Needless

For other uses, see Needless (disambiguation).

Needless
Cover of Needless volume 1 as published by Shueisha
ニードレス
Genre	Action, Sci-fi
Manga
Written by	Kami Imai
Published by	Shueisha
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Ultra Jump
Original run	2004 – ongoing
Volumes	11
TV anime
Directed by	Masayuki Sakoi
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	Sentai Filmworks
Network	Tokyo MX, MBS
Original run	July 2, 2009 – December 10, 2009
Episodes	24
Anime and Manga Portal

Needless (ニードレス, Nīdoresu^?, stylized NEEDLESS in Japan) is an action/comedy/science fiction manga and anime series by Kami Imai. Serialized in Shueisha's seinen magazine Ultra Jump beginning in 2004, an anime adaptation by Madhouse began airing on July 2, 2009.^[1]

Synopsis

This anime is set in year 2130, 50 years after World War Three (the exact date isn't made clear). The war has left a crater where Tokyo once stood, a place filled with contaminated rubble. This spot has no electrical power, and because of this, the crater shows as a black spot in the night sky. The Black Spot is a place where outcasts come to live, and because of the contamination, certain of these outcasts gain various powers (or "fragments"). Those with powers become known as Needless.

The Manga is divided into two separate parts. Part I introduced the characters, starting with the meeting between Cruz Schild and Adam Blade. The arc's events resulted in the two opposing sides battling at Simeon tower. The battle ended when Adam Arclight, mad with rage, released the full power of PF Zero. This caused a huge explosion which damaged the spot where the Simeon building stood, and scattered everyone. Cruz woke up alone in the ruins of the Simeon building after a vision of Adam Blade gave him some encouragement.

Part II is ongoing, as it is centered on Cruz as he journeys to find his scattered friends. In a surprising event, he is found by Mio who decides to join him in order to see Blade again. They have had various success and made new allies, but Arclight is aware that Cruz is alive and has ordered his death. As of the current chapter, Cruz was found by the bulk of his friends.

The anime ended, alternately, where Adam loses all his power and needs to return to the Black Spot, and with Adam Arclight being blasted to pieces.

Characters

The Misfits (Blade Faction)

Adam Blade (アダム・ブレイド^?) Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Andrew Love (English)

A destroyer priest who lives in the church in sector 533. Has a metal collar engraved with the characters '079.AB.' affixed to his neck. He has inhuman strength and endurance, plus a skeletal structure attached with a special metal called 'Orichalcum'. And he has accelerated healing. He is also a genius in fighting. His behavior is erratic and borders on feral rage, particularly when he is in a fight or chasing cute girls. However he also has kindness and wisdom, which is often overshadowed by his idiocy, but is apparent in the heat of battle. His fragment is "Zero" an ability which allows him to learn his enemies' attacks after being hit by it or seeing it. He also can combine the abilities that he learned. This ability is centered on the crystal on his forehead called "The Byakugou". He can learn the enemies ability by experiencing it as stated or connect The Byakugou to the enemies forehead and forcefully copy the enemies ability. His special move is 'Death Verdict', the final pronouncement when taking an enemy's life. Eve said that Blade's only weakness is girls. He was a bishōnen as a child. It was revealed that he is a clone of the strongest Needless, 'The Second Christ'. His body is Arclight's primary objective. Blade's whereabouts after the PF Zero blast were unknown and locating him has been the primary objective of Cruz's quest. During the climax of the battle against Hatfield, just as Cruz is beaten, Blade suddenly appears on the battlefield in exactly the same manner as how Blade and Cruz first met. He recognizes both Kanna and Disk and flirts with Mio and the new cute girl who is actually Cruz. He defeats Hatfield and then is crushed when finding out who the new cute girl is. The following day, the gang quickly return to Eve's side upon finding out that she is in a critical state. Cruz suggests that Blade memorize Eve's Doppelganger in order to save Eve, but it is revealed that Doppelganger is the only ability Blade can't learn because of his own body structure. Blade's explains that his bones and organs are coated with metal, which causes him to be unable to learn Eve's ability. Blade is than confronted by Saten and Ishiyama, who explain that they hold the cure to save Eve. After a short fight where Blade is completely overpowered by Saten's Fourth Wave and superior strength, Ishiyama uses his fragment to create a door linked to Blade's forgotten memories and attempts to open it. But because of a mysterious reaction between Blade's Byakugou and Ishiyama's fragment, Blade overpowers and smashes the door, sending shards everywhere. One shard pierces Cruz and sends Cruz and Saten into the world of Blade's memories, where a younger Blade, around Cruz's age, is seen fighting with Eve against another Needless. During the battle, it is revealed that the young Blade has Doppelganger which he uses to heal Eve and later fixes Cruz's dislocated arm. Young Blade is currently with Saten and Cruz, attempting to get a machine called 'The EIR System' from the guild called Overlord to save Eve(whose only a brain). From here it is discovered why Blade can't learned doppelganger that's because he transplanted the part of his brain that learned doppelganger to Eve. It is also discovered that before Blade lost the doppelganger ability he had a mark called stigmata(if needless has a stigmata it means that they one of the strongest needless eg.Saten also has a Stigmata) on his stomach which means the younger Blade had much more potential. It can also explain why Blade fragment isn't PF Zero because a part of his brain is lacking resulting in not fully developing his abilities.

Eve Neuschwanstein (イヴ・ノイシュヴァンシュタイン^?) Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)

Blade's partner. She is bad at remembering other people's names (eg. she calls Cruz Yamada). Her fantasy shows that deep down she is ashamed of this and wishes she could get everyone's name right. Even though she has the appearance of a young girl, she is proven to be a capable fighter. This is shown when she is able to defeat one of Simeon's Elite Four, Uten, as well as three of the Simeon Pretty Girl Squad. Her fragment is 'Doppelganger', an ability which allows her to shapeshift into anything (from a drill on her arm to other person's appearances). She is also shown to be able to shapeshift into a wall, which is inorganic. Arclight deduced that her fragment is as powerful as that of a Missing Link. The weakness of this power is that she needs a lot of calories to use it. Therefore she often drinks an energy drink named 'Super Gel Dero Doro Drink', which contains 5000 kilocalories. She was captured by the Simeon Girl Squad because of her bad luck. After being captured, a mind-control Needless named "Kurumi" used her like a marionette against her friends. There was also a 'Super Gel Dero Doro Drink' device installed within her body, by Simeon, which gives her a huge boost of calories and eliminates her low-calorie weakness. The Needless controller was later killed, thanks to Cruz's wisdom, and Blade restored her mind. Soon after, she fought against Saten and saved Cruz, after he was nearly killed by Aruka. After the PF Zero blast, she was found by Cruz in the bottom of an underground city. As their area collapsed, Cruz nearly sacrificed himself to save her but was saved himself by Disc. She is currently too injured and weak to move and is undergoing recovery treatment in the underground hospital. Disc claimed that Eve needed 1-2 weeks to recover, thus Cruz continues his quest without her. As Cruz found Blade, Saten appeared before Eve. The group rushes back only to find Eve's body melting. Saten and Ishiyama appeared before the group and suggests to inject Eve with the syringe they brought to save Eve's life. After Blade is defeated by Saten, Ishiyama injects Eve with the syringe. Before the effects of the injection can be seen, Cruz and Saten are thrown into Blade's memories. Cruz and Saten discover a young Eve fighting with Blade against a Needless. Eve fights using a staff, with a drill attached at the end, and it is revealed that she did not originally have Doppelganger. In the flashback story in volume 7, Gido claimed that she was born for the purpose of having the capability to be pregnant with Adam Blade's child to reproduce offspring, since Adam's DNA is different from ordinary humans. Her last name was originally "N" due to the fact she is the 14th specimen ("N" is 14th letter), and was later derived as Neuschwanstein.

Cruz Schild (クルス・シルト^?) Voiced by: Aya Endo (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)

A young boy whose older sister Aruka was presumably killed by a Testament. He is a bit of a wimp, but has a certain strength to him. He was very attached to Aruka and speaks to her in his thoughts as well as carrying around a pendant with her picture. He is often used as a sort of gopher by the other team members, most notably Blade and Eve. He is the only known survivor during the rebellion against Simeon. Even though he is powerless, his intelligence makes up for it. This is proven when he helps Eve defeat Uten and subsequently in the battle with the Simeon Girl Squad in Simeon. However Cruz would then suffer heartbreak when Aruka reappeared before him as a king of Simeon and nearly killed him (as well as stealing his pendant, which in truth, contained a data chip with information vital to Simeon). Eve saved his life, but not before his spirit was shown in-depth scenes from the day the resistance was slaughtered and Aruka's role in it. Witnessing these events caused him to sadly accept that somewhere along the line, she chose to forsake him for Simeon. Cruz continued to fight with Blade, bearing witness to the battle between the Adams and all of Blade's friends fighting against Arclight's monstrous form. After the PF Zero blast, the story has centered on Cruz trying to find his friends while dealing with his own feelings of helplessness. He has found most of his friends, and made new allies. He has been forced to disguise himself as a girl to survive the killer girl squad academy and is currently forced to remain in girl clothes (his girl persona is also known as Yamada). This is partially due to finding out that Simeon is actively hunting for him but mostly because his friends are unwilling to help him get some boys clothes. Comically the more perverted characters in the series find "Yamada-ko chan" to be irresistible. He and his crew then tried to help an oppressed community find freedom from a Simeon Needless called Hatfield. But doing so put him close to Aruka again, and he was forced to dress up like her to trick Hatfield's army of cyborgs. Cruz had his right arm dislocated when fighting against Hatfield when he mocks Cruz about his admiration towards his sister. Afterwards Blade mysteriously reappeared right in front of him but, due to being mistaken as a girl by him, Cruz had to act cute to get his help. Cruz continued to crossdress as a girl against his own will due to his group's protest about changing back to normal clothing. Cruz is currently working together with Saten inside of Blade's memories to discover the mystery behind Eve and her Doppelganger ability. During the trip to save Eve in the past, Cruz, Saten, and Blade were stopped by a vast darkness that they could not get through. It was during this that a mysterious entity that only Cruz could see gave him some kind of power to cut through the darkness and allow them to move forward. It is speculated that the ability given was a fragment he also have a power to think..

In the anime, Cruz came up with a plan to get Blade to Arclight, after his sister mentioned that his observation abilities were superior to being a Needless. Post Arclight's defeat, Cruz started living alone in the Blackspot near a café installed by the killer girls. He works in a guild as a strategist along Teruyama sometimes, meeting Blade and Eve once again for a mission together. Eve almost got his name, but now Blade, finally with respect, calls him by his true name: Cruz Schild.

Gido (ギド^?) Voiced by: Kenji Utsumi (Japanese), David Wald (English)

His real name is Rikudo Gin (六道銀^?). He is an elderly scientist with an attitude; he lives with Adam and Eve as their father figure. He has no fragment, but is extremely intelligent and knowledgeable about current events. He seems to know more about Arclight than he lets on. Eventually it was discovered that he was the head of the Simeon initiative to clone the Second and presided over the creation of the two Adams and Eve (After 77 failures where the clone bodies would tear themselves apart). He handled the children's early development and after Arclights actions destroyed their establishment, he took them away and raised them. Since the incident, he took care of Blade and Eve and lived with them in the Black Spot to avoid chase from the government. He wished for Blade and Eve to lead an ordinary Needless life upon discovering they lost their memories about the incident due to trauma. He mourns the loss of a fellow scientist he had loved, Kasumi, who had apparently died during one of the Eve experiments. He also wonders how he let his cute Blade grow up to be the beastly type. His whereabouts and status post PF Zero blast are unknown.

Disk (ディスク^?) Voiced by: Emiri Katou (Japanese), Serena Gonzalez (English)

A cyborg who resided in Iron Mountain. Even though she has the appearance of a young girl, she is actually 100 years old. After the incident in Iron Mountain, she joins forces with Blade to take out Simeon. Her power is 'Scan', which allows her to learn her opponent's power and other things such as their BWH measurements. She was found by Cruz along with Eve after the PF Zero blast, but her body is damaged. She is currently a head, using her pigtails to move, and controlling a testament for long distance travel. She has grown affectionate of Cruz ever since he cross-dresses as a girl. Cruz and Mio are currently aiding her to find body parts to repair her damaged body.

Momiji Teruyama (照山最次^?) Voiced by: Kentarou Itou (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)

A flame Needless. He first appears to fight Blade to avenge his fallen comrades and was easily beaten. However, it is revealed that the one that he is searching for is Adam Arclight, not Adam Blade. He joins forces with Blade to fight against Simeon. His name is also forgotten by Eve and replaced with another (Eve and Blade calls him Uchida). After the blast, he was found to be working in the same guild as Cruz, Eve and Blade and joins Cruz on missions sometimes. His abilities include 'Little Boy', where he lights his fist on fire to create an explosive punch. He can also use the ability 'Vulcan Shock Ignition', which basically looks like a giant fireball which he throws at the enemy.

Seto (セト^?) Voiced by: Kaori Fukuhara (Japanese), Maggie Flecknoe (English)

A young girl holding a large sword with a skull design handle. She is a prominent member of the black spot's mercenary guild. For a while, due to unknown circumstances, Blade became her partner. Her fragment is 'Gravitation', an ability that lets her control gravity. She seems to call herself a 'Shinigami' or 'Reaper'. She is obsessed with money and became a mercenary to earn tons of it. After the PF Zero Blast, she reappeared alongside Blade and Solva and finished off Hatfield. She and Solva remained behind to defend the town from future attacks. She and Solva arrive at "The City" with Blade, Eve, and Disk getting ready for the Simeji Hunt.

Solva (ソルヴァ^?) Voiced by: Asami Imai (Japanese), Elizabeth Bunch (English)

A young girl with Magnets in Her hair. Her Fragment is "Magnetic world" or in other words is "Magnetism" an ability that grants her power to manipulate metals and create a magnetic shockwave. Disc mentioned that her fragment is a 'Unique Magnetic Field' and that she can repel almost every attack in a 100 meter radius. She is sweet and charming on the outside but is a menace and a sadistic person on the inside. Solva is the leader of a gang of bandits called The Predators. After being defeated by Blade and Seto, she seems to have become Seto's partner, when Blade left them. She is a meglomaniac and her desire is for everyone to bow down before her as the ruler of Black Spot. After the PF Zero Blast, she reappeared along Blade and Seto and killed Hatfield. She and Seto remained behind to defend the town from future attacks. She and Seto arrive at "The City" with Blade, Eve, and Disk, getting ready for the Simeji Hunt.

Simeon Upper Management (Arclight Faction)

Adam Arclight (アダム・アークライト^?) Voiced by: Hiroki Tōchi (Japanese), David Matranga (English)

A mysterious man clad in red (Dark blue in the manga), he has the same hair color and an identical body appearance as Blade. He is another clone of The Second, much like Blade, also with a collar his markings are engraved "078.AA". But his right eye and heart rejected the cloned cells of The Second. The resulting damage left him incomplete and deemed a failure, and was ordered to be destroyed. He was left for dead at a landfill, but he survived, and made it back to the laboratory. He briefly fought with Blade before he found and absorbed the remnants of the true Second in order to "become god". Doing so blew up the lab, and made him incredibly powerful. He deeply resents Blade and the scientists involved in their creation, on account of him being abandoned and Blade receiving the warmth and love he always felt had been robbed from him. His first memory is waking up in agony watching Blade be called a success while he was seen as a failure. This memory continues to haunt him. Through unknown means he rose trough the ranks of Simeon and took over interests in Black Spot, building Simeon tower and initiating the Needless Hunt. He wants Blade's body, because his own body is unstable and is only kept in check through complex machinery and absorbing other Needless. His fragment is "Positive Feedback Zero", a more powerful form of Blade's "Zero". This ability works nearly the same as "Zero", however, whenever Arclight uses an ability, it will be stronger than the original and the more he uses that ability, the more powerful it becomes. He is also able to learn and use Fragments of Missing Links easily. When injured by Blade he snaps and transforms into a horrible monster at the lower half of his body eating people to recover his strength. After the PF Zero blast he is revealed to be alive but heavily damaged, with blast holes all over his upper body and his lower body a giant fleshy mess. He is in a life support crystal full of liquid. His current orders are to hunt down all resistance members, especially Cruz.

Riru Roukakuji (楼閣寺離瑠^?) Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Taylor Hannah (English)

A well endowed woman, she is one of the Four Strongest of Simeon and the right hand man of Archlight. She is the leader of the Simeon Girl Force. She is always seen with a fan. Her Needless power is 'Psychokinesis', a form of telekinesis and she is possibly the only one who possesses it, as hinted by Disc that this ability is pretty rare and the most powerful out of all fragments. She used to rule her own Black Spot until she met Arclight (a rather colorful encounter detailed in an extra manga chapter). She is in a relationship with Arclight and sees all his forms as beautiful. Post PF Zero blast, she is seen by his side in a costume that has angelic like wings.

Saten (左天^?) Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama (Japanese), Leraldo Anzaldua (English)

One of the Four Strongest of Simeon and the left-hand man of Arclight (His cape is dark blue in the manga but green and yellow in the anime). He has been Arclight's follower longer than any of the other current strongest. He seems to have his own agenda however, as he withholds information from Arclight including where Blade lives. During his fight with Eve, he went easy on her and he allows her to save Cruz by faking defeat. Eve questioned him why did he go easy on her and he replies that he didn't want to kill her because he likes her. His Fragment is Thermal Energy Conversion; "Dai Yon Haddou (The Fourth Wave)" allows him to absorb thermal energy and redirect it in various ways. Some of the observed uses include freezing objects by absorbing their heat, creating wind gusts by manipulating the pressure in the air around him (altering its temperature), and releasing absorbed energy as a powerful thermal wave. Post PF zero blast, Saten reappeared in front of a hospitalized Eve as well as the Blade faction and teased them about Eve's life threatening condition. He denies being the one responsible for Eve's condition and claiming they are just paying her a hospital visit. The syringe he holds in his hand apparently is an antidote to Eve's poison. Blade engages Saten in battle, where Saten reveals a strange tattoo on his left arm. When Saten 'activates' the mark, the gauntlets around his arms peal open allowing him to launch "Dai Go Haddou" (The Fifth Wave) an energy wave many times stronger than his normal 'Fourth Wave' attack. Using this, he easily overpowers Blade. After Blade destroys the door linked to his memories, Saten desperately runs to Cruz who gets pierced by one of the shards and ends up being pulled into Blade's memories along with Cruz. Saten is currently working together with Cruz and young Blade to find the exit to Blade's memories. Saten is currently fighting against a young Kafka inside Blade's memories. After the battle Cruz, Blade, and Saten went back to the church and finds Gido covered in blood. Eve was nowhere to be found until the group noticed a brain. Gido explained the wound that Eve had caused her body to melt leaving only her brain the same event that happened before entering Blade's memories.

In the anime only alternative filler end, it is revealed that was originally Kyouji Kannazuki, an assistant of Doctor Gido who barely survived the Adam Project lab's destruction. Found by the Triple Six Committee, they infused him with an Eden Seed and Byakugou to turn him into an Adam-type Needless to serve their agenda should Arclight turn on them. After years of disguising his identity and true power from Arclight and his associates, Saten managed to memorize Eve's Doppelganger Fragment to survive on his own, killing the Triple Six Committee off before barging into Arclight and Blade's battle, using his staggering roster of Fragments to destroy Arclight's artificial heart and then destroy most of his body. From there, going by his original name, Saten reveals his intent to take over the world and make Eve the mother of his children. However, Riru's sacrifice revives Arclight as he manages to memorize all of Saten's abilities while using the Simeon's towers to convert his body into energy to avoid Reverse Rejection.

Uten (右天^?) Voiced by: Mayumi Yamaguchi (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)

One of the Four Strongest of Simeon and the right-hand man of Arclight. His power is 'Bermuda Athport', which allows him to turn anything transparent. He hides this with hidden knives and guns and other tricks to make it seem like he has the power to create anything out of thin air. He is a true magician who only seems amazing until the trick is discovered. He is defeated and killed by Eve when Cruz exposed his power. Its revealed that Uten is not his real name but the name he took when he became Arclights hand. With his death, someone else may become "Uten" in the future as had been done in the past.

Aruka Schild (アルカ・シルト^?) Voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese), Maggie Flecknoe (Episode 1) , Carli Mosier (Epi. 14-24) (English)

The older sister of Cruz Schild as well as a member of the resistance force that were massacred by Simeon. She was believed to have died while protecting Cruz from a Testament. In reality, she is the final member of the Four Strongest of Simeon and the one that leaked the resistance's information to Simeon. She had infiltrated the resistance in order to steal a datachip that contained information vital to Simeon, and set them up to be slaughtered. But the resistance were not the only ones she was deceiving. Despite being with Cruz since childhood she kept him in the dark about her allegiance to Simeon and only used 10% of her power around him. She claims to despise him due to him being useless and always depending on her, but kept him with her despite joining Arclight and hesitated to kill him herself when the resistance was slaughtered. She tends to wear featureless white masks. This was necessary to hide her identity due to her role as a spy, her identity as a Simeon King was so hidden even Disc didn't know who she was. Her fragment, "Agni Schiwatas" or "Flame God's Breath" , allows her to speed up kinetic energy resulting in massive explosion and melting solid objects. She is apparently the strongest of all the fire Needless. Like Cruz she can also analyze the abilities and weaknesses of others, using this insight along with her power to crush Solva, Seto, and Teruyama in seconds. After being unmasked in Simeon Tower she almost kills Cruz, and steals his pendent for the chip. She tried to finish him off twice but had trouble striking the finishing blow due to various interruptions. She was defeated by Blade, but he did not kill her. After the PF Zero blast she has been ordered by Arclight to search and finish Cruz off, due in part that they think he still has information useful to them. But the next time she sees him she pretends not to, and blows a hole in a wall blocking his escape. As she killed Hatfields non powered subordinate, she mentions that's she wants to see if Cruz can survive the situation now that she's made it slightly possible to live through. Her reasons for this are known only to her.

Kafka (カフカ^?) Voiced by: Fuminori Komatsu (Japanese), Chris Patton (English)

The first Needless to be defeated by both Blade and Eve. He works for Simeon and was an assassin sent out to kill Blade. His fragment 'Kandata String' allows him to generate powerful threads from his body. In Needless 0 it is revealed that Kafka can create variations of Kandata Sting in the form of strings of cloth and tentacles. It was copied by Blade and is regularly used by him. His backstory is revealed in greater detail long after his death. Including that he was once an Uten, he was present when Ruri joined Arclight, and had a rivalry with the most recent Uten. A younger version of Kafka has now appeared inside Blade's memory world and is confronting Blade, Cruz, and Saten. And later on reappeared in Strum's tower in saving Cruz. It's reveal before he was killed that he,Gregoire and Zamusa belong a special group called the "Flea Team" which task is to scout for information.

Gregoire (グレゴール^?)

A woman seen at the meeting after the battle at Simeon Tower. Has elf like ears which are reportedly linked to her fragment which is called "Hell's Ear" which allow her to hear any conversation. She informs the others that the data chip Aruka obtained from Cruz only has half the data available and is missing the encryption codes for the important half. This inadvertently gave rise to the suspicion that Cruz still has the rest. She also appeared before the Blade and the gang goes to Simeon Tower to gather information.

Zamusa

One of the 3 members in the Flea Team along with Gregoire and Kafka. His fragment "Clairvoyance" allows him to see to solid objects. After Kafka's death, he and Gregoire sneak out to Blade's hideout to gather information, unfortunately they ended up screwing up their mission.

Hatfield (ハットフィールド^?)

A Needless in dandy clothes, complete with a hat, suit and cane. His ability, "Rainmaker", allows him to summon and control rain, as well as manipulate water into any kinds of weapon, including hammer and razor blades. His signature attack is his "Rain Laser", which fires super compressed streams of water that can pierce through even steel or diamonds. He is first introduced in the Bloody Rain Arc as the Needless who is in charge of forcing Kana's village to mine themselves to death in the towns mine for precious metals. When Cruz, Mio, and Disk arrive and obstruct Hatfield's subordinate Nifter from recruiting townsfolk for the mine, he attacks the village along with Aruka's Clone Squad. Hatfield is also responsible for the creation of the ice wall that blocks the town entrance along with an as of yet unknown Ice Needless. Hatfield is an extremely intelligent and crafty villain; Hatfield was able to memorize Kana's robot's full name (GT Turbo32 EX68000Nitryl FC) out upon hearing it just once, he was able to predict Cruz's plans during the fight against the Clone Squad and was able to deduce that because Cruz was dressed up as Aruka meant that one of the people in the town must be connected to Blade. He later was able to figure out Cruz's true identity after getting a closer look at Cruz after he beat him. His powers as a Needless are also very powerful and said to be on the same level as the Four Heavenly Lord's of Simeon, Hatfield even states that only a few Needless can actually challenge him in an outdoor fight. He was able to defeat Kana, BQ, Rin, Mio, and most of the town single-handed without so much as taking an single hit. Hatfield fights in a way he thinks is gentlemanly in that he allows his opponents the chance to attack him as a group, but he is not above using underhand methods to win if things don't go his way. He first appeared using a sneak attack against Darts before he could use Kana's best trap and when he was losing to Blade he attempted to use the Neo Clone Squad as Blade's one weakness. He tried to summon the rest of his army but Seto and Solva had already killed them. Hatfield learns that Aruka has betrayed him right before the girls focus their powers with Hatfield at the center, blasting him to shreds.

Ishiyama Voiced by: Mitsuo Senda (Japanese), Chris Ayres (English)

A member of 666. His Fragment allows him to look into other's memories. He also has displayed superhuman athleticism and stick to walls.

Simeon Girl Force

Mio (未央^?) Voiced by: Yui Makino (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

One of the three members of The Simeon Girl Force. She appears to be the youngest out of the three by both appearance and the way she speaks. She may look like a small, helpless child but it is revealed that her Needless Fragment is that of 'Power' and thus she has monstrous strength. That doesn't stop her from being held hostage by Eve. She has an affection for Blade, and is one of the few people in the series who refers to Cruz by his name rather than as Yamada. She was defeated by Blade in Simeon Tower, but not before repeatedly smashing her rear into his face (Mio-chans hip attack). The PF Zero blast separated her from her team mates. She found and befriended Cruz. She now travels with him to find her beloved Onii-chan (a term of endearment she uses for Blade). It is unknown if she fully understands how the rest of Simeon might react to this, as she intends to go back to them after she finds Blade. Their first misadventure resulted in the origin of her bunny that looks like a bear. It is revealed that she is its designer. She asked a robotic toymaker named Zepetto to make it for her. Due to her fragment Zepetto made its stuffing out of the same metal that is in the skeletal structure of Adam Blade's. It's supposed eyes are actually ears flopped down. But when they are pulled up they reveal a horrifying face (that looks like a frog) that scares everyone except Mio. She was briefly separated from Cruz when he fell into St. Rose Academy. When reunited she was overjoyed to find out that Cruz had "joined" the killer girls. During the battle against Hatfield, She is deeply wounded. However, she appears to be recovering just fine when Blade goes to her. She continues to travel with Cruz's group after the battle with Hatfield. After returning to Eve's side and being confronted by Saten and Ishiyama. Mio continues to fight alongside Blade's team by fighting Ishiyama. She is surprisingly overpowered by Ishiyama's supieror fighting capabilities and was defeated by being thrown threw a wall by Ishiyama. Her current condition is unknown but due to the comedic nature in which she is seen falling it is assumed she is fine. According to Disc her height is 147cm and her measurements are; bust 71, waist 56 and her hip 77. Her signature panties are bear print panties. Her bear toy is also very heavy and in chapter 12 page 8 she is seen sinking into the floor further than anyone else because she is holding that heavy bear.

Setsuna (セツナ^?) Voiced by: Saori Gotō (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English)

One of three the members of The Simeon Girl Force. Her power is 'Speed'. It is revealed in Kami's bonus pages that she can travel as fast as Mach 9. During the St. Rose arc Rin explains that because her kinetic vision is the same as a normal person, she can only use her speed in straight lines. She seems to be the leader of the three as well as the oldest. At first she has the upper hand in her fight with Eve, but Eve proves to be a much stronger adversary, as Eve states that Setsuna's punches were 'weak' and deals Setsuna a finishing blow. She tormented Cruz at their second encounter, but the level of verocity is toned down in the anime. In the manga she steals his locket and denounces him for his weakness (the samurai clash moment being where Blade takes the locket back). As the leader, Blade beats her up more heavily due to what happened with Eve and the others. However, she hides Cruz in the third encounter (post PF Zero blast) because he is allied with Mio (which they knew by recognizing a pair of her panties that fell with him). She and Kuchinashi had been sent back to St. Rose Academy for retraining as punishment for their defeat at Blades hands. She had grown to respect Cruz's intelligence, due to his actions in Simeon tower, and tasked him to find out who was planting bombs in their school. After failing to defeat Rin, she and Kuchinashi have been punished to spend an additional week inside the academy. She has stated that she likes Arclight. Her trademark is her striped underwear as Cruz recognized her by just seeing it when he dropped into the Academy. Later she instructed Rin to assist Cruz in defending the town from Hatfield. According to Disc her height is 165cm and her measurements are; bust 89, waist 59 and her hip 86.

Kuchinashi (梔^?) Voiced by: Minori Chihara (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

One of the three members of the Simeon Girl Force. A silent girl whose fragment is 'Fragrance', an ability that can control the brain and nervous system of the body once they inhale it. The scent of her fragment comes from a large fan on her left arm. She writes what she wants to say on a notepad. While fighting Blade he comically asks her to go out with him after which she attacks him. After Kurumi was killed, Kuchinashi used her most powerful fragrance "Lilith Temptation" which makes people see their greatest desire. But it failed on Blade because he already had his desire, to be in a room full of cute girls. She was defeated in Simeon tower along with Mio and knocked unconscious. She is originally believed to be lesbian and states that she prefers Ruri to either of the Adams. During the St. Rose arc, she reveals that she is interested in guys who make good "traps" like Cruz. She even goes so far as to sneak into Cruz's bed and sleep with him while he's staying at the academy. She also reveals that she uses her voice when she sneezes. According to Disc her height is 160cm and her measurements are; bust 79, waist 61 and her hip 88. Her signature panties are laced.

Kurumi (胡桃^?) Voiced by: Yu Shimamura (Japanese), Lesley Tesh (English)

Though not a member of Setsuna's team, she fought with them in the battle of third shelter. Her fragment is 'Black Attraction' which allows her to implant ESP Viruses into people to control their thoughts and their actions. She had no trouble applying this on a weakened Eve, forcefully converting her into the killer girls and making her deal great damage to almost all her friends. Kurumi's fragment isn't meant for battle so that makes her only an obeserver. But Cruz figured out her position and directed his allies into an attack that killed her. However, this did not destroy the ESP Virus in Eve's body as most of her comrades painfully found out. Due to Saten's intervention, however, Kurumi's body fell to Blade's and he absorbed her ability and freed Eve. Saten then froze her body and Setsuna took it away.

Nanami (七海^?) Voiced by: Mayuko Takahashi

One member of a rival girl squad team of Setsuna's, her fate is much different between manga and anime. In the manga, Nanami was paralyzed by Kuchinashi and thrown into a wall by Mio, killing her, after it is revealed that she made them look bad. In the anime she loses a contest to Setsuna's three girl team and is humiliated (an event based on one of the manga's extra chapters). Her fragment gave her the power over water.

Misaki (美咲^?) Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi

One member of a rival girl squad team of Setsuna's, her fate is much different between manga and anime. As it was revealed that they had told Ruri of a failure on Mio's part, Setsuna use her fragment ability and went behind Misaki and stab her hand through Misaki's abdomen, killing her. In the anime she is humiliated along with Nanami. Her fragment allowed her to control land.

Eve

Due to her brief time as Kurumi's puppet, Eve is now listed in the records as killer girl number 48.

Yamada

Cruz's female persona is number 49 in the killer girl squad, as a reward from the Black Madam for unmasking Rin. Cruz, as Yamada, took part with Setsuna and Kuchnashi in the "Invisible Bomber" investigation, under the premise that he (or rather, she) was a needless with an enhanced aptitude for deductive reasoning (a lie fabricated by Setsuna). Yamada's membership card granted him access to leave the academy and prevents Testaments from attacking him. He gives this card to Kanna during the Bloody Rain arc before confronting Hatfield.

Rin (凜^?)

Introduced as a student of the normal class in St. Rose. She is a member of the newspaper club and is the culprit behind the "Invisible Bomber" incidents. Rin's hid the fact she was a Needless from St. Rose in order to stay in the normal class because the Needless class had the risk of death during training. The reason behind the bombings were to kill off the top students in the normal class so that she would make it over the cut line and be placed in the active squad. Her Fragment is called "Bionic Compressor" which allows her to increase air pressure. She is defeated by Black Madam and is expelled from St. Rose. She later appears to Cruz's aid during the Bloody Rain arc to help in the battle against Hatfield.

The Black Madam (マダム・ブラック^?)

The Headmistress of St. Rose Academy. She is the one who oversees young Needless girls training them into killer girls. She strongly believes in the ideals of the academy, stating that in the language of flowers, the "Rose" of St. Rose Academy stands for "Beauty", "Maiden", and "Secrets". Her belief in this is so strong that she wasn't angry at Rin for killing her fellow classmates, but rather for the cowardly way she killed them and for letting her power to make her conceited and unladylike. She dresses like a Victorian aristocrat complete with an umbrella. Her dress and umbrella are outfitted with steel. She state her reason for this is that in the manga Needless, damage is identified by the amount of damage the wearers clothes have. Since her clothes are made of steel and can't be harmed, she herself can't be harmed. Her fragment is called "Wind" and gives her control over wind. During the St. Rose arc, she seeks the aid of Setsuna and Kuchinashi to help her discover the "Invisible Bomber" who has been secretly killing students over the years. After Cruz found the true culprit, she reveals that she had long since figured out who he really was. Black Madam promotes Cruz to the active squad for his efforts as well as for following the ideals of St. Rose Academy by keeping it a secret that he was a guy. When Cruz asked why she did all this for him despite not knowing who he was, she smiles and says that she has no reason to know who he really is. Chronologically years later (her first appearance in print) she has changed her title to black mother, and has become the head nun of the church where the heroes had lived. Her ward is the mysterious nun Adam Neuschwanstein.

Other

Kanna Voiced by: Kei Shindō (Japanese), Stephanie Wittels (English)

A young girl who apparently attacked Solva and her group along with her two henchmen. She seemed to control both fire and ice. In reality it was through a machinery behind her throne and Solva and her group were the bandits. Kanna defends her fathers treasure, the only patch of land in Black Spot where flowers grow. Giant sunflowers to be specific. Much later Cruz's search for Seto and Solva led them to Kanna's town only to find that Simeon had taken it over, With Kanna and her two helpers currently fighting them. It is also revealed that Kanna really is a Needless whose fragment is "Over Technology" it gives her the power to wield pieces of metalinto complex machine as long as her idea of design is very specific and complex.

Zakard (ザカート^?) Voiced by: Hiroshi Tsuchida (Japanese), Justin Doran (English)

The leader of black Spot resistance. He and his group attempted to stop Arclight from conquering black spot and murdering innocent Needless. Zakard was very observant, suspecting Aruka from the start but realizing that Cruz was a truly honest soul. So he gave Cruz a pendent with her picture saying it was from her, not telling him it actually contained the data chip Arclight wanted so badly. However he did fall for the Aruka's trap and he and his resistance were faced with Arclight and the Four Strongest. Zakard personally fought Arclight. Zakard was in truth a needless with a powerful fragment called "Boulder Avalanche". Which allowed him to make an armor of regerative rock form around him. But Zakard was still dominated and destroyed by Arclight and his many copied fragments. But Zakard was still diviant to the end, and denied Arclight what he most wanted for a while.

Secondaria

A maid who reported to Saten during the initial fight in the 3rd shelter.

Strom

One of the most powerful ice type Needless towering at a height of 7' 6" (compared to Saten who is 6' 3") with dark skin and a bizarre fashion sense that steams from his daughters personal taste. The leader of Overlord that was destroyed by Blade three years prior to the main storyline, joining Simeon at some point later and was found to be responsible for the creation of the ice wall with Hatfield in Kana's town. His personality while fighting is like his fragment, cold and brutal. He does not hesitate to give blows that would cripple or kill his enemies, the exception seen is with woman which may steam from his daughters influence, and he finds pleasure in fighting and destroying his opponents. Saten has stated that Strom is the one Needless (other than Arclight) that Saten can not win against due to Strom having the power to rob Saten of all the heat he can utilize with his fragment.

Other characters, organizations, and places

Testaments

Large spider-like machines built by Simeon to patrol areas and destroy resistance forces. They are formidable opponents, able to heavily injure Blade before being dispatched. Ruri has been secretly building massive Testaments for the latest Simeon controlled area. Also, Disc has an armada of refurbished Testaments for her protection at Iron Mountain.

Simeon

A large pharmaceutical and technology research organization. It was said that Simeon conducted human experiments for the purpose of immortality. The company appears to have great influence throughout Japan. The Blackspot branch is headed by Adam Arclight himself, and is his base of power. Eve mistakenly calls Simeon, "Shimeji" ("Simian" in the english dub.).

Iron Mountain

A mysterious base that is said to hold almost all of mankind's history. It was assumed to be destroyed during WWIII, but appears to be in perfect condition. In the anime, its only inhabitants are Disc and her battalion of Testaments.

The Second Christ

A man who emerged from the wreckage of Japan to help the survivors after the Third World War. Considered the original and most powerful Needless, he was capable of using all fragment powers. He was considered the second coming of Christ, and thus known as 'The Second Christ'. After his disappearance, many believed his power was divided and spread to each individual now known as Needless, which is why their power is called Fragment. But what he truly was, how he came into existence, and how he was killed is unknown.

Media

Anime

An anime adaptation of the original manga began airing on Tokyo MX on July 2, 2009. Directed by Masayuki Sakoi. There are 24 episodes. The thirteenth episode had been reported as the finale but this was proved false upon its airing. The opening theme is "Modern Strange Cowboy" by GRANRODEO and the ending is "Aggressive Zone" by Needless★Girls, composed of the female seiyū of the series, Aya Endo, Yui Makino, Emiri Katou, Saori Gotō and Eri Kitamura. The second opening is "Scarlet Bomb!" by Misato Aki and the second ending is "WANTED! for the love" by Needless★Girls. Japanese progressive thrash metal band Gargoyle also contributed the songs "Magma Kid" and "Shi ni Itaru Kizu" to the show's official soundtrack.

North American anime distributor Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series and would release the series. The first complete set was shipped on Blu-ray and DVD February 11, 2011.^[2] The second complete set was released on April 12, 2011.^[3]

The anime has considerably toned down the gore and violence of the manga, however the fanservice, such as panty shots, has been increased. But the most noticeable change is that the anime follows only until the moment where the PF Zero blast should occur; instead of Arclight spreading Cruz's friends and leading to the second part of the story, the anime ends with a final fight against Arclight in the Simeon Building. Also worth mentioning is that Saten did not remain in mystery as in the manga but revealed himself to be an Adam clone, originally Kyouji Kannazuki, Guido's assistant. He managed to kill Arclight, but Riru sacrificed her body to restore him to life. Arclight then absorbed Saten, who revealed his only desire was to make Kasumi happy and that's why he wanted Eve (she was made using Kasumi's remains after she died in the Eve project). The anime ends the story with Arclight's defeat at Simeon.

References

1. ^ "Anime of Kami Imai Needless Manga Reportedly Leaked". Anime News Network. 2009-02-06. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-02-06/anime-of-kami-imai-needless-manga-reportedly-leaked. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
2. ^ "Section23 Films Adds Needless TV Series". Anime News Network. 2010-11-09. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-11-09/section23-films-adds-needless-tv-anime. 
3. ^ "Section23 Films Announcs April Slate". Anime News Network. 2011-01-17. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2011-01-17/section23-films-announces-april-slate. 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Needless (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia