Kankakee Area Anime Association --> Reviews --> Blue Seed

Blue Seed

Format: TV Series
Length: 26 episodes x 25 Minutes
Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
Original Air Date: 1994/1995
Creator: Takada Yuzo
Director: Kamiya Jun
Voice Talent:
Fujiyama Momiji Hayashibara Megumi
Kusanagi Mamoru Inoue Kazuhiko
Kunikida Daitetsu Otsuka Akio
Matsudaira Azua Sakakibara Ryouko
Takeuchi Ryoko Mitsuishi Kotono
Sawaguchi Kome Origasa Ai
Yaeyashi Yoshiki Ueda Yuji
Yamazaki Sakura Tamagawa Sakiko
Kunikida Kaeda Yayoi Mitsuki
Murakumo Nakata Jouji

Ratings: PG-13
Grades: 10 scale
Animation Quality: 7
Art Quality: 7
Fun Factor: 8
Music Quality: 6
Plot Quality: 7
Script Quality: 6
Overall: 6 5/6
Stars: 3 1/2 (Very Good)
Synopsis: Fujiyama Momiji’s life is changed forever when vegetable demons, known as the Aragami, begin trying to kill her. Rescued from the jaws of death by the mysterious Kusanagi Mamoru, Momiji is put into the care of the TAC. The TAC is a special occult crime unit that has been fighting the Aragami threat for years. Sadly, they have suffered the recent loss of their leader’s adopted daughter, Kunikida Kaeda. Momiji discovers that Kaeda is actually her twin sister and that she is destined to fight the Aragami menace.
Review: This was a very likable super-natural horror series. There is some fan service in the earlier episodes but that seems to fade away after episode six, when the plot really picks up. The story itself is a liberal re-mixture of ancient Japanese mythology and folk-lore. The scripts are fairly well executed and the animation is very good, unlike many series from the ‘80’s and ‘70’s. The character development is also well executed. Momiji, the main character, is something of a bumbling klutz. Her young naiveté is quite charming as is her never say die attitude. No matter how fouled up things get, Momiji is always either helping out, or rooting the other members of the TAC on. Together the character ensemble confronts the Aragami menace. The backgrounds and intimate details of all the characters are given good attention. From Dr. Takeuchi’s son to Matsudaira-sempai’s mother, all of the characters receive enough attention to make them important to the viewer. While Blue Seed is not as ground breaking as, say, Evangelion, it has its own unique charms. It is an especially good offering in the horror genre, especially if you enjoy horror with some camp (e.g. Fright Night or Scream). It never overtly takes itself too seriously but; it nevertheless manages to maintain some good atmospheric tension. Blue Seed should appeal to most anime fans, as it has a good combination of romance, action, and humor.

Reviewed by: Jacob Jett