Earthian

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Earthian

genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy

For over 5 billion years, the angels from Eden have been watching over the Earth and measuring the positive and negative sides of the Earthians. Each team from Eden is comprised of two checkers; one positive and one negative. Chihaya and Kagetsuya have only recently become a team and are currently in Shibuya, Tokyo. Chihaya, a positive checker, is a very unusual angel. Unlike his partner and the rest of the angels of Eden, Chihaya has dark hair and dark eyes. All others in Eden are fair haired. Why Chihaya is different is a definite mystery.

The Beginning of the End

Length: 45 minutes

Rating: 13 and up, Parental Guidance Suggested

Format: Original Japanese Dialogue, English Subtitled, English Dub (VHS, LD)

synopsis:

Kagetsuya and Chihaya are in Tokyo's Shibuya district studying the positive and negative aspects of humans. Having just recently become a team, Chihaya and Kagetsuya are still not getting along very well. After having an argument with Kagetsuya, Chihaya wanders the streets of Shibuya thinking back to their last observation in Hong Kong where he'd shown his true form to one of the earthians. While Kagetsuya may consider Chihaya's action a serious mistake or even a breach of conduct, Chihaya doesn't think so; it'd been a deliberate act on his part. However, while pondering over his partnership with Kagetsuya, Chihaya meets a young woman, Takako who is being chased by a group of men. Who are these men and why are they chasing her? Chihaya decides to help Takako and in the process gets himself and Kagetsuya involved in an unusual biohumanoid project conducted by an institution known as "House".

capsule review:

Based on the manga by Kouga Yun, Earthian is a bit of a strange OAV to review. Story-wise, it is based on the manga world, but is not entirely part of the manga universe. There are certain inconsistencies which are introduced by the OAV compared to the manga world. Because of the OAV's basis on the manga, there are some flashback scenes as well as a cameo appearance in the OAV which pays homage to one of the earlier stories in the manga resulting in the feeling that there is a lot more background to the story than is immediately apparent in the OAV. Despite this however, we don't have to have the background manga information to comprehend the story as being told; simply we are being made aware of its existence.

The OAV itself is rife with inconsistencies. At times it is decently animated with good detail, while at other times, the animation and drawing style looks like a high school project with very poor design and illustration. Point in fact is the scene of the explosion, the viewer is left looking at the scene and wondering where something that looks so very obviously unreal (animation looks real??) and simplistic came from. Otherwise, there is fairly heavy use of stills and pans, but on occasion, there are crowd scenes with movement throughout the scene. Other times, backgrounds are static or simply empty. Much of it varies throughout the show itself. Unfortunately, this variation isn't limited just to the animation itself; it also occurs with the direction and the music as well.

While the voice acting itself is quite good, there are times where timing of characters lines and the way the lines interact with each other seems rather contrived. While it may be a weakness both with the scripting as well as the direction, certain scenes strike the viewer as being just that bit off and unnatural. Likewise, the scene where K-001 is seen to still be functional was... well, while it makes for a good trivia question, it was just a bit too contrived and obvious a rip-off to sit well. Likewise, when Kagetsuya moves to pursue K-001 after Chihaya is taken hostage, Taki's line again strikes viewers as just that bit too unreal hence holding Kagetsuya back. These unrealistic areas tend to seriously dampen the viewing experience for the viewer.

Lastly, with the inconsistency list is the music. Overall, it is very well done and helps to build the ambience of the scene and does well to enhance the viewing experience. However, there are two points which beg notice. The first is in the battle between the various people from "House" and Kagetsuya, Chihaya and Takako. Just as the final person is defeated the music ends. Very suddenly. The viewer is left going "eh? Where'd the music go?" the break is that sharp and sudden. While this is repeated in a later scene, at that point it is there for a reason and is a logical way to enhance the scene. At this first point however, there was no particular reason for it's sudden sharp end beyond the end of the battle. However, the end of the battle was not so sharp and striking to require the same in the music. The second point which annoys me is as a musician. The final end song, while the song is very nice in itself, the singer is sliding to her notes and not hitting them solidly. That plus a slightly flat rendition makes for decidedly painful listening. While most people will not notice these things, for those of us who do (ie. if you have perfect or near perfect ear), it can be somewhat torturous and leave you cringing.

However, that's not to say that the OAV is not worth watching. Indeed, the voice acting by Sasaki Nozomu is solidly done as is Inoue Kazuhiko. Both lead voice actors are solidly in character and do a good job at portraying their characters as well as the uncertain partnership between the two. While there were the problems with the music as mentioned previously, overall the music itself was truly solid and helps to build the viewing experience.

Likewise, the characters themselves and the interaction between Kagetsuya and Chihaya get the viewer interested in the story being told. Kagetsuya, the older of the two, is also clearly much stronger than Chihaya and is quite capable of taking care of himself. Chihaya however, is rather the opposite, more impulsive and slightly irresponsible, he is also not the most capable in hand-to-hand combat. However, the relationship between Kagetsuya and Chihaya, and the uncertainty between the two as they learn to get along with each other comes through clearly. Despite this unease with their partnership however, Kagetsuya especially works to keep Chihaya out of trouble.

A couple of points for people interested in the series itself, the Japanese LD release is on two LD's. The first LD contains the first part of OAV 3 as well as OAV 1, while the second LD contains the second half of OAV 3 as well as OAV 2. It can make for some confusing viewing if one's not careful. Otherwise, the manga is still incomplete at 5 volumes. While there are no plans to release the tankoubon for book 6, there is a rumour that the compilation release is to contain the final parts to the story. As to when and if this will happen is anyone's guess much to the frustration of Earthian fans.

- JN, 2000.09.30

OAV 2

Length: 45 minutes

Rating: NR, Parental Guidance Suggested

Format: Original Japanese Dialogue, English Subtitled, English Dub (VHS, LD)

synopsis:

Chihaya and Kagetsuya are in Paris investigating the positive and negative aspects of the Earthians. However, not all is well as Chihaya is suffering from nightmares following an incident two months prior where he and Kagetsuya had encountered a much changed Seraphim. Seraphim, one of the 6 great angels of Eden and a pro-earthian, had become a dark angel, one of the Lucifer fallen angels. What is the cancer which is causing this change, and will Chihaya succumb to it; certainly he already has dark wings and dark hair.

However, a surprise visit from Miyagi and Aya brings more chaos to the investigative two-some's home until an emergency notice comes in that another angel for the plus checkers has been reported as possibly being one of the Lucifer fallen angels; Saphire is reported to having dark hair and dark wings in London. Despite the ban on approaching the fallen angels, Chihaya decides to go to London to see if Saphire does indeed have the unusual and deadly cancer, or if he is like Chihaya and is otherwise healthy. Finding him may prove to be rather difficult however, as Saphire has since changed his name and is now a highly sought after and famous rock star on the British music scene...

capsule review:

Talk about a dog eat dog world in the entertainment industry! Realism takes a back seat to the story being told in this second OAV for the Earthian series, both with regards to the story as well as the final shootout scene. While there is always major pressure in order to get ahead in any industry, the idea of plotting cold blooded murder in order to obtain one retired musician's works is definitely more than a slight stretch of reality. Combine this with mixed voice acting, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammunition without reloading in a hand gun, as well as predictability in the action and direction, and we have an overall weak OAV.

The story regarding the entertainment industry itself is less than satisfying for the viewers. However, the earlier background history provided regarding Seraphim and the appearance of Lucifer cases amongst the angels of Eden, as well as the development that we see especially in Chihaya's character, does try to make up for the later weakness.

The opening animation sequence into the OAV encaptures the viewers as it goes through various famous landmarks with feathers drifting down. It's a shame that the OAV does not maintain this level of animation or detail. Instead we find that while there is good detail in still shots, there is heavy use of still pans, empty backgrounds as well as a poor frame rate resulting in less than smooth animation. Not what one would expect of an OAV per se.

Added to the weak animation and story is a mixed music track and exaggerated aural cues to augment characters' feelings of surprise or notice which further lessens the viewing experience. The music, while some is carried over from the first OAV, does have some new melodies for this OAV. However, much of it is synthesizer based rather than orchestral or choral suggesting a fairly slim budget for the production. There is also heavy use of sudden music cutoffs as seen in the first OAV for when something sudden happens. However, while perhaps not as sharply distracting as in the first OAV, it feels over used as a device to augment the scene. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn't particularly aid this production. While the main characters Chihaya and Kagetsuya are well portrayed by Sasaki Nozomu and Inoue Kazuhiko, Aya, Miyagi and Blair's character's are much weaker and has the definite sound of being voice acted lines rather than being fully in character. Aya, portrayed by Shimazu Saeko especially tends to be overacted and comes across as a decidedly annoying character. Cliff Gray's seiyu Nakaharu Shigeru, on the otherhand, does a good job overall and is well within character.

All in all a less than satisfying OAV. Only for die-hard Earthian fans or for those who are looking at getting the full video experience for this series. For followers of the manga, this OAV likely takes place sometime after the fifth tankoubon.

- JN, 2000.10.15


	S.O.T.A. Revolution \| home Anime Reviews \| Ah! Megamisama! \| Aono Rokugo \| Arcadia of my youth \| Arislan Senki \| Armitage III \| Ayashi no Ceres \| BAOH \| Battle Angel \| Birdy the Mighty \| Black Jack \| Bubblegum Crisis \| Card Captor Sakura \| Cowboy Bebop \| Crystania no Densetsu \| DBZ Review \| Earthian \| Fake \| Fatal Fury III: The Motion Picture \| Hono Tripper \| Fushigi Yuugi \| Galaxy Express 999 \| Koukaku Kidoutai \| Hotaru No Haka \| Umi Ga Kikoeru \| Juiichinin Iru \| Kaze no Namae wa Amnesia \| Laputa, Castle in the Sky \| Mei Tantei Conan \| Mermaid's Scar \| Ninja Scroll \| Only Yesterday \| Princess Mononoke \| Queen Emeraldas \| Rail of the Star \| Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie \| Tekken Review \| Ultimate Fighter: Grappler Baki \| The Vision of Escaflowne \| Warriors of the Wind \| X: The Movie Earthian genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy For over 5 billion years, the angels from Eden have been watching over the Earth and measuring the positive and negative sides of the Earthians. Each team from Eden is comprised of two checkers; one positive and one negative. Chihaya and Kagetsuya have only recently become a team and are currently in Shibuya, Tokyo. Chihaya, a positive checker, is a very unusual angel. Unlike his partner and the rest of the angels of Eden, Chihaya has dark hair and dark eyes. All others in Eden are fair haired. Why Chihaya is different is a definite mystery. The Beginning of the End Copyright: © 1989 Youmex Inc.; © 1998 AnimeWorks Length: 45 minutes Rating: 13 and up, Parental Guidance Suggested Format: Original Japanese Dialogue, English Subtitled, English Dub (VHS, LD) synopsis: Kagetsuya and Chihaya are in Tokyo's Shibuya district studying the positive and negative aspects of humans. Having just recently become a team, Chihaya and Kagetsuya are still not getting along very well. After having an argument with Kagetsuya, Chihaya wanders the streets of Shibuya thinking back to their last observation in Hong Kong where he'd shown his true form to one of the earthians. While Kagetsuya may consider Chihaya's action a serious mistake or even a breach of conduct, Chihaya doesn't think so; it'd been a deliberate act on his part. However, while pondering over his partnership with Kagetsuya, Chihaya meets a young woman, Takako who is being chased by a group of men. Who are these men and why are they chasing her? Chihaya decides to help Takako and in the process gets himself and Kagetsuya involved in an unusual biohumanoid project conducted by an institution known as "House". capsule review: Based on the manga by Kouga Yun, Earthian is a bit of a strange OAV to review. Story-wise, it is based on the manga world, but is not entirely part of the manga universe. There are certain inconsistencies which are introduced by the OAV compared to the manga world. Because of the OAV's basis on the manga, there are some flashback scenes as well as a cameo appearance in the OAV which pays homage to one of the earlier stories in the manga resulting in the feeling that there is a lot more background to the story than is immediately apparent in the OAV. Despite this however, we don't have to have the background manga information to comprehend the story as being told; simply we are being made aware of its existence. The OAV itself is rife with inconsistencies. At times it is decently animated with good detail, while at other times, the animation and drawing style looks like a high school project with very poor design and illustration. Point in fact is the scene of the explosion, the viewer is left looking at the scene and wondering where something that looks so very obviously unreal (animation looks real??) and simplistic came from. Otherwise, there is fairly heavy use of stills and pans, but on occasion, there are crowd scenes with movement throughout the scene. Other times, backgrounds are static or simply empty. Much of it varies throughout the show itself. Unfortunately, this variation isn't limited just to the animation itself; it also occurs with the direction and the music as well. While the voice acting itself is quite good, there are times where timing of characters lines and the way the lines interact with each other seems rather contrived. While it may be a weakness both with the scripting as well as the direction, certain scenes strike the viewer as being just that bit off and unnatural. Likewise, the scene where K-001 is seen to still be functional was... well, while it makes for a good trivia question, it was just a bit too contrived and obvious a rip-off to sit well. Likewise, when Kagetsuya moves to pursue K-001 after Chihaya is taken hostage, Taki's line again strikes viewers as just that bit too unreal hence holding Kagetsuya back. These unrealistic areas tend to seriously dampen the viewing experience for the viewer. Lastly, with the inconsistency list is the music. Overall, it is very well done and helps to build the ambience of the scene and does well to enhance the viewing experience. However, there are two points which beg notice. The first is in the battle between the various people from "House" and Kagetsuya, Chihaya and Takako. Just as the final person is defeated the music ends. Very suddenly. The viewer is left going "eh? Where'd the music go?" the break is that sharp and sudden. While this is repeated in a later scene, at that point it is there for a reason and is a logical way to enhance the scene. At this first point however, there was no particular reason for it's sudden sharp end beyond the end of the battle. However, the end of the battle was not so sharp and striking to require the same in the music. The second point which annoys me is as a musician. The final end song, while the song is very nice in itself, the singer is sliding to her notes and not hitting them solidly. That plus a slightly flat rendition makes for decidedly painful listening. While most people will not notice these things, for those of us who do (ie. if you have perfect or near perfect ear), it can be somewhat torturous and leave you cringing. However, that's not to say that the OAV is not worth watching. Indeed, the voice acting by Sasaki Nozomu is solidly done as is Inoue Kazuhiko. Both lead voice actors are solidly in character and do a good job at portraying their characters as well as the uncertain partnership between the two. While there were the problems with the music as mentioned previously, overall the music itself was truly solid and helps to build the viewing experience. Likewise, the characters themselves and the interaction between Kagetsuya and Chihaya get the viewer interested in the story being told. Kagetsuya, the older of the two, is also clearly much stronger than Chihaya and is quite capable of taking care of himself. Chihaya however, is rather the opposite, more impulsive and slightly irresponsible, he is also not the most capable in hand-to-hand combat. However, the relationship between Kagetsuya and Chihaya, and the uncertainty between the two as they learn to get along with each other comes through clearly. Despite this unease with their partnership however, Kagetsuya especially works to keep Chihaya out of trouble. A couple of points for people interested in the series itself, the Japanese LD release is on two LD's. The first LD contains the first part of OAV 3 as well as OAV 1, while the second LD contains the second half of OAV 3 as well as OAV 2. It can make for some confusing viewing if one's not careful. Otherwise, the manga is still incomplete at 5 volumes. While there are no plans to release the tankoubon for book 6, there is a rumour that the compilation release is to contain the final parts to the story. As to when and if this will happen is anyone's guess much to the frustration of Earthian fans. - JN, 2000.09.30 OAV 2 Copyright: © 1990 Youmex Inc.; © 1998 AnimeWorks Length: 45 minutes Rating: NR, Parental Guidance Suggested Format: Original Japanese Dialogue, English Subtitled, English Dub (VHS, LD) synopsis: Chihaya and Kagetsuya are in Paris investigating the positive and negative aspects of the Earthians. However, not all is well as Chihaya is suffering from nightmares following an incident two months prior where he and Kagetsuya had encountered a much changed Seraphim. Seraphim, one of the 6 great angels of Eden and a pro-earthian, had become a dark angel, one of the Lucifer fallen angels. What is the cancer which is causing this change, and will Chihaya succumb to it; certainly he already has dark wings and dark hair. However, a surprise visit from Miyagi and Aya brings more chaos to the investigative two-some's home until an emergency notice comes in that another angel for the plus checkers has been reported as possibly being one of the Lucifer fallen angels; Saphire is reported to having dark hair and dark wings in London. Despite the ban on approaching the fallen angels, Chihaya decides to go to London to see if Saphire does indeed have the unusual and deadly cancer, or if he is like Chihaya and is otherwise healthy. Finding him may prove to be rather difficult however, as Saphire has since changed his name and is now a highly sought after and famous rock star on the British music scene... capsule review: Talk about a dog eat dog world in the entertainment industry! Realism takes a back seat to the story being told in this second OAV for the Earthian series, both with regards to the story as well as the final shootout scene. While there is always major pressure in order to get ahead in any industry, the idea of plotting cold blooded murder in order to obtain one retired musician's works is definitely more than a slight stretch of reality. Combine this with mixed voice acting, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammunition without reloading in a hand gun, as well as predictability in the action and direction, and we have an overall weak OAV. The story regarding the entertainment industry itself is less than satisfying for the viewers. However, the earlier background history provided regarding Seraphim and the appearance of Lucifer cases amongst the angels of Eden, as well as the development that we see especially in Chihaya's character, does try to make up for the later weakness. The opening animation sequence into the OAV encaptures the viewers as it goes through various famous landmarks with feathers drifting down. It's a shame that the OAV does not maintain this level of animation or detail. Instead we find that while there is good detail in still shots, there is heavy use of still pans, empty backgrounds as well as a poor frame rate resulting in less than smooth animation. Not what one would expect of an OAV per se. Added to the weak animation and story is a mixed music track and exaggerated aural cues to augment characters' feelings of surprise or notice which further lessens the viewing experience. The music, while some is carried over from the first OAV, does have some new melodies for this OAV. However, much of it is synthesizer based rather than orchestral or choral suggesting a fairly slim budget for the production. There is also heavy use of sudden music cutoffs as seen in the first OAV for when something sudden happens. However, while perhaps not as sharply distracting as in the first OAV, it feels over used as a device to augment the scene. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn't particularly aid this production. While the main characters Chihaya and Kagetsuya are well portrayed by Sasaki Nozomu and Inoue Kazuhiko, Aya, Miyagi and Blair's character's are much weaker and has the definite sound of being voice acted lines rather than being fully in character. Aya, portrayed by Shimazu Saeko especially tends to be overacted and comes across as a decidedly annoying character. Cliff Gray's seiyu Nakaharu Shigeru, on the otherhand, does a good job overall and is well within character. All in all a less than satisfying OAV. Only for die-hard Earthian fans or for those who are looking at getting the full video experience for this series. For followers of the manga, this OAV likely takes place sometime after the fifth tankoubon. - JN, 2000.10.15