Blue Gender

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Blue Gender
ブルージェンダー (Blue Gender)
Genre	Drama, Horror, Mecha
TV anime : Blue Gender
Directed by	Masashi Abe
Studio	AIC
Network	TBS Cartoon Network (2003), FUNimation Channel & CoLours TV (2006-) Sci-Fi A+
Original run	10 October 1999 – 31 March 2000
No. of episodes	26
Movie: Blue Gender: The Warrior (movie)
Directed by	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.

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

Yuji's years of hibernation are finally ended when a group of soldiers from an orbiting space colony called 2nd Earth are 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. Along the way Yuji and Marlene become closer. Eventually Yuji and Marlene reach a ship in Russia and leave to 2nd Earth. Yuji is injured on the ship by a blue that was on board. Upon arrival at the main station, 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 that he is being trained for a new Armor Shrike that is much stronger than the originals. On 2nd Earth scientists reveal that the nature of the illness that put Yuji in stasis and the source of the insect monsters called the Blue is the same. The Earth, in an effort to curb rising population, activated dormant B cells in the human bodies which in turn led to the creation of the first Blue.

The show draws heavy influences from many different science fiction sources, the most prevalent is Starship Troopers, with enemies that look like bugs and the resistance riding in Exoskeleton-like mechas.

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 (albeit edited to remove its graphic violence and sexual content). 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^?) - A loser by modern standards. He worked at a gas station in the near future until a life-threatening disease 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 (Fox McCloud from Star Fox Assault, Pell from One Piece) and in English by Eric Vale (Trunks from Dragon Ball Z)
• Marlene Angel (マリーン・エンジェル, Marīn Enjeru^?) - A very cold soldier who initially finds Yuji. Her steely exterior slowly crumbles as a result of Yuji's influence and she finds the humanity that she and the other people on Second Earth lost as a result of their single-mindedness to eradicate the Blue. Voiced in Japanese by Houko Kuwashima (Sango from InuYasha, Kirika Yumura from Noir) and in English by Laura Bailey (Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket, Keiko Yukimura from Yu Yu Hakusho, Kid Trunks from Dragon Ball Z)
• 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.
• Alicia Whistle (アリシア・ウィッスル, Arisha Wissuru^?) - Another sleeper on Second Earth who is paired with Tony. She is very young and often naive. Immediately gravitates towards Yuji, seeing Marlene as an obstacle to a relationship with Yuji. Voiced in Japanese by Miwa Yasuda and in English by Lisa Ortiz.
• Seno Miyagi (セノ・ミヤギ, Seno Miyagi^?) - A high-ranking worker on Second Earth. He eventually starts a group called The Arc, who would later overthrow the "government" on Second Earth. He would later become the leader of Second Earth. Seno often helps Yuji and Marlene in completing their missions.

[edit] Episode guide

1. Oneday
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 (The Series In Short)

[edit] External links

• BlueGender.com
• Blue Gender at AIC studio
• Blue Gender at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia