Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na

Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na (夜明け前より瑠璃色な) is a fictional series centering on a princess from a kingdom on the moon who lives with a family on Earth for a time. It began as a Japanese adult visual novel video game developed by August that was first released on September 22, 2005 for the PC, and the PlayStation 2 adaptation developed by Aria was released on December 7, 2006. A manga, illustrated by HoeHoe Noumiso began in Dengeki Daioh magazine on September 21, 2005, and a 12-episode anime based on the series, called Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na: Crescent Love, aired in Japan from October 4 to December 20, 2006.

The 12 episode anime has been acquired by Sentai Filmworks for the North American market. It will be released in conjunction with Section 23 Films on June 1st, 2010.

Plot
Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na centers on Princess Feena Fam Earthlight from the Kingdom of Sphere on Earth's moon. It was decided that she was to live on Earth in a homestay with the family of the primary secretary to the president of the United Nations so as to get more knowledgeable of Earth in order to better prepare herself for her succession as the Kingdom of Sphere's next queen.

The background of the story explains that humans landed on the moon long ago intending to create a new home for themselves called the Kingdom of Sphere. However, the relations between Earth and the Kingdom have worsened things and a war called the Oedipus war started. Once the war was over, it was decided that the city of Mitsurugasaki, where the story takes place, under the rule of the United Nations, be developed as the center of diplomacy with the Lunar Kingdom, which, currently, has closed its doors to the world. This central lunar junction port city, which has the only spaceport within the United Nations with ships going to and coming from the Lunar Embassy, is, as its name suggests, the gateway which connects the Earth and the moon. Although tensions have temporarily eased now, relations between the two worlds is still in a situation when the story begins where caution must still be taken.

Main Characters

 * Tatsuya Asagiri (朝霧 達哉)
 * (Drama CD) / Susumu Chiba (anime)
 * Tatsuya is the main protagonist in the story. He is very knowledgable about the moon and the Kingdom of Sphere because he has been interested in it since he was very young. He has this odd unconscious habit of pinching girls on the nose as a sign of affection. Tatsuya constantly finds enjoyment in teasing Natsuki about random things. He is quite loyal toward Feena and her aim to fulfill her mother's dream to reunite the Earth and Moon.


 * Though somewhat apprehensive about the homestay, Tatsuya eventually falls in love with the princess and their union cements the alliance between the two worlds.


 * Feena Fam Earthlight (フィーナ·ファム·アーシュライト)
 * (PC) / Hitomi Nabatame (PS2/anime)
 * Feena is the princess of the Kingdom of Sphere on the moon. In order to become more knowledgeable about Earth and be able to follow in her mother's footsteps, she comes to Earth in a homestay with the family of the primary secretary to the president of the United Nations, Sayaka Hozumi. Since she was very young, she has always wanted to know more about the Earth and some day she hopes to surpass her mother in trying to bridge the gap between the Earth and the Kingdom of Sphere. She is well educated in terms of literature and science and has great sword skills. However, she is somewhat naive in matters of the heart and has a tendency to jump into situations without thinking, (such as jumping into a river to save a drowning puppy, without knowing how to swim, and mistaking moths for aliens).


 * Feena once came to Earth when she was a child, and met Tatsuya previously after her mother's death, in which Tatsuya tried to comfort her. She eventually falls in love with him and later marries him to finally bring peace between the Earth and the Moon.


 * Mia Clementis (ミア·クレメンティス)
 * (PC) / Mio Nonose (PS2/anime)
 * Mia is Feena's main escort from the Kingdom of Sphere and always tries to look out for the princess. More or less, she is a maid who serves the princess but does not always do what she is told. She is a bit of an airhead, though all of her efforts are genuinely for Feena's well-being and happiness.


 * Mai Asagiri (朝霧 麻衣)
 * (PC) / Mai Goto (PS2/anime)
 * Mai is Tatsuya's younger sister who attends the same school as him. She is the part leader for the flutes in the concert band in her school. She is actually adopted and looks younger than she is.


 * Natsuki Takamizawa (鷹見沢 菜月)
 * (PC) / Hyo-sei (PS2/anime)
 * Natsuki is one of Tatsuya's closest friends and is also one of his classmates. She works with Tatsuya at her father's restaurant, Trattoria Samon, which also happens to be next door to Tatsuya's house. She often gets angry at Tatsuya or her brother when they tease her. She is best known as the Carbon Master, due to her inability to cook and all her attempts ending up as blackened messes, (including salad).


 * Sayaka Hozumi (穂積 さやか)
 * (PC) / Nami Kurokawa (PS2/anime)
 * (Game)Sayaka is a deputy librarian in the royal moon museum. Tatsuya and Mai refer to her as their older sister, although she is actually their cousin.
 * (Anime)Sayaka is the primary secretary to the president of the United Nations so in effect has a lot of ties with the politics that is involved between Earth and the Kingdom of Sphere. Her nickname in the media is the "President's Dagger".


 * Wreathlit Noel (リースリット·ノエル)
 * (PC) / Shizuka Ito (PS2/anime)
 * A mysterious being from the moon, Wreathlit, generally known as Wreath, appears to be a young child but is actually much older. She is constantly watching Feena, especially in Feena's story path where she is in love with Tatsuya; her split personality, Lady Fiacca, tells her that the Moon and Earth must not be united. However, in the end, Fiacca departs forever after seeing the result Tatsuya and Feena's efforts and breaking the cycle of hatred between the two worlds.


 * Midori Tōyama (遠山 翠)
 * (PC) / Naoko Takano (PS2/anime)
 * Midori is an energetic girl in Tatsuya's class who has been one of his classmates since their first year in high school. She is the clarinet leader in the concert band at her school. She seems to be very desperate for Tatsuya's odd sign of affection or even perhaps noticing her once in a while. She is only available as a love interest in the PS2 version of the game, and is otherwise a minor character.


 * Estel Freesia (エステル·フリージア)
 * (PS2) / Fūri Samoto (Moonlight Cradle)
 * A mysterious, bookish and religious girl. Estel appears in PS2 version of the game and Moonlight Cradle only.


 * Cynthia Marguerite (シンシア·マルグリット)
 * (Moonlight Cradle)
 * Cynthia only appears in the "Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na -Moonlight Cradle-". Fiacca Marguerite's 2 years younger sister.

Secondary characters

 * Karen Clavius (カレン·クラヴィウス)
 * (PC) / Yu Asakawa (PS2/anime)
 * Karen is the Military Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sphere. She seems to have a fairly strict attitude on things which fits her profession well.


 * Jin Takamizawa (鷹見沢 仁)
 * (PC) / Katsuyuki Konishi (PS2) / Daisuke Kishio (anime)
 * Jin is Natsuki's older brother and is also one of her co-workers at the restaurant that their father owns. He constantly makes his sister angry when at work which gets him thrown out of the restaurant, usually breaking a window on the way out. Everything he breaks due to this act is taken out of his paycheck.


 * Samon Takamizawa (鷹見沢 左門)
 * (PC) / Yousuke Akimoto (PS2) / Negishi Akira (anime)
 * The main chef and owner of Trattoria Samon, the restaurant where Samon and his two children, Natsuki and Jin, work. He tends to be a fair boss to his employees who do not have a problem with him as their boss. Samon admires Takeshi Takano's work as a photographer and even was able to get his autograph in the first episode of the anime.


 * Fiacca Marguerite (フィアッカ·マルグリット)
 * Cynthia's older sister.


 * Lyones theo Earthlight (ライオネス·テオ·アーシュライト)
 * (PC) / Masashi Hirose (PS2) / Masashi Kimura (anime)
 * Feena's father and king of the Kingdom of Sphere on the moon. He was a commoner student at the Lunar College and his romance with the Princess Cefilia had caused an uproar. It was due to the encouragement of Tatsuya's father that Lyones summoned up the courage to date and later marry the princess.


 * Cefilia fam Earthlight (セフィリア·ファム·アーシュライト)
 * (anime)
 * Feena's dead mother; only seen in photos and flashbacks, Sefiria's influence is still felt on the Earth and the Moon. She greatly amended the relationship between the planet and its natural satellite.


 * Chiharu Asagiri
 * Tatsuya's father. He is a traveling archaeologist, who spends months at a time traveling. Many times, the children do not see him at home for months. In the anime, he is portrayed as an Indiana Jones look alike.


 * Moritz Zabel Frantz (モーリッツ·ザベル·フランツ)
 * (PS2)
 * Moritz only appears in the PS2 version of the game.

Anime original characters

 * Takeshi Takano (高野 武)
 * (anime)
 * This character was created for the anime. Usually referred to as Takano-sensei, he is a world famous photographer known also as the "great master". Takano, who also happens to have quite a few connections with the Kingdom of Sphere, was the only person approved by Feena's father to document her studies on Earth, just as he had done with her mother and grandmother. He also has the unique ability to pop up out of almost anywhere without being noticed, which makes getting the photographs he needs quite easy. Takano has an assistant that follows him around, helping him develop photos or to function as a quick getaway. He's a bit of a pervert and always seem to appear at the most embarrassing of times.


 * Jürgen von Klügel (ユルゲン·フォン·クリューゲル)
 * (anime)


 * He is the son of one of the noble families of the Kingdom of Sphere. He was initially chosen to be Feena's fiance, but she instead falls in love with Tatsuya. Unlike the princess, Jürgen hates the people of the Earth, thinking them to be inferior, and wants to re-start the war between the two worlds. He attempts a coup d'etat of the Royal Family, and in total desperation, tries to kill Feena. In the end, Tatsuya prevents the attempted assassination and Jürgen is arrested for treason.

Video game
The series began as an adult visual novel video game created by August and first released on September 22, 2005 for the PC. Also, a PlayStation 2 version, entitled Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na -Brighter than dawning blue-, was developed by Aria and released on December 7, 2006. A PC remake which contains characters from the PS2 port it is called Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na -Moonlight Cradle- and was released on February 27, 2009.

Drama CDs
A set of six drama CDs were created based on the video game Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na -Brighter than dawning blue-, entitled Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro na ~Fairy tale of Luna~ #1-6 (夜明け前より瑠璃色な〜Fairy tale of Luna〜 #1-6) released between April 21, 2006 and September 22, 2006 at roughly one-month intervals by Marine Entertainment. Two additional drama CDs based on the anime adaptation were released on October 25, 2006 and December 22, 2006 respectively.



Novels
There are also three series of light novels attributed to the series, all featuring illustrations by Bekkan-Kō. The first volume of the first series was released in May 2006, containing seven volumes in total. The second, a series of short stories subtitled Official Heroine Story, was serialized in Dengeki G's Magazine and has been collected into two volumes released September 30 and December 27, 2006. A new novel, based on characters added in the PS2 adaptation of the game, was released in December 2006.

Manga
The manga based on the series was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Dengeki Daioh published by MediaWorks on September 21, 2005. It is illustrated by HoeHoe No-miso, and has thus far been collected in one tankoban released September 27, 2006.

Anime
Directed by Masahiko Ohta and written by Aoshima Takashi, a twelve-episode anime adaptation of Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na was animated by Daume entitled Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na: Crescent Love. It began airing October 4, 2006 on TBS Japan.

A badly-animated cabbage in the third episode generated an Internet meme in Japan where people on 2chan posted fanart of Feena with the spherical cabbage with concentric leaves and, changing two kanji symbols, referred to the series as Brighter than Dawning Green -Cabbage Love- (夜明け前より黄緑色な -Cabbage Love-). Eventually, the DVD version of the anime has been given a smoother look and visibly better animation (albeit without a change in storyline). The aforementioned badly-drawn cabbage was also redrawn correctly.

Soundtrack
The original soundtrack for the anime was released on January 26, 2007 by Geneon Entertainment with twenty-eight tracks under the catelog number FCCM-171.