Reign (anime)

Reign: The Conqueror
Reign: The Conqueror Tokyopop DVD cover
アレクサンダー戦記 (Arekusandā Senki)
Genre	Adventure, Science fiction, Supernatural
Light novel
Written by	Hiroshi Aramata
Published by	Kadokawa Haruki Office
Original run	1996 – 1997
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Yoshinori Kanemori
Produced by	Rintaro Masao Maruyama Hae Jong Park
Written by	Sadayuki Murai
Music by	Ken Ishii
Studio	Madhouse DR Movie
Original network	WOWOW
English network	US Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) Showtime Beyond
Original run	September 14, 1999 – December 7, 1999
Episodes	13
Anime film
Directed by	Yoshinori Kanemori
Produced by	Rintaro Masao Maruyama Hae Jong Park
Written by	Sadayuki Murai
Music by	Ken Ishii
Studio	Madhouse DR Movie
Released	October 7, 2000
Runtime	90 minutes

Alexander Wars (アレクサンダー戦記, Arekusandā Senki^?), known in English as Reign: The Conqueror, is a Japanese anime first released in 1999. A re-imagination of the life of Alexander the Great based on the novel of the same name by Hiroshi Aramata, the series was produced by international crew that drew from the resources of the worldwide animation community. Character and setting design for the show was conceived by Peter Chung, the Korean animator who created the MTV Animated series Æon Flux. Most of the production work was handled by Korean animators.

In the original attempt at American distribution, the producers created a dub under the direction of veteran voice director Jack Fletcher. However, when the anime was picked up by TOKYOPOP and prepared for its 2003 release as Reign: The Conqueror, another dub was created. Still, TOKYOPOP retained the rights to the first four episodes of the series containing Fletcher's original dub, and used them for the first four episodes of the American release. It used the second dub for the remaining episodes.

There is also a theatrical version of Reign: The Conqueror. It consists almost entirely of recut footage from the series, with the only new content being short opening and closing scenes. The movie covers the first ten episodes of the anime, ending with Alexander's defeat of Darius and the Persian army.

Alexander is son of Philip II, king of Macedonia and Olympias, a snake witch. Desiring to attain 'speed', Alexander heads to the woods with allies Philotas and Hephaestion, where he tames a wild man-eating horse. There he meets and befriends Cleitus and Ptolemy, recruiting them to join his cavalry. Macedonia heads to war with Athens, led by King Philip and his top advisers, Attalus, Parmenion (father of Philotas) and Antipater. Philip becomes concerned with Alexander's absence, but Alexander and his cavalry arrive at the last moment, exploiting a break in the Athenian lines and leading Macedonia to victory. After their defeat, Athens ambassadors head to Persia, where they hope to align with new king Darius III. Alexander and his friends however sneak in as Athens slaves then kill the guards, causing Persia to think that Athens is betraying them. While Ptolemy is caught and suspended in the air, Alexander is able to save him from execution at the last minute by releasing all the horses in the city from their stables. While in Persia Alexander also meets a woman named Roxanne.