Space Fantasia 2001 Nights

I have to make one thing clear: Space Fantasia 2001 Nights is NOT an anime for everyone. If you want to know if you will enjoy this, just answer these question: Do you like Golden Age Sci Fi, like the novels and short stories of Arthur C. Clarke or Asimov? Do you think that Star Trek TOS is the best Trek? Can you tolerate 80s anime art and animation? If you, just like me, say yes to all of those question above, you will definitely enjoy this hidden gem. This short OVA is a great homage to the now extinct species of old hard sci ... fi, focusing on realism and the sense of wonder at the expense of characterization and conventional plot. For those unsure, here is more detail about various aspect of the show:

Story: like I say, typical Golden Age sci fi done right. Very realistic in the science(as much as they can afford to), with interesting twist and epic scale.

Characters: The OVA is short and not about individual characters. Not for fan of character-driven fiction.

Animation and art: 80s anime art style. The aesthetic is nice, but the animation is not. Lots of panning to hide the lack of movement. Pleasant to look at, but don't expect too much.

Sound and music: strange 80s music. May not for everyone, but fit the OVA perfectly.

Overall I gave this anime an 8 out of 10.

I encourage more people to find this as it is a part of anime history. Truly a monumental achievement back in the eighties, to put the ideas of Clarke and Asimov to paper and shoot cell after cell was pretty kool! lol

We have the basis for most high tech, futuristic genres in this anime. Space exploration for the purpose of repopulating in a cleaner, longer lasting sense via terraforming other worlds. Sound familiar? You bet your cheeks tis'! With this movie you have the idea and what it might seem like to pitch long term space sleep and travel to prospective colonizers ... as well as , to put it bluntly, fruits of the seeding of life labor upon a new world.

The animation was straight outta the eighties which though some may not like; with the rampant need for over ecchi, chibi as can be nonsense these days, it was not bad. It looked like regular people and so it was all drawn as such. I too like larger eyes on my anime characters, but not as large as the overly extreme type many animes can portray.

The music was also straight outta the 1980s, with the ending theme being evocative of some awsome action and intrigue, sultry packed gripping film. HUZZAH!!! Jazz n dance to this ending I says! =p

To summarize:
This Good!
If you are at least 25 ( 20-ish works too) years old, you will probably appreciate this even if its just for that feeling of nostalgia. If you are younger, watch anyways and add another anime notch to that needlessly thin MAL belt. To infinity, and b....whoops, dont sue! T.T

Story
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It's a simple enough plot. Space exploration and attempting to begin life anew elsewhere. The story is told in a detached historical way that I have not seen anywhere else. It just plows on through making brief mention of how the characters are linked. There was also an unhappy mood hanging over the whole story.

Art
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The animation was very poor by today's standards. Considering when it was made though, this is to be expected.

Sound
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... Nothing really stood out. There was happy and sad music in all the appropriate places though so I guess that counts as a plus....

Character
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There wasn't a whole lot of time to go into character development or anything like that. The OVA seems to be focused on telling the story within that short span of time so there wasn't room for details. I think this is the first of anything I have seen where I can't even pick out a main character.

Enjoyment
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I didn't enjoy this one. My biggest complaint is that it's too short, which makes it feel like there isn't any substance to the story or that little effort was put into making its making. Again, I felt pretty detached when watching it and it might well be because of the lack of a lead character that the story follows. Maybe it's suppose to be like that--maybe the story is suppose to be told in a history textbook type manner.

Overall
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Overall, I think 2001 Ya Monogatari could have been a lot better. I wouldn't recommend this one unless you're looking for different anime styles. The way the story in this one was told is definitely different than any I have seen. Considering my complaints though, the style's probably not something I have missed out on.

I knew about the manga for this first, saw it in some Book-Off and very nearly bought the whole series except that I knew it'd be too difficult to read and digest it all. Didn't know they had an anime movie for it!

This movie covers three chapters in the stages of life for a small, risky space colony designed to help save the human race from what is looking to be a surefire extinction. It's beautiful. It's sad, and it's beautiful. Anyone who loved Interstellar has got to see this, because it covers similar ground in a far different way.

Also, that soundtrack is kicking.

Partially based on the classic 2001 Nights manga series, it's hard not to compare this anime with the manga. And for those who have read the manga, it does come up a bit lacking.

It's pretty much a straight-up hard sci-fi tale that falls in line with what you might expect from, say, Niven or Heinlein or Brin. Also the story is emblematic of the type of themes that were being explored at the time, as the grand hope of space comes crashing against the hard realities of humanity's foibles. And it's really three parts of a ... story that are interwoven together, across a span of about 400 years.

There are some nitpicky details to the story setup (which comes with the territory when you are dealing with the harder edges of SF). And also, hints of a much larger, broader universal story out there -- but clocking in at just under an hour, there's only time to focus on this one slice of that larger universe.

When I say this comes up lacking, it's because the manga itself was a masterpiece of artwork and storytelling that would be hard for *any* adaptation to compare. Hoshino's artwork is crisp and clean, and that translates into animated form somewhat unevenly. And the animation quality is a bit on the sub-par side, relying heavily on pans-and-scans of grand backgrounds and landscapes and less on movement. Takeuchi does his best, but it's a tall order to capture the grand scope of the manga.

Taken on its own, for someone who is unfamiliar with the manga, it's just "okay". But if you have the opportunity, choose the manga instead.

When I choose to watch a sci-fi anime that takes place in space, I go into it expecting a certain style. What I don't expect is a deadly serious, hard sci-fi space opera that takes tons of inspiration from guys like Asimov, Kubrick and Wells. That's exactly what Space Fantasia: 2001 Nights is, and it caught me off guard. This is not something you see every day in anime; I don't need more than both of my hands to think of other anime films/series that use the genre in the same way.

The film is really good, telling 3 interconnected short stories that span centuries ... and the universe itself. Nothing is taken for granted in this; the scenarios are grounded in science and realism like the bulk of early serious sci-fi is. It's all very artistic, heady, and speculative, and if you're into that type of sci-fi, you pretty much need to seek this out. It's almost a crime that I didn't know this even existed until a little over a month ago; why this has never once been licensed for release and officially translated into English is a real mystery, and a shame. I could see this having a large, vocal fanbase if more people were aware of it.