|
|
||||||||||
 |
| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||
| Buy | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 5 | Kari | # | |
|
Arjuna is probably what Sailor Moon would've been like if Usagi had joined P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). It's sort of like Sailor Moon combined with Captain Planet and Blue Seed. Earth Girl Arjuna is about a teenage girl whose destiny is to prevent the world from being destroyed. The Earth's destruction is of course due to mankind's inability to stop polluting it. While Arjuna's plot is fairly well-written, it attempts to force-feed the audience values, which is irritating. The story of Arjuna doesn't tell the audience anything that the average child doesn't already know about the environment, or the food growing process. Any kid can tell you hamburgers are made from cows, poultry and beef are given steriods, and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides. Yet this message is constantly lectured to the audience, in an exceedingly repetitive manner, which made me find the main character Arjuna annoying. I've read reviews that called Arjuna "too preachy", but I didn't believe them until I bought the show myself. I don't find this show uncomfortable to watch, it is just an anime series. I think the animation's pretty, and the story is unmoving. Arjuna has great animation, with vivid colors, and tastefully used CG. It also has one of the best soundtracks Yoko Kanno has managed to produce. Vocal songs performed by Gabriela Robin and Chinatsu Yamamoto accentuate each scene they're used in. I also like the dub for this show. Maggie Blue O'Hara and Andrew Francis did a great job voicing Arjuna and Tokio, as did Brad Swaile when voicing Chris. Last updated Wednesday, January 17 2007. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | kakyuu_prince | # | |
|
This is quite an interesting series. There's really no other series quite like it I think. The story is gripping and painfully truthful, it makes you stop and consider some of your daily habits and what effects they might have on the Earth. It is gripping to watch Juna as she discovers all these things about Earth and humans and her mission as Avatar of Time which is a far more complex task than it may seem at first. This is not just the simple story of defeat the big bad creatures who are "attacking" the Earth. This is Juna's mistake at the beginning of the series, thinking that she had to destroy the Raaja to protect the Earth, when in actuality her mission isn't about "defeating" the Raaja. It's about compromising and co-existing. Juna's mission in itself has very blatant parallels to humans and our attitude about something that poses a "threat" to us. The enigmatic Chris is a powerful figure in the show, showing new facets to the story and Juna's role everytime he speaks to her. While accused of being "preachy", I think that what is seen as preaching is really the creators' message. The message that they desperately want to be heard even at the risk of being preachy. The different episodes really made me think about what humans do and consequently, I find it a lot harder to go to fast food restaurants now. I don't really want to eat McDonald's burgers anymore.^_^; Another interesting part of Arjuna is Juna's friend, Tokio. As I read somewhere once, he represents the audience. When he asks a question of Juna about one of the many issues Arjuna brings up, it sounds like the type of questions we are asking in our mind as we watch. Whether the creators meant to make Tokio like that, it's a really admirable aspect of the show. The animation is very good and the music is fantastic thanks to Kanno Yoko. Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna is a very good anime series and while I'm still not a tree-hugger environmentalist extremist, I do think about the issues Arjuna brings up more often now. Last updated Tuesday, June 17 2003. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | Midnighter | # | |
|
Every once in a while an anime series comes along that's so powerful and so brilliant that it makes the viewer just sit back and reflect in wonderment. Shoji Kowamori's Arjuna is an anime like that. Created, written and directed by Shoji Kawamori (Escaflowne, Macross Plus, Ultraman) with music by Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne), Arjuna boasts some big names in the anime world. The thirteen episode TV series is available domestically on 4 DVD volumes from Bandai. Visually, Arjuna looks breathtaking. Beautiful animation and color enhanced by excellent CG animation are a feast for the eyes. It's remarkable what has been done here on a TV budget. The real meat of Arjuna, though, is the story and message. Often criticized for being too preachy or unrealistic, Arjuna cries out with an unwavering environmentalist message of respect for the Earth we live on. However, Arjuna's "preachiness" is just the opposite. The show presents us with facts and lets them speak for themselves. The fact that we as an audience feel so uncomfortable about them proves their validity. Arjuna doesn't point fingers to make us feel uncomfortable about our choices for convenience, it just points out those choices, ones that we don't like to acknowledge. We're all guilty of sacrificing the environment for convenience. I do it every day when I get in my car. What Arjuna does is ask us: is it worth it? I cannot recommend this series enough, particularly to bleeding heart leftists like myself who will agree whole-heartedly with its message. 6-3-03 Last updated Tuesday, June 03 2003. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Jer Alford | # |
|
One of Kawamori's best works to date. A must for all those who care about the planet, and wonder what really goes in their McDonald's hamburgers.
Last updated Friday, April 11 2003. | ||||||||
| ||||||||
