☆ Earl and Fairy

Monday, December 22, 2008, 10:36 AM.

Hakushaku to Yōsei(伯爵と妖精, "Earl and Fairy") is a series of light novels written by Mizue Tani and published in Japan by Shueisha. The story is serialised in Cobalt magazine and illustrated by Asako Takaboshi.

Shueisha have also released two drama CDs, and a manga version has begun serialisation in The Margaret. An anime adaptation began broadcasting in September 2008.


Story
The story is set in Victorian England. It follows the adventures of 17-year old Lydia Carlton, who is nicknamed the "Fairy Doctor" due to her interest in fairies. Her life takes a 180-degrees turn when she meets Edgar J.C Ashenbert, the "Legendary Blue Knight Count" and his crew on a sea voyage to London. Edgar hires her as an adviser during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.


Characters
Unless noted otherwise, the same voice actors play the characters in the drama CDs and the anime.

Lydia Carlton
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki

Lydia Carlton, the daughter of Professor Carlton, is a 17 year old fairy doctor. She has the rare power to see fairies, an ability she inherited from her mother. Lydia also possesses green eyes, a trait of those with the gift to see fairies. She is independent and kind, Lydia doesn't hesitate to help others. She loves her father dearly and will do anything for him. She ends up working for Edgar as his consultant on fairy-related matters after helping him retrieve the Merrow's Sword (key to him being recognized as the Blue Knight Earl by the Queen of England). Because of past difficulties, Lydia dislikes the idea of falling in love and even seems to be afraid of it. When she was a child, she was given a love letter by a boy who - as it turns out later - was dared to do so by his friends, crushing her. She also cast a spell on Kelpie so that he would not come near her, as his aggressive advances were troublesome to her. She doesn't believe Edgar when he reveals his love for her, and only believes he is just being his usual playboy self.

Her goal is to become a full-fledged fairy doctor, and frequently places herself in danger willingly when it comes to anything to do with problems between humans and fairies.
She appears to have some self-esteem issues, referring to her own hair as "rust-colored" and comparing herself to her mother, who was apparently a woman of considerable beauty; everyone who knew her mother before she passed away says that they don't look anything alike.

Edgar J. C. Ashenbert
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

Edgar is a flirtatious man in his early twenties with very distinctive ash mauve eyes. When he was young his parents were both murdered. As a result, he was thrown onto the streets and branded as a white slave. He was subsequently framed as a mass murderer and forced to flee from America for his alleged crimes. Stripped of his honorable name, Edgar embarks on a journey to find the famed Sword of Merrow. By obtaining the sword, Edgar hopes to assert himself as the "Earl of the Blue Knights" thus acquiring a respectable title and gaining a fabricated sense of honor. In his quest to find the Sword of the Merrow, Edgar captures Lydia Carlton, believing her eyes to be the key to finding the legendary sword. He is revealed to be in love with Lydia, and is frustrated and confused that she continually avoids his advances. He openly shows his love for her and even asks her on the night of his ball to dance only with him, lest he becomes jealous. He tells her it makes him uneasy to see her communicate with other men so easily and is rather unnerved by her friendship with Paul.

He does, however, maintain relations with other paramours for some time even after claiming engagement to Lydia, which makes her ever more distrustful of his advances. Later, he decides to be truly faithful to Lydia alone.

He is severely possessive, and it has been noted by Lydia that he "cannot tolerate anything that belongs to him being taken away by another". This possessiveness extends to Lydia also; Edgar has been known to become jealous of many men who appear interested in Lydia, or whom Lydia are friendly with.

Raven
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

Raven is 18 years old and Edgar's personal servant. He is Ermine's half-brother. He possesses mysterious green eyes and exceptional fighting skills. It is revealed that Raven is a half-demon, and for this reason he is not acknowledged by many. Edgar has control over the sprite within Raven, giving him the power to control Raven and make him do his bidding. According to Raven, Edgar would never take advantage of this power. And because Edgar accepts him despite his obscurities, Raven is pleased to serve him. He will protect Lydia because she is "Lord Edgar's Fairy Doctor" but will compliment or help her even if Edgar doesn't order him to. He is a kind young man, but quiet.

Because he was treated as a killing machine in the past, Raven has become almost emotionless, responding to the commands of those he obeys, and very little else. As the series wears on, however, he begins to show emotions of his own, a fact Edgar is glad about. He apparently does not like how young/childish his face appears, as he was noted by Ermine to have brooded over how a couple of maids thought he was only 15 years old.

Nico
Voiced by: Hiro Yūki

Nico is a fairy who takes on the form of a cat. He accompanies Lydia on her journey with Edgar.

While he can walk on four legs like a normal cat, he prefers to walk on two legs like a human. He is able to turn invisible, and can read and write human language. Nico was Lydia's mother's companion, as well.

He likes liquor, and fine tea. He is also very particular about being treated like a gentleman rather than a cat, and as such obsesses over his attire (most frequently a single neck ribbon, but he has been known to wear suits and tailcoats), and the state of his fur and whiskers. On a few occasions, Edgar has provoked him deliberately by scratching Nico and petting him like a mere cat.

He is rather cowardly, often disappearing when things turn nasty. Despite his inability/unwillingness to engage in physical combat, his assistance is invaluable to Lydia. He often gathers information for Lydia from the fairies in the area, as well as acts as a guide when Lydia needs to travel to or from the fairy world. He is also something of an adviser to Lydia.

In recent times, Edgar has taken to bribing Nico with things like fine food or a gentleman's "essentials" (a cane, a tailcoat, letter-writing set, etc), in order to find out developments around Lydia.

Ermine
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

Raven's half-sister and Edgar's dear friend. Edgar would do anything for her if it will make her happy. She is a beautiful woman who has fine fighting skills (though she is not on par with Raven), with short black hair, snow-white skin, and a womanly allure that "is not dimmed by her wearing male clothes" most of the time.
She was in love with Edgar, and the Prince used this fact to his advantage and turned her spy against Edgar. Later, she confesses her betrayal to Edgar and commits suicide by jumping into the sea.

Kelpie
Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu

An impolite and arrogant fairy who aggressively pursues Lydia. Bound by the moon spell, which drives away unwanted advances from fairies, Kelpie must bring Lydia the "moon" in order to win her over, although it's clear to everyone but Kelpie she has no interest in him. He follows Lydia all the way to London to bring her back to Scotland. Despite his aggressiveness, Kelpie genuinely loves and cares for Lydia, and comforts her when she's confused (though she protests at times).
His fairy form is that of a black horse, while his human form is that of an attractive young man with dark hair and eyes (his pupils are white swirls). His eyes are able to bewitch both men and women alike, and he has strong magical powers. He has the ability to purify water and cleanse toxins.

"Kelpie" is actually the name of his species, and not his given name (it has not been explicitly mentioned). He and Lydia first met in Scotland. At the time, a middle-aged woman came to Lydia with her tale of a young man whom she was in love with. Lydia discovers that the man is actually a Kelpie; the younger brother of the Kelpie that wants to marry Lydia. After being convinced of their love, Lydia eventually aids the woman and younger Kelpie in their relationship.

Despite first appearances, Kelpie (for the sake of the rest of this article, Kelpie shall refer to the main story's Kelpie) demonstrates considerable concern for Lydia. He has saved Lydia (and inadvertently, Edgar and Co. as well) on several occasions, and has gotten hurt on one occasion in her defense. He recuperates quickly when in water.

Paul Ferman
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya

A human who is trying to become a great artist. He was invited to Edgar's ball, and met Lydia there. While helping Lydia, getting Kelpie off of her, the moon ring accidentally slipped onto his finger, and wouldn't come off. He seems to be on friendly terms with Lydia, though it makes both Kelpie and Edgar uneasy. His inspiration for art are the fairies, and he has always loved them but cannot see them, so he doesn't know if they are real or not, but likes to believe they are.

His father was killed by the Prince's organization, and he has since joined an organization - the Scarlet Moon - that opposes the Prince's.

Links
Anime official site
http://www.myfairy.tv/ (Japanese)
Anime broadcast schedule (Japanese)
http://cal.syoboi.jp/tid/1458/time
Fairytale Land Hakushaku to Yousei (anime) Fansite
http://fairytale.karenai.net/
Hakushaku to Yōsei (anime) at Anime News Network's
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=9420


Song
Opening theme: "Feeling" by Acid Flavor


Ending theme: "My Fairy" by Hikaru Midorikawa, voice actor of Edgar J. C. Ashenbert.

Raven's my pick! i prefer him over flirtatious Edgar >____<. this anime is a good referance for my drawings =v=. the plot of this story isnt very good, but i love the ways the characters are drawn ^____^. recommended shoujo anime.

Labels: anime