Heroic Age (anime)

Heroic Age
Promotional image for the anime series Heroic Age
ヒロイック・エイジ (Hiroikku Eiji)
Genre	Adventure, Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Takashi Noto
Produced by	Gou Nakanishi Takatoshi Chino
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Music by	Naoki Sato
Studio	XEBEC
Licensed by	NA FUNimation Entertainment
Original network	TV Tokyo, TV Setouchi, TV Osaka
Original run	April 1, 2007 – September 30, 2007
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Manga
Written by	Tow Ubukata
Illustrated by	Kugeko Warabino
Published by	Kodansha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Magazine Z
Original run	May 2007 – August 2008
Volumes	4

Heroic Age (ヒロイック・エイジ, Hiroikku Eiji^?) is a science fiction anime directed by Toshimasa Suzuki and Takashi Noto. It was produced by XEBEC and aired on Japanese television networks. The series first aired on April 1, 2007 and ended on September 30, 2007, with 26 episodes.

On July 23, 2007, a manga adaptation began serialization in Kodansha's Magazine Z. Though the story is the same, it is told from the point of view of Iolaous. Five official guidebooks were also published and had consecutive monthly releases from July to November 2007.

The story's theme is based on stories in Greek mythology, especially those surrounding Heracles, upon whom the main character is based, and his Twelve Labors. Many of the other characters are also based on Greek mythological figures; characters share similar names to their Greek counterparts, and how their relationship is defined with others correspond with Greek stories. The title of the series, Heroic Age, is also a slight testament to the similarities to Greek mythology, referring to the time of the Heroic Age. The tribes featured in the anime are loosely based on Hesiod's Five Ages of Mankind.

The show is set in a futuristic universe, controlled by a few races or "tribes" that possess the capabilities for interstellar travel. The universe had once been ruled by a "Golden Tribe" (黄金の種族 Ougon no Shuzoku), who had since left the current galaxy long ago; they passed on their knowledge to the humanoid "Silver Tribe" (銀の種族, Gin no Shuzoku^?), the insectoid "Bronze Tribe" (青銅の種族, Seidou no Shuzoku^?), and the gigantic "Heroic Tribe" (英雄の種族, Eiyuu no Shuzoku^?). The latter was later punished by the Golden Tribe for causing havoc in the universe and made to serve the other tribes as 'Nodos' (ノドス, Nodosu^?) - extremely powerful beings that play a key role in the story. Before the Golden Tribe departed, Humanity answered the call of the Golden Tribe and was dubbed the "Iron Tribe" (鉄の種族, Tetsu no Shuzoku^?). Viewed as a threat to the order of things, the Silver Tribe decided to annihilate the Iron Tribe with the aid of the Bronze Tribe. However, humanity survived their assault on Earth and scattered their numbers across the stars in order to preserve their race.