Utawarerumono

Title:Utawarerumono
Shadow Warrior Chronicles
The One Being Sung
うたわれるもの
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: Original Concept - Aquaplus
R1 License - FUNimation
Cast out and exiled, they found him lying wounded in the forest. When he woke, he found himself cared for by Eruruu and her younger sister, Aruruu. With no memories of who he was, wearing a strange mask on his face - the village elder gave him the name of ‘Hakuoro’, the name of her dead son, and the people of the village just accepted him and made him feel welcome. But when trouble came to the village and the duke’s soldiers tried to take all of their food, Hakuoro quickly proves himself to be both a strong warrior and a leader in protecting his new family and the people of the village against a number of dangers.

Animation by Aquaplus, OLM & Lantis
26 TV episodes

also see Utawarerumono Specials
and three Utawarerumono OVA episodes

On July 4th ’08, it was announced that R1 License for this title has been transferred from ADV to FUNimation.
Episode Details 
1
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 8 6 7 7 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:1356#1552]
There are two words that best describe my thoughts of Utawarerumono that not too many folks would like me to utter: otaku bait. I know this would seem kind of shallow-minded to anyone that may like this series. But considering mostly every prominent character in this series has some sort of animal ears and tail plus look ridiculously cute or physically attractive (along with this anime being an eroge strategy game adaptation), I rest my case with these two words being uttered.

For the most part, Utawarerumono's characters and plot developments are pretty formulaic and straight-forward. The series runs into several arcs with Hakuoro and his allies running into some hostile enemy threat trying to either halt his revolt or take over his kingdom, Hakuoro coming up with a clever plan to halt said threat, gaining new allies from offing said threat and then a breather episode with comedy highlights coming from the quirks of the characters or everyday scenes with Hakuoro, Eruru and Aruru. While the first arc was okay with Hakuoro leading the commoners to revolt against their corrupt glutton of a ruler, the later arcs do get monotonous with their developments with every country in sight seemingly wanting a piece of Hakuoro and his kingdom for shallow reasons.

Character development with new characters in these arcs is limited to their appearances in said arcs and once they become one of Hakuoro's allies, their roles become mostly downplayed to being loyal soldiers to Hakuoro when they participate in a battle. Other than Hakuoro and a few major characters, you don't get to see too many developments with these ass-kicking characters after they become one of his comrades, which is kind of a shame as a couple of them had their interesting traits and backgrounds during their debut arcs, mainly Oboro and Touka. A number of the major villains confronted in these arcs are so over-the-top and ridiculous with their appearance, behavior and/or mannerisms that they are laughable, especially Hauenkua who reminds me enough of how nuts Tenkuu no Escaflowne's Dilandau was.

The other prominent focus of the series is on Hakuoro's mysterious past which the series drops hints of in the not-so-entertaining later arcs of the show. Amnesiac hero storylines normally have a good amount of potential in unveiling some interesting developments for said main hero and a show's plot. But while Hakuoro's character is an interesting and likeable one, what I come to learn of his origins and background comes across as quite a big contradiction to the type of world Utawarerumono had set up throughout its run.

Visually, the series does sport good looking scenery and characters (despite the latter's clear "appeal") with vivid colors and a decent amount of detail applied to them. The show's animation is average at many points with occasional use of shortcuts and some bad use of CG animation in the rendering of armies during battle scenes.

While I did get some enjoyment out of seeing Hakuoro and some other characters in their struggles throughout Utawarerumono, the show's cliched plot setup, weak focus on other prominent characters and ridiculous reveal on Hakuoro's origins greatly weakened the quality of the series in my eyes. This is a good example of why I'm cautious with approaching anime adaptations of eroge games as the quality of said title tends to vary and usually won't translate too well when made into an anime.

Last updated Sunday, January 29 2012. Created Sunday, January 29 2012.
Rent 8 9 9 8 7 Lance Gatchalian [series:1356#2370]
Well, this one I give a 'high rent'. It should've been a Buy but due to some plot downfall in the latter episodes, downgraded it to Rent (well according to my tastes though)..

It's about a guy who wakes up without his memories. An extremely kawaii physician-to-be with doe ears and fluffy tails (Well, almost all people in this anime has ears and tails like that). A simple yet happy village gets entangled to a war against the local royal family, which leads to the guy leading the village to victory and bit by bit recovers his lost memories.

The story is quite good actually. Almost every main character is solid. The first few episodes will make you watch the episodesone after another. There are a lot of kawaii characters here. I'd say Aruruu I find the most adorable. There are humor every now and then, but this sticks to it's plot quite well. There are many (as in MANY) battle scenes here. Some light, some violent to some extent (but still not as psychologically damaging as say, Elfen Lied).

Overall, this is a good title. It may even be a Buy for others but I give it a Rent based on my tastes. =)

Last updated Wednesday, January 10 2007. Created Wednesday, January 10 2007.
Rent Jan-Chan [series:1356#967]
Moe!! MOE!! MOE!! Both Eruruu and her sister Aruruu are very cute (moe) with their doe ears and cute tails.

The story is very engaging in how Hakuoro’s decision to help the villagers whom he considers friends quickly escalates into a war against the oppression of the local lord of the area. When the lord's well-trained soldiers threaten the village's by taking their much needed food stores, Hakuoro steps in to confront the bullies. He quickly proves himself to be not only a capable fighter, but also a excellent military commander. But the arrogant local lord will not tolerate rebellion and what started as a village confrontation quickly explodes into a full scale rebellion.

Balanced against the escalating violence of the war against the ruling lord, the story spends time following Hakuoro and those within his adoptive family: the silly and humorous antics of the different moe girls, the strangers that they befriend and the quirky little family life that develops around Hakuoro.

But who is Hakuoro? Where did he come from and what of his forgotten past?

Granted that this is yet another game-inspired anime series, but its above average both in the quality of the animation and the story. If you are into swords-n-sorcery empire-building tales of adventure, then this is a title that you probably would enjoy.

If you like these types of stories, then check out Claymore or The Guin Saga.

Last updated Monday, June 07 2010. Created Monday, May 29 2006.

Other Sites
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Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.utaware.net/

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