is a series of Japanese fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 adventure

Adventure

An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s and manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, two anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 television series (Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Begins and Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge), and a video game

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery was one of the first games for the PlayStation 2. Based on the anime and manga series Sorcerous Stabber Orphen by Yoshinobu Akita, the game was an adventure/RPG that had around 10–20 hours of gameplay.-Characters:Orphen - A brilliant but independent-minded sorcerer...

.

Synopsis

Azalie, Orphen's best friend who had helped him get through the prestigious magic school, The Tower of Fang, has some connection with the beastly dragon, the Bloody August. To uphold the magic school's reputation, the dragon must be destroyed—but Orphen isn't about to let that happen so easily, for this beastly dragon is Azalie: she had been transformed due to tampering with something with which she shouldn't have. People whom Orphen thought were his friends suddenly seem as though they are enemies in the race to get to Azalie first. Orphen leaves the school, furious with the fact that they want to destroy his best friend.

After five years, he finds himself living in the quiet town of Totokanta and taking on a student - Majic Lin, his landlord's son. Life is quiet and fairly lazy until the day Cleao Everlasting comes home from boarding school, and stumbles into Orphen's quietly laid plans for the sword that sits on her family's mantle; the Sword Of Baltanders. It turns out that the sword is actually one of three magical artifacts that Orphen will need if he is to save Azalie. But the Bloody August assaults the town looking for the sword, the Tower's forces show up as well.

To find the other pieces of the sword, Orphen sets off with his apprentice, little miss Everlasting and two short-statured misfits, but at all times they need to stay ahead of the Tower of Fang and its sorcerers, who believe that bringing Azalie back would reveal a mistake so great it could bring the Tower down - and, of course, ahead of Azalie herself who, as the dragon is more powerful than both Orphen and the Tower, and is driven solely by the need to transform back into her human self.

Main characters

Orphen is the main male lead. Fans claim "he comes off as a 'badass' kind of guy", because of his apparent lack of emotions, dedication to finish what he is working on as soon as possible (his eagerness to stop helping people he feels he doesn't have to help), and his 'coldness' towards people he doesn't know. He is partly an anti-hero

Anti-hero

In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...

 throughout the entire series. The only time his attitude changes is when the subject of Azalie is brought up. He will do anything for Azalie, as they have quite a history together but Orphen keeps his feelings and the story about Azalie to himself at first, only opening up later in the series. He and Azalie were brought to the school together because it was believed that they possessed a strong amount of magical power within them. This proved correct; Orphen was a magic-prodigy. Orphen eventually becomes the greatest sorcerer in the world. His true name is , and the sorcerers from the Tower of Fang (Hartia, Azalie, Leticia, Childman, and Flameheart) still refer to him like that.

She is the tomboyish, feisty main female lead. Her father had inherited the Sword of Balthanders, and Orphen needed the sword. She accompanies him on his journey, allowing him to hold on to the sword as long as he doesn't object to her tagging along. As the sword was a gift to her from her now-deceased father, she claims that she is only coming to ensure that she gets it back. She and Orphen fight quite a bit - mainly silly, funny fights. But having had a crush on him previously, from afar, as the series goes on, she finds her feelings for him grow. Orphen gradually becomes attached to Cleao, eventually viewing her as the person most important to him by the conclusion of the novels and manga.

Majic is Orphen's apprentice, and the second-male lead. He is a friend of Cleao's, but in the manga they are not close friends since she's three years older than he is and she also spent a long time at boarding school. In the anime, they were in the same grade in school, but she has since moved on to boarding school. Majic deals with the torment from both Cleao and Orphen on their journey together to save Azalie. His father is paying Orphen to teach him, which at first seems a waste of money to his father. When Orphen repairs a glass that fell with his magic, before the father's eyes, the father's opinion about his money being "thrown out the window" disappears. Majic appears to be a good student, learning as much as he can, and retaining all of what he learns. Orphen seems to have a lot of faith in him. This gives him courage, which makes his power stronger. Majic looks up to Orphen, and refers to him as "master" upon Orphen's request. All sorcerers call their "teachers", who teach them sorcery, "master."

One of the race of Deep Dragon (changed to Wolfen in the English Dub), Leki is a cub who is found and adopted by Cleao, although perhaps it could be said that Leki adopted Cleao, as adult Deep Dragons are more powerful and intelligent by far than humans. Like all Deep Dragons, Leki resembles a wolf rather than a reptilian dragon, and when he uses his innate powers, his eyes will glow a bright green color. As Leki is still very young, he often exhibits young animal-like tendencies, such as chasing after a butterfly. He protects and defends Cleao whenever he feels the need to, or when Cleao orders him. She's very good to him; in fact, Cleao often treats him better than her two male companions, Orphen and Majic. Leki will not only protect Cleao, but anyone who he sees in danger. Leki's collar belongs to one of the three artifacts from the Aisle of Balthanders, the Bracelet of Nomafrozis. Near the end of the novel series, before he and Cleo depart, he bestows a surmountable amount of magical power upon her so that she may be able to protect herself.

One of the two short-statured brothers who follow along with Orphen on his quest. He frequently refers to himself the "Masmaturian Bulldog". Volkan always comes up with their plans (which usually turn out to be poorly thought out, utterly bad ideas, and almost never work). He hates Orphen (whom he refers to as "the black wizard") and his companions, and always finds a way to ruin whatever they had in mind. It is his fault that Orphen often must use his magic on them to make them go away (himself and Dortin). Volkan wants only power and money. Any scheme he has in mind has the end result of getting him one of the two. None of his schemes ever work, however. He bosses Dortin around a lot, but in a very comical way (and probably means no real harm by it).

Volkan's younger brother. Dortin and Volkan are often viewed as comic relief throughout the series. They are two trolls who are always low on money, and seem to always find a way to mess up whatever Orphen is trying to accomplish. They work in Cleao's basement, cutting up food and whatnot; she is their employer. As for his character, Dortin is the voice of reason (that is never paid any attention to) on his and Volkan's quests. He is kind and knowledgeable, but his swirling glasses give him a rather geekish appearance. When Volkan messes up, Dortin always tries to tell Orphen he had no part in Volkan's schemes, but they both wind up being victim's of Orphen's magical blasts anyway. Dortin is shown to be quite caring and loyal, as he begs Orphen for help in saving his brother from mushroom poisoning and, later, in defying Volkan's "order" to run from danger when a friend needed his help.

Supporting characters

She's Orphen's foster sister, best friend - and the Bloody August. They were in the same orphanage and came to the Tower of Fang together, believed to be magical-prodigies. She tutored him a lot, and gave him special attention. She was a great sorcerer - maybe one of the greatest. However, she had two sides to her. There was the kind, loving Azalie, and then the, as Orphen says, "scary" Azalie. After having her love declaration to someone else rejected, she seemed to be almost obsessed with her studies; she wanted more power, and one of her experiments turned her into Bloody August - name given to the dragon that first appeared in August.

Orphen, Hartia, and Azalie's Master. He is Orphen's primary antagonist for the better part of the anime, as Orphen believes he really wants to kill Azalie. Hartia tries to convince Orphen that Childman isn't his enemy, but in the end, it fails. In actuality, he was trying procure the three talismans in order to restore Azalie himself since he felt personally responsible the tragedy that befell her. And at some point, things get even worse; when he tries to face the Bloody August, Azalie uses white magic to take over his body, leaving Childman's soul trapped in the Bloody August.

Orphen's childhood friend and fellow sorcerer. They met at the Tower of Fang. He is on Childman's side, instead of Orphen's, however, making it seem as though Hartia is Orphen's enemy. However, Hartia truly cares about Orphen, and has never forgotten their friendship. He is also a fan of the (fictional) manga, Black Tiger, and assumes the guise of its main character and namesake on occasion. However, the manga is fairly obscure, so Majik mistakenly assumes his name refers to the Penaeus monodon

Penaeus monodon

Penaeus monodon, the giant tiger prawn , is a marine crustacean that is widely reared for food.-Distribution:...

, a type of prawn sometimes called "Black Tiger", resulting in Hartia's receiving the nickname, "Shrimp Man", much to his own chagrin.

Childman's rival in the Tower of Fang and enemy to Orphen and Azalie. Although he ranks closely to Childman in terms of recognition, it is heavily implied that his mother Lady Shastanassie, one of the Elders, has influenced this. Indeed, he seems to rely on her

Mother's boy

Mother's boy, also mummy's boy or mama's boy, is a term for a man who is excessively attached to his mother at an age when men are expected to be independent...

 for everything from emotional consolation to advice in his endeavors. Deprived of her guidance, he becomes quite mentally unstable, as seen at the end of the first season. Childman himself later states that Flameheart actually had very little strength or potential as a sorcerer.

A childhood friend of Azalie and Orphen. She is currently a member of the Tower of Fang and appears to be in love with Orphen. Orphen shortens her name to Tisha in most cases. She appears in volumes five and six of the manga.

Orphen's old partner. Stephanie used to be a sorcerer named Steven until he was mortally injured in a battle and had to have a healer turn him into a girl to heal. Unfortunately he, now a she, lost her powers in the healing process. Now she works as an archaeologist deciphering runes of the 'dieties' that fought against the sorcerers years ago. She is first introduced in the series when the group goes to Alenhatan and her familiarity with Orphen makes Cloae jealous at first. She still lives in Alenhatan and has a boyfriend named Tim (who she eventually marries) but still often seen helping Orphen and the others when they need someone who knows how to read and use the dieties language/symbols.

Lai is a sorcerer that goes to the Tower of Fang that is friends with Hartia and is one of Childman's apprentices. Lai is portrayed as a powerful seer and is able to find people or things if he goes into a deep meditation. He can also tell people's 'presence' apart, something that gets him in trouble and sealed into ice by Azalie (who was possessing Childman's body at the time) because he noticed that her presence wasn't in the Bloody August anymore.

She is Cleao's twin sister and is seen at the beginning of the anime. She first saw Orphen when he was watching over the Sword of Baltanders and thinks he was watching her (and thinking him handsome she develops a crush on him). She at some point was kidnapped by the Bloody August to get Orphen to give the Sword over, but both were eventually rescued by Orphen.

Light novels

The series Orphen came about when author Yoshinobu Akita with Yuuya Kusaka as illustrator created a series of light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

s called "Majutsushi Orphen Haguretabi." It consists of 20 novels which were first published by Fujimi Shobo

Fujimi Shobo

is a Japanese publishing company that specializes in the publication of light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. The company started in 1991 as a subsidiary of Kadokawa Shoten.-Magazines published:Light novel magazines...

 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko label in the Monthly Dragon Magazine between 1994–2003, and was the basis for the first anime and manga series.

Two years after the beginning of the first series, Yoshinobu Akita created a more light-hearted comedy version that still kept the action of the original Orphen series. This series was called "Majutsushi Orphen Mubouhen," spanning only 13 volumes between 1996–2003, which were published the same way as the first series.

Also published was a Slayers

Slayers

is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...

 vs. Orphen novel. http://cgi.ebay.com/Slayers-Sorcerous-Stabber-Orphen-%22Slayers-Vs.-Orphen%22_W0QQitemZ270442776642QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090815?IMSfp=TL090815149006r38882

Manga

The first volume of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen was released in 2005 by ADV Manga. It tells us about Azalie, Orphen's love-interest, and best friend from six years ago, much sooner than the anime does. In the first manga we are told almost exactly what the eighth episode (titled "Azalie") of Sorcerous Stabber Orphen tells us about her. The story in the manga follows the anime but more the Novels almost exactly, except for information coming up earlier, or later.

The Sorcerous Stabber Orphen manga was created by Yoshinobu Akita and Yuuya Kusaka. The manga is split into two separate series: Majutsushi Orphen Haguretabi, which is six volumes long so far, and the two volume side story known as Majutsushi Orphen MAX. The first volume of the manga series was released in 2005 by ADV Manga.

There is also a special manga that was released called "Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Special Parody," or "Majutsushi O-fuen Haguretabi Spesharu Paarodi." It is a collection of doujinshi of Orphen put into one volume of Orphen.

Anime

• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: The Sorcerous Stabber Orphen anime series was produced by TBS
  Tokyo Broadcasting System
  , TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
  
  /Bandai
  Bandai
  is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
  
   and first released in Japan in 1999, then in North America on DVD
  DVD
  A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
  
   by ADV Films in 2001. It features a combination of a fantasy setting, action and gag comedy. It is 24 episodes in length.

• Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge: The second anime series was released on DVD in North America in December 2003 by ADV Films. It is 23 episodes in length.

In 2009, Sentai Filmworks released a box set featuring the two seasons of Orphen in an economic box set.

Music

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Opening Themes:

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Tsunku

  , better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...

  
  

  Arrangement by: Yasuaki Maejima & Sharan Q

  Performed by: Sharan Q

  Sharan Q

  is a Japanese pop rock band composed of lead singer , on guitar, on drums and on keyboards.- Biography :They debuted with in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Eventually, the single got a lot of attention since it...

  
  

• Lyrics by: Tsunku

  Composition by: Hatake

  Arrangement by: Sharan Q

  Performed by: Sharan Q

Ending Themes:

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Arrangement by: Takao Konishi

  Performed by: Tanpopo

  Tanpopo

  was the first official subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume formed in November 1998. They specialized in singing slow and mature songs, which morphed to an old-fashioned and upbeat style—a genre somewhat similar to that of the band from which it originated.-History: The group...

  
  

• Lyrics by: Yuka

  Composition and Arrangement by: Kaoru Sanada

  Performed by: Yuka

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge

Opening Themes: : Eps. 01 - 11

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Arrangement by: Ken Matsubara

  Performed by: 7HOUSE

: Eps. 12 - 23

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Arrangement by:

  Performed by: Taiyou to Cisco Moon

  T&C Bomber

  , later known as , was a Japanese girl group under Hello! Project that debuted in April 1999. They released multiple singles and two albums before disbanding in late 2000. The group consisted of four members: , born March 13, 1974 in Osaka; , born May 18, 1972 in Tokyo; , born March 18, 1976 in...

  
  

Ending Themes:

• "Love, Yes I Do!" : Eps. 01 - 11

  Lyrics by: AKASAKA

  Composition and Arrangement by: Kaoru Sanada

  Performed by: Chinatsu Miyoshi

: Eps. 12 - 22

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Arrangement by: Tanahashi UNA Nobuhito

  Performed by: Melon Kinenbi

  Melon Kinenbi

  was an all-girl Japanese pop group within Hello! Project. They were formed after they successfully passed the 2nd Morning Musume & Michiyo Heike Imotobun Audition. Melon Kinenbi is the oldest group in the history of Hello! Project not to have changed any of its members since its formation...

  
  

: Ep. 23

• Lyrics and Composition by: Tsunku

  Arrangement by: Ken Matsubara

  Performed by: 7HOUSE

Video game

The Sorcerous Stabber Orphen videogame is a single player console role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

. It was released for the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

 console

Video game console

A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...

 in 2000, by Kadokawa Shoten

Kadokawa Shoten

is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...

 in Japan as Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, and by Activision

Activision

Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...

 in North America and Europe as Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery was one of the first games for the PlayStation 2. Based on the anime and manga series Sorcerous Stabber Orphen by Yoshinobu Akita, the game was an adventure/RPG that had around 10–20 hours of gameplay.-Characters:Orphen - A brilliant but independent-minded sorcerer...

. It was rated "Teen" in the North American release. Reviews of the game were mixed. It included a whole new adventure and a few video scenes with more sophistication but a minor difference in the voices and personalities of the characters.

External links

• Ex:Anime Review