Back to kyoudai's Profile kyoudai's Profile

"What, another take on Gundam? Another series with space colonization, giant mecha, and intergalactic war? We've had enough, thanks," is what many of you think when considering Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince, or MJP. While I admit that there are many similarities to the Gundam franchise, which somehow finds a way to just barely reinvent itself with each new series, this, my friends, is not Gundam.

Quite unique to MJP, the battle scenes are an extremely small part of the series. So much so, in fact, one could almost call it a slice of life with mecha. While characters in Gundam series have camaraderie, the members of ... Team Rabbits are actually friends. Together, they laugh, cry, eat, fight, and relax. And the strength and nature of those bonds is the focus of the series.

One of the elements I found to be very different from Gundam is the liberal use of humor throughout the series, especially running gags. Given the choice between serious and humorous, I usually choose serious, but the comedy in MJP is effective and welcome.

Another series which MJP is frequently compared to is Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor. Both series involve genetically engineering children to make them suitable pilots for mechas, and for one reason or another, the adults shifting the responsibility of fighting the war onto those teens and children. In MJP, those units form only a fraction of the force, while in Fafner, they are the entirety of it. I believe this distinction is an important one, as it shows a different role the main characters play in each series, as well as the feelings of the adults responsible, despite the similarities.

MJP was a slow starter by normal standards. That isn't a problem with the story so much as with the industry. It was slotted for 2 cours (2 "seasons") at the outset, allowing the production team to pace the story properly instead of the "hurry up and wait" we are accustomed to from many series. If you're the type who will watch 3 episodes before deciding to continue it or drop it, you would have made the wrong decision with MJP.

Several ending themes are used over the course of the series, including one featuring Kei and Tamaki (the females of Team Rabbits) and one featuring Izuru, Asagi, and Suruga (the Team Rabbits males). These themes fit the series well, though they do certainly feel like "anime songs". The opening theme changes midway through the series. The first opening, "Watashi wa Souzousuru", is catchy and upbeat, while the second one, "PROMPT", is a bit more relaxed. I wouldn't call any of these a favorite, but I am particularly fond of "Bokutachi wa Ikiteiru" by the Team Rabbits males. It adds an extra layer of emotional depth to the action occurring in the story at the end of that episode.

The only part that I found myself not particularly fond of was the art style. Even then, it's a matter of taste and that cannot be judged. Maybe you will like it, maybe you won't. Overall, this is the best "mecha anime" I've seen. Is it one of the best anime ever? I wouldn't say that... but I do rather enjoy it. Maybe you will as well.

Spiral is one of those series that I really, really want to love. It had the makings of a hit. But somehow, it ended with more unfulfilled potential than it started with, and I felt cheated for watching the entire 25 episodes.

After a bit of exposition when we meet Narumi Otouto (as the Blade Children refer to him) and the other characters, the story poses a question to Narumi, his detective sister-in-law, and the viewers: What are the Blade Children? Almost halfway into the story, we finally learn what Blade Children are, and if you're not watching carefully you'll miss it. Probably better that you ... should, though, because while the series would be actually good if the secret of the Blade Children was heinous and horrendous, it's actually laughable and anticlimactic. The Blade Children seem to constantly pity themselves as "cursed children who should not be allowed to live in this world". As vague as that notion is, it's also a better answer for what the Blade Children are.

At least half of the series is dedicated to the Blade Children trying to destroy what they believe is their one and only hope for redemption -- a storyline that is, at best, the Blade Children acting out their feelings of confusion, anxiety, and hopelessness. From my point of view, however, it was ridiculous and the writers made no attempt to use logic and reason in writing the story.

Voice actors are some of my favorites, and Suzumura Kenichi did a smashing job as Narumi. Ishida Akira's treatment of Eyes Rutherford was flat and monotonic, but appropriately so for the character. Hiyono's recurrent "weird song", as sung by Asano Masumi, is nicely done as well.

The best part of this series is the artwork. Although Spiral was made in 2002, making it 10 years old at the time of this writing, the style of art is almost the same as anime series currently airing. Other series from that period would have typically looked much different, I believe, with gigantic female eyes much larger than today's eyes. Narumi especially is attractive, with a style not found in contemporary anime. As a sign of the times, many of the male characters are wearing tons of ear jewelry and hair is even more elaborate.

Overall, Spiral could have been something great, but it didn't even try to be. As a result, the whole series suffered terribly. That one decision could have made my review better by 2 stars.

Aki-Sora isn't your run-of-the-mill brother-sister incest story. There have been too many OVAs to count where a boy and his step-sister(s) of no blood relation at all, made quite clear early in the story, have expressed their forbidden love. One of the attractive points of Aki-Sora, though, is that Aki and Sora are, in fact, full siblings. Finally, the 'I' in incest was dotted, and the 'T' in taboo was crossed, like the line that Aki and Sora cross when they give in to their desires for each other.

A point I find particularly appealing about Aki-Sora is Sora's twin sister, Nami, whom he is not ... incestuously involved with. Had I been writing this story, the temptation to have the twins become involved would have been too great to ignore. Twins tend to be closer to their other "half" than to anyone else, so it seems reasonable in an anime about sibling love for there to be strong feelings between the two.Yet Aki-Sora doesn't rely on cliche here, and instead presents us with a more original story: one where, instead, Sora's twin is just the opposite, and there's no particular closeness between the two. Beyond that, there's an amazing love polygon that will surely make you take notice.

Backstory is adequate for understanding the relationship between Aki and Sora, but not so much that we lose sight of the main action, which is well paced. I would like to have seen more backstory with Nami, however. The characters are not completely cliche despite the mold this anime fits into. Sora especially is a bit more dynamic than we might expect. He does, however, blush far too easily. One interesting thing to note is that the relationship between Aki and Sora seems to be a bit of an Oedipal complex, with Aki acting as a stand-in mother. Their mother is not absent (as we see in the sequel), but is rarely home.

I rate the art higher than I might have otherwise, only because more than once did I find myself pausing to admire it and to take screencaps -- but not for the reason you think. Sora is beautiful [I am fonder of boys than girls], and in many scenes, the background and landscapes have an almost magical quality thanks to the shading and glow on them.

The female voices were good, but the seiyuu playing Sora (Kinoshita Sayaka) was quite good. Some may think that Sora sounds TOO much like a girl, but even though there may be a few moments when he sounds unconvincing, it works for him. As Aki tells him after she dresses him in a girl's tennis outfit, "Don't worry. You look like a girl anyway." The only time it may be truly distracting is during the sex scenes.

This was a fun one to watch. I'm more than a bit hentai myself, which is a requirement for enjoying it. If you're not, skip it. There's no point in wasting your time. Thankfully, though, it seems to blaze a new trail right beside the beaten path, so even though some notions may seem worn out, old, and trite, others will be refreshing, eye-opening, and enjoyable.

I followed up this OVA with episode 1 of Aki-Sora: Yume no Naka, which I can say only improves on this one.