Chikyu Shojo Arjuna

Title:Chikyu Shojo Arjuna
Arjuna
Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna
Earth Girl Arjuna
Earth Maiden Arjuna
地球少女アルジュナ
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: HISAKAWA Aya
Music - KANNO Yoko
Original Concept - KAWAMORI Shouji
R1 License - Bandai (Defunct)
SEKI Tomokazu
UEDA Yuuji

A young girl named Juna is nearly killed in a motorcycle accident. But she is called back by the mystic boy Chris. He gives her life back to her, but only if she fulfills her role as the Avatar of Time, and help purge the planet of a parasitic lifeform called the Raaja. The Raaja are wormlike lifeforms that can be as big as skyscraper or as small as a cell. They manifest in everything from fast food to nucleur reactors, and have one thought, to consume all life everywhere through human greed and arrogance. Juna becomes aware of all life around her and how it effects the Earth. Her relations with her family and friends are pushed to the limit as she gains a better understanding of the chain of nature. Dazzling CGI animation bring this story to life.

This series was created by Shouji Kawamori who did Macross Plus OAV Series and Tenkuu no Escaflowne, so you know to expect a great story with a very deep plot. This environmentally concious anime is definately a cut above Captain Planet!

13 TV Episodes.(Only 12 episodes of Arjuna aired during the show's original Japanese TV airing. Episode 9 of the series, "Before Birth," was released on DVD.)

1:18min English Language Trailer - ANN Trailer
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 7 7 8 9 8 8 Dreamer [series:550#2279]
So I saw this one on a youtube anime video I happen to come across.... which had some interesting clips from various series.... this being one of them. It had caught my interested to say the least. So I picked this one up to see what it's all about. My thoughts?

Art, Animation & Character Designs
Artwork wasn't that great. It seemed below par or below average. However, I'm thinking that it might be intentional.... or rather, some of it. I noticed it does try to be artistic at times, with surreal settings, and animation. So were the artists trying to go "artistic" as opposed to doing it "normal"? Possible. Character designs were a bit better.... although they did suffer the 'artistic' look at times. But then, there were some scenes that were just excellent, mainly due to the lighting effects.... like the motorcycle ride in episode 1.

Music
The soundtrack is good! It had some excellent chants, beats and choirs. A lot of it was tribal-like... which actually gives a sense of the music being "all natural".... fitting the theme of this series. Back to the motorcycle scene, the accompanying soundtrack was a nice light piece with a choir of female vocals. Then there's some of the chanting, almost amazonic-like (if that's a word) pieces.... which really lends well to some of the scenes.

Series and Episode Story
This series would surely be heavily sponsored by the likes of PETA and similar nuts.... I mean, groups. It smacks of environmental awareness, mother earth, etc. If you were to sit this one through to the end, you might ponder on your existence in the grand scheme of the world and your contributions to the continuous pollution of it. Or, you might simply be like me and give it hardly a second thought. Now this doesn't mean I (or you), don't care about the well being of our precious globe, but rather, I simple see this anime as nothing more than an entertainment as opposed to anything that would give me an epiphany.

The plot ending sorta disappointed me. I didn't like the explanation of those surreal looking giant worms..... and where they originated from. But honestly speaking, it's fitting given the nature of this series.

Overall, it was an interesting watch and definitely a theme you don't see often. It can be subjective, or philosophical at times but if doesn't bother you, then do watch.

Last updated Sunday, June 05 2011. Created Sunday, June 05 2011.
Buy 9 10 7 10 10 9 Ggultra2764 [series:550#1552]
It's not very often I come across an anime with environmental themes which I have come across in a couple Studio Ghibli films in the form of Nausicaa and Mononoke Hime. In the case of Arjuna, the series commits strongly to themes of environmental awareness and the difficulties surrounding human interaction.

I have been across some review sites that criticize the series for being overly preachy with its themes. However, I felt that such heavy commitment to the themes of the series were necessary to have us think of how our conveniences make nature suffer in the process. As Juna's time as the Avatar of Time progresses, she learns more of how humanity is making nature suffer. As she becomes increasingly aware of this dire reality, Juna questions the very lifestyle she lives on from eating burgers at a fast-food restaurant to the difficulties people have with getting their thoughts across to others. Most people wouldn't even wish to think of the things Juna starts to know as the lifestyles they live are so deeply engrained into their lives, that it would take a life-changing event for them to reconsider. I would even consider myself a part of the problem since typing this very review on a computer uses up electricity and contributing to pollution.

Another major focus in Arjuna is the relationship between Juna and potential boyfriend, Tokio. Their relationship is used to show the differing views the two have with their lives after Juna's encounter with Chris to become the Avatar. Tokio is meant to represent how a person normaly lives their lives oblivious to how the use of the conveniences they have in front of them hurt the environment. While he and Juna obviously are attracted to each other, their differing views on living their lives and the misinterpretations the two have in regards to specific actions they commit towards, especially as Juna commits more towards fighting the Rajaa, strain their relationship. Juna is trying to comprehend all that she is starting to know of the environment and human interaction thanks to her new powers as the Avatar while Tokio is unable to comprehend just what Juna is becoming involved in. Both behave believably enough in their situations like normal teenagers that it makes the difficulties of their relationship seem more natural.

There are some who have praised Arjuna for its CG-animated artwork. While the series does have vivid artwork with bright colors and very fluid animation (shown well during scenes on Tokio's bike or Juna's Rajaa battles), the character designs looked rather plain. However, I have to give kudos to Yoko Kanno for her soundtrack to Arjuna as the music was beautiful and fit very well into the mysticism and situations seen throughout this series.

Earth Girl Arjuna is an anime that will make you think of how your actions could be damaging the environmental as well as understanding the intentions and beliefs of those around you.

Last updated Friday, November 21 2008. Created Friday, November 21 2008.
Buy 8 9 8 10 5 Kari [series:550#798]
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.

In closing, unless your extremely impressionable when it comes to anime, watching Arjuna won't change the way you live your lifestyle...it's not that insightful. Arjuna DVDs can be purchased for as low as $10.00.


Last updated Wednesday, January 17 2007. Created Wednesday, August 11 2004.
Buy 9 9 9 10 9 kakyuu_prince [series:550#404]
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. Created Tuesday, June 17 2003.
Buy 10 9 9 10 10 Midnighter [series:550#94]
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. Created Tuesday, June 03 2003.
Buy 9 10 8 7 8 9 Jer Alford [series:550#614]
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. Created Thursday, April 10 2003.

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