Post originally by The Student at 2003-07-23 10:27:14
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Crest of the Stars... where to begin...

Maybe it's just me, but this series commits the cardinal sin, the sin that makes anything, be it series, movie, novel, or game, unworthy of time or attention.

It's BORING.

Yes, the background is deep. Deeper, in fact, than can really be adequately explored in 13 episodes. That doesn't mean that they don't try, though. They talk. And talk. And talk. And don't really seem to actually DO much. This would probably have come off better if Crest of the Stars was in its original form, that of a novel. As it is, the anime is comprised mostly of various Ahb explaining to our human character everything, from Ahb genetics, to culture, to governance, to hyperspace...

And that, I'm afraid, isn't very interesting.

There's a space battle in this series. It's almost interesting. It is also led up to for two or three episodes. It almost comes across as "Prepare to drop out of hyperspace! We will meet the enemy in half an hour! Now it's time for tea."

I can see where this series is praised, because the background is deep. In fact, it's interesting that the reviewer compares it to Dune. I would say that David Lynch's Dune is a fair comparison for this series. If you liked that, you might like this. If you didn't like the one, you may not like the other. (Personally, when it comes to Dune, I'll stick to Frank Herbert and ignore everything else.)

But, the problem with the series, in my opinion, is that the creators were so in love with the background that they failed to make the plot or the characters interesting. And, to top it all off, I didn't feel that the background was inspired or great. Backgrounds should be an integral part of one's story, but the story should not be an excuse to expound endlessly on the background.

Well, that's what I think. Your mileage will probably vary, and that's okay. I just felt like sharing a different viewpoint.