Jyu-Oh-Sei is a mess. I've been sitting here trying to think of a catchy hook, but an hour's lollygagging and a pot of a coffee have net me that monolith of a statement. That's what it is though...boom.
Adapted from the 1993 anime of the same name Jyu-Oh-Sei, follows twin brothers, Thor and the other one, who are jettisoned to a prison planet called Chimaera after their parents are killed by the government. Filled to the brim with all sorts of flora and fauna united under the banner of human devouring horrors. Thor must figure out a way to rise to the top of the gladiatorial society and become the Beast King. Only then will Thor gain answers, closure and vengeance.
This anime is all about the peaks and troughs. At its highest, Jyu-Oh-Sei is utterly captivating; BONES quality animation and choreography gives way to action scenes that are made all the better when coupled with a fantastic soundtrack from Hajime Mizoguchi (Vision of Escaflowne, Jin-Roh) and meaningful stakes. Throughout the first half of the series, effort is put into making the world feel alive and dangerous—a kind of back to roots world where humanity doesn't toss wine at the masses from the top of the food chain. This is emphasized by a main character who feels genuinely helpless.
Thor doesn't feel so much like someone who shapes the world around him as he does someone caught in the current of something much greater. For some he matters as much as a grain of sand, and is treated as such, for others he represents a pawn used for some grand ambition, and still others genuinely care about him with an ulterior motive. Even with all his ambitions, Thor is constantly barely eking out victories without some assistance.
All of this meshes together to create a cohesive package that acts as the perfect setup to a grand sci-fi adventure. One filled with warring factions, political intrigue and the gradual acclimation of power...but then it kinda stops. One time-skip later and everything's gone sour.
Thor is suddenly calm, collected, has become an accomplished swordsman, and used his education to improve the quality of life in his clan drastically. All of this he did off-screen. Thus instead of seeing a young brash ambitious Thor turn into this calm stoic badass, we get the beginnings of that before being spring-boarded into a completely different character. The new Thor looks and sounds to be in his twenties (although officially sixteen) and is perfectly equipped to handle any situation with nary a trace of fear or panic.
Damn good OST though.
It's not just Thor that gets shafted, the plot suddenly takes a dive into the romantic as we are introduced to a character I can only describe as the love vertex. After three episodes of characterization, here's what I got; she likes Thor and Zagi and wants to have her own reverse harem. Of course Thor falls in love with her at first sight and of course she really only exists to create the story more tragic. The anime then makes a suicidal charge back to the plot as though it were Gallipoli. The final two episodes create more questions than they answer and provide a kill 'em all ending without the development to make me care all that much.
Jyu-Oh-Sei is one of those anime/manga that would've benefited from a longer run-time. If the time-skip had been filled and some of the ending re-worked we could've had a hell of a story. As it stands Jyu-Oh-Sei is a story with great potential, but which ultimately never lives up to it.
Thanks for reading, would love a like, favorite etc. Goodnight.
Adapted from the 1993 anime of the same name Jyu-Oh-Sei, follows twin brothers, Thor and the other one, who are jettisoned to a prison planet called Chimaera after their parents are killed by the government. Filled to the brim with all sorts of flora and fauna united under the banner of human devouring horrors. Thor must figure out a way to rise to the top of the gladiatorial society and become the Beast King. Only then will Thor gain answers, closure and vengeance.
Thor doesn't feel so much like someone who shapes the world around him as he does someone caught in the current of something much greater. For some he matters as much as a grain of sand, and is treated as such, for others he represents a pawn used for some grand ambition, and still others genuinely care about him with an ulterior motive. Even with all his ambitions, Thor is constantly barely eking out victories without some assistance.
Thor is suddenly calm, collected, has become an accomplished swordsman, and used his education to improve the quality of life in his clan drastically. All of this he did off-screen. Thus instead of seeing a young brash ambitious Thor turn into this calm stoic badass, we get the beginnings of that before being spring-boarded into a completely different character. The new Thor looks and sounds to be in his twenties (although officially sixteen) and is perfectly equipped to handle any situation with nary a trace of fear or panic.
It's not just Thor that gets shafted, the plot suddenly takes a dive into the romantic as we are introduced to a character I can only describe as the love vertex. After three episodes of characterization, here's what I got; she likes Thor and Zagi and wants to have her own reverse harem. Of course Thor falls in love with her at first sight and of course she really only exists to create the story more tragic. The anime then makes a suicidal charge back to the plot as though it were Gallipoli. The final two episodes create more questions than they answer and provide a kill 'em all ending without the development to make me care all that much.
Jyu-Oh-Sei is one of those anime/manga that would've benefited from a longer run-time. If the time-skip had been filled and some of the ending re-worked we could've had a hell of a story. As it stands Jyu-Oh-Sei is a story with great potential, but which ultimately never lives up to it.
Thanks for reading, would love a like, favorite etc. Goodnight.
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