Light Hi-Fi - Arpeggio of Blue Steel (蒼き鋼のアルペジオ Aoki Hagane no Arupejio) is a Japanese manga series produced by Ark Performance and seria...
By 2039, global warming had caused sea levels to rise and large amount of territory to be lost. As though in response, a mysterious group of warships clad in mist, "the Fleet of Mist," appeared in every corner of the ocean, and began attacking human ships. In spite of humanity mustering all their strength, they were utterly defeated by the Mist's overwhelming force. All of humanity's trade routes were blockaded by the Fleet of Mist, their political economy was destroyed, and the human race was steadily beaten down. Seven years later, the Fleet of Mist's submarine I-401 appears before cadet Gunzo Chihaya. The humanoid life form that pilots the sub, who should be their enemy, is instead offering her services to mankind.
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- INFORMATION
- Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 8, 2013 to Dec 24, 2013
Premiered: Fall 2013
Broadcast: Tuesdays at 02:55 (JST)
Producers: Sotsu, KlockWorx, flying DOG, Ultra Super Pictures, Showgate, Shounen Gahousha
Licensors: Discotek Media
Studios: SANZIGEN
Source: Manga
Genres: Action, Sci-Fi, Seinen
Duration: 24 min. per ep.
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older - STATISTICS
- Score: 7.551 (scored by 39,882 users) Ranked: #14032
Popularity: #688
Members: 84,241
Favorites: 643
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- Episode 1 ("Those with Shipping Routes" "Kōro o motsu mono" (航路を持つ者))
- In the near future, mankind has been driven away from the seas and landmasses are forcibly isolated from each other with the arrival of the "Fleet of Fog"; AI controlled ships possessing superior technology and firepower. Despite the combined efforts of the UN, the Fleet of Fog manage to destroy all opposition and throw the world into a state of turmoil. Years later, the Japanese Government is preparing to send an unmanned cargo shuttle into orbit. The Fleet of Fog ship Nagara appears and attempts to assault the launch site. The launch is a success when the human-crewed Fog submarine I-401 defeats the enemy at request of the government. After the battle, I-401's captain Gunzō Chihaya reminisces with the vessel's mental model, a human avatar called Iona, about their first meeting two years ago. It was during this time that I-401 was under human custody for years, unresponsive until Gunzō came in contact with it, awakening Iona. After Iona reveals that she had instructions to serve under him, Gunzō agrees to join forces with her and they flee together. In the present, Gunzō is approached by Ryūjirō Kamikage, the Assistant Secretary of Military Affairs, who reveals that the shuttle was destroyed before accomplishing its task; deliver the plans of a new weapon developed to fight the ships of the Fog to the United States as Japan now lacks the resources required to mass produce it. Accepting the task of crossing the Pacific Ocean to take the plans to the US by themselves, Gunzō and his crew depart to resupply at Yokosuka Base. Meanwhile, taking heed of I-401's approach, the Fog's heavy cruiser Takao prepares herself to engage it.
- Episode 2 ("Into the Storm" "Arashi no naka e" (嵐の中へ))
- Takao blocks I-401's path to Yokosuka by positioning herself inside the eye of a typhoon and, after asserting that any attempts to avoid confrontation are too risky, Gunzō decides to take Takao head on. After Iona barely manages to evade an attack from Takao's Super Gravity Cannon, Gunzō analyzes the resultant combat data and points out that Takao's attacks have had pinpoint accuracy from a distance much greater than its sensor capabilities. He concludes that this can only be possible if there is a second vessel possessing superior sensor technologies nearby, hypothesizing that a submarine is being concealed under Takao's hull. Gunzō then orders the crew to ready their own Super Gravity Cannon which they salvaged from their previous battle with the Fog battleship Hyūga and uses it to destroy the submarine and force Takao to surrender. Having her systems locked down for 24 hours by Iona to prevent her from give chase to the I-401, Takao wonders why Gunzō spared her and takes an interest in him.
- Episode 3 ("The Fortress Port of Yokosuka" "Yosai Kō Yokosuka" (要塞港 横須賀))
- I-401 and her crew reach Yokosuka Base for repairs and resupply, and Gunzō takes Iona for a visit to a Navy memorial for those that died in the war against the Fleet of Fog. Soon after, they are taken against their will by the Japanese Army with the rest of the crew to meet Ryōkan Kita, a former member of the Navy and an influential politician who attempts to convince Gunzō to relinquish the I-401 to the Japanese Army with no success. Meanwhile, Takao is approached by the mental models of Fog surveillance submarines I-400 and I-402 and reveals her intentions to abandon the fleet and join Gunzō's side. However, she is informed by them that two Fog battleships have been dispatched to sink the I-401 and Takao leaves, claiming that she will wait for Gunzō at another location. When Yokosuka Port comes under attack by the battleships Haruna and Kirishima, Gunzō and his crew return to their submarine. Subduing all resistance from Kita and his me, they prepare themselves to confront the new enemies before them.
- Episode 4 ("Assault on Yokosuka" "Yokosuka Kyūshū" (横須賀急襲))
- The battle against Haruna and Kirishima begins with I-401 drawing them into a trap they set in the ruins of the old Yokosuka city. Although it fails to cause any significant damage, I-401 is able to circle around the two battleships undetected and launch a surprise attack using the now sunk Japanese battleship Mikasa as a decoy. However, Kirishima manages to avoid being hit and launches a retaliatory barrage of warheads. I-401 manages to barely avoid the attack. In an attempt to destroy I-401, Haruna and Kirishima join together and generate a huge gap in the water, trapping I-401 in the line of fire of their combined Super Gravity Cannon. Just before firing, however, they leave themselves vulnerable to Iona's last Erosion Torpedo which had been concealed inside Mikasa's wreckage. This triggers a chain reaction, destroying both ships. Haruna's mental model manages to salvage Kirishima's core and escape the ensuing destruction. The next day, a child finds the unconscious Haruna inside an abandoned warehouse.
- Episode 5 ("Not Human" "Hito Narazaru Mono" (人ならざる者))
- The I-401 returns to Yokosuka to pick up the secret weapon developed by the Japanese Government, the "Vibration Warhead", before returning to their base at Iwo Jima to make the final preparations for its journey across the Pacific. Meanwhile, Haruna awakens and meets Makie Osakabe, the child who rescued her. Pretending to be a human, Haruna keeps Makie company while Kirishima's core uses some of her nanomachines to make a spare body for her out of a Teddy bear. Takao arrives at Iwo Jima ahead of I-401 but is stopped by a vicious attack from unknown origin. Realizing that Makie is related to the deceased Tōjūrō Osakabe, the creator of the Vibration Warhead, Haruna and Kirishima contact their flagship Kongō and are instructed to investigate further. In the occasion, the two mental models are introduced to Tōjūrō, who is revealed to be alive, but bedridden. Tōjūrō reveals that after several failed attempts to develop a weapon to counter the Fleet of Fog, he came with a plan to create an artificial being with superior intellect capable to succeed where he did not, and the only surviving offspring of said project is Makie, who was the true creator of the Vibration Warhead. To protect Makie from the government, Tōjūrō forged his death and kept watching over her from the shadows but knowing he has not much time left and seeing how attached she became to them, he asks Haruna and Kirishima to take care of her. However, the army is already aware that Makie had made contact with ships of the Fog, and sends a unit to dispose of her.
- Episode 6 ("Friends" "Tomodachi" (ともだち))
- As Tōjūrō passes away, Haruna decides to protect Makie and asks Kirishima's help for it. Despite facing some heavy opposition, Haruna refrains from killing the attackers and orders Kirishima to flee with Makie, while she creates a decoy with her nanomachines to draw the military's attention. However, the soldiers see through Haruna's trick and start searching for Makie who is distraught with learning that she created a weapon that can destroy Haruna. Once reunited, Haruna, Kirishima and Makie are driven to a corner when Haruna asks for anyone's help, and Iona answers her call. Gunzō is contacted by Kamikage and replies to him that the I-401 and its crew were hired just to deliver the vibration warhead to the US and beside it, they will do as they please. Once the army retreats, Iona takes the three of them to the submarine and Haruna asks Makie to become her and Kirishima's friends to which she agrees. As the I-401 departs for Iwo Jima, Takao awakens in a room, greeted by a mysterious voice who asks for her intentions.
- Episode 7 ("Iwo Jima" "Iō-tō" (硫黄島) )
- Taking Haruna, Kirishima and Makie with them, the I-401 and its crew arrive at their base in Iwo Jima, where they are greeted by the fast battleship Hyuga's mental model who was guarding the island for them, and much by their surprise, they meet Takao once again. As Hyuga makes repairs on I-401, Gunzō and his crew prepare to abandon the base as there are few supplies left and they know that delivering the vibration torpedo to the United States may ensure their objective, which is to put mankind and the Fog on equal terms, which may lead to the end of the blockade. By Hyuga's suggestion, Takao considers joining Gunzō and the others' side while Haruna and Kirishima are contacted by Kongō who asks for their intentions. While Haruna affirms that she will not return to the Fleet of Fog for Makie's sake, Kirishima claims that she will continue by their side for the sake of gathering info. Kongou then assembles her fleet and prepares an assault on Iwo Jima.
- Episode 8 ("House of Dolls" "Ningyō no Ie" (人形の家))
- The episode focuses on Meme during the events of the previous weeks. On June 12th, she gets a bottle rocket tested out by the bottle rocketeer, who suddenly asks her to marry him. While avoiding him for a week, Meme recalls 28 years ago when she first met Elliot, the boy who would become Erio's father. Meme later visits the rocketeer to refuse his proposal, later learning he had mistaken Maekawa for Erio while trying to woo Meme with his rockets. Meme then convinces her granny to accompany her for the launching of the bottle rockets at the beach, pitching the whole thing as an attack on aliens, like Elliot told her when they were kids.
- Episode 9 ("Desperate Escape" "Kesshi no dasshutsugyō" (決死の脱出行))
- Hyuga stays behind deflecting the attacks of Kongō's fleet to buy time for Iona and the others to escape. Before leaving Iwo Jima, Gunzō asks for Takao's help and she agrees to join his side. Unwilling to listen to Hyuga's words, Kongō fires her Super Gravity Cannon at her but fails to destroy her and orders Maya to fire her own cannon at the exhausted Hyuga but Takao appears in the nick of time to block Maya's shot. Believing that Hyuga and Takao are just covering the I-401's escape, Kongō tracks her down and gives chase, refusing to slow down even after passing through a minefield. Iona tries to reason with Kongō with no success and when the battleship attempts to fire her Super Gravity Cannon underwater to sink her, Hyuga takes advantage of Kongō's distraction to hack into her systems and have her lose control to buy enough time for Iona and Gunzō to escape. Takao then reveals to Kongō that instead of Takao, the true decoy was Iona herself, while the vibration warhead, Makie, Haruna, Kirishima and the rest of the I-401's crew were safely hidden aboard her and she returns to pick up Hyuga to rendezvous with Iona and Gunzō, who despite escaping from Kongō's grasp, are later ambushed and sunk by I-400 and I-402.
- Episode 10 ("Devotion of Self" "Sono Mi o Sasagu" (その身を捧ぐ))
- With her nanomaterials compromised by her sister ships attack, the I-401 sinks into the deep ocean while Iona tends to an injured Gunzō. Meanwhile, Takao and the others look for them but all communications and radar are jammed by spatial distortions from the last battle. Despite knowing that the only way for her to survive is to abandon her captain, Iona refuses to do so until Gunzō orders her to cut all life support systems, claiming that fulfilling their mission to deliver the vibration warhead is more important than saving him. However, when Gunzō stops responding, a distraught Iona breaks down her own mental model to create a survival pod for him and her core. When Takao locates the pod, she decides to sacrifice her own body and use its nanomaterials to restore Iona and the I-401, bringing them back to the surface and saving Gunzō's life. Once knowing that the I-401 has not perished, Kongō can't hide the urge to fight it again, but declaring that she is displaying the same erratic behavior seen in the other ships who deviated from the Admiralty Code, I-400 and I-402 relieve her from duty and lock down her systems. In the occasion, Kongō finds out that Maya's mental model lacks consciousness, being a fake artificial intelligence created just to watch over her.
- Episode 11 ("Sisters" "Shimai" (姉妹) )
- On their way to Hawaii, their next stop of their journey to deliver the vibration warhead in San Diego, the restored and upgraded I-401, called the Ars Nova, is chased by several Nagara class ships that are surprised and sunk when Gunzō orders an unexpected maneuver to sweep them all at once. After the battle, it is revealed that despite losing her physical body, Takao's core is still intact and she is now part of the I-401's systems. However, knowing that they are still being followed by I-400 and I-402, Gunzō decides to confront them. Before the battle, Iona's sisters make contact with her asking for her true intentions but she claims it is too difficult to explain with words. Meanwhile, an imprisoned Kongō breaks free and absorbs Maya along all the other ships around her. To confound their enemies, the I-401 moves forward along two decoys with increased capabilities, thanks to Hyuga, Haruna and Kirishima's direct control over them. After exchanging some fire, Iona contacts her sisters asking them to stop pursuing them before it is too late but they refuse to comply. When I-400 is about to be stricken by surprise, I-402 sacrifices herself to protect her sister, who despite finding this decision illogical, becomes driven into anger, leading her to fall into a trap set by the decoys and her defeat as well. Despite grieving for her lost sisters, Iona maintains her resolve to follow Gunzō to the end. However, the I-401 is soon after approached by a dozen ships from the American Fleet of Fog at the front, and a massive flying object at the back, composed of several fused ships led by Kongō, who claims that she will be the one who will sink I-401.
- Episode 12 ("The Power to Open a Path" "Kōro o Hiraku Chikara" (航路を拓く力))
- Kongō obliterates the ships of the American Fleet of Fog and Iona, along the other mental models, make contact with Kongō in an attempt to bring her to her senses. However, Kongō claims that it's her duty to prevent further anomalies to the Fog by destroying Iona and all ships who come in contact with her, including herself, before locking down all communications. After barely deflecting an attack of Kongō's enhanced Super Gravity Cannon, the I-401 conceals itself, knowing that confronting her directly is useless, when Iona decides to reach Kongō and confront her face to face. Gunzō agrees with her plan and after evading a massive barrage of attacks, Iona boards a torpedo to reach Kongō's deck. Iona attempts to reason with Kongō who keeps attacking her until she finally traps Iona and prepares to self destruct herself to kill both, when the sequence is disrupted by I-401's Super Gravity Cannon. In the end, Iona succeeds to dissuade Kongō and prevents the destruction of both. The reformed Kongō befriends Iona while the superstructure created by her collapses. Days later, as the I-401's crew delivers the vibration warhead to the U.S. Navy as intended, Takao's body is restored and they return to the sea, hoping that their actions have helped change the world for the better.
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