| Blue
Seed Vol-1 (1994)
Animation Production: Ig/Ashi Production
Released by: ADV
Films
Episodes: 1-7
Running Time: 180 minutes
By Jeffrey
Couto
Introduction
Blue Seed is one of those shows that during
the mid to late 90’s you heard mentioned quite a bit
and that always seemed to have a presence in store shelves
and anime conventions, but somehow at the same time didn’t
really seem like a release that people were really drawn to.
At least that’s how I recall it to be in my little slice
of the world. Now, almost a decade after it was initially
released on VHS I finally have had the opportunity to sit
down and see what this show is really all about.
I have to admit that at first I wasn’t
all that much into it as the series seemed average at best,
but somehow by the end of each episode the writers manage
to leave you in one of those, “wait what happens now?!”
moments that keeps you coming back for more. Eventually the
flow of the plot and the characters won me over to the point
where I could almost say I’m a fan of the series.
Story
"For years, the supernatural forces of
the Aragami have feasted on a steady diet of human sacrifices,
which have allowed them to live peacefully among mankinduntil
now. Evil is brewing, and they're craving their next victim.
Get ready for an all-out war between good versus evil! "--
DVD Box
Review
Volume one of ADV Films' release of Blue Seed
features the first seven episodes in the series, including:
Episode 1: Kushinada
In the middle of the city government forces are fighting against
some kind of monster, at the epicenter of this situation is
a young girl named Kaede, who decides to go in and find out
what this is all about, despite everyone’s warnings
not to. However driven by a desire to discover the nature
of her destiny she proceeds to enter a light-up facility…she’s
never seen again.
Several months later we meet Momiji Fujimiya,
a young girl whose late for school! On her way to the bus
stop she runs into a rather odd looking man, who is there
to kill her. Before he can do anything though two government
employees from the TAC agency show up and manage to chase
him away. Before he left the man who threatened Momiji said
something interesting though, he referred to her as Kushinada,
which as she learns is the name of a princess of legends.
What does that have to do with her though? There may not be
enough time to figure that out because a monster has attacked
the school!
Episode 2: It's my destiny!
Saved from the monster by the man who attacked her earlier
Momiji learns more about the monster and the reason the man
with cat eyes referred to her as Kushinada. However her destiny
as a potential sacrifice to save humankind is not one that
she easily accepts. Can the TAC protect her from these monsters
and use her to save Japan without sacrificing her? This adventure
is just beginning!
Episode 3: It's Spring,
it's the capital, I'll do my best!
It’s the morning after the plant monster attacked Momiji’s
high school. Surprisingly though she is nowhere near her school,
rather, she finds herself in the middle of Tokyo under the
care of the TAC! While they may be out to make sure she’s
safe Momiji might still have to take matters into her own
hands to fight the Arigami if she is to survive this situation.
Episode 4: More bad
luck? Why does this always happen to me?
Meet the newest full fledged member of TAC, Momiji! She’ll
have to work hard to earn the trust and respect of her peers
and when a new Arigami appears it doesn’t take long
for our heroine to prove herself in the field.
Episode 5: Surprise!
She's the mother of science!
Mrs. Matsudaira is working on understanding the Arigami’s
biological construction and how they work. She works night
and day to unravel their mysteries, but she does this at a
cost, her family. They barely ever get to see her, but will
she learn from her past mistakes and fulfill her promise to
her son this time, even when a new Arigami appears?
Episode 6: Complicated
and Hard to understand! Being a man puts
you in such a difficult possition!
Yaegashi is TAC’s computer specialist and all around
technical wizard, but when it comes to fighting on the field
he leaves something to be desired. Can his skills overcome
this handicap when yet another Arigami appears?
Episode 7: I'm fired
up! I'll do it! Because I'm the Kushinada!
A scientist’s daughter has been kidnapped! It’s
up to Momiji and the TAC team to track her down. What will
Momiji learn during this mission though? Will she be able
to trust the TAC team after this one?
As I mentioned in my intro when I started
watching Blue Seed it seemed awfully average, to the point
where I didn’t think I’d go past the first episode,
but trying to keep an open mind I went past the first episode,
then the second one, and the third, eventually I found myself
looking forward to each new episode! Interestingly, the show,
while average in the visuals, character design and music departments,
is surprisingly well scripted and devised in such a way that
each episode sheds further light on the mysteries of the bigger
play, which ensures an entertaining experience.
The overall initial setup seems quite familiar
and overdone with its, “this high school girl is our
only hope to save the world from these monsters/invaders”,
but as we move away from the initial two episodes the story
quickly evolves beyond that and to establish a more unique
approach to what could have otherwise been more of the same.
We start by focusing on individual Arigamis that appear in
each episode and how the TAC overcomes them, but very slowly
a shift in the flow of each episodic adventure’s flow
is introduced that starts taking us away from those one off
battles and into something of a bigger scale. In a way you
could liken it to the way G-Gundam started (each episode featured
a one on one battle between different countries’ Gundams,
a routine that would have gotten dull by had they not moved
the story in a more serious and dramatic direction that abandoned
the tournament aspects of the show long enough to evolve the
story, characters, etc). This shift is what keeps you glued
to your sit as hints are dropped of the Arigami’s real
plans and the probability that they are getting much more
organized in order to fight TAC and Momiji. Hopefully the
momentum will keep building and flow into the next set of
episodes.
The science fiction elements of the story
also get more interesting as we go from the first episode
to the seventh one and is intertwined with mythology to create
the science of the Blue Seed universe. These are monsters
of legends that in this modern day and age can be scientifically
researched to determine their true nature, however, like any
good legendary creature some mysteries remain even from the
advanced technology humanity possesses in this new age.
In addition to these Blue Seed does something
that at first took me completely by surprise, but once I realized
that it was an integral (albeit small part of the series)
really made me love the show and characters that much more.
This something that I’m referring to is the inclusion
of comedic elements that are actually funny and unpredictable!
I can’t really recall any show of this nature that has
given me as many laughs as Blue Seed did with these seven
episodes. The beauty of them is that their not overdone, repetitive
to the point of absurdity or out of place.
The cast as a whole is nothing unique or surprising,
you have your high school girl who possesses special powers,
a mysterious man who also dons strange powers and always manages
to save our heroine at the last minute, a gun happy soldier,
a scientific genius completely driven by her work, a computer
expert with poor social skills and the fatherly figure who
heads up this surrogate family. The way the characters are
developed and played off of each other is where the creative
staff really did an amazing job.
Production-wise Blue Seed is very typical
of mid-90’s anime, featuring animation that has a darker
hue and flatter feel than more current releases. The style
is definitely geared towards a more realistic tone and to
a degree it works, but it’s missing that final polish
that really could have pushed it to a higher level. Given
the era it was made in though it’s not that bad and
is quite watchable, just don’t expect state of the art
effects or ground breaking character design work. Likewise
the music soundtrack (outside of the very catchy opening)
is a little more on the standard-issue end with nothing particularly
unique about it. It’s a good fit for the show, but not
sure I would buy the series soundtrack, maybe just the opening
theme single.
This volume in the new collector's set release
of the series is well put together and comes with a couple
of extras including the Blue Seed Omake Theater 9easily the
best of the bonuses), character bios and previews for other
ADV releases. The DVD quality is good with a nice transfer
of the original video footage and audio tracks. Subtitles
were easy to read and moved along at a good pace.
Final
Thoughts
This was a surprisingly good anime DVD. If
you’re into sci-fi at all or love a good show with a
solid cast Blue Seed is definitely worth checking out.
I somehow managed to get hooked into it and
now I can’t wait to see the rest of the series. I’m
really glad I decided to review this one now ^_^
Jeffrey
Couto |
