Crest of the Stars is a spectacular Anime space opera series with a rich and detailed background setting that could be mined for a plethora of role-playing game ideas.
Post originally by PA at 2003-07-23 08:26:46
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Seikai no Senki (Crest of the Stars) comes in two series/seasons of 13 and 10 episodes, following Seikai no Monshou (Banner of the Stars), which is another 13 episodes long. It makes for 36 excellent episodes.
Post originally by JELEINEN at 2003-07-23 10:01:12
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I highly recommend Ginga Eiyuu Dentetsu, AKA Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It has the same sort of drama-oriented (rather than action-oriented) space opera as Crest, but on a much, much bigger scale and with better execution, IMO. For more information, check out www.logh.net.
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.
Post originally by Frederick Brackin at 2003-07-23 10:56:23
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There's more than one space battle in the series. There's a major clash of fleets later in the series that stretches over several episodes.
There's also a space dogfight or two and quite a lot of running and chasing and shooting in the later episodes.
Yes, it does start out slow, but after a while stuff starts blowing up very well indeed.
The game crossover that immediately came to my mind was Transhuman Traveller. The Abh are clearly a transhuman culture (though with lower profile biotech than some, see the episode Daughter of Love) and their empire is very Traveler-like in the way it rules the spaces between the worlds rather than the worlds themselves.
It didn't really remind me much of Dune. No sand, no worms and no equivalent of spice.
Post originally by Heretic at 2003-07-23 13:34:29
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The Student compared this series to David Lynch's Dune which suffers from insufficient use of complex background. This series makes excessive use of insufficient background. When I say insufficient background, I refer not to a lack of information, but to a lack of relevant information. The focus of the series seems to be Jinto's guided tour of the universe. This theme is maintained by Jinto's constant passive, occasionally near-catatonic reactions. He serves as a simple excuse for anyone who feels the apparently common desire to expound upon Ahb culture.
All actual actions were carried out at a pace slow enough to facilitate history lectures. Mr. Brackin refers to a battle that stretches on for several episodes. This battle is a perfect example of this flaw. The battle was not so lengthy as to necessitate an entire single episode.
The review referred to this setting's potential for space opera. Unfortunately, one essential ingredient is missing: the present. There are numerous references to the past of the Ahb empire and hints of the future. The present, however, contains no meaningful activity.
If you'd like a guided tour of a stagnant universe, this may be exactly what you need. If not, save your money and your time. I lost several hours of my life to this. It was a mistake unworthy of emulation.
Post originally by NPC Prometheus at 2003-07-23 15:20:05
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Firts thing, I do have Crest of the Stars and the fist part of Banner, and on the whole, I love it. But it's true that the story takes forever to go anywhere and there's a feeling that nothing meaningfull ever happens, and the chacarterisation is very stilted.
Still, the universe is interesting, the background is epic, and story is good, even if the telling leaves to be desired.
It would be more usefull as an idea mine for space opera setting, like Fading Suns (The Ahb are a caste based society with serious nobles, Lafiel is SO an hawkwood). Core Command for epic space battles, Star Trek or the like...
Post originally by Varkias at 2003-07-24 07:12:37
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As someone who enjoys the series:
Crest of the Stars is essentially Jinto's Journey of Discovery into the larger universe. The whole thing is meant to evoke a sense of wonder.
Crest of the Stars is also essentially a prequel to the Banner of the Stars I & II series, where the war is in full swing. Crest of the Stars shows how the main characters meet and how the war begins.
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