Daphne in the Brilliant Blue
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| Daphne in the Brilliant Blue | |
|---|---|
| 光と水のダフネ (Hikari to Mizu no Dafune) |
|
| Genre | Action, Comedy, Mystery, Science Fiction |
| Manga: Ai 1 - Hikari to Mizu no Daphne | |
| Author | Satoshi Shiki |
| Publisher |  Shōnen Gahosha Co. |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Serialized in | Young King OURs |
| Original run | 2004 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| TV anime | |
| Director | Ryuuji Ikebata |
| Studio | J.C.Staff |
| Licensor |   Geneon  Tokyo Night Train, then Madman Entertainment |
| Network | TV Kanagawa |
| Original run | 15 January 2004 – 3 July 2004 |
| Episodes | 24 + 2 (Bonus) |
Daphne in the Brilliant Blue (光と水のダフネ Hikari to Mizu no Dafune?) is a 2004 anime series animated by the studio J.C.Staff and produced by GENCO. Its North American distribution rights are held by Geneon Entertainment, which has since translated and released the series on DVD.
A manga version was drawn by mangaka Satoshi Shiki titled "I - Daphne in the Brilliant Blue" (アイ～光と水のダフネ～ Ai ~Hikari to Mizu no Dafune~?), featured in Young King OURs magazine.
Contents |
[edit] Story
In the future, water has covered much of the Earth due to the effects of global warming. The orphaned Maia Mizuki, 15, just graduated from middle school and has already applied for employment in the elite paramilitary Ocean Agency, part of the futuristic world government. Only the best, most intelligent, and physically fit students are eligible for admission. Maia, the series' protagonist, is set to become one of the few.
But her ideal life quickly falls apart. To her disappointment, Maia unexpectedly fails her entrance exams. Making matters worse, she promptly gets evicted from her house, pick pocketed, taken hostage, then shot. She is "saved" by two women (Rena and Shizuka) that are part of an unorthodox help-for-hire organization called Nereids (inspired by the Greek mythological Nereids ). With nowhere to go, Maia joins up with Nereids, taking jobs from capturing wanted criminals to chasing stray cats, often with unexpected results. Gloria and Yu later join up with Nereids.
"Daphne" in the title refers to a subplot that starts midway into the series and eventually become important to Maia. "Brilliant Blue" refers to the fact that this is a world covered by water with almost no land. The world consists of vast oceans, a few islands, and floating cities.
[edit] Characters
- Maia Mizuki (水樹マイア Mizuki Maia?)
- The protagonist of the series, Maia was orphaned and her adoptive grandfather passed away. An excellent student, yet having been rejected by the Ocean Agency, Maia has found work with Nereids. She is optimistic, hard working, and honest, yet a naïve and shy cute girl-next-door. Maia is in search of her past while working with Nereids. She also holds a Class-A license.
- Rena Honjo (本城レナ Honjō Rena?)
- Leader of the Nereids Kamchatka (カムチャツカ) branch. Rena is capable, elegant, and cunning and makes the decisions, if cold at times. She is cool and calculating and her sharp instincts enable her to know the weaknesses of other people. Rena has no moral qualms about seducing others for manipulation or for a weapon use. She is also frugal with money and deducts pay off salaries for even the slightest error.
- Shizuka Hayama (葉山静香 Hayama Shizuka?)
- Busty and bespectacled with purple hair, Shizuka is a brilliant mechanic who grew up in an inner city district of Shibuya and knows many people there. She is known for her poor shooting aim and is friendly, casual, and trusting with a voracious appetite for food.
- Gloria (グロリア Guroria?)
- Loud, spontaneous, tomboyish, and somewhat reckless with dark skin and blond hair, Gloria is a trigger-happy champion marksman and the weapons specialist with a grudge against Rena for deserting her on a past mission. She tends to stick to her guns and loves to shoot things up and she does not get along with Yu. Gloria loves money and bothers Rena about how much she owes her. She is the only character without a regular civilian outfit.
- Yu Park (朴ゆう Paku Yu?)
- Silent, brooding, nihilistic, and a loner, Yu is a ridiculously strong fighter and hand-to-hand combat specialist. She had her license revoked in the past for destroying private property and injuring several police officers and bystanders. She has a loyalty to Rena, but does not get along too well with Gloria and constantly hits her. Yu's interests include animals and travel.
- Tsukasa Takagi (高城つかさ?)
- Maia's best friend from her Ocean Agency days who got accepted, despite having average grades. She and Maia had made a promise to work with each other.
- Tsutomu Hanaoka (花岡勉 Hanaoka Tsutomu?)
- The inept branch manager of the Nereids Kamchatka branch. He gets pushed around by his female co-workers. Hanaoka has a wife and a daughter Yukari.
- Yukari Hanaoka (花岡勉 Hanaoka Yukari?)
- Tsutomu Hanaoka's daughter. She gets displeased with her father's ineptness at times, especially when he lied about being a dashing, bold, detective.
- Kosuke Yagi (八木浩輔 Yagi Kosuke?)
- The chief inspector of the Kamchatka city police force, he gets stressed when it comes to Nereids. One of his biggest burdens is Yu who injured him in the past.
- Millie (ミリィ Mirii?)
- Shizuka's friend (and later Maia's) who is a skilled racecar driver who is inspired by her great-grandmother Ai Mayuzumi (the protagonist of the manga version).
- Wong (ウォン Wongu?)
- Son of their mother's fourth husband.
- Chang (チャン Changu?)
- Son of their mother's seventh husband.
- Lee (リー Ri?)
- Son of their mother's second husband and the oldest of the Wong-Chang-Lee brothers.
- May (メイ Mei?)
- Sister of the Wong-Chang-Lee brothers who is more level-headed and comptetant than they are. She is a martial artist and also wants to find the treasure of Elpida which is why she stole a submarine for that occasion (which gets confiscated by Nereids).
- Tony Long (トニー・ロン Rongu Toni?)
- A mysterious man in sunglasses who can be seen following Maia throughout the series. Maia later believes him to be her brother but it is revealed that he is an agent of the Ocean Agency.
[edit] Running gags
Daphne in the Brilliant Blue has running gags throughout the show.
- Rena deducting pay off salary for any botches, usually Maia.
- Yu hitting Gloria when in disagreements.
- Maia being kidnapped by the Wong-Chang-Lee brothers as bait.
- Yagi being terrified by Yu's presence.
- Hanaoka's daughter getting angry at her father.
- May and the Wong-Chang-Lee brothers taking the submarine back from Nereids who does the same.
[edit] Voice roles
| Character | Voice actor (Japanese) | Voice actor (English) |
|---|---|---|
| Maia Mizuki | Mai Nakahara | Carrie Savage |
| Rena Honjo | Sayaka Ohara | Wendee Lee |
| Shizuka Hayama | Kana Ueda | Michelle Ruff |
| Gloria | Masumi Asano | Megan Hollingshead |
| Yu Park | Yuko Kaida | Erika Weinstein |
| Tsukasa Takagi | Sakura Nogawa | Hunter MacKenzie Austin |
| Tsutomu Hanaoka | Mitsuo Iwata | Doug Stone |
| Kosuke Yagi | Hidetoshi Nakamura | Stephen Martello |
| Millie | Junko Noda | Mia Bradly |
| Wong | Kenji Nomura | Patrick Seitz |
| Chang | Shinji Kawada | Sam Regal |
[edit] Pop culture references
- A "Picard Motor Co. DS-9 NC-1701D" motor is observed in episode 3 of the TV series.
- "Picard" referring to Star Trek's Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
- "DS-9" referring to Star Trek's Deep Space Nine space station.
- "NC-1701D" referring to Star Trek's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) starship.
- All of the episode titles are puns or tributes to the names of films. For instance, episode 3, titled "ネレイスほど素敵な商売はない?" ("There's No Business Like Nereid's Business") is a tribute to the 1954 film There's No Business Like Show Business.
[edit] External links
- (Japanese) Series official site
- (Japanese) Official J.C.Staff site
- Daphne in the Brilliant Blue (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
