Galaxy Fraulein Yuna

Galaxy Fraulein Yuna (銀河お嬢様伝説ユナ), is a series of video games, anime, and other media from Japan. The Japanese title literally translates to "Galaxy Lady Legend Yuna".

The main character of the series is Kagurazaka Yuna, a somewhat ditzy 16-year old girl. After winning a "Galactic Bishōjo Contest", she becomes "Savior of the Lightside", a magical girl charged with defending the universe from evil. After becoming the "Savior of the Lightside", Yuna gains an impressively powerful armored suit, however, her greatest strength lies in her ability to befriend anyone, even her enemies. Her group of comrades (which is extensive) is comprised almost exclusively of former opponents.

Origins
Galaxy Fraulien Yuna originated in 1992 when Hudson Soft asked Akitaka Mika to create a video game for the PC Engine Super-CD console. Akitaka Mika was an established artist and mechanical designer, having worked on several Mobile Suit Gundam anime titles, including Zeta Gundam, War in the Pocket, and  Stardust Memory. Hudson Soft released Galaxy Fraulien Yuna in Japan in 1992, with Akitaka Mika as character designer and writer.

The specific origins of Yuna likely lie in Akitaka Mika's MS Girls artwork, which were featured in many anime-related magazines. With "MS" standing for "Mobile Suit", MS Girls was a collection of drawings of pretty girls dressed in Gundam-style powered armor. It is generally assumed that his work on Yuna was an evolution of the MS girls artwork. In fact, some of the original drawings in Mika's book The World Wide Merchandise Division 2001 of Les MS Girls bear a striking resemblance to character in the Yuna universe.

The Yuna series became popular quite quickly. This lead to the production of several sequels for various platforms, as well as art books, music, CD Dramas, and two anime Original Video Animation series.

Video Game Releases
There are a total of six Yuna video games, and a few related software releases:


 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna for PC Engine SCD in 1992
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna II for PC Engine SCD in 1995
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna FX for PC FX in 1996
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Remix for Sega Saturn in 1996 (a remade version of the original Yuna game but with new animation cutscenes added.)
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 3: Lightning Angel for Sega Saturn in 1997
 * Galaxy Fraulein Yuna 3: Final Edition for PlayStation in 1998 (a port of Lightning Angel with slightly enhanced graphics and some bonus content).

In addition, two Sega Saturn] discs entitled Mika Akitaka Illust Works volumes 1 and 2 were released in 1996 and 1997 respectively. While these were software for a video game console, they are not true games, but rather collections of artwork and omake material. Also released in 1997 were two computer software packages: Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Hybrid Collection and Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Visual Soundtrack. The former was a collection of PC-related omake such as desktop wallpaper, custom cursors, and screensavers. The latter contained a few music clips with slide-show style "videos".

All Yuna video games are mainly of the visual novel type. Combat scenes are played out in turn-based RPG style. Yuna 3 incorporates a 3D Isometric view "tactical simulation combat system", transforming the combat into a that of a Tactical RPG).

Anime Releases
There are two Yuna anime series.

The first, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: Siren's Sadness was a 2 episode OVA. It was later translated and released in the USA as simply Galaxy Fraulein Yuna. This series overlaps with the Yuna FX video game.

The second, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: The Abyssal Fairy was a 3 episode OVA. It was released in the USA as Galaxy Fraulein Yuna Returns or Galaxy Fraulein Yuna: Dawn of the Dark Sisters This series does not duplicate any of the video game content directly, though chronologically it does takes place after the first OVA but before Yuna 3.

CD & Music Releases
There have been many Yuna-related Audio CDs released. These include anime and game soundtracks, image albums, and several Drama CDs. As well, in 1997 the radio station Bunka Housou broadcast a live radio show entitled Galaxy Fraulein Radio. This was later released on CD as well.

Main Characters

 * Kagurazaka Yuna is the main character of the series. A 16 year old schoolgirl, Yuna becomes Savior of the Lightside after winning an intergalactic beauty contest.  Yuna is a bit clumsy and sometimes forgetful but is very energetic and always has a positive attitude.  Yuna lives on Earth with her family, and is completely obsessed with Polylina the Masked Maiden.  When trouble arises, Yuna undergoes a transformation sequence and appears wearing her armored light suit, which enables her to fly.


 * Yuri Cube is an android. She was discovered in some ancient ruins on the moon during the storyline of Yuna II.  Yuri came home with Yuna and lives at her house, and then becomes Yuna's best friend.  Yuri is best known for her insatiable appetite.


 * Liavelt von Neuestein was the leader of The 13 Frauleins of Darkness and was defeated by Yuna in the first video game. She since became one of Yuna's friends and a powerful ally.  Her alter-ego is Lia the Phoenix.  Lia is also Polylina the Masked Maiden, a mask wearing, crime-fighting super heroine with her own TV show.  For some reason Yuna never figures out that her friend Lia is also her beloved Polylina.  Lia (and Polylina) has a robotic cat named Milky, who can transform into various weapons.