Anime Review: "Aquarion"

A cast of interesting characters
makes Aquarion a fun story

Synopsis

Set sometime in the future, it is 11 years after "The Great Catastophe," a disaster of unknown origin that has destroyed much of the planet and its inhabitants. Following the destruction, an ancient race of technologically-advanced winged humanoids, called Shadow Angels, has been awakened after a 12,000 year slumber in their city of Atlandia. The Shadow Angels view humans ("The Wingless Ones") as cattle, harvesting them for their prana (life force). Prana serves as nutrition for the legendary Tree of Life. The Shadow Angels facilitate their harvesting via large vessels called Harvest Beasts, which are closely guarded by sentient mecha called Cherubim Soldiers. Ordinary weapons prove ineffective, and humanity quickly falls into chaos and fear.

Fortunately for humans, right about this time an expedition led by Gen Fudou uncovers and excavates three technologically advanced fighter planes, called Vectors. Gen Fudou disappears, but an organization called DEAVA (Division for EArth Vitalization Advancement) starts researching the Vectors. DEAVA discovers only people with special powers, called Elements, can control the Vectors. The three Vectors, manned by Elements, can then merge to form a single mecha called Aquarion, which is capable of fighting the Cherubim Soldiers.

During the first merge of Aquarion, a boy named Apollo is discovered who may be the reincarnation of a Shadow Angel named Apollonius, who betrayed his brethren 12,000 years ago for his love of the human warrior Seliane. Apollo may be the key to defeating the Shadow Angels and saving humanity...

Solar Aquarion - bad ass mecha warrior

The Good

The animation is beautiful. Consequently, the dreamy landscapes are effectively rendered, which is greatly appreciated by frequent anime viewers.

The story draws heavily from Judeo-Christian, Roman, and Indian mythology, making for an interesting backdrop of themes. Additionally, there are plenty of characters, so that the story remains interesting - but not too many characters that it becomes confusing.

The Bad

Episodes tend to follow the same formula - Shadow Angels harvest humans; DEAVA tries to stop them but fails due to new, mysterious Shadow Angel technology; the Elements must learn something about themselves and about teamwork yadda yadda; they beat the Shadow Angels... for now. It gets a little repetitive at times. Fortunately, the series is only one season long, so the writers have to break things up to move the story along.

Toma and Apollonius

The Gay

The series includes a homoerotic story arc involving two male Shadow Angel lovers. Holy Angel Toma (the main antagonist) is a scorned lover. This handsome guy was dumped by his dreamy lover Apollonius, who left him for the female human Seliane. If it wasn't bad enough that he was replaced by a female, it definitely added insult to injury that she was a lowly Wingless One.

The Verdict

Check it out. A decent story with great animation, Aquarion requires only a modest investment of time. The series is broken up into 26 half-hour episodes, meaning you can easily squeeze episodes into your schedule. In addition to an intriguing backdrop of interwoven mythological threads, the story includes a shameless homosexual story arc. More sophisticated than the Power Rangers, Aquarion is a great intro to Japanese mecha action. To top things off - you can view it for FREE (and legally!) on Funimation's YouTube channel.