7.8 /10 1 Votes
7.6/10 IMDb Written by Hiroyuki Morioka Volumes 5 First episode date 14 April 2000 Network WOWOW | 7.8/10 MyAnimeList 8/10 Anime-Planet Published by Hayakawa Publishing Directed by Yasuchika Nagaoka Final episode date 14 July 2000 Number of episodes 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illustrated by Toshihiro Ono (first two volumes) Original run December 1996 – present Genres Space opera, Military science fiction Cast Ayako Kawasumi, Yuka Imai, Kaneto Shiozawa, Kaori Shimizu, Mitsuki Saiga Similar Jing: King of Bandits, Futakoi Alternative, Hand Maid May, Kiddy Grade, Jubei‑chan: The Ninja Girl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Banner of the Stars (星界の戦旗, Seikai no Senki, lit. Battle Flag of the Stars) is a series of science fiction novels written by Hiroyuki Morioka, which serve as sequels to Crest of the Stars. The series is ongoing. Three novels in the series have been made into anime.
Contents
Characters
Main characters:
The crew of the attack ship Basrogrh (Basroil) with Jinto and Lafiel:
Lodaïrhs (Abh officers) introduced in this series:
Novels
As of the present, there are five novels in the Seikai no Senki. These are:
Jinto Lynn and princess Lafiel join the imperial fleet and take part in an arduous defense of Aptic Gate (where their attack ship Basrogrh (Basroil) is destroyed after the whole crew have escaped).
Lafiel and Jinto are appointed ambassadors and given a mission to form a government on a newly conquered planet, which turns out to be a detention planet full of prisoners. Jinto is kidnapped during a rebellion and Lafiel is forced to withdraw due to the military actions of the enemy, leaving Jinto behind. Weeks later she returns to rescue him.
The main characters go to the Hyde star system (Jinto's home world and recently recovered imperial territory). On the way, Jinto encounters his friend Dorin Ku and is informed that a military war game will be held in the Hyde star system. Martine, the system's capital, refuses to surrender to the Abh Empire. Count Jinto negotiates with the Martinese government and seeks terms to surrender. At last, at the cost of the planet's autonomy and exile of the Count, Martine joins the Empire.
The main characters have returned to the Imperial fleet and Lafiel is now captain of a new ship, the assault frigate Flicaubh. Lafiel's younger brother Duhiel enlists in the navy and is dispatched to a battleship. The so far neutral Hania Federation unexpectedly offers to join the Abh Empire and Empress Ramaj accepts. While Jinto and Lafiel are returning to the Imperial capital, Lakfakalle, the Hania Federation fleet suddenly attack the Abh Empire and advances towards the capital.
The three enemy nations launch a surprise attack on Lakfakalle from Hania territory with help from sympathetic elements within the Hania military. Unable to recall the fleets in time to mount a defense, the empire prepares to abandon its capital for the first time in its history. The empress leads the small fleet available to meet the enemy in a desperate attempt to buy time for the civilians and crucial production structures to be evacuated. Meanwhile, Lafiel and Jinto are assigned to an old cruiser and tasked with transporting the Memorial Stones, markers etched with the name of every person who has ever died for the empire and important cultural artifacts. At the same time Duhiel is trapped behind enemy lines, and his superiors must get him back to Imperial territory.
Anime
Among fans, Banner of the Stars is a title used to describe all anime except Crest of the Stars (which Hiroyuki Morioka has said was not intended as the main idea of the story, but just an introduction to how Jinto and Lafiel met). Currently two TV series and an OVA have been released adapting the first three books:
Manga
Manga adaptations of the Banner of the Stars and Banner of the Stars II anime series have been released. These volumes were referred as the second and third parts of the Seikai Trilogy. This was because at the time of publishing, only three anime series were adapted from Hiroyuki Morioka's works, and Banner of the Stars III was yet to be made. Crest of the Stars consisted of the first part of the trilogy. The manga were released in English by Tokyopop in 2004.
Video game
The Banner of the Stars series was used as a background for a video game adaptation in Japanese only. Named after the series, Gainax released Seikai no Senki in September 2003. It is a member of the wargame genre, featuring interactions with some characters from the novel in-between the battles.
Unlike its predecessor, the Seikai no Senki game was initially released for PC/Windows only. An adaptation for the PlayStation 2 console was released in April 2005.