Innocent Venus | Anime Review | Pinnedupink.com

Innocent Venus

Mecha and Military themes usually go hand in hand in the realm of Anime, because most of these robots capable of mass destruction are employed in the name of Defence for the greater good. But once you are presented with a platter of seemingly great choices, you need some headway to make a sound decision and then stick to it. Are you looking for some dynamic Action and intriguing Sci-Fi aspects as well? Well, tread carefully as the Mecha genre isn’t in its prime like it used to be.

Innocent Venus is a 12 episode TV anime series that aired from the 27th of July until the 26th of October in Summer 2006. It was produced by Bandai Visual, licensed by ADV Films and brought to life by Studio Brain's Base. The main staff behind it are Chung Jin Ho as Producer, Iwanami Yoshikazu as Sound Director, Kawagoe Jun as Director and on Storyboard and Kawamura Tomoyuki as Episode Director, Assistant Director and on Storyboard.

This Anime is an original series featuring the genres of Adventure, Drama and Sci-Fi along with the two main themes of Mecha and Military. It received a Rating of PG-13 for teenagers 13 years or older.

The Story is set in the year 2010 AD, where catastrophe had struck globally in the form of Hyper Hurricanes, which were born concurrently all over the world and left only severe damage in their wake.

These disasters caused the death of around five billion people worldwide, bringing the world population down to only 3 billion in total. It should come as no surprise that the existing economies and militaries were all completely wiped out. All that was left were countries frozen under solid ice, plains that had long sunk beneath the ocean, and a world that had dramatically changed.

The tattered remains of human civilization thus entered a chaotic era where poverty flourished everywhere outside of specific economic zones and slums became severely widespread. The Monarchy system came back in full swing with the ruling class calling themselves “Logos,” and they maintained their positions via military force of arms within a Dictatorial rule.

They segregated the poor, terming them as the “Revenus,” and had them exiled to live outside the special economic zones. The passage of time was indifferent to all this, and the world stayed this way up until the point where the plot begins. Protagonists Katsuragi Jo, and Tsurasawa Jin, are making a fateful escape from “Phantom,” a force organized by the Logos to watch over the Revenus and suppress any renegade elements sparked within. The duo are taking a mysterious girl named Nobuto Sana, whom many seem to be thoroughly interested in, all with their own separate reasons.

Innocent Venus was an Anime that was placed in the wrong place at the wrong time. Its Mecha theme causes it to be compared to other Mecha series, which is not where its strength or emphasis lies. Despite being a mini-series, it has a lot more heart and drama. The premise and setting are pretty standard, and there is nothing special about them. Thus the Story has traditional development built around a typical plot, but it chose an interesting angle to follow.

It presents to viewers the ideas and mindsets of the characters central to the story but also the lives of the characters on the other side. This manages to give a fuller picture of what is going on in the plot at a greater depth. This does not mean the series abandons its main themes either, as it presents a Military, on the run, Mecha vibe in a solid story seen from numerous angles.

Despite starting cliche slightly, the plot progresses well to become more complex, exciting, unique, and unconventional. It presents viewers with intriguing questions, defining plot twists, a satisfying climax, a solid conclusion, and great pacing. After the end, it's nice to go back through the series and find little details that were missed the first time, especially those in the opening sequences.

The characters are primarily generic anime archetypes, but they do not fail to breathe much life into the series overall. They serve to invigorate the plot via their interactions and motivations that keep viewers consistently intrigued and guessing. In particular, Jin and Jo's relationship is incredibly thrilling and entertaining to watch as it progressively unravels.

Generic as they may be, even if one of them were changed, the show would lose some of its charms. They are well written, neatly animated, decently developed, proficiently voiced, and very memorable. They can be predictable at times but are in no way terrible. Few of them achieve praiseworthy development too.

The Art and Animation are mostly well done, absorbing, beautiful, and adeptly presented. CG is present in a few elements which don't blend too well with the backgrounds and look distracting.

The Animation itself is very fluid, while the Action sequences are compelling and well-choreographed. In terms of art, the characters, environments, sceneries, and objects are all crisp and detailed, albeit a bit generic. Overall, everything looks well polished, and the Mecha aspects actually looked believable, not out of place, interacted well with their environments, and had fluid movements.

The Sounds and Music of Innocent Venus are nothing exceptional or memorable. The Opening theme is "Noble Roar" by Yousei Teikoku, which is pretty good. While it did not move in the direction of the song, it coupled the visuals well. The ending theme is "Brand New Reason" by FLEET.

As for the OSTs, a few of them stand out while the others are quickly forgotten. The recurring Piano pieces were beautifully composed and became a keen little focus of the show. While this department didn’t do an outstanding job, the audio sufficiently did its part without robbing anything from the Anime.

Overall, Innocent Venus is a very compelling series featuring an intriguing story and captivating characters. It is a very well-written and satisfying production, which goes underrated to this day. It has multiple intense episodes and moments that really stand out from the conventional. While it is not an extraordinary masterpiece, it is worth the watch and deserves more praise and recognition.

If you enjoy fast-paced scenes, well-timed battle sequences, non-dragged-out fights, and enjoyable clashes, this Anime is one for you. The dialogue is well written, with some good humor thrown in as well. The plot will ensure that you keep watching until the very end by virtue of the simple pleasure it delivers. Recommended, this title is definitely worth a shot, and it will leave you entertained.