View Full Version : Crest Of The Stars, why is it not popular?
Excession
30-05-02, 12:01 PM
Recently I was lucky enough to buy a set of DVDs.
They are called Crest Of The Stars, or Senkai (or Seikai?) No Monsho in Japanese.
Thus far the series had greatly impressed me, though I have yet to finish watching it. The animation is quite smooth and pleasing to the eye, while the music is classical and enhances the experience. The characters are complex and have interesting personal histories, while not dwelling so much on the past as to dominate the anime.
They endeared themselves to me almost instantly, namely Laphiel, who is pretty, smart and very capable.
The story itself is not action-packed, but if it were I think the anime would lose some of its appeal. It is interesting, charming and fun, without being silly. The world is rich in detail, as you would expect from an anime based on a series of novels, and very well realized.
It sounds good, does it not?
So why are there few websites dedicated to Crest Of The Stars?
Why is it so unpopular that few people actually know about it, or its follow-ups (there are two, both good series also, from what I have read)?
It even has a commercial US release, for goodness sake (though has not reached Australia)!
I would dearly love to obtain more information on the anime, the characters and perhaps pictures of them (other than screen-captures, which are low resolution and quality). This has proved to be sadly impossible, as most of my searches have been in vain.
Can anyone help me?
Or even just explain why such a good anime goes largely unnoticed?
Siberian
30-05-02, 03:30 PM
Oh I love Crest of The stars... I have the full first series and the movie, though I haven't had time to sit down and watch all of it. What I have watched though is very good, I think its a great anime and don't know why its not to popular. Most likely because people haven't heard of it or something...? I like it though, sometimes it can get a bit boreing but it usually livens up. Hey did you know theres a second season as well? I don't believe it has been released in the US or other places besides Japan its called Seikai no Senki. Theres also two movies... I have one of them and I'm really not sure what either are about lol if you are looking for information this is a pretty good site to check out
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/4777/Seikai/seikai.html
if I find anymore I'll let u know :o
I recently got the full series as well, but haven't watched them yet because GTA3 is taking up all my time.
I will have to agree though. This series seems to be one of those ones where you either love it or hate it. Alot of the sites I've seen for Crest of the Stars (and there weren't many) gave it a great or very poor rating. Strange.
As to WHY it's not popular, well, that's not really something that's answerable. Maybe I can come up with something after I watch it.
I looked around here for threads for CotS so after I watch some, I'll have a place to read some stuff and post some questions or comments, but of the 3 threads I saw, not a single one was very large.
I'm looking forward to watching them though. :) If only I can stop playing GTA3....
Robotech Master
30-05-02, 05:34 PM
Look for it to gain some popularity in the US when Crest of the Stars gets its own article in the Animerica Magazine next month. In the US it goes on Sale June 15.
It is extremely popular in Japan, gaining two additional series and perhaps more on the way. Its popular there because it is based on a series of novels (6 novels so far I believe) written by a Japanese Writer, and have all been best sellers.
Anyways, I love COTS. Its a very mature anime in that its more like watching prime time shows. Its entertaining, but doesn't need continuous action to be entertaining. Still, the Battle of Gosroth and the Battle of Sufugnoff are great, and as good as they are, I hear they pale in comparisson to the Battle of the Aptic Gate in the Sequel.
AnkaraStark
30-05-02, 10:54 PM
I remember seeing the theatrical trailers in the "extras" section of, if I remember correctly, my Gundam Wing DVDs. It looked interesting indeed, definitely not action-packed from what I saw, but interesting nonetheless.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of the DVDs for that particular series in stores >_<
Dam it ! I want Crest Of Stars, I've read so many good reviews about it, not only that, but most of them were written by pll who I agree with. Damn the slow anime-distribution ! :p
AnkaraStark
31-05-02, 02:19 PM
I swear that they derive some type of perverse and cruel pleasure out of making us anime fans suffer by not producing and distributing anime DVDs to stores were we consumers can buy them :p Damn those "suits"!! Sell the DVDs so that we can buy them!
Maybe its the whole demand vs. supply thing. Since the demand for Crest of Stars is not big, the price is going to be relatively high. And the "suits" know that once they release it, after keeping us - the potential fans waiting, we are more willing to buy more dvd's without considering the price so mutch. So its just a good business decision to keep us waiting, I doubt they really get perverse pleasure out of it :p
rei-gouki
31-05-02, 04:20 PM
Originally posted by Robotech Master
Look for it to gain some popularity in the US when Crest of the Stars gets its own article in the Animerica Magazine next month. In the US it goes on Sale June 15.
It is extremely popular in Japan, gaining two additional series and perhaps more on the way. Its popular there because it is based on a series of novels (6 novels so far I believe) written by a Japanese Writer, and have all been best sellers.
Anyways, I love COTS. Its a very mature anime in that its more like watching prime time shows. Its entertaining, but doesn't need continuous action to be entertaining. Still, the Battle of Gosroth and the Battle of Sufugnoff are great, and as good as they are, I hear they pale in comparisson to the Battle of the Aptic Gate in the Sequel.The first sequel. Yes, the number of ships involved were alot greater. That's all I can say about it since a battle is only as great as how the players find the winning solution to me.
And it doesn't have much popularity prolly cuz it takes a while to get going. Few people would watch beyond the first disc if they didn't know what was to come. I kept watching cuz I sensed an epic tale unfolding. I live for a good story.
well I loved seikai no monshou and senki I & II a lot.
I even intend to import the latter from japan if no R1 release is planned in the future.
I think for a lot of people it may be too 'slow' for them. It is a heavily character-driven series and has none of the 'hooks' that most anime have (kawaii girls, fanservice, spectacular action scenes, wacky humour, etc). I can understand why a lot of people wouldn't be raving about it.
Excession
01-06-02, 12:09 PM
Well its nice to see a show of support for the series.
I must admit, I also appreciate a story and character-driven anime. As has been suggested, perhaps this is not for everyone, regardless of how good I think it is personally.
As for it lacking "hooks" I look upon that as being one of its qualities, as many of the said hooks are a little well-worn.
Mind you, I quite like Lafiel (everybody spells that differently) and would even go so far as to describe her as being kawaii, in so far as her looks are concerned.
Of course her personality is far more interesting and charming that that term reflects.
If only I couuld locate a scanned image she would soon grace my desktop, but none of my usual sources have anything. Those that do are often too small for use.
Ah well, given time CoTS may take off in the US also, at which point the situation might begin to pick up. I will live in hope.
I saw a trailer on my DVD..and was it about a battle of good vs evil? was the ob empire meant to be evil? i could'nt really work out what was going on from the trailer..well not where it was going anyway.
katiedid
01-06-02, 11:59 PM
yeah, what is it about exactly? is it comparable to anything we may have already seen?
Robotech Master
02-06-02, 02:11 AM
Its different from most of the Sci-Fi you will see out there, Anime or live-action.
The Abh are the "Invading Aliens," but they are not necessarily the bad guys, and they are the ones that we see the perspective of the war from.
The story actually revolves around a human from another planet that is conquered by the Abh. His father negotiates to surrender their planet without combat if he is given a high political standing in the Abh Empire, a negotiation which forces young Jinto (the Protagonist) to leave his home and train to become a political leader (as he will inherit his fathers position).
Picking up 7 years later, Jinto (now 17) has leared a lot of the Abh culture and is now joining the Military (several years of service are required). He meets Lafiel, an Abh Royal who is also serving in the military. The two, over the years, start a very perplexing relationship bordering on potential romance.
It is a terrible coicidence that a war breaks out during this military service. The first series of 13 episodes shows how this war starts. The second series of 13 episodes goes deeper into the combat of this war, and the third is sort of a side story in the war.
Robotech Master
05-06-02, 03:14 AM
Good news! Bandai just licensed BattleFlag of the Stars (the First sequel).
It was accidentally leaked out, but AnimeonDVD.com has confirmed that the official announcement will be made at one of the big events (AnimeExpo?)
Well it's easy to see why it's not popular in america.
No tv support. Though being a bandai title theirs a chance it could get onto adult swim.
It's extremely popular in japan and i expect a senki no senkai 3 to be animated after the book is written of course.
I've only seen ep one and i was interested i'll see the rest of the series later.
And yep it's AnimeExpo I expect alot of announcements their like chobits and possibly rahxephon.
Ronin Aquila
05-06-02, 11:41 AM
Crest Of The Stars , for all its narratival and technical merits, is not popular for the simple tragedy that a significant population of the Sci-Fi community believes that Good Sci-Fi has to be loud, violent and devoid of a cerebral plot.
Hence, despite its status as a definite classic, Crest Of The Stars shall ever be underappreciated by a herd of grunting neanderthals.
Thank goodness we are not of that pack. :kawaii:
Shifter
08-06-02, 05:51 AM
While I also enjoyed Creast of the stars, it probibly isn't for everyone. Motslikely it's the vague sense that nither side of the war are nither wholely good nor are they all bad. AKA the humans are bigoted, and the Abh are oppresive (I've only seen the first 13 eps. so I could be wrong).
Personly my favirite charicter is the Lady of Chaos, Spoor :cool:. Althoe both Jinto and Lafiel run a close second.
Thanks Robotech Master for the news, I'm looking forward to the second part of this series.
Ronin Aquila
09-06-02, 12:09 AM
Jint and Lafielle are such an intelligent and charming couple. They are so for each other. :kawaii:
But poor Jint won't live as long as Lafielle!! :bawling:
Andrew D
09-06-02, 06:10 PM
Originally posted by Ronin Aquila
Crest Of The Stars , for all its narratival and technical merits, is not popular for the simple tragedy that a significant population of the Sci-Fi community believes that Good Sci-Fi has to be loud, violent and devoid of a cerebral plot.
I wouldn't say that. Remember, Star Trek is the biggest sci-fi franchise of all time and Babylon 5 is regarded as a classic by much of fandom.
It's not popular because it's not on tv....
Whats the most popular animes in america....
Gundam Wing
DBZ
Pokemon
Cowboy Bebop
Why are they popular because their shown on tv (and cb is because it's damn good as well)
Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin OVAS) is probably the only anime to get really popular without help of tv (it was topping the blockbuster charts)
Excession
10-06-02, 02:16 PM
Oh for the love of god, HE IS NOT EVEN A SAMURAI!
Sorry, that was not directed at you, it just needed release. :)
I'll probably return later to post something a little more on-topic and serious, but its far beyond the time I should have been asleep.
rei-gouki
11-06-02, 01:25 PM
Originally posted by Excession
Oh for the love of god, HE IS NOT EVEN A SAMURAI!
Sorry, that was not directed at you, it just needed release. :)
I'll probably return later to post something a little more on-topic and serious, but its far beyond the time I should have been asleep.:confused:
Excession
11-06-02, 11:53 PM
You see, the English release perverted the title of Rurouni Kenshin.
They twisted it into (no idea how) Samurai X, which is all the more off-putting because Kenshin is not even a Samurai. I get the feeling that the people who named it had not watched the anime itself.
rei-gouki
13-06-02, 11:30 AM
That's true... he never was classified or was performing the role of a samurai. Just a swordsman.
I'll use this thread since it's the biggest one, and I've already posted in it...
Crest of the Stars was AMAZING. I just recently finally decided to finish this series, and... my oh my... yea, that's it. I'm speechless. It has been a VERY long time since I got so attached to any anime. I finished this and both sequels in one day. I haven't marathoned anime like this in a LONG time.
Truly... really.. man. How quickly this series shot up into being one of my fave anime series'. Damn, I wanna watch it all over again...
Shifter
28-12-02, 06:46 PM
I finished this and both sequels in one day.
There's more then one sequal to this seires?
Ronin Aquila
28-12-02, 11:59 PM
I thought it was impossible, possibly even sacriligious. :heh:
But having finished the first season of Crest Of The Stars, I can honestly say that Princess Lafille is easily an equal in cuteness to the lovely Kirika-Chan of Noir. :kawaii:
But an equal, I stress, no more. ;)
Don't worry Kirika-Chan, always gonna be here for you regardless of any circustances. :kawaii:
Robotech Master
30-12-02, 02:22 AM
Mmmm.....Lafiel.
Never thought I'd find a cuter space elf than Azalyn, but lo and behold...
Anyways, yes there are two sequals. Battle Flag of the Stars and Battleflag of the Stars II, 13 and 10 episodes respectively.
The author of the series hasn't released the next set of novels yet, but says that he does plan to continue. The anime, therefore, is not really done yet, and if the popularity of the show in Japan continues strong, then likely his future novels will be animated as well.
Fatal Outlaw
30-12-02, 03:03 AM
Mmmm.....Lafiel.
Never thought I'd find a cuter space elf than Azalyn, but lo and behold...
But having finished the first season of Crest Of The Stars, I can honestly say that Princess Lafille is easily an equal in cuteness to the lovely Kirika-Chan of Noir.
agree, i think i also mentioned it int this thread.
anyhow, speaking of Battleflag of the Stars I and II, i could have sworn i heard something (from a dude called StorminNorman in the Madman forums) about a bettleflag of the stars III in production... no matter, im just prepping for Banner of the Stars when it comes out in a mater of weeks
From what I heard the next book in the series has been released but it doesn't have enough material to make up a series.
And Stormin Norman has got quite a few things wrong.
Shifter
30-12-02, 06:40 PM
Anyways, yes there are two sequals. Battle Flag of the Stars and Battleflag of the Stars II, 13 and 10 episodes respectively.
Thanks Robotech Master. I guess this explains why their cramming 5 episodes on the first DVD. I wonder what kind of wait well have for the second half of BFS.
finally i found a post for crest of the stars. i like it.....yeah. anyway do u think eva2000, should make a forrum for it?
7thchildren
30-01-03, 01:08 PM
crest and battleflag of the stars just rule, only 2 other anime comes close to it, CB and Eva,other than that it owns the anime genre ( ny opinion!plz dont kill me for it)
and Lafiel is just plain amazing, no contest with anyone else, execpt Rei and Asuka, but noone has a chance against thoses 2.....:rolleyes:
Ronin Aquila
31-01-03, 04:25 AM
One is just too beautiful, one is just too shagadelic.
Your pic which is which. ;)
I first saw Senkai when I picked up 3 or 4 of the DVDs in japan (which came with nice chara and equip drawings on an extra bit of paper - always get goodies in japan ...). i hardly understood a word, and most of Senkai was words, but i found, like others have said, the series to be of excellent quality if a little slow. the first battle was magnificent, almost rivaling leiji matsumoto's space battles.
ive picked up VCDs of th entire 2 and 3 series. 2 is ONE HUGE battle for the entire series with some moments to build the charas. truly momentus.
3 is a lot more localized to the heros, starts slow and picks up.
the 'world' is one of the best ive seen, no inane cuteness, just a little wordy.
i borrowed all the crest of the stars dvd from one of my friends and i got hooked. then i made the mistake of believing seikai no senki=cot and watched all of seikai no senki II. still enjoyed the heck out of it but now i wanna see what i missed!
LAIFEL OWNS!
yes she does, and i can never find any DVDs or downloads on kazzaa, and now that techTV stopped showing it, i have no way to see it :bawling:
Robotech Master
06-02-03, 02:28 AM
In what general area do you live Naraku? Here, all of my Suncoast Video stores have all of Crest. My Best Buy HAD Crest until I bought it up, and they now have the first volume of Banner of the Stars. Amazon.com has all of discs.
Also, a box set of Crest of the Stars is going to be released soon. You can probably get your hands on that.
New Englan. Now one cares about us
Kyosuke Shingurei
28-03-03, 10:03 PM
Well, if you guys can't find DVDs right now, in August, Bandai's relasing a COS DVD Set for only $50 ($ DVDs)...I'd snatch that up as soon as it came out!
I've only watched the first 3 episodes of this but I love this anime so much, I was it was more popular so I could get it in australia.
Spike 558
31-03-03, 08:04 PM
I've seen the first three eps as well. And I've enjoyed what I've seen so far. :up:
(I nearly died laughing with that Cat incident ;))
It's a good series but I guess it's not exactly on a ground-breaking level (like Eva or Bebop)
Yes but it does not need to be. COTS is a great space opra anime without all the normal fluff... It is popular in japan as you can tell by there being 3 series.
What's more groundbreaking in anime?
Mobile Suit Gundam or Crest Of Stars?
Which anime has better animation, music, character dialouge and plot, well it's not the one you answered for my first question.(No offense to MSG fans)
And Crest of Stars has like 2 sequels, a few OVA spin offs and the only reason their isn't anymore is because the books are still being wrote up.
Arcanis
05-04-03, 12:32 AM
Hmmm... I'm sure you all know this by now, but some time ago Tech TV aired CotS not too long ago... I liked it a lot, but can't find any of its sequals.
Oh, and since I belive Mobile Suit Gundam was out before CotS, I believe it is more groundbreaking. It doesn't hold a candle to Crest, though.
But that's my opinion.
iwakura
19-10-03, 11:52 AM
Originally posted by Andrew D
I wouldn't say that. Remember, Star Trek is the biggest sci-fi franchise of all time and Babylon 5 is regarded as a classic by much of fandom.
That's the answer right there. Star Trek sells, but B5 is much better.
However, the most recent Trek films and series have not gotten good ratings, so perhaps people are demanding more quality plots?
Crest of the Stars is pretty interesting. Don't think most people want to think.
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