Zagreus Cross

Zagreus Cross (Japanese: 聖戦の後!!!! (lit. "After Holy War!!!!")) is a fantasy anime series. It first aired in 1996 and is notably popular in certain Demi-human communities. The anime comes as a sequel to the lesser-known manga series 聖戦!! ("Holy War!!") and is so far the only officially-localised piece of media in the franchise.

Plot

The year is 124 D.I., a little over a century since the last major Inquisition. Rain Ueivus, the strongest of the Holy Knights, has just returned from a previous assignment and enters the High Priest's office. The Priest, named Leonado Deez informs her of undead activity in some towns to the east, and tasks her with eliminating the cause. Ueivus buys a burger from her favourite store (making sure to make good use of her few hours back in her home city) and heads directly to Printos, the centre of the undead activity.

There, she discovers an old tower now inhabited by the Necromancer Nichol. After some fighting and debate, Nichol convinces Ueivus that the undead are helping rebuild the nearby towns, still damaged after the Inquisition. Ueivus doesn't fully trust her, but agrees to help oversee efforts as the people really need it. The two continue to work together, with Ueivus having a lot of time to think about her orders and allegiances.

Media

Holy War!! Manga

In mid-1994, the original Holy War!! manga was released. Across four volumes, it told the story of Hiro Deez and his actions during the Battle of Caellun.

Sequel Anime

In April 1996, the animated sequel to Holy War!! started airing in Japan. In an unusual move, an English dub was aired starting only two months later. This was due to a weirdly high interest in the original story in western Europe. When Zagreus Cross later got a second season, the English dub was not continued. Instead, future seasons included translated subtitles. Later releases in the 2010s came with new English voiceover, as well as versions in French and Italian.

Episode	Episode Title	Summary (taken from 2013 remastered release)	Airdate
1x01	The Undead!!	Ueivus is sent to investigate the undead presence around Printos, and has a nice little talk with the Necromancer.	April 7th, 1996
1x02	Farming Is Hard...	Ueivus and her Skeleton unit attempts to start farms around the ruins of Caellun, turning it into a source of food for the entire area. She isn't very good at it...	April 14th, 1996
1x03	Tower Renovation	Holy Artillery just hit the Necro Tower. Someone needs to fix that hole in the wall! And some new furniture, and...	April 21st, 1996
1x04	What's a Gnomeblin?	Gnomeblins! They're everywhere! And they've stolen things!	April 28th, 1996
1x05	Dark Magic Dark Magic	Ueivus' god hasn't answered her in a while... Time for Dark Magic instead!!	May 5th, 1996
1x06	Message From The High Priests	Leonardo Deez is a bit angry... A certain someone of the Holy Order has been seen holding hands with a Necromancer?	May 12th, 1996
1x07	The Man Called Globbert	(to be added)	May 19th, 1996
1x08	Cave Of Bones! Hooray!	(to be added)	June 9th, 1996
1x09	Bandit Scum??	Bandits have taken over two of the towns in the Necro Tower's area, one of which housing Nichol's favourite sandwich shop. War?	June 16th, 1996
1x10	Begone, Scum!!	The bandit towns are far more fortified than expected... Where did they get Holy Artillery?	June 23rd, 1996
1x11	Beach Episoooooode	(to be added)	June 30th, 1996
1x12	Isn't That Illegal????	Deez uses the Forbidden Scroll Of The Devil Dragon to become a Lichpire	July 7th, 1996
1x13	Again?!?! Holy War?!?!	Lichpire Deez launches a full assault on the Necro Tower... Uh oh!! He can afford armour!!	July 14th, 1996
1x14	What Is Humanity?	The Skeletons have all been killed (again?), and Ueivus just 'asked for help'... Will it work?	July 21st, 1996

Prequel Manga

In 2001, a prequel and retelling of the original Holy War!! started publication known as "たった今!! 聖戦!!" (Right Now!! Holy War!!). It is approximately three times the length of Holy War!! and was praised for offering more character viewpoints than the original's entirely holy order perspective.