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BLUE SEED: DESCENT INTO TERROR

The Blue Seed saga concerns Momiji Fujimiya, a Japanese teenager who discovers that she is actually one of the Kushinada, a line of princesses who are sacrificed to keep the Aragami (plant demons) at bay. Alas, circumstances arise in which the Kushinada's blood is no longer useful in stopping the Aragami, who, as a result, go on a rampage. Enter TAC, a secret government organization headed by world weary Daitetsu Kunikida who previously employed the services of Momiji's twin sister Kaede who is now missing and presumed dead.

TAC enlists the services of Momiji, who has an unborn Aragami a mitama/blue seed - inside her, and as a result can locate the whereabouts of the Aragami. While with TAC she is assisted/watched by the dashing Kusanagi, who has seven mitama. Kusanagi is a powerful weapon against the Aragami, a fierce fighter who transforms during battle into an Aragami type ass-kicking machine. Of course, a budding romance develops between Momiji and Kusanagi. Things get worse when Murakumo, a servant of the Aragami, shows up to protect the god of darkness during its rebirth. He is aided by - gasp Kaede, who has returned as an agent of the Aragami. Now things are going to get really, really sticky.

As the second set in a four volume series, Blue Seed: Descent Into Terror concerns itself - in-between TAC/Aragami battles - with character development and minor plot development. In Descent Into Terror the main focus seems to be the developing romance between Momiji and Kusanagi, the introduction of Murakumo, and the situations he manipulates to ensure the rebirth of his god, Susano-Oh. All of this unravels in the undercurrent while the main focus is on what type of Aragami monster will need to be destroyed this episode. And what amusing monsters they are: killer elms, killer frogs, killer dogs, and killer centipedes, all possessed by Aragami.

As far as anime goes, this is some pretty good stuff - at first glance. However, the murmur on the Net is that this is fairly mediocre, animation wise. On second look, there are quite a few static shots and the motions aren't as fluid as they could be but hey, the story is good, and what might be mediocre in anime terms blows similar American animation out of the water. Hell, it even blows Pokemon... out of the water.

While the main storylines (the rebirth of Susano-Oh, its consequences, and the development of Momiji and Kusanagi's romance) are spread out, the individual episodes boil down to monster of the week. While a lot of anime fans might have a problem with this, I'm in the "bring on the creeps" camp and have truly enjoyed seeing what docile creatures will become enraged enough to be possessed by the Aragami, transforming into murderous monsters.

While American cartoons tend to shy away from death, this is not the case with anime. Sociologists have often commented on the fact that while Japanese entertainment can be highly violent, the Japanese people, in and of themselves, are more sedate when it comes to violence than their American counterparts. They point to the fact that while it's true the violence on the screen is far more intense, the victims are, to a greater degree than in American entertainment, both good and bad, and that good doesn't always win in the end. The underlying idea is that by showing a broader effect of violence, there is less drive to emulate it.

So when watching blood spurt out of mouths, severed dog heads, disemboweled giant toads, and so on, you should point out to your parents that you're getting a broader view of the effects of violence and are less driven to emulate it. They'd love to hear that.

Another interesting item with Blue Seed is the high content of sophomoric sexual humor. While this might go over well with the more refined Japanese, we Americans are a bunch of repressed puritanical prudes and will not stand for such things as the constant references to 15-year-old Momiji's inadequate breast size or her weekly up the skirt shot. My God, children are watching this! This cannot stand if we are to instill in them an unhealthy fear of the human body.

As far as DVD releases go, Blue Seed: Descent Into Terror is one nice package, containing seven episodes: "What? How Strange! A Rival Appears!," "Are You Serious? Is This A Dream? An Exciting Date!," "Innocence! Love! My First Kiss!," "Irritating! Jealous?! Unbelievable!," "Can You Feel It? I Can't Ignore It!," "I Love You! This is So Extreme! It's Time To Confess!," and "A Chase Down Yamato Highway! Love Under Fire!." All seven are available with three separate language tracks: English, Japanese, and Spanish. I alternated between all three and found that the Japanese track with English subtitles was the most enjoyable. The English dub is, as is usually the case, overdone.

Other bonuses are two episodes of "Omake Theater," in which characters from the show appear in humorous vignettes. The laughs increase the more one is familiar with anime (my father sat stone faced through the whole thing). Also included are a few character bios, the most interesting of which was the one for Daitetsu Kunikida. In this bio they suggest a world-weary man, disgusted with the way Japan has become. On the show he comes across as a wisecracking father figure. Rounding out the extras are previews of six other ADV titles.