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| Reviewer: Karasu |
Run Time: 12 part series |
Format: Subtitled |
Distributor: Fansub |
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E A R T H G I R L A R J U N A |
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In short, it oozes atmosphere and attention to detail from every pore, and manages to weave an environmental message of the sort non-fans slam Miyazaki for into a much deeper exploration of the relationship between humans and the rest of the ecosystem. Juna is an ordinary High school girl. She’s not especially athletic or brilliant or an ultra kawaii fantasy figure like most heroines in this genre. The first episode opens with her archery club meeting where, in traditional dress, she attempts to focus her mind like an arrow and become the target – only to have the entire mood of studied calm collapse as she misses the arrow entirely and it falls to the ground at her feet. A touchingly silly conversation with her boyfriend Tokyo down by the docks quickly leads to plans to travel to the coast and watch the sunset over the sea of Japan. However the journey quickly ends in disaster as their motorbike crashes and everything fades to black. She wakes up, floating above her body on an emergency room table, her Mother and Tokyo frantic with worry as the doctors try desperately to save her – and fail. As her heart stops, she is drawn up through the ceiling, right up above the atmosphere and sees a horrifying vision. Something is crawling across the earth – leaving behind fires and devastation. Intermingled with this are scenes of factories, crops being sprayed with pesticides and animal and plant life choking and dying. A mysterious glowing figure appears, introduces himself as Chris, and tells her he can give her another chance at life if she agrees to help fight the things she saw coiling across earth – the demons known as Ra-jer. Fear drives her to accept and she returns to life in hospital, shocking her Mother, the doctors and Tokio who chases her as she runs outside and is guided by Chris to a waiting helicopter belonging to S.E.E.D, the Special Anomaly Occurrence Investigation Bureau. Within the ‘copter waits Chris, and a rather sarcastic young telepath named Cindy who only manage to give her the briefest of explanations and equip her with the jewel that will allow her to synchronise with the Earth as the avatar of Time before the first Ra-jer threatens. From this point on, both in Juna’s ordinary life and in her new role, the series never fails to involve. Nothing drags, nothing is out of place and the Superb Yoko Kanno soundtrack keeps the mood in every scene. Add to that visuals that successfully blend traditional animation, digital cell painting, the occasional bit of live action and the best CGI I’ve ever seen in an animated series and you have a show that’s crying out for a quality, high-bitrate DVD release. Fansubs just do not do it justice. ‘One hot summer day, I died. And then I saw it, this stars dying future’ 10/10 - If this series doesn’t get picked up for release soon, then there’s more wrong with the western Anime industry than I ever could have imagined. Back to Menu |
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| Everyday fantasy |  |
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For more tales of the fantastic set in the everyday world, take a look
at Angel Sanctuary - mean and moody stuff indeed...Read the review |
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