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Earthian

OAV 2


Copyright: © 1990 Youmex Inc.; © 1998 AnimeWorks
Length: 45 minutes
Rating: NR, Parental Guidance Suggested
Format: Original Japanese Dialogue, English Subtitled, English Dub (VHS, LD)


synopsis:

Chihaya and Kagetsuya are in Paris investigating the positive and negative aspects of the Earthians. However, not all is well as Chihaya is suffering from nightmares following an incident two months prior where he and Kagetsuya had encountered a much changed Seraphim. Seraphim, one of the 6 great angels of Eden and a pro-earthian, had become a dark angel, one of the Lucifer fallen angels. What is the cancer which is causing this change, and will Chihaya succumb to it; certainly he already has dark wings and dark hair.

However, a surprise visit from Miyagi and Aya brings more chaos to the investigative two-some's home until an emergency notice comes in that another angel for the plus checkers has been reported as possibly being one of the Lucifer fallen angels; Saphire is reported to having dark hair and dark wings in London. Despite the ban on approaching the fallen angels, Chihaya decides to go to London to see if Saphire does indeed have the unusual and deadly cancer, or if he is like Chihaya and is otherwise healthy. Finding him may prove to be rather difficult however, as Saphire has since changed his name and is now a highly sought after and famous rock star on the British music scene...


capsule review:

Talk about a dog eat dog world in the entertainment industry! Realism takes a back seat to the story being told in this second OAV for the Earthian series, both with regards to the story as well as the final shootout scene. While there is always major pressure in order to get ahead in any industry, the idea of plotting cold blooded murder in order to obtain one retired musician's works is definitely more than a slight stretch of reality. Combine this with mixed voice acting, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammunition without reloading in a hand gun, as well as predictability in the action and direction, and we have an overall weak OAV.

The story regarding the entertainment industry itself is less than satisfying for the viewers. However, the earlier background history provided regarding Seraphim and the appearance of Lucifer cases amongst the angels of Eden, as well as the development that we see especially in Chihaya's character, does try to make up for the later weakness.

The opening animation sequence into the OAV encaptures the viewers as it goes through various famous landmarks with feathers drifting down. It's a shame that the OAV does not maintain this level of animation or detail. Instead we find that while there is good detail in still shots, there is heavy use of still pans, empty backgrounds as well as a poor frame rate resulting in less than smooth animation. Not what one would expect of an OAV per se.

Added to the weak animation and story is a mixed music track and exaggerated aural cues to augment characters' feelings of surprise or notice which further lessens the viewing experience. The music, while some is carried over from the first OAV, does have some new melodies for this OAV. However, much of it is synthesizer based rather than orchestral or choral suggesting a fairly slim budget for the production. There is also heavy use of sudden music cutoffs as seen in the first OAV for when something sudden happens. However, while perhaps not as sharply distracting as in the first OAV, it feels over used as a device to augment the scene. Unfortunately, the voice acting doesn't particularly aid this production. While the main characters Chihaya and Kagetsuya are well portrayed by Sasaki Nozomu and Inoue Kazuhiko, Aya, Miyagi and Blair's character's are much weaker and has the definite sound of being voice acted lines rather than being fully in character. Aya, portrayed by Shimazu Saeko especially tends to be overacted and comes across as a decidedly annoying character. Cliff Gray's seiyu Nakaharu Shigeru, on the otherhand, does a good job overall and is well within character.

All in all a less than satisfying OAV. Only for die-hard Earthian fans or for those who are looking at getting the full video experience for this series. For followers of the manga, this OAV likely takes place sometime after the fifth tankoubon.
- JN, 2000.10.15



café rating (japanese original):

Story:

2 star

[2 / 5] - Lack of realism makes this a hard video to enjoy. However, the background information about Seraphim and the appearance of Lucifer cases tries to make up for this.

Direction:

3 stars
[3 / 5] - No new ideas on how to present the material. Very much like the first OAV with regards to pacing as well as aural cues and music.

Acting:

2 stars
[2 / 5] - Highly mixed acting from solid performances by the two main seiyu, a good performance by Nakaharu Shigeru (Cliff) and annoying overacting by more minor characters.

Animation:

2 stars
[2 / 5] - Starts off with some interesting shots and good detail but makes heavy use of still pans, empty backgrounds and a poorer frame rate.

Music:

3 stars
[3 / 5] - Some recycled melodies from the first OAV although there are a few new melodies as well. Nothing fabulous.

Translation:

[ N/A ] -

Overall Rating:

2 star
[2 / 5] - Definitely not a great watch. Too many weaknesses overall which makes it difficult for the viewer to get into the overall story. Lack of realism especially makes this a difficult watch.



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