Final Fantasy: Unlimited

Did You Know?

• The opening theme 'Over the FANTASY' was performed by Kana Ueda and composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
• The series had three ending themes: 'VIVID', 'Romancing Train', and 'Over the FANTASY'.

Plot

The story follows 12-year-old twins Ai and Yu Hayakawa, who travel into Wonderland, a mysterious parallel dimension, searching for their missing parents. They are aided by Lisa Pacifist, a 22-year-old woman who becomes their protector. The series is divided into two sections defined by the protagonists' main method of transport. In the first section, the group uses the Ghost Train to reach parts of Wonderland, encountering Kaze, who has no memory of his past except Makenshi, and who aids the Lords of Gaudium. They also encounter fragments of a destructive being named Omega, which seeks the Ghost Train's power source. Meanwhile, the antagonist Earl Tyrant, the embodiment of Chaos, seeks Omega's fragments to gain power equal to the Unlimited beings like Kaze and Makenshi. In the second section, the protagonists join the rebel faction Comodeen and board the submarine Jane bound for Telos, the only place with natural deposits of gravity-defying Flying Water. Both sides seek the substance: the Comodeen to power their airship Silvia, and Earl's forces to contain Omega's power. The climax occurs when Earl destroys Jane and captures the protagonists in his true form, Chaos Tyrant. Oscha reveals that Ai and Yu were spawned from Chaos after Kaze and Makenshi sent their adoptive parents to Wonderland. Earl intends to absorb the twins to increase Chaos's power, but Lou Lupus and Moogle intervene. Kaze and Makenshi sacrifice themselves to destroy Earl, ending his reign. The Comodeen find Lisa and the Hayakawa family.

Production and release

Mahiro Maeda of GONZO directed the series, with TV Tokyo's Keisuke Iwata and Square Enix's Kensuke Tanaka producing. Square Enix game designer Akitoshi Kawazu provided base concept planning. A series of video games with Kawazu as director was intended but not realized. The series aired on TV Tokyo's Network 6 weekly on Tuesdays at 6:30 PM starting October 2, 2001. Japan released the series on DVD in nine releases called Phases. ADV Films licensed it for North America and the United Kingdom on May 1, 2003. The North American boxset rearranges episodes into five discs titled Phase 1 through Phase 5, while the European boxset retains seven discs. A promotional DVD titled Final Fantasy: Unlimited Prologue Phase.0 was released on January 30, 2002.

Related media

A novel written by Sho Katigiri, illustrated by Kazuto Nakazawa, and supervised by Squaresoft was released on March 28, 2002 by Kadokawa Shoten, exploring a side story set during the television series. A 96-page artbook was published by Kadokawa Shoten on April 22, 2002. A book released on May 15, 2002 by DigiCube contains a 32-page manga by Hiroyuki Yamashita and a 120-page script by Atsuhiro Tomioka, covering the twins' return home, Lisa's past, and a new villain Soljashy. A serial web novel titled FF:U After Spiral, written by Sho Katigiri and supervised by Atsuhiro Tomioka, was published on the official Japanese FF:U website, consisting of seven chapters and one spin-off chapter set after the events of FF:U After. A serial audio drama of 10 episodes was available via TV Tokyo's Anime-X service on i-mode, released monthly from January 15, 2002, and compiled on CD-ROM for Windows and iMac G3 on September 30, 2002. Two drama CDs were released by Avex mode: one given with the DVD Boxset telling the destruction of Kaze and Makenshi's worlds, and a radio drama released on December 26, 2002 concluding the conflict between Lisa and Soljashy.

Reception

The series ranked 18th by popular vote for Top 20 Anime in Japan for November 2001. Outside Japan, reviews were mixed. Play magazine's David Halverson expressed disappointment that the series targeted a younger audience. Allen Divers of Anime News Network gave an overall B score, calling the plot somewhat formulaic but visually engaging. Sandra Scholes of Active Anime praised the characters as created with care for Final Fantasy fans. Ken Hargon of Anime News Network criticized the series as unappealing and not living up to the Final Fantasy name. Carlos Ross of T.H.E.M. gave three stars, noting its Saturday morning style but considering it better than Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals. Paul Gaudette of Mania.com gave a D rating, finding it somewhat enjoyable initially but written for a younger audience.