| Because we see the cream of the anime crop in the US, we have a somewhat skewed perception of the typical level of quality in Japan. Truthfully, a large amount of anime production is entertaining, but not at all outstanding. 'Blue Seed' is such a series. Derivative and predictable, its success very much due to the strange cast of characters rather than plot, or soaring narrative. But, it is indeed, enjoyable watching. Momiji Fujiyama is a young woman who wants nothing more than an ordinary life. The death of a twin she has never met finds Momiji being hunted down by evil creatures called Arigami. She is now the Kushinada, whose sacrifice will put the Arigami to sleep for decades, unless she is killed in special circumstances. She escapes, and is taken under the wing of the TAC Organization, dedicated to preventing the Arigami from devouring Tokyo. TAC is the typical paranormal defense group. A gruff commander, efficient assistant, scientist, gun geek, and a computer freak. Add to this poor Momiji, whose desires for having a normal adolescence go up in smoke as one monster after another plague Tokyo. Momiji has a strange connection to the Arigami, through the blue seeds that are the essence of the monsters. One of the problematic issues with this series is that the English dubbing considerably softens the original Japanese dialog. This would be bad if it were not for the problem that the Japanese narrative is very blunt and harsh. To the point that it seems out of pace with the story itself. Add to this the fact that the dubbing is unevenly recorded, and you have a dilemma of modest proportions. To be honest, I find the English dub a little easier to listen to than the Japanese is, but it is a personal choice. This is a series where many of the characters specialize in being rude. Kome Sawaguchi, TAC's military specialist ignores her duty, insults the rest of the team, and is permanently angry. Mamoro Kusanagi, the Kushinada's guardian, uses unusually pithy language and behavior around 15-year-old Momiji. Everyone seems fixated on what cute animal print is on Momiji's unmentionables. The dubbing cleans this up enough to get the age rating down to 12+, but I think that is a bit optimistic. Some of this is funny, but it sets an uncomfortable tone to a series that has a very serious main theme. |