Innocent Venus

Innocent venus is in my list of favourite animes forever. I thoroughly enjoyed it, mainly because I was hooked to the storyline right the way through. Full of twists and turns, I liked the way it wasn't exactly "predictable" . The series is short, doesn't drag on, but gives you plenty of time to "care" about the characters. I watched this series in Japanese, and I thought the voice acting was fairly well done, and graphically it was good, however I felt that the intergration of the computer effects on the mecha used could have been more seamless, because when there was great use ofcomputers, it was painfully obvious. The things I like most about Innocent venus is the music and the originality. The opening them "Noble Roar" I think is extremely addictive, and Sana's piano piece is absolutely gorgeous. Chraracter's could've been more original, but otherwise I thought it was a very original series, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Innocent Venus is a series I heard about a while back and I was pretty excited by the first episode. I was not expecting anything groundbreaking, but I was impressed by the visual panache and overall feel of the show. As it turns out, it is one of those series that starts off strong, and then loses its drive, only to pick it back up again in the final stretch. The problem is, by the time it starts to pick up the broken pieces of itself, it is a little too late to salvage the overall product. As rare as it is for me tosay this, I think this series would have been very well served to be even one episode longer, as the end feels like a mad dash to right the wrongs of the middle of the series. -- Story: 3 Let us face it: there is nothing groundbreaking about the story in Innocent Venus at all, nor is the writing particularly strong. In falling to so many cliches and failing to really get beyond them, the story of Innocent Venus really drags the rest of the series down. The plot twist of the series, which could have been a very high point--and still, to some extent, manages to be--is so forcefully pushed onto the audience it loses a lot of its weight. Also, though perhaps it seems odd to mention the opening and ending animations here, they actually hint heavily at the plot twist, and raise suspicion artificially in the early stages of the show. Had it not been for the opener and closer, I would not have been waiting for the plot twist from the earliest moments of the series, and, man, would it have been a lot more impressive. I normally ignore those animations for the purposes of a review, but in such a case when they actually negatively affect the series I felt it should be mentioned. Also, the sub-plots, particularly the ones that are the focus of much of the middle portion of the series, are simply abominable, and at times make the series nigh unwatchable. I can appreciate their attempt to diversify the story, but in the execution it fell off horribly. Character: 6 In general, the characters in Innocent Venus can be described in one word: bland. At least, pretty much every character aside from Sana, Jin, and Jo fit this description. Mostly the cast is made up of flat characters whose entire character is established within a few moments of them being on screen, and typically stick close to basic archetypes, deviating ever so slightly from time to time. However, the relationship between Sana, Jin, and Jo, offers an interesting dynamic which is really one of the major strong points of the show. However, Jo is a weak link in this chain, his reticence a great impediment to any development they might have given him, and even Jin suffers from some drastic changes that really make him a completely different character. Sana is certainly a strong point, her girlish nature amusingly and dramatically at odds with the events occurring all around her. When the three's relationship is at center stage, the show generally flourishes, but when it takes a side seat to the secondary characters and various sub-plots, it is not a pretty sight to behold. And, while the characters design is not completely without merit, the secondary characters really get shafted in this department. Animation: 6 Right in the first episode Innocent Venus impresses with its animation. The art itself looks great, and is very expressive. The character designs are interesting without being absurd, and everything moves about smoothly and naturally. Though it begins on a very high note, it begins to taper off noticeably rather quickly, and only rises to its former greatness in short spikes until the very end. Early on the action sequences will take you by storm, but in the middle of the series they serve merely as vehicles from one weak plot point to another, and all sense of drama and impact are lost to extensive use of shortcuts and a great deal of action taking place off screen. The 3d models used for the mechs look simple and out of place amidst the sharp characters and the deep landscapes, looking more like plastic models than dangerous weapons. In short, when the series shines, it's an intense, piercing experience, but more often than not it loses that and comes off weakly. During the majority of the middle portion of the series, in particular, production values fall to great depths, and at times it seems as if there is no salvaging it--and, indeed, this section does drag the entire series down a great deal, making what could have been a very good series into one that is merely okay. Especially bad are the naval battles, which run the gamut from unwatchable to simply bad, and are full of the sort of pseudo-military jargon I think everyone has come to expect from action series. Unfortunately, these battles have none of the other battles' flair or style, and are stale even compared the most perfunctory ground battle. Sound: 6 Now, I will be the first to admit that soundtracks can be too overbearing, and dominate a scene to the extent that you sometimes wonder why they bothered with the animation. Innocent Venus generally takes it to the other extreme. Most of the music in this series is so subdued as to be completely unnoticeable, occasionally flaring up into existence to nudge a scene in the right direction. Thus, the soundtrack is not bad, per se, and certainly has its place in the series, but a little more weight would have been a good thing. At times this is not the case, primarily in one of two instances: piano pieces, which hold a fairly important place in the story, and during action sequences, during both of which the soundtrack really shines. One thing that can be said for the soundtrack throughout most of the series--certain sections in the middle the most notable exception--is that it is timed very well to what is happening on screen, and never leaves a sour taste in your mouth. However, even this trait suffers in the middle portion, unfortunately, the only thing not noticeably taking a hit being the voice-acting. On that note, the voice-acting is almost universally decent, but--aside from a few instances and Sana's seiyuu Nazuka Kaori--never impressive in any sense. However, because the seiyuu for Sana does such a good job in expressing her character and providing most of the fun in the series, and because she is present throughout much of the show, the voice-acting as a whole remains a modest strong point of the show. -- Overall, Innocent Venus was an enjoyable ride, but it drags so much in the middle portion, and loses everything that made it exciting in the beginning. Though efforts are made to pick up the pieces in the ending stretch, ultimately they fail to make up for the miserable pacing and drop in production values that haunt the majority of the central third of the show. With a supremely forgettable soundtrack and uninspired voice-acting from all but one of the cast, nothing in Innocent Venus manages to stand strong throughout the series. The series loses it focus a great deal, and cannot manage to regain its lost concentration until it is too late. When events are focused around Sana, Jin, and Jo, and the relationship among them which is quite well developed, the series thrives, and is a genuine pleasure to watch. However, take this away and a cold, unpleasant taste is left in the audience's mouths. The Ten Second Version Story: 3 - Full of cliches expressed through lackluster writing, the story is propelled forcefully by the series' stronger traits. Character: 6 - The relationship between Sana, Jin, and Jo is a remarkably strong point in the show, but the majority of the other characters are flat and dull Animation: 6 - Early on and later on the animation is extremely well-handled, but during the middle portions it all suffers greatly. Static art is attractive, although many of the designs, both for characters and machines, could have used a lot more work. The 3d animation in the series is also poorly integrated. Sound: 6 - The music is mostly subdued, barely managing to push scenes in the right direction, although the piano pieces are very good. Some of the tracks are put to good use, however, and the dramatic timing is often quite good. As for voice actors, Nazuka Kaori shines as young Shana, and there are no glaringly bad ones, but overall the performances are lackluster. Overall: 5.5 Seems a little out of tune...

Inncent Venus is placed in a very hard section of anime that it is forced to content with. Since the anime has a mecha theme it is commonly compared up to the standards of other mecha anime. But this story offers a little heart, for a minii-series. Story- The story is based around on of those commonly used ideas. It is almost like the creators took a bunch of commonly used ideas and pinned them to the wall, turn around a threw some darts at them. The darts that stuck became the plot. But for having traditional development with a typical plot, it was quite aninteresting angle to follow the story form. For you were not simply gifted with the ideas of those that were central to the story but you go to see into the lives of the other side as well. That adds a fuller picture to what is going on in the plot. So yes it does have a military, on the run, mecha feel to it, but it brings to the table a story seen from all angles, that offers you to see into hte minds of not only the leads but those who oppose them. The overarching plot is really good and something I have have never seen before in an anime. When You finish the anime and then go back though it you can find those little details that you missed the first time. Especially in the opening sequences. Art- The art of this anime is beautiful. Everything look really well polished, when I was first looking at this anime I read a review in a magazine, there they said that they hired people who have never made mecha before to make the ones for Innocent Venus. I think that really came out. THe Mecha were believable and they moved well. They also didn't have the problem that mecha usually have where they look like they were obviously made somewhere else then that frame. What I mean is they interacted with the environment well. Sound: With the exception of the opening, I can't recall there being any really amazing sounds. The opening was not moved in the direction of the song but the song seemed to couple the images well. Almost as though it were written for the images. Characters- The characters were all stock characters with a little growth added for good measure. But that doesn't make them bad characters, just a little predictable. Although a few of the characters are well developed and deserve to be awarded for that. Enjoyment: The scenes are fast paced and the battle sequences are well timed, not spending too much time fighting but making each fight enjoyable. The dialog was amazing and very witty at times. IT is a plot that you can keep watching over and over because it just has that simple pleasure to it. I would urge you to try it and see if you like it.

Story takes place in our world when a desaster happened and left the Earth drastically altered. So we see more of how humans can be selfish/EVIL bastards World gets divided into the rich and the poor. And we've got 3 main characters: the white-haired nice guy who's the brains of the group and who has a mysterious air around him, Jinthe black-haired fighter who's stoic and rarely talks. Jo. Yet its not like he's a cold person, he's actually really nice and cares about those around him, he shows his love through actions--not words. the pink-haired damsel in distress. Sana. Wait--what 'damsel' she's a friggin little girl. Very naive and trusting. Attached to Jin and misjudges Jo as someone scary cuz he doesnt talk... oh and let us not forget the 4th member. Gora, an annoying, ANNOYING street rat who causes trouble up and down. Eh, he gets better. anyway I started this series cuz it got a lot of praise, and it was the type people claim to just speed through, as its only 12 episodes. It was okay, but i've seen better the mecha fights were lame, maybe because i've been spoiled on GS but the machinery looked too fake and sometimes it appeared as tho my screen freezed when really it hadn't, the machines were just abnormally still... Soundtrack wasn't anything special, but i did like the off key piano playing :] art was okay, tho some characters just had WEIRD eyes. Like the grandpa and the chinese Phantom guy. Some crude concepts are included too. Doing horrible experiments and the whole genetically altered spiel. Romance in it was lame. Should just be omitted. And story was good but it could've been better. overall it was a decent anime. Nothing overly horrible, but also nothing great enough to give it an 8,9 or 10. Its nice tho to see different coloured characters in it.Personally i love Oryo (lol the pirate one) As that's rare in anime. Like Eygpt from Hetalia was supposed to be dark but they made him light in the anime, whats up with that?