Ragnarok the Animation

Ragnarok the Animation is a Japanese-Korean anime television series based on the MMORPG Ragnarok Online. The story happens in the same world of Rune-Midgard. An evil entity called the Dark Lord wants to create chaos in the world with the help of seven crystals that represent the seven ambitions (also known as the Seven Strengths) who sealed him away years ago.

It was produced in the first quarter of 2004 and was broadcast on TV Tokyo in Japan. In 2005, it was broadcast on SBS in South Korea. It has 26 episodes.

The Philippine and Brazilian distributor of the game, Level Up! Games, Inc., cooperated with ABS-CBN Corporation for local licensing and distribution rights of Ragnarok the Animation. The anime series first premiered in the Philippines on ABS-CBN on October 11, 2004, airing right before TV Patrol. It was the first anime that aired on the network's Primetime Bida evening block.

Funimation Entertainment acquired the U.S. license of Ragnarok in 2007.

The main protagonist, Roan, is a swordsman whose main goal in the anime is to gain power to protect his childhood friend, Yufa. At one point, he believes he has failed in this and goes off alone to get stronger. After a fateful encounter in Byalan, Roan returns to the group as a Crusader, successfully rescuing Yufa. However, as the story progresses, Roan begins to lose sight of his duty. He later realizes his wrong after some advice from the Legendary Witch in Payon and Comodo. However, it was too late as Roan made it only on time to see Yufa leave with her brother. Afterwards, the group heads towards Glast Heim to save Yufa and to stop Dark Lord. On the way, they are confronted by a possessed Yufa who sends a torrent of undead monsters at her friends. After their victory, she teleports them directly to Glast Heim. With the help and sacrifice of the rest of the party, Roan manages to locate Yufa, but he finds her to be unable to truly hear his words. Tricking Roan, Yufa kisses him, slipping a cursed ruby into his mouth, which he then swallows. Upon realizing this, the cursed ruby begins to kill Roan. Unable to draw his sword, Roan allows Yufa to stab him with a cursed blade. Eventually, Yufa breaks free from her mental bonds and frees Roan from the curse she had set on him with a kiss of true love. Then, he, Yufa and the rest of the surviving group reunite to defeat the Dark Lord. In the end, Roan and Yufa were each seen wearing a ring, implying that they are now married.

The love interest of Roan, Yufa is an acolyte and Roan's childhood friend. Though she puts on a smile for Roan, it is obvious she is still mourning the loss of her older brother, Keough. When Keough suddenly returns to life as an evil being, she becomes confused and does not know whether or not to fight her brother or protect him. Later, in an effort to save the souls under the control of the Moonlight Flower in Payon, she becomes a Priest. Eventually, Roan's ignorance and arrogance pushes Yufa away and prompts her to leave the group (and Roan) behind for her brother, Keough. Keough eventually corrupts Yufa by removing her soul crystal, something that seems to give her the ability to stay pure, and is also consequently one of the key items of Dark Lord's revival. After stabbing Roan in her corrupt state, Keough comes to her in a vision and tells her that he must leave her, but that Roan would protect her in his absence. This vision broke Dark Lord's corruption, and freed Yufa to allow her to see what she had done. Holding the dying Roan in her arms, Yufa kissed her childhood love at last. This kiss of true love destroyed the cursed ruby ailing Roan, allowing the two to stand together against the Dark Lord. With the help of her friends and Roan, Yufa sealed Dark Lord away with a Magnus Exorcismus spell. At the end of the series, it is implied that Roan and Yufa married.

Takius is a mage who wears a blindfold throughout the series and searches the world for the ultimate truth. Her mission for this "ultimate truth" was put on her by her teacher, Zephyr (who also gave her the blinder). With the blinder and her original staff intact, Zephyr had the ability to control her. After going mad and being recruited by Dark Lord, he uses this ability to manipulate Takius in favor of Dark Lord's plans. Eventually, Takius is able to conquer her internal struggles, breaking free from her ties with him and removing the blinder permanently. To further this transformation she became a Sage, resulting in one final confrontation with the one man she ever loved. During the final battle with Zephyr, her master was betrayed by the Dark Lord, who had been using Zephyr from the beginning. As a result, he falls from a collapsing wall, only to be saved just in time by Takius. However, just then, Zephyr's Lord of Vermillion spell was activated, crushing the platform the two were dangling from and both of them fell. This would not be Takius's last appearance in the anime. The voice of Takius would come to Roan during the final battle, encouraging Roan to fight on for he had lost all hope vaguely implying that Takius has survived the Lord of Vermillion spell Zephyr summoned. Takius's staff would then come crashing down from the air, cancelling the Meteor Storm spell the Dark Lord was using (somehow, the wand seems to contain a Sage class magic called Spellbreaker, which is the reason of the spell cancelling effect). Roan carries out her wand as a memory of her. Her real name is Catherine (キャスリン, Kyasurin), but hates being called that for unknown reasons.

Maya is the merchant in the group and usually joins parties to steal loot and make off with their money. Her rather disagreeable way of doing things comes from a tragic event in her childhood where she was abused in her "hometown" of Alberta after trying to sell apples with her self-made cart. She met Roan and Yufa in the Prontera Sewers when they saved her from a large number of Thief Bugs. In return, she saves them by delivering a Blue Potion to Yufa during their fight with a Golden Thief Bug. She later changes her rather roguish ways after becoming attached to Yufa and the rest of the group. She has a known affinity for monsters, never being seen without her pet Poring named Poy-Poy. In Episode 7, she befriends an "Alice" (monster who resembles a human maid) but sadly she meets a tragic end because of the actions of Zealotus (a half monster who despises humans) in Episode 19. In their final confrontation in Comodo, Maya nearly kills Jiltus for revenge but Alice's spirit comes to Maya and convinces her to forgive Zealotus. She then makes peace with Zealotus, but too little too late. Maya only ever uses two skills in the series, Mammonite and Cart Revolution. Maya is the only member of the group to not "advance" to another job. She does, however, throw potions much like an Alchemist.