Stellvia - Foundation I (2003)
Animation Production: Xebec/Foundation
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 100 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Shows about the power of the human spirit and our drive to succeed no matter the cost are not plentiful as they once were. Instead studios seem to have developed a habit of creating programs that are built with a foundation on the dark side of human nature that choose to explore our greed and selfishness as a species.

This is why I enjoyed today’s subject on so many levels. It is an optimistic tale about our planet’s survival and our efforts to stand up to impossible odds in order to ensure humankind’s future. Stories built on this premise are a big hit with me most of the time, it just depends on their overall plot and main cast of characters.

Story

"In the year 2167, Mankind suffered from a cataclysimic disaster as a massive wave of electromagnetic radiation from a nearby supernova washed over the Earth. Yet, Mankind was able to survive by pulling together to support each other in this time of crisis. The year is now 2326 and the new generation of people are preparing for the second wave to hit. One young girl, Shima Katase, is going off to Stellvia, a space pilot academy, where she will learn how to protect the Earth and the family she loves."-- Stellvia Webpage

Review

Volume one of Stellvia contains the first four episodes in the series, which include:

Episode 1: Welcome
In 2167 Earth was nearly destroyed after a nearby star went Supernova, sending powerful shockwaves through space that destroyed anything in their path. It’s now 186 years later and humanity is once more thriving on a planet that is still recovering from the effects of the explosion a century now in the past.

We join a family bidding goodbye to their daughter, Shima Katase, who is about to depart for the Stellvia space station, where she will join the newest class to be inducted to the space pilot academy. As her transport goes into orbit we see that space now has a green tint to it, a result of the shockwave that cut through the galaxy over a hundred years ago. The students take in this opportunity to admire the beauty of our planet and ponder the meaning of what they are about to undertake. Shima in particular finds herself deep in thought, even as the Stellvia becomes visible from the orbiter transport.

Episode 2: Hesitation
The new class is ready to join their fellow students at the space pilot academy. Now is the time for them to apply their skills and knowledge to improve themselves and prove that they are worthy of being part of such an elite institution.

Along with coping with a new school and a new home in space, the freshmen also have to acclimate to their new community and fellow students. Luckily the timid Shima has been assigned Arisa as a roommate; she is a very outgoing and social, the perfect person to help Shima get out of her shell. However, she might not be able to save our heroine when they travel outside of the Stellvia in their first space flight! Will Shima be able to pull off he first solo flight!?

Episode 3: I’m Sorry
The Great Wall! This is the humanity’s only hope to survive the second wave of the Supernova’s explosion. By forming a galaxy-wide shield using a number of different energy sources, the foundations that are currently in orbit throughout the galaxy will be able to protect all the planets in the solar system from certain devastation and avoid the disaster that their ancestors had to endure.

As the leadership in government and scientific communities discuss the plan the school’s newest students are deep into their new schedule, studying hard and training for their classes. While studying the shield plans, our heroes accidentally erase some of the data from the program, but thankfully are able to restore it in the nick of time. However, now there is a record showing that they accessed the main computer system inside the Stellvia. If they don’t get to the server in time to delete the entry they might get expelled!

Episode 4: I’ll do my Best
The time has come for our heroine to take on her greatest challenge! Herself!? Still struggling to control her spaceship, Shima has to overcome her data obsession or else risk failing her class. Will she be able to rise to the occasion and prove herself to her peers?

In many ways Stellvia is very much a story about a coming of age. Even this early into the story you can tell that we are embarking on a journey of growth and change alongside Shima. From what we learn in episode one this is a transition for her, one that will no doubt impact her persona in the months to come as she’ll need to learn how to cope with being so far away from her family, making new friends, and the extreme challenges that are tossed at her by the school’s faculty.

As with our heroine, this is also a story about humanity’s coming of age and its ultimate fight for survival. If it overcomes the second shockwave from the star that exploded many years in its past, the species survival will be assured and will continue to thrive, not only in our galaxy, but also beyond it.

Overall this series (at least at this stage) had a very different feel and style of narration than most shows that have a space/future flavor to them. I think this comes across most clearly through the learning curve that we see everyone go through after their arrival to the Stellvia. There is a real sense that each and every student is learning and getting better at a variety of tasks and areas of expertise.

It was this aspect of the series that really struck me as particularly interesting as the usual rule of thumb in anime is to either show the main characters learn the basics of operating their mecha in one episode, becoming masters of their mechanical partners by the time the story reaches the end or just make us believe that the series’ hero can just pick up on the intricacies of piloting their vehicles and robots in a few minutes as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

This is not all the case with Stellvia, in fact by the fourth episode Shima is still struggling to adequately control her entry level spaceship. This is much more realistic and makes us want to cheer for her as she overcomes each challenge that presents itself in her quest to learn the fundamentals of space flight. In other words there is a real and carefully balanced sense of growth and development contained in this show. This is very refreshing.

In terms of production values the artwork in Stellvia is so beautiful and sharp it almost hurts the eyes! As is standard nowadays the show employs a pastel color palette that is bright, but dulled for visual impact (It works very nicely here!). The characters are drawn with very sharp lines and move elegantly thanks to a silky-smooth frame rate. There are also some nice CGI graphics thrown in for good measure that mix well with the 2-D characters. When this was first being done back in the day I hated it because it was obvious that the animation companies were going through some major learning curves, but now that it's mostly a mastered art it can come across beautifully when applied in the right doses as is done here. Most of the CGI is limited to mecha and atmospheric effects.

The music is peaceful and at the same time resolute, I loved it! It really helps add to the overarching sense of awe that is sprinkled throughout the show. The opening song was very fun and now thanks to it I will be purchasing the CD soundtrack at my local video/CD store this weekend.

The video transfer as with the other Geneon releases I've seen in very sharp and colorful with no real visible defects. The same is true of the audio, which is recorded with Dolby Digital 2.0 and comes through crystal clear. Extras on the disc include previews for other Geneon releases and a clean version of the opening theme.

The DVD comes with some eye catching packaging that features Shima in a galaxy green foil background that shines when the light hits it a certain way. The back side of it has several pictures from the show and information on the story and features contained within the disc. Inside there is a small insert with the cover art for all the upcoming volumes in the series as well as a promo for Geneon's domestic release of the series soundtrack.

Final Thoughts

Stellvia is a refreshing exploration of the space hero genre. I eagerly look forward to the next set of episodes and where they take our characters. It looks like the next phase in the story might move us into a more competitive spirit between the students, which should prove rather interesting.

Jeffrey Couto