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エラメン☆ (ElamenSTAR)

Introduction

ElamenSTAR is the official romanization of エラメン☆, a Japanese anime which takes place during the 200th century of the Epic Legends of the Hierarchs. It details the lives and adventures of the Grand Elemenstors whose founding of the Cerulean Citadel would put into motion the events detailed in The Elemenstor Cycle.

ElamenSTAR was produced by the Japanese animation studio FÖZZIE and distributed by Big East. It was directed by Tomono Shuuan (明野秀庵). Released mainly as a marketing tie-in with エラメン☆カード大戦 (ElamenSTAR Card Battle, AKA Wizbits Elemenstor Battle), it was insanely popular amongst Japanese teenagers and young adults for several years, and ran for five seasons on the WHOA-MAN satellite TV network. The entire run of the TV show consists of 129 Episodes, 2 movies, 1 direct-to-video feature-length CGI OVA, and one poorly-received special ElamenSTAR in Hiroshima, which broke character and placed the Four Underdogs in modern day Japan where they witness the tragedy of "American Mass-Murder."

ElamenSTAR originated as an effort to sell more packs of cards, but quickly spawned its own major fan-following. Many point to ElamenSTARs success as a direct result of western-fantasy anime such as Killers and Biznatch!! going off the air, as viewers of both shows were looking for more similar-themed programs. Tycho Brahe had already formed the concept of The Underdogs at this point, which was licensed to the Japanese production companies as part of the card-game deal, and the saga was seen as a perfect springboard for a new show.

ElamenSTAR Episode Guide: Warning: spoilers!

ElamenSTAR Characters: A detailed guide.

ElamenSTAR Cast and Crew: The people behind the epicness.

ElamenSTAR Soundtrack: If nothing else, totally original.

Localization Issues: How ElamenSTAR became The Wizbits.

ElamenSTAR Discussion: Discuss the finer points of ElamenSTAR and ElamenSTAR-related media. Flamers will be prosecuted.

Miscellaneous Information:

Graphic Novels

ElamenSTAR isn't based off a manga; rather than base the work off of an already-extant manga (which could lead to lessened viewership and thus lessened marketing exposure, which previous shows like Killers suffered from to a degree), Big East wanted an intellectual property which had not seen much exposure in Japan previously. However, an "animation serialization" called Who Watches The Wizbits? does exist. For more information on other Graphic Novels, check out Graphic Novels.

Home Video Releases

ElamenSTAR was released in Japan on Laserdisc for purchase; VHS versions were rental-only. This makes most VHS copies exceedingly hard to find, and original import Laserdiscs reguarly go for US$75 or higher on auction sites like eBay. Currently there is no Japanese DVD release for the TV series, although the second ElamenSTAR film Super ElamenSTAR - My name is Phila! has a DVD release.

Laserdisc Catalogue