Weiß Kreuz
The "Weiß Kreuz" franchise includes two seasons of anime and one OVA series, a light novel, two manga series, and several drama CDs. The four voice actors of the main characters – Koyasu, Hiro Yūki, Shin-ichiro Miki, Tomokazu Seki – formed a band named "Weiß"; several CDs and singles were released. Media Blasters released the anime in the North America as Knight Hunters: Weiß Kreuz. Plot. Four young men consisting of Omi Tsukiyono, Ken Hidaka, Youji Kudou, and Aya Fujimiya, are members of a group of assassins called "Weiß." They cover their operations by working at a flower shop  during the day and solving/fighting crimes during the night. This is no ordinary group: they kill the murderers, big businessmen, and other assassins that the law cannot touch. Each one is fighting for their own reasons, whether it is for revenge or to help the people that they care about. But they soon realize that there are connections between some of their cases and try to find out what is really going on. They use whatever they can to complete their missions and kill the people that are targeted by Weiß's leader. Characters. Weiß. An assassin group  that is under the order of Kritiker ("critic" in German), a secret organization that falls under the Japanese police force. Enemies. Schwarz. The main enemies in the series are another group of assassins called Schwarz ("Black" in German), all of whom have supernatural powers. Schwarz begrudgingly work as bodyguards for the Takatori family, and this is how they meet Weiß. Later in the series, Schwarz is seen assisting a mysterious group known as "Eszett" (the name of the German alphabetic character ß) in resurrecting their deceased leader. Weiß is to Kritiker what Schwarz is to Eszett. Schreient. A group of  four female assassins employed and cared for by the scientist Masafumi Takatori. They are fiercely loyal to him and one another. "Schreiend" is the German word for "screaming." The Takatori Family. A family that seems to be involved in all the crimes Weiß deal with. Others. Tokyo Crashers. The team Aya was on just before he became one of Weiß. Tokyo Crashers appear in "Crashers: Knight and Ran I & II" and "Weiß Kreuz Glühen". Crashers is a non-lethal unit designed to supplement police activity. Media. Light novel. A light novel entitled was serialized from July 1997 to December 1997  in the anime and manga magazine "Animage", published by Tokuma Shoten. It was written by Kenichi Kanemaki and illustrated by Kyoko Tsuchiya. It was put into a single book entitled . Story. A short story entitled "The Meeting" can be found in the "All That Weiß" official artbook. It explains how the Weiß members met the first time. According to the official Weiß Kreuz chronologies, the version of how Weiß was formed from "The Meeting" is the one working with the series. Manga. Weiß - An Assassin and White Shaman. "Weiß - An Assassin and White Shaman", illustrated by Kyoko Tsuchiya and story  by voice actor Takehito Koyasu, was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine "Wings", published by Shinshokan. The chapters were collected into two tankōbon, and the first one includes thirty-two color pages, and the second one includes twenty color pages. It takes place before "Forever White" and explains how Aya first joined Weiß. Due to the differences between the manga version and the anime version of Aya's back story, "Weiß - An Assassin and White Shaman" is not a prequel to the anime. "Weiß - An Assassin and White Shaman" is published in German by Egmont Manga & Anime. Weiß Side B.  Weiß Side B, illustrated by Shoko Ohmine, takes place after the events of "Weiß Kreuz Glühen". It is published by Ichijinsha; the first thirty-one chapters were serialized in "Monthly Comic Zero Sum" and chapters thirty-two through thirty-seven were serialized in the quarterly magazine "Zero Sum WARD". "Weiß Side B" ended with the publication of chapter thirty-seven in the Summer 2007 issue of "Zero Sum WARD". The final chapters have yet to be collected in tankōbon format. "Weiß Side B" is also published in German by Egmont Manga & Anime. Initially, the series was supposed to end with  Weiß Kreuz Glühen, as Aya died in the final episode, and Koyasu originally wanted Ohmine to do a manga adaptation of "Weiß Kreuz Glühen", but then he decided it would be boring to tell the same story twice, so "Weiß Side B" ended up being a sequel and Aya was brought "back from hell." Anime. Weiß Kreuz. "Weiß Kreuz" is the first of the Weiß anime series. It runs twenty-five episodes and follows Weiß in its mission to "defeat the dark beasts" that haunt Tokyo. The beginning episodes lend some back story to Aya, Ken, and Yoji, and show  their motivations for being in Weiß. Omi's history becomes part of the storyline and is delved into halfway through. "Weiß Kreuz" introduces Kritiker, Schwarz, Eszett, and Schreient. "Weiß Kreuz" uses the character designs created by Kyoko Tsuchiya, and features the lowest quality of animation of the three "Weiß Kreuz" anime series. Because the last two episodes were aired as an hour-long special in Japan, this series is sometimes considered a 24-episode series. The Media Blasters' release has the episodes separate. Media Blasters released the series under the name "Knight Hunters" (which is TMS Entertainment's international title  for the series), and Anime-Virtual kept the title unchanged for the German release. Weiß Kreuz OVA: Verbrechen & Strafe. The second "Weiß Kreuz" series, "Verbrechen & Strafe" ("Crime & Punishment" in German), is a two-episode OVA that takes place a short time after the end of the anime, and before the events detailed in the last set of Drama CDs. In hiding, Aya, Ken, Yoji and Omi work out of a mobile home, using their flower-selling business as a cover. Their location is never specified, but it is possibly in the area of Yokota Air Base or Camp Zama, which  are both American military bases near Tokyo. Their first mission involves a target by the name of Col. Nichol who evidently has his own enemies in a later target for Weiß and a young man named Akira. However, Ken and Omi decide to decline the mission to kill Akira after they hear Akira's (and his younger sister Kaori's) story. They only want revenge on Nichol for killing their parents several years before. Kaori was also a classmate of Omi's and the only surviving member of her group of friends, all supposedly killed by Nichol. Kritiker doesn't  take to Ken and Omi's defection, and amends the mission. Yoji and Aya are instructed to target their teammates as well. The OVA is notable because of the darker, bloodier storyline and the higher quality of animation compared to the first series. Weiß Kreuz Glühen. The third series, called is a thirteen-episode series which is set after the OVA. Several of the original Weiß members are not immediately visible; two new ones are introduced in the first episode: namely Sena Izumi and Kyou Aguri. Also, Omi has assumed the position of Persia left by his father. Glühen takes  place at Koua Academy, where Weiß are investigating a series of unusual suicides. The animation quality is far higher than the original series. However, the character design is vastly different due to legal disputes with the original character designer, Kyoko Tsuchiya. Schwarz also appears in Glühen; they also have changed appearances due to the lawsuit. Media Blasters released the series under the name "Knight Hunters Eternity" (which is TMS Entertainment's international title for the series), and Anime-Virtual kept the title unchanged for the German release. Drama CDs. A large number of "Weiß Kreuz" drama CDs have been released . All of them are a part of the official timeline. A few detail Aya's, Ken's and Omi's past with Kritiker. Some show Weiß's missions before and during the first anime. Others explain what happened between "Verbrechen & Strafe" and "Weiß Kreuz Glühen". "Weiß Kreuz Glühen Dramatic Soundtracks II" takes place during "Glühen".