Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen is an anime produced by J.C. Staff. The series was directed by Hiroshi Watanabe, and ran for twenty-four episodes. It aired on TBS from October 3, 1998-March 27, 1999. A second series, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge, was also produced by J.C. Staff, but was directed by Toru Takahashi. This series ran for twenty-three episodes, and aired from October 2, 1999-March 26, 2000. A.D. Vision holds the license for both series in the United States. There are also Orphen fantasy adventure novels, manga, and a video game.

The main character of the series is Orphen, although his real name is Krylancelo Finrandi. Azalie, his best friend when they attended The Tower of Fang (a magic school), has a connection with a beastly dragon called the Bloody August. It turns out that Azalie is the dragon; apparently, she had tampered with something she shouldn’t have. Orphen sets out on a journey to find and help Azalie. He is joined on his quest by Majic (his apprentice) and Cleao (the tomboyish and feisty female lead). Cleao has a sword called the Sword of Balthanders, which her father had inherited; this is a sword that Orphen needs. Cleao initially comes along on the journey to keep an eye on the sword, but as the series progresses, she falls for Orphen.

They are also accompanied by two troll brothers, Volkan and Dortin, who work in Cleao’s basement and serve as the comic relief for the series. Volkan hates Orphen and his companions, and is always coming up with poorly thought out plans. Dortin, on the other hand, is the voice of reason (even though the other characters tend not to pay any attention to what he has to say).

In Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, magic that is used by humans is passed down by the Nornir race. Spells have to be cast vocally. Without their voice, those using the spells cannot manipulate the flow of magic. Also, the strength of the voice determines how powerful the corresponding spell is. There are two kinds of magic used in the series. Black Magic has destructive powers that are based on the elements (such as Earth, Fire, Light, Ice, and Wind). White Magic has spells that allow the user to enter the spirit world and control it.

In my opinion, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen may not work well with younger viewers. This isn’t due to any visual content in the series; to me, some of the themes that appear in the series may go above younger viewers’ heads. Personally, I would recommend Sorcerous Stabber Orphen for viewers twelve years old and up.