Tytania

Tytania (Overall 7/10) NOTE: Read the end - I have revised my opinion of this series.

This is a series that surprised me. For one of Fall’s numerous additions into the anime genre, many were of sub par quality like Blade of the Immortal (and that’s not to say they aren’t enjoyable to watch…just not your best anime to watch if you can watch others), however, Tytania was a surprise to me. For one, I didn’t check out this series until like now, because it doesn’t receive a universal good rating from all of its viewers. Let me tell you why, its one of those slow ... plot, politically driven series that uses a decent amount of action but not in any abundance to satisfy the average shonen fan. Ok…now for the important things.

Story: 9/10 (excellent)

After venturing into outer space, humanity has built many planetary cities. Most of these cities were affiliated to the Interstellar Federation, and it became the biggest force in the galaxy. Therefore, people believed that the Age of the Federation would last long. However, the situation changes when a clan called "Tytania" secedes from the Federation and receives the title of Lord from the Emperor of Vardhana. Tytania obtains a victory over the Federation, and they assert that the Empire cannot exist without them. Tytania puts most of the Federal Territories under its control, and they hold hegemony in the galaxy. Meanwhile, a war begins between Euria and Tytania over their respective rights and interest. From that moment on, the galaxy enters into a tempestuous period. (Wikipedia).
The Tytania family is essentially an autocratic, despotic group of powerful nobles all of the same blood that controls nearly every other aspect of the galaxy. The emperor is a mere puppet and it isn’t until a surprise defeat by Fan Hyulic does the action really start happening… centering around the noble’s aim to preserve power and Hyulic’s flight from them.

Character: 9/10 (excellent)

The characters in this complex power struggle are pretty unique and perhaps one of the strongest parts of this series. The majority of the series center around the character of Fan Hyulic and the Tytania family, with the former being your laid back, funny, and lazy ordinary guy who possesses a keen wit and shrewdness. Not surprisingly, Fan Hyulic is voiced by the same voice actor who voices Komui Lee in D. Gray-man. The Tytania family revolves around the power ambitions of each of the four dukes who vie for power among themselves and outside. The interactions between all of them, as well as the numerous support characters present hints of romance, (just hints so far mind you), taut political intrigue, and a rooting for your favorite character.

Animation: 7/10 (decent)

For a series that came out in the Fall of 2008, it doesn’t employ the best animation. Instead it seems to use a style similar to Victorian Romance Emma, or Romeo and Juliet, and essentially, old style drawings. The space battles do see bits of CG, and the characters are decently well animated. One thing for sure, everyone looks a little on the shoujo side, with huge irises… is that a obsession I wonder?

Sound: 8/10 (Great)

Sound is pretty unique, the OP is a operatic like theme which suits the haughty nobility of the Tytania family, as Fan Hyulic doesn’t even appear here. The ED is rock which suits Fan’s rebel role in the story. Overall nothing to laud at, nothing to denounce about, Tytania’s soundtrack is very decent.

Enjoyment: 9/10 (excellent)

Of course not everyone would agree with me here, for personally, my type to watch are these slightly slow moving, puzzle putting together political strivings of each character. It makes for an intellectual watch  But looking for a quick action sci fi fix would not satisfy you here. Think Gundam Wing… without the gundams.

EDIT: Now that the series is over, I have to make some adjustments. First, the story was in no way well concluded, nor were the characters fully developed. It was off to such a great start, but I admit I was disappointed in the lack of characterization that the series ultimately possessed. I really had hoped for more.

My first very review so bear with my lack of skill.

I'm a big Galactic Heroes fan so when I found out Tytania was from the same writer I was excited. I wasn't disappointed, though I want it to progress to the level of LOGH.

Story: Though Tytania is currently not as deep as Legend of Galactic Heroes it still has the feel. An unstoppable force being challenged by an unexpected event. I like how the storyline is continuous. I'm sure the plot will thicken a bit more. And one important thing for some viewers these days who may have short attention ... spans - the plot is advancing fairly quick. Some of the LOGH "talking-heads" episodes made new(younger) viewers to LOGH turn it off.

Art: What can I say, it's beautiful. The character designer is Mikmoto, one of my favorites.

Sound: Very good. I like the opposites of the opening and closing themes. Opera for the Tytania opening and Rock-n-Roll for the rebel Hyulic.

Character: The depth of the characters still needs work, though the mysteries still exist to make you want more. At first Lydia seemed to be the comic relief, but at episode 9 we find her to be the little ripple in the water that may bring change. Hyulic, as we see, has already created change by just winning a battle he wasn't supposed to.

Enjoyment: Of course I enjoy it. From the seriousness and excitement of space combat to Zarlish arguing with his frilly younger brother or Lydia infiltrating Tytania HQ.

Overall: I think this turn into one of the best series this season. It'll sneak up on you.

Before writing my review, upon reading the other reviews, most of them compares Tytania with LOGH, which i have yet to watch. Therefore, i would have no biases in this issue. However, after 26 episodes of Tytania, it seems to me that there ought be 2 more seasons at least. First, Lydia is still only 10 years old, and she ought be a main character ---> hence her development, hence, the story would take years. Second, it is hinted by the narrator that Tytania would fall and that Fan and Jouslain would be utterly important which they are not currently. Lastly, from the ending, it ... seems to me to be just the beginning. Hence, there ought be at least 2 more seasons to end this.

Story: 8
I like the theme of the story and its whole concept -- Tytania ruling the whole space empire and rebels. Well, at least that was the beginning episodes... Which is why i gave it an 8, instead of a 10. The second half utterly ruined it... especially the last few episodes.... it got me totally pissed. I would explain more on this in Enjoyment(below).

Art: 9
The art is obviously great. The space setting and the character designs are fitting for the story --- the character design is actually better than that poster on this site. I also like the fact that the 5 Tytania family branches wears different colored clothings. However, it is unknown why Bal'ami and his father wore a different colored clothing than Ajuman, of the same family. Also, Bal'ami's clothing color actually changed in the course of the anime and that too, is unknown why. Another thing i like is the military clothing wore by the Tytanias. I am unknown why the heck all the laser beams ought be different colors in almost all those laser beam included stories, including Tytania --- I guess thats to make it clear thats theres 2 different factions at war but its kinda lame... Had there been major no cons, which i would start listing, I would certainly give the Art a 10.
There is a major con that bothered me. First, almost all the characters, including Fan Hyulick, never changed their clothings. It is understandable that the Tytania military clothings would look the same, hence no change. However, I mean wtf!, Fan Hyulick wears the same clothings as what his picture on the wanted poster. WTF! Also, now this isnt about Fan Hyulick, the nobilities that arent militaristic (ex. Teresa, Lydia, and Francia) wears the same clothing throughout the series... WTF! ok, i guess its a pain to draw new clothing everytime, but hell, this is a major con in the art! Hence the reason for the 9.

Sound: 10
The sound is absolutely outstanding. I love the op, it fits the theme of the Tytania completely. The ed is okay but well, not that much of my taste but its okay. The bgms are though not super fancy, its fitting. The character voicings (including the narrator) are great. All the choices were very correctly made and very fitting.

Characters: 5
The reason why i gave the character 5 is because first, there is barely any character development within the rebels --- it is utterly unknown why the hell they even exists and get along. I wouldve given that a 1 for characters had there not been the great character development within the Tytanias. Some might disagree but i must say, the Tytanias are greatly developed through their actions and dialogues. However, the rebels ,on the other hand, barely have anything interesting going out and their dialogues are not of intelligent or even serving a purpose. There are often random casts of characters being thrown in for the sake of the few episodes.

ps. I certainly hate that Fan Hyulick person. I am not against the fact that he declared his own personal war on the Tytanias due to revenge, but what I am against is at the beginning, he told Lira that even if Tytania were gone, it wont change anything. Yet, in ep 26 he tells Jouslain that he wants to see a universe without Tytania. What hypocrisy!

Enjoyment: 6
The first half of the series is very enjoyable. The second half, not --- it just gets me more and more pissed.
It is understandable why Ariabert lost his war in the first episode. As given by his characteristic stated by Idris --- "a coward that cannot think outside of the box." However, what is not understandable is how the hell Idris and Zarlisch lose their wars. Idris in ep 13, (spoiler warning) decided to flee from the trick that was played on him --- those fake signals by spraying something to the asteroids. Okay, this is totally wtf to me. He have a whole fleet under his control! and it is obvious enough that he should know that its a trick and that since they do not move, he can easily know which is that Honest Old Man and their fleet by seeking out the signals that moved away from the rest. I was totally wtf-ing at that scene. On to my next scene, in ep 25, honest old man was crushed by like 30 shots. Yet, miraculously, it did not explode and actually one hit and crashed the Typhoon. WTF! Typhoon is a flagship! How the hell can a single hit from some junk merchant ship do that much damage?! Not to mention how the fuck did that junk even survived all the way till ep 25?!! Ok, moving on, I was wtfing again in ep 25-26 where Zarlisch beat the crap out of like 20 rebels while lacking oxygen. I mean hell, they were wearing those oxygen masks. You can obviously see it! Why the fck dont he just grab a mask and wear it?!! It just dont make sense! It is also unknown why the hell they cant just kill Fan Hyulick! I mean sure, Zarlisch wants to please his mother. But hell, what about the other characters?! And didnt she say to bring him back the corpse when she found out that he died?! WTF?! Also, almost forgotten, on the scene where Miranda beat the crap out of that officer and eventually killing him with her whole gang escaping while being surrounded by soldiers and the soldiers didnt do a thing! and the how the hell Dr.Lee were able to hack into the impregnable jail is totally WTF to me.

Overall: I gave this an 8 because i highly enjoyed the dialogues between the Tytanias and well Lydia and etc., the music, and the art. The pacing of the story is great and all. However, the fighting is not. The rebels are overrated and the Tytanias underrated. The concept of the story is great, however, the story have gone haywire as it became non practical and non realistic at all. They are trying to make the rebels the good guys and the Tytanias bad. However, they certainly failed on that -- as it became senseless and illogical.

Space-themed anime series are a rare occurrence these days, so when one does show up on the radar you have plenty of reason to look forward to if you're a fan of the genre. Being a loyal space RTS player myself, the news of Tytania was indeed was something great. Although this series is not an infinite showcase of epic battles as you may remember them from Homeworld, Sins, or EVE, instead opting for a more emphasized focus on the political side that comes along with running a galactic empire, Tytania is unique in its own way -- enough so to provide an enjoyable show.

[Story/Character]
The ... premise of Tytania is what you might expect from any story set in space. The gigantic and dominant galactic empire that has been prevailing over countless star systems and their inhabitants alike for times immemorial has become weakened, and rebellion is inbound. Indeed, at the start of the series we are introduced to the ruling empire, the aristocratic Tytania clan, and the carefree 'protagonist', coming in the form of Admiral Fan Hyulick. During a mock battle staged by an insignificant planet to get on Tytania's good side, Fan Hyulick fights and accidentally wipes out the much larger Tytania fleet, handing them their first loss in hundreds of years. Now branded public enemy #1, Fan Hyulick has to flee from planet to planet, meeting many different people on his journey that will aid him in his escape.

While the premise is pretty basic, what is interesting is that the story is told equally from two perspectives without interrupting the flow of the story itself. Both the leading figures in Tytania and Fan Hyulick's own group serve as two fully operational 'character groups', each with their own actions, thoughts and ambitions. You learn who fights for what, and as the series progresses you learn that Tytania is not just there to fill the 'bad guy' slot. There is no 'real' or default protagonist, and thus you are not forced to see things from his or her perspective only.

[Art]
Considering the budget and studio, as well as the time in which this series was produced, it was quite decent. Yes, there will be a lot of CG. Yes, there will be obviously poor quality scenes. But it doesn't affect the story _that_ much. The space battles had rather nice animation that made them great to watch. The ships had a solid design, and the characters looked good enough for the major part.

[Sound]
The soundtrack has a few things worth mentioning. Instead of opting for JPoP or similar genres like many other shows, Tytania opted for opera. Space opera, to be more precise. And boy, did they make a good choice. It worked out surprisingly well for the battles and other tension moments. They were played just when you think they should be, making for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

[Characters]
Since this series has seven 'main' characters, it is only to be expected there isn't as much room for development. Luckily, we get to see more of the personalities on the Tytania side through both the politics (council meetings, public relation mission to another planets, etc.) and other scenes, such as flashbacks. On the Hyulick side there isn't as much development, but I'll be frank and say that there isn't much that needs explanation on their side. Prior their meeting with each other they all pretty much led a normal life so I'm glad they instead focused on their characters from that onwards instead of going back in the past.

Overally Tytania was an enjoyable show for those that like space themed anime series and don't mind an interesting bit of politics mixed with an occasional space battle. Personally, it didn't get me bored for even one minute. But this may very for everyone based on their preferences. For me it was more than just enjoyable, but that is probably since I am a loyal fan of 3d space rts games like the Homeworld Series, Sins of a Solar Empire, Eve Online etc. Even if you are not like that, this show surely is interesting enough to at least give it a try.

Many say that The Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a far superior work, as it was first and the foremost work based on the author of the novel of the same name. However, I find Tytania's story to be beautiful, and even surpasses its supposed predecessor. The plot revolves around a powerful empire controlled by the family of Tytania, which spreads its hegemony throughout the universe for centuries, using its unequaled military might and affluent economy, only to be thwarted by a nobody, in just one battle- For the first time, Tytania itself is defeated, and the surrounding nations, being oppressed by the powerful ... family, begin to rally themselves against the tyranny of Tytania. The story itself is an opera, an epic fantasy that represents the paragon of war in space.

in terms of space opera/ military scifi anime shows this stands right up there with logth. in terms of its story and characters. Dont get me wrong lotgh(legend of the galactic heroes) is still better but this is almost as good and as a fan of logth its hard to find a show that compares.

only really two problems first probably one of the saddest character deaths, and the inconclusive ending. there definitely should have been another season or 2 or 3 but the story picks up in the manga, if that's something your interested in.

Fun to see the different machinations of various strategic geniuses in ... the show and the different battles are fun to watch. if you enjoyed the ride of logth you will like this one as well, its just a little lighter in tone. if you haven't watched logth I would recommend watching that first then check this one out after.

First of all i would like to say that Titania is in desperate need of either a sequel or a reboot.

Story: Titania is an anime that follows many similarities with others within it genre of a small group or nation going up against the big bad rulers of the universe. The story starts off introducing the main character and a current overview of the universe. As the story progresses that is a point in time where it stagnates and not much story wise happens. During the stagnant part of the show we get a lot of unnecessary character development instead of a progression of ... the story. The main blunder story wise however is the main reason this show has lower ratings that is could have. The show ends at a point where you would expect to see a second season. If i was to compare this show with a standard 12 episode show the entire 26 would likely cover 4-6 of a 12 episode series. The story is stretched out so that what i would call Act 1 takes up all 26 episode. With the progress of this story i would expect to have a total of 3 Acts which means 3 season but we do not. This make you want to know more however this is no way of getting a conclusion to the story which is left wide open leaving a feeling of satisfactions and uncertainty of what would of happened next.

Art: The art is well done and should be praised for its creation. The arts reflects that of the Mecha golden age back in the 80 while also looking new and modern enough that it doesn't put off those who aren't as fond of the older art. For a show produced release in 2008 it is truly great.

Sound: The sound is neither good nor bad. The sound effects are average and there isn't much of a variation is sound of similar items like different types of weapons. The Voice acting however makes up for this with strong performances from both the main and supporting cast.

Character: The character were well thought out and didn't have much repetition within the show however they are the same character that you see in every show like this. The smart one, the ambitious one, the hourable warrior, the by the books guy and the guy that get mad at everything. These are not new however it can't be held against them as it worked well with the story.

Enjoyment: Overall i enjoyed this anime greatly however the abrupt and sudden ending did lower it and put a downer on the seemingly large push in the story. The music was good and the plot was strong and well written although better if there were sequels.

Overall: i recommend giving it a watch, you will be left with an unfinished story but you will however get great enjoyment watching through the 26 episode of Tytania.