 10, 2009[12] | 978-4-7973-5290-0 |
6 | July 9, 2009[13] | 978-4-7973-5543-7 |
7 | December 11, 2009[14] | 978-4-7973-5754-7 978-4-593-85628-2 (limited edition) |
8 | May 26, 2010[15] | 978-4-7973-5967-1 |
9 | December 11, 2010[16] | 978-4-7973-6295-4 978-4-593-85631-2 (limited edition) |
10 | August 12, 2011[17] | 978-4-7973-6628-0 978-4-593-85633-6 (limited edition) |
11 | November 9, 2012 (limited edition)[18] November 12, 2012 (regular edition)[19] | 978-4-593-85710-4 978-4-593-85711-1 (limited edition) |
12 | June 12, 2013[20] | 978-4-593-85733-3 |
13 | May 12, 2014[21] | 978-4-593-85776-0 |
14 | April 11, 2015[22] | 978-4-593-85803-3 |
15 | March 30, 2016[23] | 978-4-593-85830-9 |
16 | August 8, 2017[24] | 978-4-593-85865-1 |
17 | December 12, 2018[25] | 978-4-86675-042-2 |
18 | March 17, 2020[26] | 978-4-86675-098-9 |
19 | October 12, 2022[27] | 978-4-86675-245-7 |
20 | October 12, 2022[28] | 978-4-86675-246-4 |
The films were chief directed by Tetsurō Amino, directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and produced by Production I.G and XEBEC. The films' opening theme is "Fate", performed by Kokia and closing theme song for the first five movies are "SERIOUS-AGE" by Faylan while the closing theme song for the sixth movie is "Nageki no Oto" (嘆きの音, The Wailing Sound), also performed by Kokia. While the films mostly follow the manga story, for episode six, the animators deviated from the manga to end the story with their own plot.
No. | Film title | Original release date | DVD/Blu-ray release date | |
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1 | "The Time of Awakening" Transliteration: "Kakusei no Toki" (Japanese: 覚醒ノ刻) | May 29, 2010 | July 23, 2010 | |
In the continent of Cruzon, the people have the ability to use magic to manipulate Quartz. Rygart Arrow is a rarity as he is an Un-sorcerer, a person unable to use magic. He is invited to Binonten, the capital city of Krisna by Hodr and his wife Sigyn, his old classmates from the Assam Military Academy and the King and Queen of Krishna. However, he learns the nation of Assam has fallen due a coup d'état and is now under the Athens Commonwealth, who now set their sights to Krishna where a small Golem taskforce is heading to the capital led by their old Military Academy classmate, Zess. Hodr leads Rygart to a secret mine where he shows him a mysterious Golem they found built by the Ancients but are unable to pilot it. Rygart, pleads Hodr to surrender to the Athenians but Hodr reveals one of the terms of surrender the Athenians secretly want for Krishna is the execution of the Royal family including Sigyn which troubles Rygart. Just then, Zess forces have arrive and plans to quickly capture the King and make him surrender. Rygart accidentally gets into the Ancient Golem's cockpit and is able to pilot it and defeat one of Zess subordinates, Lee, thanks to its speed and reflexes. Zess arrives and defeats Rygart, but is forced to pull back with Lee when General Baldr and his men arrive. While Sigyn and her engineers try to repair the Ancient Golem, she is surprised of its excellent mobility and the way it was built. The next day, Zess's forces returns and attacks Binonten. Wanting to convince Zess to stop, Rygart takes the Ancient Golem as he is the only one who can pilot it and heads out to meet Zess. | ||||
2 | "The Path of Separation" Transliteration: "Ketsubetsu no Michi" (Japanese: 訣別ノ路) | June 26, 2010 | August 27, 2010 | |
The narration begins by revealing Athens invaded the Krisna Kingdom for allowing the Orlando Empire to cross into their land to attack Athens during their power struggle over Assam but the true purpose of the invasion is to take over the Krisna Quartz mines as Athens is suffering a shortage of Quartz. In the Athens capital of Ilios, Secretary of War Loquis has received news that his brother Zess has successfully reached Binonten. Meanwhile, Rygart manages to get a ceasefire between the Athens invaders and Krisna defenders and speaks with Zess. The two friends immediately talk about the war and Zess knows Orlando tricked Krisna during the Assam's coup d'état and wants Hodr to surrender to spare Krisna from the Athens Invasion force. Realizing Zess does not know about the secret terms of surrender for the Royal family, Rygart tries to tell him but both are forced to fight when General True and his men attack, breaking the ceasefire. Rygart escapes the battle but encounters and fights Lee instead and manages to destroy one of her Golem's arm and is shot down by one of General Baldr's men named Dan. Rygart tries convince Dan not to kill Lee but he is killed by her instead before Rygart subdues her Golem. With her Golem broken and not willing to be a prisoner of "barbarians" (a product of Athens propaganda), Lee commits suicide to Rygart's horror. It is not long until Zess and Cleo learns of Lee's fate. Devastated by Lee and Dan's death, Rygart decides to leave the capital. But after hearing about Hodr's decision to surrender and advice from General Baldr, Rygart changes his mind and decides to join the war. Rygart is knighted a Heavy knight of Krisna and the official pilot of the Ancient Golem, now called Delphine. | ||||
3 | "Scars from an Assassin's Blade" Transliteration: "Kyōjin no Ato" (Japanese: 凶刃ノ痕) | September 25, 2010 | January 28, 2011 | |
Zess wonders about the terms of surrender Rygart was talking about as he and his squad prepares for one more attack at Binonten. As Rygart is being taught on using the Delphine and its new heavy armor, Sigyn wonders if he is capable of killing someone and Baldr warns him he has to work hard if he wants to save an enemy's life. Zess's squad begins their final attack but quickly aborts the mission once they realize the Krisna forces are following them. As they escape to the border, Rygart soon arrives and quickly kills one Zess's men, Argath which Zess stays back to fight him. Rygart at first is reluctant to hurt Zess but quickly puts it aside and seriously damages Zess's Golem and injures him. Cleo, devastated by the death of her comrades, fights Rygart in anger where she quickly defeats Rygart and fights against Baldr and his men alone. When Erekt manages to retrieve the injured Zess, Cleo tries to escape but her Golem is shot and disabled by Narvi, and tells Erekt to leave her behind and escape with Zess. While Rygart believes it's over, Baldr tells him they now must face the Athens Invasion force led by General Borcuse. In Athens, Borcuse is informed by his second in command, Colonel Io, that Secretary Loquis has manage to acquit the General's war crimes at Assam and made him commander of the Athens Invasion force where his soldiers are gathering at Ilios. Meanwhile in Binoten, Sigyn decides to have Cleo stay at her bed chambers instead of the dungeon, hoping she will cooperate and tell them about her Artemis Golem but Cleo takes her hostage to escape. As Cleo escapes while holding up Sigyn with her gun, they find Rygart talking to Hodr's pet owl Gram. Cleo at first is reluctant to shoot him upon hearing that Rygart is a friend of Zess and hopes for his safety but when she does tries to shoot him, she learns the gun is empty and is captured by the castle's guards. At Ilios, Loquis informs Borcuse of their nation's Quartz shortage and tells the General that he must do everything necessary to win and take over Krisna as his army heads out. | ||||
4 | "The Land of Calamity" Transliteration: "Sanka no Chi" (Japanese: 惨禍ノ地) | October 30, 2010 | February 25, 2011 | |
As Zess and Erekt returns to Athens, Krisna mobilizes their army to face the Athenian Invaders. Cleo continues living with Sigyn where the latter warns her not to harm Rygart again. Meanwhile, Sigyn assembles a special Golem force led by Narvi with Rygart, her older brother Nile and Sniper Loggin under her command including Girge. Girge is General Baldr's son and a talented Golem pilot who has been given Cleo's Golem but he is a former criminal who killed his teammates without reason which Baldr warns Rygart to be careful with his son and kill him if he does anything suspicious. As General True and General Baldr's forces head out, Rygart trains with his teammates to better use the Delphine while Hodr asks the Orlando Empire for help. Before leaving, Sigyn makes Rygart vow to come back safely. Unknown to Rygart and company, General True is ambushed by the Athenians led by Io and Nike, and is killed in battle. As a siege battle begins between Baldr and Borcuse forces, an officer named Elsa notices a small opportunity and convinces the General to let her lead a small Golem detachment to assault and kill Borcuse. Surprisingly, Borcuse and his men kill all of Elsa's forces despite being outnumbered 20 to 6. Borcuse orders Nike to drag and show Elsa's cockpit to the Krisnan defenders to demoralize them. However, Baldr rallies all of his Golems into attackong Borcuse's army. As Baldr's forces are cornered by Borcuse on both flanks, they are soon rescued by Rygart and his teammates by decimating the left flank, forcing Borcuse to order his army to retreat. As they escape into a valley, Borcuse's forces get ambushed by Girge who quickly subdues Nike's Golem and proceeds to fight Borcuse and his officers. | ||||
5 | "The Gap Between Life and Death" Transliteration: "Shisen no Hate" (Japanese: 死線ノ涯) | January 22, 2011 | May 27, 2011 | |
Girge is questioned by Narvi over his surprise attack against Borcuse forces and has him detained so he does not repeat his antics again. Later Loggin, Rygart and Nile learns about True's death but Nile is unsure whether to tell the true to Narvi. While Rygart and Baldr talk about Girge's past and Cleo learns more about Zess's academy days with Sigyn, the Athenian Invasion army have finally regroup and despite losing many Golems, Nike's ego badly bruised by Girge and the death of one of his officers, Borcuse is overjoyed at finding two worthy opponents to fight, particular Rygart and Girge. Rygart, after finding out that Borcuse is heading to his hometown where his little brother Regatz lives, disobeys Narvi's order to head home and search for his brother. However, when he arrives, the villagers have been killed by Borcuse's men. Borcuse is glad to see Rygart is here and has duel with him while his men are ordered to watched. After a long tenuous fight, Borcuse knocks out Rygart and orders his men to pry open the Delphine cockpit and kill the pilot before returning it to Athens. However, Rygart regains consciousness and is able to escape when his squad mates intervene. As they are about to fallback, the squad is intercepted by Io and Nike forces where Narvi, Loggin, and Nile's Golems are taken down. In the confusion, Girge runs away where Rygart chases after him where he has a duel with Rygart. As they battle, Girge mocks Rygart for defending the weak and reveals he knows the stories that Sigyn is in love with him and offers him the chance to make Sigyn his. But Rygart scoffs at Girge's ideals and tells him he should fight for Krisna just like his father and defeats him. Io and Nike's forces finally arrive where they corner both men and with the Delphine out of energy, Girge decides to save Rygart by kicking the Delphine into a valley while fighting against the enemy at the cost of his own life, killing many of them including Nike. | ||||
6 | "Fortress of Lamentation" Transliteration: "Dōkoku no Toride" (Japanese: 慟哭ノ砦) | March 26, 2011 | July 22, 2011 | |
After Girge's death, Baldr and his men carries Rygart and Delphine back to Binoten before the Athenians arrive. Borcuse decides to invade Binoten with his current forces without waiting for the rest of the Invasion force. Meanwhile, Narvi, Nile and Loggin manages to survive and try to return to Binoten with Nile's broken Golem. As Rygart becomes distraught over Girge's death, Sigyn, with the help of her engineers and a Orlando merchant named Greta, builds a new Quartz armor and weapon for Delphine. When Borcuse's forces finally arrive, he orders them to attack Binoten in three directions with Io and Bades leading the other two while Captain Sakura rallies the defenders. As Krisna and Athens fight a brutal battle inside the streets of Binoten, Rygart watches the battle from afar while Delphine's power source is recharging and is being fitted with new armor. Baldr and his men finally arrive where they battle Bades' men while Narvi, Nile and Loggin get new Golems to join the fight. After the Delphine power has finally been recharged, Rygart finally joins the battle and relieves Sakura as he battles Borcuse. During this confusion, Sigyn allows Cleo to escape but not before they say goodbye. As the battle rages on while Sigyn tries to finish the weapon, Baldr kills Bades, Nile finally defeats Io, leaving him alive and Rygart continues to battle Borcuse which the latter realize that the former is an Un-sorcerer. Sigyn finally finishes the Delphine's new weapon, a giant Shuriken with a harden quartz rope and gives it Rygart to fight against Borcuse. As everyone watches the battle between Rygart and Borcuse, Borcuse is able to dodge most of the attacks by the shuriken but Rygart finally lands a hit at Borcuse's Golem at the legs and damages the body. Borcuse comes out of his cockpit and keeps shooting at Rygart with his gun and after remembering his moments that led to the war, Rygart kills Borcuse. With Borcuse dead, his men immediately began to retreat thus ending the battle. In the aftermath, Nile and Loggin comforts Narvi after she learns of True's death, Loquis does not take the death of Borcuse's very well while Zess and Erekt goes searching for Cleo after hearing her escape and as Rygart, Hodr and Sigyn are reunited, Rygart cries with joy upon learning his brother Regatz is alive at Binoten. |
The Broken Blade films have been adapted and edited into a 12-episode anime series by Production I.G and XEBEC, including scenes never featured in the original movies. The series was aired between April and June 2014 on Tokyo MX and BS11 stations in Japan. Both OP and ending themes were performed by both Sayaka Sasaki and Aira Yuhki.[29]
# | Title | Original air date |
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1 | "Un Sorcerer" Transliteration: "An Sōsarā (Maryoku Musha)" (Japanese: アン・ソーサラー(魔力無者)) | April 6, 2014 |
2 | "Under Golem" Transliteration: "Andā Gouremu (Kodai Kyohei)" (Japanese: アンダー・ゴゥレム(古代巨兵)) | April 13, 2014 |
3 | "Not Bad" Transliteration: "Notto Baddo (Teisen Kōshō)" (Japanese: ノット・バッド(停戦交渉)) | April 20, 2014 |
4 | "Cross Combat" Transliteration: "Kurōsu Konbatto (Kinsetsu Sentō)" (Japanese: クロース・コンバット(近接戦闘)) | April 27, 2014 |
5 | "Counter Attack" Transliteration: "Kauntā Atakku (Gyaku Kyōshū)" (Japanese: カウンター・アタック(逆撃強襲)) | May 4, 2014 |
6 | "World Wind" Transliteration: "Wāru Uindo (Shippūdotō)" (Japanese: ワール・ウィンド(疾風怒濤)) | May 11, 2014 |
7 | "Night Before" Transliteration: "Naito Bifoa (Shutsugeki Zen'ya)" (Japanese: ナイト・ビフォア(出撃前夜)) | May 18, 2014 |
8 | "Waste Land" Transliteration: "Ueisuto Rando (Shichi Kyōhen)" (Japanese: ウェイスト・ランド(死地凶変)) | May 25, 2014 |
9 | "Show Down" Transliteration: "Shō Daun (Ryūko Sensen)" (Japanese: ショウ・ダウン(竜虎宣戦)) | June 1, 2014 |
10 | "Lightning Speed" Transliteration: "Raitoningu Supīdo (Shinsoku Musō)" (Japanese: ライトニング・スピード(神速無双)) | June 8, 2014 |
11 | "Last Stand" Transliteration: "Rasuto Sutando (Yōgai Kengo)" (Japanese: ラスト・スタンド(要害堅固)) | June 15, 2014 |
12 | "Endless Fate" Transliteration: "Endoresu Feito (Eigō Kaiki)" (Japanese: エンドレス・フェイト(永劫回帰)) | June 22, 2014 |