Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution

Aquarian Age is quite the mixed bag of an anime title where in spite of its high points in regards to the main character relationship, it suffers quite heavily with the supernatural elements of its plot. Based on a trading card game released during the time of the anime's run, the series is focused on childhood friends Kyouta and Yoriko getting caught up in the middle of a supernatural conflict between several factions competing for influence over humanity.

On the plus side, the anime offers a good deal of development on the characters of series leads Kyouta and Yoriko. Both undergo their own varying developments as ... Kyouta tries to get his start in the entertainment industry performing with his band while Yoriko finds herself at odds with her supernatural roots that come to light from her family as she gradually develops feelings for Kyouta. As the two become entangled in the conflict between factions, both find themselves facing their own varying conflicts as Yoriko is manipulated into becoming part of an enemy faction and Kyouta becomes doubtful of himself when he sees the sudden change in Yoriko's personality due to the manipulations she gets entangled in. The events lead their bond to be tested and it comes across as a legitimately convincing one to see develop and escalate throughout the series. The rock band aspect to Aquarian Age's storyline creates an engaging soundtrack that mixes rock ballads and dramatic musical pieces to compliment the show's developments.

On the negative side, the major shortcoming of Aquarian Age comes from the show's rather packed supernatural story elements. With several factions focused on throughout the series, there is little time to delve into their motives and the major characters that make up each faction due to the anime's rather limited 13-episode run time. Matter of fact, there is little revealed about what drives each faction beyond a passing narration provided from one character during a later episode in the series. Plus beyond our two lead characters, the remainder of the cast get little in the way of fleshing out and are mostly left as character archetypes that exist only to represent their faction or fulfill specific roles that advance major points in the anime's plot.

Overall, Aquarian Age is quite the mixed bag. While having a solid soundtrack with engaging developments involving its lead characters, the remainder of the cast lack the fleshing out afforded to our two leads and the supernatural aspect of the series is too crowded with the several factions that make up the so-called major conflict taking place. The series is worth a look for the developing storyline with Kyouta and Yoriko, though I would find it hard to recommend rewatching it often.