Legend of the Condor Hero (anime)
Encyclopedia
is an anime adaptation of The Return of the Condor Heroes
, a wuxia
novel by Louis Cha.
, the Mongols have now conquered the Jin Dynasty and are now setting their sights towards the Southern Song Dynasty
. The citizens of Southern Song, many of them great martial artists of the Central Plains, band together to defend their country from the onset of the Mongol horde. The story culminates in the historic Battle of Xiangyang
, which was a critical battle that led to the fall of China to the Mongols.
The story revolves around the young martial arts fighter Yang Guo
(Youka), who falls in love with his martial arts master, Xiaolongnü
(Shouryuujo), and the trials and tribulations he goes through while searching for his love in war-torn China.
As compared to TVB's prior live action adaptations, the animated version cut out much of the side stories, and changed some of the plots to make the stories to fit into the 30-minute 26 episode blocks, as opposed to the 1-hour 20 episode blocks used in most TVB dramas. As a result, some do not regard it as a canonical adaptation.
The Japanese version was only made for the first series.
In all three series, Taiseng released the respective DVDs months before respective television broadcasts.
had obtained the rights of the series, it produced the animation version with association with Jade Animation (TVB
's animation studio), and decided to split the series into 3 parts. To reduce production cost, Nippon Animation did the production (including scripting, design) for the first series (episodes 1-26), with the Jade Animation's Shenzhen studio performing post-production (including background, digitization).
Beginning with 2nd series, Jade Animation took over the entire production, with Nippon Animation's role reduced to character design for new characters debuted in the later series.
VCD video of the series was released by Warner Bros.
in Hong Kong.
The Return of the Condor Heroes
The Return of the Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the second part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between May 20, 1959 and July 5, 1961 on Ming Pao. The story revolves around Yang Guo and his lover Xiaolongnü in their adventure in the wulin fraternity, which does not...
, a wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
novel by Louis Cha.
Plot
The Legend of Condor Hero is set in the 13th century at the time of the Mongol invasion of China. Nearly a decade after the end of The Legend of the Condor HeroesThe Legend of the Condor Heroes
The Legend of Condor Heroes is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong, and the first part of the Condor Trilogy. It was first serialized between January 1, 1957 and May 19, 1959 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily...
, the Mongols have now conquered the Jin Dynasty and are now setting their sights towards the Southern Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
. The citizens of Southern Song, many of them great martial artists of the Central Plains, band together to defend their country from the onset of the Mongol horde. The story culminates in the historic Battle of Xiangyang
Battle of Xiangyang
The Battle of Xiangyang also known as the Battle of Xiangfan was a six-year battle between invading Yuan Dynasty armies founded by the Mongols and Southern Song forces between AD 1267 and 1273. After the battle, the victorious Yuan forces pushed farther into the Song heartland...
, which was a critical battle that led to the fall of China to the Mongols.
The story revolves around the young martial arts fighter Yang Guo
Yang Guo
Yang Guo, style name Gaizhi , is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong....
(Youka), who falls in love with his martial arts master, Xiaolongnü
Xiaolongnü
Xiaolongnü is the fictional female protagonist of Jin Yong's wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes. The author describes her physical appearances as "skin as white as snow, beautiful and elegant beyond convention and cannot be underestimated, but appears cold and indifferent" .-Name:It is...
(Shouryuujo), and the trials and tribulations he goes through while searching for his love in war-torn China.
As compared to TVB's prior live action adaptations, the animated version cut out much of the side stories, and changed some of the plots to make the stories to fit into the 30-minute 26 episode blocks, as opposed to the 1-hour 20 episode blocks used in most TVB dramas. As a result, some do not regard it as a canonical adaptation.
List of episodes
There are 78 episodes released of The Legend of Condor Hero. Season I is composed of two parts—episodes 1–12 and episodes 13–26. Season II takes after the end of Season I, starting from episode 27 to 52. Season III broadcast began in Taiwan and Canada in 2008.The Japanese version was only made for the first series.
In all three series, Taiseng released the respective DVDs months before respective television broadcasts.
Season I (神鵰俠侶 I：古墓奇緣)
| Episode # | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trouble at the Temple 義弟之子 |
| 2 | The Toad Stance 蛤蟆神功 |
| 3 | The Dragon of Ancient Tomb 活死人墓 |
| 4 | Fulfilling the Promise 古墓門下 |
| 5 | Lin Chaoying's Sutra 玉女心經 |
| 6 | The Serpent Deity 斷龍石 |
| 7 | Love Thy Enemy 重陽遺書 |
| 8 | A Taoist Loses His Soul 誤解 |
| 9 | Fair, Beautiful Lady 追尋夢幻 |
| 10 | Secret Ally 復仇 |
| 11 | The Past Catches Up 痛苦回憶 |
| 12 | Winter on Mount Hua 雪山怪人 |
| 13 | The Last Great Fight 武林二老歸天 |
| 14 | Heroes' Summon 英雄大會 |
| 15 | The Head of Wulin 武林盟主 |
| 16 | A Love Forbidden 禁忌之愛 |
| 17 | Sayonara 被拆散的戀人 |
| 18 | By the Stone Ruins 追憶身影 |
| 19 | Announcement of Death 火焰狂宴 |
| 20 | An Empty Tomb 命運之線 |
| 21 | Hidden Fortress 絕情谷的新娘 |
| 22 | Love Me Not 情花地獄 |
| 23 | The Dark Abyss 地獄谷底 |
| 24 | A Woman Scorned 地底秘密 |
| 25 | The Wedding and the Reckoning 染血婚禮 |
| 26 | The Beginning 隨風而去 |
Season II (神鵰俠侶 II：襄陽風雲)
| Episode # | Title |
|---|---|
| 27 | Exacting Vengeance 父仇 |
| 28 | Bloodshed in Xiangyang 血染襄陽 |
| 29 | Murderous Intentions 俠中之俠 |
| 30 | Fight Till the End 捨身一戰 |
| 31 | Deep into Enemy Camp 捨身一戰 |
| 32 | Sublimation from Vengeance 超越恩仇 |
| 33 | When Life Comes to an End 生命終結之際 |
| 34 | Born in the Fire 戰火之子 |
| 35 | 惡夢重現 |
| 36 | The Condor Valley 神鵰谷 |
| 37 | A Duel at Dawn 黎明的決鬥 |
| 38 | Gloomy Xiaolongnü 憂傷的小龍女 |
| 39 | Fate Take Its Toll 命運多劫 |
| 40 | Seriously Wounded 身負重創 |
| 41 | Tomb of Swords 不説話的師父 |
| 42 | Condor's Sword 神鵰重劍 |
| 43 | A Distant Dream 遙遠的夢想 |
| 44 | A Duel Between Two Ladies 女傑決鬥 |
| 45 | Tragedy on Mount Zhongnan 終南山烏雲 |
| 46 | A Bloody Farewell 血色的再會 |
| 47 | Honeymoon 洞房花燭 |
| 48 | The Secret of Cold Jade Bed 寒玉牀的秘密 |
| 49 | Hope 希望 |
| 50 | A Crisis Approaches 危機逼近 |
| 51 | A Destined Calamity 劫難重重 |
| 52 | An Unexpected Encounter in Snow 雪中邂逅 |
Season III (神鵰俠侶 III：相約十六年)
| Episode # | Title |
|---|---|
| 53 | Walking Towards an Unlucky Ground 走向不吉之地 |
| 54 | Yang Guo in Love 楊過戀愛 |
| 55 | Rescue Guo Xiang 奪回郭襄 |
| 56 | Bitter Love 苦戀 |
| 57 | 悲慘的綠萼 |
| 58 | 弔喪之山 |
| 59 | 南海神尼 |
| 60 | 飘流四方 |
| 61 | Snowy Night 雪夜 |
| 62 | 九尾靈狐 |
| 63 | 憧憬的英雄 |
| 64 | 黑龍潭老婆婆 |
| 65 | 已逝去的日子 |
| 66 | Golden Needle Agreement 金針的約定 |
| 67 | Mysterious Saviour 神秘救星 |
| 68 | 暴風雨前夕 |
| 69 | 陰謀暴露 |
| 70 | The Lie of Sixteen Years Ago 十六年前的謊言 |
| 71 | Guo Xiang Kidnapped 郭襄被捕 |
| 72 | 相聚時刻 |
| 73 | 約定之日 |
| 74 | 通往其異世界的入口 |
| 75 | Fate Meets Again 命運再相逢 |
| 76 | Fierce Combat in Xiangyang 激戰襄陽 |
| 77 | 超越恩怨 |
| 78 | The Real Hero 真正的大俠 |
Theme songs
- Opening theme song: Yuu performed by NoR
- Ending theme song: Blása performed by Yae
Production
After Nippon AnimationNippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
had obtained the rights of the series, it produced the animation version with association with Jade Animation (TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
's animation studio), and decided to split the series into 3 parts. To reduce production cost, Nippon Animation did the production (including scripting, design) for the first series (episodes 1-26), with the Jade Animation's Shenzhen studio performing post-production (including background, digitization).
Beginning with 2nd series, Jade Animation took over the entire production, with Nippon Animation's role reduced to character design for new characters debuted in the later series.
Video releases
Taiseng Entertainment released the first season for English-speaking audiences. Since the show was much more popular in Chinese-speaking nations than in Japan, the second season was not produced in Japanese like the first season, but in Cantonese and Mandarin.VCD video of the series was released by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in Hong Kong.