E's Otherwise Vol. 1by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 10 E's are psychics with the power to control or to save the world. Kai finds himself in Ashrum, one of 12 powerful federations running the world. For the sake of his sick younger sister, he joins AESES, a psychic military branch of Ashrum supposedly fighting guerillas. On a mission in Gald Kai and Shen-lon fight, and Shen-lon tries to whipe out part of the city and take Kai out with it. A young girl, Asuka, with some empathetic powers discovers the injured Kai and gets Yuuki to help him. Kai begins to realize things about himself, Ashrum, and Gald and soon discovers all is not as it seems. He decides to stay in Gald with Yuuki and Asuka for a while to think, but Yuuki plans on putting him to work for his bed and breakfast and if that means dressing him as a stunning beauty so be it!E's Otherwise is one of the most exciting and enjoyable anime I've seen in a while. Truly intriguing stories of psychics versus humans and/or the misunderstandings that lead to war and bloodshed are so few that E's is a treasure. At first Ashrum seems like the "good guys" taking in psychics and fighting for a better future. The hate and fear is mutual between psychics and regular humans and it seems due to some very powerful and influential misunderstandings. Is Ashrum really trying to save the world or control it? Are the psychics being brainwashed or do the humans in Gald just not understand? Time will tell as this explosive new series unfolds. There are five episodes on this first volume, and at the end of each one I felt an ache of longing for more. I became so caught up in the story and the characters that the end of each episode seemed like a brief and annoying interruption before I could continue. Very few anime have such a captivating presence as E's does. Even within these first few episodes we get a good feel for the characters and their standings on the human/psychic relationship as well as motivations for their actions and choices. The truth is shrouded in mystery, but we are provided multiple angles to try and uncover it through. The character designs are wonderful! The red haired (and eyed) Yuuki is my favorite. He's an all-around great guy who's not afraid to get his hands dirty, and with his looks, charm, cooking, and skill he's the kind of guy a girl will really like. I guess I'd say he and Maxim are the bishounen of the series with the latter being a dark, mysterious and powerful psychic. Shen-lon strikes me as an angsty Gundam Wing type character (the art style in general does too). With that long blond braid, quick temper and passionate hate of humans stemming from a painful childhood he is dangerous character. Thankfully his sister (twin maybe?) Shen-lu keeps him in check (and keeps brawls down between him and others) with her calmer, more amiable self. Excellent job of voice acting by both casts. I watched the whole thing subbed and was hook. The voices matched perfectly to the characers and really brought them to life. Then I went back and watched several scenes dubbed and was quite pleased with the quality of the voice acting. The voices matched and the acting is superb. No matter which you prefer you wont be disappointed. Excellent animation quality as well. Vibrant colors, even when they are dark lends strength to the anime. The colored neon highlights surrounding psychics in action is a somewhat typical touch that works well. Plus, the water-y warps in space created by psychic movement really make those powers seem very real and strong. There's also a comparison of Kai and his sister to Hansel and Gretel from folklore in their gingerbread house/gilded cage. I do wonder where exactly E's is going to take that. I absolutely cannot wait to see more of this series. E's Otherwise will have you instantly spellbound. Written: December 30, 2005
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