Meine Liebe


Gin'yū Mokushiroku Meine Liebe is a series of dating sims by Konami for the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation 2.
Meine Liebe has been adapted into an anime series produced in 2004 by the studio Bee Train, which was broadcast across Japan by the anime television network, Animax. In 2006 a sequel was produced by the name of Gin'yū Mokushiroku Meine Liebe wieder, which was also broadcast across Japan by Animax.
The story follows the lives of students at an elite academy of the fictional European country of Kuchen in 1937.
Other adaptations consist of a four volume Meine Liebe manga and a novel; as well, several drama CDs have been released.

Settings

The entire story takes place in a country called Kuchen, a fictional country located in the Atlantic Ocean, to the coasts of France and south of Britannia. The word "kuchen" is the German word for "cake", and most of the places and people are also German-based. Other notable cities are Kirsche, Erdbeere and Mürbe.
Kuchen is a monarchy. The king of Kuchen decided that his country would not get involved in the disheveled politics of a world between two world wars. The king is aided by several scholars with strong backgrounds and logical minds, who earned recognition from the Kuchen church. They are men with a noble rank who graduated from the prestigious Rosenstolz academy.
Rosenstolz academy is a boarding school which students from wealthy families attend. The academy is open to all genders, though only the boys have a dorm on the academy's ground. Rosenstolz is located in a peaceful town, though its grounds stretch over parts of the surrounding wilderness and forest. The gardens are well tended, consisting of a flourishing greenhouse, stables and narrow channels and fountains.
It is known that the students in Rosenstolz are expected to learn fencing, horseback riding, world history and Kuchen history, science and languages. The academy has one special class that's called the Strahl candidate's class, where all the prominent young men study hard in the hopes of becoming the king's councilors. Until headmaster Werner's reform, only those who were born to the right social class could study there.
The academy is said to welcome everyone. Amongst the academy's alumni are the current headmaster Bartholomew, councilor Gerald, Victor Gryffith, Josef Torger and the king. It is known that Beruze and headmaster Werner did not go to Rosenstolz.

Story

The main hero of the anime is Orpherus, a young man who believes in a country ruled by its people and whose older sister was killed in an act of terrorism two years prior. Orpherus is surrounded by his friends and rivals and together they struggle to make their dream come true — being the king's advisers.

First season

The first season begins by introducing the characters, their past and their ambitions. Orpherus, Eduard, Camus, Ludwig and Naoji are five noblemen who attend the prestigious Rosenstolz academy and a part of the Strahl class – a class for potential candidates for the advisory positions in the royal palace in the small European country of Kuchen. Isaac is an English writer who visits Kuchen. While still students, the five noblemen are forced to deal with corrupted politicians, secret agents, attempted murder and ambitious individuals from both inside and outside of school who threaten to break the fragile peace in their country, and even assassinate the king.

Second season

The five Strahl candidates return to their final year in Rosenstolz, but troubles are far from over. The previous headmaster disappears without saying a word and the new headmaster has a revolutionary idea that threatens to tear the academy apart. But there are troubles not only inside the academy. The king is hiding information, Lui's mother is depressed and Lui himself is being accused of severe treason. While on the run Orphe is nearly shot once again, and Ed finds out that figures from their past have once again arrived at Kuchen. Now the five of them must prove Lui's innocence while stopping a hideous ploy to sell Kuchen to foreign hands.

Main characters

;Orpherus Fürst von Marmelade nahe Görz
;Eduard Markgraf von Sekt nahe Braunschweig
, Drama voice by: Shotaro Morikubo
;Ludwig Herzog von Mohn nahe Liechtenstein
, Drama voice by: Akira Ishida
;Camus Pfalzgraf von Silvaner Lüneburg
, Drama voice by: Kōki Miyata
;Naoji Ishizuki
, Drama voice by: Tomokazu Sugita
;Isaac Cavendish

Media

Anime

The anime from Bee Train studio was directed by Koichi Mashimo and had Minako Shiba as the character designer. The first season of the anime was aired on the Animax network on November 2004 and the second season on January 2006. Though adapted from a dating sims game, the anime pushed aside the main character of Erika, and she makes only brief appearances during the series. The thirteen Meine Liebe episodes were released on DVD by Geneon Entertainment from February 4, 2005, to August 10, 2005, with Marvelous Entertainment Inc. releasing the last two episodes Geneon Entertainment released the thirteen Meine Liebe - wieder episodes on DVD from February 24, 2006, to August 25, 2006. The anime is also licensed in German by Tokyopop Germany. The first series is currently streaming on Viewster.

Manga

Written and illustrated by Rei Isawa with character designs by Kaori Yuki, a manga adaption titled Meine Liebe was serialized in Bessatsu Hana to Yume. Hakusensha collected the chapters into four tankōbon and published them from January 19, 2005 to May 19, 2006. The series focuses on a good-natured girl named Erika Kraus, who attends the Rosenstolz Academy to find her brother.
Meine Liebe is licensed in Singapore for an English-language release by Chuang Yi, and in Germany by Tokyopop Germany.

Volume list

Novel

"Encounter of Fate"
A novel named Encounter of Fate was serialized on Betsuhana magazine on August 2005, 2006. This novel was authored by Shinobu Gotou, with illustrations by Rei Izawa and the cooperation of Kaori Yuki. The novel has 230 pages.

Drama CDs

Geneon Entertainment released four Meine Liebe drama CDs. The first was published on March 10, 2005 The second followed on April 1, 2005.
Geneon Entertainment released the first Meine Liebe Wieder drama CD on April 21, 2006. The second was released on June 23, 2006.
Of note is that although the voice actors for Orpherus and Isaac remained unchanged, Akira Ishida voiced Ludwig instead of reprising his role as Naoji in the anime version.

Related items

Several character CD's were published after the second season, each performed by the voice actor of that character: