Dantalian no Shoka (The Mystic Archives of Dantalian)

The Mystic Archives of Dantalian (ダンタリアンの書架 Dantarian no Shoka^?, alternate title Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian) is a Japanese light novel series written by Gakuto Mikumo and illustrated by G-Yuusuke. The series started serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's light novel magazine The Sneaker on February 29, 2008. A manga adaptation by Chako Abeno started serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Shōnen Ace on March 26, 2010. Another manga adaptation by Monaco Sena started serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Comp Ace on March 26, 2010. An anime adaptation began airing on July 16, 2011.

Plot

his story takes place in England after World War I. After the death of his grandfather, Hugh Anthony Disward, also known as Huey, receives a mysterious key and according to his will, must take custody of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian in order to inherit his estate and all his possessions. Upon meeting Dalian, a child living at the estate, he learns that she is the guardian of the Archives which contain forbidden knowledge stored in thousands of magic books called "Phantom Books" (幻書 gensho^?). Upon agreeing to become Dalian's new Keykeeper, Huey joins her into investigating incidents regarding people misusing the power of the Phantom Books, most of them with tragic consequences, and using his power as Keykeeper to seal the power of the Phantom Books and restore order to the area.

Characters

Hugh Anthony Disward (ヒュー・アンソニー・ディスワード Hyū Ansonī Disuwādo^?)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

Dalian's Keykeeper, also known as Huey. A young man with wavy dark blonde hair and sharp sapphire eyes, he is a former Royal Air Force Pilot and the grandson of the previous Keykeeper Sir Wesley Disward, who left Huey the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian and Dalian in his will. He is often seen as a calm and generally unfazed character who takes everything in stride, as he accepted his new-found responsibilities as the Keeper of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian without much question or argument. When he retrieves books from Dalian, he appears as a young child inside of the archives, speaking with a girl dressed in white with twin silver pigtails and purple eyes. The girl's nature is unclear; it is suggested that she is librarian of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian, an alternate persona of Dalian's, or possibly even the materialized form of the archives themselves. One thing is clear, though, which is that she and Huey share a keen personal relationship for reasons currently unknown.

Dalian (ダリアン Darian^?)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

The Kuro Yomihime (黒読姫^?, literally "black reading princess"), or Black Biblioprincess. A young girl with long black hair tinted purple and large dark pink eyes, she is the custodian of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian housing 900,666 phantom books. Because of this, she generally considers herself of great importance and believes to be more knowledgeable than most humans, even going so far as to praise others in a presumptuous manner when they exhibit more wisdom than she anticipated. When asked a question that calls for a "Yes" or "No" answer, she will reply appropriately in English rather than Japanese. She is often seen as a judgmental and arbitrary character, which clashes with her unexpected weakness for sweets; whenever presented with something sweet, or the opportunity to eat something sweet, a small lock of her hair will flick out from the rest of her head. She and Huey appear to share a very formal and business-like, but lighthearted, relationship at first but later on in the anime as we learn slightly more of how the Phantom Books work, we also learn how Dalian truly feels about Huey. It is rather beyond obvious at the point Dalian does in fact love Huey. From the point of how she reacts when he was in life threatening situations to him losing his memories. As the ending of the anime nears and as they watched the burning buildings (in the last episode) Dalian mentions the emanating scent of happiness is connected to one’s memories – making one recall a joyful occurrence. Huey asks Dalian what it is she remembers from the aura – yet she refuses to reply in a typical tsundere fashion. It is made clear to assume that what she remembers is the meeting between her inner self and huey at the beginning of episode one.

Hal Kamhout (ハル・カムホート Haru Kamuhōto^?)

Flamberge's Keykeeper. He has sharp blue eyes and long side-swept brown hair. He and Flam do not share a very warmhearted relationship, and will often use the phrase "Keep your mouth shut, you piece of junk" in response to Flam's endless accusations of being a pervert, making it almost something of a catchphrase for him. Rather than reading the Phantom Books he retrieves from the Long-Lost Library, he places them in the Staff of Surtr that he carries, and uses the book as fuel for the fire the staff produces, burning any Phantom Books he comes across along with the memories the current owner had in relation to them. Thus, because of this, he refers himself as a "Libricide Officer". He is often seen as a very serious and highly observant character, and appears to have highly advanced deduction and cognitive abilities.

Flamberge (フランベルジュ Furamberuju^?)

The Gin Yomihime (銀読姫^?, literally "silver reading princess") or Silver Biblioprincess, otherwise known as the custodian of the Long-Lost Library. She is often called just "Flam" for short. She appears to be a girl in her teenage years, with long silver hair and sharp magenta eyes. She wears a white straitjacket with nine padlocks, although she says that she chose to wear it herself because she thought it "matches Hal's tastes". In comparison to Huey's technique of retrieving Phantom Books from Dalian, the method used by Hal to retrieve books from Flam is shown to be very raw, painful and less dignified. She is often seen as a very arrogant and unpleasantly blunt character, and enjoys harassing Hal by accusing him of having perverted tendencies or a dirty mind.

Professor (教授 Kyōju^?)

Rasiel's key keeper. A man with long light blonde hair braided into a plait over his left shoulder, a mole on the lower left-hand corner of his mouth, and dark circles under his faded purple eyes, he was an old bartender at the camp Huey was assigned to during the war. His reason for contracting with Raziel is to create more Phantom Books and bring destruction wherever they go forth.; it is indicated throughout the first anime season that he and Raziel gave out or manipulated people into creating Phantom Books, causing mayhem both indirectly as well as directly. Outwardly he tends to look and act pleasantly but actually speaks and acts in a cold-blooded and arduous manner. Because Huey and Dalian's intentions with the Phantom Books are not like his own, he considers them a nuisance and attempts to kill them on several accounts. It is implied he has greater intentions than simply creating new Phantom Books, as he speaks of "creating a new world."

Rasiel (ラジエル Rajieru^?)

The Aka Yomihime (赤読姫^?, literally "red reading princess") or Red Biblioprincess, otherwise known as the custodian of the Bibliotheca Razielis Archangeli. A girl with the appearance of a small child, she has short green hair and golden eyes, although her left eye covered with an eyepatch attached to her keyhole. She has a very strong sense of balance, and tends to leap very slowly and gracefully or twirl atop of furniture without much trouble. She will answer questions with "Yes" or "No" in German rather than Japanese. It seems that she doesn't have any issues with the Professor's intentions, and seems to enjoy watching his plans unfold. She has an uncanny calm persona, and doesn't show much consideration for typical human affairs, such as death, pain, destruction, and so on. She and Dalian appear to share a very vicious and spiteful relationship.

Camilla Sauer Keynes (カミラ・ザウアー・ケインズ kamira Zauā Keinzu^?)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

A childhood friend of Huey, Camilla is a woman with large green eyes and bright blonde hair, which she keeps non-traditionally short, claiming it is a trend from the New World that will soon catch on. Similarly, she also dresses in fashions or "trends" from across the globe, which she picked up while traveling. Dalian usually calls her a spinster, and seems to harbor a dislike for Camilla, but she does not let this bother her and tries to get on Dalian's good side by presenting her with sweets, a weakness of Dalian's that she picked up on fairly quickly. She works as a teacher and runs a school for the neighborhood children. She seems to have some knowledge of the Phantom Books due to an incident with the Book of Wisdom and the Book of Equivalence. She is often seen as a very bright-spirited and cheery person, and she seems to be the least serious person in a dire situation; rather, her personality will become curiously confused or distraught.

Armand Jeremiah (アルマン・ジェレマイア Aruman Jeremaia^?)

A friend of Huey's, Armand is a man with short dark blond hair and meek dark purple eyes who was assigned to the same air base as him when they were both working as Air Force pilots during the war. His father is an owner of a famous shipbuilding company. Because Huey was his superior commanding officer during the war, he has a habit of calling him "Lieutenant," despite Huey's attempts to get him to drop the title. He seems to have some knowledge of the Phantom Books due to an incident when a courtesan he was infatuated with requested him of the Salamander's Tablet--and even used the Phantom Book himself while protecting her from a magician--and the Book of Relationship. He is often seen as a very dramatic and love-sick person, especially in the presence of his current crush.

Jessica Elphinstone (ジェシカ・エルフィンストン Jeshika Erufinsuton^?)

A student at the boarding school where Huey's aunt serves as the principal.

 

 

Anime

In June 2010, Kadokawa announced that an anime television adaption was being developed.^[1] Produced by Gainax under the direction of Yutaka Uemura,^[2] the series began its broadcast run on TV Tokyo on July 16, 2011 at 1:23am. The series is also streamed with English subtitles by the media websites Crunchyroll and NicoNico.^[3][4] The series uses two pieces of theme music: one opening and one ending. The opening theme is "Cras numquam scire" (Tomorrow is Never to Know) by Yucca (feat. Daisuke Ono) while the ending theme is "yes, prisoner" by maRIONnetTe.

No.	Title	Original airdate
01	"Turn-up Book" "Shikake Ehon" (仕掛け絵本)	July 16, 2011[5]
Six months after receiving a letter with news of his grandfather's death, Huey arrives at his grandfather's estate, only to discover a young girl among his grandfather's library. To his surprise, the young girl claims to be the one called Dalian, whom his grandfather had entrusted to Huey to take care of, along with the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian. After becoming acquainted, Huey is invited to the Conrad estate, and Dalian insists on tagging along, saying that Conrad was the one who killed his grandfather. They arrive to find everyone to be slaughtered and the estate to be in shambles; Dalian explains that it is the work of a Phantom Book Conrad stole from the library, which had gone on a rampage due to Conrad's incapability of wielding it. As they venture through the mansion and fight off the fabrications of the Phantom Book, Dalian decides that Huey is worthy of inheriting the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian and becoming her Keykeeper. Together they restore the Phantom Book to its original form and seal its powers away.
02	"Book of Fetus" "Taiji no Sho" (胎児の書)	July 23, 2011[5]
Huey's grandfather was commissioned to appraise books of the late grandfather of Estella Lilbarn, a woman who now lives alone in the estate after inheriting her grandfather's possessions. Huey goes with Dalian in his grandfather's place to the home of Estella's grandfather. However, they soon discover from Estella's cousin that a string of mysterious murders have been occurring on the estate, due to a cursed book that belonged to their late grandfather. Believing that a Phantom Book may be involved, Huey and Dalian begin investigating on the mysterious curse.
03	"Book of Wisdom / Queen of the Night" "Eichi no Sho / Gekkabijin" (叡智の書 / 月下美人)	July 30, 2011[5]
In Book of Wisdom: Huey and Dalian visit a local bookstore, and are bickering with each other when they run into Camilla, an old friend of Huey's. She invites them to her villa for tea, and tells them of a friend who had opened a school to compete with the one she was running, and had claimed to have gotten hold of a Phantom Book that made her children smarter when they read it. However, the children reportedly became too smart for the teacher, and seemed to have taken on completely different personalities. Huey and Dalian arrive at the schoolhouse to investigate. In Queen of the Night: Huey finds Dalian tending to a rare African cactus in their greenhouse, which is said to bloom only one night every thirteen years. Suddenly, two burglars break into the house and take them hostage, in search of a valuable book called Queen of the Night.
04	"Book of Soul Exchange" "Kankon no Sho" (換魂の書)	August 6, 2011[5]
Dalian is currently reading a trilogy by the name of "Crown of the Dog Days," but she is enraged with Huey for only ordering the first two books. Huey explains that the author, Lenny Lents, was killed before he could write the last installment, and tells her of a letter written by the late author to his grandfather requesting for his help, claiming to be imprisoned by a bizarre book. They arrive at his estate to find a woman named Paula Lents, claiming to be his wife, washing a bloody machete. She tells them that Lenny is currently writing the last installment in the series, and to return the following day, so they could prepare for their visit. However, as Huey and Dalian inspect her garage later that night, they find the dead body of Lenny Lents. They decide to further investigate the matter, certain a Phantom Book is the cause of the problem.
05	"The Magician's Daughter" "Majutsu-shi no Musume" (魔術師の娘)	August 13, 2011[6]
An old friend of Huey's by the name of Armand Jeremiah arrives at their estate, and begs them for a Phantom Book. It is revealed that he will be giving it to the infamous courtesan Viola Duplessis, who has requested her suitors for Phantom Books in order to make them eligible to marry her. Because Armand was not the first suitor to travel to their estate in search of Phantom Books, Huey and Dalian decide to go with Armand and meet Viola, in order to figure out why she has been asking her suitors for Phantom Books.
06	"Libricide" "Funsho-kan" (焚書官)	August 20, 2011[6]
A Libricide Officer named Hal Kamhout arrives in a town by a lake, with a girl named Flamberge riding in the sidecar, bound by chains and belts and wearing a lock on her chest. The two of them are searching for the Black Biblioprincess, but Flam's attire and Hal's peculiar staff draws the attention of Mabel Nash, a female cop. She offers them a place to stay while they wait for a traveling salesman to stop by town, so they can buy gasoline. Hal explains the reason why they came was to investigate the multiple disappearances of travelers in the town since the war ended, thinking that the Black Biblioprincess may have been involved. Soon he begins to notice something strange about the town, and begins to investigate.
07	"The Perfumer" "Chōkō-shi" (調香師)	August 27, 2011[6]
Huey and Dalian go to a local shop to buy some sweet buns, where they bump into a woman as she is being chased. She is revealed to be Fiona, a talented Perfumer who is able to tell someone's emotions just by their smell. Fiona makes perfume for a cosmetics company in London called Famenias, best known for their perfume. After meeting with Fiona's father, the president of the company, he tells them of an ancient text his grandfather found that gave him the idea to sell perfume. Believing that the book Fiona now possesses is a Phantom Book, Huey and Dalian visit Fiona's estate to investigate.
08	"Book of Equivalence / Book of Connection" "Tōka no Sho / Renri no Sho" (等価の書 / 連理の書)	September 3, 2011[6]
In Book of Equivalence: Camilla visits Huey and Dalian at their estate. She bears two gifts for Dalian--the first a box of sweet buns--and is about to give her the second when she notices that Dalian is reading an auction catalog with teddy bears in it. After asking Dalian which her favorite is, she asks Huey for something on his person, which he responds to by presenting her with a paper clip, and abruptly leaves. It is revealed that Camilla had bought the Book of Equivalence from a used book store, so Huey and Dalian set out to find what she is looking for. In Book of Connection: Armand stumbles into Huey's estate, begging for help, just as a series of branches shoot out from his body and set themselves on fire. Upon questioning, Armand reveals that he has a girlfriend by the name of Lianna Schoales, a woman he had met through a Phantom Book called the Book of Connection. However, the book carries a powerful curse that will attempt to kill the person who is cheating on the relationship. Thus, he approached Huey and Dalian, and together the three of them attempt to find a solution to the cursed book.
09	"Book of Twilight" "Tasogare no Sho" (黄昏の書)	September 10, 2011[6]
Ira, an apprentice shaman with curly red hair, is seen picking flowers in a prairie. She walks into her uncle Gianni while running back into the town, who is searching for her grandmother, the current shaman. Her uncle demands for a liquid substance called elegan, in order to throw it at the giant insect-like creatures called Baziumu that were supposedly coming to attack the town. The grandmother sends her to get a species of poisonous flowers, which are the main ingredient to elegan, and runs into Dalian and Huey, who then ask her if she knows of a book gathering in the town. Dalian then warns Ira that the poison will be ineffective and leaves in search of books. The next day, Ira sets off with Elegans in hand to meet her beloved apprentice merchant, Tito. However, the town has been destroyed by a large number of Baziumu...
10	"Phantom Music" "Maboroshi-kyoku" (幻曲)	September 17, 2011[7]
11	"Rasiel Shelves" "Rajieru no Shoka" (ラジエルの書架)	September 24, 2011[7]
12	"Song of the Unseen Tomorrow" "Mada Minu Ashita no Uta" (まだ見ぬ明日の詩)	October 1, 2011[7]
While Huey is reading a newspaper article about an immortal man who doesn't die after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, Dalian is busy buying buns after spotting an ad for a new shop in the paper. However, once her shopping is finished, a crowd of zombies appear in the vicinity. Dalian believes that the Book of Atonement has been printed onto copies of the newspaper, so they go out in search of the factory printing the newspapers. There they meet the Professor and Raziel, who seem to have ulterior motives serving against the benefit of London. Upon realizing that Huey would be a threat to their cause, the Professor shoots him, but Huey grabs Dalian and together the two of them attempt to escape from the hoard of zombies running the newspaper factory. Suffering from his fatal wounds, Huey asks Dalian that he go into the archives and retrieve the girl inside, who up until that point had been the one handing the books to Huey when he called upon them. Huey and the girl try to leave the archives, but the guardian of the gates to the archives send Huey into an infinite space, where he forgets all that he has known. Distraught, Dalian, back in the human world, agrees with the girl inside the archives to work together to bring him back. Thus, Huey's child form appears before him with the Phantom Book needed to escape, thus allowing Huey to remember who he is. Huey returns to the human world and kills all the zombies; meanwhile, Hal and Flam arrive at the factory and burn all of the newspapers, briefly encountering Professor and Raziel before they depart from the scene. Thus, the three Biblioprincesses and Key Keepers go their separate ways, but are bound by fate to meet again. The Mystic Archives of Dantalian Cover of the first light novel ダンタリアンの書架 (Dantarian no Shoka) Genre Fantasy Light novel Written by Gakuto Mikumo Illustrated by G-Yuusuke Published by Kadokawa Shoten Demographic Male Imprint Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko Magazine The Sneaker Original run February 29, 2008 – February 28, 2011 Volumes 8 Manga Written by Gakuto Mikumo Illustrated by Chako Abeno Published by Kadokawa Shoten Demographic Shōnen Magazine Shōnen Ace Original run March 26, 2010 – ongoing Volumes 3 Manga Dantalian no Shoka Dalian Days Written by Gakuto Mikumo Illustrated by Monaco Sena Published by Kadokawa Shoten Demographic Seinen Magazine Comp Ace Original run March 26, 2010 – ongoing Volumes 1 Manga Dalian-chan no Shoka Written by Gakuto Mikumo Illustrated by Shigeta-ke Published by Kadokawa Shoten Demographic Shōnen Magazine 4-koma nano ace Original run July 7, 2011 – ongoing TV anime Directed by Yutaka Uemura Music by Yo Tsuji Studio GAINAX Network TV Tokyo Original run July 16, 2011 – October 1, 2011 Episodes 12 Anime and Manga Portal