In the mysterious future, crystalline organisms called Gems inhabit a world that has been destroyed by
six meteors. Each Gem is assigned a role in order to fight against the Lunarians, a species who
attacks them in order to shatter their bodies and use them as decorations.
Phosphophyllite, also known as Phos, is a young and fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in
the war effort. Instead, they are told to compile an encyclopedia because of their delicate condition.
After begrudgingly embarking on this task, Phos meets Cinnabar, an intelligent gem who has been
relegated to patrolling the isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison their body
creates. After seeing how unhappy Cinnabar is, Phos decides to find a role that both of the rejected
Gems can enjoy. Houseki no Kuni follows Phos' efforts to be useful and protect their fellow Gems.
Land of the Lustrous Very, very different to anything I’ve experienced before. Watching it felt more like watching an RPG’s cinematic sequences than an anime. It was captivating, multi-layered, and so beautifully crafted I was in sheer awe throughout the majority of the show. The anime felt strangely tranquil, even throughout its action scenes, even as the mystery was built up. After it was over it left me pondering for quite a while. The story was incredibly unique; I was enthralled from the get-go. There was very little context to go on, which matched the character’s lack of understanding about their world perfectly. All we received was a short backstory about the history of their world, which was as original as it was fantastical. Most of the story revolved around getting to know and understand the gems’ way of life and mentalities, with the mystery elements – what are the lunarians? Why do they really want the gems? What is their relationship to Sensei? – not being explored until near the end of the series. Each aspect of the Gems’ world was interesting: their different jobs, their home, their hierarchy (which used the hardness and age of each gem to determine their place), and their interactions with the rest of their mainly desolate world. There were some similarities to the way human society works, yet there were far more differences, and this is what made watching it so fascinating. The differences were mainly due to the lifespan of the gems; an immortal views existence differently to those who have death at the end of their road. For an immortal it is all about finding something to give eternity meaning, finding a reason to want to live, and not just exist. Humans have that too, but not to the same extent. As the anime compellingly puts it ‘death takes everything, but in return it gives meaning to life’. A profound quote, and one that made me stop and think about life and death in general. However I didn’t really feel the existential dread one would expect throughout this anime. To the contrary I felt…peaceful. Serene. There were a few cleverly done tense parts in the story, but they didn’t negate the overall tone. The pacing was also perfect, neither too fast nor too slow. I felt there was enough time given to absorb each new detail without feeling either overloaded or bored. The art and animation were phenomenal. The colours were vibrant, with shades of green, blue and pink I’ve never before seen in an anime. And as for the use of CGI, let me put it like this: this anime better be the winner of the best CGI category in the awards this year, because it beats everything else hands down. Each pane was flawless. Even the characters’ hair was a work of art. The sound was unusual, yet fitting. the op was…jerky, for lack of a better way to describe it. It took some getting used to, but I did come to see how it matched the overall tranquil tone of the series. The ed was very nice; that’s about all I can say about it. The characters were loveable. The character with by far the most development was Phos – as expected from the MC. His/her development, though, was wonderful. Starting out as a virtually helpless, perpetually restless, and irritatingly spoiled child, by the end of the series (s)he had grown to understand the world, to look beyond his/herself and his/her own desires and actually think in a mature way. The transition was smooth; (s)he didn’t change overnight. Rather each event impacted his/her psyche a little more, culminating after a particular incident about two thirds of the way through the series. It was remarkably executed, and evident that the underlying Phos was the same, no matter his/her changes. The other characters had varying degrees of development. The most intriguing of the secondary characters was probably Antarctictite, whose interactions with Phos contributed to both their developments – they rubbed off on each other and both came away the better for it. The others were mainly defined by how they contributed to the community – they were developed more as different features of the community were explored. Diamond, Bort, Cinnabar, Rutile, Jade and King were noteworthy characters, but more because of their role in Phos’ development than on their own merit. Regardless, they were all splendid to watch - Diamond in particular had some superb action scenes that also helped flesh out the story. Conclusion: it’s the world-building that wins it for me. That, and the overall tone of the series. I couldn’t find a single reason to give it less than a perfect score except for the sudden ending (I would have liked to see one or two of the burning questions answered). And thus, a perfect score was what I gave it. A work of art that thoroughly deserves its praises. NB: I’d recommend this series to deep thinkers or anyone looking for something new and creative (adults and kids alike). I wouldn’t, however, recommend this series to people looking for a fast-paced comedy with lots of romance, because this story doesn’t have that. (Thankfully it doesn’t have any fanservice either). It’s a fantastical coming of age story, and should be viewed with an open mind. That said, go and watch it! I hope you’ll like it just as much as I did.
It’s unfortunate that many people overlook and under rate CGI based series, me included. But after reading the synopsis and watching 4 episodes, I’m glad I made the decision to watch Land of the Lustrous. I guess you can say this is the…Hidden gem of the season \(\~_~) Out of all the anime that aired this Fall, Houseki no Kuni caught my attention the most. With its oddly intriguing story along with the setting and characters. The characters of this series are gems. You know, Diamond, Jade, Alexandrite, and the other ones. Each gem has a certain hardness, how easy they can break. One of the very weak gems are our main characters, Phos and Cinnabar. I did not do any research so I have no idea about how each gem acts and their exact information. But the anime does well to explain enough the characteristics of each one. Basically the Gems or Jewels task is to fend off against like, Moon Dwellers? They constantly fight the gems to kidnap them for the purpose of decoration. Of course, being gems, it’s understandable. With this, Land of the Lustrous does well to present an action packed, scenic filled, colourful, atmospheric anime for us to enjoy. Unfortunately for Phos, her task doesn't come with badass fighting scenes, her (I know they’re genderless, so i’m just gonna refer to these as girls cuz they're more feminine than anything else) job is to write down notes for an encyclopaedia and make history. Not so fun is it. Being an easily breakable gem, Phos had it coming. The soundtrack is quite amazing with its catchy opening and insert songs. The sfx used as well is amazing and the overall music just fits perfectly. The animation is definitely a strong point, despite the CGI that it has. It flows nicely and the action scenes and cinematography is spot on. I am pretty tempted to read the original source to see how it differs, but I do hear that the adaptation is pretty well made, so no complaints there. The voice acting performance of course is very good as well, each character has an appropriate voice for those characters. It fits and it makes me feel for them more. My enjoyment for this series is beyond the roof. To the calm, SOL feeling situations, to the action packed and serious scenes as well. Although the tone shifts could make people see this series different, I do believe it has a more positive impact than a negative one. I enjoy each character and the different types of jewels and the use of their “hardness” rank. I love how some gems are fragile and some aren't and they use that nicely in this anime. Overall this anime needs more attention, just because something isn't cgi, does not mean it can’t present a good story driven anime with good characters within a good setting. Houseki no Kuni deserves a lot more. If you have time at all, I really do recommend watching this anime, because It wont be a waste of time.
Houseki no Kuni is the dullest anime I’ve seen in a long time, which is ironic considering the gemstone theme. This review will go over why I thought so, and I hope you are able to understand my point of view. ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/VWlsd7c.jpg)~~~ Before that, though, I want to take a little bit of time to praise the visuals. As you likely know by now, Houseki no Kuni is a fully CG anime. It also happens to be far and above the best-looking one, and uses the medium to its advantage rather than just as a cost-saving measure. The most obvious example of this is the characters’ hair, which has a captivating translucency that seems perfect for CG. And during the action sequences, the camera has these wild panning, sweeping, rotating motions to capture what’s going on from every angle. They never go too far as to be sickeningly fast, and add a lot of eye candy that would have been prohibitively expensive and time-consuming with traditional animation. There are a lot of great shots of the environment as well. Everything is lush with greenery and the “school” they live in has an imposing, hallowed sort of feel with its massive stone architecture. The only flaw in this sense is that since the events take place within such a small radius you end up seeing a lot of the same areas over and over. Nevertheless, in general the shot composition is quite good. A few shots in particular stick in my mind, like the scene in episode 7 when the gems go to sleep (incidentally, probably my favorite episode). And during calmer scenes the camera frequently is placed way behind any of the characters to show how small they are in comparison to the empty world they’re in. Overall it’s just quite well-done. Every other CG anime should take after this one. ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/RfPYSaq.jpg)~~~ Unfortunately, now we have to get to the aspects I didn’t like. # __Visuals__ Wait, didn’t I like the visuals? Yeah, but there are some definite improvements that could be made. The first is quite obviously the framerate. I must give credit to Houseki no Kuni for breaking new ground in the CG space and being the first CG anime to render everything at a barely-watchable framerate. This is a quantum leap from previous CG works which typically ran at about a silky smooth 3 FPS. But even if Houseki no Kuni has made strides in this department, a barely-watchable framerate is still barely acceptable, or perhaps not acceptable at all. I get it, Japan, buying rendering time is expensive, but you need to hit a full, actual 24 FPS. Anything less is too stuttery. If you can’t afford it, then delay the project five years until costs come down. I’d gush over 60 or 120 FPS but I know that is never going to happen so I will settle for 24. Secondly, it's not a big problem while watching the show, but it's clear this is a product of a CG anime industry in its infancy. I mentioned the shot composition is often pretty great, but just as often it's on a bland shot of a field or two characters talking. As CG anime keeps getting better I'm sure directors will find more and more interesting things to do with the camera during downtime. Finally, the character design, or rather lack thereof. Their heads and hair are different but that’s it - every character looks exactly the same from the neck down. A gangly CLAMP-style body, but with considerable hips, each in the same drab black school uniform. ~~~img180(https://i.imgur.com/XKZLRWR.png)~~~ >"Wow! What Amazing® and Unique© character design!" Actually, speaking of considerable hips, that reminds me. # __“Gender neutral” characters__ ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/Xfb2mXd.png)~~~ >“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn’t belong…” I don’t really care a whole lot one way or another, but when I heard talk about there only being gender-neutral characters I was a somewhat intrigued. So I was a little disappointed when I watched the show for myself and saw that, for all intents and purposes, every character was just a girl except for Kongou. They may only use male/neutral pronouns to refer to themselves and others, but that doesn’t really affect anything at all. This isn’t really a complaint per se, but the “gender neutrality” of the characters just seems like a gimmick to stimulate discussion and interest in the series rather than being of any consequence. # __Plot__ ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/k0gKodt.png)~~~ Nothing happens. This is barely an exaggeration. For the first half of the show it’s Phos doing monster-of-the-week crap with a new buddy. Except it’s not even monster of the week since it’s basically just the Lunarians every time. Walk around, get careless, get attacked by Lunarians suddenly, someone gem breaks, everything is okay in the end. The developments are so inconsequential that if someone explained the plot of the first six episodes to you in three minutes you could go on to episode 7 without having really missed anything. The second half does have slightly more variety. In particular the winter scenes were a nice change of pace. Nevertheless just about all that happened was “this isn’t even my final form” Phos. There are no subtleties here, for any given episode you wouldn't miss out on much of anything by just reading the Wikipedia summary instead. # __Cinnabar__ ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/KSYzJaq.jpg)~~~ I only mention Cinnabar separately from the rest because they are listed as a “main” character in the Anilist database. What a joke. They show up one minute per episode to mope then go back to their cave. Their inclusion is entirely pointless and only serves to act as some sort of anchoring point to pretend there is an arc between episodes 1 and 12. I guess this is enough of a segue to talk about the rest of the characters. # __Characters__ Every character but Phos is completely one-note and forgettable. Actually, I take that back, over half of them are zero-note. There simply are not any personalities; it’s amazing how bland the characters are. I’m reminded of [the classic Phantom Menace review that challenges people to describe various characters without describing their appearance or role.](https://youtu.be/FxKtZmQgxrI?t=413) I wonder how well people would fare with Houseki’s cast. We could add that you can't mention their hardness level either. ~~~img115(https://i.imgur.com/j3s50TS.png)~~~ ~~~_Euclase:_~~~ >“Uh… um… which one was that again?” ~~~img115(https://i.imgur.com/bHIGpzN.png)~~~ ~~~_Jade:_~~~ >“Hm… Uh, normal, I guess?” Perhaps those two are a little unfair. Despite popping up fairly often throughout the series they aren’t very important characters after all. Although one wonders why you would bother having thirty introduced characters in the first place if only two or three are of any importance. ~~~img115(https://i.imgur.com/ppYWECF.jpg)~~~ ~~~_Amethyst:_~~~ >“They're twins! Wait, we can’t describe their role or whatever. Well, they’re purple. Wait, crap.” ~~~img115(https://i.imgur.com/SmALaqY.jpg)~~~ ~~~_Kongou:_~~~ >“Sleepy! Yes, sleepy. Kongou is definitely sleepy.” You see my point. If you thought as hard as you could, you might be able to come up with more than one adjective for Diamond or Antarcticite, but that’s about it. No one but Phos is of any interest. # __Phos__ ~~~img638(https://i.imgur.com/UrVugTi.png)~~~ I made a mistake in the last section by implying Phos might be an interesting character. Minor spoilers: ~!About the extent of their development is getting the ability to talk to fish and super-speed legs. Then later when the author decided super-speed legs weren’t very interesting, said powers were retconned away with Phos also getting golden Mr. Fantastic arms and a haircut. Not to mention that each of these powers were acquired in the same stupid way. Fishspeak, Phos is left unsupervised and she is eaten by the fish thing. Super speed legs, Phos is left unsupervised, gets easily tricked by by said fish and is knocked around by Lunarians. Golden arms, Phos is left unsupervised and falls into an icy pond. Why are you still leaving this incompetent gem alone!? Maybe this was Kongou’s plan all along, leave her alone so her arms and legs will get ripped off and then level up conveniently. They should just do this with all of the gems. Additionally, I have to question what this means symbolically for character growth. If you’re weak, you’re useless, but if you are also a huge idiot and put yourself in danger repeatedly then you might get sweet cyborg limbs? I have a hard time thinking that was the intent here, so the only interpretation left is that these were just cheap tricks to keep the main character relevant to the meager plot somehow.!~ Halfway through the show Phos’ character changes drastically but I have a hard time accepting this as a “character arc.” It’s more like they’re one character the first half and another character in the second. This change comes off as forced as if the author couldn't figure out how else to progress the story. # __The ending__ ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/yEcljig.jpg)~~~ I wasn’t invested in the show by the end anyway so I didn’t care that much, but prospective viewers should be aware that this anime has a non-ending. I can’t fault Houseki for that too much though as it’s just the realities that come with adapting an ongoing manga. # __Conclusion__ ~~~img640(https://i.imgur.com/YkDS5i7.jpg)~~~ I suppose that’s about all I wanted to say. Truly, without meaning to offend, I am not sure what people liked about this show. The OP was nice, the music was very good, the visuals were flawed but intriguing. Yet that’s about it. I can’t help but feel this got the attention it did primarily because it was CG, rather than that being a detriment to its popularity. I’ll end it off with a quote from mathemagican’s review on MAL which sums up my feelings pretty well: “A bland cast of characters fights a boring monster of the week that goes nowhere. How dull.”
__I have not read the manga basically beyond where the anime ends, and the high score I give this is at least partially dependent on how much potential I view there is in what lies beyond the anime's events. _Also, no outright spoilers beyond what's tagged.___ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/WiDr6RD.gif)~~~ ___ #Introduction# img440(https://i.imgur.com/9k8FTC2.png) Land of the Lustrous is wonderful. It is perhaps one of the only series, where I view the anime adaptation much greater than the original source material. No offense to [Haruko Ichikawa](https://anilist.co/staff/111515/Haruko-Ichikawa), but I in fact read the manga prior to the anime. I read the first volume or two, and I remember thinking it was a neat series... but I didn't continue on. Then, I saw that there had been a [PV made for the manga back in like 2013](https://anilist.co/anime/19581/Land-of-the-Lustrous-PV/). So I watched that and I just thought: "Wow, holy SHIT, this series is _WAY_ better with color." I decided I would pick up the manga again at some point in the future, and some time passed. That brings us to the announcement for the anime. Fully CG. Immediately, the defenses went up. "I really don't know about this. That 2D PV looked fucking great. I really don't want to get burned again." img440(https://i.imgur.com/SYZ62fm.png) I... absolutely did not expect this to end up being one of my favorite shows of the entire Fall 2017 season. It wasn't immediate. It was a gradual thing. But there's a certain action scene towards the end, not only was I fully invested and hooked into the scene, but I felt genuine danger for the character involved. And that's despite the fact that these gem characters are almost essentially immortal. If they get broken into pieces, they CAN be repaired if all the pieces are there. And yet I still felt danger for not just the one in that scene, but several throughout the entire series. _...Actually, I'm not even sure I can actually name the last action series where I actually felt like the character is in serious danger. Like even when they get into tough straits, I know they're still just gonna fucking win anyways because they __have to__._ img440(https://i.imgur.com/ndoDRhD.png) ___ #The Gems# Basically, the entire series is around this large cast of characters made out of numerous different types of gems. They are androgynous, and as previously stated, they are essentially immortal. If they get damaged or broken entirely, they can be repaired or put back together as long as they have all the pieces. They don't eat, they don't drink, and the youngest of these gems whom this series is centered around is at least _three hundred years old_. img440(https://i.imgur.com/qfJnTqI.png) Their usefulness in battle is directly linked to their rating on the hardness scale. But it quickly becomes apparent that hardness does not determine everything, as the gems who aren't the ones always jumping into battle first tend to have their own roles. Additionally, there is a rather weak one who only appears during Winter and throughout that entire season, their hardness rating is boosted up significantly, while the rest of the gems are forced to hibernate. img440(https://i.imgur.com/2SrUzOm.png) I would have thought since they all wear basically the exact same thing (except I suppose for the "doctor" gem), it would have been somewhat tough to differentiate the various gems from each other. But with the color, obviously that problem's not really there at all in the anime. In fact, as I look at the character list on Anilist, I'm honestly surprised at how many of them I can still recall beyond essentially I guess what you would call the "main core" gems. img440(https://i.imgur.com/1xKyVsf.png) Also, the impact or... the weight, of the gems while in battle is remarkable. Like the sound of the gems breaking or losing limbs is just... again, it really helps add the ability to actually have fear for what's going to happen to these gems as they battle, when you start hearing them literally shatter into pieces. img440(https://i.imgur.com/YXdAAPi.png) Also, the protagonist of course, as one of the weakest gems, can literally be pushed back by one of the other characters just breathing out air in their general direction. They just outright break if they're treated just a bit too roughly by the tougher gems. Additionally, I really love the idea of the only danger that faces the gems on a daily basis throughout the series. They're not going to be killed, or rather... destroyed, but instead... reclaimed. img440(https://i.imgur.com/XG5NQ8C.png) ___ #The Lunarians# img440(https://i.imgur.com/AlwVjQ6.gif) ...And that brings to me without a doubt, my absolute favorite part of this entire series. The enemy or antagonist that the gems face and battle with. The Lunarians. Strange beings that have come from the moon to hunt the gems, and if they must, they will literally shatter them into pieces in order to take them back with them to the moon. And then they will repurpose the gems they have stolen, and even use the various shards to make new weaponry to use on the rest in future battles. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/A97BbHt.png) img440(https://i.imgur.com/Dw9giag.gif)~~~ Let me be frank here, for a moment. These motherfuckers are just so goddamned cool. They're entirely mute, usually expressionless, bright and shining, and they are completely fucking relentless in their goal. And they are actually pretty goddamned creepy as well. The track of the soundtrack that starts playing basically every single they show up is basically burned into the back of my skull. youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhsWzJWp7I) The Lunarians are in my opinion, one of the largest puzzle pieces in why I love this show as much as I do. Like if they actually talked, weren't as creepy as they usually are, or like that track didn't exist... I mean, I automatically loved them like the very moment one of the gems cut one of their faces in half, and the Lunarian just fucking smiled in response. img440(https://i.imgur.com/Rf2L70G.png) ___ #The World Building# ...I don't even want to get too far into it because I think it's actually too interesting to spoil too much, but I really love the idea of ~!humanity splitting and evolving into essentially three different separate species, but one wishes to reclaim the other two!~ and it only got better and better as it went along and as we even got to see stuff like the place where the gems are essentially formed and first found when they're "born" as well as what the "failures" end up being. I really hope the rest of the series just continues fleshing it out, because I am genuinely very interested in learning more... ...which I unfortunately can't actually say about a ton of other series I've watched. img440(https://i.imgur.com/ZSaqnnq.png) ___ #The Soundtrack# I already touched on this given that the specific track for the Lunarians basically made the Lunarians for me, but I really kind of actually love the soundtrack. It seemed almost perfect for every single situation. When I read the manga, to be honest, I didn't think much of Cinnabar unfortunately. And of course, lo and behold. youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WzXIAzz1ZA) ~~The Lunarians' and Cinnabar's track have been playing in the back of my brain for the seven or so months it's been since this finished airing.~~ But no, the soundtrack is another one of those things if it hadn't been just right, the balance would have been messed up. ___ #The Animation# img440(https://i.imgur.com/wHBx6TD.gif) Actually, it's bizarre to me that just almost absolutely everything in this show just melds together as perfectly as it does. I've seen several people say stuff like "this is the best CG anime" and along those lines. I almost feel as if that's doing this show a disservice. img440(https://i.imgur.com/Um1iMzn.gif) First of all... what [competition](https://anilist.co/anime/21560/Berserk/) does [it have](https://anilist.co/anime/12031/Kingdom/) in [that department](https://anilist.co/anime/100408/Fist-of-the-Blue-Sky-Regenesis/), really. img440(https://i.imgur.com/0AYePTD.gif) Secondly, I don't think CG is absolute shit 100% of the time. And also the reasons for the CG largely determine the quality. If it's solely because it's cheaper or it's easier, then obviously it's gonna be a piece of shit. But obviously, the people who made this show not only _actually tried_, but seemed to _actually care_. That's the key. When I say I think it's doing this series a disservice by judging it solely as a CG show, I mean I genuinely enjoyed it over a bunch of other action series that were entirely 2D or mostly 2D. There just felt like so much energy was put into the gems jumping around in the air, speeding along across the ground, and battling the Lunarians. The camera was going everywhere, but not in the visually nausea inducing "shaky camera" way. img440(https://i.imgur.com/NP5GXoG.gif) It only seemed to get better and better with each next episode. It's actually ridiculous. My favorite action scene of this show is probably one of my __favorite action scenes overall.__ I just kept thinking like why don't other series have anywhere near as much energy in the action as this? And also, _I actually care!_ There have been entire other entire series where the action scenes have me saying "oh jesus just ___STOP.___" But with this series, I actually wanted/want _more._ And that's just crazy. img440(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DependentDazzlingKarakul-max-14mb.gif) ___ #Phosphollyite# img440(https://i.imgur.com/7jtaooR.gif) Phos is of course the beating heart of this show. Phos isn't my personal favorite gem, but I love their character nonetheless. Because the core of the series, what it all revolves around, is how Phos' character changes throughout. img440(https://i.imgur.com/R7P35Nd.gif) They start out as this goofy, kind of clownish, good-for-nothing gem because as they're the weakest gem and will break from just the other gems interacting with them, they can't go out into battle. And unlike other gems, Phos also does not have their own unique skill or talent either. Therefore, they do not have a job or a "purpose" among the other gems. But that all changes when their leader places them in charge of creating an encyclopedia. img440(https://i.imgur.com/N9rAr1S.png) It's nothing glamorous. It's nothing exciting. And it's certainly not what Phos wanted. But it was something that even they could do, and shouldn't have placed them in extreme and immediate danger. However, it of course goes off course and it ends up leading Phos on a path that would irreversibly change them. It goes so far that the leader outright takes Phos off of their encyclopedia duty as a result of them ending up in dangerous situations one after the other. img440(https://i.imgur.com/Oo5es7x.gif) Yet it's too late. Phos has already started to change. And despite the fact, at a point, they change physically and actually gains a skill of their own, mentally, they have remained the same. Usually, when a character obtains a "power boost", they are almost automatically better and capable of using their newly gained skills or powers right away. Phos fails. Repeatedly. And it ends in horribly tragic results, and after enough of this, they change mentally as well. img440(https://i.imgur.com/Gbzuub2.gif) If you watched this show and were frustrated with Phos, good. You were _supposed_ to be frustrated with Phos. Because even when their intentions improved and ceased being as selfish and they actually genuinely truly did want to protect their fellow gems from the Lunarians, Phos was still unable to succeed. Or their outright subconscious desire to protect themselves directly stood in their way. A truly good character in my opinion cannot _NOT_ have flaws. img440(https://i.imgur.com/MuH2Ez0.png) By the later portion of the show, Phos is almost completely unrecognizable to who they were before. Whereas they originally WANTED to go out into battle, they are eventually an almost emotionless shell who are perpetually haunted by their failures. img440(https://i.imgur.com/NcBmMNN.png) Another interesting observation I made when I was watching this series and really hasn't ever left my mind since was that it was stated early on that the color Phos is is actually highly desired by the Lunarians and that is just yet another reason why the leader frowns on the idea of Phos going anywhere near battle. But there is a part following when Phos has had their physical body changed that they're chasing the Lunarians alone, but the Lunarians seem entirely set on fleeing from Phos to get back to the Moon. ~~~img440(https://i.imgur.com/Wkg73IF.png) img440(https://i.imgur.com/ZZwM2RE.png)~~~ I really liked that touch, whether it was intentional or not. Because I suppose it could have just been the fact that Phos could actually fight now, but in the context of that part of the show, Phos was one of the only three people currently conscious and awake. The Lunarians surely couldn't have had a better opportunity to try and take Phos, but they didn't. Because they had ceased simply being a normal gem, and had begun to ~!literally!~ discard pieces of themselves. To very briefly summarize everything I just wrote there, I absolutely did not find Phos annoying and I view them to be one of the linchpins of this show. img440(https://i.imgur.com/YhQPUQG.gif) ___ #Conclusion# Before I conclude, I do want to say that while I focused primarily on Phos given that she's the main gem that this series is centered around, there actually is stuff to some of the other gems. A gem whose ability outright isolates them from the rest of the gems and forces them to patrol only during the night. A gem who is supposed to be one of the strongest but is being left behind by one of their peers, and seeks to do whatever it takes to stay by their side. A gem who possesses an unhealthy and consuming obsession over the Lunarians as a result of them taking their partner from them. A gem who wishes to repair their partner whose bodies remains heavily unstable. A gem who only appears during Winter and therefore has a stronger tie to the leader as they usually cannot interact with any of the other gems. And so forth. I will most likely eventually catch up on the manga as I do truly wish to see where it goes from where the anime left off, but a part of me does desperately wish for a second season. Also, given how the majority of this review has been me gushing about this series, I suppose my score for this is not at all a surprise. __10 out of 10.__ ~~I actually had it at a 9 out of 10 before this review. But given how positively I apparently think of it and the fact that this review was a breeze to write despite the fact it's been over seven months since watching it, that original score was clearly a mistake.~~ ~~~img500(https://i.imgur.com/xQcPvIQ.png)~~~ ~~Also for the record, yes, Antarctite is my favorite gem.~~
Gems are regarded as precious things. There are a plethora of these beautiful, varied jewels, each with distinct colors to catch the eye. Out of this shimmering rouges-gallery, the most popular one may be the diamond. Diamonds are overvalued. They may shine bright but aren't as uncommon as some like to feel they are. However, they are special for some reason or another, above most other gems. Houseki no Kuni, or Land of the Lustrous, really is a diamond in such a sense, fittingly enough. Not the hardest gem or material ever conceived, and more like the character of Diamond in the show, where despite its hardness, some cracks can certainly show. However, there is a certain charm, a certain beauty to this series, and in fact, a certain catharsis that comes to myriad individuals who have often doubted CGI shows and the inclusion CGI in anime in general, as well as to the people who saw that it could be done right, without a hitch. That last part may not be entire true; a diamond is not without fault. This show is a Diamond, after all, which feels odd given its initial reception. In the early days of Fall 2017, this shimmering beauty was not watched by too many, and its reception was lukewarm at best. I distinctly remember a score of 6.98, a score that most in the community would mock given how it seems like anything under a 7.15 is considered to be a waste at best by the community at large, with exceptions to those who see something others clearly don’t and are oft not outspoken. You could say that throughout the the better part of its run, this show really was a “hidden gem”, slowly getting better and better, ever more popular, and better-received by the day. Obviously this isn't the case anymore thanks to all the passionate fans that spread the news of this lustrous jewel throughout the 12 or so weeks of its run. Now, it is more akin to a “dark horse”, ironically enjoyed given the vocabulary thus far. Would I claim this is the best of the year? Certainly no. There are a handful of choices that stand out and shimmer even more beautifully, however that is a small handful of gems, not all of which truly got to shine in front of everyone underneath all the rough this year had provided. Gems are oft valuable, tremendously so. Their value is virtually everlasting. Meanwhile, more than half to more than three quarters of a year’s anime offerings are left in the dust within half a year, either deprived of their insignificant value by time, or with none to begin with. Whist Houseki no Kuni’s value is certainly not everlasting, it is one of the few from 2017 that will be fondly remembered for at least a couple years to possibly even a decade, as many gems should. Yet despite how marvelous this jewel turned out, its luster didn't entirely shine initially. It cracked, and it wasn't as beautiful. However, as stated earlier, much like its protagonist, Phosphophyllite, its pieces were picked up, and it hardened, turning from a blight few cared of, into a far more respected work of craftsmanship. It became even more beautiful, intriguing, and varied as well, much like said character. This applies to the visuals and the narrative at large, even if not all the prices were really put back together. Said character, Phosphophyllite, reminds me of an exaggerated version of myself. Lazy upon most tasks found to be terribly uninteresting at best and mind-shatteringly stressful at worst, more than willing to get out of said tasks to the chagrin of the one who assigned them, mocked and challenged by many colleagues, frail, quick to aggravate, understood well by a particularly feminine individual considered to be keen on fictionally romantic situations, and sought after by a specific few for a specific quality. My persona reflects this to a large degree given my wording, though my ordinary self embodies much of this as well, with some applying to one part of me than the other. Indeed, this kind of protagonist embodied some aspects I disdain of my two selves, so warming up to it had to happen, which was thankfully effortless to accomplish the more I related on the whole. Not to knock many of the other, mostly less interesting characters with fantastic chemistry with this one to the point of leading to myriad moments of sheer hilarity. However, it is rather apparent that Phos is the true standout of this show, above all else, with the visuals, and the slimy creature, Ventricosus, who managed to perfectly fill most of Phos’ roles in episode 3 to the point of convincing many, including myself that she actually was Phos. The admittedly decent, yet immense and relatively unexplored cast was ultimately saved from mere relative decency by Phos almost exclusively thanks to the charm Phos has and the chemistry it and the other gems have, which is unfortunate, though other anime that concluded this season with an unexplored cast and a main character that grows a ton and learns about the world, have fared far worse in this regard. The fact that Phos develops in ways that affect it detrimentally as a living being as more of the Phosphophyllite we once knew is stripped away, including any sense of satisfaction of accomplishing anything anymore, is also engaging, even if sometimes it feels like we only really see the results of the development, feeling as if we skipped an episode dedicated entirely to said character growing weary and possibly depressed after the new powers acquired after a situation that sparked this gigantic change in Phos’ life. Another monumental aspect of this series’ charm and acclaim, as well as the largest point of the overvalue is the visual department. The CGI character designs are certainly fantastic, especially in terms of the shimmering and detailed hair that dictates which gem each individual is. The hair sometimes goes above and beyond, such as with Diamond’s hair that constantly shines multiple colors and creates a heavenly light in the dark. I do find it odd that the series focuses more attention on their attention-grabbing derriere than even Code Geass and Sword Art Online, especially when all of them, despite most of them being abjectly feminine in nearly way, are considered genderless. Even worse, the models have absolutely sluggish frame rates, and when they move in tandem to the well-done environment, the difference in frames feels awkward to put it politely. However, the choreography in the fight scenes is rather impressive, and combined with the dynamic camera movement a CGI series allows, as well as the stellar designs and interesting effects of the anthropomorphised gems and materials, it isn’t a surprise that this show is heralded as a fantastic action show, let alone a fantastic CGI action show. Special praise must also be given to the visuals of the ending theme for its magnificent 2D visuals that are unlike anything I have seen, to the point where I cannot accurately describe what kind of two-dimensional visuals they are, other than magnificently colorful and charming. I can certainly say as well that the issues the first episode presented, visually speaking, got relatively ironed out over time minus the frame rates in the models, like when we reserve 2D for that fantastic ending credits sequence or for impact-related dust clouds and whatnot. Not to sing this series’ praises in terms of visuals as much as others have, but when we see improvements being made to an already visually unique series, especially one done almost entirely by three-dimensional computer animated models, it is certainly cathartic, notably as of 2017, to agree with the visuals looking splendid on the whole. Combining everything with some interesting and trippy moments of introspection with great directing by Takahiko Kyogoku, the team at Studio Orange did a really interesting and relatively fantastic job here. And whist the narrative is rather inviting and willing to slowly reveal more over time, including themes about what humanity was like in the distant past, about life, and how immortals still have plenty to fear much like mortals do, among other things, there are some fundamental issues. For one, for a 2.5/10 hardness rating, Phos is so fragile and weak at times that I could almost swear she was 1.5; even a 2.5 wouldn't break just for stepping on a rock. It also raises consistency issues with how fragile or study Phos is, especially when another gem with a slightly higher rating can take so much more and is infinitely stronger. Also, you have to learn via commercial break and return eyecatchers that the hardness rating is out of 10 unless you already have such knowledge; while it turns out that ultimately, the Mohs scale makes it so that even a .5 difference is monumental, most viewers would be uneducated on the subject and this would need to be told by the series in order to really buy this, which they aren't. Given how memory is stored in the actual gems within every fiber of their being sans their hair to the point of every single shard comprising of memories, how do they consistently gain new memories, and given the seemingly finite amount of space, and their immortality, how can they continually gain new memories for all of eternity? They don't seem to physically grow. When Phos loses her legs, she manages to retain nearly everything important and only really lose memories of one individual and a location she had seen for the first time? Up until the halfway mark, the gems seemed to have photographic memory, and even afterward they mostly do, so it seems like Phos and other can't remember some things for the sake of convenience or emotion, as contradictory as it seems to what impressive memory they seem to display. Given that there are two amethysts that are numbers 33 and 84 respectively, how many of each exact gem are there? The yellow gem has lived for thousands of years, over 3,500 in particular, so you are left to ponder of the age of the likes of Bort and Sensei, who are much wiser and more battle ready? Has sense lived for tens of thousands of years? How long has this conflict gone on? Are none of them tired of life barring CInnabar, who is only sick of everything due to how no one respects it or can find a use for it given its hazardous condition? How exactly does this gooey material all gems have inside them really connect the missing pieces together, and how come we never see any of it splash out when a gem gets slashed or downright shattered into a cornucopia of shards and pieces? I could go on and on, but the point has long since been made clear as crystal; that being: all of this serves a grander dilemma in that we do not know well enough how this species of gems work, as an inhuman amount of aspects about them are contradictory and unfathomable to try to answer. Not to mention other issues like how only one of them has any semblance of knowing how to use a projectile, and none of them have ever tried that or coming up with experiments to allow long-range combat on their end to possibly surpass the projectile-heavy weaponry of the Lunarans. There aren't too many problems with the active narrative in terms of holes, errors, and progression (at least in the first half), barring a few conveniences and contradictions mentioned earlier and not mentioned at all, as well as a few real issues towards the end, but when it invites you to learn as much as it does, and you try to think of everything, or beyond the most obscenely basic understanding of how the gems work, you end up with myriad questions the series cannot tackle about the world-building or the novel species it is depicting. It would be like a high school biology teacher trying to explore how humans work in an attempt to invite others into such knowledge, yet she only understand a minute aspect of their biology and psychology, infinitely less than the still limited knowledge we already have acquired within the best two centuries about our species, leaving you disappointed as you already know more about the subject than she does by the time you’ve taken the midterm, and there are no more classes on the subject at your school. One could counter back with “the series doesn’t need to know everything, it even admits that it doesn’t”, however most stories that explore a fictional species do so enough for you to get the gist of things without delving deep enough and doing things that make you question everything about said species. This clearly wasn’t one of them, and it suffered for that. The fact that they sorta dodge showing us some of the processes involving healing other gems only makes this burn even harder, and the ending is certainly nothing satisfying, amounting to a “we made it this far and covered ground; wait for more or read the source material”. And you wonder why I'm such a curmudgeon. Oh, and also, while the show does present a few interesting themes to explore, including how these characters deal with immortality, don't be surprised when they start leaving those in the back-burner at best or drop them like flies at worst. It is another glaring flaw in this show preventing it from being one of the crown jewels of the year. There are other positives I want to throw out there to really sell that despite the major problems the show has, it is still a laudable show, particularly involving the character arcs Phos and Diamond go through, but I cannot really mention much without spoiling them other than the premises of said arcs. I already mentioned Phos’ so Diamond’s is about learning to get stronger and do things on its own, which while executed almost how you would expect, there is a brutal twist to it near the end of episode 10, to leave it at that for you to speculate. I cannot really do the narrative any more justice in a spoiler-free review, so let me just say that the humor is gut-busting to me and that the show does throw in a few wild surprises in there, some of which nearly had me rolling on the floor in terms of comedy. So now, let me transition into what I feel truly shines as the best aspect of the show: the music. The enchantingly melodic tunes of the pieces such as “Lunarians” and immensely memorable and emotion-intensive pieces such as “Danger” and especially “Cinnabar" and "Breaking” make particularly the action scenes and emotional scenes leave even more of an impact than otherwise. Even if some tracks get played too frequently, they simply sweep you into every scene in a way that really invites you in and immersed you. The OP, "Kyoumen no Nami (鏡面の波)" by YURiKA, is among the best this season has to offer, exemplifying a lot of what I mentioned previously about the OST, and the vocals make my love for the song reach ever more. The ED, "Kirameku Hamabe (煌めく浜辺)" by Yuiko Ohara, is also fantastic, and is also one of the more emotionally resonant pieces of music in the series, especially combined with its stellar visuals. All in all, the music is simply fantastic, sweeping, and emotional, and I had no idea what to expect from it overall, nearly getting floored with some of these pieces the first time. Unfortunately, only a handful of tracks really get to stand out this way, but it's still more than many have managed to do. So, this was Houseki no Kuni. A gem that shines bright enough to become a dark horse of its season and captivate the hearts of many for weeks, as well as set a new benchmark for full CGI anime in the future to strive to live up to. I had a good time viewing and appraising this jewel, even if it isn't as lustrous as its title suggests. So, as always, with all that said, I bid you adieu.
So first and foremost, before I get into what I liked about this show, I first want to set the stage a bit first. When this first came out, I had no intention to watch it. None what so ever. Even when I did decide to watch it I didn't really have a lot of expectations. Not necessarily because I thought it would be bad in anyway, but because there just wasn't anything that really drew me in. However, my brother, whose opinion I trust the most, said that this show was actually good. Actually, not just good, down right fantastic. So I decided to give it a chance and by god could I have not been more wrong. For those who are unfamiliar with this show, to put it simply, it take place in a world where the focus is put on two beings. The first being these humanoid gems. Living(technically) gems that talk, walk, and fight. Just like humans. However, since they spawn from gems originally, they portray characteristics of whatever gem they represent. In this case our main character, Phos represents phosphophyllite. A very weak gem. Therefore, she breaks very easily and is almost completely useless in a fight. Which you might be wondering at this point, why do they need to fight? Well, there fighting the 2nd beings I referred to earlier. These beings are known as Lunarians. There goal is to collect the gems and make them into different accessories, weapons, etc. So the whole show revolves around Phos, the gems, and the lunarians conflicts. I won't go any further and just say I commander watching the whole show, as it is more then worth it. My mind was blown. I never had seen something so stunning before. Let alone the fact that it was all CG. This show, if anything, proved one thing for me, which is that not only could CG be done well. It can be used as a better alternative to drawing by hand. The CG helped the characters look like they were really made of gems. Giving them a shiny, glossy look that was used to encapsulate the feeling of wonder. Watching the characters move and fight was breathtaking. And the Strong points don't just shine with the animation. The characters, fighting choreography, and narrative were definitely something I fell in love with. Each week after the episode I couldn't help wanting more. Wanting to know what happened next kept me invested beyond belief. All in all I would say that it was not only one of the best shows of its season, but also one that I could not forget. It set a bar for other anime that followed. Especially for those looking to use CG. I would most certainly put this high on my list of first recommendations and I suggest if you haven't seen it yet you go watch it immediately. I promise you will not regret it.
*Spoiler warning Land of the Lustrous is a series that is often praised for its groundbreaking CGI and stunning visuals but it offers much more than simply an exciting and immersive experience. Following the journey of Phosphophyllite and their quest to improve and find a purpose, Land of the Lustrous manages to create an experience that is not only captivating to the viewer but also thematically and philosophically relevant. The air of mystery surrounding the world the gems are a part of keeps the viewer engaged and interested in the story's progression and this same mystery also leads to Phos discovering their purpose at the end of the anime. When we first meet Phos, we see that they are viewed as a nuisance by the other gems because of their low rank on the Mohs scale constantly causing them to have to be protected by the others. Phos is constantly told by the small society that they are a part of that they are unable to fight because of their low hardness and are therefore regulated to writing an encyclopedia while leaving the fighting to the others. However, Phos is not content to merely accept what society has tasked them to do because they harbor a strong desire to fight because of a love for what they are fighting for; Kongou-sensei. Throughout Land of the Lustrous, it is truly inspiring to see the transformation that Phos goes through as well as their eventual desire to discover the truth. Throughout the series, Phos is told by others that they need to try new things and in essence, leave their box as it is the only way to begin improving yourself. Diamond and Antarcticite play key roles in Phos accepting that they should be willing to explore new ideas, particularly Antarcticite. Phos first begins taking a step in the direction of leaving their box with their desire to help Cinnabar find a better job seeing them as a gem that is similar to them-self. Phos ventures out to the sea with Ventricosus and comes to the realization when talking with them that despite living for so much longer than Ventricosus, Phos has accomplished very little in comparison to them creating a spark in their mind. However, Phos is unfortunately betrayed by Ventricosus and loses their legs as a result. Upon returning to the other gems, Rutile is able to supply Phos with new legs which turn out to greatly increase Phos' speed albeit at the price of a large portion of their memory. The strength that Phos gains from their new legs coming at a price is seemingly symbolic of the idea that harmful experiences often improve individuals provided that they are able to overcome them. Later on in the series, when Phos teams up with Antarcticite, they lose their arms as well and eventually replace them with an alloy that strengthens Phos' entire body and even gives them strength because of its versatility that rivals even Bort's. Again, this strength comes at a price and Antarcticite is lost to the Lunarians in part because Phos is unable to take control of the alloy at first. These events are the true catalyst for the change that Phos goes through to bring them to where they end up at the end of the anime. Once Antarcticite is lost, Phos rises to the occasion and takes their place during the winter. It becomes apparent with the small time-skip that Phos has greatly increased in confidence because of their newfound abilities. Phos also has seemingly become more solemn most likely due to the loss of Antarcticite bringing them to a realization that with their increased abilities, they also have a greater degree of responsibility for protecting others. The change in Phos is also illustrated by a line from Kongou-sensei stating that with great power comes a sense of solitude. With the power that Phos has gained, it would seem that they are at the end of their journey but keeping with the theme of self-improvement, they still have much to learn and discover. It eventually comes to light that Kongou-sensei is keeping secrets about the Lunarians from the gems and once Phos hears of it, they immediately desire to learn the truth. The other gems have absolute trust in Kongou-sensei and therefore don't desire an explanation but Phos is not content to live in ignorance. Again, leaving their box, Phos finds a new purpose in a desire to learn the truth about the Lunarians and desiring to speak with them if that is even possible. The key point here is that without a rationale behind what we are doing coming from a knowledge of the truth, there is no purpose to be found. Phos illustrates the value of finding the truth very well with their own search for truth and meaning behind what they do. Overall, Phos is a very flawed and human character having to overcome their fear of leaving their comfort-zone and going through a self-actualization that should be relatable in some way to all of us. Following Phos throughout Land of the Lustrous is both inspiring and thought-provoking by giving us a look into the human psyche and raising the question of what it is that gives us purpose and meaning in our lives. The way in which Phos was able to overcome societies' expectations of them should give us all inspiration in our own lives to make something of ourselves in spite of what others may be telling us. To sum up my overall thoughts of the series, I would say that Land of the Lustrous manages to be both very entertaining and at the same time drive home a message that is incredibly important to all of us. When it comes to the audio and visuals, they greatly enhance the experience by providing the viewer with a deep sense of immersion in the world of Land of the Lustrous. While the story may seem a bit lackluster, the series is primarily focused on the overarching theme of Phos' journey and what it represents and its mysterious nature is perfect for this purpose. In addition, the visually creative nature of the world of Land of the Lustrous provides a fantastical environment for Phos' journey. With Phos being the primary focus of the series and the other characters acting in supporting roles, the character progression that Phos goes through is what truly makes Land of the Lustrous something special. As it is nearly perfect in all regards, my overall score would be a 9.8/10. .
__May contain spoilers; Feel free to agree or disagree with what is written.__ Enjoy your reading. ~~~__INTRODUCTION__~~~ Houseki no Kuni, or Land of Lustrous is a fantasy seinen produced by Orange studio, being adapted from the manga of the same name, illustrated and written by Haruko Ichikawa. The anime has only 12 episodes and was released in October 2017, being the surprise of the fall season. __~~~SYNOPSIS~~~__ In the distant future, after cataclysmic events, humanity has split into three parts (spirit, flesh and bones) each representing new beings. The spirit are the Tsukijins (Lunarians). Little is known about them, yet they have interest in the other two. The flesh are the _Admirabilis_, beings that resemble gastropod mollusks. They are the only ones that are mortal, that is, that have a finite life span. The third part, the bones, are the Jewels, humanoid beings, genderless and immortal. Each jewel has a different hardness (Mohs Scale), colors and characteristics. Although they are inanimate objects, they feel joy, frustration, a sense of duty, shame, anger and loneliness, which can be remnants of humanity. When Jewels lose part of their bodies, they lose some part of their memory along with them. The anime takes place focusing on this third group, highlighting Phos (Phosphophyllite). Phos wishes to fight against the Lunarians, who attack and kidnap the jewels to make them into decorations and ornaments, however, Phos due to her low hardness (3.5) and her immaturity is not fit for such work. Observing this situation, Kongo sensei gives Phos a job of cataloging the species of the island where they live, in order to create an encyclopedia, however Phos is reluctant to his duty and considers it useless, but during this work, our protagonist meets Shinsha (Cinnabar) and develops a bond with her, and makes her a promise. At first the anime seemed like it would build on Phos and Shinsha, however, several events occur that will transform Phos in intriguing ways. ~~~__CHARACTERS__~~~ There are 28 jewels (at the time the story begins), each with their own duties and responsibilities. The jewels care about each other, creating a brotherly feeling, additionally some have stronger bonds with others. __Phos__: Have a hardness of 3.5. They are immature, lazy, and short-tempered, and is sometimes considered useless by them companions. They want to fight, but is not skilled, so they are assigned the mission of making an encyclopedia, but is not interested. Phos begins to bond with Cinnabar and later with Antarc. Phos' development during the course of the story is remarkable, so much so that the Phos at the end of the anime is totally different from the Phos at the beginning. __Cinnabar__: Possesses hardness 2. Due to the poisonous silver liquid (mercury) they release, killing everything around it, Shinsha lives reclusively and away from the other jewels. For this reason they make the night guard, feeling lonely. Despite your low hardness, they are mature and smart, unlike Phos. __Antarc (Antarcticite)__: Of hardness 3. Responsible for winter chores, due to its rare condition of recrystallizing at low temperature. Since during the winter the other gems go into hibernation, Antarc does your tasks alone, which doesn't bother Antarc. They form a duo with Phos, but don't take the idea well. Antarc have an important role in the story, since they influence (indirectly) the evolution of the protagonist. __Dia/Diamond and Bort__: Both with hardness 10. They are the diamonds that do the work of patrolling and are considered the strongest. Although they are a duo, they are complete opposites. Dia is cheerful, friendly and "kawaii", while Bort is harsh, crabby and serious. Dia always thinks are a burden to Bort, yet they care for each other. __Kongo sensei__: Calm and serene. He is the father figure to the jewels, always wanting the best for them, and giving lectures when necessary. This one is a real mystery, it is not known what he is or where he came from, and he hides secrets. ~~~__AUDIO-VISUAL__ ~~~ It is undeniable that the anime's CG animation is above average. I have not seen anime entirely in CG (despite the use of 2D in some scenes) as fluid and beautiful as Houseki no Kuni in its debut year. It is noticeable that they managed to reproduce the crystallinity and brilliance of the jewels, as well as fractures and cracks. The sets also steal praise. To say that Houseki's CG is mediocre or lacking is almost a misunderstanding. The production was very costly, so much so that the staff doubled in number from 50 to 100. The soundtrack manages to bring immersion to the scenes such as, moments of contemplation and solitude in the Cinnabar scenes, agitation in the confrontations, and a darker tone during the dialogue between Phos and Padparadscha. ~~~__MY EXPERIENCE__~~~ Houseki no Kuni is rich in philosophical and religious themes (not that this is exclusive or unique to this anime), but they are present in a subtle way, besides not being necessary to be understood to have a good use of the story, they are only one more factor, but if they are understood the experience becomes more interesting. Comprehending the anime universe is a bit of work, because little is said, and when it is said, it sounds fragmented, because each character tells his version or just a piece during the course of the story. The three parts that come from humanity even have a certain logical basis. The flesh is the only part subject to death. In our body it is the part that decomposes. The bones, represented in the anime by jewels, which are minerals, just like the bones of the human being that are formed mainly by crystals of Hydroxyapatite, a mineral constituent, and other elements (inorganic part). Like jewelry, bones do not decompose, unlike flesh. The spirit represented by the Lunarians, is considered eternal. As religion and some philosophers say, it is the immaterial part of the human being. The anime also tries to reproduce some properties of real jewelry, such as the Mohs Scale (goes from 1 to 10, talc and diamond respectively) to create a "strength level". Cinnabar which uses mercury (Hg) as a weapon, reflects that from cinnabar Hg is extracted, or can be released by the mineral under certain natural conditions, and is a toxic element to beings. Alexandrite changes its coloration according to light, being green in natural light and red in incandescent light. Alex changes the color of your hair (green to red) when sees a Lunarian. The Amethyst twins, depict the twinning of a crystal, which is the rational intergrowth of 2 or more crystals. The names 84 and 33 refer to the angle (84°33") of connection between the crystals. Beyond these inferences, Houseki can be summarized in a single word, change, which echoes throughout the story. Phos is a clear analogy to the paradox of Theseus' ship, used in psychoanalysis in studies about identity. The paradox posits that if an object (in this case Theseus' ship) has all its parts replaced, is it still the same object? Because it is a paradox, there is no correct answer. Phos is constantly losing parts (and its memories), and being replaced by other inclusions, so much so that it changes itself externally, and also internally. _Phos: "Living things change at such a rapid pace, don't they? Scary." Sensei: "You too"_ Although jewels are living and thinking, they are not subject to natural laws. They do not age, they do not feed, they do not reproduce and they do not die. The dialogue becomes more concise when we notice that even the oldest jewels have not changed, at least not significantly. Along with the change of Phos, the seed of doubt begins to germinate, and questioning arises, such a phenomenon is inherent in human thought. In philosophy, doubt is synthesized by 3 steps, estrangement, questioning and search for the answer. The 3 are used by Phos in the walk of the anime. _Phos: "I just...I want to know the truth"_ This truth can be interpreted by _aletheia_. Heidegger uses the term to define the attempt to understand the truth, he attributes to it meaning of unveiling (taking away the veil or that which hides something or something). From this moment on Phos seems to go against the current, being able to change the established state of things. _Padparadscha: "Pure, unbridled truth can change things in ways never before imagined"._ The change that the protagonist experiences is portrayed symbolically. At one point in the anime, Phos are inside a box, at which point it is implied that the character does not believe in yourself, that they are not capable, and that they are afraid. However, during a certain event, the character changes your conception, then the box opens and takes the form of a Lotus Flower. The flower has many meanings, but I think the most fitting one for the situation is rebirth. Phos after leaving the box abandons your old self and "reborn" as a different individual. There are other symbolic inferences in what surrounds the protagonist. Phos loses parts of your body, being replaced by inclusions, which are nacre (a substance found in shells) and later by gold alloy. These materials make reference to the Seven Treasures of the Buddha, being gold (suvarna) and shell (musāragalva). As far as the Lunarians are concerned, these look like bodhisattvas. Beings who are moving toward enlightenment or who are on the path to liberation, but have not yet attained it, being subject to worldly things. Additionally, they and Kongo sensei share a strong Buddhist influence. Although Houseki has significant depth, it is not 100% serious. There are many hilarious moments that are provided by the characters, especially Phos, however as the episodes go by events take on a more serious air, possibly not pleasing to everyone. The little bit of world biulding or world exploration can bring a sense of emptiness. The anime also makes it difficult to understand the universe that has been established. The little bit of world biulding or world exploration can bring a sense of emptiness. The anime also has lack of information to explain some issues. Houseki comes to an end when the plot begins to take on a fascinating aspect. ~~~__CONCLUSION__ ~~~ Houseki no Kuni is more than it appears to be, and I consider it one of those anime out of the curve. It is not the anime that pleases everyone, mainly due to the lack of explanations in some points, being quite introductory, however, it works well in this aspect, and serves as an invitation to the manga. If you are not a reader of the Japanese works, you will not have a proper enjoyment of it. The anime is just the tip of the iceberg.
After writing my horrendous SAO ""review"", which was just an angry rant, I have now decided to actually write an actual review of something I am very passionate about. I only discovered this series just two weeks ago, but it's already in my favourites. I want to talk about what exactly makes Houseki no Kuni so amazing in my eyes. This review will contain a lot of anime spoilers, so please proceed with caution. I will talk about the story a little bit and then about the characters (namely Phosphophyllite). Please keep in mind that I have never written an actual review before and that English is not my first language, so please bear with me. With that out of the way let's get into it, shall we. ___THE STORY___ In a world where gem people populate the earth is our protagonist Phosphophyllite. They are an almost 300 year old gem who is trying to fit in with the rest of the gems by fighting the lunarians and protecting everyone. However since they are a very brittle gem, they are not allowed to fight, but after 300 long years their beloved Kongo-sensei is finally able to give Phos a job, that being making an encyclopedia. Phos isn't thrilled about this news, but have no choice and accept their new job. Over the course of the anime, Phos get in trouble a lot of times, because they are still very curious and want to fight alongside the others. At first I thought this story would kimd of go in a "Shounen-like" way: Weak, useless protagonist dreams of being strong and fighting off the lunarians for the sake of everyone else and with the power of friendship, Phos gets great power and achieves their goal in the end. I was right about the fact that Phos gets very powerful and fights, however I never ever expected that events would turn out this way. I now want to elaborate this in the characters part. ___THE CHARACTERS___ I want to specifically talk about Phosphophyllite, since they are the character that changed the most. Phosphophyllite is our weak little protagonist. Over the course of the anime they undergo drastic changes. In the beginning, Phos seems like this cute little gem, whos a bit goofy, loud, very clumsy, but also very sweet and kind. This does not make them popular with most of the gems however, since they often see Phos as a "useless idiot who keeps getting into trouble" and the viewer perhaps does agree with this. Phos DOES get themself in a lot of trouble, they DO get themself shattered a lot of times, they can't fight, they may be too loud and obnoxious and the other gems keep have to save them. Phos is 100% aware of what the other gems think of them and the anime shows this. From the very beginning, we can see that Phos hates themself. There are several instances where Phos doubts themself and even doesn't mind shattering in the ocean, getting lost forever since "they are useless anyway and by dying in the sea they werw at least useful to Ventricosus". Phos wants to find purpose, they want to be loved, they want to be acknowledged as a good person, they want to be _useful_ to someone. This is why they want to fight and this is also why they want to find a job for Cinnabar. Cinnabar is depending on Phos, whether they are admitting it or not, _someone_ in this world where everyone thinks that they are useless is actually waiting for them to help them. This is what Phos wanted all along. However things take a horrible turn fast. They get betrayed and lose their legs, they almost let the Amethyst twins get captured by the lunarians, they lose their arms to the ice floes in winter and Antarcticite gets shattered and captured. Antarc's death js the huge turning point in this series and things only get worse from there. The innocent Phos from the beginning seems to be completely gone. With agate legs and arms made of a gold-platinum alloy, a new Phos now stands before us. With this they are now finally able to fight, they already got what they wanted all along in episode 9 of the anime. They seem more distant and suffer from severe PTSD, blaming themself for getting Antarc killed. "Phos could just go to therapy!", "They could just talk to someone about it!", you say? How would they do that in a world where nobody has ever changed for the past centuries? How could they do that in a world where mental health is not a known concept? The other gems never changed. They have always been the same. Yellow Diamond, the oldest gem alive with over 2000 years old, also lost a lot of partners, however they are just keeping their feelings inside, brushing them off and living their life, even forgetting why they are fighting in the first place. Like Rutile said, when a gem loses parts of their body, they also lose their memories and also a part of thenself, their character. Phos has lost all four their limbs, they are no longer this cute innocent gem from the beginning. They are suffering from PTSD. Phos never really fit in with the other gems, they were always curious, they were always asking questions, they were always trying to change _themself_, while the others were content with everything they had. So how could the others help them when they never felt the things Phos is feeling at this moment? In a way, all of this makes Phos more _human_. In Shounen anime you always cheer for the main character to get stronger and more powerful so they can beat up all the villains with just a few punches and you feel happy and proud when they grow. But in _Houseki no Kuni_ this growth feels wrong. It doesn't feel rewarding in the slightest, as you watch Phos lose themself more and more. It makes you want to go back to the beginning of the anime and tell Phos how amazing they are right now and give them a gentle little hug. It's very tragic to watch everything unfold. I strongly urge you guys to read the manga. Most of the questions you have while watching the anime get answered. Fair warning however: This is not a happy story. It's a story of someone's mental health deteriorating more and more as the story progresses and it's absolutely heartbreaking to watch it unfold. Phosphophyllite is an amazingly written character and Ichikawa's art alone makes reading the manga worth it. Thank you for taking your time to read this.
GO WATCH THIS SERIES. Land of the Lustrous follows the journey of one "Gem" among many as she grows from an apparently clueless and talentless member of a group of unchanging homunculi to a much wiser and self-assured force in that same community. The main character's struggle is a struggle against her very nature as one of the most brittle gems in existence. She is as absent-minded as she is brittle, but she slowly manages to build herself up emotionally (and physically) against the backdrop of an unchanging cast of characters who initially seem nearly perfect. As she grows, she begins to see the weaknesses of the characters who seemed to utterly outclass her, and her own perseverance becomes her greatest strength. Personal development (mostly physical) as a main theme is ubiquitous in anime and manga, but the mirroring of her emotional growth in the change in her physical form illustrates and reinforces that theme beautifully. I appreciate that the writing is confident enough to never have a character scream that at you, the viewer, in case you somehow missed it. I normally despise series which use 3D CG animations because it screams to me ‘BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS’ and tends to lack a cohesive art direction or utilize the strengths and power of the computers themselves. Here, however, is the best argument for why 3D CG animation can be a huge boon: The unparalleled ability to showcase the beauty of light in exacting ways instead of impressionistic methods in traditional animation. Much of the animation in this series focuses on the beauty and spectacle of well-formed crystals, lustrous fluids, and fractal geometry. Computer simulations of light reflecting and refracting off fluid metals and transparent crystals of all colors make this visually captivating in a way no other animation approach could. These tools equally elevate a quiet night-time chat by a glowing pond and a slow-motion spray of shattered gemstones glittering in the wind. It neither looks nor feels cheap, and I hope that other studios have realized they can use 3D CG animation to BENEFIT their work instead of simply reducing time spent in animation. The music in this series is manages to interweave dread and beauty, and the sound design sells the wildly different materials in contact during combat. Stunning animation, strong writing, and mostly brisk pacing come together to create one of the strongest series I have seen to date. It introduces an incredible world filled with miraculous beings, but the narrative only begins to unpack that mystery before the series abruptly ends. I have not heard a peep about a second season, so I doubt that will suddenly manifest three years after the first season ended. I eagerly await a second season, but I'm not holding my breath.
If you don't want to read much, I'll summarize a somewhat detailed paragraph on what I think about Houseki no Kuni overall before truly going in-depth about my thoughts on the series: ___// REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS //___ Houseki no Kuni is a fantastic series with powerful themes such as self-acceptance and finding ones-self in the world around them. The post-apocalyptic setting is very interesting to explore, character dynamics are fun and individual characters have clear personalities for the rather short 12-episode run time. The MC's character progression was satisfying to see as well. Most powerful element in this anime would have to be the visuals; absolute eye-candy, coupled with a great soundtrack as well. This anime is a must-watch for everyone. ___// IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS //___ __VISUALS:__ An extremely powerful factor in the series to me; this is the best I've ever seen 3D look in an anime, Studio Orange has truly outdone themselves in that regard. Before watching the anime, I've only read one chapter of the manga, although the art is more unique stylistic-wise, the anime blows it out of the water when it comes to visuals. Incredible, fast-paced action sequences that never disappoint, the impact is clear and the momentum is visible and powerful. It also seemly has an endless amount of beautiful stills and shots, the color scheme is creative and the lighting just sets up for every frame to be eye-candy to look at. Houseki no Kuni is undoubtedly one of the greatest looking anime I've ever seen in my life. img220(https://blog.sakugabooru.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/hsk-1038x576.jpg) img220(https://yurireviewsandmore.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/houseki-no-kuni-09.jpg) img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q4GG-BmXEMc/maxresdefault.jpg) img220(https://pisco.pubninja.com/4c69f755-e784-4d70-9601-0603bae1f529.png) __MUSIC:__ The music played throughout Houseki no Kuni perfectly captures the mood of the scene. One of the most memorable soundtracks to me is when the Lunarians attack, it's so mystical and spiritual, but doesn't sound outright threatening, which is perfect when you think about what the Lunarians are. Sadder pieces in the soundtrack are also placed very well and are effective in bringing out the best in an emotional scene. What an absolutely wonderful score. __PLOT:__ The plot of Houseki no Kuni is quite interesting. It might be a bit jarring to be thrown into this post-apocalyptic setting without any real context, but it helps to have a certain degree of accepting the world in the story to be just the way it is, it serves as a great mystery that'll be explored more as the series goes on. The main focus in the anime revolves around Phosphophyllite trying to find their place in the world. The main theme of the story deals greatly with self-acceptance, and a purpose in life despite your weaknesses. Although the solution might not be clear and seem grim, it's ultimately a unique way of finding peace with ones-self. If Phos's solution seems disappointing to you, the story seems to set up Cinnabar as another way of confronting this theme. __CHARACTERS:__ Somehow, in the short 12-episode run time, the series manages to greatly progress Phos's character, as well as the multiple side characters as well. Not every gem might've received sufficient development and progression, but that's expected. It's impressive enough that Houseki no Kuni manages to easily characterize a lot of it's cast with unique personalities as well as interesting character dynamics. Characters like Dia, Bort, Cinnabar, Antarcticite and Rutile have an impressive amount of characterization and development. In terms of character designs, they might all seem similar from the neck down, but it's fascinating how small facial features such as eyes as well as hair can impact everything so greatly, I was thoroughly amazed and how different everyone looked despite wearing the similar outfits. img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7a/bb/67/7abb678dd577ac9c6c173968d0107090.gif) img220(https://static.zerochan.net/Diamond.%28Houseki.no.Kuni%29.full.2473553.gif) img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lRGeWBbQgiY/maxresdefault.jpg) img220(https://moesucks.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/houseki-no-kuni-0105.jpg) Truly a GEM of an anime! (badum-tss)
____WARNING: SPOILER REVIEW____ I jst finished the series and my memory is still fresh, so i guess i'll add my 2 cents here. I would like to preface this by saying this anime is NOT for everyone. It's very boring in a sense. If you're willing to give it a try, watch the first 3 episodes. If it does not hook you in by then, I recommend you drop it. If you do stick around, trust me, it's a ride that's fully worthwhile. I think the reason why this anime is so strong is that the underlying concept behind each character is really easy to understand. Having something like the mohs scale really helps viewers understand the inner workings of each character, as their hardness is directly tied in with their tropes. This avoids viewers like myself struggling to remember each characters typing. As a numbers guy myself, having that really helps understand the characters in a way i find comfortable. the problem with psychological shows i've watched is that they tend to portray the characters in a very complex way, often doing silly, irrational things because they're quote unquote teens... now, the major point that this anime tackles is ____character development____. As gems, they physically and mentally should not be able to change, for they are not humans. But we see throughout the anime that Phosphophylite's character develops, both mentally and physically. The decisions he takes eventually, whether he likes it or not, forces change upon his life i.e. getting sucked into the ice floes causing him to lose his hands and going out of his comfort zone to go into the sea causing him to lose his feet but also find the required materials to fix it. These decisions that Phos takes shows character development, but the show ____solidifies____ this (literally) by providing him new abilities with those new parts he obtained. The show doesn't end there though. The MC doesn't simply become overpowered (ahem SAO ahem), but instead the viewers realize he's not the old Phos anymore. And boy what a great take that is. We can't progress forward unless we sacrifice some parts of ourselves. Some days we'll have thoughts (like that of Phos) that we are envious of our old selves, the carefree, whimsical, naive, and charming person we once were before we decided to change. That's really what I took from this anime. Change. Change requires effort and risks, and once we are rewarded for taking those we will look back upon the choices we made. But we have to keep moving forward. At the end of the day who cares if our choice was right or wrong. We'll look back on the decision, with envy, fear, joy, tears, and laughter. There might be a hint of regret too. But that's reality, and I think this anime is the closest I have ever watched to an anime that depicts life and the choices we have. A brilliant show, and I am surprised how little people know about it. The music and animation in this show is some of the best I've seen in a long while. I can't tell you how immersive the world-building is with the adventurous soundtracks unless you listen to them yourself. The use of CGI in this show is impeccable. Studio Orange did a great job here, and I have no complaints at all. Unfortunately, the ending isn't fully satisfactory, as the manga is currently still ongoing and many questions are left unanswered regarding Sensei. However, that does not take away from the series being a one-cour masterpiece, and even if it does not receive a sequel the story as a whole across 12 episodes is cohesive enough for this to be rated a 9 in my books.
I watched Land of the Lustrous in August 2020. Looking at its visuals and the uniqueness of the show, I was really excited to just dive in it and have some fun time. After watching this show, all I can think of is how did they get away with such awful character writing and plot structuring. I've seen that a good number of reviews have praised this show, and I certainly understand why. This show was like a breath of fresh air in all fronts and graced our eyes with awesome visuals and a promising concept. However just because something is innovative or new doesn't equate to it being necessarily good. Let me explain why. 1) This show doesn't know in what direction it must take itself. Firstly we are slowly introduced to the world and kinda get an idea of who Lunarians are and the history of this world. It all was fine. However after that point, this show became a jumbled mess, which opened a lot of paths and didn't follow any of them. At the start of the show we are introduced to cinnabar, who we never get to see again, despite her role being important. Then the middle part comes which is nothing but your typical monster of the week saga. As this whole chapter closes, the viewers still don't have an idea of what the hell is going on this show and why its happening. We get introduced to more mysteries which never get cleared. It's that this show opens up multiple plot points which could craft a compelling story only to either abandon them, forget them or not resolve them. Mind you, this is not good writing, simply because it fails to invest the viewer in the show. This show is neither a slice of life which I could enjoy while being laid back nor a compelling introspective story. It tries to be both and fails. The direction of the story and how its structured is bad. 2. Characters- All are bland. Yes. I expected complexity in them, but all of them are your typical marketable archetypes. There is no issue with having a cast full of trope characters, but you oughta develop them or atleast make them likeable or distinguished for one to care for them. Bort is the "elite" fighter, Cinnabar is like the mysterious tsundere, who is meant to be the focus of plot, but is never developed. Master is the Alpha guy with an air of mystery. That's it. Antarc was a trope as well, but he was likeable and had some dimension to him. Now coming to main character, Phos. I will say this anime was meant to be a character study of her (I'm sorry im not using the pronouns). Many people seem to praise the portrayal of her character as being complex. An anime which explores the concept of being useless; What it means to grow physically and mentally. The desire to be strong, when you have limitations. The desire to change. The aspiration to be something you can't and what happens when you get to that point. Themes related to self-discovery, insecurity, identity, change are always tricky to pull off. Phos's character was meant to represent these themes, but sadly the show doesn't do that. The reason why the plot is sacrificed and is structured in an uninteresting way is so to accommodate the dynamic development of Phos's Character. Which in itself is poor writing. However Phos's development isn't feeling organic or natural either. All we get to see is Phos whining because she is pretty much useless to her turning into a completely changed person. Why? Because of a cliched dramatic event, where something bad happens and the character turns into an absolute badass. Haha. This is what Houseki no Kuni does, it tries to tackle complex themes in a shallow way. There are various directions they could've took Phos's story to. Maybe she could've went down the path of self acceptance and found other ways to make her self valuable or perhaps negative character development could've been the center of the show. It could've been truly complex and it would've been fun and engaging to see such complex themes being put to use. It never happened. The show opted to throw all out of the window. And presented them in a very simplified, uncompelling and cliched manner. The show dumped expositions, sacrificed its plot structure and had various holes in its plot- only so Phos could be the central focus and they failed at it. It felt "deep fake" to me. Just because Philosophical themes exist or is unique, doesn't mean it gets a pass. For something lauded and praised for being complex and enjoyable- this show was nothing but an disappointment. All expectations shattered. Now I would like to say that the CGI aspect of the show is handled really well. The characters are genderless but for weebish marketing purposes they are drawn like females. The world exploration is pretty good. Graphics are great. Soundtrack and OPs/EDs are just fine. Due to CGI, The characters always look consistent, and it does help with camera movements, however sometimes the motion does feel stiff. Thats all. My conclusion is that it was a promising series, with a great premise, but a very sub-standard execution. For that reason I give this show a 59/100
Brief Review: Stunning animation using mixed media, mainly CGI, and doing it with great definition and color contrast and movement to make something entirely pleasant to look at. Besides the impressive animation lay an incredibly unique fantasy world disconnected from all of humanity as we know it. Houseki No Kuni takes place on an Earth composed of just a single island, inhabited entirely by sentient gems (in the anime anyway) who struggle in their never-ending fight against the creatures of the moon. This anime shows a coming-of-age story portrayed in such an understandable yet so distant from the normal way. It's through the point of view of our main character, Phos who slowly loses themselves and eventually not even knowing if they are themselves, going on to have even more identity crisis in the manga. It shows a descent into the deepest pits of our greed and the burdens of growing up too quick for your good. The soundtrack helps highlight the feelings of the current mood of the show with the score invoking a certain emotion within you, without even having to be watching the scene of the show it matches with. Overall, its soundtrack complements every other aspect of the show, the mood, the art, and of course the plot. It's an amazing work and completely worth checking out as well as the manga which continues the story at the same, possibly greater storytelling quality. The manga continues from the ending of the anime and tells an even darker story. One of a descent into madness rather than a coming of age story. A Deeper Look: This is my view of the deeper plots and elements of the writing of Houseki No Kuni. Major spoiler warning for the entire anime and some of the manga. Phos goes through a lot of heavy issues and self-realizations throughout the season. Viewing the death of their friends, loss of self, betrayal, and realizations about the truth of this world. Phos learns to question even their Sensei who had taken care of them since they were formed. They learn to be on their guard even from seemingly friendly creatures. Phos even forgets a majority of their memories by the end of the season, having lost body parts with new memories from other vessels to deal with. This all culminates into having a strained relationship with everyone Phos knew in the best, truly being an entirely new person by the end of the show, a new Phos in a way. Phos perfectly encompasses the loss of self and serious mental issues. Phos is just one of the many characters in Houseki No Kuni each character has their own troubles they go through with little to no coping mechanisms, these gems are then forced to fight constantly going through even more pain. To some people this fate might be even worse than death.
*Spoilers* Land of the Lustrous is truly a hidden gem (pun intended). The 12-episode series centers around the gem Phosphoryllite, nicknamed Phos, learning about the world around them and going on adventures. Phos and the other gems battle the Lunarians, who are their enemies attempting to take them to crush them and take them to the moon. There is also another species that inhabits their world that Phos learns about in the course of the series. I'll continue my review by talking about specific elements I really enjoyed, and all of these are 10/10. The general premise. By "premise" I'm referring to something different from plot explained above, because while the plot is great, it isn't the main factor that makes me love this show so much. The fact that they're gems doesn't feel like an afterthought, but is consistently developed. Making gems hibernate and stuff makes me think that they thoroughly thought through how humanoid gems might actually live. The show had me constantly googling the different gems and realizing all the little details about them. As an example, the gem Cinnabar does possess a toxic substance in real life, and she banishes herself to a cave in the show so as not to poison the other gems. Antarcticite liquifies at room temperature, and the gem in the show lives in liquid form throughout most of the year, coming out only during the winter to keep defense as the other gems hibernate. The characters. To pinpoint two specific things I liked regarding the characters, I'd say __character development__ and the __relationships between characters__. There is a good amount of character development for a show that's only 12 episodes. There's at least two specific points in the show I can think of where Phos' character develops in a noticeable way. These points are where they get new arms and then new legs after two separate incidents. Speaking of incidents, Phos is a very spunky and often incompetent character, which makes them so likeable and fun to watch. They do try to get better though, and the show doesn't try to hold them back even further for cheap jokes. Their development to become a better fighter doesn't feel contrived, and the motivation given by the deaths and injuries of their sister gems is clearly their central motivation. Even side characters have their own development, such as Diamond, who wants to be a protective older sister instead of constantly being protected by her younger sister Bort. There seems to be a hierarchy of characters based on importance to the show, and while that may be a detriment to other shows, it is a strength of Land of the Lustrous. More interesting characters are developed further than others, though all characters are still given their own unique personalities and roles. As for the relationships between characters, there are also a variety of those, including sibling and father-children relationships. The relationship between Phos and Cinnabar is a favorite of mine because of how Cinnabar is isolated and Phos wants to make her feel less alone. Cinnabar has a blunt way of speaking and just pushes Phos away, until Phos eventually requires her help for their project. The animation. I've seen few shows with this level of beauty. The CGI never failed to impress me. The character design specifically was absolutely PERFECT for the show and I believe encompassed the way each gem would appear if humanoid. The setting was also very beautiful and well-planned. I love a show that makes me want to live in it. The animators did an amazing job with this one. The soundtrack. I never pay much attention to soundtracks, but this one stuck out to me. It seemed to go perfectly with the action and it was able to give each scene the perfect mood. The ending. The show ends on a cliffhanger about how Kongo-sensei is involved with the Lunarians and how Phos is going to carry out their plan to move to the moon. I think it was a great way to wrap things up. I hope Land of the Lustrous gets another season, but I'll still be checking out the manga to continue the story.
# Intro~ After several years of this anime sitting in my "plan to watch" list, I finally decided to give it a shot. Now, I was aware of this anime's existence since its release and I did hear some good stuff about it but I wasn't aware of just how good it really was and let me tell you that I am now angry at myself for not watching this show when it was at its peak popularity. In this review I'll elaborate on why I left this show untouched for so long and why I loved it (both content-wise and visually). Before I start, however, I do want to warn you of __some spoilers__ but, I’ll let you know when that is so you can skip ahead to the next paragraph. ~~~img220(https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/744/987/8be.gif)~~~ # ◆What's so special?◆ Now, why didn't I watch this anime if I knew about it and heard some great comments? Well, at the time, I started to distance myself with anime (both due to schoolwork and lack of interest). I did watch a few here and there but nowhere near the amount I consumed in my earlier days. Furthermore, I didn't plan on watching this when I first laid my eyes upon this; I wasn't really into the art style and I had an idea of what kind of anime this could be (I thought it would be more slice-of-life/slow burn kind of stuff that I'm not really into) so I just let this one go. But then... I started seeing this on my [social media] feeds and as the season went on, I saw more and more of it with consistent positive feedback. Eventually, I gave in thinking "it's probably good, it does have a cool concept, I guess I'll try it out." But it wasn't until recently that I started getting back into anime again. "But why did you pick this out of the 150+ anime on your list?" you may ask, well sometimes something just sticks out and is calling your name for no reason at all and Houseki no Kuni was one of them. I didn't really have a lot of information on this and I didn't have too much of a predisposed opinion or expectation, so I thought "why not? If not now, then when?" and I'm so glad I did. ~~~img220(https://www.techradar247.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/houseki-no-kuni-21-e1590765436294.jpg)~~~ # ◆Love, love, love◆ Alright, now we're at the most exciting part of this review or at least it is for me. Let me start with the visuals. Honestly, I wasn't really excited by the character designs and this is purely just my opinion. However, one thing I truly love and appreciate about this show is its use of 3d animation. Let me just state that I hate, absolutely hate nearly everything and anything 3d. This show, on the other hand, did an amazing job with the 3d work. Not once was I distracted, and really it was quite the opposite experience for me. I’d forgotten that the show was nearly completely composed of 3d rendering and I think this is the case thanks to the unique character designs. Because they aren’t supposed to be human, rather they’re gems and minerals, it’s quite less jarring to see the smooth texture on the models. And thanks to those models, Houseki no Kuni created many fun-to-watch dynamic action sequences. Furthermore, I loved how this anime was able to create an environment that wasn't too overwhelming or boring by utilizing the whole island (interiors of the home, the grassy fields, sea, and sky) as well as the different seasons and time of day to create a familiar but different setting. On top of the stunning and unique visuals are the characters, including the protagonist Phosphophyllite (__I would skip the rest of this paragraph if you haven’t watched Houseki no Kuni and don’t want to be spoiled__). Now at first I wasn’t really hooked on this mc because I’m just not a fan of the naive and clumsy character trope. But, as the show progressed, Phosphophyllite grows ~!into a hardened and strong fighter after suffering from loss after loss which makes me rethink the character’s past as more endearing. However, glimpses from their more playful past are seen on several occasions, unlike many mcs in anime who completely change personalities after experiencing a tragedy.!~ Other characters are also quite enjoyable as well. While they do embody typical character tropes, they aren’t completely flat and boring. ~!Diamond isn’t a damsel in distress nor do they get upset at Phosphophyllite or Bort when they partner up. Bort isn’t just an angsty, lone wolf; they’re surprisingly open to helping others improve their fighting and they give insightful tips to better themselves.!~ The characters have their own motives and reasons for why they do what they do, such as Rutile, and act the way they do, like Yellow Diamond. My final reason for my new-found love of this show is the nice balance of calmness, comedy, world-building, and action. Although I do admit that I found the majority of eps 1-3 a little slow or boring, it obviously wasn’t enough to put me off and they did have their fair share of surprisingly hilarious and cool moments. Looking back at it, it was a nice setup for Phosphophyllite’s character development that occurs later on in the anime. ~~~img220(https://moesucks.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/houseki-no-kuni-0603.jpg)~~~ # Final note... Although this anime’s been over for a while, I still have many unanswered questions. And, with the amount of enjoyment I had with this anime, I’ll definitely be visiting the manga to read what happens next. I hope that whoever’s reading this takes it as a sign to watch this criminally underrated anime and spread the word if you like it! ~~~img220(http://pa1.narvii.com/6609/38de82c9cc22f633a96a0b194d11417bf2aa5ad0_00.gif)~~~
Let's face it, anime as a medium isn't what it used to be. That's not to say good anime don't get made anymore, but with how current anime seem to care more about following trends and promoting their original sources, anime that are ambitious and dare to be different are much fewer and rarer in numbers than they were before. Back in, say, the 70s, 80s, 90s, and even the early 2000s, people could make huge, sprawling anime that were 26-50 episodes long without worrying about money or success. Nowadays, most anime that aren't huge powerhouse franchises only get 12 episodes at most, and several of them are either barebones isekai or cellphone game commercials. Again, that's not to say all anime are like this, but many who grew up with it, myself included, loved anime for pushing the boundaries of what cartoons were capable of, never hesitating to do whatever the hell they wanted, and challenging the notion that cartoons are only for kids or adults wanting raunchy comedy. But in 2017, a new studio called Orange took on what many considered to be an impossible task: Making an all CGI anime, with slight traces of 2D here and there. Now, CGI in anime tend to be...contentious, and while some anime make good use of it, others not so much, with the latter being much more common. But Land of the Lustrous entered the autumn 2017 anime season with guns blazing and surprisingly polished CGI unlike anything the anime industry had seen up to that point. It quickly cemented itself as one of the best anime to come out that season, with many absolutely loving it and the manga it was based on. I myself didn't get into it until later, and I'm ashamed that I took so long to watch it, as everything people say about this anime is absolutely 100% justified! So what's the story? Earth is now a barren landscape, with humanity having gone extinct because of how toxic the planet has become, and the only inhabitants of Earth are a mysterious deity, Adamant, and a race of humanoids called the Lustrous, whose bodies are all made entirely of gemstones. All they really do is go about their various chores and fight a mysterious race from the moon called the Lunarians, who often attack them with intent to shatter them and take them to the moon. One young gem, Phosphophyllite, really wants in on the action, but is forbidden from doing so because of how fragile and brittle they are physically. It doesn't help that Phos can't seem to do anything and they routinely screw up on every job they get. Adamant does tell Phos to work on an encyclopedia, which they find boring, though Phos later decides to try to find a job that Cinnabar, an isolated gem whose mercury poison kills everything they touch, can do that doesn't involve patrolling the area during the night. But Phos' curiosity and penchant for getting into trouble might wind up getting them involved in something much bigger...and it won't be pretty. In case anybody is wondering, no, this isn't Steven Universe. Both shows may have a lot of superficial similarities, namely focusing on sentient jewels, but they're two very different entities. Anyway, obviously the animation is the first thing people talk about in regards to Land of the Lustrous, especially since anime hasn't had the best track record with it in recent years. But the fact that people talk about it in a good way means the show did its job in really making it work. There's a lot to go over here: the gems' hair all have this shiny, glassy look that's fitting for their status as jewel people. The character movement is jerky when it needs to be, and amazingly fluid when the time calls for it, particularly in fight scenes, where the animators really get to show off their skills, making great use of creative camera angles, 360 no scoping, battle choreography, and the occasional bit of 2D, particularly in things like facial expressions and body parts whenever the characters' whole bodies are off-screen. Of course, the CGI isn't all the anime has to offer, as the anime also has beautiful background art and some really good character designs. Of course, only shilling the animation and artwork would be a complete disservice to just how good Land of the Lustrous is, as it has a lot more to offer than just that. My policy on cartoons and anime in general is that as long as the story and characters are interesting and well executed, you can have as bad or good art as possible. Animation isn't necessarily the be-all end-all of a show's overall quality (example being a lot of the very early World Masterpiece Theater anime like Heidi and Dog of Flanders). There are also things like the music, which is very heavily Eastern influenced, with a lot of wind instruments and erhus, with the occasional epic orchestra here and there (And I'm kinda biased here because I love full-on orchestras), all of which are absolutely stellar. Every piece of music fits the mood and atmosphere of every scene using it, managing to elevate the story to greater heights and just being all around well done. More than that though, I'm especially surprised at how well paced and well put together the whole show is. I mean, it has a large cast of 29 characters, including Adamant, which for a show with only 12 episodes, would be too much for a show of that length to really flesh out or develop (See my review of Lapis Re:Lights in regards to this particular issue), but because of the show's setting and lore, and how the creators managed to weave everything together, every member of the cast stands out and all have their own subtle backgrounds and characterization, even if they're not the main focus. They're sentient rocks living on a small island only interacting with others within their vicinity, or some don't interact at all, so they don't necessarily have overly detailed backstories or dramatic secrets they're hiding, save for a select few, nor are they really the most complex and three-dimensional, but the whole cast is very easy to relate to, all having their own strengths, quirks, and dynamic personalities that really shine, whether they get to let loose or during the more subdued moments of the show, and the animation definitely helps with that. Every episode brings new developments for the characters, many of them changing significantly, multiple times throughout the series, with the lead, Phos, getting the absolute best of it every time they're on screen. The show also takes great pains to make sure they're all strongly acted and that they're not just one-note stereotypes, even if they may seem that way at first. There's also the fact that the show, even with its large cast, is surprisingly well paced. Never does it ever feel like the show is trying to rush through its story beats to get where it needs to go. I said in my Madoka Magica review that if producers know how to make use of the time they have and utilize the ingredients set in front of them to make the best of what they have, that can really help a show's overall quality, with Land of the Lustrous being another result of that. That said, the anime is still based on an ongoing manga, and the anime doesn't really have a concrete ending as a result of that. Which is par for the course these days, and an anime original ending would probably have soured the final product. The only other real complaints that I have are rather...miniscule, in that I don't like Bort as a character because I feel they come off as too much of a jackass at times, even when it's not necessary, and I've seen some CGI shows and movies that happen to be better animated than this (Kubo and the Two Strings and Dragon Quest: Your Story, with the upcoming CG Lupin III movie being practically Pixar-level quality). But that's no reason to not check this show out, as it's full of engaging characters, complex themes, beautiful imagery, and a world rich with ethereal beauty. Please, do yourself a favor and check out Land of the Lustrous, whether it's the manga or the anime. You won't regret it. I certainly don't!
"With great power comes a sense of solitude" -Kongou-sensei Houseki no Kuni is one of the best fantasy anime out there. Yeah. No. For Sure. (I Am Not Kidding) It has a remarkable story. From an eye catching CGI. An amazing Soundtrack. And astonishing Characters. Land of the Lustrous is my Peaked to its Fantasy genre. When a six meteors hit a so called found Earth, it manage to decreased the popularity of lands. But what's left is a crescent island. Only to be found that Gems, Lanarians and few organisms are living in Earth. On the other hand, Lanarians are the only creatures that can roam freely around the Earth which their job is to captures these Gems. Here we see a story of 28 gems that roaming around the Crescent Island. But we only have one main character here for this story. The name is Phosphophyllite or shortened for Phos'. Phos was set to be one of the youngest and weakest gemstones amongst of them. With a Mohs Scale of (3.5 out of 10). It is truly in fact that Phos is one the least strongest Gemstones. A childlike personality, Phos was set to be a troublemaker from getting involve to the Lanarians which they are almost a Human like. Because they mineralize these Gems when they get held captive. And once they get taken away. They're gone. While living in a fantasy world. Land of the Lustrous delivered a well, captivating Characters. It is almost staggered as a real life scenarios. Phos struggled of being a useless spoiled Gem, then to become a well centered in the society throughout the show. And that's Character Developments. I didn't say too much of a spoil, but that's how every story works. Phos is just a coming of age character. With a well written one. "It's strange, thinking back on how I lived spoiled, following simple hunches... Now, I'm jealous of my old self." -Phosphophyllite Self realization is rare to be heard of saying. Like, "Damn, I used to be that kind of a person." In reality, we never really talked ourselves of how we change. We just see things and adapt to it. We just watch and learn. We only tends to know that we changed if people gossips about you. What really amazed me here is that they never use pronouns, neither She or Her. But it uses They, Them, and I. In the manga, the author noted that the characters appear to exclusively use Male pronouns like, He or Big Brothers. To be honest, I never would have thought that CGI will work perfectly in anime, but studio Orange have the rights to be applause for their works. I would love to see a 2nd season of this Well, Remarkable, Amazing, Astonishing series. And hoping for it after they finish Beastars. To resolute this review. I give it a Mohs Scale of Diamond which is a 10/10, but I don't put a whole numbers in my Reviews. My Rate is 9.6/10
I first want to state that by the time of writing this review, I still haven't read the manga, even though I have plans to. So, my observations and rankings are solely based on the anime, which felt more like a prologue and sadly won't be getting a second season (at least any time soon). __Worldbuilding__ I want to get straight into this anime's forte, the world. When writing a fantasy world, it is important to have the fantasy rules be rigid yet at the same time also flexible. The rules must be rigid in order to feel like a show that has successfully carved its own reality with its own rules, and failing that can make the show feel less grounded and really gimmicky. However, it must also have some flexibility in those rules so that it isn't too limited by its own formula, and can have enough space to try out new ideas, surpass expectations and implement plot twists that don't feel unnatural. This is a hard middle ground to catch, but Houseki no Kuni excels at this. The premise (and by extension the world) is quite basic but really imaginative and sticks to its own rules. Mysterious lifeforms known as "gems" inhabit a small and lonely island which is under constant attack by weird people from the moon called Lunarians, people who want to abduct these gems and use them for their own desires. This is the vague yet intriguing world revealed with the starting episode, and as the show continues more plot points are weaved into the show. I want to keep this review spoiler free, but many interesting things are revealed about both the history of the world, the Lunarians, the gems and other lifeforms as the show continues. This is done in a way that doesn't feel out of place at all for the show and its original premise, but also expands the horizons of what this show can be, and a sense of mystery is always masterfully preserved. The world building is an easy 9/10, but depending on how the manga progresses it can be a 10/10 in a later season (if we ever get any). __Characters__ The characters of Houseki no Kuni are pretty well done too, but I won't be analyzing them too much since not a lot is shown to us in this first cour. It really seems like this show needed a second cour (or a second season), especially when it comes to character development. Our main character, Phos, is a bratty annoying kid that does experience character development about two thirds into the show, but by then it feels like there isn't enough time to fully utilize that development, and it does seem a bit too sudden. Our other main/important characters like Kongo, Shinsha, King, Diamond and Bort seem really interesting but none of them have much focus or development for now, so it is hard to analyze them deeply. I love Bort's harsh attitude and sense of responsibility as it is executed very well, Kongo's aura of mystery and kind nature makes him an extremely intriguing character and Shinsha's tsundere nature screams that there is something up with her past but none of them get enough time to get fleshed out. The side and supporting characters are... alright at best. They rely too much on quirky and one dimensional personalities like Red Beryl's love of dresses, Morganite's snarky attitude or the oblivious kuudere Amethyst sisters. Even the characters that have some depth like Rutile or Alexandrite rely too much on their quirks (mad scientist and obsessiveness over Lunarians respectively), even if those quirks are the result of something deeper about their past. It just isn't reflected very well and overall is a poor portrayal of these characters. I'd give the characters a 7/10 for now, but further seasons can drive that up to an 8 or even a 9. __Art and Music__ The art of this show needs no introduction really. Houseki no Kuni is famous for its amazing implementation of CGI. The animation of facial features and expressions looks just as natural as any other anime, fighting scenes cleverly utilize the 3D models, and landscapes look absolutely stunning. Even though I have some subjective dislikes about the art style at times, I'd say objectively the art is a 9/10. I especially loved how the Lunarians were drawn, they look like paintings and reliefs from ancient civilizations like Assyria or Egypt. The soundtrack was also great. Some of the tracks are simply a joy to listen to and others are almost trancelike. The music fits the art style and the mood of their respective scenes very well. Is it the next Madoka Magica? No, but it's pretty damn good. 9/10. The opening is gorgeous visually and the music is wonderful as well. It can sound a bit generic after the 50 second mark but it still stunningly beautiful imo, especially for the first 50 seconds. 9/10. The ending is also an artistic masterpiece but I didn't like it very much musically, it felt way too disorganized. 6/10. Overall, I'll give this section a 9/10 overall. __Conclusion__ Houseki no Kuni is a great show with superb worldbuilding, gorgeous art and music, and great characters. Its single fault in the end is only being 12 episodes long. This cour feels like it is a prologue for a much greater story. You could chalk that up to poor pacing, but I think the pacing was mostly fine. There just wasn't enough time for the world and especially the characters to truly flesh out. All we can do now is hope for a S2 after the final Beastars season, but that's just hopium.
Too lazy for a fully articulated and well structured review today so you're getting this. # __PROS__ 1. Firstly, it has an incredibly interesting concept and knack for worldbuilding. A narrative built throughout that shows great possibility, not just for reveals and such as the world keeps being built, but for explorations of interesting themes. Themes of humanity, in particular. This has a lot which it's setting up to hopefully talk about; I am picking the manga up for sure. 1. Secondly, it has possibly one of the greatest soundtracks I've heard, emotional when needed, otherworldly and creepy when needed, intense and exciting when needed, and always so beautifully layered and complex. I'm not knowledgeable in music theory to explain in any detail. I just think it's great. 1. Thirdly, it has some intriguing character development, which I won't spoil, and more is due in the manga without a doubt. 1. Fourthly, it has Some impactful body horror complemented by the world building. It's great stuff. 1. Finally, it has fantastic use of 3D camera work and the CGI aesthetic in battles. As well as this, it has noticeably strong layouts and a powerful aesthetic/ cinematographic identity overall. Not excluding what the CG allows in regards to visualising the gems. # __CONS__ 1. The CGI is a great visual asset and more than justifies it's use, I wouldn't want it in another style, but it still leads to a couple very minor issues for me. Firstly, it doesn't always work great for comedy, often feeling like it has the voice acting and the base movement of what anime would usually offer in 2D, but without the full malleability that would have to exaggerate the comedy well. My opinion of course. Secondly, there is this 3D rotating pan kind of camera movement they use, I don't know what the correct term for it is if there is one. Anyways, when it's used in otherwise still scenes and some character moments it feels very unnecessary and gimmicky to me. Like a Michael Bay scene where the camera has to move. It's distracting. I found it a tad obnoxious, but it did work at times, and its irritating uses were mostly isolated to episode one. Again, the 3D camera work was very good otherwise, particularly in action scenes. 1. Now after that massive nitpick. The con that actually matters to me and thus what score I want to give this (Should definitely be a 7.5, but for some reason I am being very generous and giving it an 8 because I am intrigued enough and expect the manga to deliver. Will see if I change my mind and rate it what I really should based on enjoyment), is that it just kind of ends. The show has a cliffhanger, however, the ending is supremely awkward. While you could argue, and would probably be mostly right, that it's due to the adaptation length compared to the manga, only adapting the start, it nevertheless felt very, very awkward. It doesn't feel like a remotely natural ending. It's extremely abrupt and lacks almost any narrative structure. It doesn't feel like any arc had ended for example, or feel as if any big character moments were particular turning points compared to earlier sections with similarly noticeable changes, to justify ending there, and so forth. The way it cuts between the different pairs in the last few minutes added to this awkwardness, it just felt out of place. There was no reason to do that in the context of the narrative, other than the show thinking it should show you all the characters again quickly because it knows it's about to abruptly end.
"_Constantly, I think to myself that I would like to be reborn…_" -Phosphophyllite Do you ever wish you could change and transcend the limitations of your body? Phos' journey in Land of the Lustrous (Houseki no Kuni) is a compelling exploration of a person who desires to physically and mentally change themselves. Studio Orange's adaptation of Haruko Ichikawa's manga is unlike any anime you've ever seen. Stunning CGI, visceral yet graceful nature to which it portrays bodies, and a dense analysis of the human condition makes it unforgettable. In the distant future, Earth has been ravaged by six meteors. The meteors broke off parts of the planet and formed six moons. Earth has been reduced to one single shore, and the rest of the planet is the ocean. This single shore is, while beautiful, has entirely infertile land. Only one organism populates the ground because they don't eat food. They photosynthesize. Evolved from the microorganisms that live in the ocean's depths, they became beautiful gems who reflect sunlight with every move they make. Creatures that live on one of the moons known as Lunarians travel down to Earth to capture the gems for their desires. The prettier gems being the most desirable. As long as the moon hangs above the characters' heads, there is a constant feeling of fear for their lives. In turn, this creates continuous suspense for us as viewers. We can never be sure if a character may be swept away or shattered into pieces (and no amount of perceived plot armor will stop them). We continuously see a full moon in the background with gems framed below its vastness as if it is preparing to encroach upon their temporary safety. Land of the Lustrous tells the story of the youngest of the 28 gems, but they're all immortal. Our main character Phosphophyllite brought to life by Tomoyo Kurosawa's exquisite performance that can capture such a wide range of emotion and tone, is inherently relatable thanks to a lack of seriousness and plenty of recognizable mannerisms. Phos ranks near the bottom of the "Mohs Scale" used in real life as well, which dictates how high or low a gemstone's hardness is on a scale of 1-10. If you're born with a low hardness in the society they live in, you have no choice but to take on a role suitable to you, but if you have a high hardness, you're expected to protect others in combat. And because they're immortal, positions are permanent. Unchanging. It's a roulette that's spun for the gems, spun for us all. It doesn't matter what body you get because you'll be stuck with it. It's up to you to decide what to make of the body you're given. However, Phos is so useless in their society that they fill no niche or role. Thanks to their upbeat and irreverent personality, they're able to live optimistically, if pointlessly. It's a stark image of the unmotivated youth, struggling to find direction or even motivation. An idea that I resonated with immediately. And more than likely, you'll appreciate the path Phos takes to better themself and help their fellow gem suffering from a similar struggle, Cinnabar. In the beginning, Phos is descending into pointlessness (like an actual rock), berated by the other gems for lack of talent. They say things like "Are you good for anything?" and "You don't do anything at all." It's all played off for laughs, if a bit mean-spirited, but the truth is, Phos only has a 3.5, which is so low that they're not even allowed to fight. Phos would fall to pieces if they were shot by just one of the arrows the Lunarians use. Phos comes to hate the limitations of their body, regardless of how desirable the Lunarians find their peppermint green color. And other gems envy Phos for their alluring color, of course, without Phos fully understanding that they have qualities worth being jealous of. This is just one of the many ways the show incites introspection, saying that we all have some notable characteristics no matter who we are. While Phos doesn't technically break themselves, throughout the show, they throw themselves into danger with the desire to be broken, hidden beneath their silly personality. Through being broken with intense physicality and repeatedly being put back together with a light but audibly satisfying sheen, Phos grows to become a new person from who they originally were. After all, if the gems lose a piece once broken, they lose an equally sized chunk of their memory. Occasionally, after a battle, one of them may forget the other's name, but in more severe cases, there are harsher consequences later on. In one of the most chilling moments of the show, Phos is beckoned to danger by an unseen force (assumably their desire) that says, "You must change." It's that scary feeling we all have at one point, and Land of the Lustrous delivers fear-inspiring moments like these now and then, but most of them come in the later episodes. These moments successfully connect the viewer to the central character and their turmoil by vivid fever-dream visualizations. Phos' journey is the central narrative throughline of the show, and thank god for that because seeing them grow and learn more about their world makes for a rewarding adventure. The main character isn't the only one suffering from inner turmoil. Every gem has some sort of anguish that torments them. Even Diamond, with a hardness of 10.0 who Phos idolizes, feels excellent envy for the slightly more challenging Bort. These subtle nuances to each character aren't shoved onto us either. They're minor details, subtly woven into the script so that the generally upbeat mood doesn't become melancholy. Still, it's enough for you to pick up on, so it will feel rewarding to see their progression in the background of Phos' story. Make no mistake, this is not only a compelling journey through the main character's struggle against themself, or even about the three-dimensional supporting cast that serves as foils to Phos. It's about bodies—how you deserve to live in harmony with it rather than in spite of them. Bodies are treated as sacred totems in Land of the Lustrous. They're quite literally artifacts that glisten in the sunlight. The gems are constantly framed with vast negative spaces highlighting how valuable their beauty and vibrant color is to the desolate world they grace by inhabiting. The director displays the gems in symmetrical shots as if they are the focal point of a work of art, hanging in a fine art museum. Even the more enigmatic supporting characters like Bort and Antarcticite are portrayed with beauty and elegance through their immaculate fighting style that each gem uses. The fighting choreography appears as graceful as a ballet dancer but has the visceral impact necessary for them to take on a fleet of eldritch creatures. The action is unlike anything you'll ever see. And it's brought to life amazingly with the most stunning CGI I have ever seen in a TV series. The previous works of the director Takahiko Kyogoku include another CGI oriented show (Love Live! School Idol Project), and it shows because he's improved on that show's animatronic dance numbers in just about every way. Action scenes are where the director shows us his best abilities, and they only get more impressive as the show progresses. The "camera" work during action scenes is so dynamic. The smooth camera motions coupled with the gems' fluid movements make for scenes that entirely devour your attention. Even during the scenes with less action, the gems are still quite vibrant. Their vividly colored crystal hair causes light to reflect off of them, always making the visuals eye-catching. The respect that each gem's body is treated with makes it all the more distressing when they're shattered in combat. This, coupled with intense visual and audio feedback, makes the battles to be some of the most thrilling action I've ever witnessed. Even though the gems are immortal, there is still a fear for their lives. If they are broken and become immobile, then they will be trapped in their bodies forever. Endlessly. Arguably that is a fate worse than death. Even worse, the Lunarians may repurpose you into a weapon or jewelry (as seen in episode one). The orchestral soundtrack backing most scenes maintains the mystifying tone of the show and is fantastic throughout. The music swells during combat, and during some scenes, it matches the instruments the Lunarians play when they come down to capture a gem. Sound effects are also incredibly satisfying on the ears; the sheen of a gem being put back together after a tough battle, the airy wisps of the cloudlike Lunarians, the clinking sound that can be heard as gems walk across the marble floor of their home. Lustrous is never harsh on the ears, yet it has an intense audible impact. Both the opening and ending credits are quite good. The ending Kirameku Hamabe shouldn't be understated. With awe-inspiring images of the moon, the poison metal alloy that flows around Cinnabar, and a few references to the later turns the story takes, the ending perfectly encapsulates the darker themes of the show. To contrast this, the song that supports the visuals evokes hope. Beyond just being an audio-visual wonder, Land of the Lustrous is an analytical masterpiece. The director brought excellent talent to the table, but the source manga by Haruko Ichikawa deserves credit for being rich with symbolism. Thankfully, this carries over into this compact but well-paced adaptation. Not a second of screentime is spared. When we're not delighted whimsical conversations, mesmerized by the visuals, terrified by the Lunarians, or sometimes all at once, we're being delivered the themes through visual imagery. The thematic throughline in Lustrous follows the idea of change. The changing of one's self, the change that Phos and their fellow gems desire. As such, concepts like death and rebirth are showcased with symbolism. When are gems are broken, they're placed in black bags that strangely resemble body bags. It's as if they've died are being remade once the doctor puts them back together. This intrinsic connection the show shares with death explains why each gem wears a black tuxedo resembling funeral attire. As if they're mourning for the pieces of their comrades (and selves) that are lost in battle. The show is also doused in Buddhist imagery at nearly every corner. Whether it be the enigmatic "Sensei" that all of the gems respect and rules over them like a deity, the ritual-like behaviors and designs of the Lunarians, and the frequent references to rebirth. If you know about the Buddhist philosophy, you'll see the religion's goal is to relinquish the body that carries your soul so you can be liberated and proceed on to Nirvana. There's even a scene in which a particular character is supposedly reborn as a small animal to more suit the karma that they obtained in life. It can't get any more clear than that. Seeing all of these different concepts clash together with excellent visual quality and artistic direction makes for one of the most bewildering yet beautiful experiences ever. No details added to Lustrous were done, so without reason, everything is purposeful. Everything is necessary. It may have helped me learn about Buddhism in tandem with Lustrous' tv airing, but knowledge of these themes enriched my experience. Keep in mind, there are many interpretations with such an abstract and ambiguous story like this one, so you may find different meanings in the show from the ones I did. Before closing, it's worth mentioning that this anime does not have a complete ending as the source material is still ongoing. Enough plotlines ended on a satisfying (if incomplete) note, and a few new ones were opened to give you a sense of the direction the next season will take. The story is not over, so I will be patiently awaiting the second season, but until then, I'll be happy to dig through the show's lore and alternate meanings as there is plenty of rewatch value. Land of the Lustrous is, for the most part, a joyful adventure that may even inspire laughs, but let your guard down too long, and the Lunarians will steal away all you hold dear leaving you devastated. At its heart, it is a pure and simple story about how impossibly flawed we are as people. How we'll always search for means to become better, endlessly until we finally reach the end of the cycle. Whether or not this series has all of the answers, you'll want to listen to the tale it has to tell about the questions.
__ICHIKAWA!!!!!! PLEASE GIVE US LAND OF THE LUSTROUS SEASON 2 AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!__ Everything about the anime and manga is perfect, from the visuals to the story, I finished the manga yearning for more. Land of the Lustrous is a story about the lives of numerous humanoid gems, starring Phosphophyllite, a gem with a hardness of 3.5 and generally considered to be somewhat useless from the perspective of the other gems. The gems do various things around the "school", such as clothing, medicine(?) and of course, education. But they're more notable for constantly fighting off the Lunarians, strange, ghostly, humanoid aparitions who decend from the moon to attack the gems in the hopes of kidnapping them to turn them into jewelry and weapons. The narrative follows Phos' growth as a character, becomming increasingly independent and capable as the story progresses, with their relationships with the other gems also being increasingly warped and the line between good and evil is blurred. Phos initially tries to find purpose in their life and aquire a job amongst the gems, however, this eventually spirals into existentialism and Phos begins a plot against the gods in order to understand the meaning of everything. In addition to the series' complex and colourful characters, the visual style is also stunning. Studio Orange really outdid themselves with their fluid 3D animations, the fully fleshed out and natural looking animation is appealing to look at (unlike many other 3D works, *cough* *cough*, RWBY, *cough* *cough*) which goes perfectly together with the additional 2D animation layered both over and under the 3D, as the animators specifically drew the animation in 2D before rendering a 3D version in order for it to feel smoother and more natural. Clearly, this has worked as I'm yet to see any other 3D animation of any kind look nearly as good as this (although I may be a little biased), so if you're looking for an anime with both a captivating story and characters with a truly amazing visual style, I couldn't recommend Land of the Lustrous more. My only criticism however is simply that there isn't a second series __YET__, if you want to fully enjoy the series and complete it, you'll have to read the manga as well as the anime abruptly ends about a third of the way through the series at episode 12, which is a shame as the best fucking part of the series is right after when the anime ends. Studio Orange has stated that they'd love to make a continuation of the story but are "currently waiting for approval from higher up". Cryptic much? My theory however, is that this "higher up" is actually Ichikawa herself, as she's infamous for purposely postponing the manga for about 2 years in order for the final 108th chapter to be released at specifically at the date of when a green comet flew over our skies. What does this mean for the anime? I reckon that She's either announcing or releasing the first episode of the next series of LotL on approx the 11th of August: 108 days after the 108th chapter of the series, as 108 is known to be reoccuring in LotL since it is significant in buddhist beliefs. I'm really fucking hoping that there will be a next series, and if there is, of the same quality of the first. Please Orange, no more beastars, no more trigun, I just want my gems back :( ~!Also you associate any of the gems with having a specific gender (i.e. "they use male pronouns so they must be male"), I will find you and fucking gut you like a fish. Its specifically stated that the gems are sexless as they are minerals, as opposed to organic creatures who sexually reproduce, the gems are formed geologically.!~