is a 65-minute
television special first originally aired in April 1986, in the
Kansai region network
Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation
JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomera ...
. Although credited to
Leiji Matsumoto, the show was originally created to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the
Kansai Electric Power Company, who sponsored and produced the film. It was later released on
VHS format on November 21, 1987, by
Pony Canyon.
The events of the story are centered on a Japanese solar power plant based in the planet Mercury called "Saint Elmo". Its name was based on the rare
scientific phenomenon
A phenomenon (plural, : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern Philosophy, philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influe ...
called
St. Elmo's fire, named after
Erasmus of Formiae
Erasmus of Formia, also known as Saint Elmo (died c. 303), was a Christian saint and martyr. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Erasmus or Elmo is also one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saintly figures of Christi ...
. This phenomenon occurs in electrical weather at which high points (like masts on ships) will charge and give off a glow.
Plot
Japan builds a large space
power plant called Saint Elmo in the planet
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
. The plant supports Earth with its large
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
supply, but, when there is an abnormality at the plant, Earth has to send several technicians to fix the problem.
Staff
*Director:
Tomoharu Katsumata
is a Japanese film director best known for his work on various anime works. A leading director at the Toei Animation studio during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Katsumata worked as a director on several of Toei's anime television adaptations of ...
*Script:
Hiroyasu Yamaura
Hiroyasu (written: 宏保, 浩靖, 浩康, 博恭, 博康, 寛裕 or 仁康) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese ski jumper
*, Japanese prince and admiral
*, Japanese footballer
*, Japanese footbal ...
*Music:
Michiru Oshima
*Animation:
Yasuhiro Yamaguchi
*Design:
Katsumi Itahashi
Cast
*
Tōru Furuya
is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. As a child, he was a member of Gekidan Himawari, a children's acting troupe. He is currently employed by the talent management firm Aoni Production.
Furuya is most known for the anime roles of Amur ...
, as
*
Hideyuki Tanaka
*
Kei Tomiyama
, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator born in Anshan, Manchukuo. Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab.
Tomiyama is best known for his roles in ''Tiger Mask'' (Naoto Date/ ...
*
Keiko Han
*
Kōzō Shioya
is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Kagoshima Prefecture. He is represented by Aoni Production. His younger brother Yoku Shioya is also an actor and voice actor.
Biography
Filmography Television animation
;1980s
*''Mobile Suit Z ...
*
Leiji Matsumoto
*
Masako Nozawa
*
Reiko Mutō
Theme songs
The show features two theme songs, "''Prometheus Futatabi''" and "''Tomoshibi wa Eternity''", both performed by Yūko Ishikawa. The first was composed by Akihiro Yoshimi, while the second was composed by Yūhei Hanaoka. They were both arranged by Eiji Kawamura and the lyrics were written by Kayoko Fuyumori.
References
External links
Leijiverse: Saint-Elmo Hikari no Raihôsha*
1980s science fiction films
1986 anime films
1986 television films
1986 films
Anime television films
Japanese animated science fiction films
Fiction set on Mercury (planet)
Toei Animation films
Films directed by Tomoharu Katsumata
{{1980s-sf-film-stub