Fafner in the Azure (Japanese: 蒼穹のファフナー, Hepburn: Sōkyū no Fafunā) is a Japanese mecha anime franchise created by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The first series, subtitled Dead Aggressor, is directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and written by Yasuo Yamabe and Tow Ubukata with character designs from Hisashi Hirai and mecha designs by Naohiro Washio. It aired in TV Tokyo from July 4, 2004 to December 26, 2004 for 26 episodes. A television special subtitled RIGHT OF LEFT aired on December 29, 2005, a feature film subtitled HEAVEN AND EARTH had a theatrical release in Japan on December 25, 2010 and a sequel subtitled EXODUS, which aired in MBS and several stations on January 8, 2015. Another sequel subtitled THE BEYOND was released in 2019. The series heavily borrows elements from Norse Mythology, referencing some of the terminology used.
