Fafner - Complete Seriesby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 6 Kazuki and his classmates pilot giant mecha to save the world from a mind-reading alien race.I immediately disliked the art. The first episode has a lot of close-ups to the characters' eyes and faces, and they look a bit like bug-eyed aliens. And I don't like the hashmarks on the cheeks, which is on the children to show "youth" or something. I disliked it so much I was tempted to turn it off after the first episode and again after the second. By the time I reached the end of the second disc or beginning of the third, I realized I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't mind the art at all. Besides the Fafners (mecha) and the aliens are all drawn really well. The other thing that took a while to get past is the similarities to Neon Genesis Evangelion. The entire first disc is like watching a poor take-off of NGE. Thankfully, the story soon branches into it's own unique plot. It still has moments of similarity, but it becomes different enough that is its own series. There's a lot of heavy drama and angst surrounding relationships: between classmates (high schoolers just beginning to find love while fighting a war), children and adults, the faction on the Alvis island and the Neo U.N., and of course people and aliens. There's also an unusual relationship between the two main boys: Kazuki and Shoji. They are just childhood friends struggling with a fight they had, but they become emotionally aware of the other changing the dynamic of the relationship over the course of the anime. It has some definite boys' love undertones (Kazuki is the top, and Shoji the bottom). I really appreciate the details that give us a sense of reality and how these people are still trying to live while fighting a war and doing their duty. In fact, the second half of the series has a lot less battle scenes and more focus on plot and relationships - at least until the final battle, but that's to be expected. The final battle is pretty darn epic, too. Lots of teamwork and determination and some help from unusual places. The extras includes a "making of" that spends some time talking about the special lengths they went to for the music. I was slightly amused since I find that the music is also quite similar to NGE, but I appreciate seeing this approach. There are also textless closings for all of the episodes that have the story continuing while the credits are rolling. I find that quite annoying, and I was even more annoyed that all of those textless versions were on the fourth disc rather than on the same disc with the episode. It's especially difficult to read subtitles through the credits while watching the anime. The sub's voice actors do a great job! There's a lot of passion in their acting. The English voice actors are not quite as captivating, and a few voices are quite different. This anime is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy mecha series and / or something like NGE. It has a strong message and story that's enjoyable to watch. However, the art is still not my favorite, and I don't see this having re-watch potential. Written: September 2, 2012
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