Brave Story
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
fantasy
novel
written by Miyuki Miyabe
. It was serialized
in various regional newspaper
s between the November 11, 1999 and February 13, 2001 before being published in two hardcover volumes by Kadokawa Shoten
in March 2003. The story of the novel follows 5th Grade student Wataru Mitani as he stumbles upon "Vision", a fantasy world
, after his parents divorce and his mother attempts suicide. The novel is available in the English language by Viz Media
.
Brave Story has spawned into a substantial media franchise
. The novel was adapted into a manga by Yoichiro Ono and Miyabe herself, who wrote the new story for the manga, which was serialised in Shinchosha
's Weekly Comic Bunch
. Shinchosha collected the chapters of Brave Story in twenty tankōbon
volumes and released them from April 2004 to May 2008. In the manga version Wataru is slightly older and already in high school.
In 2006 the novel was rereleased in two new editions, a three volume softcover version of the earlier hardcover release intended for mature readers and a light novel
version marketed for younger readers. These were intended to create interest in the animated
film adaption by Gonzo released in Japan by Warner Bros.
later that year on July 8, 2006. The film was nominated for "Animation of the Year" at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards
and also released on home video
in Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Taiwan and Germany.
The novel was loosely adapted into three video games: Sony Computer Entertainment
's PSP
game, Brave Story: New Traveler
; Namco Bandai
's Nintendo DS
game, Brave Story: My Dreams and Wishes and Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2
game, Brave Story: Wataru's Adventure.
When he arrives in Vision, Wataru meets an old man who calls himself the Wayfinder. He tells Wataru what he must do to change his destiny: Wataru has to collect five gemstones to go to the Tower of Destiny, where the Goddess grants each Traveler one wish. Each stone has a different quality: charity, bravery, faith, grace, and the power of darkness and light. Wataru encounters friends and foes during his adventures, and he ultimately comes to terms with the nature of himself.
10 for every box office ticket purchased for the Brave Story film is donated to United Nations Children's Fund
, which aims to "assist children infected with HIV
and its repercussions in Asian and African nations, particularly children in the Republic of Malawi" with the funds. The production cost of the movie was estimated to be one billion yen
.
Manga artist
Yoichiro Ono comments that although he has kept his drawing style as close as he could to boys' manga, the story's is aimed at an adult audience and resulted in the first volume of the manga being "a lot more serious than it ended up being... and more mature".
. Kadokawa Shoten
released both volumes of the novel on March 3, 2003. A special volume was released by Kadokawa Shoten on April 7, 2003. An official guide book was released by Kadokawa Shoten on July 3, 2006. The English-language version of the novel is licensed by Viz Media
. Viz Media released the novel as a 824-page book on August 14, 2007. It was translated into English by Alexander O. Smith
. The novel is to be re-issued by Viz Media under its imprint
, Haikasoru.
adaptation of Brave Story, written by Miyuki Miyabe and illustrated by Yoichiro Ono, came about after the novel won the Batchelder Award. The manga serialization in Shinchosha
's shōnen magazine (aimed at teenage boys) Weekly Comic Bunch
ended on March 14, 2008. Shinchosha collected the individual chapters into 20 tankōbon
volumes, and released them from April 9, 2004 to May 9, 2008. Tokyopop licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America. The first Brave Story volume was published on June 12, 2007. Brave Story is also licensed in France by Kurokawa.
and produced by Daisuke Sekiguchi, Hiroyoshi Koiwai and Koji Kajita, it was released in Japanese cinemas by Warner Bros.
on July 8, 2006. Warner Brothers is handling worldwide distribution of the Brave Story movie. Warner Brothers announced their planned release of Brave Story on DVD, Blu-ray
, HD DVD
and UMD
on November 12, 2006. The movie was licensed in Australia by Madman Entertainment
, in the United Kingdom by Optimum Releasing
, in France by Kaze
and in Germany by Anime-Virtual. Juno Reactor composed the soundtrack for Brave Story.
Brave Story was showcased by Pony Canyon
during the 2007 American Film Market
. Pony Canyon promoted Brave Story along with Umizaru 2: Test of Trust at the 2008 American Film Market. Optimum Releasing
released the film in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008. The movie's ending theme was by Aqua Timez
.
released the role-playing game
, Brave Story: New Traveler
on PlayStation Portable
in Japan on July 6, 2006. In United States, the game was released by Xseed Games
on July 31, 2007. Both were developed by Game Republic
. On July 6, 2006, Namco Bandai
released an adventure
Nintendo DS
game, called . Sony Computer Entertainment released PlayStation 2
game, on July 6, 2006.
released a soundtrack of Brave Story, which was sung by TRF
using the lyrics of Tetsuya Komuro
. On July 5, 2006, Sony Music Entertainment
released an animation soundtrack CD for Brave Story; Juno Reactor
composed the songs. On November 29, 2006, Avex Trax released a Brave Story soundtrack, which featured lyrics composed by Tetsuya Komuro and Takahiro Maeda, and sung by TRF. Another soundtrack CD of Brave Story was released by Universal Music on September 3, 2008 that had lyrics written by Yuki Sakurai and was sung by Rice.
, Guin Saga
, Harry Potter
, The Lord of the Rings
, Star Wars
, and The Wizard of Oz
to create an entertaining, surprisingly adult adventure story whose seams sometime show."
Brave Story was ranked fifth on a About.com
poll for the best shōnen manga of 2007. A.E. Sparrow from IGN
commends Brave Story manga for Yochiro Ono's artwork and he compares them to "some of the more recent manhwa
(Korean) titles that have also come out of the Tokyopop
camp". Mania.com's Nadia Oxford comments that the " unforgiving landscape" of the fantasy world
"Vision" "seems to somehow reflect the mental state of its inhabitants". Scott Campbell from ActiveAnime commends the manga for its "detailed art and involving story". Snow Wildsmith from Teenreads commends Miyabe's "talent for switching between reality and fantasy, action and pathos, humor and seriousness, which helps make her story both more interesting and more believable". Anime News Network
's Carlo Santos criticises the manga for its opening plotline by saying it is a "remarkably bland rendition of the "young hero sucked into alternate world" formula, and it's easy to mistake this at first for some kind of lame-duck Rayearth
/Twelve Kingdoms
clone". Katherine Dacey from Pop Culture Shock comments on Brave Story "distinguishes itself from dozens of similar series by fleshing out Wataru’s personal life. Wataru is no swaggering shonen stereotype: he’s insecure, hesitant, and crushed to learn that his dream girl has the hots for someone else." She also commends Wataru's parents sudden divorce "leaving Wataru to comfort his dumbfounded and grief-stricken mother while coming to terms with his own sense of loss. These scenes add an unexpected emotional depth to the story, demonstrating Wataru’s essential decency while providing him with a powerful motive for saving the world: he loves his mother".
The Brave Story film was nominated for "Animation of the Year" at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards
. John Li from MovieXclusive commends the film for its animation, saying "pleasing soft pastel colors and the occasional computer animation is still refreshing and pleasant to look at". Mark Schilling from The Japan Times
compares Wataru to Doraemon
s Nobita. He compares "the "quest for five jewels" motif" to the Dragon Ball
series and The Chronicles of Narnia
. John Smith from Impuse Gamer commends the film for its "beautiful animation techniques and some great sound sequences". Mania.com's Chris Beveridge commends the Blu-ray Disc
version of Brave Story for being "very expansive in its use of the surround channels during some of the action sequences". He also commends the film for its visual quality saying, "on our 50" set at 720p, the only "problems" I could find was that I had to be six inches (152 mm) from the screen and looking at the pixels to see some of the shiftiness in the animation in the scenes where dark blues and blacks mix". Mania.com's Dani Moure compares the film's "old-fashioned" character designs to Studio Ghibli
's. Anime News Network's Brian Hanson criticises the film as "being one of the worst-looking big-budget anime films of recent memory, the story is a mash of bizarre coincidences held together haphazardly by forced and annoying bouts of exposition, with irritating and one-dimensional characters chirping throughout".
Brave Story: New Traveler was generally well received by critics earning aggregated scores of 76% from Meta Critic and 79% from GameRankings. Joe Dodson from GameSpot
commends Brave Story: New Traveler for its visual and sound effect
s but criticises its "homogenous and never-ending" monsters. GamePro
commends the game for "vibrant graphics, small load times and solid presentation on the whole" but criticises it for "some too-familiar aspects of story and gameplay, story may be too "kiddy" for some." Louis Bedigian from GameZone
commends the game's graphics saying that the game "pays homage to the 3D Final Fantasy
games". Matt Paddock from Game Vortex commends the game on its faithful translation by saying, "if any of the Harry Potter books had been translated as faithfully, the game versions of Rowling's work would be selling gold and platinum right now". GameFAQs
's Kashell Triumph commends the game's character designs, describing them as, "well designed, detailed, expressive, and fluid". Greg Miller at IGN
criticises the game for having "a set of the exact same events -- random battles, dungeon, random battles, boss". GameSpy
's Steve Steinberg criticises the game for its first three hours of gameplay as it shows "very slowly and methodically—the basics of a generic and less-than-compelling game".
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
fantasy
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Miyuki Miyabe
Miyuki Miyabe
Miyuki Miyabe is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres that include science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction...
. It was serialized
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
in various regional newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s between the November 11, 1999 and February 13, 2001 before being published in two hardcover volumes by Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
in March 2003. The story of the novel follows 5th Grade student Wataru Mitani as he stumbles upon "Vision", a fantasy world
Fantasy world
A fantasy world is a fictional universe used in fantasy novels and games. Typical worlds involve magic or magical abilities and often, but not always, either a medieval or futuristic theme...
, after his parents divorce and his mother attempts suicide. The novel is available in the English language by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
.
Brave Story has spawned into a substantial media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. The novel was adapted into a manga by Yoichiro Ono and Miyabe herself, who wrote the new story for the manga, which was serialised in Shinchosha
Shinchosha
is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...
's Weekly Comic Bunch
Weekly Comic Bunch
is a defunct Japanese manga anthology marketed to young adults that was edited by Coamix and published weekly by Shinchosha from 2001 throughout 2010...
. Shinchosha collected the chapters of Brave Story in twenty tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes and released them from April 2004 to May 2008. In the manga version Wataru is slightly older and already in high school.
In 2006 the novel was rereleased in two new editions, a three volume softcover version of the earlier hardcover release intended for mature readers and a light novel
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
version marketed for younger readers. These were intended to create interest in the animated
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film adaption by Gonzo released in Japan by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
later that year on July 8, 2006. The film was nominated for "Animation of the Year" at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards
Japanese Academy Awards
The , often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-shō Association for excellence in Japanese film...
and also released on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
in Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Taiwan and Germany.
The novel was loosely adapted into three video games: Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
's PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
game, Brave Story: New Traveler
Brave Story: New Traveler
is a video game loosely based in the world of the novel and manga Brave Story. It was released in Japan on July 6, 2006. An English version, published and localized by Xseed Games, was released on July 31, 2007 in North America.-Plot summary:...
; Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai Games
is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan which is the product of a merger between the video game development divisions of Bandai and Namco. Namco Bandai Games is a wholly owned subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings and specializes in production and sales of...
's Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game, Brave Story: My Dreams and Wishes and Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game, Brave Story: Wataru's Adventure.
Plot
Wataru Mitani is a quiet and unassuming fifth grader in Japan. A new student called Mitsuru Ashikawa begins attending Wataru's school, though he is in a different class. There are also rumors circulating about the Daimatsu building, an empty, unfinished building near Wataru's school: witnesses claimed to have seen a ghost wandering behind the building's blue tarps. One day after school, while out with his uncle, Wataru witnesses an old man entering the abandoned building. Wataru follows him into the building and stumbles into the strange world of Vision. In Vision, he is told that the portal he crossed, called the Porta Nectere, opens only once every ten years for ninety days. People from his world are strictly forbidden to enter Vision unless they obtain the status of Traveler from "the gatekeeper". Unfortunately, he is also told he will forget everything of his visit. Upon re-entering the Porta Nectere, he is awoken by his uncle to find that Vision was a dream; Wataru supposedly fell from the stairs of the Daimatsu building. Wataru's uncle brings Wataru home only to discover a terrible truth: the boy's parents are divorcing and his father is running off with his mistress, leaving his wife and Wataru behind. Both Wataru and his mother are shocked, and to add to Wataru's stress, he finds his memories of Vision slipping away. Later, Wataru's father's lover confronts Wataru's mother over who Wataru's father really loves. After this encounter, Wataru's mother attempts suicide by leaving on the gas in the house. Mitsuru visits him, warns him of the gas, and tells him to go to Vision if he wants to change his fate. Wataru struggles to remember, but he finally goes to the Daimatsu building to cross the portal to Vision. Thus, Wataru's journey in Vision begins.When he arrives in Vision, Wataru meets an old man who calls himself the Wayfinder. He tells Wataru what he must do to change his destiny: Wataru has to collect five gemstones to go to the Tower of Destiny, where the Goddess grants each Traveler one wish. Each stone has a different quality: charity, bravery, faith, grace, and the power of darkness and light. Wataru encounters friends and foes during his adventures, and he ultimately comes to terms with the nature of himself.
Production
On March 10, 2006, Gonzo announced the establishment of a charity enterprise “Our Brave Fund”. ¥Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
10 for every box office ticket purchased for the Brave Story film is donated to United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund
United Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...
, which aims to "assist children infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
and its repercussions in Asian and African nations, particularly children in the Republic of Malawi" with the funds. The production cost of the movie was estimated to be one billion yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
.
Manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Yoichiro Ono comments that although he has kept his drawing style as close as he could to boys' manga, the story's is aimed at an adult audience and resulted in the first volume of the manga being "a lot more serious than it ended up being... and more mature".
Novel
Brave Story was written and illustrated by Miyuki MiyabeMiyuki Miyabe
Miyuki Miyabe is a popular contemporary Japanese author active in a number of genres that include science fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction, social commentary, and juvenile fiction...
. Kadokawa Shoten
Kadokawa Shoten
is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...
released both volumes of the novel on March 3, 2003. A special volume was released by Kadokawa Shoten on April 7, 2003. An official guide book was released by Kadokawa Shoten on July 3, 2006. The English-language version of the novel is licensed by Viz Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
. Viz Media released the novel as a 824-page book on August 14, 2007. It was translated into English by Alexander O. Smith
Alexander O. Smith
Alexander O. Smith is a professional English/Japanese translator and author. While his output covers many areas such as adaptation of Japanese novels, manga, song lyrics, anime scripts and various academic works, he is best known for his software localizations of Japanese video games...
. The novel is to be re-issued by Viz Media under its imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, Haikasoru.
Manga
The mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation of Brave Story, written by Miyuki Miyabe and illustrated by Yoichiro Ono, came about after the novel won the Batchelder Award. The manga serialization in Shinchosha
Shinchosha
is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award.-Monthly:* ENGINE* Foresight* nicola*Shinchō-External links:*...
's shōnen magazine (aimed at teenage boys) Weekly Comic Bunch
Weekly Comic Bunch
is a defunct Japanese manga anthology marketed to young adults that was edited by Coamix and published weekly by Shinchosha from 2001 throughout 2010...
ended on March 14, 2008. Shinchosha collected the individual chapters into 20 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes, and released them from April 9, 2004 to May 9, 2008. Tokyopop licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America. The first Brave Story volume was published on June 12, 2007. Brave Story is also licensed in France by Kurokawa.
Film
An animated film adaptation of Brave Story was produced by Gonzo. Directed by Koichi ChigiraKoichi Chigira
is an anime director who has directed several anime series, usually working with GONZO studio.-List of works:*Full Metal Panic*Gate Keepers*Last Exile*The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk*Brave Story...
and produced by Daisuke Sekiguchi, Hiroyoshi Koiwai and Koji Kajita, it was released in Japanese cinemas by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
on July 8, 2006. Warner Brothers is handling worldwide distribution of the Brave Story movie. Warner Brothers announced their planned release of Brave Story on DVD, Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
and UMD
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
on November 12, 2006. The movie was licensed in Australia by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
, in the United Kingdom by Optimum Releasing
Optimum Releasing
StudioCanal UK is a film distributor company working in the UK and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, anime releases such as Studio Ghibli's films and independent British, Irish and American films in the UK and sometimes Ireland.Optimum was acquired by...
, in France by Kaze
Kaze
Kaze is the Japanese word for wind.Kaze may also refer to:*Kaze Ghost Warrior, an independent, computer animated film*Kaze , hip hop artist from North Carolina, United States...
and in Germany by Anime-Virtual. Juno Reactor composed the soundtrack for Brave Story.
Brave Story was showcased by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
during the 2007 American Film Market
American Film Market
The American Film Market is a film industry event held each year at the beginning of November in Santa Monica, California. About 8,000 people attend the eight day event to network and to sell and acquire films...
. Pony Canyon promoted Brave Story along with Umizaru 2: Test of Trust at the 2008 American Film Market. Optimum Releasing
Optimum Releasing
StudioCanal UK is a film distributor company working in the UK and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, anime releases such as Studio Ghibli's films and independent British, Irish and American films in the UK and sometimes Ireland.Optimum was acquired by...
released the film in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2008. The movie's ending theme was by Aqua Timez
Aqua Timez
is a Japanese pop rock band signed to Epic Records.-Overview:Futoshi and OKP-Star met on with9.com in 2000 and attempted to start a band together. Unable to agree on the band's future, the two disbanded. In 2003, the current band members gathered and formed Aqua Timez. Their first independent music...
.
Cast
- Takako MatsuTakako Matsu, born , is a Japanese actress and pop singer/songwriter born on June 10, 1977 in Tokyo, Japan. The style of her music is often laid-back and relaxing.- Profile :* Interests: Watching movies and stage plays...
as Wataru Mitani - Eiji WentzEiji Wentzis a Japanese singer, entertainer, and actor. He is a member of the singer-songwriter duo WaT, and belongs to the production company Burning Productions.-Early career:...
as Mitsuru Ashikawa - Yo OizumiYo Oizumiis a TV personality and a stage actor based in Hokkaidō. He was born in Ebetsu and has been living in Sapporo since 1984.He first made a name in Hokkaidō-based TV variety series called “Suiyō Dōdeshō” and has been actively appearing on various media programs in Hokkaidō since then...
as Kee Keema - Miki Imai as the Goddess of Destiny
Games
Sony Computer EntertainmentSony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
released the role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Brave Story: New Traveler
Brave Story: New Traveler
is a video game loosely based in the world of the novel and manga Brave Story. It was released in Japan on July 6, 2006. An English version, published and localized by Xseed Games, was released on July 31, 2007 in North America.-Plot summary:...
on PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in Japan on July 6, 2006. In United States, the game was released by Xseed Games
XSEED Games
XSEED redirects here. For the proposed supertall structure see X-Seed 4000.Xseed Games is a video game publisher and distributor founded by former members of Square Enix USA. Their goal is to bring high-quality interactive entertainment to the North American market...
on July 31, 2007. Both were developed by Game Republic
Game Republic
was an independent video game developer based in Tokyo, Japan. The company, which employed just under 300 individuals before its closure, was founded on July 1, 2003 by Yoshiki Okamoto after he departed from successful Japanese game developer and publisher Capcom. Okamoto is seen as somewhat of a...
. On July 6, 2006, Namco Bandai
Namco Bandai
, also known as the Bandai Namco Group, is a Japanese holding company formed from the merger of Namco and Bandai. It has interests in toys, video games and arcades, anime, and amusement parks. The new entity was founded on September 29, 2005...
released an adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game, called . Sony Computer Entertainment released PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game, on July 6, 2006.
Soundtracks
On July 24, 1996, Avex TraxAvex Trax
, listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...
released a soundtrack of Brave Story, which was sung by TRF
TRF (band)
TRF is a Japanese pop/dance group. Its members are rapper DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yu-ki, and dancers Chiharu, Etsu, and Sam.-History:...
using the lyrics of Tetsuya Komuro
Tetsuya Komuro
, also known as TK, is a Japanese keyboardist, guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized as being the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced dance music to the Japanese mainstream...
. On July 5, 2006, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
released an animation soundtrack CD for Brave Story; Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor
Juno Reactor is a musical and performing act known for the cinematic fusion of electronic, orchestral, and global music. Central to the project is Ben Watkins and his collaborations with a constantly changing ensemble of musicians from across the world, including percussionist Mabi Thobejane from...
composed the songs. On November 29, 2006, Avex Trax released a Brave Story soundtrack, which featured lyrics composed by Tetsuya Komuro and Takahiro Maeda, and sung by TRF. Another soundtrack CD of Brave Story was released by Universal Music on September 3, 2008 that had lyrics written by Yuki Sakurai and was sung by Rice.
Reception
Viz Media was awarded the Batchelder Award in 2008 for publishing Brave Story novel. Matt Paddock from Game Vortex ponders on the "family dynamics and the pain of divorce or marital dysfunction is still so great in Japan that readers there are transfixed by this kind of stuff. Sad to say that American readers are probably inclined to care a bit less when Wataru's mom and dad are splitting up, since at least half of most marriages fail for whatever reason these days." He criticises Miyabe for not introducing the "fantasy world much earlier to capture the imagination of her readers". Katherine Dacey from Pop Culture Shock describes "Miyabe’s dark fantasy" as "a Frankenbook, stitched together from pieces of EverQuestEverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
, Guin Saga
Guin Saga
is the title of a best-selling heroic fantasy novel series by the Japanese author Kaoru Kurimoto, in continuous publication since 1979. A record 100 volumes were originally planned, but the final total stands at 130 volumes, the last four published posthumously, with 21 side-story novels...
, Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
, The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, and The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
to create an entertaining, surprisingly adult adventure story whose seams sometime show."
Brave Story was ranked fifth on a About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
poll for the best shōnen manga of 2007. A.E. Sparrow from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
commends Brave Story manga for Yochiro Ono's artwork and he compares them to "some of the more recent manhwa
Manhwa
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons . Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korean comics. The term, along with manga, is a cognate of the Chinese manhua...
(Korean) titles that have also come out of the Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
camp". Mania.com's Nadia Oxford comments that the " unforgiving landscape" of the fantasy world
Fantasy world
A fantasy world is a fictional universe used in fantasy novels and games. Typical worlds involve magic or magical abilities and often, but not always, either a medieval or futuristic theme...
"Vision" "seems to somehow reflect the mental state of its inhabitants". Scott Campbell from ActiveAnime commends the manga for its "detailed art and involving story". Snow Wildsmith from Teenreads commends Miyabe's "talent for switching between reality and fantasy, action and pathos, humor and seriousness, which helps make her story both more interesting and more believable". Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
's Carlo Santos criticises the manga for its opening plotline by saying it is a "remarkably bland rendition of the "young hero sucked into alternate world" formula, and it's easy to mistake this at first for some kind of lame-duck Rayearth
Magic Knight Rayearth
is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp, a manga artist team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona. Rayearth combines elements from the magical girl and mecha anime genres with parallel world fantasy....
/Twelve Kingdoms
The Twelve Kingdoms
is a series of light novels by Fuyumi Ono. The first entry in the series was published in Japan in 1991; the last volume was released in 2001. The series was published by Kodansha and contains illustrations by Akihiro Yamada.The Chinese mythology-influenced books were adapted into an animated...
clone". Katherine Dacey from Pop Culture Shock comments on Brave Story "distinguishes itself from dozens of similar series by fleshing out Wataru’s personal life. Wataru is no swaggering shonen stereotype: he’s insecure, hesitant, and crushed to learn that his dream girl has the hots for someone else." She also commends Wataru's parents sudden divorce "leaving Wataru to comfort his dumbfounded and grief-stricken mother while coming to terms with his own sense of loss. These scenes add an unexpected emotional depth to the story, demonstrating Wataru’s essential decency while providing him with a powerful motive for saving the world: he loves his mother".
The Brave Story film was nominated for "Animation of the Year" at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards
Japanese Academy Awards
The , often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-shō Association for excellence in Japanese film...
. John Li from MovieXclusive commends the film for its animation, saying "pleasing soft pastel colors and the occasional computer animation is still refreshing and pleasant to look at". Mark Schilling from The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
compares Wataru to Doraemon
Doraemon
is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise...
s Nobita. He compares "the "quest for five jewels" motif" to the Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
series and The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
. John Smith from Impuse Gamer commends the film for its "beautiful animation techniques and some great sound sequences". Mania.com's Chris Beveridge commends the Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
version of Brave Story for being "very expansive in its use of the surround channels during some of the action sequences". He also commends the film for its visual quality saying, "on our 50" set at 720p, the only "problems" I could find was that I had to be six inches (152 mm) from the screen and looking at the pixels to see some of the shiftiness in the animation in the scenes where dark blues and blacks mix". Mania.com's Dani Moure compares the film's "old-fashioned" character designs to Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...
's. Anime News Network's Brian Hanson criticises the film as "being one of the worst-looking big-budget anime films of recent memory, the story is a mash of bizarre coincidences held together haphazardly by forced and annoying bouts of exposition, with irritating and one-dimensional characters chirping throughout".
Brave Story: New Traveler was generally well received by critics earning aggregated scores of 76% from Meta Critic and 79% from GameRankings. Joe Dodson from GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
commends Brave Story: New Traveler for its visual and sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s but criticises its "homogenous and never-ending" monsters. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
commends the game for "vibrant graphics, small load times and solid presentation on the whole" but criticises it for "some too-familiar aspects of story and gameplay, story may be too "kiddy" for some." Louis Bedigian from GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
commends the game's graphics saying that the game "pays homage to the 3D Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
games". Matt Paddock from Game Vortex commends the game on its faithful translation by saying, "if any of the Harry Potter books had been translated as faithfully, the game versions of Rowling's work would be selling gold and platinum right now". GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
's Kashell Triumph commends the game's character designs, describing them as, "well designed, detailed, expressive, and fluid". Greg Miller at IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
criticises the game for having "a set of the exact same events -- random battles, dungeon, random battles, boss". GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
's Steve Steinberg criticises the game for its first three hours of gameplay as it shows "very slowly and methodically—the basics of a generic and less-than-compelling game".