Simoun

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Fandom
Name: Simoun (シムーン)
Abbreviation(s):
Creator: Anime: Director: Nishimura Junji, Writer: Okada Mari, Character Design: Nishida Asako, Animation: Studio Deen, Music: Sahashi Toshihiko. Light Light Novels: Author: Okazaki Jinko, Illustrator: Nishida Asako. First Manga: Hayase Hashiba. Video Game: Marvelous Entertainment.
Date(s): April 3, 2006-September 26, 2006
Medium: anime, later manga, light novel, video game
Country of Origin: Japan
External Links: Simoun (Japanese)
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Simoun is a shoujo ai anime series that aired in Japan in 2006. It had an ensemble cast of almost all young women. The world setting for the series is a planet called Daikuuriku, where all humans are born female. In the primary country Simulacrum, girls go to a holy site at the age of seventeen to chose their final gender. The story opens in the middle of a war between Simulacrum and its neighbors, who want access to this site and to the steampunk mecha technology Simulacrum does not allow outside its borders.

The main characters of the story are the fighting unit Chor Tempest, a group of twelve sibyllae, or young priestesses who haven't chosen a gender yet. The girls normally fly steampunk mecha called Simoun as a form of prayer to their deity, but they are forced by the war to use their machines to fight.

The series was made into a short manga to promote the anime, then into a longer comic manga series after the anime finished airing. Two light novels that follow the anime plot were published. A video game set in a completely different era was also released, as well as CDs of the original soundtrack and the OP and ED songs. Two of the voice actresses hosted a weekly radio show while the series was airing, and that too has been released on CD.

Simoun has a small but loyal following outside Japan. It is the subject of several AMVs and pieces of fanart, as well as a few fanfics. Among those who enjoy yuri, it is often placed on a similar level to Revolutionary Girl Utena.[1] Some fans have also compared it to Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness.[2][3]


Pairings

While there is some gen in the fandom, the sheer number of potential pairings often leads to pairing-based works. Such pairings include:

Communities

There are several forums and communities for Simoun, though some are low activity.

Fansubs

The fansub group Doremi-Fansubs tried to subtitle Simoun in English starting on April 11, 2006, but they only released the first five episodes by the following August.[4] Lacking a manga version for reference, translators were faced with rapid world-building and copious quantities of Latin pronounced in a Japanese style, making it extremely difficult to romanize in a way that viewers could understand. On the thread for the series at AnimeSuki, fans crowd-sourced the most difficult parts of the first few episodes using the official glossary the show's website provided. They were eventually able to accurately render most of the unusual terminology of the series.[5]

A group calling themselves Simoun-Fans specifically formed to fansub the series using the terminology worked out in that forum thread. They formed a Yahoo Group to continue the work.[6] They released the first episode on June 25, 2006 and the last on February 4, 2007.[7] They also released the first two episodes of Blue Drop but didn't finish it; they did not work on any other series.[7] Media Blasters eventually began releasing the show, subtitled only, on November 13, 2007.[8]

Character Names

Due to the side-by-side existence of Simoun-Fans' translation with Media Blasters', there are two or more accepted spellings of some characters' names. For example:

  • Aaeru = Aeru = Aer
  • Kaimu = Kaim
  • Alti = Alty
  • Mamiina = Mamina
  • Limone = Rimone
  • Rodoreamon = Roatreamon
  • Viura = Vura
  • Eri = Elly
  • Angulas = Anglas

Anime Music Videos

Due to the source material, most Simoun AMVs are shoujo ai, and pairing AMVs are common. Violence and character death are also common.

  • Aria de Simoun by Zalas, an introduction to the series using only the first episode, because anything after that would be spoilery
  • Yuri Alazar by Studio Planetside, a pairing vid focused on the pairings Aaeru/Neviril, Kaimu/Alti, Dominura/Limone, and Yun/Onashia (contains spoilers)
  • Soraya-Llevame by Zoa, a pairing vid focused on Aaeru/Neviril, Kaimu/Alti, and Dominura/Limone (mild spoilers)
  • Darkest Emotions by Clover Studios, a pairing vid focused on Amuria/Neviril, Paraietta/Neviril, and Aaeru/Neviril (spoilers)

Fanart

There is a variety of Simoun fanart; some of it is hentai, or at least ecchi. (Much of the official art is full of fanservice.)

Cosplay

Cosplay of Simoun can be found on a number of sites:

Fanfiction

For general links:

Meta

This show has possibly inspired more meta than any other fanwork format. A small sampling:

Resources

The following are fan created/translated pages about Simoun:

Seiyuu

The following are fan translated/created pages about the seiyuu (voice actresses) of Simoun.

Official Pages

The following are official pages about the series.

References

  1. ^ My Master List of Yuri "The girl/girl relationships of Simoun, are but one brilliantly written and maturely executed element of a story that encompasses so much more. One of the greatest anime series it has been my privilege to witness, the joy and sorrow, beauty and melancholy that Simoun will bring you is matched only by the questions it will leave you meditating on, forever. Second only to Revolutionary Girl Utena as a must-see." Cryssoberyl. Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "I think it’s pretty obvious Simoun is (through convoluted means) a descendant of Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness with the gender themes[...]" by OGT in a comment reply on Simoun: A Connecting Braid Posted August 16, 2009. Accessed Nov. 28, 2012.
  3. ^ " Simoun reminded me a lot of the Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin in some senses, though the characters there are essentially agender."/"That’s another comparison that I’ve made in the past and I think it works well on several levels–Argentum and Plumbum doing double-duty as different aspects of a less fleshed-out Orgoreyn, Simulacrum as a theocratic Karhide, similar ambiguity as to whether or not it even matters if any of the religion presented is legit–but the lack of a Genly equivalent means that the viewer of Simoun isn’t afforded the luxury of the ‘anthropological’ lens." athenaltena and mamiinaandthediamonds on Revolutionary Romanticism. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
  4. ^ Group: Doremi-fansubs Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  5. ^ Simoun Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  6. ^ Simoun Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Baka-Updates.com: Groups Info Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  8. ^ Simoun - Choir of Pairs (Sub.DVD 1 of 5) Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
  9. ^ AAAAEEERRRUUUU!!! "Now, suddenly… the relationship chart seems to rude and inconsiderate." Accessed Nov. 27, 2012.
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