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Star Driver
STAR DRIVER 輝きのタクト
7.19(47K votes)
Ranked #3777Popularity #2084episodes
25
Type
TV
Status
Finished Airing
Aired
Oct 3, 2010 to Apr 3, 2011
Studios:Bones
RomanceSci-Fi
Synopsis
Deep beneath the surface of Southern Cross Isle, a mysterious organization known as the Glittering Crux Brigade frequently gathers in their underground fortress. The group is particularly interested in "Cybodies," stone giants which can transform into massive fighting humanoids but only in a realm known as "Zero Time." By finding and shattering the seals of the island's four seal maidens, Glittering Crux hopes to break free of Zero Time and use the Cybodies anywhere they please. One night, a young man named Takuto Tsunashi washes up on the island's shore and is rescued by Sugata Shindou and his fiancée Wako Agemaki, one of the island's seal maidens. After he awakens, Takuto quickly befriends the two and proceeds to enroll at the local academy, where many of his fellow students are secretly members of Glittering Crux. However, Takuto holds a secret: when in Zero Time, he can utilize a Cybody of his own—the Tauburn. In the forthcoming battle, Takuto and the Tauburn will be the key to preventing Glittering Crux from shattering Wako's seal and realizing its nefarious ambitions. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
121,228 Members
Worth Watching? — Global Verdict
7.0/10
Average Review Score
55%
Recommend It
20
Reviews Worldwide
International Reviews
Archaeon
Mixed Feelings
6
Adaptations are becoming a bit of a thorny issue in anime these days, which is a bit odd considering how many are produced every year. The constant conversion of stories from other media is a pretty lucrative business as there's already an established market for the end product and its merchandise, regardless of how good the show actually is. Like anything in life though, there's a price to pay, and there are increasing concerns about the impact adaptations are having on original works. The resulting negative effect on script and screen writers is beginning to be felt throughout the industry as studios everywhere are findingthat their creative teams are slowly becoming unable to develop original concepts into viable storylines. The reason for this is purely because in comparative terms, it takes more effort, imagination and skill to make something original than it does to rework something that already exists, and if one doesn't regularly exercise their "mental muscles" in a substantial manner, then their creativity will begin to stagnate. And that's the reason why we get anime like Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto (Takuto of the Radiance). The series begins with Agemaki Wako and Shindo Sugata as the pair take a moonlit stroll along a beach on the fictional Southern Cross Island. Along the way Wako detects the scent of of someone she doesn't know, and following the trail, she and Sugata find a young man who has been washed ashore. He is Tsunashi Takuto, and his arrival on the island will awaken his destiny. Well, that all sounds pretty heroic, but that's about as far as it goes. Star Driver may initially seem like an interesting proposition, but many of the plot themes are never fully realised, which only exacerbates the fact that there is simply too much going on in the storyline. The series makes some rather nice subtextual introductions at certain points, but no matter how important these may be to plot or character development, they're never fully utilised and thus become the equivalent of the human appendix (i.e. totally useless). The storyline progression is handled in the standard "fight of the week" manner that is so prevalent in shounen anime and manga, but alongside that Enokido Yoji (series composition and script writer), and director Igarashi Takuya (Soul Eater, Ashita no Nadja, Doremi), have seen fit to add a number of themes that only serve to confuse the audience. In addition to this there are a number of questions that remain unanswered come the end of the series, which may hint at an attempt to have the viewer infer the relevant information rather than outright carelessness. That doesn't mean the storyline is bad though. While there may be a degree of confusion, Star Driver does offer up some interesting ideas that could have taken the show in a new direction. Visually the series is a bit of an odd blend as while the concept is predominantly shounen, several of the male characters have a decidedly bishounen look to them. Star Driver seems to play on this by naming Takuto's alter ego the Galactic Pretty Boy, but it's difficult to tell if this is an attempt to parody the character style. That said, there's a mundanity to the overall design that no amount of beautification can remove, partly because everyone is supposed to look good, but mainly because there seems to be a limited range of expressions. While there are a few scenes that depict specific feelings rather well, the majority of the time the characters display very little emotion, and many of the more expressive moments can seem forced or contrived. In addition to this, the complicated and overly sexualised costumes of Glittering Star, the weird posturing, the rather odd mahou shoujo style transformation sequence when Takuto summons Tauburn, and even the design of Tauburn itself, all promote the idea that Star Driver is a parody anime, and this conflicts with the serious tone of the show. Speaking of Tauburn ... The conceptualisation of the cybodies is interesting in that it highlights a degree of innovation and originality, which is odd when one considers the slightly banal approach to character design. There's a novelty to the mechas that's nice to see, especially Tauburn's rather obvious court dandy/musketeer influenced look, so the obvious question is why the same innovative approach wasn't taken with the characters themselves. The backgrounds also suffer from a similar mundanity, which is a little disconcerting given the nicely surreal overtones of Zero Time. As for the animation, the character movements are pretty standard, but the action sequences are often fluid and well choreographed. Unfortunately this is overshadowed by the the fact that specific scenes have simply been re-used to the point where viewers may find themselves skipping particular moments, and while this tends to be a fairly common practice in "fight of the week" shows, it still smacks of laziness. Which neatly leads me on to the audio side of the series. Star Driver initially seems to be well served in the acting department thanks to the experience of Miyano Mamoru (Takuto), Hayami Saori (Wako), Fukuyama Jun (Sugata), and the rest of the cast, so it's a bit strange that many of the roles seem shallow and forced. Part of the reason for this is the lack of facial response on the characters themselves as this gives the impression that the seiyuu are trying too hard, but the script is also to blame as much of the dialogue seems to have been written just to fill in the gaps. All of this makes the voice acting a much more difficult proposition as the seiyuu are often forced to compensate for poor writing. On the other hand the effects are well timed and very clear, and one of the nice things about this show is how it doesn't use music, as background tracks are often reserved for occasions of emotive importance or action sequences. There are also two opening and ending themes for the series, and while they tend to have a slightly upbeat feel to them, they seem to work well with Star Driver's major theme. Possibly the biggest issue though, is the lack of substantial development on the part of the characters, which could have been somewhat offset had they been clearly defined from the start. Unfortunately this is not the case, and while viewers are given the facade of progression through interactions, conversations, and even action sequences, in reality there is only one thing learned throughout the whole show, and this only occurs in the final episode. In addition to this there are few explanations forthcoming about why the members of Glittering Star are so determined to use the cybodies, and the only thing that seems to tie their actions into the story is something called The Departure (which is another thing that isn't properly explained). But that's not the worst part. In a nutshell, the characters are dumb, and leading the idiocy is Takuto. The very first episode has him entering the enemy base, but for some reason he "forgets" that he's been to the heart of Glittering Star's operation, and so the secret society is left to continue their work relatively unimpeded. This is possibly the biggest hole in the plot as at that point Takuto is aware of the enemy, knows where they and who their target is, and could very easily expedite a much simpler and shorter resolution. Because of this the so-called past traumas, the posturing, the banality of the high school setting, pretty much everything used to define the characters in some manner, all become slightly ridiculous. So, where does that leave us? Well, on the surface this seems like a pretty solid proposition, especially with Enokido Yoji (who wrote the screenplay for Diebuster), taking part on the production side, and there are some enjoyable moments that occur throughout the series. Star Driver is nothing if not an interesting idea that tries to approach certain concepts from a different angle, and the little touches of innovation here and there add a pleasing quirkiness to proceedings. Sadly, it's not enough as the series retains a ridiculous quality that isn't helped by a decidedly sub-par script, seemingly emotionless characters, and the lack of any substantial explanations. Star Driver tries to do too much with too little, and the apparent attempts at parodying certain themes only adds to the confusion and makes the plot more convoluted and overly complicated. This may not be an adaptation of any sort, but that doesn't mean that it's automatically good, regardless of who worked on it. There are some positives within the series, but ultimately this is nothing more than mediocrity at its finest. The fault lies solely with Bones, who in the last two years have produced one original anime franchise (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0). Everything else has been an extension of an existing title, or an adaptation from another medium. Unfortunately they're just one studio out of many that continue to try and cash in on the popularity of something else, with no regard for the effect this has on the viewer or the industry itself. After all, it's easier to blame things like fansubs for falling sales rather than admit that what you've produced is nothing more than average.
Episodes (25)
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