Fencer of Minerva

Fencer of Minerva (ミネルバの剣士) is a five episode soft-core hentai anime series released domestically by Central Park Media in two DVD volumes.

Set in a world reminiscent of John Norman's Gor novels, the story has political intrigue, adventure and romance as well as sexual scenes; this makes for pacing challenges, as none of the episodes are over 45 minutes long. As in some other hentai titles, storylines and character development get much greater attention than in a comparable American production. The main characters are Diana, a princess who was made into a slave, and Sho, her childhood friend who later becomes her master.

The two were parted ten years before when Randis, Diana's father, had taken the throne of the kingdom of Doria from Sho's father, King Baasen. Several of Randis' guards then tried to kill the young Sho, Baasen's heir and believed him dead when he fell over the mesa where Doria's castle had been built. Diana watched the attack and tried to let her father know, only to see Randis standing over King Baasen's body.

Ten years later, Diana is now the princess of Doria, but hates the position. Her father, now king of Doria, tries to have her married-off to Prince Dunan of the kingdom of Guptia. Diana, however, runs away, fleeing the castle. Disguised as a man, she manages to get a slave called Fina out of a jam and they flee Doria. However, they are soon attacked by creatures as well as nomads. The nomads discover Diana is a girl, but don't listen to her princess story, instead, proceeding to train her and Fina into slaves. While Diana is being whipped, a stranger walks in asking to spend a night, but, the nomads want a rumble. The stranger, who is wearing a mask that covers half his face, slaughters one of them and is ready to fight the other nomads. However, after one match with the chief, Teo, the stranger is accepted by the tribe and is allowed to spend the night. When the stranger puts away his dagger, Diana immediately recognizes the stranger as her thought to be dead friend Sho. Diana is then made Sho's slave. Sho also recognizes Diana and after consummating their relationship, they, along with the nomads, proceed to take back Doria.

Unfortunately, the sadistic Prince Dunan from Gupta manages to kill one of the nomads in order to find the whereabouts of the two. Dunan takes Diana back to Doria, where he violates her. Meanwhile, Sho and the nomads start to take over Doria. During a reunion between Diana and Sho, Duna interrupts, but is killed by Diana before he can discover Sho. Afterwards, they go to King Randis and inform him that Doria is being taken over. Randis takes his own life. Sho is made king of Doria, but relinquishes the position to Teo. Instead, Sho prepares to travel through the land. When he is ready to begin his journey across the country, Diana comes with him saying she would rather be his slave and be by his side than be free and not be with him. And so they leave Doria and Sho leaves behind his mask.

Some time later, they come across a town which is ruled by the rich. These elitists are led by a girl named Patris. Under the request of her uncle, Yajil, Diana and Sho agree to try to improve her attitude. But, unbeknown to the pair, Yajil is only using this as a ploy to get Diana. A little encounter between Diana, Patris, and the bodyguard Kyle helps Patris upgrade her attitude. Yajil tricks Patris to go to deliver a document in order to have Sho killed by Kyle. Diana interferes, and, in the process, revealing to Patris that Kyle is in love with her. The group confronts Yajil about his deception, who escapes, albeit in a cowardly fashion. Kyle leaves, but does not take Patris as she wants to be Sho's slave. Diana is reluctant to the idea, but accepts the proposition. As Sho proceeds to train Patris, Diana goes off alone and cries. The next morning, Sho tells Diana to look for Kyle in the bar. She finds him there and tells him to go back to the house. Upon arrival, Kyle and Diana are shocked to find Patris tied up. Sho offers Kyle to take Patris as his slave, a proposal which both Kyle and Patris are happy to accept.

Meanwhile, back in Doria, the Guptans, desperately searching for Dunan, try to assassinate the new king Teo. The assassin siblings, Hanna (who is in love with Gupta's prince Marlon) and Alberto nearly succeed in an attempt, but Teo's slave Ulsra manages to save him. In the meantime, Sho and Diana are in another town where Diana manages to beat a chess master and take his slave. After a night of training, the chess master wants to buy back the slave. However, Sho tells him there's no need to pay, and gladly gives him his slave back. The chess master also tells the couple of the assassination attempt. Sho and Diana quickly go back to Doria and start formulating a plan with the king's adviser Imil (who Fina is in love with, and later becomes her master). Sho and Diana become the new king and queen of Doria and while Teo recovers, they must now travel to Gupta and settle the score.

En route to Gupta, Marlon plants Hanna as a slave in order to gain information. However, Sho and Diana are aware of Hanna's true purpose, and use Hanna's feelings for Marlon to their advantage. When Diana beats Hanna in a match, she tells Hanna to ask Marlon to make her his slave. Marlon is reluctant at first, but agrees after some talking with Sho. Later, Sho and Diana admit to killing Dunan. However, even if revenge is taken, the conflict will not end. While the conversation takes place, Dorian troops invade Gupta. Now there is no choice but to make amends.

Later, Diana takes Hanna to Marlon where they proceed the slave training. Teo goes back to the nomad life, living with Ulsra. Before leaving, he has one final conversation with Diana. She is now known throughout the world as the Slave Queen; inspiring other slaves to be by their master's sides rather than living free.

Characters
Sho: Son of the late King Baasen who was killed in a takeover by Randis, the father of Sho's best friend Diana. Sho was assaulted by two guards and left with a scar on his face. After a chase that lead to the castle waterfall, Sho fell to his presumed death. Little did anyone know that 10 years later Sho was still very much alive and wearing a mask to cover his scar. An encounter with nomads reunites him with Diana and she becomes his slave. They love each other very much though he sometimes teases her with the idea of selling her to make more money. With Diana at his side, he takes over Doria from Randis, helps make Patris a better woman and slave, become king of Doria, and mend relations with Gupta.

Diana: Since a very young age, Diana had wanted to be princess. However, after her father Randis took over Doria through treacherous means and supposedly killing her best friend Sho, she now hates the position. She runs away and rescues a slave named Fina. After encounters with creatures and nomads, Diana herself is turned into a slave. Her salvation soon comes at the hands of a man she thought dead, Sho. After her rescue, Diana becomes Sho's slave. She loves him very much and sticks with him throughout his journey. While she's a slave, Diana is also a skilled fighter and chess player.

Fina: A slave who is saved by Diana, and later becomes a slave of the nomads. After she meets her love, Imil, the king's adviser, Fina asks him to make her his slave.

Teo: The nomad chief. He is master to Ulsra and becomes the king of Doria when it is taken over by Sho and the nomads. He manages to survive an assassination attempt and gives the position of king to Sho, returning to nomad life with Ulsra.

Ulsra: Teo's slave, who is very dedicated to her master. When Teo offers her the position of queen and freedom, she declines saying she would rather be riding in the fields with him. She manages to save Teo's life during the assassination attempt and after Sho becomes king, she goes back to nomad life with Teo.

Dunan: One of the princes of Gupta, who is a sadist. He was arranged to marry Diana but she flees the kingdom. He becomes involved in the attempt to bring her back to Doria. Upon doing so, he proceeds to violate her. Diana enacts revenge on him by stabbing and killing him with Sho's dagger.

Randis: Diana's father and the king of Doria. He becomes king after murdering Sho's father, Bassen. He is shown as cold and displays little love for his family and daughter. He commits suicide when Doria is being taken over by nomads.

Imil: The adviser to both Teo and Sho. He's extremely intelligent but is overprotective when it comes to the king's matters. He accepts Fina as his slave after she declares her love for him.