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Starship Operators is one of those anime that was adapted from a light novel. As such, the story has more depth than most and the characters are less exaggerated and a tad more believable. As with most such adaptations, it is the original work peeking through that makes you keep watching, but what you see is only a shadow of what the story should be.

To my knowledge, the Starship Operators light novel has not been translated into English and so I will not have the pleasure of reading it any time soon. But, it is clear where the anime falters in the ... execution of its story. Many of the explanations are hard to follow, especially while reading the subs and trying to watch at the same time, and the majority of the story telling elements fall flat. Occasionally it feels like you are watching people enact an event timeline rather than telling a story. Still, the original work must have been something, since the story was what kept me watching.

The art is mediocre at best and the battle scenes are fairly lackluster. They spend more time talking about what they are going to do instead of actually doing it. Even then, most of the battle is spent switching between the command crew and tactical screens, only using recycled footage for the outside shots. The only upside to the art is that most of the women are fairly attractive, if their mini-skirts are a tad ridiculous in null-G.

The sound was done well-enough, and helped in large part to keep the viewer immersed in the anime. On the other hand, there was very little to remember of it. Thankfully, none of the voices were intolerably high-pitched, and the actors did a fair job with what they had to work with.

The characters were understated, to say the least. This isn't a bad thing, since the anime was more about the events than the people to begin with, and it is a refreshing when compared to the often excessively exaggerated people found in anime. But it is hard to really feel for them since you only get an outline as to who they are. The few romantic exploits and back-stories are often clipped short or else feel contrived. However, they still feel more like real people than many anime.

I enjoyed this show for what it was and it kept me engrossed until the end. I found the tactics clever and felt the premise had a lot of potential. But the producers dropped the ball on this one and I don't see how it gained anything in becoming an anime.

First of all, Feng Shen Ji is drawn in very beautiful full color and many of the panels show are as a feast to the eyes. The battle scenes are particularly well done and are a delight to read.

The story, however, takes a couple of chapters to really kick off and a few more for you to begin to like the main character. But unlike the standard manga, the main character grows as the series goes on, becoming more mature and worldly at a steady pace rather than the random spikes and dips normally seen.

The plot is more akin to a novel or ... light novel than the common manga, taking time to lay down roots. It doesn't have a lot of humorous parts or quick gags. And, while it is fairly violent, there is very little of the perverseness found in post adolescent manga.

Overall, I'd recommend it to people from 16 to 25 who like fantasy and martial arts fiction, but won't get bored with a more involved story.