Stellvia: V.1 Foundation I (ep.1-4)

Gunbuster and Battle Athletes are two two of my favorite anime. My first "real" anime experience was Sailor Moon. So it should be no surprise that I absolutely love any anime about an anti-hero protagonist (dark and brooding suits me fine but there's a special place in my heart for klutzy and cute) triumphing over impossible odds to become the savior of the planet. I also LOVE the show Martian Successor Nadesico, so when I heard that a new show was coming out that was made by some of the same people...

Stellvia (or Stellvia of the Universe as it is called on some Websites), is similar to the aforementioned classics, but the overall quality of the entire show will be hard to guage until more of the show comes out (as it has been said that it MAJORLY switches into high gear somewhere around episode eight). From what I've seen so far, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

The animation in the show is high quality, and the character designs are clean and attractive, possessing a somewhat cute, yet very sincere appeal. The CGI is quite nice in the space combat scenes, and overall the show is pleasing to the eye (partially due to it's bright color palette). The only downside to the visuals is perhaps the sparse backgrounds of the space stations (no big deal).

The music is of high quality, and only grows on you over time. Everything has a somewhat cheerful, uplifting sweetness to it. The sound effects are up to par, but it's really the voice acting that you'll care about.

I've seen some truly bad English dubs in my time (and especially recently), but some of the best I've ever seen were the ones for Battle Athletes Victory and Martian Successor Nadesico. This show easily matches them in quality thus far. The main characters are played pretty much perfectly, possessing both youthful idealism, playful spirit, and that serious driving force that it's o-so-hard to put your finger on. The voice acting for the adults in the show is...Stellar as well. A VERY pleasant surprise!

The actual show itself starts off a little slow, as the first episode is largely introducing characters, the universe, and the premise of the show. There is a somewhat strange parting between the protagonist and her mother in the first episode that left me scratching my head, but after that the show quickly solidifies.

Really, this show is a nice change from other shows of it's type. Shima is not just a klutz, she is also a genius. And instead of being bratty, she is shy and reserved. Watching her growing confidence you feel yourself getting more and more drawn into her story. Some of the dialog is truly great stuff, as this show has some fun with the very genre it is portraying (the scene where Shima was wearing a bath-towel over her flight suit really cracked me up), and the stereotypes of glasses-wearing wiz-kid and the female stoic (among others) turn end up becoming friends instead of arch-rivals (for now at least).

Overall I found this show to be highly enjoyable thus far, and I look forward to seeing how it is going to progress. After all, the story is just beginning...

I am not an Anime fan, (although I am a science fiction fan), and I totally fell in love with Stellvia!

One of the things I liked about Stellvia was that I could relate to it. The characters are very well defined. Each one is an individual, and it doesn't take long to catch on to what each person's goals are in the context of the story, and begin to understand why they act in certain ways.

The story is set in a school, which is also something that's easy to relate to, but the situations the characters get into are much more exciting and interesting than anything I experienced at school!

Maybe this is typical in Japan, but I was struck by how characters have so many different colors of hair! Besides what I would call "typical" colors from blond through black, there is green, red, violet.... Whatever inspired it, it's a great artistic choice; it helps tell the characters apart (especially if you're not used to watching Anime), and makes them look cool!

Underneath the interesting characters and cool art is a nice sci-fi concept concerning danger to the Earth. It's not too complicated, so it's easy to understand, but it's somewhat original so it's not boring. I only got a chance to watch Foundation I, and I'm so curious about how the story ends!

Whoa.

This anime is really, really good.

"Sora no Stellvia" is about Shima Katase, a new student who is going to enter a high school in space called "Stellvia". Before she leaves, her younger brother gives her a huge jar of rock candy, and says "Don't eat it too fast!" and runs away to meet his parents.

As the ship takes off towards Stellvia, a girl runs on and yells "Wait!" and sits next to Shima. "I over slept", the girl says. They take off and the crowd down below gawks in amazement. Shima later meets the girl. Her name is Arisa, and she's a new student, too. I don't think I'll tell you anymore, cuz I'm really bad at giving away spoilers sometimes. ^_^

The art is fantastic, and the music is phenomenal! I would by the CD if I could, but I don't have any money. ;^^ Anyway, this was a great choice of a DVD, and I can't wait to buy the other 7 (and if you buy this DVD, you can see all the covers of the other 7 DVD's)!

Another reason you may want to buy this DVD is because this anime is produced by the same creative team Xebec, who produced other great titles such as "Martian Successor Nadesico", "D.N.Angel", "Fafnir", and "Bottle Fairy".

This DVD also features 4 episodes.

1.) Welcome

2.) Hesitation

3.) I'm Sorry

4.) I'll Do My Best

the Extras feature Geneon previews, non-credit opening, and more!

Geneon has done it again! You must buy this immediately.

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