Boredworkers.com

Alot of anime series are based off existing manga series of the same name. In the case of Heroic Age, the anime came first before it was published as a manga. The anime ran from 1st April 2007 with the last episode airing on 30th September 2007. There were 26 episodes in all.

- Heroic Age Opening Theme -

Storyline
In an alternate future, an advanced race called the Golden Tribe, left the known universe to explore the outer reaches of space. Before their departure, they made a call and three races responded. The Silver Tribe was the most dominant and came to call themselves the successor to the Golden Tribe. The Bronze Tribe, a race of space fairing insectoids, bowed to the rule of the Silver Tribe and became their enforcers. The Heroic Tribe, which were few in number but great in individual strength. As the Golden Tribe were about to depart, a fourth race, the Humans, managed to make their way into space of their own will and were called the Iron Tribe.

Since the Golden Tribe’s departure, the Silver Tribe has been hell bent on extinguishing the existence of the Iron Tribe. The Silver Tribe controlled four of five Nodos, members of the Heroic Tribe. The Nodos were bound to a ruling tribe by a contract which contained a fixed number of conditions known as labours. Struggling desperately against the Silver Tribe, the Iron Tribe under the guidance of Princes Dhianeila eventually discovers the fifth Nodos, AGE on a planet far off from the know starways. The Golden Tribe had prophesied that Age, the only human raised by the Golden Tribe, would bring deliverance hem from the brink of destruction and lead them to glory.

Random Thoughts
Mecha, space, heroes, fights. What’s not to like you might ask? Well, for the most part, the series is enjoyable. However, there are some annoying bits.

The initial plot was quite good. It was well thought out and narrated. Enough to draw you in to watch the next few episodes. But everything started to fall apart around the middle. I think that’s the problem with most animes nowadays. The story board gets a little stale after the first few episodes. It’s as though the creative minds behind the scenes suddenly lost interest or ran out of ideas. Once that point has been breached, the story becomes rushed and disjointed. By that time, viewers have already vested too much time in watching the earlier episodes that it would be a waste not to finish the series.

Another problem with mecha animes is that the battle scenes get old very quickly. The first few battles drew out some “Oohs”, “Aahs”, and some “I’ve never seen that before”. But once you get over the initial surprise, you realise that it is really very repetitive. They recycled some of the sequences over and over to the point that you felt like you were watching reruns. And that’s discounting the fact that most mecha series nowadays borrow heavily from Gundam, albeit with different models in place.

There was relatively little character building. While the supporting cast was vast in numbers, few of them actually saw any real screen time aside from the stars of the show (Age and Princess Dhianeila). There was little focus on the supporting cast, except on occasions when they needed to show off some new suits and attire for ga sha pon merchandising.

Alright. Enough nitpicking. Despite all its faults, Heroic Age was enjoyable enough that I sat through all 26 episodes. If for nothing else, then it was to see those funny easter eggs that the fansubs sneaked in via the subtitles. It does make me wonder whether Age and Dhianeila were coupling. Haha.

Watch the series over a long weekend when you have absolutely nothing better to do.

Episode Listing

• Episode 1 - Star of Destruction (滅びの星)
• Episode 2 - Forgotten Child (忘れられた子供)
• Episode 3 - Heroic Tribe (英雄の種族)
• Episode 4 - Planet Titarros (惑星ティターロス)
• Episode 5 - Nodoss (ノドス)
• Episode 6 - Cemetery Belt (セメタリー・ベルト)
• Episode 7 - Contract (契約)
• Episode 8 - Flashing Nodos (閃光のノドス)
• Episode 9 - Return (帰還)
• Episode 10 - Lonely Hero (孤独の英雄)
• Episode 11 - Shining Star (輝きの星)
• Episode 12 - The Engulfing of the Torch (破滅の炬火)
• Episode 13 - The Battle of Time (時空流の戦い)
• Episode 14 - Roughly Putting on Airs (荒ぶる者)
• Episode 15 - When Light Falls (光降るとき)
• Episode 16 - Exceeding the Rules (幾つの定めを超えて)
• Episode 17 - Retaliation Forces (報復の軍勢)
• Episode 18 - Victorious Day (勝利の日)
• Episode 19 - Sortie in the System (星系間侵攻)
• Episode 20 - The Nodos of Darkness (暗黒のノドス)
• Episode 21 - Planet Kodomos (惑星コドモス)
• Episode 22 - Deadly Contract (死の契約)
• Episode 23 - The Four (四人)
• Episode 24 - Elysion (エリュシオン)
• Episode 25 - The Last Contract (最後の契約)
• Episode 26 (End) - Age (エイジ)