is a Japanese series of visual combat books published by Hobby Japan inspired by the licensed works from Firelight Game Company's Lost Worlds. The overall plot of the game revolves around a tournament called the Queen's Blade, which is held once every four years to determine a Queen.
Since its original release, the series has evolved into a media franchise, spanning four manga adaptations, three anime adaptations, three light novels, and a video game adaptation. Figures of the characters made by various manufacturers, such as Kaiyodo with their Revoltech series, have also been produced along with several memorabilia. A sequel series, Queen's Blade Rebellion, was launched in 2009.
Characters
Story
In the Continent, a tournament called the Queen's Blade is held once every four years to determine the most beautiful and powerful Queen. Held in , the Queen's Capital, various fighters from all over the Continent travel to the Capital to defeat Aldra, the current Queen. The overall story of Queen's Blade focuses on Leina, the heiress of the esteemed Vance Family and next in line for the throne, as she travels to Gainos, encountering many other warriors also competing in the Queen's Blade for their own intentions.
The original gamebooks feature characters designed by many popular artists, including Hirokazu Hisayuki (My-HiME), Kazuhiro Takamura, and Eiwa.
Media
Gamebooks
Series 1 (Leina and Risty) - Released November 25, 2005. Series 2 (Irma and Nowa) - Released December 28, 2005. Series 3 (Tomoe and Echidna) - Released June 9, 2006. Series 4 (Menace and Elina) - Released September 29, 2006. Series 5 (Airi and Leina 3D) - Released December 22, 2006. Series 6 (Nanael and Cattleya) - Released March 16, 2007. Series 7 (Nyx and Melpha) - Released June 29, 2007. Series 8 (Melona and Claudette) - Released October 18, 2007. Series 9 (Ymir) - Released February 15, 2008. A limited-edition second-player color version of Ymir was distributed exclusively by online hobby shop Post Channel. Series 10 (Aldra and Alleyne) - Released June 20, 2008.
At Anime Expo 2010, Hobby Japan announced that English translations of the gamebooks will be released in North America. There exist English versions for the characters Alleyne, Melona, Nanael and Tomoe.
Anime
An anime adaptation of Queen's Blade, entitled , was produced by ARMS. Directed by Kinji Yoshimoto, the anime aired twelve episodes in Japan from April 2 to June 18, 2009 on AT-X, with subsequent broadcasts on Chiba TV, Sun Television, and Tokyo MX. The series aired uncensored on AT-X, while being heavily censored on other channels. Six DVD and Blu-ray volumes were released by Media Factory between June 25, 2009 and November 25, 2009, each DVD/BD volume containing one of six OVAs. A second season, , aired on AT-X and other channels from September 24 to December 10, 2009. Six DVD/BD volumes were released by Media Factory between December 22, 2009 and May 25, 2010, each containing six OVAs which continue from the first six.
An OVA series, called , was announced on the May issue of Monthly Hobby Japan. A prelude to events of Queen's Blade Rebellion, the series takes place after the events of the Queen's Blade tournament and chronicles the characters on their separate paths. The episodes were released on six DVD and Blu-ray volumes from August 25, 2010 to March 30, 2011.
In North America, the first and second anime adaptations are licensed by Media Blasters under the respective titles Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin and Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye. The first season was released between May 18 and October 26, 2010 as three DVD volumes, each containing four episodes, while the second season was released between May 24, 2011 and July 19, 2011 as two half-series volumes. Blu-ray box sets of the two seasons were later released on February 15, 2011 and September 27, 2011, respectively. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the Beautiful Fighters OVAs and will release them on digital and home video formats. On May 11, 2017, the channel Toku announced that the first season would be broadcast on its channel beginning June 5, 2017 through August 21, 2017.
The opening theme for the first season is "Get the Door" by Rie Ohashi, while the ending theme is by Ayako Kawasumi, Mamiko Noto, and Aya Hirano, the voices for Leina, Tomoe, and Nanael, respectively. The opening theme for the second season is by ENA while the ending theme is "buddy-body" by Rie Kugimiya, Yuko Goto, and Kanae Ito, the voices for Melona, Menace, and Airi, respectively. For the OVA, the ending theme is by All 19 Beautiful Warriors, consisting of the entire female voice cast of the series.