Animanga/Manga Information
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Animanga/Anime| Information
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is an
Anime series by
J.C.Staff , with some involvement from
Gainax . The series is 24 episodes long, and originally aired between
April 7 ,
2004 and
September 21 ,
2004 .
''The Melody of Oblivion'' is a series rife with cultural references. Everything from
Zen Archery and
Bushido to the
Bible 's
Book Of Revelation , stories of
Greek Mythology , and images from
The Garden Of Forking Paths can be seen in the series.
Melody of Oblivion's premise is that in the
20th Century , humanity waged and lost a war against beings known only as the ''Monsters''. In the
21st Century , the ''Monsters'' rule the earth, but they have reconstructed society such that virtually no one born after the war ended is aware that it ever happened. Children are disappearing mysteriously. Only the ''Warriors of Melos'' are still fighting against the ''Monsters''. The series focuses on ''Bocca'', a teenager who chooses the path of the Warrior. In doing so, he gains the power to fight back at the horrors he sees, but it costs him his place in society.
''Warriors of Melos'' are the only ones who can see the ephemeral ''Melody of Oblivion'', personified as a girl who appears at important times and shows emotion but does not speak. The Melos, as they are also referred to, fight primarily with bows and arrows infused with the energies of their spirit (seemingly described in Italian words and phrases used in musical notation). The visible marks (Sacred Scars) that they employ in this infusion process appear as tattoos on their person.
The Warriors of Melos are aided by devices called ''Aibar-Machines'' (could also be transliterated as ''Aiba-Machine''), which are essentially futuristic motorcycles with many additional capabilities. ('Aiba' or 'Aibar' are transliterations for a word in Japanese meaning 'Favorite Horse.') The process of bonding a Warrior of Melos and an Aibar-Machine involves a symbolic naming of the bike by the one who is to ride it. Thereafter, the Aibar-Machine follows voice commands. All Aibar-Machines are at least minimally sentient, while some possess fully human-like intelligence. As such, they can function mostly or completely independently of their drivers when need be.
Opposing the Warriors of Melos are the Monsters themselves and their human lackeys, the ''Monster Union''. The former are always shown as normal looking human beings, however this is not what they truly look like. If a normal person (one who is not a Melos Warrior) looks at their true form, they will automatically transmogrify into a bizarre object (such as stone statues or puppets, but varying with whatever monster is being viewed.) It should also be noted that all the monsters mirror creatures of Greek Mythology, such as Horu, the first monster featured, who is referred to by Kurofune as a "disgusting cow" and is said to have been sealed in a
Labyrinth . This, along with the fact that a pair of bull horns and legs manifest when he is around, implies he is the legendary
Minotaur . Several other featured monsters are
Medusa ,
Hecate ,
Talos , and
Pan . All monsters seem to have some control over reality itself and can only be killed by Melos Arrows.
The Monster Union, which is part
Satanic Cult and part ultra-fascist
Secret Society , is composed of people who have been given power and authority in exchange for providing a steady supply of human sacrifices to their Monster overlords, and keeping the majority of humanity in the dark as to who holds the real power and what really goes on in the world. The process of imbuing Monster Union members with their powers leaves a visible mark on the body identical to a hot iron brand mark.
Monster Union leaders employ machines called robot-monsters in combat, but in contrast to the Warriors of Melos, there is no standard design among these machines aside from the fact that all seem to be shaped like animals from the
Chinese Zodiac . The names of these robots are also in Chinese.
The contrast between the Monster Union members and the Warriors of Melos is suggestive of the text in Revelations where it refers to people being marked by Heaven and being marked by Hell.
Melody of Oblivion has a very distinctive soundtrack featuring prominent virtuoso violin and acoustic guitar solos and other classical-style music. The theme music is titled "The Spirit of Framenco". There are also more disturbing synth and amplified guitar pieces during scenes of creeping horror. The show itself is also full of musical references, from the Melos Warriors' given names (Kurofune Ballad being the most obvious) to the Italian musical vocabulary which flashes on the Melos Warrior 'targeting interface' during battle (''animato'', ''con fuoco'', ''passionato'', ''energico'', etc).
; : (Japanese archery)]]
: The main character. Bocca was a rebellious member of the archery club (the students are discouraged from using actual arrows since the monsters are trying to discourage the development of such skills) who longed to be a warrior to fight against the injustices he saw in the world. Bocca also worked part time for an old man named Tsunagi at his auto-shop. Bocca soon meets Sayoko who tells him she is looking for a warrior, hearing this gives Bocca new hope for what he wants to do in life. When the warrior Kurofune (the same warrior Sayoko was looking for) goes to see Tsunagi, Bocca learns that Tsunagi was the leading scientist of aibanetic technology and an ally of the warriors. Later that day Bocca witnessed a battle between Hor and Kurofune which awoke the possibility to become a warrior within him. When Kurofune leaves to continue on with his journey Bocca and Sayoko decide to go after him. The series then follows Bocca's journey as he sees the damage the monsters have done, learns of the humans who have pledged allegiance to them, meets other Melos warriors and develops a romantic relationship with Sayoko. His Melos tattoo is on his left arm, and his Aibar-Machine is
Elan Vital . (Japanese voiced by
Houko Kuwashima and English voiced by
Ted Sroka ).
; :
: A girl who travels with Bocca to seek her love, Kurofune. She was given as a sacrifice to the monsters by her parents to improve her brother's chances of becoming a Monster Union agent. Kurofune rescued her and she fell in love with him. She ran away from the home Kurofune placed her in to chase after him. On her wrists she wears the chains that bound her as a sacrifice and with them she can track Kurofune. (Japanese voiced by
Masumi Asano and English voiced by
Carrie Savage ).
;
: The first Warrior of Melos to appear, and Bocca's inspiration. Instead of a bow, he wields a crossbow. His Aibar-Machine is Jaguar Sun. His Melos tattoo is on his left arm. (Japanese voiced by
Mitsuru Miyamoto and English voiced by
Patrick Seitz ).
; :
: A quiet girl who is proficient with the bow. Her Aibar-Machine is Sky Blue, an earlier model of the Unicorn-series. Her Melos tattoo is on the inside thigh of her right leg. (Japanese voiced by
Sanae Kobayashi and English voiced by
Wendy Tomson ).
; : A very young and playful girl. Her last name is the Italian word for and English voiced by
Jennifer Sekiguchi ).
;
: An old man who owns a repair shop that Bocca worked at. Kurofune comes to him to have his Aiber-Machine, Jaguar Sun, repaired. When the authorities arrives after Kurofune fights Hor, Saburou flees and joins with the armed theater group, Chentaruo. When Bocca meets Saburou again it is revealed that Saburou was a scientist who helped in the development of Aiber-Machines and the Mitoranoum, the space fortress that gives the Aiber-Machines the ability to fly and was supposed to destroy all monsters.
; :
: A girl whose physical body is confined at an elusive area called the "Oblivion Playhouse" (also translated as "Melody Theatre,") but can project her image so that Melos Warriors can see her. She guides and supports them, although her capacity for communication seems to be very limited. It is rumored among Melos Warriors that if her physical form can be located and resuscitated, she could unlock a power capable of wiping the Monsters off the face of the planet. (Japanese voiced by
Mamiko Noto and English voiced by
Michelle Ruff ).
; Horu / Minotaur:
: Horu is the first monster Bocca meets in Melody of Oblivion, and is also the most recurring monster in the series. He is said to have been sealed in a labyrinth, but claims that he was able to leave his prison when he discovered that everything "is all part of the labyrinth" He holds a long-standing grudge against Kurofune. Like all monsters, he has a broad, albeit nebulous, range of abilities. He is seen in the anime to warp space and time around him, teleport, and is known to cause the stars to vanish for periods of time. Whenever he is in the area, a pair of bullhorns is seen somewhere close. He is accompanied by a small "toy" bus that he implements in his attack by transforming it to life-size, making it grow the horns and legs of a bull, and ramming it into his opponent. (In the past, he was seen to use a similar attack with a
Jeep in lieu of a bus.) He is often chewing cud, which, along with other elements of his design such as the bullhorns and labyrinth, is supposed to imply that he is the Minotaur of Greek Mythology. (In fact, the walls of the labyrinth he was trapped in have
Murals on them depicting the birth of the Minotaur. Also, another way to translate his name is ''Hol,'' a reference to
Holstein Cattle .) Horu is unique among monsters in that he gains sustenance by reverting to his true form (which is never seen on camera) and physically devouring the children who are sacrificed to him. This is excruciatingly (and eternally) painful for his victims because he constantly regurgitates and masticates them, as a cow does with its food. Those that see him in his true form immediately and irreversibly transform into puppets. He's voiced by
Shotaro Morikubo in Japanese.
; The Girl With Red Hair / Medusa:
: The most childish and unpredictable of all the monsters featured. She appears as a young red-haired girl. Her transport of choice is a large cruise-liner called "The Hebihanabi," or "Snake Fireworks ship," that can move on land or sea, and is always accompanied by a thick fog. Her sacrifices are turned into stone statues through looking upon her true form, and are either kept in her onboard private collection, or used to decorate the cities under her command (she seems to have a preference for young and beautiful boys.) During one scene in the anime, bunch of snakes are scattered around after she throws her head at a mob of angry parents, implying that she is made out of snakes. One of her oddest features is that she is always accompanied by a servant whose voice is heard, but who never appears onscreen. Whether this servant is another monster or in fact an extension of her power is unknown. She was the monster that scouted out the Monster Union members Midnight Hiyoko and Millionaire Beaver, although she may have found others as well. Like all monsters, her powers are difficult to gauge, and she has an unquestionably evil nature. She is referred to as
Medusa by other monsters, which goes along with the fact that she is associated with snakes, can petrify others at will and lastly, when she removed her head it was likely referencing the legend of when
Perseus decapitated Medusa in combat, and later used her head (or rather her petrifying eyes) as a weapon. On top of that, The Monster king directly referred to her by the name, Medusa.
; Tamakorogashi / Hecate
: Or "Ball-Roller" is the third most featured monster in the story, and seems to be the most calculating. She is the monster that is noted to be the one that scouted the union agent, Hustle Monkey. She appears in the form of a young woman with green hair held in pig-tails by bowling ball shaped hair clips. She is always accompanied by a ferocious looking black dog that acts like her guardian. This dog is probably a part of her true form. As her hair clips may indicate, she is fond of bowling and prefers to play in a bowling alley of her own creation that is made out of
Hearse s. People who view her balls and pins are assaulted by visions of the people they have wronged. It is explicably shown that she turns her sacrifices into bowling balls (she actually orders her sacrifices based on their weight, so that the ball's weight is more comfortable for her to throw), but it is unknown as to whether or not this also applies to the pins. The monster,
Pan , called her,
Hecate , when they met up at the
Parthenon . This goes along with her dog since black dogs were regularly sacrificed to the Witch-Goddess.
; Pan
: Not much is known about him, the only information is that he is a boy who is wearing glasses and plays a flute. He seems to have an intressed thing for Medusa.
Pan is a human with goat legs and horns.
; Talos
: Talos can only be seen once for a brif moment. Talos appears to look like a
Sumo and he guards the Island of Monsters.
; Monster King Solomon III aka Solo
: The current Monster King, he is a former Melos warrior. After defeating the previous Monster King, the Melody of Oblivion told him that the monsters would attack the humans indiscriminately. The only way to prevent it would be for Solo to take up the role of Monster King himself. He pleads with Bocca to join him as his equal, to help relieve the extreme loneliness of his position. Solomon goes so far as to offer Bocca half of the world to control if he would only join him. (english voiced by
Johnny Yong Bosch ).
; Midnight Hiyoko
:After having her home town's hot springs discovered as a fake and her sister stealing her boyfriend, she dedicates herself to the monster union. She causes her town to be under constant night, which makes it famous for 'A town without dawn, or always in dusk'. Her robot monster is a large flying rooster. Her real name is Keiko Hamasaki. (Japanese voiced by
Yuri Amano )
; Millionaire Beaver
:A childhood friend of Toune, she was recruited by Medusa while they were looking for Sky Blue, Toune's future Aiba Machine. She was jealous of Toune for being liked by Eichi instead of her, and after Toune's return fears he will run away with her. She is in charge of a dam that holds all of the tears of children saddend by adults. The tears are collected by robot mice, and are counted as a way determining which adults are eligible to be Monster Union members. Her robot monster is a giant mouse, which is made out of a number of her robotic mice. She is defeated by Bocca when he learns the Singing Chord attack. Her real name is Miri Kanaya. (Japanese voiced by
Aya Hisakawa )
; Wrench Monkey
: He's in charged of a factory of making weapons for the Monster Union. He captures Sayoko as his special love. He gets the shivers when Hecate gets a liitle upset with him. He pilots a robot monkey as he fights the Warrios of Melos. He appear to have died as Engine One gets destroyed. His real name is Masaru Hashimoto. (Japanese voiced by
Mitsuaki Madono )
; Global Wildcat
: Worked under Hol (Horu) on his mirage island shipping children to him, was defeated by Bocca who's Aiba Machine Elan Vital appeared to be immune to the Aiba Machine sealing attack Global Noise Cannon. His robot monster is a Bobcat. (Japanese voiced by
Ryotaro Okiayu )
; Lucky Thoroughbred
: The older brother of Sayoko. His robot monster is a horse.
; Flying Bunny
: Subordinate to Child Dragon, went to scope out Lucky Thoroughbred's tower and helped Sayoko escape. Fights with a carrot, and rides a carrot shaped flying surfboard. Her robot monster is apparently a giant cocktail waitress (larger version of herself).
; Electric Sheep
:Little is known about this boy's past, except he states his true self is dead in real life, and that he is in a dream in real life, after being rudely awoken by Koko he becomes angered and attacks her and the other Melos Warriors. His robot monster is a giant sheeps head, with thousands of 'electronic sheep', little white electrized balls, that join together to create a ring like shield around him.
; Discount Uribou
:Has some past with Toune, possible met her when she had ran away from her home village. Her robot monster is based off of pigs.
; Child Dragon
: Leader of the Monster Union, he enjoys sock puppets. His robot monster is a pair of dragons.
; Sky Blue
: Tone's machine. In human form, he's a soft-spoken young boy with blue, wavy hair. (Japanese voiced by
Soichiro Hoshi )
; Kuron
: One of the three machines frequently seen with Koko. In human form, he wears glasses. (Japanese voiced by
Daisuke Namikawa )
; Opening
; Ending
- ''Tenohira no Hikari'' (てのひらの光) by Minawo
