Forum - View topicKemono no Souja Erin/The Beast Player Erin (TV).
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~~EpiC~~
 Posts: 243 |
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Kemono no Souja Erin
Production I.G. has taken a hold of this one. This is based of a novel by Nahoko Uehashi the writer of Moribito - Guardian of the Sacred Spirit. I was very disappointed to see that there was no discussion of this show at all, because so far I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I love the openings visuals, one of the most unique openings I've seen in a while. And the song is great. The ending is really catchy, in general I'm very pleased by the soundtrack, which is wonderful so far. I love the art direction for this one, as some of the art is beautiful. Episode 13 convinced me as the beast king was magnificent and the scene wonderful. As for the story, so far I have no idea where it is going besides from what I know of the series summary. The first few episodes follow Erin and Soyon, her mother, throughout there daily life in a village where the Toudas (these dragonlike lizards) are being raised and kept. Soyon is the greatest Touda doctor in the village and her daughter aspires to be just like her. The Toudas are used by the Grand Duke for war purposes and are unstoppable on the battlefield. The Toudas are controlled by a whistle and by "steering" the horns on their heads. At least it begins like this. It seems almost episodic at first, but as it continues onwards you can understand how they actually do relate to each other and how the tale itself is slowly unfolding. It is kind of slow, which is my biggest problem with it so far, but I think that's just because of how the novel must be laid out. I definitely think its picking up steam. Anyway, before I continue to blabber onwards about it, I'm really curious of others thoughts of the series so far, and I'd love to get some discussion going about this one. Hopefully I'm not the only one interested in it. 
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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You're not alone, but since it's supposedly a kids show, it doesn't get much traction in otaku-flavored discussions. That said, Erin is hardly just a show for children. Here in the States a show like this would never be aired because it contains a lot of very demanding content that we seem to think children can't handle. (I'm not talking about sexuality, of which there's none.) I.G chose to produce this show in a very traditional manner without the gloss of works like Moribito or Ghost Hound. Despite having the "look and feel" of a children's show, the story in Erin is often profound and moving. I could do without the recurring fart jokes and would like to see those two silly comic-relief characters get left behind soon. I also find Erin's iris-less eyes a bit off-putting, but these are all minor quibbles about what is otherwise an excellent show. Uehashi-sama is an anthropologist by training, I believe, and both this show and Moribito display an attention to world-building as a result. In that regard her stories feel similar to the fantasy works by Ursula LeGuin (whose father, Alfred Kroeber, was one of America's most influential anthropologists.) |
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lesterf1020
 Subscriber Posts: 292 Location: Trinidad and Tobago |
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Just thought I would chime in here to say that I am enjoying this show too. I actually like the fact that it is slow paced and takes its time telling the story. Erin and john are very likeable and I look forward to seeing Erin grow up.
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Mike On Top
 Posts: 298 |
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As you can see, there is no significant interest, which is unfair. I find the series exceptionally good and intelligent, not alone for kids, although I wouldn't perhpas understand what would be so distressing for them to watch. Anyway, episode 14 is a recap and those who have been hesitating whether to start the series, could easily catch up and leap into the fantasy world of Production I.G. Personally, I'd like to learn more about the Kiri tribe in the next episodes 
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yuna49
Posts: 3804 |
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spoiler[Loss of a parent is one of a child's greatest fears, a fear that is amplified in single-parent households. As a single father, I would never have shown this to my daughter until she reached about 10-11 when she had the emotional tools to be able to discuss Soyon's execution scene with me.] I believe Uehashi's novels are designed for older children and young teens, say 10-15. Both this and Moribito would be pretty demanding stuff for a seven-year-old. |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I am nearly halfway through this charming series. I wanted to check up on what people on the forum said abuot it. And I saw it. 5 posts.
The necromancer within me awoke. 5 posts? Like, literally, five in this topic? Some really rubbish series got more comments than that. Erin deserves way more. I for one think it is quite an excellent series. Might seem a bit long for a slice of life, but whatever it delivers, it does it perfectly: a great mixture of daily routines, political background, history, frendship and intrigues, the pace is quite good, the characters are interesting, the plot does not get boring (unless you have a very short attention span), the art is really nice. And it is free to watch. I am a bit curious why it did not get more acclaim, was it not enough explosions, or do people think it looks like a story for little kiddies, which it is really not, as some people already pointed out... |
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wandering-dreamer
 Posts: 1733 |
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I remember talking about this series but that was on another forum, maybe that's where all the fans went?
Regardless, I did like this series even though it was a pretty long one. That said, it felt too long at points but I'm really not sure where it could be cut down or paced more quickly, it's a series that people are probably going to want to marathon in large chunks. And I also really liked the art style, it's a little off putting at first by how simple it is but I thought all the symbolism portrayed the violence better than a gory scene could instead. |
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EireformContinent
 Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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The problem with Erin is that it was tried to be made as "anime for everyone". The result was... well, it was written in one review "not every Japanese in Miyazaki". The first part seems to be targeted to children. It was nice, but lots of older people (including myself) saw the number of episodes and gave it up, because it seemed to be maybe a very good, but a kid show. Later on another forum I found an enthusiastic posts about story and character development and many people believed, set their teeth and started again. Now in every review should be warning "the beginning sucks, but hold on, that's worth it!"
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I see...
I would not agree that the beginning sucks though... I mean, it all depends what you are wanting in an anime. It is a slice of life after all, so I am not sure what were people expecting when taking it up- plus, the pace is still really good considering there are 50 episodes in total. Erin's mom dies in one of the first ten eps... And in the first 20 there is still quite a lot of hints of political intrigues (Im sure kids would get them, but some are quite subtle). Miyazaki would be quite a good comparison though, and I believe that Erin still stands a chance against Ghibli films- if Miyazaki or Takahata were to make a 50 episode series, it might have been, IMO, similar to Erin. |
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EireformContinent
Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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You think that anybody disappointed by first eps would still wait till plot start to develop? I don't have enough time to "give a chance" to everything. If something doesn't give me a reason to watch quickly I don't bother to try again, unless someone convince me that it's worth.
After first 4 eps I expected slice of life for good kids- good for them, not for me. Maybe I used to strong word, the beginning doesn't "suck", but don't give a point what the series is really about. |
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I usually dont stop watching after not being happy with the first ep- unless it is really, really bad (to tak nawiasem mówiąc
 )- but that is just me. With 50 eps, I think being realistic, you have to expect it to take a bit longer for the series to unwind, even some 13 episode series take a while, not even mentioning the longer ones.
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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It's been on my watch list for a while. I'd say this is the kind of show that drains my mood (i.e. I need to be in a good mood to watch it, since it falls under the type of "pure" (see Aria) shows).*
As for its popularity, I'd say it's fine the way it is. Its fanbase seems somewhat cozy... nothing extravagant, and you hardly see people complaining about it (if I ever did). What's this supposed to be? Reverse shonen (like Soul Eater), shojo? Keep in mind that even Death Note is considered shonen, so I'm not being specific. Judging by its image, it certainly doesn't give a politics/war aura, so that aspect really intrigues me. I guess I'll be expecting something along the lines of Fireflies. As for the fantasy spectrum, how innovative is it? Or are we talking about something classic? Anyway, is it a complete story? As in, not many loose ends hanging out? A show like Hikaru no go is pretty good, but without an ending it's just something not as valuable by the end of the day. *Seen a bit of episode one a few months ago... but politics and Chinese names on what doesn't look like an action series dizzies me. |
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Aylinn
 Posts: 1684 |
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Unicorn_Blade I agree with you that the first episodes were not so bad, I found them fairly enjoyable. Erin is such a sweet child at the beginning; I could see the potential for a great character, but I can also understand why this show is a bit too childish for many fans.
You have already answered yourself; Erin lacks elements that make a show appealing to the mainstream audience. Egoist It’s neither shoujo, nor shonen. It’s a drama/fantasy series, with politics. The books are targeted at older children, but anime tries to attract a wider audience by making it to be more appropriate to younger children.
It's not innovative, but Uehashi made a good job at world-building. The world is inhabited by creatures that don't exist in our world, but they are not magical, there is no magic, no elves, etc. Have you ever read Ursula LeGuin's books? As yuna49 wrote, Uehashi's novels feel similar.
Yes, it has a proper ending. O Unicorn_Blade, też jesteś z Polski? Ile tu swoich
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egoist
Posts: 7762 |
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Wow, I think you're the first person to ask me if I read a specific book since I left school.
Thanks for the info. This:
... pretty much sums it up for me. |
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DarkRoseFairy
Posts: 271 Location: Alberta, Canada |
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I wish in the end they show spoiler[Ial and Erin togather with their son; it feel kind of weird he wasn't in the last scene. That got so many people asking who is the father; I think it Ial since the kid look so much like him. ] |
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