Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Plot & More
The Mana series is a cult-classic title when fantasy gaming is concerned. Originally created to compete with Nintendo’s flagship series, The Legend of Zelda, in the “action-RPG” genre, Mana nevertheless generated less money in Japan than traditional series such as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. However, the franchise was still popular and successful, especially in the United States and Europe. Legend of Mana from 1999 was the fourth game in the Mana series and it is set to be adapted into an anime series. In this article, we are going to tell you everything about the upcoming Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal anime series.
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal was announced back in June 2021 by Square Enix during a 30th-anniversary live stream event for the Mana video game series. The anime series is set to premiere on October 8, 2022, and is written and directed by Masato Jinbo, with character designs handled by Taro Ikegami based on the original designs by HACCAN, and music composed by Yoko Shimomura.
The rest of this article is going to bring you all the known and unknown information related to the upcoming anime adaptation of Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal, the popular and critically acclaimed video game. You’re going to find out about its release date, whether there is a trailer, what the story could be about, and much more about this upcoming adaptation which has us being very, very excited.
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal release date
The Mana series, known in Japan as Seiken densetsu, is a series of action-RPG video games created in 1991 by Kōichi Ishii for Square. The series is known for its dynamic combat system, unlike traditional Japanese role-playing games which use a turn-based system. Originally created to compete with Nintendo’s flagship series, The Legend of Zelda, in the “action-RPG” genre, Seiken densetsu nevertheless generated less money in Japan than traditional series such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or SaGa.
However, the franchise still became popular and is considered a success, especially in the United States and Europe. In these regions, the first game in the series gained acclaim, but it was the second installment, known as Secret of Mana, that made the series extremely popular. Alongside The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it would become one of the Super Nintendo’s flagship games.
The Seiken densetsu series as a whole is known in Europe and North America as the Mana series. The first game of the series, Final Fantasy Gaiden: Seiken densetsu, called Mystic Quest in the West, was originally, as its name suggests, a spin-off (in Japanese gaiden) of the Final Fantasy series, even though its gameplay differs fundamentally (it is an action-RPG, whereas the games of the Final Fantasy series are classic RPGs). This game later spawned a separate series, featuring fewer and fewer elements of the original Final Fantasy series.
An anime project was announced in June 2021 by Square Enix during a 30th anniversary live broadcast event for the Mana video game series. The series will be animated by Yokohama Animation Laboratory and Graphinica, with Warner Bros. Japan producing the series. The project began after a Warner Bros. employee approached Masaru Oyamada, the producer of the Mana video games, and delivered an “impassioned” speech for an adaptation of Legend of Mana.
This, in turn, was what led to the development of a remaster of the Legend of Mana video game. The series is written and directed by Masato Jinbo, with character designs by Taro Ikegami based on the original HACCAN designs, and music composed by Yoko Shimomura. The series will premiere on October 8, 2022. Saori Hayami will be performing the opening theme “Tear of Will”. This is all that we know about the series’ production at this point; more information will, of course, be revealed as soon as the series premieres in October. But, at least we know the official release date, which is absolutely great.
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal trailer
With the premiere scheduled for October 8, 2022, it is only natural for Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal to have at least one trailer available, which gives us an insight into what we can expect from the series. The first preview video trailer was release back in April 2022, and here is what it revealed:
In June 2022, a second preview video was revealed, revealing more cast members, the opening song of the upcoming series, as well as an October 2022 premiere, although an exact date was not set. Here is the video:
A third promo video was finally released in September 2022, revealing more scenes from the upcoming anime, as well as some additional cast members that had not been revealed before. Here it is:
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal plot
At this moment, the exact plot of Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal is not known. We don’t know whether it’s going to be an adaptation of the video game it is based on, an original story, or a spin-off story. This is why we have decided to bring you a brief overview of the plot of the game that the series is based on, so you know what you can expect, even if just roughly.
Legend of Mana‘s story is not told in a linear fashion, like a book or a classic RPG, it is necessary to complete a large number of seemingly disparate missions, but also to consult the Encyclopedia of the World appearing in the library of the House to reconstruct what should be called a scenario. It would be wrong to claim that Legend of Mana has no storyline, or even that this storyline is not developed with as much richness and detail as the Japanese canons of the time intended.
The adventure begins when, in the world of Fa’Diel, the Mana Tree has disappeared for several centuries: the hero’s job will therefore be to bring about the rebirth of the Tree, which is also the symbol of the power of desire. and love of human beings. “The Cage of Dreams” and “The Legend of Mana” constitute the last two missions of the game, one consisting in obtaining the Sword of Mana (artifact allowing the Tree to be reborn), the next consisting in defeat the dark side of the Goddess Mana.
Legend of Mana is coupled with a strong symbolic value since the hero is invited to rebuild the world by helping others, that is to say by allowing various desires to flourish to cause the rebirth of the Tree and of the world. The obvious explosion of the plot, therefore, responds to a real philosophical concern: even if a few heroes are at the center of Destiny (Larc, Sierra, Escad, Daena, Elazul, Perle, and the Hero, if we are to believe Selva and Matilda), it is indeed all the inhabitants of the World who can, through their love and their imagination, bring about the rebirth of the World.
Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal cast
The cast of Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal was revealed over three announcements, one in April and one in September 2022, revealing not only the cast members, but also the characters they are going to be playing. This is the known cast list of the series:
| Character | Japanese Voice Actor |
|---|---|
| Shiloh | Nobunaga Shimazaki |
| Elazul | Yūichirō Umehara |
| Pearl | Kaori Nazuka |
| Serafina | Saori Hayami |
| Bud | Yūko Sanpei |
| Corona | Shino Shimoji |
| Duelle | Sachi Kokuryu |
| Li’l Cactus | Yurika Kubo |
| Inspector Void | Shinpachi Tsuji |
| Sproutlings | Chitose Morinaga |
| Niccolo | Wataru Takagi |
| Rachel | Minami Takahashi |
| Mark | Makoto Yasumura |
| Nouvelle | Hiroshi Yanaka |
| Miss Yuka | Misaki Kuno |
| Sandra | Minako Kotobuki |
| Esmeralda | Ayane Sakura |
| Florina | Reina Ueda |
| Diana | Manami Numakura |
Where to watch Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal?
Currently, you cannot watch Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal anywhere, since the anime hasn’t come out yet and we don’t know the official release date for the series. At this moment, we don’t know which streaming service is going to distribute the show outside of Japan, as it hasn’t been confirmed. Several Japanese networks are going to broadcast the series, but we don’t know which service is going to stream it in the West. We’ll update this article as soon as more information becomes available.
Will there be a Season 2 of Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal?
The future of Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal is, as of this moment, unknown. At this moment, we don’t really know anything about the future of the series, so whether we’ll be seeing a second season or not is still unknown. The video game series is a cult classic among console gamers and there is more than enough material for more than one additional season of the series, which is always good news for fans of the Mana series, but we are going to have to wait and see how the situation with season one evolves to know more about a potential season two.
