Saint Elmo: Hikari no Raihousha

Saint Elmo is an anime set in a futuristic world where Earth's energy source, the space power plant Saint Elmo, faces a critical malfunction. As the protagonist's girlfriend lies in a coma, the power outage puts her life at risk. With international outrage mounting, the protagonist, Yuuki, embarks on a high-stakes journey into space to fix the power plant and save his girlfriend, leading to a race against time filled with danger and suspense. However, despite its promising premise, Saint Elmo falls short in delivering an engaging and memorable space adventure.

In the future, where, for environmental reasons, Earth's power source is located in space, orbiting ... the sun. This energy is generated by a large space power plant known as Saint Elmo, situated on the planet Mercury. Built solely by Japan, without involvement from other countries, because in anime as we know, Japan is the centre of the universe. Humorously, the anime actually acknowledges this fact during the first half, cleverly showcasing international outrage directed at Japan's perceived incompetence. Adding to the urgency, Mayu, Yuuki's girlfriend, falls critically ill and is hospitalised after a relevant incident during a previous space mission to Saint Elmo. Though she survives, she remains in a coma, and with the power now cut off, Earth relies on backup energy and batteries, putting Mayu's life in danger. With no other choice, Yuuki embarks on a journey into space to fix the power plant, amplifying the story's sense of urgency due to the international outrage and the impending loss of his girlfriend.

The first half effectively establishes the primary objective of identifying and resolving the issues with the space power plant Saint Elmo. It also introduces a mystery bait, as the mysterious incident at the power plant leads to animals suddenly gaining the ability to speak and exhibit high intelligence, puzzling the scientists involved.

The second half encompasses the actual journey into space. Yuuki travels with a crew comprising experts from various nations. I was excited by the introduction of a diverse range of characters, as I am a fan of works featuring an ensemble cast. However, I was disappointed to find that, apart from the plain Japanese boy scout protagonist, the other crew members are nothing more than one-dimensional walking racial stereotypes. The blonde European lady drinks tea, the black African woman worships the sun and talks about lions and her name is Simba, the Russian man is a vodka drunkard wearing an ushanka, the blonde American dude speaks Engrish, the Chinese guy talks about his noodles and ancient Chinese medicine, and the Egyptian boy, wearing a kufi cap, also, besides the sun, worships a scarab while pouring Arabian coffee from his dallah.

While the space journey itself, on paper, is filled with risks and stakes, as they have to venture near the sun and tackle an unknown technical issue, with failure potentially plunging Earth into the dark ages and endangering Mayu's life as well as the crew members', the journey itself was a bore to watch. The only thing I cared about was the mysterious cause of the malfunctioning space power plant Saint Elmo, which is why I referred to it as a 'mystery bait'. The revelation of the cause is interesting in concept but feels out of place and fails to add any thematic depth or meaningfulness to the story. It doesn't offer any valuable insights; it simply feels like an excuse to set the characters on a tedious space journey.

Amongst the unfolding chaos, Yuuki stumbles upon his father's helmet by sheer coincidence. This helmet holds a message from his father, who constructed the power plant and died afterwards. It is worth noting that the power plant was massive and was teetering on the brink of destruction. The message within not only contains crucial information on how to prevent the potential incident, but also, according to the same message, predicts the incident with a probability of a mere 'one-in-a-hundred-million chance'. And the son finds that unnecessarily obscurely hidden message. One must wonder: what are the odds?

I don't recommend this anime, not even to die-hard fans of the space subgenre. It is dull and lacklustre, and you won't be missing out on anything by skipping it. Instead, opt for other space anime options. I don't feel the need to mention specific titles, as the chances of encountering a space anime as boring as Saint Elmo are 'one-in-a-hundred-million'.