Summary
Anna is a name that should be recognizable to almost anyFire Emblemfan. This red-headed young woman who typically touches her chin with a finger has appeared in a number of installments throughout the series and eventually transformed into something of a mascot for it. Originally, a merchant running a number of secret shops in the first incarnation ofFire Emblem(and its supplementary materials), like most involved in marketing, Anna eventually diversified.
Her appearance remains roughly the same across multiple timelines, realities, and other realms, to the point where the uninitiated might become confused. This list will examine Anna as she appears throughout the series and the truth behind her seemingly simultaneous existence in the various realities present throughout the series. To clarify, these appearances will be limited to games with theFire Emblemtitle, as crossover games involving the series typically draw from established versions of her listed here.
12Archanea Saga
The Secret Seller
Anna’s primary role in this game was running the secret shops, a set of map tiles that are actually shops possessing limited amounts of rare items. These shops do not appear to the player unless the character on said tile holds the “Member Card.” Anna’s role as a merchant in this game was an established trait that was variably kept throughout a lot of her subsequent appearances.
She was also the girlfriend of Jake, a Grustian soldier who operated a moving Ballista. If a unit visits the village with Anna, she will ask them to talk to Jake. Once this visit has occurred, Caeda can perform this action, adding Jake’s might to the Archanean League. After the war, the pair proceeded to travel the world together.
She has a slightly expanded role inNew Mystery of the Emblem, where she also guides the player through the character creation screen. As the series continued, she consistently had roles in this vein, presumably to align with her mascot status.
11Jugdral Saga
Convoy Controller
Anna is in charge of the supplies inGenealogy of the Holy War. She can also be involved in various events which are only possible if certain first-generation units didn’t have children, as they specifically require the replacement units that appear in this context.
One of these events involves Jake returning to her after attempting to join Seliph’s army and failing. Jake, in most appearances, has a different design, in line with that of a generic villager. If Jake is properly redirected, he will gift amulets that boost stats to Amid and Linda, two of the replacement children. The frequent trade-off for these replacements is a lack of inherited stats and weapons from their parents (hence the game’s title.)
Anna also appears inThracia 776, a spinoff toGenealogy,starring Selpih’s cousin, Leif. She can be seen when the player chooses to suspend the game, asking if they wish to do so.
10Elibe Saga
A Secret Seller Once More
Anna is once again a secret shopkeeper inBinding Blade, reverting to roughly the same role of older incarnations. She also runs the Link Arena mode and asks if the player wishes to suspend the game or delete their save data when they pick these options.
She also holds these roles in its prequel,Blazing Blade. Additionally, there is a special event one can trigger where, prior to the pirate ship chapter, the player can talk to Anna, who gives some advice regarding the pirate ship. This leads to Jake, rather than Dart, speaking with the group before the subsequent chapter initiates. This is Jake’s last appearance, save for the remakes.
AsSacred Stonesis a GBA title, it makes sense that Anna has a roughly identical role within it to its previous counterparts. That said, there are special events with her or no mention of Jake.
8Tellius Saga
Tutorial Host
Unlike most otherFire Emblemgames, the Tellius Saga features a recurring caravan of traveling merchants. This limits Anna’s potential appearances from the jump. Instead, she took over the tutorial, giving advice to the player in regard to how to play each game.
Awakeningmade an active effort to clear up the Anna situation across the past several games. Anna is understood as a group of sisters (and potentially other relatives) who tend to cross realms through the Outrealm Gate. This presumably accounts for every previous incarnation of Anna that has been seen across the series. Anna resumes her role as a traveling merchant but also appears in multiple paralogues, where one version of her is saved, and then another is rescued later on, clarifying the existence of several different Annas, all with the same name.
The playable Anna is a trickster (a promoted thief who can use staves in addition to swords) and can even marry a male Robin, and subsequently bear his daughter, Morgan. Nonetheless, she clarifies to Robin that she loves money more than him. The DLC also heavily involves Anna, with a version of her hosting various events. There are multiple Annas endangered inFive-Anna Firefight, who can grant great rewards upon their rescue. The final DLC chapter,Apotheosis, has an extremely powerful version of Anna as its boss.
Anna is an outlaw (an archer with thieving abilities) inFates. She is specifically connected to the DLC inFates, as she is recruited inAnna on the Run, one such downloadable chapter. She is also in charge of the Dragon’s Gate, through which DLC is purchased and accessed. Anna can marry a male Corrin, and birth give birth to Kanna. However, he will once again come second to her money. Anna’s sisters are discussed, but not seen, in this version of the game. Anna’s parents apparently have a different way of pronouncing each sister’s name, despite all of them being spelled as “Anna.” Likely as an error, this version of Anna has six fingers on her portrait, with one below being carefully masked by a shadow. To date, this is the final version of Anna to be both romanceable and the mother of an avatar’s children. Though the latter distinction is inevitable, due to future installments phasing out the child system.
Anna is once again a merchant, running the shop that appears during preparations and the secret shop in Garreg Mach Monastery. She also has her own paralogue, the Secret Merchant. Anna is playable again, this time as a myrmidon (a swordsman who emphasizes agility), and even has the Crest of Ernest, which can prevent counterattacks when using a weapon. This version of Anna has no support conversations, not even with Byleth, meaning marriage and romance are off the table for her.
Anna appears once more inWarriors:Three Hopes, but like a couple of other characters from the game, she has been demoted to NPC. She does, however, stay onboard as a merchant, and involves herself in the support conversations of others, like she did inThree Houses. She also has a redesign closer to her playable counterpart inAwakening.
This version of Annais distinctly younger than every other counterpart, being a child rather than a young woman. She is also an axe fighter, who can become playable after being recruited in theMysterious Merchantparalogue. Although once again clarified to have identical relatives, this version of Anna is the only one seen, save for a bond ring based on herHeroesincarnation.
Anna has more support conversations than most incarnations of her possess. That said, as she is a child, it is understandable why romance is with the adult Alear off the table. Instead, her ring support with Alear bonds the pair together as business partners, with Alear sharing in the fortune she makes after the war. Anna’s ending CG shows her alongside two sisters, presumably those fromAwakeningandFates, judging by their outfits.
Due to her appearance across a variety of realms, various Emblems, who take after heroes from the other series, recognize Anna, at least in the abstract, with many remarking on her similarity to other counterparts that they had previously met, if not identifying her by name.
Unlike most incarnations, where Anna has little immediate relevance to the plot, she is a major character inHeroes. Specifically, she is the commander of the Order of Heroes, serving Sharena and Alphonse. While Sharena wields a lance and Alphonse, a sword, Anna rounds out the trio as their axe-wielder. This role is likely afforded due to her having appeared across the majority of the series, which allows her to serve as something of a connective agent. She is often a more serious character than most of her sisters, due to this role, but isn’t completely free of their scruples. However, the tradeoff for this relevancy is hampered by utility, as her base maximum stats are low, and she cannot be dismissed, duplicated, or traded for stat boosters.
Other versions of Anna, both fromHeroes, and other major appearances are also summonable as well. One example is a unit called Twice the Anna, which has theAwakeningandEngageversions of her paired up and dressed as each other for Halloween. Another form of her based on her appearance as the boss inApotheosisis also present. This game has possibly the most Annas in it, outside ofAwakening.
