[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Crest of the Stars, revisited

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Crest of the Stars]

You have Ghostlightning partly to blame for this. His insightful side-by-side analysis of Frontier’s Ranka and CotS’s Lafiel was a bit of an exercise in comparing apples and oranges in some ways but it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the first adaptation of Hiroyuki Morioka’s series of science fiction novels. I’m actually starting on the English language versions, if nothing else to remind me how it avoided becoming a forgettable Legend of the Galactic Heroes clone through its characterisation and world-building. Oh yeah, I lay into an ‘expert opinion’ after the jump too.

My appreciation of CotS is twofold: it creates an entire universe as background for its story, but crucially remembers to fill the stage with memorable faces that bring this story to life. Coming back to one of my old DVD favourites after all this time means that I have a good couple of years worth of anime viewing behind me too, including other space operas of varying lengths and vintage; and of course I was able to concentrate on the little details that I may have missed in trying to follow the plot the first time around. The “When will the Banner of the Stars R2 DVDs come out?” feeling came back with a vengeance too, I might add.

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[Anime Reviews]

Crest of the Stars episodes 9-13

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Crest of the Stars]

The series draws to a close as Jinto and Lafiel reach Sufugnoff and attempt to evade capture on the planet’s surface at the hands of both the police and the military. Meanwhile the Abh and United Mankind line up to do battle following the destruction of the Gosroth.

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[Anime Reviews]

Crest of the Stars episodes 5-8: Conspiracy, warfare and betrayal

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Crest of the Stars]

Jinto and Lafiel leave the Gosroth as they head for a remote outpost presided over by the Abh Baron Febdash to send news ahead of the United Human Force’s intentions. Meanwhile the Gosroth prepares for a battle against overwhelming odds as the United Human fleet closes in.

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[Anime Reviews]

Crest of the Stars episodes 1-4: The Abh’s peaceful conquest

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Crest of the Stars]

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.

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