Seikai no Senki

Please watch Crest of the Stars before starting this series for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the plot. Seikai no Senki, or Banner of the Stars, is the 13 episode sequel to Crest of the Stars. It follows the development of the relationship between Lafiel, the Abh princess, and Jinto, son of the administrator of a planet that surrendered and got his family made into Abh nobility. In Banner of the Stars, Lafiel is now captain of her own Assault ship. Jinto, who promised Lafiel that he would study hard and become a supply officer, has been requisitioned to join Lafiel's crew aboard the Basroil. He brings with him Diaho, the ginger cat Lafiel bequeathed to him at the end of Crest of the Stars. Banner of the Stars is about the Abh Empire's quest to retake territories they lost to The United Mankind. As such, a majority of the story is made up of battle scenes, which are quite well done. The only drawback to the animation is that they re-used those scenes a LOT, similarly with the soundtrack, or I would have rated it a lot higher. Character development again, is key. You identify with Jinto, and to a lesser extent, Lafiel. There are those characters that you love to hate, and those are well done also. Even Diaho, the cat, is a character in his own right. The story was a lot better than Crest of the Stars, and overall Banner of the Stars was good, just not as outstanding as some of the other high quality recent releases.

Banner of the Stars, as you all know, continues from where its prequel series Crest of the Stars left off, and so the basic premise and setting is the same here too. Humankind is under attack by the Abh Empire, and it is up to United Mankind and their allies to stave off the impending advance after a temporary ceasefire...wait, that's wrong, you say? I didn't actually say anything inaccurate here...oh right, I forgot - silly me - this story is told from the invaders' perspective, and it's them that you're supposed to root for. Sarcasm aside, given just how utterly horrified I was by Crest of the Stars (scoring it a 1/10 in my review), you might wonder why I even bothered with the sequel. The thing is this - this show seemed to be more about its battle than about its political justifications, and given its undeniable artistic talent, I figured maybe there's actually some scope for enjoyment here as long as you could put the god-awful politics aside - temporarily, at least. Unfortunately though, even on its own terms, the battle simply isn't what it was initially made out to be - not unlike the prequel series. And on the other hand, it isn't long before the horrible politics creep right back and break your immersion anyhow. This right here is the long and short of it - the rest of my review will be about justifying and elaborating on this stand. The show starts off getting you up to speed with the current status quo, as well as the military logistics of the Abh fleet. It also introduces you to the crew of the attack ship Basroil captained by our lead character Lafiel Abriel, with our other lead Lin Jinto serving as a supply officer. A Terran combat veteran called Samson is notably part of the bridge crew, along with Ekuryua, a somewhat withdrawn and introverted Abh girl who seems overly attached to Jinto's pet cat, and another Abh lady whose name I forget. Also introduced are the various Abh military commanders whom I'll get to later. The show wastes no time getting into combat mode, and before you know it the introductions are over and you're thrust into the immediacy of the war. One thing that the Seikai series as a whole does deserve credit for is its pacing. Now there are two levels at which the battle is depicted: at the here-and-now tactical level, we're shown the trials that the leads face and how they deal with them; and at the strategic level, we're shown various higher-order commanders as they squabble amongst each other and come to crucial decisions. And here's where it gets interesting: at the level of the here-and-now, the show puts you in the hot seat of the front-lines alongside Lafiel and her crew, and gives you the impression of a gritty and dogged battle against overwhelming odds. Every one in the bridge is practically sweating from the tension, and sirens start blaring across the board as one sector after another of the ship take increasing amounts of damage. The tactical breaks provide very little in the way of relief. And in between all this, the focus shifts to the higher-order commanders as they deal with the bigger picture and strategic aspects of the battle. But in the war room, things seem almost downright boring - the commanders seem supremely sure of themselves to the point of detachment - one goes for a bath in the middle of all the fighting, and another makes a game of pestering his understaff about her personal relationships. All these 'cute' scenes in the high command ships are supposed to showcase the Abh's supreme competence, and their capacity for mischievous joviality even in the heat of battle. But when the show nears its conclusion, all this charm comes undone when an Abh commander commits a shocking act that reveals what the real stakes of the battle were all along, and makes all their previous joviality and nonchalance come across as rather obscene in hindsight. Another thing to note is that the battle is depicted solely from the Abh's standpoint: you only get to see the Abh side of the strategising, and you only ever learn of United Mankind's strategy or tactics through the obstacles the Abh side faces. So on one hand you get to see how chivalrously the Abh face off against their opponents; and on the other hand how dastardly the enemy is...because that's what they tell you. One unintentionally good thing about this one-sided view of the war, though, is that the enemy is never given a face this time. You only get to see either their ships or mines being blown up. No dastardly, gratuitously-villainous, moustache-twirling military commanders from the ranks of United Mankind plague the screen this time around (that job is taken over by the Abh commanders, albeit unintentionally). With that out of the way, it's now time to address the Elephant in the Room i.e. the two-faced politics of this show. No, you saw this coming a mile away - and no, there's no getting around this. Because quite simply, not only is it thematically central to the whole story, but it also taints and utterly poisons everything it comes into contact with. So anyways, we're right back to what Crest of the Stars did worst - any humans who do not wholeheartedly and with tears of gratitude accept Abh overlordship are portrayed as corrupt, greedy, morally broke or otherwise generally pathetic. The president of the Aptic system, which the Abh forcefully took over, gives a defiant speech to never surrender to the Abh invaders - but he is shown to do so just to look good to his voters. He even suggests behind-the-scenes that the Abh retort with racist and condescending insults to spice things up for the cameras. The Abh's offer to accept surrender from the Aptic government without imposing any deadline on them is made to look like a magnanimous act of generosity. Even those working for the Abh fare no better - a nation is shown to have joined with the Abh simply because the Abh didn't object to their dietary habits whereas the Terran alliances were absolutely appalled (if you must know, they ate cats - no, I'm not making this up). And then of course, there's the United Mankind - the only force in the Galaxy that poses any credible threat to Abh dominion. Their policy is depicted not as a legitimate political resistance to the Abh's unilateral aggression (which it easily could and should have been), but as a dogmatic mission to either enslave or exterminate the entire Abh race. And surely enough, they are portrayed as genocidal fascists (albeit off-screen this time) who do not consider the Abh to be human, and thus see it as fair game to disregard their enemy's basic human rights - during combat or otherwise. On the other hand, Abh commanders like Crown Prince Abriel and Baroness Spoor or even the Bebaus twins, whose actions would have clearly branded them as war criminals in just about any other narrative, are not only never (intentionally) made to look bad, but rather made to look like eccentric geniuses whose outwardly obnoxious antics belie just how "wonderful" and compassionate they supposedly are beneath the surface. The show accomplishes this with its singularly worst act of hypocrisy - while it's abundantly clear to any rational person that these commanders took many of their decisions with a callous and blatant disregard for human lives, their actions are ultimately justified by the show on grounds that these decisions somehow end up working out for the best. A related point is how the show expects you to overlook all of Abriel's needless endangerment of his own troops because he expresses the coy sentiment that he'd never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Lafiel (his distant descendant) or Jinto. The exact same issue loomed in Crest of the Stars as well, and Banner of the Stars continues in the same dishonoured tradition. Later on in the series, the Terran-born Prime Minister of the Abh Empire has a brief parting talk with the infamous eyepatch-wearing ambassador from the last series, where he praisingly refers to th…

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread) When looking at an anime like Banner of the Stars I, it becomes an interesting task to put one's own life into perspective. While they are dealing with space, war, and strategies, it makes our own problems seem miniscule in comparison. Forgetting to turn off the light in that room, misplacing the car keys, or not having something nice to wear for dinner become afterthoughts instead of vitally pressing issues. But what this next iteration in the Crest of the Stars series shows is that, despite such massive hardships encircling our persons, those insignificant details somehow always matter. STORY Banner of the Stars I takes place three years after the events of its predecessor, Crest of the Stars. Jinto has been educated as a supply manager, Lafiel has taken command of the assault vessel Basroil, and together, alongside a few other crew members, will be joining in the war against the Triple Nations Alliance. Banner of the Stars I looks to separate itself slightly from its initial season by attempting to strike a more unified balance between the space-time exploits and the more grounded character exploration. Whereas the first season focused mostly on Jinto and Lafiel's relationship with the war acting as the backdrop, the second season spreads out the character focus while having the war acting as the stage. What is given, then, is a look at the various people attached to the battles and a surprisingly high degree of diverse scenarios. For example, the anime will show the terror of fighting a disadvantaged battle or the bravery needed when abandoning a ship one moment and having crew members sit down for a drink or showcasing the commander and his chief-of-communications bicker about her love life the next. The aforementioned talk of perspective encompasses the entire season, showing that both the large scale conflicts and the smaller scale conversations are equally important. And this is something that is desperately needed. Not that it can't be one way or the other, but because the show requires both time and connections for the cast at play in order to make their inclusion meaningful. Having such brutality depicted means nothing if the majority of the pieces are expendable or forgettable. This obviously isn't true for Jinto and Lafiel; we have their background and established relationship, and therefore their predicaments carry the most emotional weight. Which is why so much focus is placed on Samson the country-dad, Atosuryua the Hecto-Commander, Admiral Abriel the calm and persistent leader, and the insane Bebaus Brothers. But it also serves another purpose: showcasing the multitude of parts, or perspectives, on the war itself. Not everyone revels in the fighting for the same reasons. Lafiel does it out of honor, to prove her worth; Nereis does it to combat his and his family's unkind reputation; and Admiral Spoor does it because she has nothing better to do. The sequences themselves are always well done, but because the anime nurtures the characters so equally, it makes them all more than just action without substance. Unfortunately, Banner of the Stars I follows the same negative that Crest of the Stars employed, and that is losing itself thematically. There are essentially three different ideas being tossed around by the show: the concept of death, having a place, and knowing "who you are," each of which revolves around Jinto. The first, on death, is looked at nicely enough. The previous event of Baron Febdash's killing sparks thoughts in him, he witnesses destruction all around, and he has personal, near-death experiences. And so what is discussed are the "duties of the living" and learning that nobody, no matter their standing, has someone there who cares for them. Sort of piggybacking on this motif, "having a home" is loosely talked during particular scenes, but only when convenient and therefore being rather lackluster. The final theme of existentialism comes out of nowhere and only serves to cloud the already explored messages. The anime wants to tackle these ideas, but cannot, due to either time, focus, or (most likely) both. These halfhearted attempts thus serve as nothing more than hindrances in the end. ANIMATION Much of the action and the "action" within Banner of the Stars I takes place within space and the inner confines of the vessels, respectively. The locales usually don't contain a wealth of originality -- space is expansive and black, space-time fusion is sometimes colorful, the main deck and other rooms are almost always bluish-gray, etc. -- but they do contain a nice amount of detail. Banners, three-dimensional maps, aquariums, viewing windows; in order to combat the "staleness" of the environments, the show does what it can to make each one feel separate and unique. The character designs remain more or less the same for Jinto, Lafiel, and Admiral Spoor (besides seeing her with her hair down). The newcomers each have their own signature looks -- Samson with his scar, Ekuryua's glazed eyes and short hair, and the Bebaus Brothers' twin-style designs -- are futuristic but not overly unrealistic. Alongside everyone's respective war outfits, everyone fits the part. Also of note are the differing vessels -- the attackers, the patrol ships, the flagships, etc. Some appear specialized (Spoor's red-and-pronged behemoth), most appear similar (the Basroil's black painting and anti-proton cannon are common, as are the United Mankind's signature green ships), yet all are nicely detailed. Banner of the Stars I contains many more battles and skirmishes when compared to its former season. For this reason, the actual animation is above-average. Lasers fly, mines target, explosions are rampant, battleships move, characters react; there is a plethora of opportunities for the anime to strut its stuff, and takes as many of these chances in which to do so. CHARACTERS As has already been pointed out, Banner of the Stars I effectively spreads out its resources when dealing with its characters. While this provides a more well-rounded experience, this leads to a poor side-effect: the stagnation of Lafiel and Jinto's characters. Crest of the Stars introduced, characterized, and developed our duo quite nicely throughout its run. This time, they simply seem to stagnate. Lafiel remains proud and determined, but doesn't receive nearly as much attention as should be warranted to her. The show provides her with some humanization in the form of very tiny reactions and monologues when thinking or interacting with Jinto. But they're rather insignificant and often ignored, even by her. Other insights are given -- such as her stance on death and her convictions as a captain -- but they only help to drive the story, not propel her character. Jinto suffers the same fate. Even after taking into account all of his philosophical questioning, he never seems to take any of it to heart. Focusing solely on the most concentrated theme, the war surrounding him gives ample opportunities to try to understand life, death, and his position within it all. But there is no real resolution to the thinking; it merely ends once Lafiel comforts him by stating that she would most certainly be saddened by his passing. This peace of mind is cute, and while it moves their relationship forward ever so minimally, it unfortunately doesn't mean much in relation to this season since so much time was spent away from the couple. If anything, Jinto pulls out marginally ahead of Lafiel due to Diaho. The cat garners a lot of attention, both from the crew members and from the narrative, serving as symbolism for what Jinto's person should be. He is constantly debated on: with Diaho's memories of others questioned, whether the ship is appropriate for him, and his seemingly carefree nature in terms of the situation. In other words, everyone (including Jinto) describes the lovable pet in such a way that is applicable both to him and his maste…

There is an effect in the arts, most notably in music, dubbed the "sophomore slump". It relates to the fact that the sequel to an acclaimed or beloved work often pales in comparison to its predecessor. If a movie is a smash hit, the sequel will be less of a hit. A band's first album is a milestone in its genre? Next album is half of one. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule and the term is fairly overstated. Yet the term has become so commonplace that it's much easier to think of the "slumps" than it is of the "rises". In the case of the Stars series, I found out that Crest of the Stars was much more of a beloved show than I had thought (outside of knowing the novels won a Seiun award back in the 90's). However, its sequel Banner doesn't seem to get the same amount of love. In Banner's defense, I don't think it's a case of "sophomore slump" as much as it is the expectations of the viewers coming into it. The most notable thing that Banner does, for me, is that it "stops pretending". I mentioned in my Crest review about how one-sided the politics feel and how it tends to be biased towards the Abh. Banner drops this element - now its Abh focused for the duration of the show. It focuses more on the battles and how the characters (most notably Lafiel's division) feel about their placement in the war. Though dropping the politics may put some in a dour mood, I actually see this as an improvement for the show. If the show wanted to be like LoGH and show balance between the two sides, it did a poor job at it - its hard to see the conflict past "Abh good, humans bad" with such a warped perspective. It now has more time for action and the characters, which is something I liked about the show in the first place. Dropping the weaker elements and strengthening the more prevalent elements allows me to see the show for what it is instead of what its trying to compete with. So what's happened in the 3 years since the last adventure? Lafiel's become a captain of the ship Basroil while Jinto has become a trusty supply officer (who, obviously, is enrolled by Lafiel for her crew). Some new characters are introduced as Lafiel's crew members, like the taciturn and serious Ekuryua, the drinking blue-collar spirit of Samson and the mature Wing Flyer Sobaash. Other characters are introduced as commanders of other ship divisions. Lafiel's commander, Atosuryua, is the sister of the Baron they killed 3 years prior. The Bibos twins, Nefei and Nereis, are known for their "Beautiful Insanity" when it comes to drawing up battle plans. Finally, a few characters return from Crest - the haughty commander Spoorh and the supreme commander Dusanyu. Rather than an adventure, the episodes focus on the buildup and battle defending the critical area of the Aptic Gate. We see how the Abh react, prepare and fight against a human fleet of 15 times their own size. Fans of more tactical thought will enjoy this season more as there are a lot more dangerous situations. Outnumbered battles and new enemy weapons keep the Abh on their toes and the battles often turn from one of equal footing to one of strategic survival. That said, the best part of Banner of the Stars is not these battles but the characters. Banner of the Stars' theme is discussing a person's place and role in the universe and these introspective moments is when we see the characters as more than cartoons. Jinto channels his inner Shinji Ikari (Evangelion) and contemplates his loneliness in the empire (non-Abh race, lost his family completely) and if anyone would truly miss him if he were gone. Lafiel battles her strong will against the commands of others and learns of the important roles that a leader has vs. her usual solo nature. Outside these two, Samson is the best character in the show. He comes from the surface like Jinto, but is older and has experienced years of the Abh's space service. His remark that people much younger than him are passing him by while he retains the same position is a bittersweet message of the show. We don't get to see too much of his serious side, as he prefers drinking and joking, but the few moments of solemnness we get with him are some of the best in the show. Perhaps that's why I find it to be so special - it's rare but it's there and it makes an impact. Although the show's change of direction is something I approve, it still ultimately has problems. I didn't mention it in the Crest review but both Crest and Banner suffer greatly from one thing - its dryness. A show about space battles with grandiose scores should be exciting, but I don't feel it too often due to the Abh race. The Abriels, Ekuryua, and even the Bibos twins deliver lines in a very flat way with no dynamics in range. They're not free of emotions, but it often feels like they're trying their best to not show any - they don't come off as charismatic nor remotely interesting. You'd think that the Bibos twins, with the name "Beautiful Insanity", would do something mind blowing but the only real insanity is the constant one-upping the brothers try to do with each other. Even they admit they play it quite safe for battle plans this time around. Some characters, such as Sporh, break free from this but in the wrong way, coming off as bratty and more in place for a rom-com than a space opera. Not all characters suffer from this (Samson, Atosuruya), but they're a minority in the cast of undesirable characteristics. I'm not asking for people goofing off or being comic relief - this is a war and lives are on the line, after all. Just a little more expression would go a long way with me. The anime, as said above, is based on a novel series. For books, you don't get to see the action - you have to imagine it. So if I can imagine the characters saying their lines much more expressively than I can see them in the adaptation, I'd rather read the book. Other issues I find stem not from what the show does but what it doesn't do. An example is the earlier mentioned Bibos twins, who aren't particularly insane in their battle performance. The way I see it, Sporh is far more "insane" in her approach ("crush the weak" philosophy) than the Bibos twins. Another good example is Roi Atosuruya, Lafiel's commander. You would think that Atosuruya, being the brother of the Baron that Jinto and Lafiel killed, would have contempt towards them and use her position of power subtly to endanger their lives further (as well as be an early example of cracks in the Abh empire's perfect image). However, it is treated as water under the bridge. That's a surprisingly mature approach and Atosuruya has good reasons for why there's no real issue, but it passes on an opportunity for conflict/excitement. And when a series is a dry, slow-paced watch, that can go a long way to making it a worthwhile viewing. Ultimately, many of these issues can be brushed away by stating this is a beginning or prologue to events to come. This is based on the first book in a series of five, so changes can happen and what I've said could end up being irrelevant. That said, this review covers what is shown and known for the anime, so it's a bit unfair to say "the sequel fixes this" when this cour must be watched first. This show, to me, is the equivalent of reading a textbook. Yes, it's factual and there are a lot of important details you need for your classes or major. However, it's not an exciting read and it's hard to maintain excitement or interest. Like I said before, this may not apply to everyone. Those that want a more technical and tactical show will enjoy this, maybe even more so than Crest of the Stars. This isn't a bad show by any stretch, but it's just not to my preference. As I said before, this show is more action based and it shows in a slightly higher budget. There are more fight scenes and therefore more times to show off said action. There are a lot of camera tricks involved to simulate flight (Crest also did this, in fairness) and there's some ugly early CG used oc…

The beginning is kind of slow but it's starting to introduce you tot he idea that these people miss land. They're stuck in space. Jinto has more human friends among him on the Basroil, aka him and Lafiel's new ship. The humans are kind of at a lost at what to do because if you hadn't noticed, morale is a huge factor in any war and when the enemy is an advanced alien race that tells you 'Good luck with your war.' then it might confuse some. There's even a president that says he exaggerated a bit during his speech and that he's asking the commander in chief to use slurs in order to play the part of the bad guy. This war is a stage. Now I'm a bit torn on this criticism because really there are the Abhs and United Mankind...that's it, all these planets and ships and space but no aliens or creatures. But if you framed it so that the aliens were a third faction, therefore an enemy then I don't think I would like it, it takes focus away from the rivalry of the United Mankind and Abhs. I think it'd be interesting if they were maybe searching for such beings and just didn't find any, showing they're lonely in this war and or looking for a comrade rather than an enemy. But that doesn't mean it's any less like a game as I proposed. They show off little lore details like how the ships get repaired. The side-quest seeming missions have payoff, remember that guy who had the maids? Well his sister is here and she's got some things to say. Diaho, the cat returns and gets a space among the ship as the little pet friend. With that, we have some other new characters from pawns on the field, the higher Abriel, to shipmates. One of them may even be a love interest... Episode 3: Somson: " I don't need anything to drink boy." Jinto: "Okay. But please don't call me boy." Samson: "Handle your love triangle without your cat and I'll stop calling you boy." (pause, the girls stare) Jinto: "In that case, just call me boy." How can you not love a winner like this? He's also the water-boy this season, which would be cool if he builds himself up later but it's just funny how his solution to everything is a drink. Now, Jinto takes a sort of calm approach this time around since he's practically the servant to Lafiel professionally but personally, they're more friends than anybody else. He advises Lafiel on things from both sides, like how Lafiel is perceived by the crew, making her self aware. In a way, he can be the unsung champion sometimes but as time passes he starts to seem a bit clumsy, growing pains with his position and all, it's natural. This is what the series focuses on, the characters and then sort of builds up to these battles which are quite interesting but rare. I see why it's done but I think we could've done both at the same time, I mean Legend of the Galactic Heroes does a decent job with it and is in the same ballpark. So for developmental reasons that affect the pacing, I'm going to have to dock it. Lafiel also gets a moment at the beginning of episode 11 pertaining to her backstory which made me anticipate an academy arc or at least flashbacks that we may never get. The music continues to be excellent, not much else to be said about it other than that.

Seikai no Senki tells the story of Operation Phantom Flame, a large-scale invasion launched by the Humankind Empire Abh against the territory of the United Humankind. Most of the story is seen through the perspective of Jinto, the supply officer aboard the assault ship Basrogh, whose captain is his close friend Lafiel. Occasionally, the series shifts perspective to one of the Abh's admirals, allowing the audience to grasp the broader scope of the war and gain a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding the protagonists. The main appeal of the show is its depiction of warfare. The military system is built on concepts that are relatively simple to understand but allow for a surprising amount of tactical depth. For example, mines are equipped with engines and can even enter and exit hyperspace. They can be countered with your own mines, but ships that lack them must avoid the space-time bubbles created by enemy mines. As a last resource,point-defense lasers that can destroy the mines. But they are hard to hit, so the ship must keep manuvering to buy time. The story follows an assault ship (one of the lighter classes in the series) as it takes part in the most important battle of the current phase of the war. The Basrogh is a subordinate of a squadron and together they face different kinds of enemies, each presenting unique tactical challenges. Because of the ship's small size, as well as the inexperience of the crew, the stakes are always high: a single can be fatal. As a result, many battles are decided by the smallest details. The characters are another major strength. Jinto and Lafiel have excellent chemistry. The supporting cast is also strong. Each character feels distinct, and it is nice to watch them gradually grow closer to one another. The Abh admirals are very eccentric, making them a fun watch. There is also a strong psychological dimension to the story. The characters are young adults thrown into a war that’s far bigger than they are, constantly forced to make difficult choices while wondering what to do with their life once the fighting ends. The series does a great job capturing both the chaos of battle and the long stretches of waiting in between. During those quieter moments, the crew tries to enjoy whatever normalcy they can find, knowing that the next mission could easily be their last. Both the animation and sound design are above average and greatly enhance the experience. The soundtrack does it's job helping to reinforce the tension of battle and the character driven moments. The biggest issue is the pacing. It can drag at times, especially during some of the more reflective sections. Still, it’s a noticeable improvement over Seikai no Monshou. That makes Seikai no Senki a easy recommendation to viewers who enjoy grounded military science fiction mixed with slice-of-life storytelling. Just make sure to watch Seikai no Monshou first.