Blue Gender

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Blue Gender
ブルージェンダー
(Blue Gender)
Genre Drama, Horror, Mecha, Romance, Science Fiction.
TV anime: Blue Gender
Director Masashi Abe
Studio AIC
Network Flag of Japan TBS
Flag of the United States Cartoon Network (2003), FUNimation Channel & CoLours TV (2006-)
Flag of the United Kingdom Sci-Fi
Flag of Hungary A+
Original run 10 October 1999 – 31 March 2000
Episodes 26
Animated film: Blue Gender: The Warrior (movie)
Director Koichi Ohata
Studio AIC
Released 20 November 2002
Runtime ~120 min.

Blue Gender (ブルージェンダー Burū Jendā?) is a 26-episode anime created by Ryousuke Takahashi (of Armored Trooper Votoms and Gasaraki fame) broadcast in Japan from 1999-2000.

Contents

[edit] Plot

 The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

In the near future, Yuji was an average guy diagnosed with a serious disease and put into cryogenic stasis. When he is roused, he discovers a race of insectoid beings called the "Blue" have overrun the Earth, and that he may very well be the key to the survival of the human race.

Yuji's hibernation was ended when a group of soldiers from an orbiting space colony called Second Earth were ordered to recover "sleepers" around the Earth. Among them, the soldier Marlene Angel develops a strong bond with Yuji over time. As Yuji and the soldiers try to escape Earth, Yuji meets many of the humans still left there. The Blue eventually kill all the soldiers except for Marlene, who is devoted to her duty to get Yuji to Second Earth. As the story continues, Yuji falls into a deep depression as he sees the destruction around him and his own inability to save those he cared about. Eventually Yuji and Marlene come across another group of soldiers from Second Earth, which leads them to a ship in Russia that can take them to Second Earth.

Upon arrival, Marlene and Yuji are separated, and Marlene is sent back into training. She rebels and is bent on finding Yuji. When she does, she finds he is being trained to use a new Armor Shrike (A.S), a battlesuit that is much stronger than the originals used in war against the Blue. Scientists also reveal the nature of the illness that put Yuji in stasis and the source of the insect monsters called the Blue are the same. In an effort to wipe out humanity, the Earth activated "B-cells" in humans and animals, which in turn led to the creation of the first Blue.

Yuji returns to Earth with two other "Sleepers" named Tony Frost and Alicia Whistle. Tony is a non-experienced A.S pilot but, his b cells are very adept giving him great A.S skills. While Alicia is only a young teenager with no combat experience and, not much sense as to what is going on around her. They and the other forces of Second Earth battle the Blue, and while they destroy a large number of them, they too are seriously crippled by the Blue. When Tony and Alicia return to Second Earth, they bring a colony of Blue with them as their B-cells are fully activated and they believe their destiny is to aid the Blue. Yuji's B-cells are activated as well, turning him into a berserker, but Marlene helps him to overcome his madness.

When they return to Second Earth, they find it has literally been divided into two halves by Tony. One side is the medical station, and the other is the military station. Tony plans on ramming the medical station into the military station, which would therefore destroy Second Earth. He sees this as the "Grand Will of the Earth", in which he will become a "messiah" and cleanse the planet of humanity forever. However, Yuji, Marlene, and a group of other soldiers infiltrate the station and eliminate the threat of Tony and the Blue, though Alicia is inadvertently killed when the military station sets detonation charges on the medical station.

After the deaths of Tony and Alicia, Yuji contemplates his existence and fears that he was the true cause for all their deaths, but Marlene eases his mind.

A new mission sends them and other survivors to Earth when satellite images show a Blue migration pattern that leads to South America. The team discovers a massive nest, but it cannot be penetrated. A young child tells them that when the Blue migrated from the area, they had cleared down many trees, and that leads the team to a massive cavern.The cavern turns out to be a tunnel into the a crystal like formation. The walls, ceiling and, floor of the cavern seem to be composed of fossil-like Blue. The team also finds a large sphere that is composed of a gel-like substance atop the crystal like formation. A massive Blue is birthed from it the gel substance and kills everyone except for Yuji and Marlene. Yuji kills it, and comes to the conclusion the sphere will hold all the answers he wants. He then gets a vision and can see what the earth itself can see. Yugi is then comes to the conclusion that mankind can live along side the b cell. Meanwhile the people of 2nd earth who, decided that they will make 2nd earth their home have a civil war and all of the space station is blown up. Thus Yugi,Marlene and, a few humans live on earth and call it home again.

Blue Gender was created by the Japanese animation studio, AIC and is distributed in the United States by FUNimation. In 2003, Blue Gender was released on American television as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, though it had originally been planned for Toonami, and was thus edited to remove its graphic violence, nudity, and sex scenes. There is also a compilation movie (Blue Gender: The Warrior) available on DVD. The series was also shown on the Sci-Fi Channel in the UK in 2002-2003.

[edit] Main characters

  • Yuji Kaido (海堂 祐司 Kaidō Yūji?) - He worked at a gas station in the near future until a life-threatening disease (later discovered to be b-cells) required him to be put into cryogenic stasis so that his state would not worsen. He awakens in the future to find that the Blue have destroyed everything he knew. He then begins his journey to Second Earth, learning to defend himself and others on the way. His mental state changes a lot during the series, as he sees more of the ruined earth and meets all the people left behind. Voiced in Japanese by Kenji Nojima and in English by Eric Vale.
  • Marlene Angel (マリーン・エンジェル Marīn Enjeru?) - Orphaned at the age of ten because her parents were killed by the Blue, Marlene was one of the few lucky ones to make it to Second Earth. * Since then Marlene has dedicated and trained herself to defeat the Blue. Though seeming very cold in the earlier episodes, as time progresses, Yuji opens up Marlene's emotions. Voiced in Japanese by Houko Kuwashima and in English by Laura Bailey.
  • Tony Frost (トニー・フロスト Tonī Furosuto?) - Another sleeper brought to Second Earth before Yuji. A very powerful sleeper, Yuji strives to improve himself to be able to beat Tony. Tony seems to have no emotion, and is set on destroying the Blue. It becomes apparent in later episodes, however, that he sees himself as a Messiah when his b-cells initiate, and has his own plans for the fate of humanity. Voiced in Japanese by Hiroyuki Sato and in English by Jerry Jewell.
  • Alicia Whistle (アリシア・ウィッスル Arisha Wissuru?) - Another sleeper on Second Earth who is paired with Tony. She immediately gravitates towards Yuji, seeing Marlene as an obstacle to a relationship with him. She is very young and often naive. Voiced in Japanese by Miwa Yasuda and in English by Lisa Ortiz.
  • Seno Miyagi (セノ・ミヤギ Seno Miyagi?) - A high-ranking member of the science division on Second Earth. He suggests that Marlene and Yuji are kept together in order to get the best results from Yuji in the sleeper program. Not agreeing with the High Council's leadership of Second Earth or it's reckless use of the sleepers, he eventually forms a group called The Arc, which would later overthrow the High Council's "government" on Second Earth. Seno would subsequently become the leader of Second Earth (for a short period of time that is). Voiced in the English by Kyle Hebert.
  • Joey Heald - One of the pilots sent to earth to retrieve the sleepers. Joey has a positive attitude no matter what the situation is. Joey is the first person who gets close to Yuji. In one of the earlier episodes, Yuji accidentally sees Joey and Marlene are about to have sex before a big battle. Marlene later explains that Joey and she were not in love, but were trying to feel alive because they could be killed at any time. Voiced in English by John Burgmeier.

[edit] Episode guide

  1. One Day
  2. Cry
  3. Trial
  4. Agony
  5. Priority
  6. Relation
  7. Sympath
  8. Oasis
  9. Confirm
  10. Tactics
  11. Go Mad
  12. Progress
  13. Heresy
  14. Set
  15. Calm
  16. A Sign
  17. Eclosion
  18. Chaos
  19. Collapse
  20. Versus
  21. Joker
  22. Dogma
  23. Soliste
  24. Compass
  25. Adagio
  26. Let Me

Movie: Blue Gender The Warrior (clips of the series with some newly added footage.)

[edit] External links