Tutorial Guidelines
Vandread is quite a recent anime. First stage (eps 1-13) were only released in 2000 while Second stage (eps 14-26) were just released the following year. Whilst being a huge hit in Japan, the series itself is only beginning to find a western audience. Interest is growing slowly but surely. And with this interest comes the inevitable arrival of the fanfic writers.
And this is why this portion of the Vandread Library exists. The western audience may be growing but, as it's only a recent release, Vandread is still a gold mine for any potential fanfic writers. As a result, this page is here to provide guidelines for any newcomers to the series (including those who may have stumbled across this site by accident) as well as fanfic writers who see Vandread as a great opportunity to come up with more stuff.
We hope that this page provides
vital information to all you newcomers (More useful stuff can be found at Author Interview page).GENESIS
With this astonishing style of animation (along with other vital ingredients such as mecha (giant robots) and cute girls ^^;;) it is little wonder that Vandread became a success. Then, in the following year (2001), GONZO released Vandread: Second Stage. This was a further thirteen episodes that followed the events established in the previous series (now referred to as First Stage). With improved animation, greater character development, startling revelations and incredible combat sequences, nothing could really prevent the Second Stage from becoming a runaway success. In fact, Second Stage picked up so many new fans that GONZO released Vandread: Movement Stage which was, basically, all the important elements from the First Stage squashed down into a movie length feature.
Sadly, however, the end of Second Stage gave us a full conclusion to Vandread itself: The Second Stage concluded with a full stop to the entire series. When asked about this, GONZO said that they wanted bring Vandread to an end so that they can move on to other projects (and since then they've made the incredibly popular Hellsing).
Still, whereas GONZO may have ended Vandread, they have however left the door open to all fanfic writers ^__~
Want to go back up?THE STORY SO FAR....
It is this scenario that sets up the world of Vandread. When the series starts, The Taraakans have been fighting a war against the Mejarrans for many years - with neither gaining the upper hand. But now the Taraakans have a trump card: They have managed to recover the old colonist ship and refitted it with a host of new features - including an army of Bangata (mecha). The Taraakans have gathered at a grand ceremony to launch this devastating weapon, christened the Ikazuchi (Thunder), and it's at this point that the audience is introduced to a young fellow by the name of Hibiki Tokai.
Hibiki is an engineer on Taraaku. But his job is hardly enjoyable: The engineers of Taraaku rank as the lowest working class. Thus Hibiki carries a determination to break out of his miserable existence and make a name for himself. Anyway, Hibiki brags to his engineering friends that he could sneak onboard the Ikazuchi and steal one of the Bangata. Hibiki manages to bypass the security systems on board the ship and is just about to make off with his newly acquired prize.....
...when the Ikazuchi takes off.
Hibiki is then caught and placed in a prison hold. But his troubles are only beginning! Seconds later, the ship is attacked by Mejarran forces! Having been caught off guard, the Taraakan forces are slow to react and, as a consequence, the Mejarrans quickly gain the upper hand. In the confusion that follows, the Taraakans flee leaving the Ikazuchi in the hands of the enemy.
The enemy in question aren't part of the Mejarran military. Instead, they are a group of woman pirates. They soon make their way through their newly acquired victory spoil..... But suddenly, the Ikazuchi's power source, something called the Praxis, explodes.....
Following the explosion, the women find out that the explosion catapulted them, along with the Ikazuchi halfway across the galaxy. What's more they also discover Hibiki and keep him incarcerated. But Hibiki isn't alone this time - he is joined by Duero Mcfile, a military doctor, and Bart Garsus, a member of Ikazuchi food production.
But things are about to change - A change that's triggered by an attack. The women react to the attack but it's against a rather powerful, and unknown, enemy.
In fact, things become so desperate (being situated in an uncharted region of space and under attack) that the women release Duero - having learned he is a doctor. Hibiki then persuades the women that he is a pilot of the Bangata (which the women refer to as Vanguard) and Bart manages to convince all that he is pilot of the Ikazuchi. Eventually, the pirates manage to beat off the unknown enemy and create an uneasy alliance where the men, the former enemy, are integrated into the crew. And from there the pirates, and their new found allies, head back to Taraaku and Mejarru to warn them of this new enemy. It's here that the fun truly begins.....
(And along the way, they re-christen the Ikazuchi as the Nirvana)
Want to go back up?
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This is the first Vandread unit to appear in the series. Because of the Prexis explosion, Hibiki finds that he is granted with the power to unite his bangata with the pirate Dreads to create a powerful mech. However this only works with the Dread's piloted by Meia, Jura and Dita - who also possess this power as they too were present when the Prexis explosion. This unique ability is discovered when Dita peruses Hibiki into the heat of battle and unites with his Bangata. The result is a powerful humanoid-shaped mecha capable of knocking seven bells out of the bad guys! |
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The Meia + Hibiki Vandread |
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THE VANDREAD MANGA
- Whilst Magno is the leader of the pirates, she is not the captain of the Nirvana. Meia is instead.
- Barnette isn't interested in Jura. She is more interested in Hibiki.
- Dita and Hibiki's relationship is more obvious. She calls him by his name instead of 'Alien-san'. They even kiss as well!
- The characters who aren't in the manga are as follows: Ezra, Paiway, Duero, Bart and Gascogne.
- And yes, Hibiki is the ONLY male on board. He is also a first class citizen at the beginning and he is chased after by ALL the girls on board.
- And since Ezra is absent, Jura is now a bridge bunny. Curiously, as Barnette
peruses Hibiki, Jura has developed a hatred for all men.
- Even though Bart isn't present on the Nirvana, he still appears, briefly, when Hibiki is on
Taraak.
- There is only one Vandread unit and the Nirvana has a lot more weapons
- There are two new characters. One is Tenho, a green haired pirate who has a unique ability to interact with machines and a Big Brother/Little sister thing going with Hibiki. The other new character is Asra - she is blue haired pirate (who looks like an elf!) who acts as Tenho's mother.
