This Ugly Yet Beautiful World Volume 3: Red Swarm - Active Anime
- Active Anime
- Holly Ellingwood
- 11/06/06
- click here
"It is an anime worth watching repeatedly..."
"... sophisticated storyline and captivating visuals."
?I am the bottomless darkness that swallows up the tender light of all life.?
Hikari
Awakened at last, Hikari now knows her true purpose but she doesn?t wish to destroy the Earth and all life upon it. She does not want to fulfill her terrible destiny. One rash moment of jealousy however, tears her resolve into surrender to her true purpose: to obliterate all life on Earth.
Takeru, still in denial about her, about himself, tries to stop her, as do her friends and her other half- the gentle Akari. But can words of love sway an existence filled with loneliness? Can one heart move another so that both Heaven and Hell will still to allow a moment of redemption and renewal to be born? A clash of emotions, of wills, and blows occur, all with the fate of the world in the balance?
Mesmerizing, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World has been an intoxicating viewing experience. The veneer of pretty girls and kind friends are quickly shattered with the darker current of death, anger and the desire for extinction. This show has so many layers and enough concepts, both concrete and abstract, that you can watch this more than once and come away with something new from the series every time. It is an anime that is very open to interpretation because of its sophistication and layered depths. On the grand scale you have the warring ideals of a need for extinction in order for new life to move forward leading to the larger battle for the fate of the Earth. However this is also the simple (depending on how you look at it) story of boy meets girl and the trials of two hearts yearning to understand and comfort each other - and sometimes failing. All the characters in this anime are awkward with their deeper emotions which are realistic, particularly for such young and inexperienced people.
There are also the underlying concepts regarding fear. Fear of abandonment, fear of loss, fear of death, even fear of living. All are valid issues and are explored here, but not all are necessarily given a definitive answer but for this: the human heart can choose to treasure life or destroy it, and the power of the heart is a heady strength against all kinds of doubt and insecurities. It can provide strength in moments of weakness, courage when we feel fear, and wisdom when facing the worst. In all of this it is clear that Takeru and Hiakri both fear being abandoned, so much so that they would rather close themselves off than risk being hurt so badly. Such a choice is mirrored in the scheme of the larger picture in this story: to choose to love and risk pain is to choose to live, to choose otherwise is to live a life of no value, one that is in essence extinguished if not extinct. This message of needing love and attachments is mirrored to a lesser extent in Ryou?s story with Kimi and Akari. Both he and Takeru serve as reflections of each other in the way they live their lives and how they each relate to the extraordinary extra-terrestrial girls living with them. Just as Hikari and Akari serve as reflections of their roles and relations with the people around them.
EXTRAS:Bonus features include translation notes, ADV previews, Japanese DVD spot, clean opening and closing animation, and a video interview with Shouji Saeki (Director and Series Structure) from the original Japanese TV show AniKuri. There is also an insert which has text interviews with Takahiro Mizushima (Japanese voice of Takeru), Shouji Saeki (Director and Series Structure), and Yumi Takada (Jennifer). The insert also contains text commentaries from most of the Japanese voice actors that formed the main group of characters from the show.
IN SUMMARY:Fascinating, compelling, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World is a wondrous and at times disturbing dichotomy of several competing ideals about life, death, and the power of love. It is an anime worth watching repeatedly for its many facets, sophisticated storyline and captivating visuals.
Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 (Archive on Wednesday, December 06, 2006)