Ranked #526

Simoun

- The following review is spoiler free. -

It's rare to come across an anime series that's as well executed as Simoun. In addition to its beautiful animation and incredible use of music, Simoun has a deep plot line that draws from many different themes and invokes a lot of emotions. The story takes place in a war-torn world where the main characters are young maidens tasked with flying Simoun, mecha-like flying machines with devastating attacks called "Ri Maajon" that can destroy the enemy. The twelve girls who come together in this war effort to fly the Simoun make up a unit called "Chor Tempest".

By watching the struggles and triumphs of these maidens, we're able to touch upon the main theme of Simoun: love. Not all of the love explored in Simoun is romantic love, though a large part of it is. The rest is a friendship based love that is just as prominent as the former type. As young as these girls are (most of them are under seventeen), they've already realized the importance of protecting the people closest to them. But no matter how strongly they feel about someone, nothing is promised, nothing is for certain, and nothing is eternal. It's a truth that all these girls seem to realize, and it's because of that reason that they form such close bonds in an attempt to protect each other. Much of the show focuses on these relationships between the Simoun pilots, ones in which the girls try to figure out how to protect and save each other, and how sacrifices must be made in order to achieve their goals.

The other major theme revolves around growing up and becoming adults. In the world of Simoun, everyone is born a female and chooses to permanently become a man or woman at seventeen by entering The Spring. This is a rite of passage that everyone must go through in order to become an adult. However, with war efforts in full swing, the Simoun pilots are allowed to delay their decisions since Simoun can only be flown by those who haven't entered The Spring yet. None of the main characters are eager to make their decision, and flying the Simoun becomes as much about protecting themselves from this choice as it is about protecting each other.

Over the course of the 26 episodes, you'll see a staggering amount of character and relationship development. From forgotten childhood friendships, conflictive sisters, and experienced piloting pairs (two girls are required to fly a Simoun), to overprotective friends, an unlikely pairing of pilots, and troublesome new recruits, everyone gets their chance at growth and development. Each character and relationship is handled so well in this anime that every new twist, no matter how painful or happy, will evoke a fresh burst of emotions from the audience. This makes the show very satisfying to watch as it's so easy to relate to the characters and their lives. And by the last episode of Simoun, you're treated to an incredibly gratifying ending that ties up nearly all loose ends and will make watching the whole series worthwhile.

However, as with anything that's as rewarding as Simoun is, watching this anime requires a bit of effort from the audience. The one major flaw with Simoun is that the story is fairly complex. Starting with the first episode and lasting until roughly the third episode, you'll find yourself swimming in a pool of brand new terms, characters, and politics so large that you're literally going to have to muddle your way through the series for a bit until everything becomes familiar and starts to make sense. (You might also need that time to get used to the fact that all male characters are voiced by women...) However, once this happens, you'll be thankful that you didn't run away after episode 1. By the time you reach episode 4, or episode 5 at the *very* latest, the plot and character development will take off in such a way that you'll want to go through the final 20+ episodes in a straight 8 hour marathon. And really, a marathon is the best way to watch a series this good.

There's not much more that can be said without ruining some aspect of the story, so go watch Simoun if this review interested you in any way. Just be sure to watch until at least episode 5 before deciding to drop this series. You'll be glad that you did. read more

Simply the best anime title of 2006 (because the closest competitors, Akagi and Mushishi are technically 2005 titles that ran through the winter half 05-06.

And a woefully under-appreciated title it was.

The original fan-sub group that picked it up usually handles shoujo-ai titles; and the “key-turn” ritual for starting up the Simoun, the flying machines made it look like just another excuse for very pretty backgrounds and girls getting friendly together. But it turned out more complicated than that, and was left to languish in favour of more accessible highschool-romance titles, until picked up by the most dedicated and special-purpose group of fansubbers whose product I have followed.

Simoun-Fans, an essentially ad hoc grouping, put together the most polished translations and sub-titling (including credits for the seiyuu against the characters during the OP, rather than the usual self-congratulation; that was left for a brief screen at the very start, before the TV footage). Of course, the polish came at a price — episode 26 wasn't subbed until a year after the first episode aired.

OK, the story, and why you should watch this title…

On a world that is not ours — two suns in the sky, for one thing — a transcendent civilisation rose and vanished. In its wake, the remaining people could unearth the helical motors, the snail-shell parts of both the Simoun and other powered devices (trains,flying boats). But only the Holy Land of Simulacrum has harnessed them, and the casual flight it offers. Other lands have more steam-punk technology, and seek the secret of the simoun. So war breaks out…

In that world, all children are born as girls, and in Simulacrum choose to be man or woman at coming of age in their late teens. All the parts — even the men, are voiced by women; and, of course, young men are hard to tell from young women — the adulthood change is not instantaneous, as shown in the character of Wapourif, the chief mechanic to the simoun.

While lesser flying craft can be piloted by anyone, the simoun needs to be driven by two girls; and these pilots are drawn from the ranks of the priestesses of Tempus-Spatium. While two priestesses at the helm they can produce magical effects by drawing glyphs in the air called Ri-Maajon, as part of religious ceremonial aerobatics. And as priestesses, they are allowed to defer a while the choice to become adult.

So, a group of priestesses become, overnight, the necessary front line of the Simulacran fighting forces. Few can handle the mismatch between their vocation and their new orders — and when the new overwhelming forces of Argentum actually bring down a choir of simoun, many depart into adulthood. Only the latecomer, Aaeru, even refers to what they do in military terms, rather than liturgical ones.

So, it's a war-story; but it's character driven drama, of love, sacrifice, choices, and growing up (or not, as the case may be).

After 25 episodes of brilliance, I was anticipating the finale with some trepidation — too many series drop the ball at the end. This, however concluded with an understated and open ending which was as satisfying as could be, knowing that this story had at last come to its ending. read more

Simoun is one of those anime that is accurately described as ‘amazing’ and anyone who disagrees has ‘no taste’. It’s ‘brilliant’, if you will, and that may be why it doesn’t have enough fans. It stands a little too far on the threshold of goodness where it can’t really become popular. Kind of like Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Honey and Clover, or something, where it has a following of dedicated fans and is truly top-tier stuff but somehow just never reaches the heights that it should in popularity.

Unlike those 2 I mentioned, though, Simoun has the power of Yuri and therefor was able to get licensed by Media Blasters who did the absolute perfect shining example of how a niche release should be. Sub only, 26 eps on 5 DVDs, plenty of bonus features and absolutely gorgeous cover art. It’s in every way what fans of the series would want, so I can’t commend MB highly enough for such a great release.

Sound

Because Simoun is a bit difficult to be concise in recommending, I’m going to stab at some of the elements of awesome at random. The soundtrack by Toshihiko Sahashi (The Big O, Gunslinger Girl, FullMetal Panic) is a nonstop audial orgasm. It’s VERY RPG sounding and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Uematsu’s name roll through the credits. This soundtrack is kind of what would happen if you took all the best songs from Final Fantasy 7 and 9. There are a lot of highly funky bass-driven songs, some latin-sounding guitar-picking songs, some tango, and no shortage of huge, bombastic symphony anthems. I’m listening to the OST right now and it’s so exciting that it makes me hit the keys more dramatically and is actually making this post sound way more epic to me than it should.

Aside from the songs just being epic, though, they are so well-placed it’s uncanny. Director Junji Nishimura (Ranma 1/2, True Tears, Windy Tales)’s commentary implies that he had a major part in deciding how the music should sound and what kind of genres should be included where. There’s one particular thematic song that simply MAKES scenes. Almost all the major scenes in the show feature this song, and every time it adds a whole new layer of awesome to the scene. I remember telling my friend while we were watching that ‘any scene with this song is automatically going to kick ass.’ What I found interesting was a that a lot of huge or bombastic scenes would feature lighter music and some quaint scenes would have more dramatic music, but in every instance it flat-out works. It’s majorly evident that a lot of care went into track placement.

Even the sound effects are noteworthy. At all times that characters are on a ship, you can hear a faint engine noise in the background and wind when they are outdoors. The director even brags about a scene where a character walks through a room where the other characters are all asleep and they recorded all of the actors just breathing which you can only really hear with the volume up.

So while we’re on the subject of sound, we obviously have to talk about the seiyuu, of which there are no shortage of big names. Rimone is one of my favorite Mamiko Noto (Ana - Ichimaro, Shimako - Marimite) roles, though she gets next to no lines (which she herself mentions in one of the specials). Newcomer Michi Niino does a pretty great job as main character Aeru delivering some great emotion. Rieko Takahashi (motherfucking Diana and Kihel from Turn A) might have outright stolen the show as the other lead, Neviril, where her mature tone and mystifying dramatic emotion give the character a true life of her own. Some other big names with great performances include Nana Mizuki (Fate Testarossa, Rin - Rideback, Rue - Princess Tutu), Ami Koshimizu (Kallen, Anemone, Horo - Spicy Wolf), Eri Kitamura (Ami - Toradora, Saya - Blood+), Yukana (C.C., Tessa Testarossa) and my favorite, Rika Morinaga whose other roles do not interest me. The only less-than-great voice is Michiru Aizawa’s grating performance as Floe, which happens to be her only anime role ever.

The most interesting aspect of Simoun’s voice acting, though, is that the voice actors who play the main cast also play everyone else in the show. In the Simoun universe, everyone is born female and they have to choose their gender at 17. The series creators used this as an excuse to have all the old men in the series played by girls. And I must say it’s fucking weird. There were some instances where it was impossible to take the men seriously because they sounded so feminine, though it ended up working in the favor of resident bishounen Anubituf. I can’t say whether the males-by-females decision was a good or bad one, but it’s certainly quite interesting to say the least. It’s also funny when Mamiko Noto plays any minor character because you can so tell it’s her regardless.

Visuals

Simoun’s animation is a very funny thing. Like, Sunrise funny. That kind of funny where it can be utterly beautiful one minute and then a few shots will be completely fucked up. Or where most of the backgrounds are hand-drawn and Miyazaki looking while others are more normal and some stuff is CG. This has a lot to do with the director getting what he wants and the Art Director being eccentric as all hell (you MUST look at Shinichiro Kobayashi’s list of work. Angel’s Egg, Ashita no Joe 2, Berserk, Detroit Metal City, Figure 17, Castle of Cagliostro, Melody of Oblivion, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA, Space Adventure Cobra, all of which use the techniques and all of which are artistically brilliant.)

As mentioned, a lot of Simoun’s backgrounds are hand-drawn and drop-dead gorgeous. They have a very washed and mystic look that is rare to see in anime (except those listed above) and add a lot to the show’s fantasy atmosphere. Meanwhile, the ships and planes, etc. are CG, but don’t look ugly at all against the backdrop. The CG is very minimalist with a focus on smoothness and blending in with the rest of the image, which is exactly how it ought to be done. Everything in the series has the aura of mystic beauty that enthralls the viewer into it’s rich world.

Director Nishimura talks in his commentary about the extensive use of heavily detailed stills that they call ‘harmonies.’ This animation technique was made famous and popularized by God of Directing Osamu Dezaki who would use them in all of his shows, especially for a dramatic moment at the end of an episode. Nishimura said it was a risky move that got mixed reviews, but he thought it was a very important technique to transition scenes and that Art Director Kobayashi was strongly supportive of using them, being as he is an old-school guy who loves cells (evidently he would hand-produce some cells for the show just because he wanted to.) Personally, I’m a huge fan of harmonies when they appear in any series, and they are done extremely well in simoun to exemplify the emotion of a great many scenes.

Also notable is the show’s very interesting use of outlines. For the most part, the characters are animated just as you would expect from any modern anime series. However, there are a number of action scenes and otherwise manly (for, you know, women) moments where the outlines get thick as a motherfucker. The most memorable of these is the first appearance of the main character Aer at the end of episode 1 who is wearing a brown wrap-around cape and goggles that make her look like she just flew out of a fucking 70s mecha anime. Needless to say, these moments were epic levels of win.

Which, of course, brings me to the character designs. Asako Nishida is both character designer and animation director (which she also did for Touka Gettan and Vampire Knight as well as directing animation in shows like Outlaw Star and Infinite Ryvius) and going by her commentary with Nishimura, she was a huge part of the show and majorly attached to it. She fangirls over several characters and says how she had drawn her favorites at different point in their life just for fun and other such things. The designs are consistently nice and wholly sexy on all sides. Most of the girls have a voluptuousness to them that isn’t seen as much these days (won’t say moe) and many the same mystifying beauty carried by all of the show’s visuals.

My favorite part of the designs was the hair, namely Aer and Mamiina’s hair (funny since my brother hated all the hair). The breasts were also very nice - it’s a goddamn accomplishment to get me to like a woman having large breasts and I loved it on every girl in this show (since most were moderate to large.) That said, my favorite design was still the loli, Rimone, who also had awesome hair and a bewildered cuteness to her. Her smiles were just all too satisfying. Neviril was a very interesting design because she pulled off the sort of ‘untouchable goddess’ look better than any character I’ve seen. I hated her hair, and ordinarily I’d hate her type with the ‘noble’ look to her, but unlike most noble goddess types, Neviril honestly fit the part of someone that commanded respect and got it. Even when she shows vulnerability, she still seems utterly mighty. It’s also worth noting that Nishida had a lot of fun with the males, making them every bit as bishounen and voluptuous as the females.

As for the consistency of these designs, the director says in the commentary how he was impressed with the consistency from the animators, though I think he’s giving a bit too much credit (which Nishida points out.) There weren’t any terrible inconsistencies, but breast size seemed to be all over the place and girls sometimes went from flat-faced to Jew-nose without warning. Aer’s hair also seemed to get… taller in certain spots. There were also several aforementioned ‘Sunrise moments’ where a majorly noticeable animation blunder made my friend and I lol. And don’t get me started on running. Studio Deen cannot fucking animate running. However, these issues are pretty minor and do nothing to diminish the fact that this is an incredibly pretty anime.

I also feel the absolute need to bring up the eyecatches (you know, those images that show up before and after the commercial break.) This show has some of the best eyecatches of all time, and sort of provide some extra fanservice for the show. Every picture is lovingly created and outright cumtacularly sexy.

World

Simoun is essentially a small story taking place in an enormous fantasy world which handles itself much better than Xam’d. The world is fantastical, vast, and very RPG-like, especially it’s steampunk setting. However, this story takes place in one country of this world, and not even a whole lot is told to the viewer about this country. The show’s real focus is it’s characters, so we learn much less about the world itself. In the commentary, the director notes how he was especially careful not to bring up certain parts of the Simoun world because they wouldn’t matter to the story and would just end up being a loose end that never gets tied.

To give you some scope on how massive the world Nishimura envisions is, there is one character in the show who says that she is an immigrant to this country while explaining the origin of a song she sings. In the commentary, Nishimura says that she is actually an immigrant from another planet. According to him, Simoun has interplanetary relations going on, but because this story was so small and “26 episodes” he didn’t want to needlessly introduce such a huge section of the world (something Xam’d could have handled better.)

However, while we may not get the full perspective of Simoun’s world, it is a show that immediately makes the viewer feel is vast and rish and completely seperated from our own. In the Simoun world, everyone is born female, ships are powered by a combination of science and divinity, and there is a lot of religion going on. The central nation in the show is a theocracy that lets religion govern all of their actions. The flight mechanisms aren’t feasible by our planet’s means and there are a number of magical elements such as….. well, space-time manipulation. Nishimura notes that it was a major issue to decide how realistic the show should be, and so he included a scene in the first episode where an insanely massive explosion takes out several hundred enemy ships as a way of saying ‘just be open minded and ready for anything.’

Personally, I found this world thoroughly engaging and would love nothing more than to see other series set in this universe. Not necessarily featuring the same characters, just more of this world. While it may not be totally unique, I think there is more than enough to this world that it could be explored from other perspectives and places… maybe I’ll write a fanfiction or something, lol. Going by the underwhelming popularity of the show, I can’t see a sequel happening. Maybe a novel or two? Someone?

Characters

Simoun’s strongest asset and biggest focus is definitely it’s characters. Every character has very complex emotional depth and all of them see major evolution over the series’ course. The show’s major themes are growing up, making decisions and finding out exactly what it is you want out of life, so you’ll see all of the characters tackle these issues in their own ways.

Neviril and Aer, the main characters, are kind of opposites with their similarity (Neviril: “There is exactly one thing that makes us the same.”) being what they want out of life. Aer begins the show totally sure of what she wants, struggling to keep that sureness, while Neviril struggles to become sure of anything, and seeing these emotions juxtaposed in one another is what starts to pull them along in finding themselves.

Not all of the emotions flying around are immediately obvious and you’ll have to search and pay attention to see what’s happening in the characters’ minds. Some characters like Paraietta and Mamiina have to make major changes within themselves from stubbornly clinging to self-destructive beliefs and relying or not relying on others to the point of self-detriment. Some of interpersonal drama is less about emotions and more about past incidents, such as the sisters Kaim and Alty who have been driven apart despite past closeness thanks to a major incident in their past.

All of the characters have incredible amounts of drama going on right from the start, and it doesn’t really let up until everything starts to sort out towards the end with the events that transpire. So one can expect a lot of tension from beginning to end. This is what might alienate the audience in many cases. We watched the show with a seond friend who wanted badly to get into it but the heavy drama and all-female cast made it too hard for him to relate to and he couldn’t really connect with anyone. I’d say the show is probably easier to recommend to girls or at least people who can enjoy a very tense, serious drama. And this is non-bullshit drama - the show is extremely mature and you don’t get some petty melodrama bullshit. Some of the characters can be emo at times, but this is not an emo anime - the show itself is as critical of such bullshit as anyone.

Overall, I’d say there was not one major character who I didn’t like and though they all make mistakes, they all do a pretty great job of redeeming themselves. The show lets no character go unnoticed. Even Yun, who was originally supposed to die early on but was kept in the show due to popularity got her own interesting plot written in to make me appreciate her. If you want characters who are totally human, but totally respectable, you won’t find anything much better than this.

Pacing

Simoun definitely has a major strength in pacing, but this does not apply to the first 3 episodes. People who are able to recognize a good anime when they see it will likely be impressed right from the get-go, but for everyone else, this is an admittedly hard show to get into. The first episodes throw in a lot of characters and a lot of technical terms that are only explained enough so that you might know what the hell is going on but beyond that, it’s not so easy to get an emotional connection. The show starts off with the death of a character which has a major impact on the other characters, and it’s trying to handle this impact while simultaneously introducing you to the world, which doesn’t leave too much time for showing off.

However, the mere fact that they actually accomplished introducing the world and characters to such an extent within just 3 episodes is astonishing. It’s nothing like Marimite where you are left confused, it all makes good enough sense, and by episode 4 it’s accomplished enough to deliver it’s first truly notable emotional scene which for me was enough to completely win me over the first time I saw it and continue to amaze upon rewatches. If that episode doesn’t nab you, the show will surely win you over by episode 8 at which point it has pretty much completed all of the setup and dives straight into the meaty, emotional, character-driven content that thrives through the rest of the show. The transition from exposition to development is perfect, and from that point on there is pretty much a non-stop train of amazing episodes.

DVD Features

It’s very worth noting that the Media Blasters DVD releases feature a number of special features. The first DVD has a mock game show where all of the voice actors have to answer questions that may or may not relate to the show which is a ton of fun and surprisingly long. Each DVD has a special ‘interview’ with two of the cast members. These seem to be cut from their original length but are still hilarious and quite a blast, especially for seiyuu fans. I do admit, it was kind of embarrassing at times when the seiyuu proved themselves somewhat dense. Much more interesting though is the commentary with the director and character designer which I’ve brought up a few times. Three of the DVDs feature these commentaries of about 10-15 minute apiece wherein the pair look at a bunch of scenes from teh show and talk about background info and other thigns regarding the show. They are not only highly insightful, but pretty hilarious at times with all of Nishida’s jokes and fangirling over her own bishounen characters.

Overall

Simoun is one of those anime that the creators put all of their heart and soul into creating and as such manages to really resonate with an audience that can appreciate it. Everything in the creators’ power was done to tell the story they wanted to tell, create characters they could love and an experience they could be proud of. As a director, there’s nothing I love more than to see a story created with such passion as it makes me also feel passionate in return. I feel as though my love and dedication to the series and characters is deserved and I have a lot of respect for anything which can attach me emotionally to the point that I don’t want to let go and don’t want the series to end.

Simoun is an amazing experience more than deserving of it’s dedicated fanbase and undoubtedly deserving of much more. I have no doubt that this is one o the greatest anime in existence. read more

I recall back when I was first told about Simoun, I came to read the synopsis of the anime on myanimelist and quickly dismissed it, striking it off my viewing list. The premise sounded very fetishy, the art was largely unattractive and I quickly assumed it was going to be something akin to Strike Witches. "Not my cup of tea" I said.

Months later, after having it suggested to me by opinions I greatly trust, I gave it another shot. And thank god I did. What a show! I have wanted to write a review about this for a long while, but I always find it quite difficult to accurately portray the sheer brilliance of this particular piece of art.

Story
Stories that get me thinking a lot, and stories that examine the human condition without making obvious moral judgements are largely what I look for when trying to find a good story. Simoun has this in spades. While it has a clear chronological storyline, following the progress of the war, it is almost secondary to the character development that takes place as a result. It examines such wide ranging issues that it is nearly impossible to list them all: war, the perception of "good" and "evil" or "right" and "wrong", the place of religion and military presences in politics, the human face and cost of war, social classes, gender roles, sexuality, maturity, loss, grief, love etc. The list goes on and on. I have not encountered to date something that covered so many issues so exhaustively without it feeling overwhelming or without feeling like a Public Service Announcement. It truly is a pinnacle in story-telling.

Art
As I mentioned earlier, one of the initial aspects to put me off the series to begin with was the art. However, my low score does not relate to the style. I actual came to appreciate the style quite a bit. It made the series very unique. The reason I rate it a 6 is due to the inconsistency with the artwork. Particularly around the 9th episode, it becomes very noticeable.

Sound
While I have heard quite a few people wax lyrically about the music in Simoun I found it was quite hit and miss. I admit to a particular negative bias towards the accordion, so some of the centrepiece battle music seemed jarringly out of place. Yet, in the same breath, there are some stunningly beautiful scores, particularly the piano-based themes that heighten the emotional impact of a scene.

Characters
One of the most diverse group of characters in an anime, with very few falling into classic stereotypical tropes. Considering the sheer size of the cast, it is nothing short of amazing that the entire cast had appropriate time for them to have sufficient character development. There wasn't one character who was left to the side without being explored sufficiently.

Overall
I implore anyone who was considering watching this anime to disregard your initial preconceptions about Simoun and watch the first 8 episodes. If you arent well and truly absorbed by then, then this is not the anime for you. If you like anime that ask more questions that they answer, and have you thinking for hours on end, then this is definitely for you. My militance with this series is highly unusual, as I find fangirls and boys very irritating. However, due to how undervalued and under appreciated it is, I feel the need to play advocate. Watch Simoun; it will rock your world. read more

It should be noted that I'm not the type of person who will often voice their opinion in a way such as a review; however, here I am. And this series, Simoun, is a very odd one indeed, in that it continues even after it is well over to walk the line in my mind between love and hate. I will delve into the details later, however I have to say that there really is no other series like Simoun. It is completely unique, and I think at the end of the day that really speaks for something. Because in many media mediums, most especially anime, true originality is a concept we rarely see. However, I digress.

Story; 9. Quite honestly, I almost dropped this series; had other reviewers not urged me to continue onward so militantly, I probably would have dropped it. The first five episodes of this series are an agonizing romp of unexplained teenage angst, stagnant plot development and needless details. You will never watch a show which starts off worse, unless you happen to be a long standing Inuyasha fan. However, in spite of this most monumentous failure, around the sixth episode this show took off running, and fast. I will avoid a plot summary, but suffice to say that in an oddly inexplicable way, the show continues to with each episode draw you into the universe that has been so wonderfully crafted yet still retains it's beautiful standing as piece of fantasy fiction. Really, there aren't proper words to describe it; I have seen a small handful of shows I couldn't get out of my head after seeing them, and an even smaller number still that really impacted me on a psychological or philosophical level. And Simoun is neither of these; rather, it left me with a feeling that isn't meant to be put into type. And trust me when I tell you that this is a good, mysterious and enjoyable feeling.

Art; 6. I feel lied to when I look on the back of this DVD case and see claims made that Studio DEEN handled the art for this show. Clearly, they were not predicting great popularity for this series, and it shows all too much. Or they lost a bet. Let's get one thing clear right away; This does not look like Code Geass. Rather, this is quite poorly done in a number of aspects. A handful of characters have terrible models,and mid series the battle art took quite a nosedive. However, there were also a handful (albeit smaller) of characters who were wonderfully designed, right down to the outfits they wore. What else saves this score from the one or two it would deserve without them, is the landscapes. They appear to be mainly watercolored, but the various landscapes captured across the world these five girls traverse is truly breathtaking. These are not the landscapes on your gym teacher's motivational posters. They really help draw you in, which is why I really couldn't give the art a failing grade. It is quite terrible, but a small number of terrific character designs and breathtaking landscapes cannot be ignored. They increase the shows effect so much.

Sound; 7. I will not lie, I have only ever heard two anime themes I could normally listen too; and both of these were english (the OP and ED from Ergo Proxy, if anyone is curious) and both songs I had already heard. However, Simoun's tracks that were used during the various parts of the show itself were perfect and tolerable. They had a very eloquent, quaint feel about them, and as small as a detail as it would seem, they are actually vital in creating that inexplicable experience I was talking about. Much like the beautiful backdrops, the music makes this show an experience you simply won't get anywhere else.

Character; 9. Neviril is a perfect example of the aforementioned terrible character designs; looking at her, in near ever setting, was impossible and painful. And this may have been, looking back, an intentional decision, as this artistic depiction reflects her personality perfectly. I could not stand this girl, at all, at any point. She was whiny, useless, and quite emotional. She was everything I can't stand about REAL girls, stuffed into my anime. However, with the exception of Kaim and Alty, the utterly pointless twins, every other character both main and side was perfect. They were developed, interesting, and enjoyable. My favorite characters, without a doubt were the captain and commander of the Arcus Prima, Anubituf and Guragief. From their incerdibly cool character designs, to their battle ready, cool headed actions and wine drinking awesomeness, these two were the most entertaining male leads I have seen in a long time. Wapourif, the mechanic, was also a character I really liked; I have not often seen a show with side characters that I liked. And never before have I seen them so well developed that they could very well replace the stars mid show and still pull off a masterpiece series. Aer was the most enjoyable of the girls, followed by Yun and Mamina. Morinas was also a very entertaining character. All in all, Simoun has a cast befitting a ten, but I can not give it one in right mind knowing that Neviril is part of that cast. But that should not overshadow the fact that I quite honestly believe no other anime has achieved the characterization and inexplicable connection that Simoun has. If not just to experience this cast, you need to watch this terribly underrated show.

Enjoyment/Overall; 8. This is not an easy show to review. I can imagine that, and it's lack of all forms of advertising are the reason there are so few. Because in spite of some production and execution flaws, at it's ore and end, Simoun is an experience more than a show. The only other anime I have ever felt this strongly about is Elfen Lied, which is essentially me saying this show truly is like no other in a way that my simple opinion and review cannot describe. The enthralling journey of Chor Tempest from it's rise to it's downfall is one that you cannot get out of your mind. It is a high flying, gripping adventure told through a cast of characters that you simply will love. I cannot say this enough, but at the end of the day, I can almost promise you beyond a doubt that you will be thankful you gave this show a chance. Because it is the only show of it's kind. read more

I would have to say that I really enjoyed this series. I'd have to say it was something new and original, I've never seen a show built around this type of plot and that made it really worth watching in my opinion.

The art was..different. when I first started watching it I thought the show had a horrible sense of hair and body design; all the characters had big noses and receding hairlines, but I got over that quickly and started to enjoy what a unique form of art this show had to offer.
The character designs actually weren't that bad, they were quite good in fact! Though while some characters seemed to have issues with their hair and noses, quite a few of them were beautifully done and very pretty to look at. The colors were soft and well blended; It had a good feeling about it, and even though it took a while to get used to the designs I came to enjoy them quite a bit.
The art of the world they were in was different as well. The 3D effects blended well with the environment (though at times they looked out of place, it cant really be avoided). The ships, or Simoun, that the show was based on as well as the other things that were flying around has a nice archaic or Roman/French/Italian feel to them. This was a real surprise seeming that I never thought that such a design could be used in such a fashion. Not to mention the 'Colored Pencil' drawings that poped up every so often in the series during dramatic moments gave the show some sort of a blend between digital design and hand-drawn paintings. This served to reinforce the archaic notion that the show seemed to have as one of its motifs. Sometimes the scenery itself was drawn in such a manner; and in both effects it made the show feel more original and different, not just a cookie cutter war drama. Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the art for this show! The rustic drawings, the intricate designs of the machinery, and unique character art made the show a thrill to watch.

The plot was incredibly original. The main idea behind the show wasn't much different; a nation that I can only assume to be the French due to the music and how the art looked was fighting against (and everyone who saw it will probably agree with me on this) Nazi Germany with their 'How the hell can that fly?' aeroplanes. Actually, both sides had said airplanes but that doesn't matter, its anime and it looked cool.
Other then the main idea being easily pulled apart, for the plot itself such an idea was only the driving factor behind the story. Though, as I reflected upon it further you could probably compare the whole thing to a typical war drama, the fact that it was laid out in such a manner would make it seem as if I'm comparing a rock to a grilled cheese sandwich. But that's what I liked about it! The story was so different that it made it nearly impossible to say 'its been done before' until after you watched it and then tried to write a review on it (at least in my case). I guess to make a long story short I can say that the plot was over used, but the story, front to back, was a very well written drama, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys such shows.
Now one thing that I went into this show knowing was 'The music was fantastic.' and 'The characters were well developed.' I'll have to agree 100% on both matters. The characters were VERY well developed, and that made me incredibly happy. The development didn't delve too much into each characters background, but it went far enough to get the feeling. What the show really did do, however, was create the characters personalities. Each character was different in their own way, had their own problems and issues, and that kept the show interesting. Not only that, but I actually found myself liking all the characters to the point where I couldn't pick a favorite. For me that's unusual, I could always pick out an archetype I enjoyed but this time I really couldn't. None of the characters stood out enough to draw attention away from the others. Some of you out there might disagree with that but that's how I saw it.

The music was, as I stated earlier, spot on with what I heard someone else say. I really enjoyed it! The background music had a French-like taste to it, and the songs that played for the opening credits and every once in a while during the show were very pretty and nice to listen to. The ending theme didn't have the sound to it that I really enjoyed, but it was on par with the opening music so it didn't stand out too much when compared to the show. What I mean by that is every once in a while your watching a show and the opening is some kind of J-Pop and the ending is a sad waltz type of thing (for an example, see Kanon. The opening and ending had very different feelings behind them.) This show avoided that brilliantly, keeping with the same feeling that the show portrayed from start to finish.

Overall, I'd have to give this show a 9. Theres really nothing keeping me from giving it a 10, so if you want to say 'Mecheye gave it a 10.' Then go ahead. The only thing really keeping me from 10'ing it is when I compare it to other shows I've 10'd, this doesn't seem to be on par with them. If anything this would be a 9.6 or so.
That fact aside, this show was great and I'd recommend it to anyone who's into drama, romance and action. read more

I found the story to be ok and enjoyable but not fantastic outside of the amazing music that was scored for it.

What really set me off was the overdramatization of the trauma that Nevril suffered during the first episode of the series. In later episodes this trauma is brought up on a number of occasions that basically leaves her completely out of commission. When you start the series you believe that she'll be the backbone of the group of girls but instead only realizes that role later on in the series after seemingly coming to grips with her trauma.

The story itself was pretty decent. The premise was easy to accept and follow through to the end. I can't say I enjoyed the ending though. It's one of those open ended kinds of endings that really doesn't resolve anything at all...but if you like those kinds of endings then you're in for a ride.

But this anime does have an amazing redeeming quality to it. Depending on your tastes, the musical score created for this anime is utterly fantastic. Very few musical scores from an anime series stand out as much as this one does to me. I heartily suggest that anyone reading this at least get the music to this anime even if they have no intention of watching the anime itself.

Overall I gave this series a "Good" rating. I doubt I'll rewatch it though I won't say that with certainty. But for the time I spent watching it, I enjoyed it and I'm glad I did watch it. read more

At first view "Simoun" is a extremely mediocre science fiction story about a bunch of teen age girls in multiple sexy outfits who kiss and caress each other in each episode? If that's your idea of a good time then you don't have to read the rest of this. - If you're still with me "Simoun" is an amazing set of stories about a compelling cast of characters stuffed inside unexceptional story about war and political intrigue.

The fact that almost all the characters are female is genius. Developing a concept based on the fact that humans are basically female until about six weeks after conception, in this reality sex choice is conscious and happens when you turn 17.

Even without the Y chromosome the stories are so complex and involved that the last four episodes are devoted to telling you what happened to everybody once the plot beat itself to a logical conclusion.

You won't get many of the nuances until you start thinking about an episode after you've finished watching it. Like the use of music and the difficulty a writer would have without male/female sexual tension or male/male confrontations to fill out an episode. The little discoveries all build up and soon you find yourself watching various episodes out of order just to see the interplay between characters.

If you're a fan of anime with excellent characters and character development this is a must see anime.

If your a fan of cute teenagers in sexy outfits this is pretty much a must see, also. read more

Thrillingly beautiful, enchanting, exceptional writing and pacing.
Fascinating storyline in an inspired setting.
Deep enough character relationships to bring pshychological dept to the story.
Beautiful art and extremely pretty charachter design. Background art is scandalously poor, but luckily not disturbing.
A magnificently bewildering and addictive anime, hypnotic at times, a true original.

ok..... i like bandai, i really do! so what the heck happen here! so this is the train wreck that is Know as simoun. first the story is a keeps on switching from the war to how all the girls have such a tramum they can not fight well at all. some animes do us a bad history in it's story's true. but most the girls did have one and it got old. art kept switching from very good to 5th grader. look how nice the art is and then such bad art work bandai should have left it's name out.sound was at places off in places. such as talking to droping something. also the only spoken languge is japanese. why did they not but it to english? the characters tramum made most of the cry and stayed in the room for most esps. they made have them break out of each tramum as the series went on but that would have been lame. there was times i did enjoy it. the idea of chooseing your sex at 16 is a nice idea and one you do not see. some of the voice actors did do a good job too. when they but effort the art was great.but in the end i tried to watch it all the way. i could not because they kept on going back and forth to the girls having a bad history to the war so fast that you would watch 2 girls talking about something. then the war would show up again. to 2 different girls talikng without ending the first 2 converstion. pick the war or a anime that has characters as the main plot. but do not switch in and out that fast so no one enjoys either or. read more