Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must HAve For AnY AniMe FaN!!!, January 26, 2008
At first I wasn't too sure about this series, I thought it wouldn't have enought romance/comedy, but i was wrong. This is one of the best series I have seen, and latley I have found myself collecting all of the old anime classics instead of some of the new series out there. This boxset, is awesome because it comes with the complete tv sereies, plus the ova, blue seed beyond, not to mention the extras include omake theatere, which are funny stories involving each of the anime characters. The backround music, is really good, i can't wait to buy the soundtrack, the opening song "carnivel Babel" gets stuck in your head. So if you are an anime fan, than give blue seed a chance you won't be dissappointed :)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Protect the Kushinada, June 22, 2009
The life of a teenage girl can be stressful enough, but Momiji Fujimiya is a bit more stressed than usual -- it turns out that evil plant monsters are out to get her. Yes, evil plant monsters.
Fortunately if you can swallow that, most of the rest of this series will be a pretty entertaining ride. While it starts rather shakily (and with a very patchy dub), "Blue Seed: Mitama Collection" unwinds into a complex anime full of grotesque monsters, teen romance, blam-blam action and international strife as the whole world is threatene, et cetera et cetera. It's fluffy fun, but what sets it apart is a heavy dose of Japanese folklore. The sequel's a bit of a dud, though.
One day on the way to school, Momiji Fujimiya is confronted by two bizarre creatures -- a young man (Kusanagi) with seven "blue seed" mitamas embedded in his body, who tries to kill her; and a serpentine plant monster (Orochi). Turns out she's part of an ancient family line, the Kushinada, that can destroy the aragami (sort of plant monsters).
But then Orochi invades Momiji's high school to destroy her, and is barely stopped by the Terrestrial Administration Center (a motley band of scientists, soldiers and government officials). Before Momiji knows it, she's been handed over to Mr. Kunikida of the TAC, and Kusanagi has changed his mind about killing her -- now he wants to protect her, no matter what. Oh yeah, and the Kushinada before her was a twin sister named Kaede, now presumed dead.
And life with the TAC is rarely boring: they fight a bizarre jellyfish, a giant water blob, a grotesque crow, a tree aragami at an idol show (where Momiji song-duels with an American Shinto priestess), mutated dogs, a fire-breathing frog, a building-sized centipede, and a bloodsucking creature that can control people. Then a new trio of enemies appear -- a treacherous Kushinada thought to be dead, a sinister man with eight mitama, and the reborn god Susano-o. As the aragami grow in power and number, Momiji becomes plagued with doubts... and the fear that she will lose everything.
And then there's the OAV, which takes place a couple years later -- a mad scientist is creating his own brand of aragami, and assorted TAC members are having romantic woes of one kind or another (Momiji has a love rival). It's a totally extraneous story that feels like it was whipped up for a few extra bucks and some random fanservice. And it doesn't make much sense either (a bomber in a hot spring? That's it?).
"Blue Seed: Mitama Collection" starts off a little wobbly. Initially the stories are geared towards fighting the aragami-of-the-week, and a some episodes are just ridiculous -- a couple of them actually hinge on a pop idol competition and PANTY-PREDICTION software. Seriously. But the series starts to flower when it returns to the roots of Japanese folklore and legend, complete with kappa, an immortal woman, and a reborn god.
Additionally, as the story becomes more complex and darker, it also brings in an overarcing storyline that stretches all the way to the end. But the writers also keep the main storyline saturated with lighter fare, to remind us that these are people with ordinary lives to live -- a cute little romance between Momiji and Kusanagi, and some fun glimpses at how the various TAC members act around one another. And of course, plenty of explosions, gunfire and messy splattery action scenes.
In the first three episodes, Momiji is as endearing as a cat ice-skating on a blackboard -- she whines almost continuously. Fortunately she becomes a far more likable heroine as the series goes on, grappling with insecurities and worries that seem all too realistic. Kusanagi is a likable counterpart for Momiji: strong, powerful, but still relaxed enough to tease her about her underwear whenever he gets a chance. Of course he's also utterly socially inept, which makes their budding romance a bit more difficult.
And unlike many an anime show, the supporting cast is pretty colourful, even if they sometimes come across as stereotypes (the Genius Loser-Nerd, the Gung-Ho Gun Girl, the Scientist immersed in her work, etc). Fortunately each character is explored lovingly and given their own quirks and weaknesses, making them seem quite real and endearing.
It's worth noting that the English dub for this series isn't of great quality. In fact at the start of the series, it's pretty awful -- Momiji's whine, Kusanagi's toneless yells, and Matsudaira's scratchiness. Fortunately the voice actors get the hang of it a few episodes in, and they're doing a pretty decent job by the middle of the series.
"Blue Seed: Mitama Collection" starts off wobbly in many ways, but it also serves up plenty of monsters, mayhem, and Japanese folklore. Worth seeing, and actually goes from mediocre to brilliant in a short time.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
An Ancient Lore set in Modern Japan, June 20, 2009
---Plot----
Blue Seed focuses on a girl named Momiji. She is the twin sister of the kushinada clan, a family who has the power to contain the plant-like parasite creatures known as Aragami. These ancient enemies on the other hand have strived to permanently put an end to the Kushinada legacy who threaten them with eternal slumber. After her other sister, Kaede dissapears the Aragami are now after Momiji. With Kusanagi, a half-Aragami, half human creature as her protector and the TAC a set of human defenders who policy is is Aragami annihilation, they venture fourth that ultimately brings them into the living history of the Kushinada and the truth behind the Aragami.
The fate of mankind rest on the shoulders of the ditzy but kind high-schooler Momiji. This is a story of romance, humor, action and ultimately love. The Aragami want to kill Momiji using a Ceramic field that makes her powers useless, the humans want to sacrifice Momiji so that the Aragami die.
*This series has plenty of pantie-shots thanks to Momiji's short skirt and Kusanagi's pranks. However as the series progresses this recedes.
-Box Artwork-
A nice thick card-board like material serves as the box. Very sturdy considering that many boxes are made of flimsy material nowadays. The main characters are features on the front and Momiji's glowing form on the back.
-CD Cases-
Each case is slim and contains one CD. There is a total of Five CD cases. All cases are decorated with scenes from the show.
-Extras-
A nice set of extras here. Character biographies and an omake (which is a small spin-off animation that takes the cast of the characters and put them in out-of-character in funny and abnormal situations) is features on each disc, including some trailers of upcomming advertisements.
-Music-
The music is good in Blue Seed. From the orchestrated violin and xylophone during the climax of the series to the violin and piano duet romance between Momiji and Kusanagi. The music fits the atmosphere in the series perfectly. The ending song is done by the talented voice-actress of Lina Inverse (the slayers)
-Langauge-
There is Spanish, Japanese, and English. The subtitles are in English. Opening songs can be textless.
*Special OVA
This box-set contains the OVA Blue-Seed:Beyond in its own CD case. Highly recommended to watch the series first before watching the OVA. Goodie features as an omake, trailer and textless openings.
If you like Inuyasha or want an action-paced story with modern interventions this series is highly recommended. For the price it's right, get it now. It has all the same features as the Complete Series Box but with a better quality at a lesser price! This is by ADV.
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