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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 17:00 |
 Fantastic Children gives us a story that crosses space and time, as a group of children from another world look for the girl they hope can save them. The Children of Befort - by appearances about 11 years old, but caught in a loop of reincarnation that brings them back again and again - are searching for the elusive Princess Tina, the woman who can save their world. Will they be able to find her, or are they destined to reincarnate forever..?
1 - From the Edge of Night
The Children of Befort - white-haired children who have appeared several times over the course of 500 years, apparently not dying, taking the places of children they've killed in the time period they appear in. So goes what little research has been done into them, at any rate. In truth, they're from the planet Greece, on Earth on a quest to find an elusive girl who holds the key to the survival of their world. In 1901, they finally find what they're looking for: a woman named Serafine, but unfortunately for them she dies before they can reach her. However, both the children and the woman they're searching for are caught in loops of reincarnation. Skip forward to 2012, and young orphan Helga's about to meet someone who'll change her life - young boy and guardian-in-training Thoma. What Thoma doesn't realise is just how interested in Helga the Children of Befort are...
2 - Wayward Feelings
Palza's moved on with his life, putting aside his comrades' quest - and becoming an old man in the process, while they continue to reincarnate and remain as children. They still keep an eye on him, too, with one in particular - Mel - doing her best to stay in contact, even though Pelza no longer realises who she is or what she represents. Back in 2012, Helga makes another attempt to escape from the orphanage with her friend Chitto, while Thoma finds he can't get her out of his mind after their brief meeting, and becomes determined to find her again...
3 - The Place I Want to Go To
Helga and Chitto continue their train journey, trying to get as far away from the orphanage as possible - but the orphanage is aware where they're heading, and the Director is determined to get them back. Helga's been painting scenes similar to those Serafine had painted - it's a image stuck in her head, she doesn't know where it comes from, but she wants to see wherever it is in real life, and Chitto's determined to help her achieve that dream. Ironically, the Children of Befort are on the train with her, unaware that the person they're looking for is literally right under their noses - and their inability to track down their target with their time running out is beginning to frustrate them...
4 - Shinon
The orphanage's island is swarming with government agents, under cover of the story that a dangerous escaped criminal is on the loose. In truth, that's not entirely ture - yes, someone is loose on the island, but "criminal" doesn't quite describe her. Thoma and Chitto take advantage of the confusion to try and help Helga escape from the orphanage (again), but their getaway is interrupted when they meet the woman the government are after...
5 - Kokkuri Island (Part I)
Having made good their escape, Thoma takes Chitta and Helga to an uninhabited island that he uses as a personal hideaway, hoping that the orphanage won't think to search for them there. Their run-in with the woman the authorities had been looking for has left Helga a little unsettled, and Thoma soon finds her quiet & reserved nature difficult to deal with. Meanwhile, the police are looking into the second of the three "criminals", who appeared in the home where one of the Children used to live. The case piques the curiosity of Detective Cooks, who has also been investigating the Children of Befort - and to grab his attention even more, he's just had a visit from Dumas...
Written out in summary form, the story told by these five episodes makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, there are a number of key elements to that story that the episodes themselves don't tell you, or at least haven't revealed yet – instead, they're revealed in the booklet than accompanies this DVD (and if you're adverse to spoilers, don't worry – I haven't given the whole game away). If I had been watching this disc without the benefit of the booklet, the experience would probably have been a good bit more confusing. Even then, there are a few story threads that begin to become prominent by episode five that are still without much in the way of explanation.
The story at the moment is playing out in several distinct arcs, that you can see will eventually come together but that at the moment are very separate. First up are the Children of Befort themselves, with their quest for the elusive Tina (first seen reincarnated in the form of Serafine) and their efforts to deal with those who oppose them. This is the darkest arc of the show and in places it can be quite abstract, as they fight formless shadows and we get some background details on their reincarnations.
Next up is Helga and Thoma's story, which has much more of the feel of a relaxed, slice-of-life show. Helga's been living in an orphanage along with her friend Chitto, but the orphanage doesn't exactly treat the children in its care as they should and the pair are determined to escape – and after a chance meeting with Helga, Thoma becomes intrigued enough by her that he's determined to help. This part of the story is based in an island archipelago, and the setting itself goes a long way to creating the laid-back atmosphere that permeates their scenes – even when the kids get involved in scrapes that introduce a good bit of action to events, you never get a feeling that they're really under threat or that things won't turn out for the good.
The final arc focuses on Detective Crooks and brings a whodunit aspect to the show, thanks to his ongoing obsession with the Children of Befort – an obsession that seems to have caught the attention of his superiors and looks likely to land him in trouble if he doesn't start concentrating on the investigations he's actually been assigned to. Somehow, I doubt he's going to give up the chase.
The three arcs touch briefly in several scenes across the disc, without ever really getting heavily involved with each other – it's just enough to show that there's a connection that's going to be developed, but not just yet. Some of how that's going to happen is obvious enough – Helga being the latest reincarnation of Tina will eventually attract the Children, their presence will draw Crooks onto the scene, and Helga, Thoma and Crooks have both had contact with the mysterious GED Project – but for now the series is really just concentrating on developing the various characters, without throwing them together too much.
That means that the pacing does sometimes feel a little slow, although without ever getting to the point of being dull or boring – despite the laid-back feel of a lot of the scenes, there is a lot going on here, and it's very easy to just get caught up in the lives of the characters and get pulled along with the flow. That's a good ability for any series to have.
If I was picky, I'd point out that despite all the time devoted to developing them, some of the characters are still quite undeveloped – poor Helga has about 5 lines total in these episodes and remains something of an enigma, while the best development work with the Children of Befort goes to the two children who, by 2012, are no longer part of the search. That's quite a minor criticism, though.
There's a lot to keep track of in Fantastic Children, even if the series does lull you into a false sense of security with its laid-back feel and slow pacing. It's engrossing viewing, and while some aspects of the story don't get explained in the show as well as they could it's never frustrating to watch. This isn't a show I would have picked up on my own – what little I knew about it in advance hadn't persuaded me that it would be worthwhile – but after seeing these episodes I'm glad I did. Definitely worth a look.
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