I finally finished Kemono no Souja Erin and it is without doubt one of the most enjoyable anime series I seen for a long time. The last few episodes were the best of the entire series as each of the secondary character's stories is properly completed. There are no lose ends in this series.
As I noted in previous posts on this series, the story focuses on the life of the title character, Erin, at three turning points in her life at age 10, 14, and 18. The third part turns considerably darker as sinister people finally discover Erin's ability to control beast-lords. She loses her bond with Lilan, the beast-lord Erin befriended, when she is forced to subdue Lilan with a mute whistle, an act which was necessary but nevertheless goes against the core of Erin's beliefs. However, the final episode leaves no doubt that the bond was never completely lost, when Lilan saves Erin in a most remarkable manner.
Its hard to find anything wrong with the series. There are a pair of annoying sidekicks who provide the only comedic moments in the story. There are a few filler episodes but not as many as one might expect for such a long series.
The series is incredibly consistent. From the fantasy world to the beliefs of the character, everything is developed in such a way that your disbelief is never challenged.
Showing posts with label kemono no souja erin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kemono no souja erin. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, September 18, 2009
Kemono no Souja Erin - 29
The anime series Kemono no Souja Erin keeps getting better. The mature story telling in this series continues to impress as Erin faced a number of crises since I last mention the series.
Her foster father, Jone, died and she had a difficult time dealing with it. Erin never knew her real father so Jone easily filled that role after her mother died. But it was only after Jone passed away that Erin realized she actually thought of him has her father. The regret that she had never told him this, made his passing all the more difficult.
Erin was also forced to question her beliefs about the relationship between animals and humans. She has become unbelievably close to Lilan, the Beastlord that she looks after. While brushing Lilan, Erin accidentally brushes the wrong way and causes Lilan to react and attack her. It was an extremely painful reminder of the risk she is taking in getting so close a powerful animal, and it was not easy for Erin to continue the work she has started with Lilan.
When Erin learned that Lilan was a gift to the Queen and would never be returned to the wild, Erin became very depressed. It was a surprising change for her normally upbeat character. Erin works through problems by drawing upon the wisdom of her mother, Soyon, and Jone, the two most significant influences in her life. However, this means she is dealing with problems alone, when she could ask others for help.
The series has been licensed and can be streamed from crunchyroll.com. The SD video doesn't require a sign up as far as I can tell but I don't know if is available outside the US and Canada, and you have to put up with advertisements.
Her foster father, Jone, died and she had a difficult time dealing with it. Erin never knew her real father so Jone easily filled that role after her mother died. But it was only after Jone passed away that Erin realized she actually thought of him has her father. The regret that she had never told him this, made his passing all the more difficult.
Erin was also forced to question her beliefs about the relationship between animals and humans. She has become unbelievably close to Lilan, the Beastlord that she looks after. While brushing Lilan, Erin accidentally brushes the wrong way and causes Lilan to react and attack her. It was an extremely painful reminder of the risk she is taking in getting so close a powerful animal, and it was not easy for Erin to continue the work she has started with Lilan.
When Erin learned that Lilan was a gift to the Queen and would never be returned to the wild, Erin became very depressed. It was a surprising change for her normally upbeat character. Erin works through problems by drawing upon the wisdom of her mother, Soyon, and Jone, the two most significant influences in her life. However, this means she is dealing with problems alone, when she could ask others for help.
The series has been licensed and can be streamed from crunchyroll.com. The SD video doesn't require a sign up as far as I can tell but I don't know if is available outside the US and Canada, and you have to put up with advertisements.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Kemono no Souja Erin 23
Kemono no Souja Erin is getting really interesting. Erin's skill with animals enables her to help a young distressed Beast-Lord, but her abilities deeply frightens her teachers.
According to legend only the Queen is able to command the Beast-Lords to eat the Touda. This gives her power over the Grand Duke who commands the Touda, and so maintains the balance of power in the country. Upon hearing of the legend, Erin immediately denounces it as "rubbish. Beast-Lords eat Touda because it is natural for them to do so," which is pretty darn obvious.
Erin's ability to control the young Beast-Lord, makes her valuable to the enemies of the country. The teachers wisely decide to keep Erin's ability a secret for her safety as well as the safety of the nation. What I found touching, was that all of the students agreed to take an oath to keep the secret, even the ones who dislike Erin. This kid know how to win people over!
Even so, I doubt that Erin can avoid getting drawn into the politics that surrounds the Touda and Beast-Lords. Her skills are just too valuable.
According to legend only the Queen is able to command the Beast-Lords to eat the Touda. This gives her power over the Grand Duke who commands the Touda, and so maintains the balance of power in the country. Upon hearing of the legend, Erin immediately denounces it as "rubbish. Beast-Lords eat Touda because it is natural for them to do so," which is pretty darn obvious.
Erin's ability to control the young Beast-Lord, makes her valuable to the enemies of the country. The teachers wisely decide to keep Erin's ability a secret for her safety as well as the safety of the nation. What I found touching, was that all of the students agreed to take an oath to keep the secret, even the ones who dislike Erin. This kid know how to win people over!
Even so, I doubt that Erin can avoid getting drawn into the politics that surrounds the Touda and Beast-Lords. Her skills are just too valuable.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Kemono no Souja Erin 18
A lot has happened in Kemono no Souja Erin since I last mentioned this series. The final act of Erin's mother was to control a Touda and command it to carry Erin away to safety. The Touda carried Erin very far because when she is found by a bee keeper named Jone, it is on the other side of the country and Erin is just drifting on a log.
With Jone's help Erin is able deal with her grief and before long she is helping him with bee keeping. As a former teacher Jone recognises Erin's potential and he reluctantly decides to train her. The reason for his reluctance is only revealed much later. An encounter with a Beastlord, a powerful animal with great importance to the earliest history of the country, prepares Erin for the next change in her life. Erin is intrigued by the Beastlord because it has the ability to control Touda in exactly the same way that her mother did.
Four years pass and Erin, now fourteen, is happily working with Jone as a bee keeper but she has also become like a daughter to him. However Jone's past catches up with him and he must return to the city. But Jone knows that Erin, with her passion for nature, would not be happy in a city, so he offers her an opportunity to study at the beastarian academy where they also look after the retired Beastlords. Given her fascination with the creature, Erin naturally jumps at the chance to get close to them. Erin takes the entrance exam and her answers completely stun the head teacher, Esal, who is an old friend of Jone. Erin is about to start a new chapter of her life.
I'm truly enjoying this series. Everything about the story is so richly detailed, from the characters to the historical background, that it feels like I'm reading a novel instead of watching a TV series. This is story telling at its best.
With Jone's help Erin is able deal with her grief and before long she is helping him with bee keeping. As a former teacher Jone recognises Erin's potential and he reluctantly decides to train her. The reason for his reluctance is only revealed much later. An encounter with a Beastlord, a powerful animal with great importance to the earliest history of the country, prepares Erin for the next change in her life. Erin is intrigued by the Beastlord because it has the ability to control Touda in exactly the same way that her mother did.
Four years pass and Erin, now fourteen, is happily working with Jone as a bee keeper but she has also become like a daughter to him. However Jone's past catches up with him and he must return to the city. But Jone knows that Erin, with her passion for nature, would not be happy in a city, so he offers her an opportunity to study at the beastarian academy where they also look after the retired Beastlords. Given her fascination with the creature, Erin naturally jumps at the chance to get close to them. Erin takes the entrance exam and her answers completely stun the head teacher, Esal, who is an old friend of Jone. Erin is about to start a new chapter of her life.
I'm truly enjoying this series. Everything about the story is so richly detailed, from the characters to the historical background, that it feels like I'm reading a novel instead of watching a TV series. This is story telling at its best.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Kemono no Souja Erin 7
I mentioned Kemono no Souja Erin before. The series took a sharp left turn as a catastrophe destroys little Erin's somewhat idyllic life. I kept expecting everything to work out but good story telling requires that sometimes there is no happy outcome. The sad thing is Erin's mother, Soyon, had the power to save both of them, but Soyon chose to only save her daughter. I'm sure that Erin will be wandering why Soyon didn't save herself as well. It was a completely stunning turn of events.
Soyon was a member of the Mist People, a mysterious group who are rarely seen. After a chance encounter with the man who would become Erin's father, Soyon lived with him in his village. The village raised touda, a large lizard like creature which are used as steeds by the army's mounted units. Needless to say the touda are an important symbol of military power. After Erin's father died, her grandfather who also is the village elder, had Soyon stay because she had a special talent with the touda. However, nobody really trusted her because she was from the Mist People. So when a few of the precious touda suddenly die, suspicion naturally falls on Soyon, even though there is no evidence that she is the cause. In fact she is likely the only person could solve the mystery.
Soyon's punishment is a grim reminder that this is brutal medieval society. Soyon knows that that someone must be a punished otherwise the entire village would face retribution, and she so she accepts her fate. Unfortunately brave but foolish Erin shows up to save Soyon who is forced to take drastic action. The means by which she saves Erin demonstrates for the first time the true power the Mist People have over the touda, a power that could take down the mighty touda army without any effort at all.
This series has become very interesting indeed.
Soyon was a member of the Mist People, a mysterious group who are rarely seen. After a chance encounter with the man who would become Erin's father, Soyon lived with him in his village. The village raised touda, a large lizard like creature which are used as steeds by the army's mounted units. Needless to say the touda are an important symbol of military power. After Erin's father died, her grandfather who also is the village elder, had Soyon stay because she had a special talent with the touda. However, nobody really trusted her because she was from the Mist People. So when a few of the precious touda suddenly die, suspicion naturally falls on Soyon, even though there is no evidence that she is the cause. In fact she is likely the only person could solve the mystery.
Soyon's punishment is a grim reminder that this is brutal medieval society. Soyon knows that that someone must be a punished otherwise the entire village would face retribution, and she so she accepts her fate. Unfortunately brave but foolish Erin shows up to save Soyon who is forced to take drastic action. The means by which she saves Erin demonstrates for the first time the true power the Mist People have over the touda, a power that could take down the mighty touda army without any effort at all.
This series has become very interesting indeed.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Kemono no Souja Erin
Some people may be surprised by the anime that I watch. Kemono no Souja Erin (The Beast Player Erin) is clearly aimed at a younger audience and the broadcaster, NHK, is well known for shows that are totally inoffensive and always teach life lessons. Sounds boring doesn't it? Not true!
What makes them watchable is that the stories are never dumbed down. Kemono no Souja Erin has already established that the country is at war, so it is likely that the our young protagonist is going to be drawn into that somehow. You don't draw attention to things like that unless they are important later in the story.
After two episodes, the title character, Erin, has already been shown to be both intelligent and observant. Of course she is only 10 and likes to goof off too, which keeps the character believable. This series is long (50 episodes) so there is a lot of story to be told.
What makes them watchable is that the stories are never dumbed down. Kemono no Souja Erin has already established that the country is at war, so it is likely that the our young protagonist is going to be drawn into that somehow. You don't draw attention to things like that unless they are important later in the story.
After two episodes, the title character, Erin, has already been shown to be both intelligent and observant. Of course she is only 10 and likes to goof off too, which keeps the character believable. This series is long (50 episodes) so there is a lot of story to be told.
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