Nov 12, 2008
-INTRODUCTION-
When I first came across Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora and looked at a couple of screenshots, I decided for myself that I would be staying away from this anime. However, my love for seiyuu as well as my curiousity got the better of me, and I watched it after all. It was not as bad as I expected, and in fact, it was quite good. Not my cup of tea in general, but it did have some great points.
-STORY- 7/10
At first, I was pretty excited about the story. As cliche as it sounds, fairytale-like plot just doesn't get old for some people. However, as
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time went by, it became more and more complex, and I wasn't sure whether it was changing for the better. The problem here is not with the story itself. It was a well thought out plot, with romance and family conflicts involved. But the elements used to display that plot were simply too much. Angels, mecha, cat girls, magic, science, all mixed into this seemingly simple story, did not improve it at all. Those elements looked more like fan service than anything else. Some stories are best if kept to the level of 'normal', and Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora is one of those stories. I liked the idea of absolute angels, but there was just no need to include every possible fan service element out there to display it.
Putting fan service aside and pretending that I didn't see little girls, giant mechas, and occasional unnecessary nudity all the time throughout Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora, it was indeed a rather nice story. In fact, the two final episodes touched me so greatly that I almost wanted to disregard all the downfalls. But looking back at it, I can't grade an anime based only on the first episode and a beautiful ending.
-CHARACTERS- 10/10
This is the strongest point of this anime. It has a lot of characters, and most of them are very unique. The main female character did not seem so impressive at first glance, but she developed and matured throughout the anime and became much more admirable. The seemingly invincible "prince" Kyoshiro turned out to have quite a few weaknesses and complexes. By the end of the series, he left me with an impression that he is not the kind that saves the princess, but is instead the kind that needs to be saved. I liked that a lot because perfect heroes are just boring and I can't sympathize with them. Setsuna's eternal loyalty toward Kyoshiro also touched me a lot. She was in my opinion the strongest of the females; after all, not everyone can stay by the side of their beloved person and not give in to selfish desires.
Aside from the three leading ones, the background characters were also quite impressive. They had a purpose and their relationships with each other were well thought out and interesting to observe. I have to admit that to me the most memorable and brightest of them all turned out to be Kyoshiro's older brother, who was also the most shocking one and truly made the series more enjoyable.
-ART/ANIMATION- 8/10
The art is very pretty but nothing too outstanding. Character designs are very well done and interesting. The animation is also great. However, once again, it seemed overdone. Extremely bright colors and sparkling scenes. It is definitely a matter of opinion, but personally I found it too hard on the eyes and simply distracting, considering that the story is nowhere near a comedy. It would have gotten full marks if it was not so colorful.
-SOUND- 9/10
The opening and ending themes are simple, but nice and catchy. They fit perfectly well for this kind of anime. The background music during the battles and during Kuu's talks to her prince is very impressive and greatly increases the dramatic impact. Overall, the soundtrack could have been even better, but in this case it really doesn't need to be. The music choice in this anime is a perfect fit and doesn't need to stand out any more than it does.
The seiyuu work was, of course, outstanding, and I will spare you my unprofessional fangirl comments. I will mention, though, that Kazuya is probably the most impressive role that I heard from Narita Ken so far.
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It's the kind of anime that you can only truly appreciate if you look deeper, past all the fan service. Unless, of course, fan service is what you are looking for -- it has plenty ^_~
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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