Stellvia, also known as Stellvia of the Universe, is an anime series set in space. As a prelude to the series, the Earth of year 2167 AD is shown to be devastated by a powerful electromagnetic shockwave. This is caused by a nearby star, Hydrus Beta, 20 light-years away, going supernova. As a result, 3 billion of the 14 billion people on earth were wiped out. The series itself is set 189 years later, in the year 2356 AD. Civilization has been rebuilt with humanity having united together to face the coming of the second shockwave of the supernova. The second shockwave, unlike the first, is to contain a great deal of matter composed of the remnants of the star itself. Stellvia ran for 26 episodes and was produced by the animation studioXebec. It was distributed in the United States by Geneon. In September 2007 Geneon halted all distribution of anime DVDs in America, including Stellvia. A sequel was originally announced for 2005, but was canceled after internal difficulties. Beginning with the May 2003 issue, a manga adaptation by Ryo Akizuki was serialized in Dengeki Daioh and has been published in the US as a two volume graphic novel series by DrMaster. The word Stellvia is composed of two Latin words, stella meaning star and via meaning street or road. Therefore, Stellvia is roughly translated as The Road to the Stars. The series makes references to things such as Theory of knowledge, CAS, and Extended Essay, which suggests that Stellvia might have been partially inspired by the International Baccalaureate program, or at least, included an Ex-IB student in its development. In 2018, Discotek Media announced that they have rescued the series following Geneon's downfall. The series opening theme is "Asu e no brilliant road" by angela.
Plot
The series takes place in the year 2356 A.D. around 189 years after a worldwide catastrophe had wiped out 10% of Earth's population. To keep track on all space activities, mankind has built numerous colossal space stations called "foundations" all across the Solar System. After passing the Space Academy's entrance exams, Shima Katase embarks to the Earth-based foundation Stellvia to fulfill her dreams of seeing the galaxy and to prevent anymore interstellar catastrophes from destroying Earth, once and for all.
Characters
; Shima "Shipon" Katase ; Kouta Otoyama ; Arisa Glennorth ; Rinna Kazamatsuri ; Yayoi Fujisawa ; Akira Kayama ; Ayaka Machida ; Richard James ; Carl Hutter ; Jinrai Shirogane ; Leila Barthes ; Ren Renge ; Joey Jones ; Pierre Takida ; Masaru Odawara ; Najima Gable ; Kent Austin ; Ritsuo Shoujin
Stellvia 2
The storyline for Stellvia was originally intended to run for at least 3 half-seasons, with the 3rd half-season focusing on Kouta. However, Stellvia Director Tatsuo Sato stated on his website in 2005 that plans for the Stellvia sequel are now impossible due to "inner difficulties". "08/10/2005 Sorry for contradicting what I remarked yesterday. Many people gave me e-mails and phone calls after I posted my comment yesterday. They say that "Certainly the project was derailed, but it does never always mean the project will disappear for good." I appreciate your remarks. Well, I was a little bit exaggerating. So, I'd like to modify the comment as follows. The continuation of Uchuu no Stellvia had become impossible.* All the pre-planning for an Uchuu no Stellvia 2 came to a halt. The same applied to Kidou Senkan Nadesico. Thank you very much for all your trouble. I have no idea about the future of Stellvia now, but if something will be officially determined, I will announce it here. Best wishes, " The word is not 無理, which is normally used to indicate a situation that is locked, but possibly solvable, but 不可能 - it's a much more definite term.
Media
Anime
Manga
Video games
Two video games have been released based on the anime series, both named "Uchuu no Stellvia". The PlayStation 2 game was released on the 22 January 2004. The Game Boy Advance game was released on the 23 April 2004. Both games are adventure dating simulations though they do vary in gameplay. In the PlayStation 2 game, the player assumes the role of a new student who has enrolled at the Stellvia Space Station Foundation. Each day he assigns various commands on what to do such as studying or resting in the same type of gameplay that Tokimeki Memorial has except for weekends since there is no school then. At the weekends he may invite a character on a date. There are various events to be seen in the game and there are 10 multiple endings. The game resembles the aforementioned Tokimeki Memorial game series in many ways. The Game Boy Advance game is different from the PlayStation 2 game in terms of gameplay and plays a lot like the famous Sotsugyou series of games also known as Graduation in the west. The main difference in this game as opposed to the PlayStation 2 game is that the player assumes the role of a new teacher instead of a student in the PS2 game. He must teach the four main heroines various subjects so that they are prepared for the Great Mission. The game is like Graduation in that the player has to balance out the various girl's stats and must not neglect them since in this case, they start to skip classes and the game can end. Throughout the classes the player character must ask the girl's various questions on the corresponding subject. After a question a number of things can happen. A girl may put up her hand to answer the question, the player can also choose one of the girls to answer or can answer the question themselves. The player may also individually teach a specific girl on subjects. Various events can be seen with the various characters from the series at lunchtime or after school.
