the mysterious Zohar |
This series is based on a game by Squaresoft and Namco, specifically the first installment of the Xenosaga trilogy, Episode I: Der WIlle zur Macht. The year is T.C. 4767. Four thousand years have passed since humanity has abandoned its birthplace. Mankind, and the androids they have created called Relians, now scatter the universe in various factions. One feature not unique to any of these is the constant threat of being attacked by a mysterious alien force known as the Gnosis. In order to defeat them, a race has begun to collect and unleash the power of the ancient and mysterious Zohar artifacts. One such artifact had just been collected and was being transported by the Vector corporations' ship Woglinde when their convoy is suddenly attacked by a large fleet of Gnosis.
battling the Gnosis | Aboard the ship is Vector's research and developement engineering cheif Shion Uzuki, and a powerful weapon she is currently designing, an android named KOS-MOS. Though KOS-MOS is not 100% ready and still being tested and fine tuned, Shion is attacked by a Gnosis that boards the ship and KOS-MOS activates herself and breaks out of her containment suit to save her. KOS-MOS makes easy work of the Gnosis but in the end fails to prevent the Gnosis from destroying the ship and stealing the Zohar. Now Shion is left only with questions. One thing though is sure, if the Gnosis are ever going to be defeated Shion must learn how to control this weapon she has created.
Shion and her assisant Allen |
Xenogears is a sci-fi space epic that is capitalizing on the popularity of the RPG Xenosaga. Although I found this series to be semi-entertaining, it failed to leave me with that signature craving that keeps you coming back for more. One deciding factor was the complexity of the storyline. Even after watching 8 episodes I still new very little about what was going on. The characterization was decent but after watching 4 hours of the show I had expected to know a bit more about the main characters' backgrounds and motivations. Like too many other animes, the writers seem to assume that you have a basic understanding of the game which this series is based upon. It's a shame too because some of the action scenes seemed pretty cool if you could decipher what was happening.
KOS-MOS awakens!! |
Some of the technology and the effects were pretty cool. At certain points characters enter a Matrix like another dimension and use their minds to control the environment that surrounds them. The graphics were alright but nothing special, besides some of the battles between ships looking cool with a dash of CG animation which was nice. The sound in general was good. There were a couple songs that I liked and the sound effects were not pretty good. Overall I'd have to say if you are a big fan of Sci-Fi or space adventures then this you must check this out. Even I found it appealing at points but in the end didn't feel connected enough with the story to follow this series any more. I rate Xenosaga: The Animation 3 out of 5 stars.
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