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On
The world of Daikuriku
all who are born are female.
In the
theocracy of Kyuukoku
upon their 17th birthday they can go to the spring in the temple of
the Tempest Spatium and choose their gender. If they cannot make a
choice it is assigned for them.
Kyuukoku is protected by the priestess' who have not chosen their
gender. They fly in a vehicle called the "Simoun".
The Simoun are a "gift from God".
With that gift they can write glyphs in the sky raising songs to the
Tempest Spatium . . . Hymns to God.
With those songs they can shower an adoring audience with light much
like fireworks or an enemy with destruction.
The nation of Shoukoku wishes to obtain the secret of the Simoun to
build a better nation for themselves absent of the choking pollution
that their industrial society has created . . .
. . . . among other reasons.
NO
SIMOUN HAS EVER FALLEN IN BATTLE.
Until now.
When I first saw this I thought that the "all female" premise was
just about titillating the audience as well as the
"ceremonial/traditional kiss" that the Auriga and Sagitta give each
other as they board the Simoun. As the series progressed it turned
out to be more about the mingling of war and religion as well as a
number of other issues that hold a great deal of relevance in
society, in the past as well as the present.
Having seen a number of really great anime in the past months, this
one stands out as the best of them all, by a small margin. To enjoy
this anime you need to have an open mind but then most of the anime
that I've seen by Studio Deen have been that way,
(Fate/Stay Night comes to mind as well as Fruits Basket). The backgrounds are very
stylistic and certain scenes that are done as watercolor sketches
add an interesting touch. Having purchased the 1st Region-2
DVD I can say the animation is very clearly first rate for a series
that goes for 26 episodes (hell, it's even pretty good compared to
many OVAs).
The series is out from Media Blasters. |
