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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008 16:00 |
 Crest of the Stars is a real contender for my personal favourite series, and I'll say right off the bat that, in this low-cost collected form, it's a definite must-buy if you don't already have it. Jinto Lin is on his way to the Abh military academy and a new life as a noble in the Humankind Empire Abh, but war is just around the corner. For his escort Lafiel, a member of Abh royalty who's been dealing with her position all her life, Jinto's a breath of fresh air - and the war looks set to make sure they spend a lot of time together...
The far future, and mankind has spread to the stars. When the planet Martine finds itself beseiged by the Abh - once the slaves of man, but now the genetically-engineered masters of a huge empire - its leader is faced with a simple choice: submit to Abh rule, or face the destruction of his planet. President Rock Lin surrenders to the Abh before a single shot is fired, an act that, while protecting the future of Martine, also sees him elevated to Abh nobility and branded a traitor by his own people. Forced into the role of a noble, young Jinto Lin finds himself sent to another world to learn about the culture of the Abh and the responsibilities of his new rank. After seven years of training, it's time for Jinto to join the military academy - and what starts off as a routine journey first brings him into contact with Abh princess Lafiel (who will come to have a major influence on the course of his life), before both are thrown into the opening skirmishes of an interstellar war...
While on the surface Lafiel and Jinto couldn't be much more different, underneath they're both not entirely happy with their positions and are looking for people to treat them normally - Jinto is Abh by law but not by genetics, leaving him feeling very much the outsider, while Lafiel wants some sort of normal life, a hopeless dream given her royal status. By meeting each other they've both found the person who'll accept them for who they are, a that's the basis of a friendship (and possibly more) that forms the bedrock of both Crest of the Stars and the sequel Banner of the Stars series, and that has become one of the anime relationships. Forget epic interstellar wars - yes, Crest has that, but it's just the background to the story of Lafiel and Jinto.
The opening episodes introduce the main characters, with a lot of time given to fleshing out the personalities of Lafiel and Jinto, before bringing the Four Nations Alliance and the first acts of the coming war into the frame. As well as looking at Jinto's own origins, we get given the first look at the nature of the Abh and the way they see their land-based subjects. The Abh themselves are creatures of space - the "kin of the stars", as the call themselves. Their empire may be huge, but their interest is in the value of the trade between those worlds, so their interest in landers pretty much stops at keeping the worlds they control from waging war and disrupting their trade routes. Past that, their worlds are left to run themselves more or less as they please - after all, ruling them would be considered "inelegant". Jinto may be Abh by law, but he's a lander by origin and fitting in to the world he now finds himself in is not going to be easy for him.
Enter Lafiel, a member of one of the Abh royal families, grand-daughter of the current Empress and supremely confident in her own abilities. She's the last person you'd expect to be looking for companionship, but in her own way she is. Jinto's initially unaware of her royal status - to him she's just another military cadet - and it's that ignorance that leads to the first seeds of friendship being planted between them. Jinto's the first person to ever treat her "normally", and even from the look on her face when Jinto asks her name you can see that means a lot to her. When Jinto eventually learns of her family history and starts behaving properly towards her, she's genuinely angry and really makes him suffer - giving us a glimpse at a key part of Lafiel's personality that comes into play on several occasions down the line. The moral of the story is "never anger an Abh" - especially Lafiel - and it's a theme that plays out right across the Crest of the Stars / Banner of the Stars series. Mid-season we get a look at that happens to those that do, as the Baron Febdash - an Abh with an inferiority complex - does a stellar job of annoying royalty. Royally. From that point the Baron's fate is pretty much sealed, but along the way there's some good verbal sparring between Baron and princess that show that the series is really firmly rooted in the characters, with the setting just providing a suitable canvas for them to play out their roles.
That's not to say there isn't any action, though - and the deep-space battles we get to see are presented in a way that will keep you glued to the screen, capturing a lot of the feel of high-stakes combat without minimising or hiding the human cost of it. Good stuff, and a complete contrast to the rest of the disc - both in terms of pace, and in the absence of Lafiel and Jinto, who dominate the rest of the story.
The only problem here is that the adventures of Lafiel and Jinto feel like a sidestory to what should be the main event - the war - but that's something we'll just have to get used to. The real story with Crest is the relationship between Lafiel and Jinto, with the greater events being just background to the story and a way to keep them together. I can see how some may not appreciate that, or have a hard time with the extensive talking scenes here, but for me there are very few shows that can remotely hold a candle to Crest of the Stars in terms of keeping me watching.
The anime is based on a series of novels by Hiroyuki Morioka, who has put an immense amount of effort into creating a highly detailed, believable universe to set his story in. From the Abh language & culture to the science behind travel through plane space, the setting has been well thought through and holds together really well. It's definitely worth paying close attention to everything that goes on here, as even the smallest thing can give an insight into how people behave and react or how a battle may play out. It's that level of detail, combined with the obvious chemistry between Lafiel and Jinto, that gives Crest a lot of its appeal - a well-developed universe makes it that much easier to immerse yourself in the story, and Crest manages that better than almost any series out there.
I've been a fan of Crest of the Stars since the first moment I saw it, and seeing it again here hasn't done anything to dampen my enthusiasm for it. Its richly-developed world and multi-layered characters create a series that simply draws you in, and it's very easy to just forget about time passing while you watch. The episodes tie up the series in a very satisfying way, and while Beez's release does have one or two minor niggles I still can't recommend it enough.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: The universe of Crest of the Stars is so detailed the anime can't possibly convey it all. If you want to know more about the background and origins of the Abh without having to buy the novels, nonchan's Seikai no Monshou site is well worth a read.
For full episode summaries & screenshots, check out our revires of the individual releases:
» Volume 1
» Volume 2
» Volume 3
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