Rave Master
Rave Master, known in
Japan as or
Groove Adventure RAVE, is an
anime and
manga series by
Hiro Mashima.
The manga, first published in Japan by
Kodansha, consists of 35 volumes. The anime consists of 51 episodes, which were first broadcasted on
TBS from
October 13 2001 to
September 28 2002 but did not conclude the story.
The show premiered on
Cartoon Network in the
United States under the title
Rave Master on
June 5 2004.
TOKYOPOP publishes the anime and manga in
English in the
United States. Rave Master first aired on the
Toonami programming block of
Cartoon Network in
North America.
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Characters of Rave Master (from left): Tanchimo, Plue, Elie, Griff, and Haru |
It all begins in the year 0015 when a force known as the "mother" Dark Bring, Sinclaire, (Shadow Stone in the UK anime) threatened the world. Shiba, the first Rave Master attempted to destroy it with his sword, the Ten-Powers Sword or in the UK,
Ten Commandments. The resulting explosion, known as "Overdrive", destroyed one-tenth of the known world, and at the time it was largly unexplored. The "Holy Bring" or "RAVE", named after its creator using Etherion,
Resh
a Valentin
e, using the first and last letters of her first and last name, which was used to power the ultimate form of The Ten-Powers Sword was shattered in Overdrive, dividing Rave into five pieces. Shiba was able to hold onto one piece that was required to power the sword at all, but the remaining pieces were scattered across the world. However, Shiba was unable to destroy the Sinclaire, and only succeeded in damaging it.
Fifty years later,
Haru Glory, a teenager living on the peaceful Garage Island discovers a strange creature with a small white body, dot-like eyes, and a huge
drill-like nose while fishing. He names it "Shabutaro" at first until he encounters Shiba, who corrects Haru by calling the creature "
Plue". Shiba explains that Plue is actually his companion and also a Rave Warrior, bearer of the rave.
Soon, Feber, a member of Demon Card (Shadow Guard in the UK anime;
an organization that is attempting use the dark bring to take over the world) finds Shiba and demands that he hand over the Rave. Shiba refuses and tries to retaliate by using the Rave's power. It fails and Shiba is quickly injured by Feber's giant arm cannon. Shiba hands Haru the Rave and tells him to run away. Haru refuses and tries to help Shiba. With Rave clutched in his fist, he punches Feber. To everyone's surprise, Haru manages to unleash the Rave's power with this punch, defeating Feber with an explosion. Seeing this, Shiba realizes that that Haru has been chosen by the Rave to become the second generation Rave Master. Thus begins Haru's search for the other pieces of Rave and his quest to defeat the Demon Card.
*
Haru Glory: The current Rave Master. He lived with his sister, Cattleya Glory on Garage Island. Haru is a teenage boy who believes in justice and peace, yet does not have much interest in adventuring. His destiny takes a turn when Shiba gives him the Rave stone, passing on the powers of the Rave Master. When he realizes the true threat that Demon Card are to the world, he sets off to find the pieces of Rave to restore peace to the world.
*
Elie: A girl with no memories, she first met Haru at the dog races where she was betting on Plue. She ends up joining them after Haru saves her. She fights with
Tonfa-style guns that have an explosive effect. She has a striking resemblence Resha Valentine, the
prodigy who gave her life using the power of Etherion in her to create the Rave and the Ravestones. (Rave's name is a derivative of her name;
Resh
a Valentin
e.) Elie possesses Etherion, but since she didn't know how to control it, it was sealed by Haru to prevent it from destroying the world.
*
Hamrio Musica (
Hedara Musica in the English dub): The leader of a band of infamous thieves known as the Silver-Rhythm gang. He ownes and pilots a flying ship called the Advent. Musica is a "Silverclaimer", able to manipulate anything silver into any form he wants it to be. The skull necklace he wears, called Silver, is his main weapon since he can reshape it. He can reform Silver into almost any kind of weapon or tool he needs. He became Haru's good and strongest friend, helping him in his search for the Rave Stones, while searching for the Silver Ray, a small ship-shaped weapon of great power.
*
Plue: The strange creature that Haru discovered, Plue is the Rave Bearer, and is able to sense the presence of the other Rave Stones. Plue's nose also has the ability to destroy dark brings. Plue is quite fond of sweets - especially lollipops. Plue hates pudding. He has the ability to utilize the rave of conflict which powers him and Haru up.
*
Griffon Kato: Called
Griff by his friends, constantly praises Plue. The reason was that before he met Haru, Plue ended up on Griff's island home, when it was under attack by the Puddingheads (which is also why Plue has a strange dislike of pudding). Plue defeated the villains in what seemed a noble sacrifice. Griff declared himself as Plue's follower as a result. He is also very perverted, often taking whatever opportunity he can to catch Elie naked.
*
Story Arc 1 :
King: Manga Volumes 1-9 and Anime Episodes 1-38Haru has become the heir to the Rave, and wields the blade known as the Ten Commandments (Decaforce Sword). Now, Haru must travel all over the world to find the four remaining Rave Stones and defeat the Shadow Guard. Haru makes many friends during his journey as well as many enemies.
*
Story Arc 2 :
Doryu/Shadow Guard Revial: Manga Volumes 10-17 and Anime Episodes 39-51Now that King and the Shadow Guard have been defeated, Haru must find the remaining two Rave Stones. However powerful people, such as Doryu, are now gaining power. Doryu will not be an easy opponent. His power is equal to and maybe even greater than King and Gale Glory's power.
*
Story Arc 3 :
Project DR: Manga Volumes 18-22After Haru defeated and killed Doryu and received the fourth Rave Stone from Dalmatian, Haru and his friends continue their journey. The Shadow Guard has formed alliances with several other dangerous organizations, such as the Blue Guardians, and now they have created the most powerful nation ever.
*
Story Arc 4:
The Blue Guardians: Manga Volumes 23-29After Haru defeated Lucia in their first battle, Haru and his friends fight the mighty Blue Guardians, led by Hardener.
*
Story Arc 5:
Recovering the Answers of the Past: Manga Volumes 30-32Sieg Hart, Haru, and Elie travel back in time. They are about 51 years in the past before the overdrive destroyed Symphonia.
*
Story Arc 6:
Final Battle, The Completed Rave Stone vs. the Completed Shadow Stone: Manga Volumes 33-35The final story arc in the Rave Master series which concludes first with the battle against the 4 Demon Lords and then the final battle between Haru and Lucia.
In Rave Master, the Decaforce Sword (TCM) is a powerful sword originally owned by Shiba, the first generation Rave Master. It was given to Haru Glory when he was chosen by Rave to become the Second Generation Rave Master. The sword was made with a special slot to hold the Rave Stone, also known as the "Holy Bring". This sword was created by blacksmith Galein Musica, and was once strengthened and fixed by him Haru broke it during a battle. The Decaforce is said to have ten forms including its original state when attached with the Rave, hence its name. Also, different forms can be combined simultaneously to create powerful combo attacks.
*
Eisenmeteor "The Metal Sword": Eisenmeteor is the TCM's default form. An unusually large iron sword, it has the ability to diffuse magic and is useful in fights due to its weight and size. (This ability proved instrumental in battling Sieg Hart).
*
Explosion "The Explosive Sword": A sword with no proper cutting edge but creates a powerful explosion on contact with the enemy. It is Haru's first sword gained from Rave and his most commonly used. However, the shock of the impact is powerful to the extent that if Haru uses it in succession too much, it could possibly hurt or kill him.
*
Silfarion "The Sonic Sword": This sword allows the Rave Master to become extremely light, granting great speed and the ability to create blades of air for long ranged attacks. Silfarion can also be used with Explosion to create a special attack called "Bombing Dive" ("Twelve Wings of the Explosive Dragon") which fires explosive blades at the enemy. However, the Silfarion is relatively weak as a
mêlée weapon and is no more than a normal sword for attacking.
*
Runesave "The Sealing Sword": This form cannot cut anything physical but can cut things without a tangible form like lightning, fire, water or smoke. It can also be used to seal magic, and is used by Haru to seal Elie's Etherion. Later, in a battle between Haru and Lucia, Lucia uses his Decalogue Runesave to seal Haru's Runesave, making him unable to block Lucia's magic attacks.
*
Blue Crimson "The Twin Dragon Sword": The Ten Commandments splits into two blades with one having the properties of fire and the other having the properties of ice. This sword form is also known as the "Twin Dragon Sword".
*
Mel Force "The Vacuum Sword": The sword of
air, this form allows the user to fire powerful bursts of air at the enemy to blow them away and paralyzes them.
*
Gravity Core "The Gravity Blade": An incredibly destructive sword that can cut very hard things. However, the tradeoff is that it's extremely heavy and requires great strength to use. Although more powerful than Explosion, it's a very difficult blade to utilize.
*
Million Suns "The Solar Blade": Meaning "the force of a million suns", it is also known as the "solar blade". This sword is not strictly for use to defeat Dark affinities. However, this Light affinity sword has more than enough power to destroy Dark affinity enemies. This sword can be used against any other affinity as well.
*
Sacrifar "The Bloodlust Sword": The second most powerful of all the forms, the Sacrifar provides the user with great power but in exchange the user will be consumed by the sword and eventually lose themself. Haru used this sword during his first battle with Lucia, in the
Project DR, leaving him with various undesirable side effects. It was later revealed that because the Ten Commandments was specifically made for Shiba to use, Haru is not able to properly control and use this sword.
*
Ravelt : The most powerful form of the Ten Commandments. As the Ten Commandments was specifically made for Shiba to use, Haru is not able to utilize the tenth form of the Ten Commandments, Star-Rave at all. When Musica discovers this, he takes it on himself to create one by using a piece of his Silver and the special metal used to make the other swords. Ravelt has the power to dispel evil. As a result of Musica's creation, Galein believes that the orginal TCM, which is now without an owner has become soul-less and should be destroyed. Ravelet thus becomes the TCM's default sword after the orginal TCM was destoryed by Galein. Haru is still able to use the other 9 forms of the Ten Commandments when Rave is attached to Ravelt.
*
Star-Rave: The original tenth form of the TCM used by Shiba. Shiba used this sword to defeat the final Dark Bring or "Shadow Stone", Sinclaire in the previous war. This act resulted in the Overdrive, a huge explosion which supposedly destroyed one-tenth of the world. Haru is unable to unlock this form of the sword as it was specifically made for Shiba. This sword has never appeared in the manga, and was only revealed in the author's notes.
There are six Video games based on Rave Master.
Nintendo GameCube:*Groove Adventure Rave: Fighting Live
Game Boy Advance:*Groove Adventure Rave:*Rave Master: Special Attack Force! (Groove Adventure Rave: Hikari to Yami no Daikessen 2)
Sony PlayStation:*Groove Adventure Rave'':*Groove Adventure Rave: Mikan no Hiseki:*Groove Adventure Rave: Plue no Daibouken
SeasonsSeason 1 - Episodes 1-25
Season 2 - Episodes 26-51
;Cast
Groove Adventure RAVE:Opening
Butterfly Kiss by
Chihiro Yonekura (Episodes 1-25)
Higher and Higher by
Kumoko (Episodes 26-51):Closing
Kokaku no Yurikago by
Chihiro Yonekura (Episodes 1-25)
Hikousen by
Kumoko (Episodes 26-51)
;Rave Master (U.S. release only):Opening
Rave-olution by
Reel Big Fish:Closing
The Power of Destiny by
Jennifer Paige*In the Song Continent where Haru and his companions begin their adventures, the towns and cities are named after styles of music. For example, Punk street and Ska.
*Haru's belt buckle says "DnB" which could be a loose translation of "
RnB", possibly referring to the breakbeat style known as "drum n bass" (there is a city by this name in the Song continent).
*Haru's home, Garage Island is in reference to the quote "All good music starts in the garage".
[As quoted by Frank Zappa]*Different characters and places in the series reference music. Musica and Symphonia are such examples, with Symphonia referecing symphonies. Most musical references are confined to the Song Continent.
*The largest city on Song Continent is called "Experiment". It was where Elie met Sieg Hart for the second time and it was "revealed" that she was an "experiment" for
cloning Resha Valentine.
*Other continents include the Luka Continent, the location of the city of Rabbarier and Din Tower. Southernberg, whose shallow oceans confine the mermaid village of Mildesta, and the location of the Haru's battles with Doryu, and Musica and Reina's battle with Ogre. There is also the Iima continent.
*Some of the technology seems highly advanced, but there seems to be no shortage of
magic,
medieval weapons, and various
mythological references.
*
Ten Commandments - A website of Rave information and fanfiction.
*
Winds of Change - An english site about Rave Master, concentrating on the manga
*
RavExtreme - A fan site with a dictionary of
Rave Master terms and characters.
*
A Rave Master site with pictures*
rave master shrine mainly a forum
*
Aetherion - A Chinese(Big5) website about Rave.
*
Bahamut(TaiWan)Rave forum - A Chinese(Big5) forum about Rave.
