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Sokyu No Fafner
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Animation - 8.6 |
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Sound - 8.9 |
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Story - 7.7 |
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Character - 8.1 |
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Value - 8.0 |
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Enjoyment - 8.2 |
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Average - 8.2 |
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| Average |
4.5 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
4 |
| I started watching Fafner back in 2006 then I stopped halfway in favor of of much more enjoyable shows. I rewatched it again and finished the whole thing. It's pretty rare for me to come back for any show that I put to a halt, but seeing as how there's this weird urge for me to see it to the end, I just can't stop. I guess this is what makes Fafner special. Anyway, forgive my rambling, let's get down to business.
Fafner is a sci-fi anime series that is set on a secluded island base that houses Fafners, mechas in the series, that are mankind's only hope against the powerful Festums. The Fafners are boarded by the island's children and together try to protect the island from the enemy.
I'll be a little lenient here, Fafner doesn't look that bad. It's just...bland. Everything looks so similar that you would think that the animators just copied and pasted the environment from another show. Oh, but the character designs are another story. As some of here already noted, it just doesn't fit in. Somebody should tell the designer to revamp his style. The main character, Kazuki, looks like the love child of Athrun Zala and Shinn Asuka from Gundam Seed, another series which Hisashi Hirai did character designs for. I've also taken note of how he creates the appearances for his characters. First, the main characters usually have the stereotypical "anime" eyes, all big and colorful while the secondary or adult characters usually have smaller, normal eyes. Umm, I guess this is his style, but that just makes the cast unnatural to look at at times. Mecha design also seems to be a carbon copy of the units in Evangelion. The only difference is their more "dragon-like" look, hence the name.
Thankfully, the staff put some more thought into the sound department. They hired an authentic orchestra to produce some of the BGM, which is still uncommon in anime. I have to give it a hand to the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra for continuing to give top notch works for a few anime series they've been involved. I've been always interested in ensemble music, so I may be a little biased. Then again, people who aren't keen on classical music might have a hard time viewing this because Fafner tends to repeat their BGM frequently. OP and ED are just mediocre J-pop at best. Both songs, Shangri-la and Separation, were sung by Angela. The duo whose vocalist you'd either love or hate. Fortunately, she doesn't overly pull her vocal cords to the limit for both of the songs so they do end up as bearable. However, you might want to skip it if you're planning to binge on Fafner.
If the plot summary above doesn't strike anything familiar to you, consider yourself for a treat watching Fafner. The show borrows ideas concepts from shows like Evangelion and sugarcoats it with whatever the staff can think off, honestly. The execution is no different. One episode is all fighting and another is all talk (a la Gundam Seed). The first few episodes are pretty dull and could easily sway viewers away from continuing. The middle picks up and is actually the highlight of the show if not still derivative (Find out for yourself.). The ending just throws the show into utter silliness with talks like existentiality(You might get a headache if you take this too seriously). To add insult to injury, there's also a few loose threads that are not resolved, leaving it to the viewer for interpretation. For the uninitiated, this would leave an impression. For the veteran fan, the plot is just mildly interesting at best.
Someone stated that the characters are better than the plot. I agree with him. The show doesn't let up on giving us character development episodes (the non-action eps.). It's not perfect though. While a good number grow on you as the story goes on, quite a few also leave the stage without making a lasting impact. I ended up not feeling anything for the characters that were killed off in the first three episodes. Well, the prequel OVA answered that for me, but I still blame the cast for not expanding them even more. The ending also leaves a few of the cast's fate up in the air. What happens to them remains ambiguous. Hopefully, the staff would tie these loose ends up for a sequel...maybe.
Err, there's really not much value for Fafner. It's hackneyed, plain, and uninteresting. The complete box set is also ridiculously expensive, priced at somewhere between $80-$90. Costs much more than it's worth, if you ask me.
All in all, the show is a mixed bag. A few stuff you might like inside and a few you'd just throw away. For the newcomer, try it and watch the better ones. For the voracious viewer, skip this.
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Summoner |
(2008-10-12 08:50:00) 2008-06-01 09:01:37 |
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| Average |
4.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| Note: This review applies for both Fafner TV series and its OVA.
Sokyu no Fafner is a show with great potential and interesting premise plagued by poor execution and horrible character development.
While the background of the show seems interesting, the world is under attack by unknown entities who seem to only seek knowledge of humanity through war, the brilliance of the plot kicks only much later in the show. Up until then you are forced to watch many of this show's lame characters fake reactions to the sudden change of their peaceful environment. Anyway, if you can live through the first half, (there were quite a few occasions I nearly fell asleep) you will probably enjoy the second one. As once the details of Festum, humanity's enemy, are revealed, everything kind of gets a new, much more important and even philosophical glow around themselves. Though I must admit there are some things about Festum I don't understand yet, might have slept through few explanations in the first half.
If you have enough patience for somewhat slow shows and you can ignore horrible character development - then give Sokyu no Fafner a shot. While I doubt it will become one of your favourites, at least its got some new stuff to show.
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| As studio Xebec's first anime, Fafner stands in as yet another attempt to make a psychological mecha-drama with the likes of Evangelion and RahXephon.
Animation
------------
Fafner has an identity crisis to this level: either it's too cartoonish or it's too serious.
(Too cartoonish)
Getting Gundam Seed's caracter designer to design was a big mistake: Even though the facial expressions are spot on, each caracter bears too much similarities from their Gundam Seed counter parts (I could swear many of you would recognise the Shin Asuka or Asura Zala in Kazuki). Also, such design is more fitting for a more colorful show than Fafner; take Scryed or Gundam Seed for example.
(too serious)
And yet everything piece of the Fafner universe has a serious theme to it from the dark and unflashy colors to the amount of detail put in the enviromments. The cockpit design is fresh and creative. The concept of a living island on which's core is yet a hybrid human is fresh and yet reminds us about Rei from Evangelion. The world itself that revolves around Fafner give us an interesting approach on secret hiddens robot bases.
(excentric mechas)
As for the robot themselves, they look a bit bizarre, deformed and unbalanced as their's cut is too thin to really support the thick and heavy upper body. The enemy design is really uninspired compared to Fafner's predecessors.
Sound
-------
Definetely, Fafner is a symphony of sounds that resonates really well. The soundtrack is amazing to the point where it becomes the best support this serie has by enhancing boring to emotionnal scene. If there weren't for the voice actors to bring some life to their cartoonish appearance, this anime won't be as moving and it's supposed to be.
Story
------
The story is like a mixed bag. The good point is that it doesn't keep everyone alive and doesn't really forget about the caracters it introduces and kills them when they make the story drag or just to create some weeping. Besides that, it goes around a routine: a monster arrives, the super robot destroys it with losing or not control of the situation and so on. As the episodes go, tons of unanswered questions accumulates... until they get answered at the 5 last episodes... And yet the small unsufficent answers you get along the way all have some techno-psycho-bizarre babble to them for you to go often in a "WTF?!" state.
Caracters
-----------
They are the main reasons why I've kept watching this anime. Surprinsingly, all the caracters do feel and behave like human beings. With time, you become attached to them. Their relationship with each other is what this anime did right beside mixing up the story.
Value
------
If Evangelion and RahXephon weren't enough to give you a well thought action-mecha-drama, Fafner is a adequate addition to you "must view".
Enjoyment
------------
Solid entertainment all the way yet flawed by its unappealing animation.
Bottom line
-------------(lost in time)
Compare to the anime series that were released from the same year, Fafner feels terribly dated and posseses unfitting caracter design mixed with some great efforts made in the sound and caracter departments. Fafner is not for everyone but will please the fans of the genre and stands pretty well on what Xebec can do in the future as a standalone studio.
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| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| This is the first mecha anime that I actually enjoy watching. The story it sad, tragic, but have light moment. The character interaction and development is the aspect that I like most about this anime.
This is only a few of the anime that I cry while watching it, especially the ending. The ending is sad, but the things that Kazuki said at the end really made me shred tears. THere are only three animes so far that made me shred tears (Gungrave and Elfen Lied).
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|
cain |
(2006-06-20 17:43:25) 2006-01-26 17:12:56 |
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| Average |
9.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Fafner is a highly enjoyable mecha series that at first glance has a main character the resembles Shin Asuka or Athrun Zala from Gundam SEED/Destiny, but the storyline is very different.
Fafner in the Azure seems to take a less fantasy-ish and more sci-fi approach to the complicated nature of X TV. Both animes contain various twists in the plot and extremely-difficult-to-grasp terminology as well as a little philosophy. However, Fafner could've done better by explaining the actual terminology that they use. I didn't understand what a Core did until right at the end (which meant I was confused for the most part) and knowing what Mir was became out of the question for me. I still don't get the origin of the Festum.
Animation:
Excellent animation in the first episode which gradually declined over the course of the series. The battle scenes weren't reused over and over again, which was a good aspect of Fafner. At least they aren't being 'cheap' like some other mecha anime out there.
Sound:
Excellent opening theme that immediately got me paying attention and hooked, as well as a superb ending them that is emotional and smooth. Fafner is one of the only anime shows I've watched that has a good OP AND good ED.
Good voice acting as well, especially for Kazuki and Maya, who sounds dead-serious during battles.
Story:
A very confusing storyline that was structured with such complicating terminology that it is difficult to grasp. I think that Fafner's story/plot can be quite good if you understand what they're on about.
The last few episodes were tension-filled and highly emotional and dramatic, and the ending was quite pleasing in the way that the Island seems to have found peace but it is not pleasing in the aspect that I do not understand the terms and there seems to be room for more relationship development between characters.
Fafner is highly emotive and very psychologically-based. The beauty of the ironic drama is that those who are giving up their lives to fight the Festum don't actually get to enjoy the period of peace that ensues. This magnificently dramatic and poignant theme of self-sacrifice is touching and tearful, and for the first time a mecha has this much depth!
Characters:
The characters in Fafner were generally quite likeable. They all had unique personalities and sometimes divided into 'groups' according to who they're friends with, which is realistic. The way they have conveyed the pilots' feelings when they enter Fafner is well done and sometimes touching.
Enjoyment:
I enjoyed this more than Gundam SEED/Destiny even though the character design is similar, and that is because I believe in the element of reality in Fafner in the Azure. It is a really dense show that is hard to comprehend even if you try. The sci-fi x philosophical approach is appealing and this is a mecha show with true depth. It doesn't try to fool you, but you just have to find it out for yourself =)
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Sorry for my poor english.This is an anime about mecha.Starting i look at the character face i was wondering(was that athrun from gundam seed).So i decided to invest in the anime,And it turn quite nice too.Although i don't really like the mecha.And the fighting parts are not really nice.But somehow the plot look interesting.And what make me continue watching is i hoping that there will be some romance part between the male character....but somehow in the end friendship is being focus more.Quite a nice anime.
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Yuuto |
2005-10-07 04:55:18 |
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Okay, I'm going to say that this is my third mecha series and the first one that I actually understand without scratching my head.
Animation: The animation started off good, but in the final episode it's quality declined, examples are the festums and "cheap" explosions.
Sound: Fafner has very fitting battle theme, some pretty good scores to make me cry during the sad times. It has pretty good OP and ED too. Overall, it's excellent.
Story: At first I wonder what direction this anime will go (after the first 4 boring episodes), after 10 eps, they throw in the new UN, things start to get better and clearer. The poetic stuff that Kazuki says at the end of each episode is gone too. The last few episodes are amazing, although I don't really like the ending.
Characters: I think the characters are the strength of this anime. All characters are likable (although Kouyo is a bit annoying at a certain time). I really find myself caring for the characters. Maya is one strong chick.
Value: If you're a mecha fan, you should watch it. Don't mind the ratings, because this series is seriously underrated.
Enjoyment: Overall, I really enjoy watching this anime.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Although this is widely acclaimed, I think it too similar to so many others to stand out from the crowd. While it differs in many ways from, say, Evangelion, or Rahxephon, the similarity in mech design, bad-guy design, and overall feel kept this one from being truly great. OK, at best.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I have to admit, this anime started off quite slow, and at the end of each episode, there was a certain dullness that it left. However, after episode 12, things really started picking up, in fact I watched 15 to final, non stop.
Alot of the reviews here are pointing out the resemblance to Rah, and Eva. I can agree that there are but only few, fewer than what it seems.
I really thought this would be a "Loud" series but in fact there are fewer characters than expected and the environment is serene with only the attacks being the disruption. As for the characters the sad turn of events adds to their quietness. Overall I am pleased with the anime, and give it a moderate score, Quite Good.
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DBZLuisD |
(2005-08-02 12:12:19) 2005-08-02 12:06:02 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Esta serie para mi realmente fue muy buena.
Yo odio evangelion, y mas porque de evangelion esperaba algo mejor hecho... ahora imaginense evangelion pero sin shinji, y con un guey como heroe con mas huevos que cualquiera de evangelion.
Soukyuu no Fafner es una seria bastante buena, la animacion es buena, el audio tambien, y te encari;as mucho con la serie. Cadavez que se moria uno de los personajes principales yo creo que me sentia igual que como todos en la serie.
Es una serie PLAGEADA casi al 100% de evangelion, solo que sin estupideses religiosas o ni;itos chillones que se quieren morir y odian a su papa... (Si si, imaginense que ese tipo de gente tuviera que salvar el mundo...), y mucho mejor planeada, digamos que en evangelion podian desir los tipitos que estaban en las computadoras en NERV cualquier cantidad de sandeses que parecian ser muy tecnicas y sin NADA DE SENTIDO, pero aqui aunque muchas cosas pues obiamente no podrian ser verdad, sabes a QUE DEMONIOS SE REFIEREN los tecnicos de Alvis y no dices sandeces micelaneas como en evangelion.
Otra cosa es que aqui EXPLICAN LAS COSAS (bueno, exepto explicar detalladamente que demonios era un MIR), cosa que en evangelion seria un sue;o, pero el evangelion todo se lo dejan a dios...
Esta serie trata de ser bastante realista, lo unico que si me parece como "Magico" de la serie es el hecho de que los Festum sean solo uno (Y que sepan como telepaticamente lo que hacen o que onda con ellos, o como si estuvieran conectados por una red inalambrica los unos a los otros), lo de la asimilacion (este... de hecho esta muy ligado con lo primero, porque si se asimilaba alguien se volvia automaticamente festum y pues de lo que estuviera compuesta una persona vale gorro y se combierte en silicio), la teletransportacion de los festum (asi es, se teletransportan amigos), la segunda funcion magica del solomon (despues de detectar una reccion de masa en un lugar hacia la funcion magica con la cual determinaba TODO de un festum) y la nada (si la nada que aman los fetums y donde caen soushi y kazuki en el ultimo episodio).
No me gusto que no explicaran bien lo que pasa antes de la serie (lo del arbol en donde Kazuki le saca el ojo a Soushi y que paso cuando le contestaron por radio al festum) pero aun asi me gusta la serie
Espero con ansias el Soukyuu no Fafner Right of Left que espero que sea o lo que paso antes de la historia o lo que pasa despues (en cualquiera de los 2 casos dudo que haya mucha accion)
Me falto algo, lo de que los festums preguntanban todo el tiempo si estabas hay.... (Anata wa soko ni imasu ka?), se me hace que cuando iniciaron la serie quisieron dale a esto como un posible final tipo evangelion porque la primera vez que lo dice le dicen a kazuki que no responda "Porque si responde sera el fin de la humanidad".... pero en tal caso la humanidad se termino en varios capitulos, porque en varios capitulos, sobre todo en la segunda mitad de la serie los personajes contestan cosas distintas dependiendo la situacion. (E incluso los mismos personajes llegan a hacerse a ellos mismos la misma pregunta), lo que me parece interesante es que lo utilizaron en la segunda mitad de la serie como un factor para decirle a los personajes que estaban hay en ese momento, y que se dieran cuenta de eso, en entonces que pusieran los pies un poco mas en la realidad.
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I think I've seen all the anime of this type now, having seen EVA and Rahxephon. Bearing in mind that these two will be the ones setting the standard, I would say Fafner compares well with them although it copies many of the basic issues and settings like Kids being forced to fight, alien invaders, island setting, a world that is facing apocalypse. There are however some good points that differentiate this anime. First, its a lot clearer than EVA about what is going on in the story although the clarity comes in bursts and shots and not some tantalizing hints that you have to piece together like in Rahxephon. The intention of the aliens and the reason why they are saying "Are you there" is quite clear to me and when considered in the context of Asian culture and society, the animators are really asking an important question to the individual. The anime has a strong central message but covered that message in other aspects that were already done by anime and thus some may say that this anime lacks originality. I would strongly disagree and say that you are looking at the wrong conflict in this type of anime.It was childhood innocence and desires against adulthood worldweariness in EVA and a feeling of belonging in Rahxephon (also somewhat covered here).
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|
isokana |
(2005-06-23 17:31:03) 2005-05-04 19:32:44 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Well if watching Rahxephon reminded me of Evangelion, watching Fafner reminded me of Rahxephon. Although there's a lot of differences in story and characters, the world they live in is much the same with aliens, UN and beach.
Story-wise Fafner is pretty simple when you think it's a mystical mecha anime. Heck, I could almost follow every aspect of the story with one viewing. No such luck with Rahxephon. The big story isn't in an important role, the focus is on the island and its people. Perhaps because of this the story is not very compeling. It flows nicely and more things are revealed steadily but I wasn't really interested to find out Festum's goals or the New UN's plans. Rather I was following what characters were doing.
The island has a wide variety of characters to follow. Too much actually. Especially in the beginning it's hard remember what that person's name was, who died in the last episode and whose parents are those. Things come manageable if watch the series twice but with the first viewing I felt lost. But they manage to get a lot of good drama out of those characters. They are well build and their reactions and relationships feel logical. Also they are very different from each other and reactions to piloting a mecha are varied and interesting. Since we're talking teenager pilotes once again, there's a lot going on on a romantical level, sometimes clashing. And since it's a war, people die and these romances/friendships make every death count, a lot. We can see the pain in the faces of the survivors.
The other character collection are the adults who have their own demons in the past. I wasn't really that interested in them and they were left somewhat distant possibly because their past is never clearly explained. Although they also have varied opinions of their children piloting mechas, which was the most enjoyable part of them. The series builds up the characters and their relationships with lengthy conversations and filler episodes. This is where Fafner has its biggest flaw. The filler episodes are boring: there's way too little humor in them to make them watchable. Again comparing to Rahxephon, there was whole a lot of fun stuff going helping you get to know the characters. Fafner tries this but perhaps there's just too much pain in the series to make these episodes look sympathetic and fun. Or maybe they just don't know how to make good jokes. Also from time to time, the characters start pour out their thoughts bit too much, so that I lost my concentration somewhere and missed the point of the story.
When they're not talking they're fighting and doing a good job at it. Fights aren't too long and they have enough variance from new pilots and enemy types. Mechas look nice and the enemies are look alien enough to be convincing. The series is well animated (character designs are straight from Gundam Seed which disturbed me a little). Good music too, nothing particular. But the opening song rocks. It starts slowly collecting some speed and when it lets go with matching animation, it's pure candy. The ending is good too, painful to the bone.
Comparing to other series, Fafner loses both to Evangelion and Rahxephon because its story isn't interesting enough. Characters are what makes Fafner anyhow good and well worth watching.
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| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| A VERY complex anime. At times almost too complex and hard to follow. But it does try to go into detail about characters. A Eva-esque storyline with a twist. This is one of those few animes that proves to be more than just an Eva clone. I feel like some of the action scenes are a bit over-the-top. I mean, I thought the last episode was suppose to be over @ 4 points... but just when you thought it was over... the enemy finds a way to come right back... It ALMOST was too long... A good anime but be prepared to sit down for a long time thru this 25-26 eps anime.
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|
|
| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Soukyuu no Fafner is a breath of fresh air-- it is a response to Evangelion that challenges the need for main characters to be angst-ridden, dysfunctional members of society. Here, we have a group not only of heroic children, but their parents and the entire community that supports them. Here, more than in any apocalyptic mecha series before it, you get a true sense of the value and beauty of the place the heroes are willing to fight and die for.
The latter half of the series, written by award-winning sci-fi author Ubukata Tou, creates some incredibly complex and dynamic characters and relationships that really ring true and, like good literature, gives us insights on real-life personalities. So many things that begin as cliches are resolved in impressively fresh ways and the truly amazing, heart-felt performance of this cast of mostly brand-new seiyuu makes this series incredibly memorable. The powerful orchestral score, performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic, is on a Yoko Kanno calibre in its range and artful construction. Hirai Hisashi's gorgeous character designs look much less plastic-like here than in the Gundam SEED series, and Xebec gives us some very nice animation in their first independent, original project (especially impressive is how naturally the 3D animation blends in with the 2D-- much more natural than anything we've seen from GONZO Digimation!).
Although, because of a less-than-worthy script-writer in the first half of the series, Fafner gets off to a rocky start, the series truly becomes gold in the second half (it is VERY worth waiting for). The characters, the story, the animation, the gorgeous opening and ending by angela-- the sincere and impressive efforts from all sides combine to make one of the best anime series to come out of Japan in recent years!
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|
| Average |
9.8 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Very good anime. It was interesting throughout every episode and there weren't any filler episodes that takes you off the suspense and makes you lose the feel of the show. Very unique and interesting to watch.
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Pantha |
(2005-03-25 11:47:16) 2005-03-22 21:50:33 |
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| Average |
5.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I automatically dismissed any and all comparisons to Neon Genesis Evangelion; I discovered long ago that fan-boys would always unfavorably compare any mecha that thinks outside the box, regardless of how different the show actually is. I was surprised to find, however, that said fan-boys were correct in observing that Sokyu no Fafner is remarkably similar to Rahxephon. Rahxephon had forgettable characters and a convoluted storyline. But it also had moments of brilliance that were able to carry the show. Rahxephon was GOOD. Sokyu no Fafner also has characters whose names will always be at the tip of your tongue, but never escaping anyway. Fafner has an amazingly convoluted plot, especially in the first four episodes. It also has sporadic brilliance, but unlike Rahxephon, it cannot save the show. Therefore, I have no qualms in saying that Sokyu no Fafner is what Rahxephon would have been……had it sucked ass.
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| Otra vez estamos aqui con vosotros. La verdad es que a mi las series de robots no me suelen enganchar, mas bien lo contrario aunque hay excepciones.
Parece inevitable comparar esta serie con rahxephon y evangelion. La verdad es que esta claramente inspirada en estas 2 y a veces la copiada es descarada.
Tenemos un grupo de chavales que viven en una isla todo felices hasta que descubren que el mundo esta invadido por unos raros alienigenas existenciales con propositos inciertos.
Nuestros chavalotes tienen alterada su estructura genetica para dar de ostias a los aliens con unos poderosisimos mechas, pero, es la vilencia la forma de salvar a la humanidad?
El argumento como en las otras series ya mencionadas intenta ser complejo pero a mi la verdad es que estos argumentos existenciales que puso de moda evangelion me parecen estupidos. No resultan creibles por muy inteligentes que se crean. Por que sea complejo no quiere decir que sea bueno y yo creo que esta muy mal explicado durante la serie.
Ahora bien esta serie si me ha gustado cosa que no consiguieron ni evangelion ni rahxephon. Porque? 1-Tiene mas accion. 2-Algunos elementos de las batallas y los mechas resultaban interesantes como es el caso de la sincronizacion de los mechas.3-Buena animacion y musica. 4-Acababas cojiendo simpatia por los chicos y chicas de la serie. Algunos momentos eran preciosos.
Resumiendo la serie esta currada y es buena. Aunque te echen pa atras las de mechas paranoicas dale una oportunidad. Veras que se la merece.
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Amaryl |
(2005-02-15 17:04:20) 2005-02-10 21:46:24 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Mecha action at its best and a great story to boot, what more can one expect from the mecha genre?
While I call myself a mecha fan, I don't rave on every mecha series that pops up. Story is definately needed. Story in the mecha-genre is almost synonym to Sci-Fi, and mecha itself is almost synonym for action. Well look, my favorite genres combined! Well, isn't that convenient!
Hmmm, so in conclusion: Fafner....mecha, which means that I should like the series.
I don't like it. I love it! Fafner deserves to be at the top of mecha series.
Fafner features great animation, but it has some flaws. I loved the CGI, not overdone, but utilised to perfection, the mecha action was top notch. Seriously, I haven't seen many mecha battles with the intensity Fafner delivers. No scenes were re-used, all battles are unique, and, most importantly, they are more than just skirmishes. The characters are forced to act during these battles. While in your average Gundam-series, 80% of the fights consist of wiping out Zaku's/GINN's/Windams/etc., in Fafner, each battle provokes the characters to make decisions, their personalities alter, they have emotions and almost all battles lead to something. Wether it's a plot change, or character development, it's more than just screen time. For this, I give the animation of Fafner full marks. I have one minor complaint though. As many have noticed (and how could they not), Fafner's character designs are...well, I have seen them in s.CRY.ed and Gundam SEED (Destiny) before...However, I can overlook this, since the mecha-designs are out of this world. All of them are unique, but equally cool, so I'll forgive the character designs. But still, I hope that Hirai Hisashi will be a bit more creative next time. While I like his character designs, some of the characters simply resemble characters from the aforementioned series way too much.
Fafner is also good on the sound section. I still can't get enough of the OP and END, and most characters were well voiced. But one character's voice grated on my nerves. Those that have already watched Fafner can guess: Toomi Maya. While I like her character, she speaks in the pace as if she were three years old, or, a tourist that has just learned Japanese. It just doesn't fit her character.
What Fafner seemed to lack in the beginning was story. As far as I could tell from the initial episodes, the story would be along the lines of RahXephon. I couldn't have been more wrong. Ever faster, the story starts to unfold. While some elements may have been borrowed from RahXephon, they are put to good use. Plot twists are well existent, the plot is actually original, and most of the story is by no means predictable. However, what IS predictable, is dialogue. A lot of dialogue between the characters is formulistic. You can guess the response of many characters after their involvement in dialogue. Fortunately, this type of dialogue covers only events of lesser importance. Another thing that occaisionally flaws, is the telling of the plot, the background. Whenever this is brought up, what is said is hardly ever repeated later on, and in some cases you'll have to get used to the type of dialogue used. The viewer will have to pay close attention during such moments in order to keep understanding what the hell is going on.
One thing to note, Fafner's story trancends plot. The very phlilosophy that we need to learn to understand eachother in order to coëxist, is constantly surfacing in the second half of the anime. You don't have to give this part much attention, but it's nicely implemented, without smacking it in your face too much.
Covering characters, Fafner also manages to do a good job, although not as good as good as its other catagories. While I liked most of the characters, some got to their end too quickly, or their actions were unmotivated. What I can definately say, is that I haven't seen this many side characters die in a short period of time, since RahXephon, Evangelion and Berserk. Some characters just deserved a more heroic death.
But overall, Fafner managed to keep me highly entertained and I will surely rewatch the series again. Bringing some of the best mecha-action I have seen so far, an original story, more than decent characters and a great plot, Fafner has all the ingrediënts for reccomendation. If you like mecha/action, you can't afford to pass this one up.
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| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Despite the over used plot, I really liked this anime. However, even though there's similarities with Eva or other robot-series, I found Fafner's theme to be refreshing. From the 1st episode, the question, "Are you there?", consistently surfaces throughout the series addressing Fafner's take on philosophy. Are you here? Or, are you not here? What appears to be a simple choice proves to be (sort of) simple as the characters figure out what they truly want, and where they truly want to be.
The pace of the anime is quite slow in the beginning, but after ep.15 or 16, (for me), the pace seemed to speed up such that the ending episodes were augmented by well-placed dramatic moments. (So, consider watching through the first half for a really good ending.)
Another favoring aspect of this anime was how I found myself understanding the characters. Regardless of the elongated pace or the familiar plot, the characters were a little different from other anime characters. Yes, they're conflicted, but they're not being melodramatic.
Also, the OSTs are really good. The little lines underneath the characters' faces were a little bothersome in the beginning, but, I suppose, you eventually get used to it or find it perpetually annoying.
In conclusion, Soukyuu no Fafner is an enjoyable series for me because of the blunt emphatic theme and interesting characters. Past ep. 16, the series became exciting as action and more answers were revealed.
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Overall, I personally loved this anime, apart from the fact that it was a huge hit in Japan. It is true that the general plot is rather depressing and dark for it is dealing with inability of human beings to face Festums and slow death and pain of humanity. (Well... that didn't make much sense... oh, well...) However, staffs did a good job of throwing some light-touched episodes like 18,19,20 and 21 and also did not forget to cheer up the mood when it was getting too depressing. In other words, it was a well-balaced anime in terms of story and plot.
However, the most stunning aspect of this anime is, at least according to me, it's rather deep and philosophical theme. Even though such 'deep and philosophical' animes are not a rarity anymore these days, Fafner did well enough to explore what it means to 'exist' in this world and what it means to 'live' in this world, not to forget the true meaning of pain and suffering in this world.
Of course, anime cannot explain 'true' meaning of life and existence like Plato, Aquinas, or Nietzche, but what I am trying to say here is that this anime did enough to make us think about those things and also about precious things around us that we try so hard to protect. It was an anime which really got me into thinking mode.
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