Ranked #478

Fantastic Children

Story:
The beginning of the story is part mystery and part adventure, focusing on a group of half a dozen white haired kids making an appearance through out centuries seemingly without aging and the other time focusing on a kid called Thoma who meets some anti-social girl called Helga and a energetic boy called Chitto. I admit the story was a bit underwhelming at first but once the story gets a bit clearer you'll be hooked straight away, it turns into something quite epic and unique, there's so many twist and turns and you'd just watch episode after episode and without even noticing it's already over.

Animation:
The art style can be a bit of a turn off for some people, they might even think this is a kids show but fear not this is quite mature even if the first few episodes are light-hearted they're nothing compared to what happens next.

Anyway, as you get used to the art, it becomes more apparent that it's done quite well, lots of attractive looking backgrounds and pretty solid animations.

Sound:
The background music can really manipulate the emotions of certain scenes, they really help make pivotal moments in the story have more impact. The OP fit the series perfectly too bad I had to skip on occasion since I just really wanted to get on with the story, While the ED is sang by ORIGA the same singer who lent her voice for the majority of the GITS soundtrack.

Character:
How they made the connections with each character was great, most of the characters had a certain connection to the main plot, the importance of characters become unpredictable that you'd be shocked when the story finally reveals what their purpose are. Honestly every character was interesting and it was nice to see that they all had a part to play they weren't just some random people thrown in together to make episodes last longer.

Overall:
A lot of people would probably just ignore it after looking at the front picture alone, which is too bad because it's a pretty damn good show with a unique and interesting plot along with a great cast and a solid OST, you might not like it as much as I did but I guarantee you wouldn't hate it, it's only real flaw is how lame the name is. read more

STORY

At first glance, this looks like some weird story about kids, targeted at kids. But don't be fooled by the simple character design or the title. This series is actually quite intense, with a memorable and complex plot and good storytelling that will draw older viewers waiting with bated breath for what happens next. It is definitely not a series just for children.

The story revolves around a group of mysterious children who appear every once in a while throughout Europe. Who are they, where are they from, and why do they keep on reappearing? These are some of the questions that are being answered bit by bit throughout the series. At the same time, the story also follows another group of children who have run away from the local orphanage, and are searching for a place they want to go. At first, it seems that these two main plots have nothing to do with each other, but at the middle of the series, the two plots converge, and the viewer discovers that they are closely connected after all.

There are also a couple of sidestories with a few adults involving something almost supernatural. Although these sidestories seem off-track, they are related to the main plot in one way or another, and are tied together in the last few episodes.

The plot is fairly complex and quite involved, but not to a point where it's confusing. The story is told in a way that it's pretty understandable if you pay attention to it. The story is full of surprises, twists, and secrets that will keep the viewer guessing and wondering what happens next.

The tone of the series is mostly serious. But there is room for some bits of humour and lighthearted fun. There are also a few philosophical questions subtlely being looked at, such as what makes us who we are as humans, is it our souls or our current selves? In terms of love, there are many types being explored: romantic, family, friendships, unrequited, and broken.


CHARACTERS

Even though it doesn't look like it at first, each character is connected to one another in one way or another, and that connection is revealed piece by piece throughout the series.

The Children of Belfort: This is the name given to seven mysterious white-haired, blue-eyed children who have appeared for 21 times in the last couple of centuries. They'd gather and run away from their homes when they turn 5, and never live past the age of 11. They search desperately for something before their time is up. The way they talk and act make them more like adults than children. At first, they seem cold and distant, and even perhaps malevonant. But as their stories and pasts are revealed, the viewer comes to feel compassion for them, and their mission. Each person has their own stories and own unique personalities that will touch the viewers' hearts.

Dumas: The mysterious white-haired boy who appears a few times at the beginning of the series. Appearance-wise, he seems to be one of the Children of Belfort, but he doesn't seem to be working with them. Who he is and his background story will be revealed later in the series.

Helga: She is an orphan who is kind, but seems to be always lonely. She keeps on drawing pictures of a mysterious place that she wants to go, and she would run away from the orphanage to search for the place in her memory. Her friend Chitto is determined to help her get there. At first she seems meek and timid and always in a daze, but as the series progresses, her inner strength is slowly unveiled.

Thoma: He grew up around the Islands, and knows them well. He meets Chitto and Helga by chance, and is drawn to help Helga get to the place she wants to go. He is a determined young boy who is open and shows emotions easily. Little does he know, he's more closely connected to the Children of Belfort and Helga than he realises.

Dr. Gherta: She is the director and doctor of the mysterious and suspicious organization Ged Group. A brilliant scientist, she's somewhat single-minded and almost obsessive with her project, which, for most of the series, is unclear and even almost malicious. But the viewer gradually sympathizes with her plight, especially towards the end when she has a few secrets of her own to unravel.

Detective Cooks: A detective who has been investigating the disappearance of these children, he got interested in them because his grandfather was involved with the children during his lifetime, and Cooks became curious of his grandfather's findings. As more of a spectator, his sidestory gives the viewer some background information and history to the Children of Belfort.

All of the characters are pretty human, and although they main characters are only children, the circumstances that they're involved in and how they react make them seem older, and thus even an older audience can relate to them. By the end of the series, the viewer is able to sympathize with all of the characters, even if at first they may seem unlikable or malicious.


ART

The character design and art style is certainly unique, though not the prettiest; in fact, the designs could be said to be boring and quite simple. The children are designed more or less short and a bit stubby, and not a lot of details is given in the eye or hair area. The clothing design is also a bit boring, though it has a country-style flavour to it. However, the expressions for the characters are mostly well-done.

The background art is very beautiful, with lots of lush forests and unexplored islands. The setting has a sort of semi-tropical or Central/South American feel to it (the ruins of temples and statues remind me of the Aztec or Mayan ruins, but also has a sort of exotic island feel), or maybe with a dash of exotic Asian feeling too (with some of the statues looking a bit like Buddhist statues, and the colourful and busy marketplace of Middle East). The cities though, take on a more 19th century European flavour (even though the story is set in 2012), with cobble-stone streets and stocky buildings.

In general, the art is just different, and may take some getting used to. Instead of following the latest trend of shiny backgrounds, brightly coloured and detailed character designs, this series is going against the grain by looking back to the style of the older animes. The general colour palette of the series is kind of dark, with mostly grays and greens and blues, with a lot of scenes taking place during storms or at night; it's not neccessarily drab, but it's certainly not brightly coloured. There are a few exceptions with the scenes taking place in the forest on the islands, where the colours are contrasted sharply with the darker scences, using lots of bright greens and yellows. But I think this lack of shiny backgrounds and special effects, and simple character design does add to the sadness and longing feeling of the story. And rather focusing on the character designs (and fanservice), the simple art makes the viewer able to pay more attention to the story and character development.



VOICES

The voices for this series is okay. It doesn't really stand out anywhere, but it is mostly ear-pleasing and suitable for the characters. And most of the actors do a good enough job bringing out the emotions, especially towards the end, the viewers can almost feel the characters sorrow or joy.

MUSIC

The music is one of the strengths of this series. The opening song "Voyage" by Inori, is dramatic and uplifting, but also gentle and calming, a perfect opening for the series. It is also used as an insert song for one of the episodes, but with a slightly different arrangement, it's slower, with piano and cello in the background, and adds a sense of sadness to the scene. The ending song, "Mizu no Madoromi" by ORIGA (who sang both of GiTS openings) is sad and nostalgic, as if longing for something, and very fitting to the theme of the series. I would definately recommend getting the opening and ending singles (it's one of the best I've heard).

The background music uses a combination of piano, cello, and a bit of flute. The theme for the Belfort Children is very memorable (with piano and cello), and a bit sad, like the fate of these children. The only downside is that this theme is a bit overused, being played in almost every episode. Helga's theme (which is mostly flute and cello) is also gentle and pretty, and suits her character well. The background music is mostly soft and sad, with a few upbeat songs for the tenser scenes. It uses raw traditional instrumental sounds rather then edited sound effects, which works well. And I'd recommend getting the OST "Memory of Greecia" as well.


PRESENTATION

The first half of the series takes place in the current world at the current time, mostly following the adventures of Helga, Thoma, and Chitto, as well as that of the Children of Belfort and the people around them. Then the next couple of episodes focus on the background story and history of the series. Then that last ten or so episodes brings the characters and sidestories from the beginning of the series and tie everything together.

The pace may seem a bit slow for those who are used to action right away and in every episode. Many of the episodes are used to tell the story and advance the plot, or explain the history and background rather than pure action. And because of the complex plot and how everything is weaved together, some parts of the plot may take some time to develop. But I found it interesting enough that it's not a boring explaination, and it does help to understand the plot much better. And worry not, there are plenty of action interspersed throughout. Personally, I find the pace okay, it's just that there's so much to take in and explain that it takes time. I find the plot to be interesting, and not too confusing to understand, and it did leave me wanting to know more after every episode. And in the end, all of the questions that I wanted to ask have been answered, so I find the ending to be satisfying.

Overall, it is an enjoyable series, and I'd recommend it. In fact, I think this series needs more love and attention. read more

You know how in anime the kids or young people all act like they're adults? They have grown-up trains of thought, processing skills, mannerisms, aggravations and worries. And you wonder now and again: why don't they act their age? But what about when the kids aren't really kids, and they've been living longer than generations combined?

I have the difficult task of putting into words the sheer brilliancy of Fantastic Children, but I shall do my best.

The story is involving and intriguing--it is a mystery, an adventure, drama, science fiction and tragedy all rolled into one to give us not a mess of a plotline, but one of the most unique I have seen in the 2000s. The mystery behind the Befort Children, with their white hair and cold demeanour, will suck you in and you will find yourself reaching for the next episode to see how it all plays out. It is just about kids mainly, but their lives and their pasts are tremendously interesting. The flashbacks are some of the most well-placed and well-timed in anime I've seen, adding to the intrigue value and actually creating plot twists with their execution.

Now, I know that a lot of people have turned away from this anime because of the art. It invokes the old-school anime styles that were most prominent in the 1960s and 70s. The simple, clean character art may not appeal to everyone, however Fantastic Children has some of the best background art and animation out there. The landscapes and scenery are utterly beautiful in every single setting seen. The art colour pallet is duller than most other anime, but it invokes the spirit of darkness and nostalgia which run through the atmosphere.

The sound was great. It has sweeping scores that really helps aid in setting the mood and making the action scenes more exciting, the dramatic scenes more emotionally effective and the easier-going scenes lighter. Music to tug at your emotions is usually the best, and it is ever-present in Fantastic Children.

I love characterisation more than most things in fiction. And I must say, I fell in love with the entire main cast of this series. All the children have distinct personalities, they express their own dreams and wants and hopes and it leads to deeper development of the characters. You'll definitely find a group of unfortunate kids here that you would like to feel sorry for, but their strong personalities will make you just sit back and admire their efforts to work against all that is thrown their way.

I can't help it, but I loved every minute of this series. I can tell that it's not exactly for everyone. It is a sad anime, sprinkled with loss and hopelessness, but the beauty that lies in it is its way of not wallowing in the tragedy but moving forward. I was deeply moved by the characters and the stories they each had to tell.

Fantastic Children, like its namesake, is indeed fantastic, and well worth the watch. read more

Things go pretty slowly for a while, but if you're watching and wondering if things eventually pick up, well, yes, they do, around ep. 11, and most of what happens is explained, although it's not really anything as complex and sophisticated as Stand Alone Complex and there are certainly a few loose ends and deus ex machinii. (Not as complex as Stand Alone Complex? Just call me Unrealistic Expectations Man.) Normally I drop a show 2 eps in if it doesn't catch my interest, but this is a favorite of one of my friends here, so I kept watching.

What do I think? I think it could have used a bigger animation budget and could have been cut down from 26 to 22 or even 20 episodes.

Animation is kind of low budget. Fantastic Children looks and feels like it was made in the '80s. The color palette should have at least been more vibrant. I mean, sure, you have only so much money for your budget. But if you look at, say, Noir, or Requiem from the Darkness, they managed to have some interesting animation without spending a ton of money on it. What if everything looked like the paintings in the ED? OK, maybe that's impractical, but it's still possible to look interesting on a budget.

There is way too much time spent on shots of people just standing around, or extended close-ups of people looking surprised. There are a few things where a situation is first explained, then shown. It would have been better if it had just been shown. And, in general, the pacing is just a bit too slow for me. It's not that I don't appreciate Mushishi or Kino's, but that's not the style of this series. You can almost but not quite just skip a couple of the early episodes. Just don't watch eps 1-10 when you feel like watching something where lots of stuff is happening.

There are a few pretty silly things. The guys with hats, for example. It's also a bit disappointing how not all of the characters that a lot of time is spent with get to actually do much.

Voice acting is good. (The characters get intense towards the end, which is tough to do.) Some of the music, like in the last parts of ep 18, is alright too. (Yes I like the ep 18 Russian version of the ED better. So sue me.) The ED is mizu no madoromi, sung by Origa, by the way. But why oh why did they have to have some of the characters try to sing?

So is it worth watching? Does the ending deliver? Overall I'd give it a 7, which means worth watching but not worth buying, and I'd say it's better than or but worse than or . The drama and action pick up continuously towards the end, so the second half is better than the first. If you haven't seen, say, Gankutsuou, I'd suggest watching that before this, but Fantastic Children isn't *bad* and I don't regret watching it. The characters aren't cardboard cutouts, and there's not anything else like that to make me *dislike* it. There are just better series out there. I guess I'd suggest watching it if you like puzzle series and Final Fantasy. Especially Final Fantasy. I'd say it reminds me most of El Hazard the Magnificent World, minus comedy and with somewhat better characters and somewhat slower paced and a bit less coherent and most importantly minus the awesomeness of cat-based armor technology.

Well, I hope this review can help someone decide whether to watch Fantastic Children, but I somewhat doubt it. read more

I haven't explained the story below because you can see in the above reviews. This is purely my thinking. Please do tell what do you think about it and do read this till the end because this is one of the greatest Anime I have ever seen.

At first I neglected this Anime, as I saw in the middle and I quite didn't understand it. But when it was aired on Animax in January 2009, I was drawn towards it.

Mainly because of the Befort's Children. At first I thought they were vampires of some kind, but actually, they were aliens who have managed to explore a small extent of the 'World of Dead', i.e; The Zone. After knowing this, I thought that this could be worth of watching, because it wouldn't contain any miracles as it is purely about Science.

As the story continues, it makes a connection with your heart. It sure did with me. I wept when I saw the ending. I knew that Thoma-The main character was 'Soran' the one Princess Tina (Helga's Previous life) loved, but instead, it was 'Sesu' the one who took care of Tina since a child. This was a big shock to me.

When Tina begins rampaging her planet (ep- 18), Sesu tries to stop her, but Tina is lost and couldn't hear a thing. She destroys the ship Sesu was in resulting in losing his arm. At the same time, seeing Sesu fall, Soran approaches Tina and asks her to come with her. Was it a co-incidence? At the same time 'The Enma' approaches Tina and calms her down. Seeing this, Sesu gets depressed that he doesn't exist in Tina's heart although Enma did the job, he thinks it was Soran. This makes him mentally depressed, he loses his mind and kills Soran while he was ready to transport Tina's spirit to Earth.

I don't know what "Takashi Nakamura" was thinking but he really moved my heart. Mainly because, he apologized for making Sesu look bad. He could have made Thoma-Soran, it would have easily ended the Anime with a happy ending. But instead he chose to put Sesu there to say that he was sorry.

There is no doubt that Sesu was the one who cared about Tina more than Soran. He entrusted her to his best friend and asked him to protect her. This is the main relationship that I liked. He didn't care anything about being with her for all time but wanted her happiness even at the cost of his death. This could be the purest form of love you could ever see.

Although everything is explained in the series through scientific manner, but it still lacks a few thing according to pure science. At the end Soran is appeared and Helga is seemed to have recognized him in heart, this is not explained. Although it is obvious but there are still many minor details that the writer seemed to have forgot.I don't know you have noticed, but if you think like a scientist, this should not end like this(The future I mean). Atlthough it is showed as happy ending they forgot about the main part. The concequence. If you dare to violate such a law of nature, the nature won't forgive you.

If you are wondering why a have dragged this so much, its mainly because of authur's involvement. It isn't just for enjoyment. The ending in this was something I had never seen before. Althought it was a happy ending, it had tragedy far more than happiness. That I can't describe.

"If no one has written your favourite book, write it yourself", I heard this proverb somewhere. I am thinking about the future to this anime. I simply can't seem to accept the ending. Although the anime I come with, what would it be like, I have a small hunch but I will try to match the authur's level of involvement in this. It may take some time, but I will reveal it, because such masterpieces can never be allowed to die.

Thanks for reading
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