"Seikai no senki" (2000) TV series

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Yasuchika Nagaoka

Writers:

Tsutomu Makiya (writer)
Yuichiro Takeda (writer)

Release Date:

3 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Sci-Fi

Cast

Isshin Chiba	...	Beikal
Susumu Chiba	...	Kufadis
Ethan Cole	...	Dusanyu (voice: English version)
Mika Doi	...	Ramaaj
Matthew Erickson	...	Jinto Lin (voice: English version)
Rica Fukami	...	Spoor
Onalea Gilbertson	...	Atosuryua (voice: English version) (as Kris Hamill)
Yuki Hamano	...	Toreel
Naochika Hayashida	...	Faramunsh
Elinor Holt	...	Sobaash (voice: English version)
Ryuichi Horibe	...	Talas
Osamu Hosoi	...	Kotokeil Rulef
Paul Hunter	...	Kufadis (voice: English version)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Kait
Yuka Imai	...	Jinto Lin
Kazuhiko Inoue	...	Nefee Nereis
Yumiko Iwamoto	...	Agency General Staff
Maizun Jayoussi	...	Ekuryua (voice: English version)
Haruhiko Jô	...	Narrator
Ayako Kawasumi	...	Lafiel
Katsuyuki Konishi	...	Kindroil Officer Paraveryua Rosesh
Takehito Koyasu	...	Klowal Febdash
Jonathan Love	...	Nefee Nereis (voice: English version)
Doug McKeag	...	Samson (voice: English version) (as Keith Hamill)
Katsumi Nagai	...	Guen
Hiriomichi Ogami	...	Ragash Officer
Akio Ôtsuka	...	Samson
Mitsuki Saiga	...	Sobaash
Kaori Shimizu	...	Ekuryua
Kaneto Shiozawa	...	Dusanyu
Mariette Sluyter	...	Spoor (voice: English version)
Keiko Sonoda	...	General Staff
Junichi Sugawara	...	Kuran
Chiharu Suzuka	...	Kaneesh
Nao Takamori	...	Kotoponi
Meredith Taylor-Parry	...	Kaneeshu (voice: English version)
Natsuki Tokuhiro	...	Shidoryua
Miho Yamada	...	Atusuryua
Hiroyuki Yokoo	...	Gamroil Officer
Jessica Yow	...	Lafiel (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Banner of the Stars (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

Japan:25 min (13 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

APU Studio

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Seikai no senki II" (2001)

A profoundly moving experience on many different levels

In my opinion, this is one of those truly special anime that only come along every so often. I had the pleasure of first being exposed to it during a late night movie room screening at Animazement 2003, in Durham, North Carolina. This series is almost sort of comparable Star Trek, but the Abh are far more visually appealing than the Klingons. OK, all joking aside, it's honestly much more than a relatively simplistic Star Trek could ever hope to be, IMHO. The meticulous creator Hiroyuki Morioka even went as far as to create an entire Abh language complete with its own esoteric set of characters(As a linguist I can tell you that the study of this language is far more rewarding than Klingon; joking again =).

As for my serious take on the actual series itself, it's definitely sci-fi inspired, but has much more depth than the typically nerdy, emotionless, and one dimensional movies or series of similar genre. You'll enjoy the action as the battles and various intricate strategies that are mapped out before your eyes are tactically interesting and visually entertaining as well, however, you'll most likely find yourself entirely enraptured by the softer down time moments of heart-tugging interaction between the protagonist Jinto and his ship captain and heiress to the Abh throne, Lafiel. The music is absolutely superb and flows with the various emotional directions the series takes quite well. I especially loved the hauntingly longing and beautiful ending theme song PINK by Yuamu. In fact, the series could really be summed up very well by that heartfelt score itself. If you are more so interested in finding something a bit more action-laden, then you should probably look elsewhere as this series has plenty of slower more philosophically and emotionally charged moments. Seikai no Senki is indeed an epic journey, not merely in terms of intergalactic conquest but more poignantly in terms of displaying the various threads that constitute the elaborate human tapestry and the complex difficulties in understanding it. I personally related very well to the meek, kindhearted Jinto and his earnest internal struggle in regards to finding a place in which to belong and people he truly belongs with. This series really does a splendid job at portraying all the fears, hopes, joys and despair that comprise the uniquely human experience on this earth, or in the case of Seikai no Senki...the romantically vast and seemingly endless cosmos.