Star Ocean EX - Underrated Gateway Anime? The Nerd Stash All News Trailers/Videos Gaming Twitch More Xbox 360 PS3 3DS Vita Mobile All News Trailers/Videos Gaming Twitch More Xbox 360 PS3 3DS Vita Mobile BREAKING NEWS Gotham Knights How to Unlock Colorways and Customize Your Suit Modern Warfare 2 Where to Find All Safe Locations How to Get Blueprints in Gotham Knights Modern Warfare 2 How to Earn All Trophies & Achievements Disney Dreamlight Valley: How to Make Peanut Butter Sandwich How to make Kappa Maki in Disney Dreamlight Valley Vampire Survivors: How to Unlock All Stages How to See the Final Fireworks in Vampire Survivors How to Unlock Avatar Infernas in Vampire Survivors How to Unlock and Evolve Song of Mana in Vampire Survivors
Star Ocean EX – Underrated Gateway Anime
Posted By: Nathan Franklinon: July 02, 2022In: Anime, Features, Opinion, TVTags: SquareEnix, StarOceanNo Comments Print Email If Star Trek and the Tales Of series had a baby, you can bet it would look like Star Ocean. This is because it essentially is. The first game, after all, was made by disillusioned Tales Of devs who were big Star Trek fans. The game’s opening cutscene is narrated with the same ” to go where no man has gone before” Star Trek is known for. No wonder it was only released in Japan. Alas, many years have passed since 1996. And the Star Ocean videogame series has undergone multiple changes. Not only that, but it has branched out into mobile games, manga, and anime – the latter of which we’re talking about here. Because honestly, it’s kind of overlooked, especially as a gateway into anime itself. What’ s Star Ocean Ex All About
Star Ocean EX was released in 2001. The show ran for 26 episodes on TV Tokyo from April 3, 2001, to September 3, 2001. As with any anime, it wouldn’t be long before the show hit Western borders. In 2004, now-defunct company Geneon USA dubbed the show and distributed it on DVD. In 2018, Discotek Media claimed the license and began distributing the show on Blu-Ray. The anime is based on the 1999-2001 Star Ocean: The Second Story manga. The manga, in turn, is based on the 1999 PlayStation game of the same name. The story follows the exploits of Claude C. Kenni, a young man unwittingly stranded on the underdeveloped planet of Expel. There, he learns of the insidious Sorcery Globe, a mysterious calamity causing strange incidents on the planet. Alongside Rena Lanford, a teenage girl with secrets of her own, he journeys to discover the secrets behind the Globe – and, hopefully, a way back home. The anime is a fast-paced episodic series. The series chronicles Claude’s journey as he ventures from town-to-town, meeting new faces and defeating the mutated creatures that appeared as a result of the Sorcery Globe. In this sense, it’s a ‘freak-of-the-week’-type show that has Claude and his allies deal with a new threat. As you can tell, the story isn’t revolutionary – instead, the show’s appeal lies more in its execution than its concept. The Characters of Star Ocean Ex
The biggest appeal of Star Ocean EX is its characters. Claude meets new party members on his journey, and their personalities are well-defined. Claude is your typical noble hero – who also suffers from Daddy Issues. Rena is the innocent, charming young girl with healing abilities. Meanwhile, Celine Jules is a mouthy yet feminine wielder of Heraldic magic, while Ashton Anchors is the down-on-his-luck comic relief with dragons on his back. All four of these ‘main party members’ gel pretty well in the anime. What helps is that the English Dub, while not without its issues, has a great cast. This includes Venus Terzo (Princess Millerna Aston in Vision of Escaflowne), who is flawless as snarky, feisty Celine. Meanwhile, the late Gabe Khouth (Nicol Amalfi in Gundam SEED) is lovingly eccentric as the inept Ashton Anchors. To be honest, it’s a good thing the cast is so talented since Star Ocean EX doesn’t delve too much into their backstories. And to add, the personal reasons they go along on the journey soon fade away in favor of the main plot. Out of all the characters, Claude and Rena are given the most focus in terms of backstory and relationships. As mentioned, Claude suffers from some extreme Daddy issues. Raised in the shadow of Earth Admiral Ronyx J. Kenni, Claude’s arc is about finding his own identity and removing the mental blocks that stop him from becoming his own man. Conversely, Rena’s arc is less compelling – while endearing personality-wise due to her childlike empathy, we don’t learn the truth behind her origins until the very end of the show. The Animation of Star Ocean EX
Here’s where we get to the anime’s weakest point – the animation. Now, look, the overall presentation is colorful and pleasant to look at. However, when we compare the character design of the original manga (and those of the game before it), the anime versions are simplified visually and pale in comparison to artist Mayumi Azuma’s drawings. The character expressions are relatively blank, and small details like the pattern on Celine’s stockings are absent. Small things that add up to character are entirely removed. The backgrounds and location design are also uninspired. You’d be hard-pressed to distinguish between the Cross and Lacour Kingdoms just by looking at them. To be fair, the script does nothing to embellish on the universe in which it’s set, so it’s not entirely the visual’s fault. However, when the ‘dungeons’ the party enters are nothing more than bland samey vide-game-like corridors, the lack of effort is disturbingly clear. But the real shame goes to Star Ocean EX‘s fight scenes. Rather than take the time to animate them, the Powers-That-Be opt for a slide show. Fights are mostly a series of ‘stills’ that might occasionally bring along a ‘camera shake’ for good measure. Sometimes, the show does include some animation (i.e., the occasional sword swing), but for the most part, it’s absent. There is further shame when Celine’s spells have no gravitas or threat – they have a less visual impact than the videogame. Given that anime is purely a visual medium, you’d think more focus would’ve been spent ensuring otherwise. So is this anime worth visiting revisiting
Star Ocean EX isn’t the worst video game-based anime to exist. As a kid, I watched it multiple times. Why? Well, for starters, it was based on my then-favorite videogame. But also, because the anime medium allows for a deeper examination of characters than games, I found myself relating a lot to Claude Kenni. He’s a young man whose arrogance lands him in a less-than-stellar situation. But regardless, he makes the best of his situation and tries to find a way out of it. In this sense, for younger viewers, I feel that Star Ocean EX is an underrated ‘gateway anime.’ The overall narrative is nothing mind-blowing, but its cliched nature at least breeds some familiarity as you venture into the alien world of anime. Meanwhile, the series shows new viewers how the medium can explore character depth in ways other animated forms can’t. Although Star Ocean EX is criticized for having a Saturday Morning Cartoon feel, it has plenty of elements that wouldn’t be allowed on Western Saturday Morning TV. From the emotional depth of Claude Kenni – and some genuinely disturbing monsters and scenes – it was something new for me when I first watched it. Thus, as far as Star Ocean EX goes, it’s not an anime ocean of stars. However, it is a spaceship that can carry you into the first stages of your anime journey. Are you looking forward to Star Ocean: The Divine Force coming out in October 2022? Have you watched the Star Ocean EX anime? If so, what did you think of it? Tags: SquareEnixStarOcean Previous Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak – Citadel Sub-Camp Location
Next Genshin Impact Everything We Know About Dori So Far
Related Articles
Gotham Knights How to Unlock Colorways and Customize Your Suit
October 23, 2022 Modern Warfare 2 Where to Find All Safe Locations
October 23, 2022 How to Get Blueprints in Gotham Knights
October 23, 2022 Modern Warfare 2 How to Earn All Trophies & Achievements
October 23, 2022 Nerd Stash Hub
RSS 1000+ Subscribers twitter 2634 followers Youtube 0 Subscribers instagram 0 followers Top Reviews
The Walking Dead “ Swear” Review
November 27, 2016 Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Review – Shifting Tides
November 18, 2020 Star Trek Picard Episode 4 – Absolute Candor Review
February 17, 2020 We Are Chicago Review
February 09, 2017 Shift Happens Review
August 26, 2017 Bartlow’ s Dread Machine Review – Kicking it Old School
October 16, 2020 Popular Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Delayed
March 06, 2017 Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Beta Impressions
February 24, 2017 Smash Pro Retires Faces Lifetime Ban After Dating Teen Competitor
July 08, 2019 Spider-Man Homecoming Review
July 11, 2017 Bright Writer Max Landis Accused of Sexual Assault
December 22, 2017 Games Vampire Survivors How to Unlock and Evolve the Gatti Amari
October 22, 2022 Disney Dreamlight Valley How To Feed Ravens
October 22, 2022 How to Make Tekka Maki in Disney Dreamlight Valley
October 22, 2022 Gotham Knights How to craft an Eternal Suit
October 22, 2022 How to Make Apple Sorbet in Disney Dreamlight Valley
October 22, 2022 Comments Javier Navarrete on 23 May in Mass Effect Legendary Edition Update 1 02 Patch Notes
I don't blame you. If it wasn't fixed for the legendary edition, it may never be ... Ben on 18 May in Mass Effect Legendary Edition Update 1 02 Patch Notes
I'm hoping version 1.03 will finally fix Shepard's awful running animation in Ma ... Marie Daniel on 06 Apr in The 10 Best Video Game Heroes
Hi. Thanks for the useful information. ... Dylan R N Crabb on 03 Mar in Boundary a Space-Themed Shooter Lands on Steam This Year
I don't think firearms as we know them on Earth would even be an effective weapo ... Old Hollywood Briar on 26 Jun in Steve Bing Movie Producer And Philanthropist Dies At 55
Steve was a beautiful soul who touched many. He will be greatly missed. ... Follow Us
Featured Articles
Vampire Survivors How to Unlock and Evolve the Gatti Amari Disney Dreamlight Valley How To Feed Ravens How to Make Tekka Maki in Disney Dreamlight Valley Gotham Knights How to craft an Eternal Suit How to Make Apple Sorbet in Disney Dreamlight Valley News In Pics
Facebook
2015-2021 Powered By The Nerd Stash, All Rights Reserved. Desktop Version Mobile Version