Blue Seed: Box Set (2nd edition)

 

 

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The life of a teenage girl can be stressful enough, but Momiji Fujimiya is a bit more stressed than usual -- it turns out that evil plant monsters are out to get her. Yes, evil plant monsters.

Fortunately if you can swallow that, most of the rest of this series will be a pretty entertaining ride. While it starts rather shakily (and with a very patchy dub), "Blue Seed: Complete Collection" unwinds into a complex anime full of grotesque monsters, teen romance, blam-blam action and international strife as the whole world is threatene, et cetera et cetera. It's fluffy fun, but what sets it apart is a heavy dose of Japanese folklore.

One day on the way to school, Momiji Fujimiya is confronted by two bizarre creatures -- a young man (Kusanagi) with seven "blue seed" mitamas embedded in his body, who tries to kill her; and a serpentine plant monster (Orochi). Turns out she's part of an ancient family line, the Kushinada, that can destroy the aragami (sort of plant monsters).

But then Orochi invades Momiji's high school to destroy her, and is barely stopped by the Terrestrial Administration Center (a motley band of scientists, soldiers and government officials). Before Momiji knows it, she's been handed over to Mr. Kunikida of the TAC, and Kusanagi has changed his mind about killing her -- now he wants to protect her, no matter what. Oh yeah, and the Kushinada before her was a twin sister named Kaede, now presumed dead.

And life with the TAC is rarely boring: they fight a bizarre jellyfish, a giant water blob, a grotesque crow, a tree aragami at an idol show (where Momiji song-duels with an American Shinto priestess), mutated dogs, a fire-breathing frog, a building-sized centipede, and a bloodsucking creature that can control people. Then a new trio of enemies appear -- a treacherous Kushinada thought to be dead, a sinister man with eight mitama, and the reborn god Susano-o. As the aragami grow in power and number, Momiji becomes plagued with doubts... and the fear that she will lose everything.

"Blue Seed: Complete Collection" starts off a little wobbly. Initially the stories are geared towards fighting the aragami-of-the-week, and a some episodes are just ridiculous -- a couple of them actually hinge on a pop idol competition and PANTY-PREDICTION software. Seriously. But the series starts to flower when it returns to the roots of Japanese folklore and legend, complete with kappa, an immortal woman, and a reborn god.

Additionally, as the story becomes more complex and darker, it also brings in an overarcing storyline that stretches all the way to the end. But the writers also keep the main storyline saturated with lighter fare, to remind us that these are people with ordinary lives to live -- a cute little romance between Momiji and Kusanagi, and some fun glimpses at how the various TAC members act around one another. And of course, plenty of explosions, gunfire and messy splattery action scenes.

In the first three episodes, Momiji is as endearing as a cat ice-skating on a blackboard -- she whines almost continuously. Fortunately she becomes a far more likable heroine as the series goes on, grappling with insecurities and worries that seem all too realistic. Kusanagi is a likable counterpart for Momiji: strong, powerful, but still relaxed enough to tease her about her underwear whenever he gets a chance. Of course he's also utterly socially inept, which makes their budding romance a bit more difficult.

And unlike many an anime show, the supporting cast is pretty colourful, even if they sometimes come across as stereotypes (the Genius Loser-Nerd, the Gung-Ho Gun Girl, the Scientist immersed in her work, etc). Fortunately each character is explored lovingly and given their own quirks and weaknesses, making them seem quite real and endearing.

It's worth noting that the English dub for this series isn't of great quality. In fact at the start of the series, it's pretty awful -- Momiji's whine, Kusanagi's toneless yells, and Matsudaira's scratchiness. Fortunately the voice actors get the hang of it a few episodes in, and they're doing a pretty decent job by the middle of the series.

"Blue Seed: Complete Collection" starts off wobbly in many ways, but it also serves up plenty of monsters, mayhem, and Japanese folklore. Worth seeing, and actually goes from mediocre to brilliant in a short time.

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