is a Japanese mecha anime franchise created by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The first series, subtitled Dead Aggressor, is directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and written by Yasuo Yamabe and Tow Ubukata with character designs from Hisashi Hirai and mecha designs by Naohiro Washio. It aired on TV Tokyo from July to December 2004 for 26 episodes. A television special subtitled Right of Left aired in December 2005, a feature film subtitled Heaven and Earth had a theatrical release in Japan in December 2010, and a sequel subtitled Exodus aired on MBS and several other stations for 26 episodes from January to December 2015. Another sequel subtitled The Beyond was released as four films from May 2019 to November 2021. A special episode subtitled Behind the Line premiered in theaters in January 2023. The series heavily borrows elements from Norse Mythology, referencing some of the terminology used. Synopsis Dead Aggressor (2004) At the beginning of the Dead Aggressor story arc, much of the world has been destroyed by the Festum and the remote Japanese island of has only remained unscathed by virtue of an advanced cloaking shield. The island's young people continue with their daily lives unaware of these events, but after many years of peace, a lone Festum discovers Tatsumiya and attacks. The adults activate Tatsumiya's hidden defense systems and attempt to repel the attacker but to no avail. Many of them are killed by the Festum in a process of assimilation. In desperation, they order the deployment of a mecha called the Fafner Mark Elf, but its pilot is killed en route to the hangar. Left with no further options, they send a young boy named Kazuki Makabe as the replacement pilot assisted by Sōshi Minashiro from within the Siegfried System. The Festum is destroyed, but with Tatsumiya Island's whereabouts exposed, the adults choose to relocate the island. Production is accelerated on additional Fafner units and more children are recruited to pilot them. It is also revealed that the cloaking was not meant to conceal Tatsumiya Island from only the Festum, but from the rest of humanity who would seek to use its technology in the greater war against them. Right of Left (2005) A prequel to the first series. Yumi Ikoma and Ryou Masaoka