Fafner in the Azure is a Japanese mecha anime franchise created by Xebec in collaboration with Starchild Records. The story focuses on a group of children who pilot the titular Fafners in an escalating war against giant aliens called Festum. The first series, subtitled Dead Aggressor, is directed by Nobuyoshi Habara and written by Yasuo Yamabe and Tow Ubukata with character designs from Hisashi Hirai and mecha designs by Naohiro Washio. It aired on TV Tokyo from July to December 2004 for 26 episodes. A television special subtitled Right of Left aired in December 2005, a feature film subtitled Heaven and Earth had a theatrical release in Japan in December 2010, and a sequel subtitled Exodus aired on MBS and several other stations for 26 episodes from January to December 2015. Another sequel subtitled The Beyond was released as four films from May 2019 to November 2021. A special episode subtitled Behind the Line premiered in theaters in January 2023. The series heavily borrows elements from Norse Mythology, referencing some of the terminology used.

Tow Ubukata is the pen name of a Japanese novelist and anime screenwriter. His major works include Mardock Scramble, Le Chevalier D'Eon and Heroic Age. He also did series composition for the Fafner in the Azure series, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Psycho-Pass 2 and Psycho-Pass 3.