Nobuyoshi Habara
Director
Fafner (2004)
Season 1
Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island's young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught...but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity's continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind.
Released July 5, 2004
Episode 25 min
None+
Genres: Action, Animation, Anime, Anime: Mecha, Anime: Military, Drama, Science Fiction, War
Keywords: imdb.giant-alien, imdb.mecha, imdb.pilot, mdblist.ext.2k-blu-ray, imdb.kaiju, imdb.anime-animation, tmdb.bromance + 5 more, mdblist.has-trailer, imdb.piloted-giant-robot, imdb.mecha-anime-animation, mdblist.anime-dub, imdb.hand-drawn-animation
Watch Providers: Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Production Companies: XEBEC
Network: TV Tokyo
S1E1 - Paradise ~ The Beginning
When an enormous golden being attacks the peaceful Tatsumiya Island, citizens evacuate the surface to underground protective shelters. Soshi urges Kazuki to fight this horrifying adversary by piloting the Fafner Mark XI.
July 5, 2004, midnight
S1E2 - Confession ~ Life
Aboard the Mark XI, Kazuki has a brush with death in his first battle to save the island from the Festum. Soshi tells Kazuki about the secrets of the island. Once a paradise, Tatsumiya is no longer safe from the dangers wrought on the rest of the planet.
July 5, 2004, midnight
S1E3 - Labyrinth ~ Truth
A probe from the New United Nations has threatened to reveal Tatsumiya. As Alvis prepares to move the island to the northwest, students are drafted as new pilots and begin grueling training.
July 19, 2004, midnight
S1E4 - Escape ~ Departure
Kazuki and Soshi pursue the Festum while Alvis begins to move Tatsumiya Island. Then a New United Nations unit interferes with the plans, moving the battle directly into the island's path.
July 26, 2004, midnight
S1E5 - Promise ~ Pledge
After their discovery of Tatsumiya, the leader of the New United Nations forces Makabe to hand over the Mark VI. Shoko promises Kazuki that she will protect the island as he leaves for battle. Suddenly, another Festum attacks.
Aug. 2, 2004, midnight
S1E6 - Soaring Sky ~ Sacrifice
As the second Festum breaks through both of the island's shields and starts to ravage Alvis' underground shelters, Shoko reacts. Determined to keep her promise to Kazuki, she boards Mark VI to save the island.
Aug. 16, 2004, midnight
S1E7 - Family ~ Parents and Children
While the pilots mourn over the devastating loss of their friend, others lament her recklessness. After a combat field test, two pilots are chosen to be a part of a fleet exploring a newly-discovered island almost exactly like their own.
Aug. 23, 2004, midnight
S1E8 - Strife ~ Kouyou
Troops sent to probe the new island's core fall under attack by an army of Festums. When Mizoguchi receives orders to destroy the island with him and Maya trapped underground, one Fafner must fight while the other risks an underwater rescue mission.
Aug. 30, 2004, midnight
S1E9 - Assimilation ~ Parting
Koyo manages to save the two soldiers, but fate doesn't find him so fortunate. Two pilots confront Soshi over whether he is more concerned for Fafner or his friends.
Sept. 6, 2004, midnight
S1E10 - Disintegration ~ Crossing Paths
Kazuki receives an answer from Soshi. Later, a student locks himself in the school broadcast room to protest the Arcadian Project after learning his aspirations to leave the island in hopes of fame are dashed.
Sept. 13, 2004, midnight
S1E11 - Old & New ~ The Neo U.N. Force
Kazuki takes in a bird's eye view of the outside world for the first time. His refuge from the island quickly takes a turn for the worse when a Festum approaches followed by two foreign mechs--neither party showing peaceful intentions.
Sept. 20, 2004, midnight
S1E12 - Absence ~ Desperation
With Kazuki gone MIA, Kenji and Mamoru are recruited as pilots, just as a long-range firing Festum begins to attack. Mamoru boldly leads the defense with a plan that risks his own safety--but gains his commander's trust.
Sept. 27, 2004, midnight
S1E13 - Erosion ~ Festum
At the Neo U.N. underground base, Kazuki is told he has the choice to fight or save the human race without fighting. Just as they discover new data and broadcast their plan to use the Mark XI, the base falls under attack.
Oct. 4, 2004, midnight
S1E14 - Awakening ~ Occupation
While Kazuki and the Human Army battle hordes of Festum, the Neo U.N. invades Tatsumiya--only to find that the island's core has vanished. Hino entrusts data on his most advanced Fafner to Maya, who has arrived to bring Kazuki back.
Oct. 11, 2004, midnight
S1E15 - Memory ~ Scream
Someone who Kazuki thought he'd never see again returns to give him Hino's powerful Mark Sein. During battle with a massive Festum, a childhood memory of Soshi helps him realize his role in protecting Tatsumiya Island.
Oct. 18, 2004, midnight
S1E16 - Friends ~ Welcome Home
A flock of Pleidaes Festum begins to wreak havoc on the island. As controls in the base start to seemingly move on their own, Makabe and his crew are lead to a second control room. The Fafner are grossly overpowered, but one pilot makes a timely return.
Oct. 25, 2004, midnight
S1E17 - Survival ~ Device
Makabe finally has the upper hand and recovers the island from the Neo U.N., but the Human Army's Colonel leaves Canon behind with orders to destroy the island. It's up to Kazuki to defuse the detached kamikaze pilot.
Nov. 1, 2004, midnight
S1E18 - Father ~ Memory
Maya's father returns to discover her medical files had been falsified, preventing her from piloting Fafner. His wife and Yumiko stand trial, facing possible exile from the island--but they aren't the only ones guilty of the offense.
Nov. 8, 2004, midnight
S1E19 - Maya ~ Sight
Maya displays impressive stability and sharp-shooting skills during her first test flight, but Soshi is reluctant to allow her to fight. But when 5 rare Festum breech the island's shield, the newest pilot gets a chance to prove her worth.
Nov. 15, 2004, midnight
S1E20 - Lantern ~ Light
The island commemorates those who've lost their lives fighting for peace at the Bon Festival. Then, when Koyo mysteriously wakes up from his coma, his friends step in to protect him from termination.
Nov. 22, 2004, midnight
S1E21 - Sakura ~ Future
The pilots are stronger than they've ever been. After another battle, an unexplainable phenomenon takes the island by surprise. Then, Yumiko and Michio lead a camp for the young warriors, but it's for more than just combat training.
Nov. 29, 2004, midnight
S1E22 - Protection ~ Power
After collapsing in the yard, Sakura is rushed to the medical ward. Makabe approaches Tsubaki to confirm that the pattern in enemy attacks and recent phenomenon shows progress in the Mir's agenda--foretelling a potentially devastating next move.
Dec. 6, 2004, midnight
S1E23 - Pillage ~ Decoy
Tatsumiya suffers more casualties when a spy sabotages the Human Army's experiments with a new Fafner model and attacks the island--disrupting a critical operation to save Soshi from the Festum.
Dec. 13, 2004, midnight
S1E24 - Conversation ~ Mir
Makabe receives a message and vital data from someone who has learned to understand the enemy. The remaining four pilots prepare for Operation Azure to save Soshi, the island, and the future of humankind.
Dec. 20, 2004, midnight
S1E25 - Azure ~ The Sky
Kazuki and his fleet take off to face the North Pole Mir. With millions of lives hanging in the balance, their success in the do or die mission is imperative--if one of them is killed, everyone's chances of survival are close to nothing.
Dec. 27, 2004, midnight
Network: TV Tokyo
Episode Runtime: 25 min.
Season Runtime: 625 min.
Released: July 5, 2004
Last Air Date: Dec. 27, 2004, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: 14+
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