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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | Devil Doll | # |
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[Score: 81%]
The character visualizations look like this were a series for kids - but don't get fooled by this. This isn't a silly comedy... try to imagine a girl being so desperate that she forgets about her own 12th birthday! Now you know what this OVA is about: Fear, even terror, and depression. Think "Evangelion Lite" with kawaii little girls 6th grade. But listen carefully to the intro song (whose cheerful tune is all too misleading) to understand what this is actually about. There is a lot of symbolism to be decoded (see below), and this is way more than just "another anime". Unfortunately, it isn't an anime that really works for me either. And this is a pity because many people will be disappointed after watching it the first time, and probably not take the time to watch it again and tackle its deeper meaning. I like the art (including those unusually big ears that have to make up for the missing noses of the characters), and I love the animation - there's a lot of movement, and they did this excellently. And the trailer song "Rebirth" is simply great. On the other hand the story provides only little character development (mostly for Kumi-chan, and this until the bitter end), therefore it had to be the line of events that kept me watching... and they did. I could hardly wait to watch the subsequent episodes. Unfortunately I am still waiting for another episode when the series is over. Which isn't a good sign in general. Episode 1 is basically describing the setting and covering the synopsis. Episode 2 starts to show that all is not what it seems and ends with a total blowoff. Episode 3 feels like everything is going to improve now but ends with an unexpected cliffhanger. Episode 4 resolves this cliffhanger - but nothing else. And when you think it's already over, the most disturbing scene of the whole series is thrown into the audience's face while the trailer credits are rolling already. After that, the OVA ends right in the middle of a story with each and every important question unanswered. Obviously you need to read the manga to understand what this is all about. It was quite an experience ("fun" wouldn't be the correct term here given this gloomy ride) to watch these four episodes, and it was even more interesting to rewatch them now. I am deeply touched by the characters and what they have been going through. But as a whole this OVA still failed in both aspects that are most important to me, character development (maybe I'm expecting too much in this aspect) as well as series story transparency and plausibility. Which is a pity because it definitely had the potential for a "Buy" rating had it become a 13 episodes series (the manga appears to cover enough content for this) with a reasonable ending (answering at least the most important questions about the teachers). But as it is, it looks oddly unfinished. I have a very similar feeling as I had when I watched Silent Mobius and Shin Seiki Evangelion in the original TV version for the first time; then again they are both amongst my favourite series... looks like I really need the manga. Reading the very personal analysis by Kathryn K Williams (see link below) can make you see the message of this series from a totally different angle. I agree with the Borgu symbolizing "adulthood" as suggested by the intro song, and I did interpret the scene where Yuri was feeding the aliens the same way, and I have my very own interpretation of the song "Everybody's going to be an alien". Which doesn't mean I'll completely go along with her analysis. This anime just left too many questions unanswered to let me accept they're all not important. In this case the whole story arc of the teachers (which is explained in the manga) would be totally misleading, making it almost impossible to understand the intended message of the series. Last updated Friday, April 11 2008. | ||||||||
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Drama - HIGH Comedy - Low Action - High SciFi - High Ecchi - Low/Med Hmm...yet another thinking Anime. I keep getting caught in this after getting suckered into The Voices of a Distant Star. This picture does not do it justice. This is an Anime on par with Lain, or any other one that has lots of sadness. Now here I differ from Kat message. (I think she has some personal issues and tries to apply that here). I do agree with Kasumi's issues. She's a bit off. Where Kat saw this as an adolescent issues, I approached it from a SciFi issue. It looks like to me that the Aliens are really trying to take over the Earth, one child at a time. As they get more and more people 'converted' they gain power. The scene where Yuri (nice name...sorta gives hints) gets the white hair really implies these 'helmets' have another hidden agenda. Well enough of that, if you like high drama, watch it. I normally do not watch this kind of thing (As I prefer entertainment over thought) but it's a good watch when you feel like something serious. Last updated Sunday, January 02 2005. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Alien Nine Unofficial Website | http://alien9.crossrealms.net/ |
| A fan site about anime, manga, soundtracks and collectibles for Alien Nine. | |
| A Kat's View of Alien 9 | http://anime.mikomi.org/episode/914/Will.html |
| A very personal analysis of the symbolism used in Alien Nine by Kathryn K Williams (the page isn't online any more, I saved the text of this article into an "episode review" for this page) | |
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