Though it has plenty of interesting ideas, this short science-fiction
series doesn't do nearly enough with the material it has to make its mundane spaceship
adventure story worth the watch. As ordinary teenaged Mika Seido takes on her
genetically enhanced rivals to become the pilot of a spiffy secret weapon, none-too-subtle
social commentary is made through the portrayal of their future Earth, where genetics
are the main determinant of destiny, and most social and familial bonds no longer
exist. The show takes itself much too seriously, with its insistently tense atmosphere
and coldly unappealing characters. It feels as though the writers spent most of
their time scrambling for plausible motivations for their players' actions instead
of actually giving them decent personalities. The concepts are also not taken
far enough, especially where the alien threat is concerned. Getting attacked by
a giant metal ring is interesting the first time, but not the eighth and ninth.
Generous amounts of vague technobabble and trite moralization more or less exemplify
the rest of the writing.
Geneshaft put a lot
of effort into its CGI, but the graphics are only marginally interesting, and
fall short of anything really impressive. Not enough attention was paid to the
two-dimensional elements, particularly the pasty-looking character designs and
stiff animation. The heavy metal score is repetitive and familiar, but does give
the credit sequences a little kick. Despite its focus on more complicated themes,
there's still a considerable lack of exposition, and many important plot points
suffer because of this. In the end, the series is a promising attempt, but the
unique premise is handled badly, and the usual genre conventions wind up running
the show.
(3.5)
