Square Enix’s Mana series is on its way to a television (or computer monitor, let’s be real) near you courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan. Announced about a year ago and set to air this year, Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal is an anime based on The Legend of Mana video game that first launched in 1999 for PlayStation (the fourth game in the series). Technically, The Legend of Mana was a spin-off with different gameplay from the original series, but this is television we’re talking about so what the buttons do really doesn’t make a difference.
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal begins near the town of Domina. A young boy named Shylo begins to hear a mysterious voice in his dreams. A voice telling him has has a mission. He soon meets two people in real life, known as “Jumi.” They are part of a race of people targeted (and often killed) for the jewel in their chests; they’re being attacked worldwide. These attacks begin Shylo’s mission to figure out what the heck is going on and who is behind it.
In addition to the teaser trailer, information regarding the cast and staff was released. We know of three voice actors: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Shylo, below to the left), Yuuichirou Umehara (Elazul, below in the centre), and Kaori Nazuka (Pearl, below to the right). Staff includes Masato Jinbo as Director and Series Supervisor, HACCAN for Character Drafts, Tarou Ikegami for Character Design, and Yoko Shimomura for music. HACCAN and Shimomura have both worked on the Mana series in the past. The show is animated by Graphinica and Yokohama Animation Lab, and produced by Warner Bros. Japan.
The Mana series first began in Japan as an offshoot of Final Fantasy in Final Fantasy Adventure, but by the second game (Secret of Mana) the Final Fantasy elements were gone and it became its own series. From then on, “Mana” was in all the game titles so there’s little confusion. The latest brand new title in the main series was 2006/2007’s Dawn of Mana for PlayStation 2. The latest spin-off title was a free-to-play mobile title (one of several), Rise of Mana. The last not F2P spin-off game was Heroes of Mana for Nintendo DS, which launched in 2007. In more recent years, the original three games were remade in 3D.
