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Eira, a girl with only half a pair of
trousers and possibly the maddest hairstyle you'll ever see, is the
leader of a band of pirates consisting almost entirely of bouncy kids
and butch women. Inadvertently they cross the path of a fleet
lead by Crystal, the daughter of the king of Megaronia, the centre
of a vast empire, on its way to the pirate's home island of Eiji.
On arrival Crystal reveals her intention to find the legendary ship
Ellcia, which will enable her to conquer the world, and promptly massacres
the Selkie clan, a blue skinned peace-loving people who are the custodians
of Ellcia. Eira intervenes somewhat tardily and is about to be sliced
in two when... the adventure really begins.
The above description only scratches the surface of Ellcia.
The main plot is reasonably straightforward, but has so many minor
intrigues and such a huge cast that you almost need a chart to keep
track of them all. I remember Helen McCarthy saying that, despite
the 12 certificate (15 for the last episode), it plays like a pantomime
and I'm inclined to agree. I haven't seen good and evil this
clearly delineated since Star Wars. If it wasn't for a few bloodlettings
I'd say buy this for the kids, but don't let that make you think that
an older viewer can't thoroughly enjoy it too.
The panto feel comes through in the design too, almost garishly bright
for good and muted blues, greens and greys for evil. The dub has been
criticised, but I can't see why. Hammy acting is definitely what
is required here, so that's what you get and it's done well.
Also, one piece of fun I always have with new AD Vision releases is
"spot the voice actor" and this is perfect, all the usual
voices are there. Fantasy at its most classic
and epic with it.
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If you enjoy big mech and space battles then why not have a laugh
along the way? Captain Yurika's hapless crew of misfits have the backing,
the technology, but sadly not the brains...