Reviews for Terra e... (2007) (8.19)
summoner
Yamasaki Osamu
Note: This review is based on A-E&Saizen and Makoto fansubs. Quality varies between episodes, but most of the encodes are slightly too blurry to make Terra`s good animation justice. Trans...
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- Unrated
25.09.2009 09:22 - direct link
(rs7117)
Note: This review is based on A-E&Saizen and Makoto fansubs. Quality varies between episodes, but most of the encodes are slightly too blurry to make Terra's good animation justice. Translation is not perfect, but still does a pretty good job at conveying the emotion of the show.
Originally written as manga in 1977 by Takemiya Keiko (known for her Yaoi manga achievements) and finally directed 30 years later by Yamazaki Osamu (Itazurana Kiss, Wrath of the Ninja) Toward the Terra[/b] is a space opera telling a story about the condemned race of Mu which wanders the enormous wastes of space both to find its promised land - Terra, and to escape its vicious, blood-thirsty pursuers - humanity. Humans themselves have given up freedom to attain order and peace, letting computers do all the decision making. Mu, regarded by computers as a threat to purity of human species, must be eradicated without any compromises. Only the destined leader of the mu, bestowed the name Soldier, can change the fate of mu and humanity alike.
I guess to find innovation in this day and age you have to search for it in mangas written in the previous millennium. Seriously, in the age of overused fanservice and incomplete filler-filled crap, Terra e comes off as a dose of fresh air. Though not perfectly adapted, as the speedy pace and jumps between dozen of years don't let characters flesh themselves out well, the story of this show is commendable. From a well thought-out setting, fast paced never-boring plot and a complete, meaningful ending, Toward the Terra is a great addition to the otherwise thin genre making you wish more anime would try to imitate it. You might be worried about this being Takemiya Keiko's work, but I can assure you that there is little to none yaoish overtones and it's perfectly safe to watch, though I must admit male characters do get along very well and most females are given behind-the-curtains roles. Either way, though not a masterpiece, Toward the Terra is a solid show, worthy to be picked up by anyone interested in the genre or anime as a whole.
Animation: 8/10
Animation by Tokyo Kids (Ayakashi) exceeds in background imaginary. Usual scenes of ship quarters or other indoor places are good, but when it comes to planet surfaces it truly delivers. The good use of lighting and the high amount of little details brings the environment pictures to, sometimes, jaw-dropping picturesque, good direction of using the right moments to show beautiful scenery also helps (remember my words when you see Yggdrasil). Character designs, on the other hand, are not as good. Though peculiar and seemingly well detailed at the beginning, characters start to show sharp lines and minor facial deformations later. It doesn't help that the original designs, save for Soldier Blue, are quite generic. Motion fluidity is something you'd expect from a show made in 2007, it doesn't really excel, but you sure wont be annoyed by any choppy movements.
Sound: 8/10
I must say that both pop-like OPs are quite a let-down for a show so big and epic in magnitude. Space always goes well with either classic music if you want to be epic, or techno/trance if you want to be cyberpunk, but it sure doesn't go well with pop. On the other hand the songs themselves aren't that bad, for pop. Anyway, EDs go better with the show being ballad/lullaby-like melancholic songs, but still fail to be distinctive. Thankfully, if one wishes for distinction, background music by Takanashi Yasuharu (Naruto Shipuuden, Mononoke) supplies plenty. Quite a few different uber-epic, mournful vocal chant pieces do wonders for Terra's atmosphere. That's the kind of music THAT indeed does fit space and, especially, genocide of a race. There are quite a few scenes which would work half as efficient in emotion department if not for the clever use of epic music. Other pieces, which play during more generic moments are also pretty good, if not particularly memorable.
Thanks to many history-having seiyuu voice-acting in Toward the Terra is, again, solid. Main character Jomy is voiced by one of the best female-to-male actors Saiga Mitsuki while half-main character half-villain Keith has a voice of the versatile Koyasu Takehito. Finally Kobayashi Sanae brings some so needed deep female voice with her role as Physis, while the fresh-sounding Sugita Tomokazu and Sugiyama Noriyaki bring even more beauty to male voice scene.
Story: 8/10
The setting is so good it actually has more potential than the story delivers, the plot is still pretty good nonetheless, mainly as they don't waste time on any crap, like fillers. If I'm not mistaken the show covers time-span of about sixteen years, so, yeah, the pace is fast. Though I felt that some jumps through time were rushed, as they jumped before I could get into characters, the long time-span and all humanity encompassing proportion of the story makes the show appear really epic. The fact that the show doesn't feel guilty about killing its characters left and right shows that people in the 80s knew what a good drama was, unlike what the lukewarm stuff nowadays is. Though Terra e, never becomes too philosophical, it indeed does have quite a few thought-provoking lines and the protect-environment message is well-received. The few drawbacks would be that due to the really fast pace some space battles feel anti-climatic and are over before you even notice. It doesn't take more than four episodes to fight and end an all-out war. Some stuff regarding the setting and potential politics are also ruthlessly discarded. Otherwise, it's a good story, well told, I've seen better, but a complete closure, few good twists and rarely-boring pace makes it a very time-worthy watch.
Characters: 6/10
I am quite reluctant to state, as I haven't really read the original manga, but I feel that the adaptation to anime really hurt the character department in Toward the Terra. While brimming with potential and semi-interesting personalities characters fail to entertain due to the many time jumps this show has. It's just when the character begins to flesh himself out and you, like, start getting into him *bam* the show jumps 8 years into the future. You weren't sure if you understood him when he was younger and he is a completely different person now, great. It takes the later half of the show when the jumps cease to seriously flesh out, otherwise forsaken characters, and there is quite a number of them. Actually there are way too many characters for the show to handle, some barely make cameo appearances before getting killed and you can barely keep track of all the generations of people coming and going. Ultimately, only Jomy and Keith are full-fledged well fleshed-out and even developed characters, but it takes the ending of the anime to finally achieve it. Physis and Soldier Blue also show much potential and are actually quite good characters, at least, judging from the pieces of information you get. Unfortunately, due to lack of screen-time their potential is never given justice, though you could say that both Jomy and Blue go the same way anyway. Either way, characters are not really all that interesting. Though they work well with story, provide plenty of drama and basically do everything they need to, none of them really become too distinctive to remain memorable long after you've watched this show. Not to mention that the majority of characters don't even have time to say a word.
Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:
Value: 7/10
Value certainly ceases once you already know the every twist in the plot, as, really, the most interesting part of the show is seeing how everything will finally play out, as it's quite hard to predict. Nonetheless, the good visuals and some great epic music invites me to watch this anime again. Though it's not the type of show you'd watch a few times consecutively, it's a worthy keep in anyone's collection, good to re-watch after few years have passed and memories have faded.
Quote:
And then, it realized... That Humanity itself was evil!
Originally written as manga in 1977 by Takemiya Keiko (known for her Yaoi manga achievements) and finally directed 30 years later by Yamazaki Osamu (Itazurana Kiss, Wrath of the Ninja) Toward the Terra[/b] is a space opera telling a story about the condemned race of Mu which wanders the enormous wastes of space both to find its promised land - Terra, and to escape its vicious, blood-thirsty pursuers - humanity. Humans themselves have given up freedom to attain order and peace, letting computers do all the decision making. Mu, regarded by computers as a threat to purity of human species, must be eradicated without any compromises. Only the destined leader of the mu, bestowed the name Soldier, can change the fate of mu and humanity alike.
I guess to find innovation in this day and age you have to search for it in mangas written in the previous millennium. Seriously, in the age of overused fanservice and incomplete filler-filled crap, Terra e comes off as a dose of fresh air. Though not perfectly adapted, as the speedy pace and jumps between dozen of years don't let characters flesh themselves out well, the story of this show is commendable. From a well thought-out setting, fast paced never-boring plot and a complete, meaningful ending, Toward the Terra is a great addition to the otherwise thin genre making you wish more anime would try to imitate it. You might be worried about this being Takemiya Keiko's work, but I can assure you that there is little to none yaoish overtones and it's perfectly safe to watch, though I must admit male characters do get along very well and most females are given behind-the-curtains roles. Either way, though not a masterpiece, Toward the Terra is a solid show, worthy to be picked up by anyone interested in the genre or anime as a whole.
Animation: 8/10
Animation by Tokyo Kids (Ayakashi) exceeds in background imaginary. Usual scenes of ship quarters or other indoor places are good, but when it comes to planet surfaces it truly delivers. The good use of lighting and the high amount of little details brings the environment pictures to, sometimes, jaw-dropping picturesque, good direction of using the right moments to show beautiful scenery also helps (remember my words when you see Yggdrasil). Character designs, on the other hand, are not as good. Though peculiar and seemingly well detailed at the beginning, characters start to show sharp lines and minor facial deformations later. It doesn't help that the original designs, save for Soldier Blue, are quite generic. Motion fluidity is something you'd expect from a show made in 2007, it doesn't really excel, but you sure wont be annoyed by any choppy movements.
Sound: 8/10
I must say that both pop-like OPs are quite a let-down for a show so big and epic in magnitude. Space always goes well with either classic music if you want to be epic, or techno/trance if you want to be cyberpunk, but it sure doesn't go well with pop. On the other hand the songs themselves aren't that bad, for pop. Anyway, EDs go better with the show being ballad/lullaby-like melancholic songs, but still fail to be distinctive. Thankfully, if one wishes for distinction, background music by Takanashi Yasuharu (Naruto Shipuuden, Mononoke) supplies plenty. Quite a few different uber-epic, mournful vocal chant pieces do wonders for Terra's atmosphere. That's the kind of music THAT indeed does fit space and, especially, genocide of a race. There are quite a few scenes which would work half as efficient in emotion department if not for the clever use of epic music. Other pieces, which play during more generic moments are also pretty good, if not particularly memorable.
Thanks to many history-having seiyuu voice-acting in Toward the Terra is, again, solid. Main character Jomy is voiced by one of the best female-to-male actors Saiga Mitsuki while half-main character half-villain Keith has a voice of the versatile Koyasu Takehito. Finally Kobayashi Sanae brings some so needed deep female voice with her role as Physis, while the fresh-sounding Sugita Tomokazu and Sugiyama Noriyaki bring even more beauty to male voice scene.
Story: 8/10
The setting is so good it actually has more potential than the story delivers, the plot is still pretty good nonetheless, mainly as they don't waste time on any crap, like fillers. If I'm not mistaken the show covers time-span of about sixteen years, so, yeah, the pace is fast. Though I felt that some jumps through time were rushed, as they jumped before I could get into characters, the long time-span and all humanity encompassing proportion of the story makes the show appear really epic. The fact that the show doesn't feel guilty about killing its characters left and right shows that people in the 80s knew what a good drama was, unlike what the lukewarm stuff nowadays is. Though Terra e, never becomes too philosophical, it indeed does have quite a few thought-provoking lines and the protect-environment message is well-received. The few drawbacks would be that due to the really fast pace some space battles feel anti-climatic and are over before you even notice. It doesn't take more than four episodes to fight and end an all-out war. Some stuff regarding the setting and potential politics are also ruthlessly discarded. Otherwise, it's a good story, well told, I've seen better, but a complete closure, few good twists and rarely-boring pace makes it a very time-worthy watch.
Characters: 6/10
I am quite reluctant to state, as I haven't really read the original manga, but I feel that the adaptation to anime really hurt the character department in Toward the Terra. While brimming with potential and semi-interesting personalities characters fail to entertain due to the many time jumps this show has. It's just when the character begins to flesh himself out and you, like, start getting into him *bam* the show jumps 8 years into the future. You weren't sure if you understood him when he was younger and he is a completely different person now, great. It takes the later half of the show when the jumps cease to seriously flesh out, otherwise forsaken characters, and there is quite a number of them. Actually there are way too many characters for the show to handle, some barely make cameo appearances before getting killed and you can barely keep track of all the generations of people coming and going. Ultimately, only Jomy and Keith are full-fledged well fleshed-out and even developed characters, but it takes the ending of the anime to finally achieve it. Physis and Soldier Blue also show much potential and are actually quite good characters, at least, judging from the pieces of information you get. Unfortunately, due to lack of screen-time their potential is never given justice, though you could say that both Jomy and Blue go the same way anyway. Either way, characters are not really all that interesting. Though they work well with story, provide plenty of drama and basically do everything they need to, none of them really become too distinctive to remain memorable long after you've watched this show. Not to mention that the majority of characters don't even have time to say a word.
Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:
Value: 7/10
Value certainly ceases once you already know the every twist in the plot, as, really, the most interesting part of the show is seeing how everything will finally play out, as it's quite hard to predict. Nonetheless, the good visuals and some great epic music invites me to watch this anime again. Though it's not the type of show you'd watch a few times consecutively, it's a worthy keep in anyone's collection, good to re-watch after few years have passed and memories have faded.
- Conclusion[/u]:[/b] Recommended for anyone who is 13+ years old Toward the Terra[/b] is a solid space opera in an otherwise thin genre. Though it wont do wonders it's a good show and I recommend giving it a shot as long as you don't have space-allergy. Other space operas which might be of interest if you like the genre include the epic of epics Legend of Galactic Heroes and my personal-favorite romance flavored Seikai no Monshou
