Juuou Mujin no Fafnir (Unlimited Fafnir)

Midgar, all-girl academy, would have been notable just for the action of accepting its first and only male student, Yuu Mononobe. But Midgar stands out for much more than that: it's a school exclusive to a group of girls known as D's. Each of them have extremely powerful abilities in generating dark matter and manipulating it into powerful weaponry.

The D's didn't exist twenty-five years ago, and only appeared after a number of mysterious, destructive monsters known as "Dragons" started appearing around the world. Strangely, just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished. In their destructive wake, some girls started being born with symbols on their bodies and powers similar in nature to those wielded by the Dragons themselves.

Now the D's attend this school, hoping to harness and utilize their powers against the Dragons. Yuu is their latest member and is extraordinary for being the only known male D in existence. Now he must forge relationships with the girls around him, including his long separated sister who attends the school as well, and work with them to investigate and eliminate the threat of the powerful Dragons.

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Background

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir adapts the first 3 novels of Tsukasa's light novel series of the same title.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Freyja, Iris

Main

Hidaka, Rina
Japanese

Mononobe, Yuu

Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu
Japanese

Mononobe, Mitsuki

Main

Numakura, Manami
Japanese

Muspelheim, Kili Surtr

Supporting

Inoue, Marina
Japanese

Crest, Firill

Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana
Japanese

Highwalker, Lisa

Supporting

Kanemoto, Hisako
Japanese

Lightning, Tear

Supporting

Sakura, Ayane
Japanese

Miyazawa, Ren

Supporting

Uchimura, Fumiko
Japanese

Shinomiya, Haruka

Supporting

Yamaguchi, Rikako
Japanese

Tachikawa, Honoka

Supporting

Hayami, Saori
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Uemura, Shunichi

Producer

Yoshikawa, Atsushi

Producer

Hidaka, Isao

Assistant Producer

Kusakawa, Keizou

Director

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Opening Theme

"FLYING FAFNIR" by TRUSTRICK (Sayaka Kanda & Billy)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Ray of bullet" by Iris Freyja (Rina Hidaka) & Mitsuki Mononobe (Manami Numakura) (eps 1-11)
	2: "Ray of bullet" by Iris Freyja (Rina Hidaka), Mitsuki Mononobe (Manami Numakura), Lisa Highwalker (Hisako Kanemoto), Ariella Lu (Sora Tokui), Ren Miyazawa (Fumiko Uchimura), and Tear Lightning (Ayane Sakura) (eps 12)

Reviews

Mar 30, 2015

AftrSkoolNavig8r

Recommended

Harem anime is always a tough genre to judge because it all seems to follow the same formula with slight variations to separate one from another. However, the anime adaptation of Unlimited Fafnir does not present itself in the way a typical harem anime does. This show had a different feeling; one that if I had to describe it, would be that it feels emptier. That does not mean the show doesn’t have it strong suits, because it excels in other areas.

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STORY - From a story standpoint, the premise of the show outlines what appears to be a classic harem foundation: a boy with "dragonic" ... powers specifically reserved for females enrolls in a school full of girls with similar powers. This group of people are known as “D.” The purpose of this school is to train the students to combat dragons that threaten the well-being of the female students. Aside from the harem underpinnings, the story is rife with fantasy and science themes. From a technical standpoint, the show is split up into mini-arcs surrounding a specific character or dragon and does a fairly good job of moving from one arc to another without leaving open a lot of plot holes. However, Unlimited Fafnir loses me with the characters and the lack of development they truly deserve. (7)

CHARACTERS - I feel the need to address the character issue in this show and this may seem like a rant, so excuse me if I seem to be heavily biased. Typically when you watch a harem anime, you find that one character that you really connect with that you root for to "win" (even though most times the status quo is intact by the series end and no one truly wins). The difficulty I faced with Unlimited Fafnir is that it presented no characters that I wanted to win. When that happens it does not feel like a harem anime and becomes just a show that has a hefty female to male ratio, which isn’t a bad thing, but when a show is billed as a harem, it leaves you a bit wanting. Additionally, throughout the series it felt like only a small portion of the group actually WANTED to win. The main class is split up between the male protag a group of seven or females. The series run focuses mostly on the male protag, Yuu and four of the seven females: Iris, Tear, Mitsuki, and to an extent Lisa. At least that’s how it was observed. Broken down even further, only two of the main four actually seemed to be “going for it,” or in the harem pool at that. EVEN FURTHER, both of those characters had the same character traits – both were exceedingly clingy and child-like to the point of annoyance. This would be fine if there was another character that provides a sort of foil to these characters, but it never happens; at least not in this series run. By the series end there were hints that a character would provide that foil, but way too late in the series to really matter.

Aside from the criticisms regarding the characters within the harem, this show does a disservice to the characters by providing them with the absolute minimum development that they could. While the show progresses pretty well from arc to arc, aspects of the characters are introduced but not expanded upon, or outright abandoned. Other aspects of the characters are not resolved until they are just dropped in at the end of the series. It all feels really clumsy and unorganized compared to the main plot. Furthermore, outside of the four primary characters mentioned above, the three remaining classmates receive very little moments to reveal themselves. In one episode, one of the three has a moment and she reveals more about herself and looks like she will enter herself into the equation. By the next episode, that interaction is completely abandoned. This is excruciatingly frustrating. While one of the remaining two, gets small, but noticeable dialogue and is integral to the story, the other is completely invisible. Literally the only thing we know about this girl is that she’s shy and likes computers. I understand there is a deviation from main and supporting characters and that not all characters can be treated equally, but I feel like this show did not do a good enough job to properly portray the characters. When you have a class size that small and you have every class member on the cover art, there should not be a character that is completely ignored. (4)

ART – This is where I find the show to excel. Quick, picture a dragon in your mind. I guarantee you that this show presents dragons in a completely different light than you are picturing. The dragons deviate from the preconceived image of what a dragon is. Some are bipedal, some are quadrupedal, some can fly, some walk, some swim. They are all different and have different skills and abilities. They are not just different in shape, but size as well. They are enormous, overwhelming creatures that provide you with the idea that they are a viable threat. They are far different from any dragon I have ever seen portrayed outside of YuGiOh cards. It is unique and shows originality. The scenery is also quite above average.

The character designs are pretty well done as well. When an anime is set in a school, one thing I look for in the character design is the uniform. Some shows will try to make their uniforms too unique to a point where they are too flashy and distract from the character design rather than accentuate it. Unlimited Fafnir provides us with a basic black and white uniform for the ladies with a built in shawl that drapes over the upper torso, hiding the bust. The characters also have, for the most part, standard hair-color. It makes them look more realistic and human, aside from Tear who has horns and pink hair. In this aspect, Tear’s character design is very reminiscent of Eco from Seikoku no Dragonar. Yu, the male protag rocks a rather badass looking black suit with white accents, black dress shirt, and white tie. It’s a clean look that accentuates his character design, which would be rather bland and generic without. (8)

SOUND – It’s a pity that the characters are done so poorly because the voice cast is excellent. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka continues to be every male protag in a harem series, but in this case it fits really well. His very soothing voice is a welcome change of pace to the sometimes loud and obnoxious voices used by some of the female cast. However, I think this was more of a sound mixing error than the voice actors’ fault. The female voices are all recognizable names if you’ve watched a good share of anime, but they show great range; deviating from the voices they’ve used in notable roles they were cast in the past. The voice acting is rather well done and fit each character rather well.

The music is pretty good too. The opening track, “Flying Fafnir” is a nice, driving but mellow song with a pretty stellar piano/vocal lead in. It sets a good mood for the show. I also have a serious soft spot for voice actors adding to the musical track, so the ending, “Ray of bullet” is very welcome, especially episode 12 which includes all seven of the female classmates. Why they didn’t do that for episodes 1-11 is beyond me. (9)

ENJOYMENT – Even with all the criticisms I have over the characters and how hollow I feel they are; the show is still enjoyable. This was one of the shows I was looking forward to this past season because of the premise and the voice cast. Despite my disdain for how the characters were handled, the story was very good, albeit rushed in some spots (this is a commonality in short run series, so it is to be expected). There is a very good dynamic in this show between fantasy and science. It combines fantastical themes where the D use weapons like spears, bows, hammers, etc. with new age tech where the military uses airships and hi-tech doomsday devices. The combat scenes were nothing special, but got the job done. Unlimited Fafnir does have its spots of predictability, but also has a few swerves that you won’t see coming.

Another aspect of this show I really enjoyed was the general lack of fanservice throughout. I mean it's there in spots, but not overwhelmingly there. In many harem series, there is an abundance of fanservice that is supposed to rile up male viewers. Aside from Iris’s low-cut nightgown, a steamy hot-tub scene, and some bikini scenes, it is pretty barren of that aspect. The female uniforms also hide the bust so there aren’t humungous boobs in your face. All the female characters are badass warriors who fight dragons and not sex symbols, and I find that exceptional and refreshing. If you want boobs, panties, or fap material, this show is not for you. (8)

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I would assert that if you are a fan of harem series, you might want to shy away from this series. You’ll likely be disappointed. There isn’t a huge contest for the male protag’s love amongst a throng of women, nor is there multiple character types that appeal to various different viewers. If you like super detailed character backstories, this show will disappoint you. If you just want to watch some cute, badass girls fight some dragons, then yes watch this show.

Perhaps a lot of this show’s shortcomings are the fact it is a short run show of 12 episodes. It is pretty common that in these short series, the creators try to jam pack as much as they can. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t. This show falls right in the middle of that where they are able to keep an organized story, but fail in providing sub-stories and creating and resolving character development. I have a feeling if they had a longer series run, the adaptation could have been better and maybe a second season would help close the gaps the first season created. Will it get that chance? (7.2 Overall)

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Mar 25, 2015

Genesisis

Mixed Feelings

This anime is pretty cliche, as a Harem/Romance/Action/Supernatural anime this is very typical its really lacks pop and most scenes are pretty predictable that you'll know what will happen next. So dont go expecting a whole lot out of it mostly a standard Harem/Romance its similar to Infinite Stratos if you have seen that before, but less ecchi.

Plot: 6/10
A fair plot, similar to Infinite Stratos, but Magic > Mecha. You have supernatural abilities only commonly available to girls. In Juuou Mujin no Fafnir the ability is known as Dragons "D" who attend a school far off on a distant island, but with our male protagonist ...

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Mar 28, 2015

PyraXadon

Not Recommended

Fantasy is a genre that is notorious for being one that is very touchy. Because every fantasy world has its own set of rules and laws, every fantasy story has to explain the world in order for the audience to properly understand. It is because of this requirement that when a series doesn't manage to do this, any given anime can fall flat on its face. It is here where we have Juuou Mujin no Fafnir, a show that falls quite flat on many accounts.

Story (3.00/10): The story of Fafnir is based in an alternate fantasy world. Within this fantasy world, ...

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Poll: Juuou Mujin no Fafnir Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Mar 26, 2015	65 replies	by SailorFairyDxD24 »» Jan 5, 1:08 PM
Poll: Juuou Mujin no Fafnir Episode 11 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 19, 2015	32 replies	by SailorFairyDxD24 »» Jan 5, 12:21 PM
Poll: Juuou Mujin no Fafnir Episode 10 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 12, 2015	33 replies	by SailorFairyDxD24 »» Jan 4, 5:45 PM
Poll: Juuou Mujin no Fafnir Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Mar 5, 2015	35 replies	by SailorFairyDxD24 »» Jan 4, 3:49 PM
Poll: Juuou Mujin no Fafnir Episode 8 Discussion Stark700 - Feb 26, 2015	39 replies	by SailorFairyDxD24 »» Jan 4, 4:55 AM

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

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Freyja, Iris

Mononobe, Yuu

Mononobe, Mitsuki

Muspelheim, Kili Surtr

Crest, Firill

Highwalker, Lisa

Lightning, Tear

Miyazawa, Ren

Shinomiya, Haruka

Tachikawa, Honoka

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Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

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