Seikai no Senki III

Banner of the Stars III is a two episode OVA from 2005. It is the conclusion for the anime that began with Crest of the Stars in 1999. To this day, the novels are still ongoing, now up to Volume 6 of Banner of the Stars (9 including Crest). This OVA concludes Volume 3 of Banner of the Stars.

Crest/Banner of the Stars was a classic space opera series for it's time, and it's easy to see why. The world building is well above average, the OST is good for it's time, and the cast of characters are colorfully interesting.

The focus is mostly on the Abh. ... They're a peculiar race with a lot of positive and negative quirks. By and large, they make for interesting characters. Despite being intelligent, attractive, and long-lived, all of them have noteworthy character flaws, whether it be brashness, pride, narcissim, or arrogance. It's great having a cast of characters who are flawed, yet still unique and different from what you typically get.

The best characters however are the two leads, Jinto and Lafiel. Jinto offers perspective from someone who is with a human background (and now affiliated with the Abh empire). Lafiel grants a typical Abh perspective. That said, the two are at their best when they are together. The chemistry between the two is fantastic, as is their small, natural romantic progression. Every moment they are together is enjoyable.

Of course, this OVA is also lacking in some categories.

While the Abh are interesting enough as characters and we have two great leads, the series could benefit a lot if it gave us additional perspective from the Human Alliance. I like rooting for the Abh because of how unique and interesting they are, but the story would be more intriguing if we got to know the important Alliance characters more. Additional perspective would make the story more interesting and suspenseful.

The pacing and plot isn't as good as it was in previous seasons. It rushes through an entire novel in about 70 minutes, a stark contrast to the last seasons 200+ minutes for one novel. As a result, the OVA isn't paced or organized the best, and rushes through some scenes that needed time to breathe. There is almost no action to speak of either, which is hard to believe for a series that has some in every other season (in some respects this may be a positive though, since earlier seasons are brought down by poorly executed action sequences).

The animation and OST were solid for their time. This is an original, classic space opera story filled with interesting characters. Only a few mild complaints in pacing, structure, and the lack of characterization of the Alliance characters hold back this OVA.

If you are a fan of Sci-Fi, classic space operas, and a colorful cast of characters, I can heartily recommend the series, starting with the first season (Crest of the Stars). As for me, I'm ready to dive into the novels.

Banner of the Stars III OVA is easily the best of the entire series. It comes full circle back to the planet Martine, where Jinto was born. He is returning to govern the planet but Martine wants independance, not to mention that half of their population hates the Abh. Banner III is about this conflict, as well as Jinto's relationship with Lafiel who has taken a leave of absence to be with him.

I cannot reveal too much more about the series without giving spoilers but the character development in this 2 episode OVA is outstanding. Every character has grown up and changed, even Diaho the ... cat. The plot is tight and the pacing is just right.

The ending is outstanding. Many loose ends are tied up but there is always room for further sequels in this universe. This is how a good franchise should end, if it is indeed the end. With people wanting more, but not really needing more because it is a "satisfying" ending.

If future ones are as good as Banner of the Stars III then I hope they make a 4th, 5th and 6th series.

Banner of the Stars III is supposed to be the conclusive arc in the grand saga of the Stars franchise. And conclude everything it does, till it has engulfed all of humanity's future in a brilliant blue tint of regal oppression, covered over with a sweet, crooning romance.

Let me get two things out of the way, so you can walk away if you feel offended:
1) I believe the Abh are the real villains of the show, and there's actually a genuine reason the people hate them so much: these people are blindly self-justified aggressors at heart.
2) Worse still - the show is actually aware of ... this, and deliberately distorts the picture to make Abh-haters come off as terrible or pathetic human beings. In this regard, this show is shameful on a level that no other anime I know could possibly match.

Given the above points, there's actually a good reason I decided to pursue the sequels after witnessing the moral horror that was Crest of the Stars. The thing is, I happened to catch a glimpse of the end-credits of this show, and they seemed to paint an entirely different kind of picture - it seemed to end on a tragic and poignant note that finally seemed to acknowledge that the Abh and their ways weren't so noble or beneficial after all, and that people were suffering because of it. This one admission would have given the show's developments an entirely different meaning, and redeemed the entire franchise completely. That was what made this show seem so promising. This is also the reason I even bothered with Banner I, because it seemed to build up to this deconstructive conclusion (however, I skipped Banner II as just reading the synopsis made me want to throw up). Long story short, it proved to be an extremely misleading picture, yet again.

A brief introduction - the show starts in the aftermath of yet another battle between the Abh Empire and United Mankind (the humans aligned against Abh expansionism). Our protagonist Lin Jinto seems to have suffered some injuries from the war and wants to take a break from the fighting. Our other lead, Lafiel the Abh (also Jinto's girlfriend by this time), decides to join him. Jinto is an ordinary human appointed as head of his conquered homeworld by the Abh overlords due to hereditary circumstances, and Lafiel is a member of the Abh royalty, one of many individuals directly in line for succession of the throne. Jinto's homeworld Martine is vying for independence from Abh rule, and at the heart of this movement is Teal Clint, incidentally a close confidante of Jinto's now-deceased family. This is the backdrop in which this roughly hour-long OVA begins.

For much of this brief show, Jinto revisits old places and old acquaintances. Everywhere he goes, his well-wishers try to stuff some sense into him, to no avail. Jinto is convinced that what he is doing is for the best. The show also reveals the final clincher about the Abh that should leave no doubt in anyone's mind about just how sinister the whole setup had been all along. And in the face of all this, the show puts up a loving, smiling face - as though it just treated you to the most wonderful developments ever.

Now, I've reviewed the first two installments without having to drop any spoilers, but here it's simply impossible to criticise the show without getting into plot specifics, because not only is it here that it indulges in its worst ever dishonesty, but it's actually far worse than the previous installments, and stoops to a level so low that it needs to be explicitly pointed out to be appreciated. With that in mind:

----SPOILERS FOLLOW----
First he meets his old childhood friend Que Durin (the sole friend who saw him off to Abh country in the first series, if you recall), offering him a post where he can assist Jinto with various administrative matters. When they meet at his place to sort out the details, Durin confesses his reason to distrust the Abh in what is a stakes-changing shocker of a revelation - to eliminate the possiblity of revolt or in-fighting, the Abh are genetically hard-wired never to be able to turn on their superiors, and despite any possible grudges or resentment find it practically impossible to disobey orders (the phrase "I was only following orders!" gets taken to a whole new level of creepy...). Jinto himself reveals the final piece of this puzzle - which is that by mandate of Imperial Law, any ethnic Terran (i.e. ordinary human) members of the Abh nobility are only allowed to conceive genetically-modified children who would be physically full-fledged Abh - blue hair, body implants and all. The picture that emerges is a system where everyone born into nobility (and therefore important positions of power) are blue-chipped humanoids who have more in common with a random Abh than with their own parent, and effectively no free will....this is even worse than I could have ever imagined. I'm simply at a loss for words here. And it's no coincidence that this vital piece of information was withheld until the very end of this franchise. But the even more horrifying part is that the show makes his apprehensions out to be ultimately unfounded, and that it's precisely these qualities that actually make the Abh GREAT. Give that a minute to sink in.

In the middle of all this, there is an even more crucial development. Jinto's home planet Martine has been vying for independence from Abh rule (and the show has the bloody audacity to refer to the Independence party as the "Feudal government"). The Abh retailate by destroying their planetary defenses under the pretext of a drill-exercise goof-up due to miscommunications. And then - here's the singular worst part - the blame is shifted on the Independence party for forcing the Abh's hand, and they are accused of "coercing the dissenters into submission" by activating the defense system and thereby forcing everyone to get on board with the independence movement because there's "no turning back now". "No civilised person with a decent undertsanding of the galaxy would do this - these are the ignorant actions of an isolated Lander" is how an Abh conveniently puts it. The show tries to suggest that only ignorant and misguided individuals would want to try and seek independence from a forcefully-occupying power that they never wanted any part of in the first place. It also implicitly suggests the most singularly bald-faced lie ever, which is that the majority of the population would NOT want independence from such an invading/occupying force, because of which one would have to resort to such underhanded measures to get the population on board...I can no longer help myself here, I just need to vent out that this is singularly the most shameful, two-faced and obscene notion that this show has so far hurled at me.

Anyways, things being what they are, Jinto decides to do damage control and visit Teal Clint - who is the acting Prime Minister at the helm of the independence movement. A decent man, an honourable man, someone with spine to stand up to the Abh. Someone who saved Jinto's hyde (sorry about the pun) when his very life was at risk. Jinto ought to be grateful to this guy. And also to his wife Lena who doted on him as a child and went just as much out of her way to make sure he was safe. Instead, he has chosen to side himself against the very people who saved his life (whereas the show makes it out that it's the Abh whom he owes his loyalties to). But the two don't care about any of that right now, they just want to see their boy again - such is the love they have for him. The most heart-wrenching part for me was when Jinto replies that he has responsibilities now, to which Lena tearfully retorts, "Responsibilities as an Abh? As an Invader?" She speaks for all decent individuals with that line. Anyhow, Jinto agrees to visit, and they are tearfully overjoyed to see him alive and well - and desperate, Clint suggests what I personally had been practically yelling all along (in my review of Banner of the Stars I, if you recall) - give up the Abh title and return home clean by seeking political asylum. The Martinian people would have understood - the title was forced upon him when he was too young to consent, and he was personally not guilty of any wrongdoing at the time.

But it is here that the show gives its singularly most insincere pretext in the entire series so far for Jinto to side with the Abh hegemony, and moreover for Clint to give up on independence - if Jinto steps down, any other person appointed in his place will "not be so generous", and so a war might break out, putting Martine's very existence at stake. I might even have agreed with that stand (on a strictly short-term and tactical basis, mind you) if Jinto was portrayed as being CRITICAL of the Abh at heart but just playing along so that his homeland can have a future, but it's abundantly clear that he has been completely bought into the Abh way, and is very much in line with their program (there is a telling scene right before that meeting where Lafiel tells him, "This is Your battleground"...). This is where I think that the rationale is deeply insincere and two-faced - it seeks to present Jinto as a neutral and unbiased player in the game when in fact he is anything but, and thus give more credibility to that line of argument. And in any case, just by taking such a stand, Jinto has all but explicitly incriminated the Abh to be coercive thugs ruling with a velvet glove covering an iron fist. But does the show even acknowledge this? Nope. It diverts your attention to how Jinto feels sad at no longer being allowed to return to the forests and the beautiful landscapes of his homeworld, but it pales in comparison to the peerless, radiant beauty...of Lafiel. "Life's too short to live in depression and regret", the show croons. How sweet, how romantic....someone please kill me right now, I can't take any more of this. And as if in answer to my prayers, the show ends, right there.

----SPOILERS END-----

Ultimately, the show actually voices legitimate criticisms of its own premise through these two associates of Jinto, but then covers over them with the most shamefully insincere rationalisations. The blame is shifted on those who refuse to go along with the Abh hegemony, as always. Even at best, the scenario is portrayed as an unfortunate or unavoidable outcome of unfavourable circumstances when in fact the Abh are completely to blame for what has happened. And all of this is glossed over very expediently, and the focus very quickly shifts to some other issue before you realize anything is amiss - and in this department, Banner III operates far more slickly than its predecessors. Come to think of it, the only reason for this made-on-the-quick OVA to exist seems to have been to coyly deflect the most threatening of legitimate criticisms that can be levelled against the show's basic premise.

So...back to Earth - Banner of the Stars III does end on a tragic note, all right. It is the tragic end to all human freedom, not just Jinto's privilege to visit the planet that he unilaterally lords over. But who cares, because he is ensconced in the sweet and caring arms of the most beautiful, wonderful Abh princess, for the rest of his boot-kissing life. And the Abh will take over all planets (because that is their "destiny", and one they themselves daren't question) and thus finally bring about lasting peace to all of mankind. The End. Seriously, am I the only one here who needs to throw up?

Anyhow, it's getting late now - here's my final verdict on the entire Stars franchise: the Stars aka Seikai series isn't Love in the Time of Cholera - it might as well be called Love Cholera. Fans of good Space Opera ought to look elsewhere - the appearance of intriguing political complexity was an elaborate facade to intellectually overwhelm more casual viewers into passively accepting something they would otherwise have puked at. Fans of good romance ought to look elsewhere - all the coy romance between the two leads takes place whenever the show needs to blindside you to the utter and complete hypocrisy of their interactions with the outside world.

Heck, fans of good Sci-fi should look elsewhere, because what actually seemed like a genuinely intriguing and promising sci-fi concept about (seemingly) progressive-minded genetically-modified space-faring humans, turned out to be so creepily monstrous and subversive that it makes even the most depraved eugenic ideologies of the past seem tame by comparison. If you look at it closely, its premise is actually closer to those presented in classic dystopic literature - except here it's presented as something wonderful rather than horrible. Its status as something of a "classic" among old-school anime circles is, IMO, an unfortunate case of people being taken in by its serenely operatic atmosphere and its fairly engaging and believable character dynamics, and failing to see that it's all in the service of some especially sick and reprehensible ideas. The people who made this show ought to hang their heads in shame. Seriously.