The music is nothing particularly special, in fact it can be a little too melodramatic at times, but the opener and closer heavily remind me of 90s top 20 hits, so I can’t hate on it that much.
The acting performances are also quite well-done in this show. For the dub, I was surprised at how mellow the acting was for a show that begs to be very melodramatic, but in hindsight, it’s probably good that the actors chose to be less cartoony and more down-to-earth. It’s still VERY dramatic, but it’s not Code Geass or anything. I was also very happy to hear a new hero voice from Thor’s character, and Sean Teague has a perfect youthful gentleness in contrast to the rough, brutal supporting cast around him. Great work all around.
The only thing I can compare this show to is a good old Ray Bradbury short story. It’s pure undiluted science fiction with lots of techno-babble, weird societies, epic fighting, and strong themes about humanity, nature, and the morality that gets sandwiched between them.
So the question is: does the show do it well? Mm, for the most part, the answer is yes. Again, this show is only eleven episodes long, and it has to cover Thor’s life from runty kid to beast king in that time, so you’re not going to have any filler material, but at the same time, the story didn’t feel rushed, except in its very final episode that, while fitting overall, could have used some rewrites in some raw meaty places. On the contrary, I wonder if it could have held up with any validity if it was longer, as some of the plot twists are a little silly and it can be very predictable at times. I swear, there are a couple of characters that could walk onscreen with nametags that say “I’m going to die in ten minutes,” and it would be less obvious.
Still, these are minor flaws considering how very well the story flows at the breakneck speed it must, and for its few contrivances, the story also has some wicked good twists that bring out the best in its shocked little posse of players.
Character development is an important part of sci fi where motives are needed for bizarre behavior, and on that front, I don’t know that Jyu Oh Sei delivers too well. The writing is fine, so the real problem is just too many characters, not enough time. Our leads the three Ts, Thor, Tiz, and Third, (yes, his name is a number, you find out why later,) are quite interesting enough despite the fact they have to spend so much time updating you on the plot as we zip through the years at a speed that necessitates a gallon of Dramamine. It can feel very “after-school special” sometimes when the characters start spouting exposition, morals of the story, and their profound (yeah, right) emotional problems, just a necessary evil for the anime’s length.
All in all, this is good, basic sci fi, with nary a stutter from beginning to end, a bite-sized epic. Still, the sophomoric character development and sometimes questionable plot twists are juuuuust enough to water it down to less than what it could have been.
*THIS IS A PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT OF MY VIDEO REVIEW WHICH CAN BE SEEN HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvVPVVXXb7U
Thanks for reading!
