Stellvia : My Review

My Rating

There’s something to be liked about post apocolyptic scenarios. I suppose it is because they fit within the realm of possibility but far away enough to not trap us in the munane blandness of reality. Stellvia is set in the distant future around the year 2356. In the storyline minkind was nearly wiped out by a distant star going supernova in the year 2167. The story follows the lives of several gifted teenagers who qualified to train for a future in a space program onboard one of the foundations. Foundations are giant space stations built sometime after the supernova to hopefully ensure the future of humanity. The plot surmises that a second energy wave coming from the same exploded star is coming but at a slower pace. The storyline follows these kids lives up to and in preparation for the second wave.

The would be hero of this Sci-fi anime is Shima Katase, voiced in the english dub by Carrie Savage. As an A-side I have to admit I will probably give the Stellvia box set a slightly better review than other sites because I am a bit taken by Carrie’s voice. Ever since seeing Haibane Renmei I can’t seem to totally dislike anthing she does. Ms Katase is not your typical anime space pilot hero though. More like your typical mentally and socially unstable teenage girl. There are certainly more scenes with her crying into a pillow than there are of her doing anything heroic.

With the storyline bieng somewhat of a highschool drama crossed with a space element the sci-fi seemed a bit lacking. Stellvia certainly fits into the sci-fi category, but it seems not to add anything new. With each new sci-fi series there usually comes some innovation in futuristic ideas. Star Wars brought you the light sabre, Star Treck the teleport transporter device. Stellvia seems more content to be a soap opera set on a sci-fi stage.

To its credit, Stellvia doesn’t fall prey to the mundane babble that often plagues space anime. You won’t find any episode long battle planning seqences or political disputes. Bieng a drama it also lacks a bit on having funny alien chibi creatures doing something horrific in the background. I was really able to get into the show, but it could have used a bit more comedy to lighten the mood. In the opening episode there is a scene with Katase’s mother telling her off because she is walking out on her family to go to school in space. It was one of the most emotional sequences I’ve ever seen in an anime. I actually felt bad for Shima. Well just a bit…

To keep stellvia from bieng completely one sided with the shy Shima Katase as the main character, Arisa her roommate comes into the story. Best friend and polar opposite, Arisa has a wild streak and the two fit together like pieces of a puzzle. The storyline is alright, and filled with interesting characters. Some less believeable than others. Its not going to win any awards for the best plot. A mostly predictable future leaves more time to be told about the characters than what is gong to happen next.

The music in Sellvia wasn’t particularly memorable. Thats both a good thing and a bad thing though. For an Anime series to truly stand out in my mind the music has got to be great. The fact that it doesn’t stand out means the music was hardly noticeable, but it was there. I tend to notice if the music is terrible, not present, or really good. When I don’t really notice the music anime generally ends up in the average category.

Overall I have to give The Stellvia Box Set a rent and then possibly buy rating. I wouldn’t suggest anyone who isn’t a hardcore anime fan run out and buy this one without having seen at least part of it to decide if you like the style. If sci-fi drama isn’t your thing you probably won’t watch stelvia more than once, so that would make it a rent. If you like gundam but find yourself turned off by the overbearing robot references stellvia is a good choice. Whether you rent or buy, Stellvia is good enough that you will want to watch it all the way through.