Heroic Age

Every genre has certain themes that are considered its staples - the building blocks of stories that have been, or are yet to be told. One of the most common elements in science fiction is the Earth being attacked by an alien force with superior technology, and there are numerous stories about this topic in everything from radio plays to comic books (with a few Hollywood blockbusters thrown in for good measure). These tales are usually resolved by the use of human ingenuity and courage, together with a healthy dose of serendipity (the battleship just happened to be there).

But what happens when the enemy really ... is unbeatable?

Heroic Age is set in a future where Earth has been conquered by two alien races that are hell-bent on the total annihilation of the ones they call the "Iron Tribe". Over a century has passed and humanity continues to live in hiding across the universe, hoping and praying that the saviour promised by the all-powerful Golden Tribe would appear. After a short introduction concerning the major tribes in the series, the story begins with the spectral image of Princess Dianeira Y Laisha Arturia Ol Yunos floating in space as she attempts to locate the traces of a ship that has been lost for over 120 years. Together with the crew of the Argonaut she has journeyed through uncharted areas of the cosmos, and after four long years of searching it seems as though their quest may end on a half-destroyed planet that appears to be cut off from the rest of space.

That world is Olone, and upon it lives a young man called Age (and his tentacled friend Food).

Science fiction tends to be a pretty common genre in anime, but only a few shows can truly call themselves space operas - and even amongst those Heroic Age is more than a little unusual. Much of the plot has been inspired by greek mythology - in particular the legends surrounding Hercules - and this is very clearly reflected in not just the nomenclature or the tasks given to the Nodos, but also in the language used throughout the series. The narrative adopts a measured, formal tone which may not sit well with viewers who want a frenetic pace and minute-to-minute excitement - even though this approach is fitting because of the heavy classical influencel.

That said, Heroic Age does contain a lot of combat and tension, but instead of the usual gung-ho attitude of other space-based anime (certain parts of the Macross and Gundam franchises for example), there's a tangible sense of desperation within the series. This stems from the fact that humanity is very clearly outnumbered, outgunned, and vastly inferior in terms of technology - factors which place far more emphasis on the need for a miracle, and like all such things the Nodos are both a blessing and a curse.

In terms of design the characters are something of a mixed bag. The clothing for the humans is generally in keeping with the plot (utilitarian outfits for the most part), but their features are often unremarkable. As for the aliens, aside from the insectoid Bronze tribe and Food's species on Olone, everyone seems to be humanoid. It would have been nice if a little more imagination had been applied to the other inhabitants of the universe - variety is the spice of life after all. That said, the Nodos are interesting as they look more like an armoured creation of Doctor Moreau - which gives them a degree of familiarity, but also makes them appear far more monstrous than every other alien species.

Character animation is surprisingly consistent throughout the series, and while the usage of CG is generally good (the transformation sequences or the pitched space battles for example), there are several moments that are decidedly clumsy in both execution and integration. Thankfully these are relatively minor issues that don't really have any impact on proceedings, and the show features some great audio-visual effects and choreography (although the mechanical servo noise used for Belcross has caused some confusion about the Nodos).

One of the things that people will remember about Heroic Age is the exceptional music. The score is filled with tracks that appeal to any number of human emotions, and in all honesty the entire soundtrack (especially the main theme), seems to have two main purposes - add to the atmosphere of the story and make the viewer feel just a little bit epic.

The opening sequence is a decent compilation of the main characters and a few action scenes, combined with Gravitation by Japanese pop band Angela - and thankfully there's almost nothing that could be counted as a spoiler. Each episode ends with Azurite - a melancholy ballad sung by Urakabe Tae - and the accompanying imagery shows Dianeira walking along the shore alone and then floating in space above a planet. Now this may seem like a fairly typical anime closing sequence, but it's actually a rather clever bit of foreshadowing that fits very well once the viewer understands the context.

Possibly the biggest issue with Heroic Age is the dialogue - in particular because of the formality inherent in the series. The Japanese script is rather cumbersome in its use of language and is filled with repetitions of words and phrases - sometimes just in one scene. Thankfully this approach fits the tone of the anime and the experienced voice cast have managed to overcome this hurdle to deliver some good performances. Unfortunately the English dub is even more convoluted, and things only get worse with the use of incorrect nomenclature (Dianela should actually be Dianeira - after the wife of Hercules, Age is pronounced Eiji, and so on). It's clear that the rewriters have tried too hard to turn the series into an animated saga poem, and many of the voice actors audibly struggle with their lines during certain monologues and declamations.

That said, if the viewer is able to move past these issues then they're likely to find some rather interesting characters.

Heroic Age is filled with lots of people who have their own beliefs and circumstances, but it's the numerous questions that surround the Nodos, the tasks assigned to them, and their purpose in the universe that lead to evolution of several major supporting roles on both sides of the war. In addition to this the series clearly highlights the dual nature of humanity as both protectors and destroyers - which is something of a rarity in the genre - and the repercussions of these acts have a lasting effect on storyline.

Dianeira isn't the typical vapid lead female, but she is a bit too kind, trusting and forgiving for her own good - especially where her brothers are concerned. She also displays a great deal of courage on a variety of occasions, not the least of which is her decision to lead the crew of the Argonaut across uncharted space while the two most powerful tribes in the universe try to kill them. Her character is particularly unusual because of the dichotomy of her role - she is both protected by the crew of the Argonaut, but also acts as their guide and protector across space.

On the other hand Age is something of a conundrum - which is why there are a few misconceptions about him. He is a teenager who has been young for a very long time (over 120 years), and has an innocent mind but possesses knowledge of the future. He can be charming and endearing at times, but also terrifying in his rage - and his straightforward mentality hides a surprisingly deep character. His childhood with beings who are effectively gods and his years sharing his body with Belcross - a surviving member of the legendary Heroic Tribe - have effectively isolated him from the race that he is fated to protect, but his carefree attitude and sunny disposition add some much-needed comic relief to the story. More than anything, he is a departure from the usual heroes found in anime as he is not driven by courage or the desire to protect his friends, but by faith in the future that he has been shown.

Heroic Age has a lot in common with shows like Battlestar Galactica (the new version), Ulysses 31, Guin Saga, and surprisingly - Shingeki no Kyojin, and fans of those titles may find themselves on familiar ground with the storyline. The layers of subtext about the nature of man and humanity's place in the universe fit very well with the narrative and themes of the show, and the series contains a lot more symbolism than one might expect (the similarity between Dianeira's astral projections and the figureheads found on sailing ships, the five tribes being named after Hesiod's Ages of Man, the number of labours assigned to each Nodos, and more).

The decision to adopt a cerebral approach to a very common theme in science fiction and to follow classical themes and influences has created a space opera that - although formal - adds a dose of intelligence and thoughtfulness to the action and tension. The show may not be for everybody, but those who do give it a chance will understand why the name "Heroic Age" is so appropriate.

Heroic Age is a Space, Sci-fi, Action, Adventure with a story basically about mankind's struggle to exist in the galaxy and to carry out instructions laid out by the Golden Tribe. The basic premise of the story itself is great but not original, but at least it's made easy to understand with the superb intros in the first couple of episode. There happen to be some similarities in this anime's plot and Star Wars IV and some other sci-fi anime; Vandread and Gundam Seed. So this is an anime Star Wars fans can enjoy however don't expect to see any lightsaber duels.

The battles in this ... anime are pretty spectacular, which is basically composed of thousands of mechs, space fighters and aliens, plus throw in a Nodos or two. These are animated very well which mixes drawn animation and 3DCG and is to the point, where something as insignificant as Age transforming into the Bellcross becomes a spectacle however there will always remain some who won't like the CG. The space battles between huge fleets are amazing but they later lose their affect, when some scenes are later reused. Also when a single Nodos has the power to easily wipe out a planet from the face of the galaxy, it makes all the huge superbly animated space battles seem like such a waste of time.

The music is fantastic to listen to with a superb orchestra score that's especially good when it comes to the battles but it lacks variety. The opening theme is also really great and stands out from others I've heard.

Overall this anime series had a great deal of potential as the story began to develop however there's a turning point, which stopped the series from living up to its expectation. Apart from the several noticeable flaws, like the characters' personalities, reused battle scenes and illogical story, this was a pretty enjoyable sci-fi series. So don't let the negative reviews stop you from watching this however for those who aren't fans of Space anime should steer clear from this one.

^_^

So, take one part Neon Genesis Evangelion, one part Mobile Suit Gundam and one part of extremely boring political intrigue, mix thoroughly and boil for 26 episodes, and you will receive a product that equals Heroic Age. Even though the first few episodes held so much promise for this anime series, the repetition of battles and the boring political talk between plain looking characters is what takes the heroic out of the anime, Heroic Age.

The story is your pretty standard inter-galactic war plot, with a few new wrinkles added in to create something original. The Golden Tribe used to rule over the universe ... a long time ago, but with its sudden disappearance, the Silver Tribe has been the dominant one throughout the universe. However, with the rebellion of the humans, a war breaks out. The Silver Tribe (superior beings), the Bronze Tribe (humans) and the Iron Tribe (an insect race) are the participants in this war. What makes the war interesting is the battles fought between Nodos. The Nodos - a powerful being that looks oddly similar to an Eva - are monsters that are hidden within the soul of people that are from the once-thought extinct Heroic Tribe. Each Nodos has been sworn to oath set by the Golden Tribe that he/she must fulfill.

The character art is boring, enough said. All of the characters look relatively plain and uninteresting. And as a result, will not spark much interest in you, as the viewer, and will unfortunately, at times, make you become bored with the anime. The animation, on the other hand, is pretty good. A bunch of repeated frames for sure, but compared to the art, it's not so bad.

The sound, although nothing remarkable as well, is pretty decent. There are a few scores which you might start playing in your head a few times. The voices to all the characters fit them well, but you can sense an apparent lack of emotion in all of them.

You'll find your average set of protagonists and antagonists in this anime. You have your basic good-willed princess, a commander who will fight for her, and even a big-breasted female general. Even Age, the main character, is nothing special, as his appearance will undoubtedly look familiar and you'll wish he never got that haircut after the first episode. Probably the most annoying characters you'll find in this anime is the princess' brothers, who are your typical hungry-power people willing to sacrifice everyone for their gain. They are a waste of space, in my opinion.

Heroic Age would have garnered a bit of a higher score from me if it were not for the extremely uneventful and boring episodes that occur right in the middle of the anime. The first nine or so shows are interesting, but then after that, there's another nine or ten in which the same thing seems to happen over and over again. In addition, the constant unemotional speeches from everyone will have you yawning in no time.

From the review I have written above, it seems that I made it out so that Heroic Age has no good points whatsoever, which is definitely not true and hence why I haven't given it a 1/10. The Nodos battles are really epic and its interesting to see what kind of powers and attacks they develop. You'll also be interested in the hint of love between Princess Deianeira and Age, which is rather amusing to watch. You'll also see many reference to the Greek Mythology version of the Heroic Age and its always fun to see them and point them out to yourself.

In the end, Heroic Age is an anime to be seen if there is nothing else out there that you are interested in and want to pass your time.

Story:
I think the story is told very well. The pace is even and while it doesn't speed along it doesn't go so slow as to be annoying or particularly noticeable. And the pace does improve as the anime goes on.
The story I think is a very enjoyable one. It is very original, having several unique qualities.
It fallows the 'classic' way of doing things. Introduces characters, establishes personalities and let's you get to know the characters, then puts the story into full force.
an 8 on story from me.

Art:
For me, the art was very strange at first. Having an unfamiliar look, at least out of the things ... I'd seen before I'd never seen an art quite like it.
The characters are very thin and tall, and the eyes have something about the pupils which I fine interesting. In the beginning I didn't like the art, but I grew to love it as I watched the show and as an artist I now find it very fun to draw.
A 10 on art from me.

Sound/Music:
The sound effects were normal. Nothing wrong there. They did what they should do, added to the experience as a whole. I do remember liking how they used the sound effects for the Nodos.
The music was nothing special. I can't even remember the opening or ending song. Though that means I didn't dislike it either I suppose.
Taking both into account I'll give sound/music a 7.

Character:
Like most shows there were characters I liked and didn't like. But there were far more I liked then did not. So that's plus. ^^
The characters are all interesting in their own ways and the show has several memorable characters in my opinion.
As I said earlier character development was handled well I thought.
Giving you just enough to fall for the characters without spending ages building up pasts. Very well done. A 10 on character from me.

Enjoyment:
Personally I enjoyed this anime quite a lot. But I didn't at first. This show has to grow on people I think. It has a very odd feel to it so I don't think it's for just everyone. You will probably want to already have a liking for mech shows.
Though the show has several things about it which could make it appeal even to those uninterested in mech shows previously. I think it has a great potential to be loved by anyone willing to take the time get into it.
A 9 on enjoyment.

Overall:
I'll give it a 9 overall.
Very good. Not perfect, but closer then most shows come. ^_^
I highly recommend it.

Heroic Age, what a boring anime! Mecha-monsters that constantly fight, a princess who constantly cries and people who keep talking about tribes and “contracts” that don't make any sense to anyone, not even to the anime characters themselves. This show fails in a major way by making the show too complex and unintelligible. They didn't use their time wisely to explain all of these new concepts to the average-minded viewer, things like, “tribes” or the importance of the “contracts”, the nature of these contracts, or go into further details of these “labors”. There was also ZERO character development! No downtime between battles to ... any real extent, no history or background of the characters, just that age likes to paint...basically. Boring! I like humans and people and human drama. Where's the tension? Where's the DRAMA?
Of course I love the art and animation, it's the same as Gundam SEED which is to say, it's pretty good. However, I think this series was really just an showcase for the art concepts and graphics and special F/X. Like why does the Captain's room have no walls? It's just a bunch of lights and LEDs against the backdrop of space and stars. Also, the music is not that great, nothing to do back-flips over.
The story makes no sense, it's all a bunch of mysticism and interplanetary mumbu-jumbo that doesn't make sense to anyone outside the anime and they do a terrible job relaying it to the viewer....so there's no connection there either!

I'm a character driven person and this show did nothing for me, the characters were trite and clichéd. And you didn't get to really see them much at all except when they're delivering all these monologues and soliloquies about legends and Golden Tribes, ugh, I was so bored of it all! this show is more about giant space mecha-monsters and spaceships and planets. The character's behaviors are severely irrational and underdeveloped. OMG the silver tribe makes me want to barf! Especially the little silver girl/monster, one minute she's a cold bossy bitch then suddenly she goes ballistic for no apparent or tangible reason and practically destroys the "universe" [ugh, why must everything be on such a grand scale.....so unnecessary!] but then in the next moment she's crying saying she so alone, like no one loves her [COULD it be because you're a bitch, honey?]. Actually the whole the silver tribe is like this. They're supposedly this cold and “logical” people but somehow these emotions are popping up left and right, WTF! The blond princess with the constant crying also gets on my nerves yet ironically she never shod one tear when her both her brothers supposedly got fried.
What a boring anime, a lot of fancy F/X and cute character's but the story is a hot-ass mess. I was severely disappointed.

This is my second space show that I have given a try, since I labeled all space and mecha shows as boring. I am glad to say that I was wrong for this one at least. This anime is great on many levels. It has suspense, action, some great emotional moments and to top it off, it leaves you with a cliff-hanger on each episode, to make you want to watch the next episode.

The story itself is unique, in my opinion. That, or I haven't see that many anime shows. It doesn't involve government and politics like some do, which I don't really care for. ... The pace is just right for this series and it is one out of many that doesn't have any filler episodes. Each episode adds to the story, and that's what I really appreciate.

If you just want to be entertained with something that's a bit different, what this show. You'll love it.

Heroic Age is truly an extraordinary anime. For me it is a must see series.

Story : 9

Though the story may seem a bit classical for those of us who are fans of the sci-fi genre I want to assure you that it is non the less amazing. Yes it is the classic battle between humanity and the alien forces and yes there are heroes/champions for each of the warring factions but despite these cliched details the story is so much more. It is an extraordinary tale that depicts an awe inspiring journey of Age and the Princess towards the future not for the human race ... or the Nodos or the other races but for the universe as whole. It kind of reminds me of the journey of Odysseus, the Greek hero who traveled the seas and encountered numerous perils and obstacles in his journey home and towards peace. I can keep going but I could never do justice to the story. In my humble opinion this an epic story filled with action, intrigue, chaos and dozens of feelings.

Art : 10

The art is another outstanding feature of this series. Though the art is not high class and edgy like newer anime series (Gundam 00, Code Geass, Tengen Toppa etc) it is truly remarkable. It gives off a vibe of older series that were created during the 80'2 and 90's. While watching Heroic Age I was constantly reminded of such series as Space battleship Yamato 2199, Captain Harlock, Gundam Wing etc. of course I do not claim that the art is the same as it was for these older series but that it just gives off a similar vibe. The artists managed to combine to very different art styles into one and the result is truly amazing.

Sound : 8

The soundtrack was pretty good. The opening and ending songs were well suited for this type of series and they managed to hook the viewer into watching them. The rest of the music throughout the series was very good as well. Each music piece complimented the scenes depicted. Music in this series managed to compliment the story telling and allowed the viewer to receive the anguish, sorrow, determination, joy etc of the characters.

Character : 9

Each of the main characters was written quite brilliantly. I, as a viewer, was able to follow the actions of our characters very easily. In essence all characters made sense. There was no part that confused me. Of course there were times were I disagreed and even cursed towards my screen but I think overall this fact made the characters more human and more believable. The one small issue I had with the character development is that certain things that occurred in the past were lost in a sense but to explain further I would have to spoil you.

Enjoyment & Overall : 10

Of course this series deserves a 10 +. This series has been extremely enjoyable and intriguing. There have few other series that I have enjoyed so much. everything about it was top notch. It is very rare for this level of quality work to be produced. To not see this series is to have missed something exceptional.

Space... It was once considered by the people of Earth to be the final frontier. A boundless, infinite universe stood just beyond the reaches of our ever advancing technology. We expected there to be life out there in the universe, but we had no way of knowing that by leaving the comfort of our blue planet, we’d be setting foot into a game of celestial thrones that was already eons in the making. As we entered this conflict, forced into the struggle for galactic dominance, we were dubbed the iron tribe. But with the regal albinos of the Silver tribe and the larvae-looking Bronze tribe ... teaming up against us, we were faced with the inevitability of not just defeat... But extinction.

That is, until one fateful day when Dhianeilla, the princess of the human race, and the crew of her space ship The Argonaut stumbled across a half-destroyed planet, inhabited predominately by terrestrial squids. Living amongst the squids, they found a childlike young man; Savage in appearance yet kind of heart, his name was Age, and he alone possessed the ability to defend us against the worst that our enemies could dish out. But will this curious young savior be enough? Is he strong enough to bring about an end to this horrible war? Is he heroic enough to do so with as little bloodshed as possible? Or will he fail, dooming us to obscurity? One thing is certain: Without Age, this frontier truly will be our final one.

Studio Xebec is a name that I’ve often heard spoken in painful, frustrated tones by many different reviewers. And hey, it’s time to add my name to that list. If animation studios were being sold in the supermarket, Xebec would be the store-brand option... I’m talking Great Value levels of cheapness. They’re the same company that produced Love Hina and the first Negima series, and the 2D animation in Heroic Age is a slight improvement over those works, with much better use of coloring, but as far as basic animation goes, this is pretty much the same stiff, lifeless crap that we’ve become used to seeing from them.

Having said that, I’m still going to give credit where credit is due. The animation looks awful whenever characters are on screen, or with any shots that take place on land or inside the space ships, but when we leave those setting and venture out into open space, the switch in visual quality is like night-and-day. The 3D animation in Heroic Age is nothing short of beautiful. This series came out in 2007, so the CG looks a little dated, but it still holds up really well. The spaceships themselves look awesome at all times, but what’ll really catch your eye is the expansive outer-space backgrounds, which are full of life and color... Although when it’s sharing screen time with the 2D characters, the styles really don’t mesh well together.

As far as the character designs go, there’s very little inspiration or originality here. The silver tribe... The primary antagonists of the series... Are emotionless, so of course they all have long white hair. Yeah, if you haven’t seen an anime where the villain had long white hair, then you don’t watch much anime. There are several characters who appear to have had their aesthetic lifted directly out of Leiji Matsumoto’s sketchbook, and thinking back, the only designs that really stand out are that of Age and a few less humanoid aliens, such as the bronze tribe and his squid friends.

Oddly enough, the one aspect of the character design that stands out in my memory is the sheer number of baffling choices that the creators made in regard to the female characters’ uniforms. On the low end of the scale, you have several members of Dhianeila’s crew... Including the princess herself... Who are wearing uniforms so skin-tight that you’d swear they were painted on. I actually kind of wish that were the case, because otherwise, those poor girls are experiencing the most uncomfortable wedgies in human history. That, and somehow the suits indent enough to show off their belly buttons. On the high end of the scale, there are a few high-ranking female characters whose outfits were designed to have gaping, cleavage-baring holes in the front, and I would LOVE to hear the practical applications of this dress-code choice. I highly doubt they did that for the sake of sexiness or fan-service, because with Xebec’s art quality, one poor character’s cleavage looks more like ass-cheeks than anything else in most shots.

The music is your standard sci-fi fantasy fare... If you’ve seen any anime like this, you’ve heard soundtracks exactly like this... But the English dub, on the other hand, is much more unique. I’ve heard quite a few bad dubs from Funimation before. I’ve heard them release dubs that were written poorly, directed poorly, or cast poorly. But through it all, I’ve always felt that they were at least trying. No, phoned-in dubs were always more of an ADV thing than a Funimation thing. Heroic Age is the first dub I’ve heard from them where it sounds like most of the people involved just didn’t care.

In a cast full of late-2000s Funimation regulars, there are several actors who didn’t have to reach very far into their bags of stock voices to find the right one for their respective characters. Monica Rial plays her usual squeaky-cheerful voice, aged up slightly for the dual roles of the twins Mail and Tail. Luci Christian raises her voice ever so slightly for the role of Dhianeila’s personal attendant Aneasha, and Greg Ayres does his usual Greg Ayres thing for the meek Mehitak. Think Negi Springfield, but without the accent. Colleen Clinikenbeard plays another deep-voiced tough woman, Christopher Sabat plays what he likes to call a ‘coffee break role,’ and so on and so forth.

Vic Mignona plays a scheming antagonist, which is fun to listen to, but he barely gets any lines. The only actors who seem to have brought any genuine effort to the table are Cherami Leigh, who plays the tortured Lekty, a member of the Silver Tribe who slowly learns affection and emotion with the help of a fellow Nodos who’s been tasked with protecting her... Cherami put out a compelling amount of pain through this character’s development... And Brina Palencia, who gracefully dances the line between adorable mascot and helpful navigator in her role as the ship’s AI system, Bee No Bee.

And then you have the two main voice actors. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. J Michael Tatum plays the titular character, and it’s probably the only time I’ve ever heard him attempt to do a high-pitched, wistful voice. Thank God for that. Every single line he utters sounds like he’s making fun of Johnny Yong Bosch. Tatum generally has a very pleasant, soothing voice, and his performance as Age is proof that he should stick to that voice as often as possible.

And yet, his female co-star is still worse. Caitlin Glass plays the role of Princess Dhianeila, and I am sorry to say this about any character voiced by her, but she will put you right the hell to sleep. She gives monotone a new meaning with her soft-voiced, droning delivery. She sounds like a lazy LOTR-style opening narration, which makes it even more grating to the attention span when she doles out exposition about long-winded prophecies or soliloquies about Age's feelings.

Together, these two voice actors turn the series into a boring, dull slog that’s often a chore to watch. They have absolutely no chemistry, which is insane because... And I can’t stress this enough... They’re the voice actors for Isaac and Miria in Baccano. Yeah, these two one-note windbags are directly linked to the most electrifying and entertaining couple in anime history. This is the only thing that ever surprised me about this series. The Japanese actors for both characters are far superior, able to hit the same basic tones while showing so much more personality in the process.

The show had a whole slew of people working on the adaptive writing, and yes, it feels it. There were several different writers and ADR directors taking turns like a revolving door, and out of the three script writers attached to the project, two of them were actually good. I’ve always known Monica Rial to be a talented writer, and she’s always been able to adapt material in such a way that it’s accessible without losing it’s intent or meaning. I’m new to Brandon Potter, but he did a decent job as well.

It’s when we talk about the third writer... J Michael Tatum... That we run into some serious problems. He’s a generally well-liked actor, and rightfully so... But when it comes to scripting a dub, he’s become notorious for over-writing. My least favorite kind of writers are the ones who think they’re better than the material, and take every possible opportunity to make themselves look like the cleverest person in the room, which Tatum does by replacing subtle and in-character dialogue with over-used cliches, purple prose, and bizarrely out-of-place idioms that make a mockery of the text while, in some cases, changing the intent of it all together.

Here, I’ll give you an example from episode sixteen. At one point, one of Age’s enemies is defeated, and brought onto the Argonaut. When confronting Age, he expresses reluctance to the idea of fighting him again, and is relieved when he hears that they don’t have to. This makes sense in character, because this guy’s always been pacifistic throughout the story, and the idea of engaging in an all out brawl with Age in the middle of a populated spaceship will cause countless casualties. But in the dub, Tatun changes his line to “So, you’re not going to hurt me?” Down-grading it from a sentiment of compassion to a sentiment of selfish cowardice. And yes, there are worse examples in here. Definitely stick to the subtitles on this one.

I’ve been putting off reviewing this series for a few years now... No exaggeration there, I’m dead serious... And in that time, it’s always been floating over my head as something I would have to tackle eventually. But there were two problems. The first one was that I didn’t know if I’d be able to watch it all the way through a second time. And the second was that, as many problems as I have with it, I had no idea how I was going to present my biggest problems with this series. So now that the time has finally come, I think I’m going to start with the problem that I like to bring up whenever someone asks me why I didn’t like this series... Let’s talk about the title character.

Age is a kind-hearted, childish savage who’s not human by birth. He’s one of the last surviving remnants of a tyrannical race of warriors that were almost completely wiped out by a more powerful force. He’s picked up by a crew consisting of mostly humans, and a lot of quirky hijinks ensue as a result of their many differences. It’s eventually revealed that he has the ability to transform into a giant, ferocious monster with it’s own name that’s unique to his, and he has to fight the other few remnants of his species if he wants to protect the human race from extinction. In other words, he’s Goku. Yup. Just Goku. He doesn’t have the personality, depth, or charm of Goku, but when you get right down to it, he was ripped wholesale out of the DBZ universe.

Now, is unoriginality a bad thing? Not necessarily. Bleach ripped it’s initial premise straight out of Yuyu Hakusho, and I actually like the first three seasons of Bleach MORE than it’s predecessor. But then you have my next problem... Heroic Age is really stupid. This show knows about as much about outer space physics as I did in elementary school. There are plenty of rules you’re allowed to break in science fiction... Sound and color don’t exist in space, but very few Sci-fis care about that. Heroic Age breaks the rules you’re allowed to break, as well as the ones you aren’t. Not only do many of the characters move through open space as though they were swimming under-water, but in episode two, we see the main character digging a hole through the hull of the Argonaut in order to attack the villains waiting outside.

Hey, do you remember Jason X, the Friday the 13th movie where Jason Voorhies kills a bunch of people in outer space? Pretty cool, huh? One of the characters was killed when Jason broke a hole in the hull from outside, and she was sucked through that hole. That was the dumbest movie in an entire franchise of dumb movies, but even THAT story knew that when you compromise the hull of a space ship, shit goes terribly wrong. Also, I get that Age and the other Nodos can breathe in space, but an inhuman biology doesn’t explain outer space wind blowing through their hair. Someone had to animate that.

But much like unoriginality, stupidity is not a deal breaker. There are plenty of shows that were awesome, despite having the IQ of mayonnaise, but they usually offer up some redeeming qualities to make up for it. Gurren Lagann is stupid, but it has so much energy and confidence that you just can’t help but believe in it. Knights of Sidonia is incredibly stupid... Probably even more so than Age, now that I think about it... But it’s so creative and sincere that it honestly just comes off as fun and adorable. Heroic Age doesn’t have anything like that. In fact, rather than making up for it’s stupidity, it compounds that problem with it’s insistence on looking smarter and deeper than it actually is.

At the start of this review, I gave a heavily simplified(and not 100% accurate) plot summary of this series. What I left out was all the over-complicated pulp. Heroic Age goes up it’s own ass to establish a long-winded and often self-contradictory lore about the many tribes vying for control of the universe, which never serves as anything other than an explanation for the setting. There are scattered references to Greek mythology, namely to the five ages of man, but these references are in name alone, and the tribes named after them have little to nothing to do with the ages they correspond to. The only reason Age is a descendant of the Heroic Age is because the creators wanted to emphasize how heroic HE was, never mind the fact that they’re also comparing a brutal race of murderers to one of the most noble ages of the five. The tribes could just have easily been named after different ice cream brands, with the show being called Haagen-Daas Age, and it would have had just as much depth to it.

But is pretending to have depth or meaning a deal breaker? Not on it’s own, but I’m sorry, ‘stupid’ and ‘pretentious’ are not good bed-fellows. This show would have been a lot easier to watch if it had dropped all attempts at undeserved profundity, and had just told the simple story that I mentioned earlier... Only it wouldn’t, because of this series’ final, and biggest, problem. Heroic Age, at it’s core, is just very badly written.

There are a ton of characters floating around in it, but Age is the only one who even gets the slightest hint of a backstory, and not one of them have any complex motivations. The two main characters... Age and Dhianeilla... have no personality outside of the fact that they’re good people who are always right about everything, and everyone else just exists to support or oppose them. I’ve seen this show twice, and I cannot describe a single one of it’s characters with anything more than a two-sentence explanation of what they are and who they’re connected to.

And it apparently isn’t enough that I don’t feel invested in any of the characters... I can’t even enjoy the action of these epic space battles because of how muddled and poorly edited these multi-episode set pieces are. You’ll notice quickly that during these long battles, there is a LOT going on, at many different locations, involving many different characters, often at different times. You’ll get a few seconds of Age fighting his brethren, followed by a cut to Princess Expositia explaining to us what he’s going through, followed by a cut to the political squabble involving her scheming brothers, to a cut to the other Nodos’ loitering around and discussing their lot in life, to a conversation someone had with Age earlier, and by the time they finally cut back to Age’s fight in current time, I’ve all but forgotten what he was doing there in the first place, which is the final nail in the coffin for a series I had to struggle to care about.

Herioic Age is available from Funimation. The old releases are still available in relatively affordable halves, but you can get a much better deal by going with the SAVE release, which you can find pretty much anywhere for between fifteen and twenty dollars. The manga, which released it’s first volume during the initial run of the series, is pretty much the same story told from another character’s perspective, and it’s not available in the states.

I don’t like Heroic Age. I also don’t hate Heroic Age. Hell, I don’t anything Heroic Age. I gained nothing from this series, and in exchange, I lost way too much time on a series that I’m going to forget in less than a week. It’s biggest crime isn’t the fact that it’s stupid, pretentious, badly animated, or generic. It’s biggest crime is that it’s boring. I can stare at the screen for several episodes in a row, with no distractions, and I still have to constantly rewind to pick up on what the hell I missed in regard to what’s happening. I’m glad to finally put this turkey behind me, and I look forward to forgetting it exists. I give Heroic Age a 3/10.

There are some many things wrong with this show.

It's a futuristic anime, done with the same animation tpe as the Gundam Seed and Destiny. The Gold Race set at a call to all intelligent races to enter space. There's the human race, known as the Iron Race, the Silver Race, the Heroic Race, and the Bronze Race anwser the call. Time passes and the Gold Race as left for another universe. The Heroic Race has disappeared. The Silver Race has taken power, with the help of the Bronze Race. In order to save the human race princess Deianeira travels to the far distant galaxy for ... their savior of the prophecies. They find a boy named Age who could help bring the human race to power.

I really started out liking this anime, in one of my earlier blogs I even thought I would give it a 8, 9, or 10. Boy was I wrong, and disappointed in Heroic Age. Lets go over the things that are wrong with this anime. First the overall story started out with a good premise, but quickly became convoluted and incoherent. Than there's the one dimensional characters that have no depth to them. Finally there's the animation and battles. Both reminded me of Gundam Seed/Destiny, the more I watched. I swear the animation looks exactly like Gundam Seed/Destiny even though it's animated by different companies. I thought I was watching Gundam Seed/Destiny as I watched the battles. They were overblown big time, and ridiculous. Heroic Age had potential to be great, but let things go down hill fast.

The anime is a futuristic anime where there are serveral races each trying to reach the same goal which is to become master of the galaxy after the dolden tribe left. The tale revolves around a ship of the iron tribe(humans) and their journey through war fighting and discovery.

The story is quite different from your usual futuristic anime, somethings like gundam where you get several different parties fighting in a war. And the ultimate weapons instead of gundams are the heroic tribe which are people who can turn into big fighting robots. Though there is a dabble of fate and destiny in the story ... i found it quite touching. There is a bit of romance which is only evident late in the anime, so don't expect much from romance in this anime. But it is quite a good story nonetheless with a deep meaning.

The art is quite similar to thatd of gundam seed you could say the main female lead looks like lacus clyne in gundam seed. I find this style of anime quite to my liking and there are no flaws in the anime,the scenaries are done up quite nicely.

The songs of the anime are quite good. I was especially entranced by the ending song Azurite, which was an insert song in certain episodes, this really brought out the mood of the setting and it was very sentimental and touching, the insert songs were done up quite well so i applaud the studio for their effort.

The characters have some depth and carry a lot of meaning in their words and actions. The story focuses a lot of the main characters and the supporting characters are not so important. Morality is a a question that many of the characters think of and then theres the theme of fate and destiny and how the characters react to them. In the end, the characters each have thier roles to play to create a new path.

I enjoyed the anime because of the meaning that was portrayed in the anime. The fight scenes were also quite extravagant and i found it quite touching so it was generally quite entertaining, Though not the best since im a drama-romance fan, though there is a good deal of drama in this show.

Overall, i think the anime is worth watching, if you like action and adventure you will like this, the anime is not so much a mecha show though,so mecha fans should not have too high hopes for this.

Important: Forgive my english please. As a french person it's always very easy for me.

I watch this serie by pure random choice on animeultima.com. I was searching for a sci-fi show and I notice that the art character were done by Hisashi Hirai, who's one of my favorite character designer. So I watch the show without understanding a lot of things at the beginning and it turns out to be one of the greatest sci-fi show I ever watch ( including anime and real tv serie/movie).

Story: I'm not going to describe the story (after all, you read the synopsis, don't you?). The story began with ... an easy cliché: the only human raised by the golden race is the saviour of humanity, because he is the most powerfull of the five Nodos (space godzilla... just kidding). But I dindn't mind this cliché. The story follows a path of originality that I like. My only little complain: the Nodos are pretty much invicible and uber-powerfull. At least, there's a good reason why there are like this. Some people complain about this show for being to slow for his first half. I know this is not the most fast-paced action you can get, but it's a built up for an extremely good ending.
Story: For it's originality, despite some "slow moments", 9/10

Art: A lot of ships were pretty well designed. The Argonaut is an awesome ship, the Silver Race have weird design, but I don't understand their bridge at all. The Bronze Race are some zerg caterpillars with acid attack. Although the ships can be more colored (silver, green and silver again), I can't bring myself to hate this design.
Art: 8/10

Sound: One word: EARGASM!! An absolutely amazing soundtrack. The opening made by Angela (soukyuu no fafner, asura cryin') is an outstanding one. The ending is really cool. The soundtrack is a kickass one. If you have the chance to watch this show on a surronded system your gonna cry in joy. I tried it, it's totaly awesome.
Sound: 10/10

Character: An interresting cast with some "dicks" ( Dhianeila's brothers). Age is amusing for the most part, ignoring what's number, but understand every single words that Dhianeila tells him. Some people complain (again?!) about Age and Dhianeila for being almost "perfect" character. I can understand Age (although I don't agree), but I can't understand Dhianeila. She's not perfect, she just know when to take the right decision like a wise and old captain (just kidding). I'll just say that this show needed a little bit more of background about his cast. The design of the characters is very good, but I think Hisashi Hirai need to put just a little bit of originality in his creations. Even so, I like his way of drawning.
Characters: 8/10

Enjoyement: I had a lot of fun watching this show. I was always looking forward to the next episode and I was never disappointed. The first half let you know what's going on and the second half kicks out with those big confrontations of flleet battles. An absolute fun watch!!
Enjoyement: 10/10

Overall: I don't understand why this show is so unknow to the anime public. You should try this show and then judge it. Of course, you need to like a little bit the sci-fi universe, but I can recommand this show to everyone. Just watch it and judge it. For me, it was an amazing discovery in this anime world.
Overall: 9/10

We can all honestly say that a giant robot anime is not to original in this day and age, but this series is one the exceptions. This anime is like Gundam meets Tarzan as we experience the wild antics of Age, a prodigy with the powers of the Hero tribe. Along with the magical components of this story, everything else falls into place without any set-backs. VERY light humor sets a realistic feeling tone and travel through space makes it feel like problems are only a step away, seeing as everybody travels in the same space ship.

The actual parts and details of the story differ ... though. Let's break this down:

1) Action-
Fight scenes all have their own luster with a uniform style. Each scenario has some crucial detail that gives a fight it's own essence.

2) Humor-
The very short scenes are heavily outweighed by the drama so their abilities to reach you are easily outweighed. But I have to admit there are very rare moments where you will laugh.

3) Romance-
Surprisingly, it is really good, but you have to step back after finishing the series to really appreciate it. Yeah, if you pay attention you would notice the cliff hanging love suspense, but it can be easily confused for drama.

Overall 10/10; I don' t recommend this to everybody though, stick to your preferred dramas if you don't like those "traveling" animes. The story here is really reminiscent of Gundam Seed/Destiny if you know what I mean.

Story
Right of the bat "Heroic Age" seeems like any other space opera. However, it has arich story that derives many of its elements from Greek mythology, ecspecially Hercules. The plot itself has enough twists, turns, and tragedy to keep the audience wanting more, after the initial start-up period of about ten episodes. Yes, that's right, it has a slow start. A VERY slow start. Regardless, once it gets going it is hard to stop watching, unless you're Jupiter (inside joke). I can honestly say it is one of the msot clever loose adaptions I have ever seen.

Art
"Heroic Age" incorporates so much CGI into their animation ... tat sometimes it's hard to tell what is handdrawn. Usually, I would disdain from this practice but this time around I didn't mind it so much. It may just be because I am growing weary of arguing for handdrawn and against CG. The character desgins and other 2D aspects of it are done well, some characters are pretty generic but others really stay with you: Age, Mehitaka, ect. Also, the Heroic Race's mech desgins (though they are technically not mechs) are some of the most original and I must say, BADASS, desgins I have ever seen. Bellecross, ecspecially.

Sound
Nothing special sound wise. The opening theme is good, catchy even, but not really memorable. Any background music suits the show but isn't a draw. Voice acting is good, they really had a talented group of actors. Yui Ishikawa did a wonderful job with Princess Dhianeila.

Character
What I really like about "Heroic Age" is that, like many Miyazaki films, it is devoid of any true villians. There are people who do villionous things (Rome Ro, Dhianeila's elder Brothers) but everyone are really just people with their own agendas. All the characters feel as if they are acting int hte best interest of their people, no one is out to destroy the world.

Overall, "Heroic Age" is a wonderful series. It does has a slow start and has sort of an acquired sci-fi taste. It isn't for everyone, I would reccomend ir more to sci-fi fans more than traditional anime fans. However, if space operas are your thing, than this show is for you.

This anime has gotten an amazing soundtrack!! One of the best, for an Anime, I've heard so far! In this case I have to give at least 9 out of 10! Everything below would be considered as crime, I guess..

I did enjoy the Storyline - it's quite fresh and is something that I've never seen before. Somethimes, especially after episode 10 to, maybe 15/16, the anime is a bit long. They could've done this faster, but, anyway, as soon as you're getting closer to episode 20 you might forget this right away, beacuse the end is just spectacular.

The characters are nice, but compared to other ... animes... well, some of them haven't gotten much background story which is quite sad because I really wanted to learn more about them!

But still, as I had finished watching it, I knew that I didn't waste my time watching it!

I'm a mecha fan and this is my favourite series!

It's directed by Toshimasa Suzuki.And he did a perfect job!
This series has it all..nice graphics,romance,huge battleships,mecha ,monsters,psychic powers...too much of cool stuff to go on! See for your self,if you dont belive me!
The story's theme is based on stories in Greek mythology, especially those surrounding Heracles, upon whom the main character is based, and his Twelve Labors. Story line never gets sluggish. How could it get,because theres a lot to be told in only 26 episodes! Intro song is done by Angela,and its superb for this series. I love it!

Long time after an advanced race, the ... Golden Tribe, left to explore other universes, the human race, known as the Iron Tribe, became threatened with extinction.
Since the Golden Tribe left, the Silver Tribe has long been the most dominant race, calling themselves the Golden Tribe's successors. The young princess of the Iron Tribe, Dianeira, searches for the one mentioned in her family's history; the messianic individual that holds the power to save her people.
This person she looks for is the only human to have been raised by the Golden Tribe before they departed from the universe. After her ship and crew reaches the ruined planet, Oron, which holds the one she is looking for, they are attacked by the Bronze Tribe. However, right before the attack, they come in contact with a young boy named "Age", who may hold the secrets to their salvation.

This show deserves more attention,specialy from mecha&sci-fi fans and romantic idealists :)

~Story~
One word: Unique! I havent seen a anime anything like this, sure theres alot of space,save the planet type animes but this one took that basic idea and came up with a amazing version. The basics may be the same but the rest was unique to this anime. The anime itself got straight to the point, within the first episode you understood a bit of what this anime was going to be like. The anime was an all around amazing achievment in a sworm of clique anime's it certainly stood out.
~Art~
I can't say this was the best are because it wasnt, it was ... amazing but sometimes the battle scenes when the two people clashed it was a little hard to make out but only once or twice so other than that it was an amazing mix of 2D and 3D!
~Sound~
The music for the anime was...not great, it was a little repetitive but the sound effects for the anime itself was spot on and if you were on a space ship getting attacked this is certainly what i imagine it would sound like.
~Character~
Now, All the characters were unique in their own way. Instead of a big macho or cool and collected main male role the male was like a new born child in the begining and you could see him grow, guess thats what happens when your stuck alone on a planet for god knows how many years and have never learned the basics. Hes refered to as a monkey alot, i loved him. The rest of the characters were a little shallow but were amazinly well developed. The only characters that annoyed me were the Princess's two brothers, i was hoping they would die the whole time.
~Enjoyment~
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G The anime was fabulous to watch and kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time. The characters were badass icons that will be remembered forever for their awesome display of the future of anime.
~Overall~
Overall i would give it a 9/10, the only reason i dont give it a 10 is because the ending didnt explain much but its the only way it could have ended. I still adored the ending though, adorably awesome. Anyway so if you love Anime of any kind i suggest you watch this anime due to its amazing graphics,unique plot, Incedible characters, beautiful art and one hell of a fan base!

Heroic Age, is an anime I've been searching for. It has action, wonderful story, war, Mecha, and a breathtaking soundtrack.

The storyline is similar to other animes out there. But why I like it, is because the hero is not the guy who is always caught up in annoying triangles; Like "who should I join? I am so confuse? who is the good guy? who is the bad guy?" The hero in this anime, knows his mission and knows what he is supposed to do. It's a very straight forward anime, and it always teases you at the end, making you want to watch the next ... episode.

I like animes with a good soundtrack, and this anime it perfect. It has this orchestra theme in every episode that always sends chills running through your spines. I also like the opening and ending theme song as well.

The character design may not interest some people, but trust me just watch this anime. You'll learn the accept it, just like me.

I like this anime, I have been watching animes since the early 90's. So I am sometimes picky when it comes to watching good animes. This anime is one of a kind.

enjoy watching this anime.

The Space opera genre is one of my favorites in any medium and so is mecha so this anime should have been and all time classic for me, and sadly it is not the case.

First the story, is really broad full of stereotypes and for the most part is very predictable. There are no major twist, the characters have very specific roles in it, so you know where everything is going to go, and that makes it a chore to watch.

Animation and sound, both are fine. Nothing really spectacular, the design for the mecha is a little generic, but they move nicely during combat or ... other scenes. One highlight are the ships, they look distinct and fit the personality of each race.

Characters, this is the terrible part. None of the characters have any real dimension to their personalities, they have one motivation each, and for 80% of the cast it does not change, so there is no arch for anyone, their lives move in a flat line. Specially that dam princess, who is the biggest cliche of all and I cannot really stand her at all.

To have a good space opera you either focus on the characters, making the world generic, or zoom to the world and make the characters just archetypes, but certainly not both. This is the case with this anime, the two parts are generic and thus boring. I would recommend to give it a pass.

Okay, so after watching so many mecha, fantasy, action animes. I have never ever felt so satisfied when it comes to a story like this one. I am lucky and blessed to stumble upon such a beautiful masterpiece.

The story is somewhat intriguing, it makes you wanna fall at the edge of your seat as you anticipate every episode, fearing for what will happen next.

The story is based upon the threat of extinction of all humankind along with the struggles of political, military, space, survival and superpowers (Planetary Destruction kind of power).

Three superior races, the silver tribe and the bronze tribe along with the relics of ... the all powerful heroic tribe, who was forced to serve inferior beings as a punishment due to their wild behavior by the golden tribe, converge against such a newly primitive race (humankind/iron tribe) thus forcing the humans to leave earth to search for a new hope on far away galaxies. To prevent such demise, a princess took the call to search for the one who has been prophesied by an ancient race (the golden tribe) a 120 years ago before leaving. He is said to be the one who will save all humanity carrying a huge burden along with his 12 labors that must be done no matter what at all costs. But against all odds, political and other entities that threats their very existence, they all persevere towards the end. Kodus to such a very well laid story, i really appreciate it.

Although the anime does not say any romance in it, but actually, it does, it has some cute moments. The ending is beautiful and i like to think that it is just the begining. I am really hoping for a second season.

The characters are quite interesting, the art is not that beautiful and lovely but the animation sure does makes me wanna see more action.

So that is all i have to say, this anime now belongs to one of my favorites, a 10/10.

Heroic Age is a good anime, full of awesome space battles, giant Mech-like monsters that battle over the fate of the galaxy, and a sense of survival as the entire human race is losing a war that will lead to its extinction.
The battles themselves are one of the reasons I am draw to this anime as much as I am. Every battle is big with an enormous amount of human soldiers, ships, and alien species. As the series progresses the battles get bigger, more impressive and much more destructive. Personally I feel like based on the battles alone I feel like this anime is worth ... at least checking out. Also while this is considered a Mecha in some regards, its done in a much similar way it is done in Code Geass, where the Mechs are just this anime's version of a super soldier and are just as destructible as anything else is, which I feel is much more exciting.
The characters in the series are nothing too special, and are none too unique, but there are a few characters that you will get attached to and that's when the series picks up, because then it matters to you if they die.
As far as music goes, the only song of interest is the opening which is very good, but not so much so that it worthy of extra special note (other than this one of course) but nonetheless is a catchy tune and you will find yourself listening to it out of choice at the beginning of each episode.
Overall, the story and characters are nothing new but are done well so while you have a good idea how the series will end, the journey itself is the most enjoyable part. I'd recommend this anime simply based on the battles alone, they are so big and impressive that they (with good reason) take center stage. If you have the time and are in the mood for an epic space survival full of large scale battle, give this one a try, because personally I never get tired of it.