chelmquist

I wish this series existed when I was younger. Even though I'm much older now than the fourteen year-old characters, I can still appreciate that this is a special show. Sure, it's a show for kids or young teens, but it doesn't pander, doesn't try to be precious or cute, and has more respect for its intended audience than nearly any other show I can think of. And I can think of several shows intended for adults that aren't half as smart. Overall, the story line is excellent. The group of young teens (plus one "animal", as it says in the opening)get stranded on an uninhabited planet. The main premise is an old one: characters get stranded, must learn how to survive, get along, deal with assorted trials of nature and bad guys, figure out how to get back home. But for once, the writers handle it all very well. Episode plots are tight, the story moves along briskly but without sloppiness. One story arc lasts too long, which made the next one feel far too short, but other than that, the writing is as good as that in any top series. A lot of thought went into real elements of survival in the wild, and the kids definitely have a hard time of it before they learn how to do all the necessary tasks to feed and shelter themselves. It's not a picnic at all, contrary to most shows, live action or animated. The characters themselves start out as cardboard cutout stereotypes, but eventually individually-focused episodes and a bit of back-story flesh them out enough that you can't help but root for them all. The writers maintain a good group dynamic throughout the series, with different characters revealing strengths and weaknesses along the way. Also, Chako is quite simply the best cute animal mascot character in any series, ever. And I absolutely hate cute animal mascots (except Teto from Nausicaä). I hate them in anime, and I hate them in Engineering in the new Star Trek movie. But Chako is a good one. The artwork isn't all that great, but it's not meant to be. The characters and animals all have a Pokemon look to them, but it's not objectionable. The backgrounds, landscapes, and alien designs are well done, with nice colors, giving the viewer a good feel for the planet and its creatures. As others have mentioned, the character artwork and animation is very inconsistent. It seems like some of the in-betweens just weren't done as well as the key frames. There are also a few moments where you want to shout at the screen to tell the animator not to attempt to do certain camera angles if he can't draw those perspectives. But overall the artwork is nice and colorful enough, with that Pokemon-like bright and cheerful look, while still having a different enough to have its own character. The opening sequence music really sets the mood, and reminds me of 80s American TV for some reason. End music is decent enough, but not as good. Background music is pretty good, and mostly unobtrusive (as it should be). I'll miss this show now that I've seen the whole thing. Disney would make a fortune licensing it for the US market, and I don't understand why they haven't brought it over already.

websky

Mujin Wakusei Survive or Uninhabited Planet Survival was an amazing adventure that I can say every age group, and gender will find enjoyment in. Story The story revolves around seven teens and a pet robot getting trapped on a (supposedly) uninhabited planet when their escape pod gets blown off course and gets pulled into a gravity storm. Now often the story flows into a few different arcs from starting off on how they group will survive on the planet they landed on, to a more sci-fi genre as they start figuring out the mystery of where they are and how they'll survive-- and my gosh arethese teenagers resourceful. Art Art wise it was made in 2004 so the art could be better at times, and it has a very kid like charm to it with the bright colours. Though I don't want to say this show is for kids-- I think that was the intention starting out, but as the series progresses there are a lot of different dark undertones that I feel might be to inappropriate for someone under 13. Overall though the art has a lot of still frames at times and pan shots that get a little over bearing, it is one of the shows weakest elements, however I think the story overall makes up for it. Sound A good mix of themes for the characters, and when someone's in trouble the music really plays a part in getting you into the show, as well as when something mysterious happens. And at the conclusion I'm pretty sure the track playing is what got me close to tears. Characters Now this shows greatest weakness and greatest strength comes from it's characters. You have the average cliche group with these characters, the always positive one our main character Luna, the rich brat Howard, the class president Menori, the quiet mysterious one Kaoru, etc. Now at the beginning of this series the actions of some characters (pretty much everyone but Luna- but even her) drives you up the wall with stupid decisions- particularly Howard as he constantly is causing problems for the crew with his narcissist attitude and choices. I literally wanted to throw my remote at one point he kept infuriating me, but because these characters start off annoying, I realized by the very end they'd grown so much they didn't annoy me any more. The growth these characters face by living on this planet, honestly, is remarkable and noticeable throughout. As each character grows in their own way and slowly progresses through the story. Even the flashbacks aren't all shown at once, Karou's backstory I don't think was even revealed till around episode 30-- they spread it out, there isn't some strict formula to it, as each character goes through growth at their own speed and we don't know everything about each character right away, as we learn the basis behind all their actions. Even the main protagonist Luna, who is never not positive finally reaches her moment of growth near the end, and you recognize how she'd been growing throughout the series. Overall... this show was amazing, and near the end I couldn't stop watching as the mystery of everything was coming together, and the group is probably given one of the biggest dramatic choices in this whole genre. Characters I hated in the beginning I'd completely fallen in love with, and in the end the conclusion of the whole series left me satisfied. If you're looking for a series with a Lost sort of vibe to it, with action, adventure a sci-fi mystery that's actually resolved and a conclusion that will most likely leave you satisfied, then this series is worth getting into. Just don't let the characters personalities at the beginning scare you away.