Earthian

I don't get the bad reviews. Maybe it's because my expectations are low for someone who would find and watch this nowadays. I just stumbled upon it with not much care. Most of them are pointing out common, detrimental flaws in yaoi, such as problems with role tropes and characterization of women, which I'm already used to. I too hope to see them improved upon.

I didn't mind the yaoi because I saw the tag. The romance part is pretty downplayed, which I like because there is less dumb drama. That's what I like about old anime. None of the cliche modern romance "You betrayed me!" ... between characters that only exist for messy misunderstanding purposes... I needed a break.

Apparently, based on AnimeNewsNetwork's summary, the manga was more about the love between Chihaya and Kagetsuya rather than Earth's dilemma and dark angels but the anime chose to emphasize those parts instead.

I admit the story and the characters were not the best... I mainly liked it for the overall feel of the show and the enjoyment, how each episode wraps up neatly though forcefully. It was like the characters were acting under a spell to deliver themselves according to the plot set by fate. For example, one scene Kagetsuya just somehow knew where to go, unexplained how he found such crucial information.

I also understand that the concept of angels portrayed was unrealistic and simple. I just didn't care. This is fiction. I enjoyed the author's creativity. I liked how this addresses nuclear war and our carbon waste. How much waste and ruin humans are doing to Earth and that Eden was going to pass judgement and destroy the us!

There was some moments I felt awed by the detail put into the movement, like the guitar playing, scenery, and fight scenes. Though sometimes the animation felt stiff because they cut corners. When an angel was landing from flying for example. It was a glide downwards rather than a flap of wings... There was also one scene where Kagetsuya dodged the bullet by doing flips in a straight line, no zig zag, wtf impractical. How did they not hit him.

As for the sound and art, I loved the traditional, old fashioned feeling. The unrealistic sound effects and limited electric music another reviewer pointed out, I loved it too. Old anime induces such nostalgic, homey and saccharine feels. q-q I seem to really like old anime because of the reassuring and novel feeling one gets from familiar yet different sights. Old anime also makes me think of how far animation quality has gotten and the aspects that remain.

The ending was rushed and random... The other reviewers were right when they said this was average, plain or boring. I wish they put more thought into the events.

I recommend reading the manga for more depth, though it won't change there are loose ends. All 5 volumes have been translated, hurrah. You can find them on Amazon. Apparently the author planned on drawing for more than 5 volumes but was cut short so the loose ends were not tied as fully. That is unfortunate. I haven't read the manga yet but I'm genuinely interested in the story: the world of Eden, the mystery behind Chihaya, and what's going to happen. I'll read this for the same reason people read harem manga.

All in all this was better than I expected. The concept touches on human nature, humanoids, science, and morals. I think this anime will be more enjoyable for people who like philosophy, mythology, and sci-fi. And angel boys (and girls?). Chihaya is so moe kyahhh...Moe uke angel ftw. Call me vulgar but I watch anime to relax and this does it for me.

This anime tried very hard to cram a lot of a complicated plot into a short OVA. One would think this would result in a very fast-paced show, but it still manages to crawl at a snails pace.

This isn't an anime that you should watch without reading the manga. If you've read the manga, it's nice to see some aspects (SOME) come to life (kind of) in an anime. As a stand-alone, it leaves you with more questions than answers.

They should've just not called it a shounen-ai and cut that one scene because it does nothing for the anime but throw you for a ... loop (they were dating????). If you're going to cut out such a big plot point, might as well cut the entire thing.

If you're looking for yaoi, look elsewhere. If you're looking for an amazing, intricate plot, same.

And if you're used to the quality of animation the 2010's have to offer, it will be a little painful trying to watch this. My eyes hurt at the 144p.

“Earthian” is a whole lot of nothing. This 4-episode OVA is simultaneously both episodic and not. It acts like it has an overarching plot, but the story just meanders around without arriving at a destination. “Earthian” leaves viewers with a load of questions. Who are these people, and what are they doing? Why are they doing it? Why build a bio-android with a nuclear heart? Why does the record company act like a criminal organization? Why make a bio-engineered angel hybrid robot to destroy the world? Why have satellites with killer laser beams? Just why?

From what little that can be gathered about the plot, it ... seems that angels, or aliens that look like angels, have been observing Earth for a long time, and they don’t like what they’ve seen. On the brink of deciding to destroy humanity, they send “plus and minus checker” angels to Earth to count the good and bad deeds of humans. Whichever side gets to 10,000 points first cements humanity’s fate: if it’s the plus side, humanity is saved, and if it’s the minus side, humanity is extinguished. This is all glossed over in favor of drama and defeating incredibly shallow evil villains, though.

The two main characters, Chihaya and Kagetsuya, are the most developed of the bunch, but that’s not saying much because they’re hardly developed at all. The only development they get is negative, especially when it comes to Kagetsuya, who seems to be angry all the time and constantly snaps at Chihaya over nothing. They are supposed to be in a relationship, but you wouldn’t know it from watching this OVA, except for the fact that they threw in a short love scene between the two out of the blue in the middle of the series. There’s no buildup to it and there’s not much reference to it afterwards — it just pops up for a few seconds and then is quickly forgotten.

The main villain, Dr. Ashiya (the subtitles say Ashino), is a stereotypical mad scientist with unclear motives. He’s experimenting on bio-engineered humans at first, and then when that blows up in his face (literally), he decides he wants to die and take the rest of the world with him. His backstory, original goals, etc. are not explained.

All of the other characters are just barely there. A few look like they’ll become important later on, but they either die or barely, if ever, show up again.

The structure of this series is a bit messy. Episodes 1, 3 and 4 follow a linear plot line, while episode 2 has a separate, self-contained story. Episodes 3 and 4, which are shorter than the first two and directed by a different person, came out over 5 years after the first two. The designs of some of the characters are different in these last two episodes as well, so it is kind of difficult to recognize them at first.

Key elements of the stories either don’t make sense at all or go unexplained. Scenes are disjointed; it can be hard to tell if you’re looking at what’s going on in the present day, a dream or a flashback. The background music is noticeably bad. It’s generic synth music that often doesn’t fit whatever scene it’s in, and sometimes abruptly stops. The ending themes are hit-and-miss, but not particularly memorable.

However, there are also positive aspects to this OVA. The character designs (at least in the first two episodes) are decent, as is the voice acting. The animation is not bad. The premise seems like it could be interesting if it were executed better. Also, the first two episodes have a lethargic, hazy quality to them that makes them feel like a fever dream. (That could also be considered a bad thing, though.)

As for potentially objectionable content, in addition to the short love scene mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of blood and graphic violence, characters getting killed, etc. There is also a brief reference to drugs. There’s some semi-nudity, but it’s at a distance and no details can be made out. There are a few religious references (this is about “angels,” after all).

Overall, although there are worse ones out there, this OVA is not good and is rather taxing to sit through. Nothing really happens in it. Characters do things that don’t make sense, backgrounds and motivations are barely explained, and basic elements of the plot are so outlandish that it’s hard to suspend your disbelief for them.