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| 3. Iodine
The war with the United Mankind is ending, so Jinto and Lafiel
are sent to perform diplomatic duties for the Empire on a newly conquered planet.
However, they discover intense internal turmoil going on there that soon threatens
to erupt into chaos. With a more personally focused story that still puts the
established universe to good use, the series makes for an interesting ending to
one of the best of the modern anime franchises. From the shocking cliffhanger
of the prologue, it's made clear that our heroes are in territory totally unfamiliar
to them. The dangers they face are more tangible than even the worst of their
starship battles because they take place on a more personal level. This time,
however, the balance between the characters' relationships and the slow deterioration
of their mission is much better. Under dire circumstances, Jinto and Lafiel manage
to reach a satisfactory resolution to their personal feelings at last, and we
really get a sense of how far they've come since their original meeting on Martine. The
odd number of episodes in the series may or may not have been intentional, but
the show seems about the length it should be. As usual, the complexity of the
writing is impressive in its ability to juggle multiple stories at once, and the
escalation of tension is very well done. The narrative is quickly paced and goes
fast, even with requisite interludes involving the familiar Abh leaders. Needless
to say, if you enjoyed the other two Stars series, this one is an absolute
must. |
| 2. Cross
Scars 
After two earlier series of outstanding quality it might seem
a bit too much to ask for this third series in the Abh universe to match the likes
of the two that have gone before it but astoundingly this series more than matches
up to the ones that have gone before it. While Seikai
no Senki was a highly action orientated series, built mostly around one epic
space battle, Seikai no Senki II calms things down a lot and turns out
to be perhaps the most 'political' of the series so far. Early on action is restricted
to the negotiating table and the need to deal with immigrants within the Empire
and rivalries between Abh royal families all heighten this feeling. But SnS
II deals with all this in its usual detailed manner that, much like in Tolkien's
works, is really what brings the series to life. Similarly, while SnS I
excelled in brilliantly depicting a massive space battle, SnS II excels
in expanding the feelings of Lafiel and Jinto and that is the real joy of this
series. Through their separation from episode 1 they uncover new feelings and
all this is intensified by the opening scene of the whole series which leads up
to an increasingly tense final episode. This is yet
another brilliant series from the Abh universe and such is their class it's incredibly
difficult to tell which of the series is the best out of all of them. With the
graphic novels now all finished we can only hope that yet more stories from this
universe are made into anime in the future. |
| 
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(4.7)