Magic Knight Rayearth
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Magic Knight Rayearth (魔法騎士レイアース Majikku Naito Reiāsu) |
| Abbreviation(s): | Rayearth |
| Creator: | CLAMP |
| Date(s): | 1993 - 1996 (manga)
1994 - 1995 (anime) 1997 (OVA) |
| Medium: | Manga |
| Country of Origin: | Japan |
| External Links: | Clamp Official Site, Wikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Magic Knight Rayearth is a shoujo manga series created by CLAMP. It has been adapted into a anime and OVA, and is notable for being one of the first modern isekai stories.[1] It is sometimes referred to as 'Magical Knight Rayearth' or 'Rayearth'.
Canon
Original Release
Magic Knight Rayearth was first released as a serial in Nakayoshi, a manga magazine, from November 1993 to February 1995. It would be published as three bound volumes by Kodansha from July 1994 to March 1995. A sequel series would be serialized by Nakayoshi from March 1995 to April 1996, and subsequently published by Kodansha in three volumes from July 1995 to April 1996.
The anime would be aired in two seasons from 1994 to 1995, produced by studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha. The OVA, titled Rayearth, would be produced by the same studio and released in 1997.
Characters
- Shidou Hikaru
- Hououji Fuu
- Ryuuzaki Umi
- Clef
- Ferio
- Lantis
- Eagle Vision
Media
- Magic Knight Rayearth manga (1993)
- Magic Knight Rayearth anime (1994)
- Magic Knight Rayearth videogame (1995)
- Magic Knight Rayearth anime (TBA)
Fandom
History and Reactions
After first being published in 1993, Rayearth attracted many domestic and international fans. This may be because of the realism or message of the manga, which was again discussed in the anime. The lesson, "...that first understanding the position of a perceived enemy, is the better way to face them, as opposed to blindly attacking without forethought... "[2], was potentially able to connect with audiences, through relation to real-world conflicts such as war. Magical Knight Rayearth, despite attracting many international fans, failed to draw in American audiences[3] due to the limited content available.
"It's never been broadcast in the US...it's relatively unknown in the US because of that."
— Fae, WIW Magic Knight Rayearth
Despite this fans have consistently praised the characters in all releases of Rayearth, citing the strong female leads as reasons to enjoy the series[4]. Magical Knight Rayearth, the video game, was highly influential; in 1999 it became the second Super Nintendo RPG to be fan translated[5]. Magical Knight Rayearth is often listed as being one of the original innovators and inventors of the Magical Warrior genre, due to genre experimentation of the typical Magical Girl formula. The female leads fighting with swords and participating in hand-to-hand battles.[6] The success of Rayearth allowed an expansion of magical girl shows to develop, as they began to explore the new Magical Warrior genre; as well as attracting dedicated audiences who still remember it fondly today. Apart from innovating the Magical Girl genre, it also became one of the first widely known isekai's[1].
Rayearth, despite its initial large fanbase, has a relatively low collection of active fans today potentially due to lack of content. However, due to the 30th anniversary content such as the manga re-release and the new anime, the potential for more active fans is high.
Relationships
Shipping is a highly focused on part of the Rayearth fandom, with F/M being particularly emphasised. This can be observed on Ao3, where two in five fanworks are tagged as F/M. For a closer look at the spread of relationships in the Rayearth fandom, see the pie graph on the right.
A few notable Magical Knight Rayearth ships are listed below:
- Clef/Ryuuzaki Umi
- Ferio/Hououji Fuu
- Lantis/Shidou Hikaru
- Lantis/Shidou Hikaru/Eagle Vision
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Meta
Fanart
Cosplay
Rayearth @ Lytle Creek, San Bernardino National Forest
Fanfiction
As of the age of the Rayearth fandom, a larger collection of fanfiction can be found on older sites. This can be observed in the discrepancy of fanfiction between Fanfiction.Net and Ao3; 1.8k[7] and 519[8] respectively.
Notable fanworks include:
Fanwork Reclists and Collections
Zines
- LetsMagicalCooking, 2023. A multifandom magical girl cookbook zine.
- Magical Meeting Zine, 2019. A multifandom magical girl art zine.
- Pris-M-agic
LiveJournal
External Links
Fan Communities and Archives
- FanFiction.Net (FFN): [ stories] and [ crossovers]
- Tumblr:
- Archive of Our Own (AO3):
- Pixiv:
- Reddit:
Fanpages and Sites
Resources
References
- ^ a b https://www.cbr.com/magic-knight-rayearth-clamp-first-isekai-still-best/
- ^ https://gothicreviews.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/magic-knight-rayearth/
- ^ https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/wiw-magic-knight-rayearth.759691/
- ^ narrativeinvestigations.blogspot.com/2012/04/anime-review-magic-knight-rayearth-both.html
- ^ https://fantasyanime.com/magic-knight-rayearth/game-review
- ^ https://honeysanime.com/throwback-thursdays-magic-knight-rayearth-review-a-classic-deconstructed-magical-girl-anime/#Magic Knight Rayearth Review
- ^ https://www.fanfiction.net/anime/Magic-Knight-Rayearth-%E9%AD%94%E6%B3%95%E9%A8%8E%E5%A3%AB%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9/, accessed September 25th, 2024
- ^ https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Magic%20Knight%20Rayearth/works, accessed September 25th, 2024