The Asterisk War
The anime has been licensed by Aniplex of America in North America, Madman Entertainment in Australasia and MVM Films in the United Kingdom. The light novels and manga were licensed and localized by Yen Press beginning summer 2016. Plot. In the 21st century, Earth is in a rapidly declining economic state as megacorporations known as the , rose to power after the impact event destroyed most of the planet's cities and resulted in humans gaining superpowers to become the . The city of , also called "Asterisk", has six academies where the Genestella participate in tournaments called . Battle performances  at , the city's fifth top-ranking academy, are falling significantly and the academy's incumbent student council president, Claudia Enfield, is determined to find a solution to the problem. Kirin Toudou is the academy's top fighter, but Claudia, as well as Lieseltanian princess, Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, are close behind. Meanwhile, Ayato Amagiri investigates the disappearance of his sister, Haruka, a former student at Seidoukan. During his first day at the academy, Ayato is forced to fight Julis after discovering her half-dressed when returning her handkerchief to her. Claudia voids their duel and enrolls Ayato in Seidoukan . After rescuing Julis from a plot to cripple the Phoenix Festa, he sets out to become her protector and close friend. Eventually, Ayato wins against Kirin and is named the new top student at the academy. After Ayato participates in the Phoenix Festa with Julis to solve Seidoukan's performance crisis, they continue to participate in various Festas and also fight threats outside of the academy. Media. Light novels. The series is written by Yū Miyazaki and illustrated by Okiura. It is published by Media Factory. The first volume was released on September 2012, and the 17th and finale volume  will release on May 25, 2022. Yen Press licensed the novels for publication in North America. The first English volume was released on August 30, 2016. Volumes 1 through 5 were translated into English by Melissa Tanaka and the following volumes are translated by Haydn Trowell. Section::::"Wings of Queenvale". Yuu Miyazaki has also worked on a spinoff, focusing on Minato Wakamiya, the main protagonist, Chloe Flockhart, Minato's best friend, Sophia Fairclough, the younger sister of Ernest Fairclough, Nina Achenwall, a Strega whose powers are invoked through the mental image of a deck of cards, and Yuzuhi Renjouji, a childhood  friend of Ayato Amagiri who trained in the Yatsuka Dojo of the Amagiri Shinmei Style, all students of Queenvale Academy for Young Ladies. Manga. A manga adaptation by Ningen was published from 2013 to 2016 and has been compiled into five volumes. It was released in English by Yen Press. The English translation is by Melissa Tanaka. A manga adaptation of the spinoff "Wings of Queenvale" novels by Shou Akane premiered in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in August 2014, and ended on September 2016. The spinoff manga adaptation was collected in four volumes. Anime. Directed by Manabu Ono and  Kenji Seto, an anime adaptation of the series was broadcast from October 3 to December 19, 2015, with a second season following from April 2 through June 18, 2016. Four pieces of theme music are used for the two seasons: two opening themes and two ending themes. The opening themes, "Brand-new world" and "The Asterisk War", are both performed by Shiena Nishizawa. The first ending theme, titled "Waiting for the rain", is performed by Maaya Sakamoto, while the second ending theme is performed by Haruka Chisuga. Aniplex of America licensed the series for an English-language release in North  and South America and simulcasted the series on Crunchyroll's streaming services. Aniplex released the series on DVD and Blu-ray in four compilations, each containing 6 episodes, from September 20, 2016 to April 25, 2017. Video game. A PlayStation Vita simulation game by Bandai Namco Games titled "The Asterisk War: Houka Kenran" was released in Japan on January 28, 2016.