[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Crest of the Stars episodes 1-4: The Abh’s peaceful conquest
Epic. That’s the best summing-up I can give for the opening episodes of Crest of the Stars. Y’know how I said the other day about how I loved dramatic sci-fi dramas? It doesn’t get much better than this, believe me.
I must confess that I’ve never read Hiruyuki Morioka’s original novel. I’m not even going to go into the finer points of the plot, either. Suffice to say it stands alongside the likes of Macross, Gunbuster and even Western sagas such as Star Wars in sheer scope and vision. For all this, it still manages to depict the deepest feelings and emotions of individual characters who are complex and engaging. Impressive indeed.
The hero is Jinto Lin, the son of the leader of planet Martine (wow, I have a whole planet named after me…well, almost). After the peaceful conquest of his planet by an interstellar race known as the Abh, Jinto becomes Abh nobility by default and while travelling to the next stage of his education he meets the beautiful Lafiel, a young Abh pilot. Two things surprised me at this point: the admirable characterisation and the almost-complete lack of combat scenes.
In a series in which a planet is invaded you expect explosions, death and destruction at the hands of vicious monsters; here, the Abh are civilised, intelligent and relatively peaceful. The enemies of humanity, I found myself taking a real liking to them! The political tension that exists between the elfen-looking Abh and the humans crops up occasionally but the story fast-forwards to the initial meeting between Jinto and Lafiel: despite the grandiose sweep of the story it appears that Crest of the Stars will be a remarkably warm and human affair in which the two leads’ experiences are the main focus.
The artwork is very typical of the 1990s vintage with very sparing CGI; quite honestly I prefer the cel animation and the angular character designs, and in addition the soundtrack is superb. After the short intro narration that’s presumably in the Abh’s language (a feature at the beginning of every episode, which gives background to the story), the opening theme evokes memories of classical pieces that Kubrik would be proud of. Yep, I’m a closet classical music fan as well!
In terms of action the beginning of Crest of the Stars may appear to be a little slow for some but the sheer volume of information presented here makes for a very rich viewing experience. The creators have even gone to the trouble of showing the Abh’s language and customs; small details that will not go unnoticed to viewers who really appreciate that sort of thing. Jinto’s and Lafiel’s journey is only beginning but I’m already enthralled!
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