In a world of “swords and science,” a group of kids discover they are “Shadow Wielders” of remarkable power.  Our hero Shu wants to protect mankind from the evil despot Nene.  To do that, he manifests from his shadow the Blue Dragon, who can punch, slice or barbecue with his breath.

The concept originated in a role-playing Xbox 360 videogame.  Blue Dragon, the animated series, began a 51-episode run in Japan on April 7, 2007, followed by a second season of 51 episodes, Blue Dragon: Trials of the Seven Shadows, on April 5, 2008.  Both series can now be viewed at Hulu.com, though I would only recommend it for mature viewers.  Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu scored Blue Dragon as well, with arrangements by Satoshi Henmi and Hiroyuki Nakayama.

The music is quite enjoyable, and you can listen to it in the following YouTube vids:

Blue battle

Second theme song, extended, first series

Trials of the Seven Shadows

The entire soundtrack is played out here:

The full score from the original videogame: