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Star Ocean: The Second Story (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a seven volume manga
series written and illustrated by Mayumi Azuma
. Based on the tri-Ace
video game Star Ocean: The Second Story
, it follows the exploits of Claude C. Kenny, a young ensign in the Earth Federation who finds himself stranded on the Planet Expel. He meets Rena Lanford, a young girl living in the village of Arlia who declares that he is the legendary warrior their legends speak of who will save their troubled world from disaster. The series was serialized in Shōnen Gangan, premiering June 22, 1999 and running until December 21, 2001 when it ended without reaching the conclusion of the story.
Studio Deen
adapted the manga series into a twenty six episode anime series entitled Star Ocean EX which aired on TV Tokyo
from April 3, 2001 until September 25, 2001. The anime series was released to Region 1 DVD by Geneon Entertainment. To complete the story left unfinished by both the manga and anime, five drama CDs were released in Japan, using the same voice actors from the anime series.
video game, Ronixis J. Kenni and his son, Claude C. Kenni are on a mission to investigate a newly discovered planet. While investigating a strange machine with a mysterious energy field, Claude finds himself transported to the planet of Expel. He wakes up in a forest, where he meets Rena Lanford, a young girl being attacked by a monster. After defeating the monster with his phase gun, Rena takes him back to her village of Arlia where he is declared to be the legendary "Warrior of Light" who will save Expel. The planet is in peril since the landing of a large meteorite, the Sorcery Globe, which has caused monsters to spawn around the planet, as well as numerous natural disasters such as earthquake
s and tsunami
.
Claude refuses to accept he is this warrior, and leaves to try to find someone who can help him go home. In the next town, he learns Rena is in danger from her childhood friend Allen. He rushes to rescue her and finds Allen under the control of a magic crystal. With the crystal destroyed, Allen returns to normal. Realizing the crystal is tied to the Sorcery Globe, and wondering if it can help him get home, Claude decides to travel to El Continent to investigate it and Rena goes with him. Along the way, the meet Celine Junes, a Heraldic Magic user and treasure hunter who tricks the pair into helping her steal the treasure from a cave. The treasure turns out to be a book written in a language none of them knows, so Celine decides to stay with the pair to try to find out more about the book. The group is later joined by Ashton Anchors, another swordsman whom they first encounter in a cave trying to defeat a monster terrorizing a nearby village. Ashton attacks a two-headed dragon, thinking it is the monster, and after he trips the dragon fuses itself to his body, leaving him with the two dragon heads coming out of his back. Ashton makes the group go with him to find the King's Teardrop, blaming them for "distracting him" during his fight and causing everything. After they get there he learns that using the magic power would kill the dragon, so he refuses to do it and joins the group until they can find a way to remove the dragon without causing it any harm.
In the town of Linga, they meet Precis, a young girl inventor who develops a crush on Claude and is oblivious to Ashton being in love with her. They help her cure her friend from a dying illness, and afterward Precis decides to go with them to Lacour where they hope the famous Dr. Leon can answer their questions about the Sorcery Globe and Celine's book.
Rena Lanford
Celine Jules
Dias Flac
Ashton Anchors
Gyoro and Ururun
Opera Vectra
Precis F. Newman
Bowman Jean
Leon D.S. Geeste
Ernest Raviede
Star Ocean: The Second Story is based on the tri-Ace
video game Star Ocean: The Second Story
. It first premiered in Shōnen Gangan on June 22, 1999. The final chapter was published on December 21, 2001, having covered only half of the video game and without concluding the story. Enix
published the series in seven collected volumes in Japan starting on June 1999. Two volumes were released per year until the seventh volume was released in November 2001.
adapted the manga series into an anime series, naming it . The series premiered on TV Tokyo
from April 3, 2001 and ran for twenty-six episodes until September 25, 2001. Movic
released to VHS
tape and Region 2 DVD across nine volumes, with the first released on July 27, 2001 and the final volume released March 29, 2002. Each volume contained two episodes, except the final volume which had three.
In 2004, Geneon Entertainment announced they had acquired the license to release the series to Region 1 DVD. They released the first of six volumes on January 4, 2005 and the final volume on November 22, 2005. In Geneon's release, the first two volumes contained five episodes each, while the remaining volumes contained four. On August 8, 2006, Geneon released all twenty-six episodes in a series box set.
s were released in Japan by Pony Canyon
for the Star Ocean EX series. The first soundtrack, , contained forty-seven tracks and released on August 1, 2001. Among the tracks are the TV length versions of the opening and ending themes and background music played during various episodes. The second, was released on September 19, 2001. It contained an additional forty-five tracks of background music from the series.
Neither official soundtrack includes the full version of either the opening or ending theme of the series. Amika Hattan did release the full version of the opening theme "To the Light" as a CD single. Likewise, Saori Nishihata
released a single with the full version of the ending theme "Hearts".
, the company which released the Star Ocean EX anime series to VHS and DVD, also had a series of drama CDs produced. These CDs take the place of the series' missing second season and complete the story left incomplete by both the manga and anime series. The CDs feature the same voice actors as those in the anime and each volume contains approximately one hour of dialog. The first CD was released in Japan on July 7, 2001, picking up where the last episode of the anime stopped. The fifth and final volume was released December 8, 2001. All five volumes are now out-of-print.
Enix published two art books for Star Ocean. The first, was published in October 2000. Spanning eight-eight pages, it included sixty four pages of color art and a full-color fold out poster created by artist Mayumi Azuma.
The second art book, was published in August 2001. It contains sixty pages of color illustrations, twenty pages of black-and-white images and some character profiles.
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...
series written and illustrated by Mayumi Azuma
Mayumi Azuma
is a Japanese manga artist who is the creator of the now completed manga Elemental Gelade, which finished with eighteen volumes and was adapted into a 26-episode television anime series, and its ongoing spinoff manga Elemental Gelade: Flag of Blue Sky...
. Based on the tri-Ace
Tri-Ace
is a Japanese video game development company formed in 1995 by former Telenet Japan employees Yoshiharu Gotanda , Masaki Norimoto and Joe Asanuma . The name is a play on words regarding the "three aces" who formed the company...
video game Star Ocean: The Second Story
Star Ocean: The Second Story
is a action role-playing PlayStation video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released in North America and Europe , courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment...
, it follows the exploits of Claude C. Kenny, a young ensign in the Earth Federation who finds himself stranded on the Planet Expel. He meets Rena Lanford, a young girl living in the village of Arlia who declares that he is the legendary warrior their legends speak of who will save their troubled world from disaster. The series was serialized in Shōnen Gangan, premiering June 22, 1999 and running until December 21, 2001 when it ended without reaching the conclusion of the story.
Studio Deen
Studio DEEN
is a Japanese company that produces anime. Three years after Sunrise was founded in 1972, Studio Deen was established by Sunrise's members in 1975. As a result of this, anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop that were produced by Sunrise may have had assistance from Studio Deen.-Produced anime:* Urusei...
adapted the manga series into a twenty six episode anime series entitled Star Ocean EX which aired on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from April 3, 2001 until September 25, 2001. The anime series was released to Region 1 DVD by Geneon Entertainment. To complete the story left unfinished by both the manga and anime, five drama CDs were released in Japan, using the same voice actors from the anime series.
Plot
Twenty years after the events of the Star OceanStar Ocean (video game)
is the first game in the Star Ocean series developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix, made for the Super Famicom and released in 1996. It is also the first game that was developed by tri-Ace. It was never released outside of Japan due to the closing of Enix's American division, Enix America...
video game, Ronixis J. Kenni and his son, Claude C. Kenni are on a mission to investigate a newly discovered planet. While investigating a strange machine with a mysterious energy field, Claude finds himself transported to the planet of Expel. He wakes up in a forest, where he meets Rena Lanford, a young girl being attacked by a monster. After defeating the monster with his phase gun, Rena takes him back to her village of Arlia where he is declared to be the legendary "Warrior of Light" who will save Expel. The planet is in peril since the landing of a large meteorite, the Sorcery Globe, which has caused monsters to spawn around the planet, as well as numerous natural disasters such as earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
.
Claude refuses to accept he is this warrior, and leaves to try to find someone who can help him go home. In the next town, he learns Rena is in danger from her childhood friend Allen. He rushes to rescue her and finds Allen under the control of a magic crystal. With the crystal destroyed, Allen returns to normal. Realizing the crystal is tied to the Sorcery Globe, and wondering if it can help him get home, Claude decides to travel to El Continent to investigate it and Rena goes with him. Along the way, the meet Celine Junes, a Heraldic Magic user and treasure hunter who tricks the pair into helping her steal the treasure from a cave. The treasure turns out to be a book written in a language none of them knows, so Celine decides to stay with the pair to try to find out more about the book. The group is later joined by Ashton Anchors, another swordsman whom they first encounter in a cave trying to defeat a monster terrorizing a nearby village. Ashton attacks a two-headed dragon, thinking it is the monster, and after he trips the dragon fuses itself to his body, leaving him with the two dragon heads coming out of his back. Ashton makes the group go with him to find the King's Teardrop, blaming them for "distracting him" during his fight and causing everything. After they get there he learns that using the magic power would kill the dragon, so he refuses to do it and joins the group until they can find a way to remove the dragon without causing it any harm.
In the town of Linga, they meet Precis, a young girl inventor who develops a crush on Claude and is oblivious to Ashton being in love with her. They help her cure her friend from a dying illness, and afterward Precis decides to go with them to Lacour where they hope the famous Dr. Leon can answer their questions about the Sorcery Globe and Celine's book.
Characters
Claude C. Kenni- After an accident causes him to wind up on the underdeveloped planet of Expel, Claude rescues Rena Lanford from a monster and is thought to be the "Legendary Warrior of Light" by the residents of the local village. He is now on a quest to investigate the Sorcery Globe, which he hopes will help him return to his own world. Claude has some skill in hand-to-hand combat and picks up swordsmanship fairly quickly, even learning Dias' Kuuhazan attack after seeing it once. Having grown up in the shadow of his famous father, Claude is humble and has a lot of self-doubts, but he grows stronger through his adventures, as does his growing friendship, and love, for Rena.
Rena Lanford
- A native of the planet of Expel, she often ventures into the Shingo Forest. One day, a monster appears in the forest and attacks her; she is saved by Claude. In accordance to local legends, she believes Claude to be the "Legendary Warrior." She now accompanies Claude on his quest. Rena is a sweet-natured girl with a pensive, thoughtful side as well as the power to heal. She is devoted to Claude almost from the start, and slowly falls in love with him as the journey comes on.
Celine Jules
- A treasure hunter from the village of Mars, she is a powerful wielder of Heraldic Magic, but has a fear of bugs, which is used as a running gag throughout the series. She accompanies Claude and Rena on their journey, but often seems to be more interested in teasing Claude and Rena about their growing love for each other.
Dias Flac
- Dias lived in the same town as Rena and considers her his little sister, though they are unrelated. After his family was killed by bandits, he left Arlia to spend time traveling and training to become stronger. When he finds someone worthy of his skills, he is quick to test their might. As a result of his horrible tragedies, Dias often appears anti-social, rebellious, and spiteful.
Ashton Anchors
- Ashton is a swordsman possessed by a two-headed dragon. Ashton himself is noisy and can be clumsy, but he is a capable fighter and can act courageously when the need arises. Regularly plagued with bad luck, people avoided him and he lived a lonely existence. After meeting Claude, Rena, and Celine, who offered him genuine friendship, he claims that they are the reason the dragons are infused with his body as an excuse to travel with them. Though Ashton is angry when he learns Gyoro and Ururun have been taking over his body, when he receives the King's Teardrop that would remove them he can't go through with it because it would cause them die and he is too fond of them. When he meets Precis, he falls in love with her but she only has eyes for Claude.
Gyoro and Ururun
- Gyoro, the red head, and Ururun, the blue, are the names of the heads of the two-headed dragon that are fused with the body of Ashton Anchors. Though they originally shared one body, the heads are capable of independent thought and are considered separate individuals though they also speak as one. They have the ability to possess Ashton, speaking through him and using his body to fight. Gyoro attacks with fire, while Ururun uses a freezing attack. When Gyoro and Ururun fully possess Ashton, his eyes glow the color of the head speaking and his speech becomes more arrogant to match their personalities. Ashton doesn't remember what happens while he is possessed, and is furious when he learns that they have been doing so. Still, he chooses not to remove them when given the opportunity, because it would kill them. Gyoro voiced by: Takayasu UsuiTakayasu Usuiis a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo, Japan.-Anime cast in:*Aquarian Age the Movie as Announcer*Beyblade 2002 as Bill *Burst Angel as RAPT Commander*Chrono Crusade as Carv*Full Metal Panic! as Goddard; Savage A...
(Japanese), Trevor DevallTrevor DevallTrevor Devall is one of the various voice actors who works for Ocean Group, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Trevor has performed various anime roles, most notably Mu La Flaga of Gundam SEED. Other anime roles include Mukotsu of InuYashas Shichinin-tai, as well as the multiple faces of...
(English). Ururun voiced by: Tomoyuki ShimuraTomoyuki Shimurais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Ken Production.-TV anime:*Bakuman *Cromartie High School *Darker than Black *Dandoh!! *Digimon Frontier *Eureka Seven...
(Japanese), Michael Dobson (English).
Opera Vectra
- Opera is an adventurous woman who journeys to find her true love, Ernest. Opera, as well as Ernest, are from the planet Tetragenes, and are stranded on Expel. She will go anywhere to find him, just to be near him. Opera is very brave, passionate, and devoted.
Precis F. Newman
- Precis is a young girl inventor from the town of Linga. She is a brilliant inventor capable of putting together contraptions very quickly, however they don't always work the way she plans. She is good friends with a girl named Eleanor, who is inflicted with a fatal disease. To save her friend, Precis goes alone into an area of monsters to get the cure. Precis has a crush on Claude, whom she thinks of as her prince, and is blind to Ashton being in love with her.
Bowman Jean
- Dr. Bowman lives in Linga, and is said to be the most knowledgeable man in town when it comes to medicine. He was once a prestigious professor and connected to the Lacour's researchers. He also knew Leon's parents, but left Lacour while Leon was still a toddler.
Leon D.S. Geeste
- A young prodigy in the capital of Lacour, Leon often acts egotistical, vain, and bratty due to the high accolades showered on him. When out of his "safety zone" or faced with a challenge he can't overcome, Leon acts more like the child he is and loses his usual egotism.
Ernest Raviede
- Like Opera, Ernest is from the planet Tetragenes, and is stranded on Expel. Ernest is an archaeologist, and is very passionate about his profession. Though he deeply loves Opera, he can not abandon his job. Though he often leaves her behind while researching, he trusts that she will always meet up with him.
Manga
Written by Mayumi AzumaMayumi Azuma
is a Japanese manga artist who is the creator of the now completed manga Elemental Gelade, which finished with eighteen volumes and was adapted into a 26-episode television anime series, and its ongoing spinoff manga Elemental Gelade: Flag of Blue Sky...
Star Ocean: The Second Story is based on the tri-Ace
Tri-Ace
is a Japanese video game development company formed in 1995 by former Telenet Japan employees Yoshiharu Gotanda , Masaki Norimoto and Joe Asanuma . The name is a play on words regarding the "three aces" who formed the company...
video game Star Ocean: The Second Story
Star Ocean: The Second Story
is a action role-playing PlayStation video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released in North America and Europe , courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment...
. It first premiered in Shōnen Gangan on June 22, 1999. The final chapter was published on December 21, 2001, having covered only half of the video game and without concluding the story. Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
published the series in seven collected volumes in Japan starting on June 1999. Two volumes were released per year until the seventh volume was released in November 2001.
Anime
Studio DeenStudio DEEN
is a Japanese company that produces anime. Three years after Sunrise was founded in 1972, Studio Deen was established by Sunrise's members in 1975. As a result of this, anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop that were produced by Sunrise may have had assistance from Studio Deen.-Produced anime:* Urusei...
adapted the manga series into an anime series, naming it . The series premiered on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from April 3, 2001 and ran for twenty-six episodes until September 25, 2001. Movic
Movic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.-Anime involved in:*Ah! My Goddess: The Movie: Production...
released to VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape and Region 2 DVD across nine volumes, with the first released on July 27, 2001 and the final volume released March 29, 2002. Each volume contained two episodes, except the final volume which had three.
In 2004, Geneon Entertainment announced they had acquired the license to release the series to Region 1 DVD. They released the first of six volumes on January 4, 2005 and the final volume on November 22, 2005. In Geneon's release, the first two volumes contained five episodes each, while the remaining volumes contained four. On August 8, 2006, Geneon released all twenty-six episodes in a series box set.
Soundtracks
Two CD soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s were released in Japan by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
for the Star Ocean EX series. The first soundtrack, , contained forty-seven tracks and released on August 1, 2001. Among the tracks are the TV length versions of the opening and ending themes and background music played during various episodes. The second, was released on September 19, 2001. It contained an additional forty-five tracks of background music from the series.
Neither official soundtrack includes the full version of either the opening or ending theme of the series. Amika Hattan did release the full version of the opening theme "To the Light" as a CD single. Likewise, Saori Nishihata
Saori Nishihata
is a Japanese singer.- Single :AH! MY GODDESS OST - "Try To Wish" 〜キミに必要なもの〜 "No Pain no gain" Star Ocean EX ED Single - "Hearts" -External links:...
released a single with the full version of the ending theme "Hearts".
Other
MovicMovic
is a Japanese company which specializes in the publication of trading cards, figures, CDs, and other general media related to the anime industry. Movic is a part of the Animate group.-Anime involved in:*Ah! My Goddess: The Movie: Production...
, the company which released the Star Ocean EX anime series to VHS and DVD, also had a series of drama CDs produced. These CDs take the place of the series' missing second season and complete the story left incomplete by both the manga and anime series. The CDs feature the same voice actors as those in the anime and each volume contains approximately one hour of dialog. The first CD was released in Japan on July 7, 2001, picking up where the last episode of the anime stopped. The fifth and final volume was released December 8, 2001. All five volumes are now out-of-print.
Enix published two art books for Star Ocean. The first, was published in October 2000. Spanning eight-eight pages, it included sixty four pages of color art and a full-color fold out poster created by artist Mayumi Azuma.
The second art book, was published in August 2001. It contains sixty pages of color illustrations, twenty pages of black-and-white images and some character profiles.