Gloria Aeterna

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."

- -Introductory lines to the series 1st intro

Gloria Aeterna ( English : Eternal Glory ) is an biographical religious series made by Studio 4°c, directed by Ryunosuke Endo and co-directed by Masakazu Higuchi and Barry Cook. The anime follows the journey of Paul Cook on his Catholic conversion.

The series talks about the life of saints from various churches ( Mainly catholic ), with cuts to show Paul's progress, and how the saints life represents his. At the end he learns a lesson, and dives deeper into catholicism, with the series ending with his baptism, 1st communion and his confession.

Summary
Paul Cook, an Protestant, decides to visit the Vatican with his catholic friend Emillio. Inside the St.Peter Basillica's, Paul tries to embrace catholicism, but his childhood issues from growing in a Protestant family blocks him, untill Father Arno comes around, and tells the story of the saints, which incentivate Paul on his journey to become an Catholic.

Characters

 * List of Gloria Aeterna's characters

Episodes

 * List of Gloria Aeterna's Episodes

Development
Ryunosuke Endo, son of famous novel writer Shusaku Endo, decided to take an iniciative for an Catholic animated series, after seeing the hit of The Chosen, and after seeing the World Youth Day 2023 commemoration. "My father raised me catholic, so did my mother, and I decided to spread more of the faith with the young generation in the form of anime, after all, my father already wrote an novel detailing the suffering our ancestors had to go through because of their faith."

Said Ryunosuke on the interview.

The first ones to accept this deal were Studio 4°c, the same ones whom did the famous animation "My Last Day". This time, they were doing an catholic series, rather than presbyterian. Afterwards, the first person to get the promotion to draw the characters was Masanori Shino, whom was known for his work in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure : Stone Ocean. The character design was opted to be realistic rather than anime-esque because of comparison and probable confusion with other biblical animes.

During this time Masakazu Higuchi, the producer of 1981's Superbook, noticed the production, and became an co-director, alongside Barry Cook. Jonathan Roumie, the actor of Jesus in The Chosen, said for an collab in the anime, by being an voice actor for Jesus.

Based on

 * The Holy Bible ( 325 AD )/KJV ( 1611 AD )/ERV ( NT:1881/OT:1885 )/OSB ( 2008 )/
 * Temptations of St.Anthony ( Gustave Flaubert;!875 )

Soundtrack/Original Score

 * Sarah Schachner
 * Jesper Kyd

Instruments

 * Wood Pipes
 * Sitar

Spin-Off

 * Mater Dei : Mater Dei was released in April 9th 2027. It's an spin-off detailing Mary's life.
 * Saints, Idolatry or Intercession? : Saints, Idolatry or Intercession

Reception
The series got an 7,5 on Imdb, with 12+ ascension on its first season. By now, its currently rated 8,2. The series was praised by its innovative format, detailing both biblical and post biblical stories, although it received many controversies due to various reasons, specially between people of other denominations and religions.