The Legend of Zelda (anime) (Johnsonverse)

The Legend of Zelda is an American anime created by Tim Johnson, based on the video game franchise of the same name by Nintendo. It premiered on WBC on August 4, 2013, and is one of several series that take place in the Nirn Anthology. It follows four children who battle various forces to protect the land of Hyrule. 
The series was first announced in 2011 with the involvement of franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto and then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. It has garnered positive reviews for its approach to the games, as well as its voice acting, writing, and worldbuilding. The eleventh season began airing on July 19, 2023 and ended on January 17, 2024. On April 24, 2023, a twelfth and final season was announced, which began airing in July 2024.
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==Premise==
Four children (Link, Zelda, Saria, and Solo) must battle various evil forces to protect the land of Hyrule. The series is not set in any of the three timelines from the games, instead being set in its own timeline.
==Characters==
=== The Four Heroes ===
The Four Heroes are the main protagonists. According to the Order of the Wizzrobes, they are prophesied to appear at a time when all of Hyrule is plunged into war by the Dark Lord Ganondorf, ultimately saving Nirn from an even greater darkness. To accomplish this, they tasked the Four Heroes to recover the Four Holy Weapons (Master Sword, Bow of Light, Forest Sword, and Dwarven Crossbow).
*Link (English: Bryce Papenbrook; Japanese: Nobunaga Shimazaki) is the main protagonist. He is a 10-year-old Hylian who lives in Kokiri Village with the Kokiri, a race that, as long as they stay in the forest, will never grow up. Always an outcast, Link's only friend growing up was Saria. One day, he awoke to find his cousin Zelda in his house, and learned that Ganondorf and the Gerudo had finally made their move and sacked Hyrule Castle and its town. Link is the classic hero, always ready and willing to help anyone in need, and instilled with a sense of duty to those he is sworn to protect. His weapon is the Master Sword.
*Zelda (English: Kari Wahlgren; Japanese: Aki Toyosaki) is the 10-year-old former princess of Hyrule. In this continuity, she is Link's cousin. After Ganondorf and the Gerudo attacked Hyrule Castle and killed the king, Zelda fled into the countryside, eventually coming to Kokiri Village and settling into a restless sleep on the floor of Link's house. As the heir to the throne, Zelda carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, trying to stay strong for her surviving people who are now persecuted and hunted down by the Gerudo for the crime of not being Gerudo. She even considered "making a deal with the Devil" by asking Ulfric Stormcloak for help. Her weapon is the Bow of Light, and she is also proficient in Restoration and Illusion magic.
*Saria (English: Stephanie Sheh; Japanese: Haruka Tomatsu) is Link's best (and only) friend and love interest. Once thought to be a Kokiri, Saria was actually a Hylian who was brought to the forest around the same time as Link. As the Great Deku Tree couldn't see her future like he could Link's (his future vision was never accurate, and thus he saw the events of Ocarina of Time), he laid a curse on her that gave her the biology of a Kokiri. Because of this, she was more accepted by the Kokiri (and attracted unwanted attention from Mido), though her true racial genetics made her ineligible to be the Forest Sage. Upon exiting the forest with Link and Zelda to search for survivors of the attack on Hyrule Castle, the curse laid upon Saria was lifted, restarting her aging process. Saria is a kind, soft-spoken girl with a tomboy streak, as she often engaged in playfighting with Link when they were younger. She is also very frustrated that hardly anyone can pronounce her name correctly. Her weapon is the Forest Sword, though she prefers Destruction and Conjuration magic to actual swordplay.
*Solo (English: Michelle Ruff; Japanese: Shiori Izawa) is a 10-year-old Hylian girl found by Link, Zelda, and Saria among the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town while they were searching for survivors. Over the next few weeks, she was nursed back to health, and they began to notice similarities between her and Link. Sifting through the documents office (one of the few buildings to survive the attack, as Ganondorf wanted the names of all Hylians so he could more effectively hunt them down), they discovered that Solo was Link's twin sister, and she had been living in an orphanage destroyed by a Gerudo trebuchet; of course, her real name was Linkle, but she continues going by Solo because of how clunky the name "Linkle" sounds. Despite her name, Solo hardly resembles the original Linkle. A tomboy through and through, Solo is rough-and-tumble, but also fiercely loyal to Link. Her weapon is a Dwarven Crossbow purchased off a merchant from Skyrim (who, in turn, purchased it from Sorine Jurard of the Dawnguard in Skyrim), often dual-wielding two.
=== Villains ===
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===Other characters===
* Navi (Robin Williams) is a fairy.
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*TBA (Jason Marsden) is TBA.
*TBA (James Earl Jones) is TBA.
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==Seasons==
Season	First aired 	Last aired 	Episodes
1 	August 4, 2013	January 27, 2014	13
2 	July 13, 2014 	January 18, 2015	13
3 	July 8, 2015 	January 25, 2016	13
4 	July 6, 2016 	January 25, 2017	13
5 	July 12, 2017 	January 31, 2018	13
6 	July 18, 2018 	January 23, 2019	13
7 	July 10, 2019 	January 15, 2020	13
8 	July 15, 2020 	January 27, 2021	13
9 	July 21, 2021 	January 19, 2022	13
10 	July 13, 2022 	January 25, 2023	13
==Production==
=== Development ===
The project was first announced in 2011 by Johnson Industries and Nintendo, with Johnson CEO Tim Johnson, then Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto as executive producers. Tim wanted to create a Zelda series that was more faithful to the video game series than The Legend of Zelda cartoon segment of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, as well as to help build the Nirn Anthology.
=== Casting ===
All of the main English and Japanese voice actors were chosen by Johnson and Miyamoto.
===Animation===
The series is animated by TMS Entertainment, using an artstyle based on the 2D illustrations for Ocarina of Time.
=== Music ===
All original music is composed by Cal Johnson, Jr. and performed by the Johnson Philharmonic Orchestra, with stock music cues from the Johnson library and reorchestrated themes from the video games being used as well.
==Reception==
=== Critical response ===
The series has achieved positive reviews since its debut.
=== Ratings ===
=== Accolades ===
== Home media ==
In December 2013, the first season was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and USD. This was followed by the second season's home media release in December 2014.
==See also==
* Gallery
Category:Johnsonverse