The Law of Ueki Vol. 1 The Battle Commencementby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 7 Ueki is your typical junior high student until he is chosen by Mr. K to receive a power. Mr. K destroys a tree to demonstrate the powers Ueki has to choose from, and Ueki asks for the power to heel the tree and gets the power to turn trash into trees (so long as the trash is small enough to fit between his hands). Then, completely unintersted in anything else Mr. K has to say, walks away. Thankfully a very nosy girl, Ai, gets involved and learns that Mr. K has chosen Ueki to battle with other power users for a grand prize. If he wins, Ueki gets the Talent of Blank and may choose any talent he wants and Mr. K gets to be the next Celestial King. Now Ueki must battle other power-users who have selfish and corrupt reasons for wanting to win. There are also rules to follow or risk loosing his limited number of talents and disappearing. Once the 100 candidates are chosen the battles begin with Ueki facing a real fire-breather, a stake-thrower, and a martial artist determined to only use his physical power.How fun! I admit, the whole thing sounded a bit cheesy and Ueki's power made me think it would run along the lines of Captain Planet. It's actually more like Zatch Bell ... but better. Zatch Bell always struck me as a rather silly take-off on Pokemon, using spells and living dolls and with character designs leaving much to be desired. The battles in The Law of Ueki are between actual people who have been given actual powers. The powerful candidates they are fighting on behalf of cannot interfere or risk being disqualified and banished. Plus, the fighters can gain or lose "talents" which are necessary for existing. Ok, so the talents are a bit silly — talent to run fast, talent to study, talent to make girls like you — but they do add another dimension to the story as the competators can loose their talents even when not in a battle! The art style reminds me of other popular anime out right now like Naruto and One Piece and should appeal to fans of those. I would say it's also for a younger audience, but the Celestial King and his lecherous lifestyle filled with hot women always keeping him otherwise occupied (but mostly implied and off-screen) tells me otherwise. Ueki's character does kind of tote the "Nature is good" message with his recycling power but that's a bonus. It is a battle where powers and intentions are pitted against each other. Voice acting is great for both sub and dub. I rather enjoyed the dub for this one, especially for some of the main characters. They seemed to pop a little more. I don't see this anime catching on and being as popular as many others out there, but it is a fun watch. Written: May 30, 2006
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