Galaxy Fraulein Yuna



Better known in North America for the anime than the games which started the franchise, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna is one example of what happens when you set a magical-girl story three centuries into the future.

The main character, Yuna Kagurazaka, is a bit better off than Usagi "Sailor Moon" Tsukino as far as brains and coordination go, and has the good fortune to be winner of an interstellar beauty contest, a teen celebrity, and an Idol Singer even before she gets called to become the Savior of Light, a Magical Girl tasked with saving the entire universe from the forces of Darkness.

So far, the franchise consists of four games (not counting remakes) and two sets of OAVs, a two-episode arc and a three-episode arc.

Tropes demonstrated in this series include:
"Yuna: (to Misaki) Are you the one that put these cuffs on my hands and feet? You know, I've never really done this, especially not for a woman. *lecherous expression*"
 * Ambiguously Gay: Yuna gushes over Polylina and declares her "my one and only love," repeatedly jumps to the (wrong) conclusion that Misaki has a not-at-all-chaste crush on her and seems very excited about this prospect, and when encouraging Ayako to come to school, she advertises it as a place with "so many friends and so many cute girls!" Even by Magical Girl standards, the Les Yay here is extremely plentiful.

"Yuna: Hey, I wonder if she means “ojousama” not as “young lady” but as “my queen” like those disreputable women on TV..."
 * The Anime of the Game - Probably why this series has an American fanbase at all.
 * Armor Is Useless - Debatably subverted when Yuna combines with Jiina, Erina, or Marina, as they turn into relatively full body armor, as opposed to the Light Suit's bodysuit, boots and gloves.
 * Beware the Nice Ones - Subverted in some of Yuna's squabbles with her friends, when she seems just like an average girl. Played straight in the Crowning Moment of Awesome of the final OAV; you do not push the Savior of Light ...
 * Big Eater - Yuri Cube.
 * Chekhov's Gunman - Lia's very first appearance in the first game is helping Yuna talk to a foreigner with no grasp of Japanese. (Oddly, the foreigner seems like more of a Chekhov's Gunman at the time ...)
 * Cooldown Hug - Happens a couple of times. Notably subverted once in the OAVs.
 * Defeat Means Friendship - Almost every enemy Yuna fights becomes a friend later on. Slightly subverted in that this only happens directly a couple of times.
 * Fairy Companion - Elner, who looks the part, sci-fi style. Notably does not cause problems.
 * Gratuitous German - The series's official (sort of) English title.
 * Heavy Sleeper - Yuna. Played for humor in the first game, used more conventionally in the anime. Officially, if she has a day off she's as likely to sleep it away as spend time with her friends.
 * Herald - Elner, in the prologue to the very first game. Becomes the Fairy Companion almost immediately thereafter, as well as trying to keep Yuna on-task.
 * Humongous Mecha - El-Line, which appears roughly once per storyline. Debatably Combining Mecha as well, since the Matrix of Light shapeshift, merge, and grow in size to become El-Line (although this sequence is glossed over in the anime)
 * Idol Singer - Yuna's side career, when she's not in school or saving Earth/the universe. Lia's career seems to surpass hers later, but Yuna still does concerts.
 * I Have the High Ground - Polylina loves doing this, but then, she's virtually Tuxedo Kamen's opposite-sex counterpart. Other characters do this from time to time as well.
 * I Know Madden Kombat- A few of Yuna’s enemies-turned-friends base their combat styles and tactics around favorite sports they practice: Ako and Mako (Ping-Pong), Mai (Golf), Mami (Softball), Midori (Figure Skating), Rui (Soccer) and Serika (Go-Kart Racing).
 * And then there are the ones based on other activities: Mari (flower arranging), Yoshika (tea ceremony), Aleftina (violin), Himeko (punk rock) ... it's a little weird sometimes.
 * Improbably Female Cast - Yuna's father is one of a handful of male characters to appear in the franchise at all. Most of the others are unnamed.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters - At least they're introduced one at a time in the games. Good luck keeping track of them if you're starting with the OAVs.
 * Magical Girl Warrior - Yuna is this subtype of ...
 * Magical Girl - with (apparently) technology, but still.
 * The Messiah - Yuna. She will make friends with anyone (Also happens to be literal - her title of "Savior of Light" could also be translated as "Messiah of Light.")
 * Noblewoman's Laugh - More than one opponent in the (game) series will announce her presence this way.
 * No Export for You - The games.
 * Non-Human Sidekick - Elner. Also, the rest of the Matrix of Light (Yuna's android "doubles"), although they can appear human later on. Very debatably, Yuri Cube as well (as a human-looking android).
 * Ojou - Subverted, inverted and deconstructed, especially by the first game - the original Japanese title was Ginga Ojousama Densetsu Yuna, or "Galaxy Lady Legend Yuna" ... but very few of the "ojousama" in the game are Ojou. Especially Yuna herself - she's an ordinary girl from a not-rich family. Roppongi no Mai, on the other hand, acts like this to the hilt.
 * And Luminaev cranks the concept of ‘ojou’ to a whole new level…


 * Plot Coupons - Much of the first game revolves around finding Yuna's partners/"doubles." Then she needs to access the Dark Realm, and needs to go find a book with the proper incantation first. The second game plays it similarly straight, looking for the Eternal Princess's navigational beacons, and then the keys to get at one of said beacons.
 * The Power of Friendship - Tends to come to Yuna's aid for the final battles.
 * Secret Identity - Subverted a lot in the first game. Also played with thereafter in that Yuna has no idea that Lia and Polylina are.
 * Sexy Santa Dress - Yuri wore one at the beginning of the second OVA.
 * Situational Sexuality - Given the Improbably Female Cast, might explain Yuna's Fan Girl crush on Polylina; her fantasizing about Misaki being a Stalker With a Crush would fall into this category as well. (Her official profile does list her favorite and least favorite types of guy.)
 * Tragic Monster - The sometimes-ignored finale of the Abyssal Fairy OAVs has all three of the Devil Sisters' cores pulled into one giant monster plant big enough to eat El-Line. Notably, Yuna is the only one who insists on trying to save Ayako ...
 * Transformation Sequence - Subverted gloriously in that pretty much any character who needs to transform can do so in the time it would take to throw a punch or draw a gun. Used straighter in at least one cutscene from the third game, but it's still fast and relatively practical.
 * Unstoppable Rage - Do not, under any circumstances, kill one of Yuna's friends. It doesn't matter how powerful or Badass you are, she will utterly destroy you.
 * Wide Eyed Idealist - Yuna. Almost none of her friends can touch her in this regard. She has yet to meet either of the fates usually associated with this trope (to this troper's knowledge, anyway; the end of the last OAV does raise the question).
 * Worthy Opponent - This is Lia's stated reason for assisting Yuna throughout much of the first game: she wants Yuna to become a Worthy Opponent so that they can fight it out fairly, Yuna for the side of Light and Lia for Darkness. After they finally have their duel, Lia's Heel Face Turn kicks in and they become straight allies, with Lia frequently aiding Yuna in later battles (and storylines).
 * Verbal Tic - Yuri's habit of ending all her sentences with -desu.
 * Wave Motion Gun - The Mirage Cannon, The Eternal Princess' main gun that has enough firepower to obliterate a planet. In Yuna 3, it becomes one of Yuna's special game attacks.