Star Ocean EX

Star Ocean is an adventure-comedy anime suitable for children. It's based off of a video game [which I've never seen or played since I'm not a gamer]. The maturity level is a little greater than Pokemon...not by much, though I must say I still liked it and I think older people would like this show as well. So long as you don't compare it to the video game or expect it to be this wonderfully sophisticated piece of work. ~ Art The art is kinda amateurish looking though it's not totally bad. Use of lines, shape and proportion are all OK, however the actual shading is prettyweak. The color palette is very simple and has a “paint-by-numbers” look to it. The hero is of course blonde with blue eyes *rolls eyes* with matching the colors for his boots, gloves and jacket., The heroine is blue-haired with blue eyes and the sorceress woman is violet-haired with violet eyes. CGI is used in small doses but all for the wrong reasons like monsters melting away and cheesy-cheap looking ocean/water distortion but it's not really used for the fight scenes or special F/X. At the end, they use more CGI but again it's very cheesy and cheap-looking. Another clue that this show is for a younger audience is that scenes are reused constantly, especially the heroes' attack moves. ~ Sound I watched this show in the English dub and it was pretty good. Each of the actors properly conveyed the right mix of emotion and humor into their characters. Also the guy who did Kira Yamato's English voice stars in this show as Claude Kenni, he is a very good actor. The music is on the generic side, the OP sounds like typical shonen anime electro-pop synthesizer music. The ED is a somewhat peppy sounding feminine rock song which was still on the generic side. ~ Story As with most children's stories, the plot is pretty basic. A guy gets thrown into a strange world and goes on an adventurous quest to return home incidentally saving the world while he's at it. But what really makes Star Ocean work [for me at least] are the individual episodes, the situational humor and the connection between the characters. The story is told in a very childish and straightforward fashion with all the requisite of humor as can be expected from shows of this nature. Therefore don't look for any deeper meaning or any sophisticated narrative elements like irony, metaphors, or complex plot twists. ~ Characters The characters are pretty much what make the show what it is. At times they seem pretty stereotypical with the typical anime/RPG line up: the hero, the healer, the wizard, the rogue knight, the thief/bandit[s], the comic relief....and so on, but then they did some unique things like throwing in some modern elements like doctors and scientists [also electricity]. The unity and overall good-naturedness between the characters is what I found most admirable and enjoyable in the show, I really like when a band of characters go off on an adventure and really stick together and help each other. Star Ocean is really good at portraying unity....and because of that I don't think I found any one character annoying. At the very beginning I didn't like Claude because he just seemed so brash and heedless of caution, even though I know it was because he had a point to prove that he was not just some kid living under his father's shadow, Commodore Kenni. Thank goodness he changes during the anime and quickly learned when to turn on the bravado and when to switch it off. Once that character flaw was removed, Claude became my favorite. I also liked Ashton very much, he carried his share of the show very well and despite what everyone else in the show was saying about him, he's actually a pretty skilled swordsman and a very likable character. It's easy to see why the two-headed dragon got attached to him. I also liked Celine and Rena, the two girls of the group. They are basically two sides of the same coin except Celine plays the sexpot card and Rena plays the short, cute and helpless card. ~ Verdict Overall I'd say it was a pretty cool show. Maybe it's not the “OMG!!! this is effin' EPIC!!! Lemme tell all my friends about it!!!” kinda show, but it kept things light and I was entertained. So if some one was interested and asked me about it....then I'd tell them to check it out, it's pretty good and funny.

This is an example of how an adaption could go very wrong. If you are a fan of the game, there is no reason to watch the anime. especially if you are a fan of Rena Story The anime follows the game story faithfully and throughfully, without skipping any part of the story. as result by the time this anime ended the story hasn't finished yet. Unfortunately there is no second season leaving viewers disgruntled and upset. Art The background is plain and empty. What happened to rena? in thegame she looked charming and smart 17 years ols but this in anime she became a 14 years old moe. Celine also looked very different, in this anime . well not just the girl, ashton used to look cool in the game but in the anime.. Perhaps it's because budget constraint Character Rena is supposed to be a happy go lucky charming girl and full of life, but in this anime she is fragile, weak and clueless. The anime follows claude's side of the story, so the producer might thought that it would appeal to its shounen vievers if he changed the rena character just a little bit to fit the classic story about a heroic hero and a helpless girl.. but it's not a reason to completely Destroyed Rena's character. I am a fan of Rena and played the game because of her that's why in my opinion this anime sucks

For me Star Ocean EX was a big letdown. I expected it to at least be on par with the game that it's based on but it just didn't work for me. First, let's talk about its story. Originally I would have given Star Ocean EX a 10 since I expected it to be like its game counterpart. I ended giving it a six because some episodes had so many gaps inbetween them, I just got confused. The series also ended halfway through the plotline and it also had the most horrible ending I have ever seen. Wait I almost forgot. The story WAS continued throughvocal dramas.....in Japanese. Though I know some Nihongo, I still couldn't understand much of what they were saying. The fact that the dramas are only in Nihongo make it almost impossible for foreign fans of the series to continue with the story. The art was average......Not much to say here..... The songs were fair enough. They were fun to listen to for a while but they eventually got really annoying and they're also not that memorable. In the beginning the characters were very well-developed. The four main characters, Claud, Rena, Ashton and Celine were presented well enough. Problems started arising when the other characters entered the script. For instance, the relationship between Rena and Dias could have been better presented. Leon should also have gotten more air time. Star Ocean EX also introduces some utterly useless characters into the story such as the three random idiots, whose names I still can't remember and the jam girl, whose name i also forgot. They were so useless to the plotline that the story could go on even if they weren't there. I mean come on! The jam girl can't even fight! What's she gonna do make sandwiches in the battlefield? Oh! Maybe she can sing the monsters to death! In the end, Star Ocean EX was a flop. Although it has so many faults, I can't stop you from watching it. You can watch it if you like. In fact, you may even like it. But for me, the game was better. You're better off enjoying Claud and Rena's adventure playing the game instead.

This anime scifi adventure series follows Claude C Kenni, a young man raised in his opinion in his father's shadow. Involved in an operation to explore uncharted territory Claude unknowingly touches an artefact that transports him on the underdeveloped planet of Expel. While he tries to figure out just where he is and how he got there, he rescues Rena Langford from a monster and is thought to be the 'Legendary Warrior of Light' by the residents of the local village. Just what is Claude's destiny in this strange new world? My thoughts: Star Ocean Ex is a great series. Claude encounters strange and newfriends in Celine Jules, a treasure hunter and a powerful wielder of Heraldic Magic; Ashton Anchors, a swordsman possessed by a two-headed dragon Gyoro and Ururun. Gyoro, the red head, and Ururun, the blue, are the names of the heads of the two-headed dragon that are fused with the body of Ashton Anchors. Rena Langford, a native of the planet of Expel, she often ventures into the Shingo Forest. I do love Ashton, he brings the humor to the story and you just have to love Celine with her thunderbolts; she really likes to use them on the 3 criminal idiots they seem to always encounter. Then there's Dias Flac, he lives in the same town as Rena and thinks of her as a little sister. He travels and trains to be come stronger and fights only those he feels is worthy of his skills. What I wish is that the ending had a finished end and not an opening for a possible second season. Why you might ask? Well, because it's been years and as far as I know, a second season has not been announced yet in anime. I think Manga has a second season. If I'm wrong about a second season in anime, forgive me, I've just not seen it yet. If you have, please put a link to it so I check it out. We can only hope there is one, because I would love to see the battle between everyone and the master of the Sorcery Globe.

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