There is a mystery to Stellvia. It might be that I feel pretty obsessive over little details, but every time I look back at this series I discover something new that justifies the many weaknesses from which it suffered.
”Rather than look UP at the stars, I’d rather be looking FORWARD at them.” (91/100)
This is the tagline of our protagonist, Shima Katase, your typical, 24th century teenage dreamer. She has just been granted an opportunity to participate as a candidate pilot with the Space Academy at the Stellvia foundation, a massive space station built just outside the perimeter of Earth. As we watch her grow up, we also witness Mankind’s fight for survival, as a catastrophe 189 years prior has united all of mankind against the greatest it has ever faced.
One of the most exciting things about this show is how well it stands up in regards to a story line. While it may not have the extended universe of Mobile Suit Gundam and the bajillion spin-off of alternative universes inspired, Uchuu no Stellvia keeps its charm by staying simple. While it may not have the fantastic battles of Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, the adrenaline rush of moments—such as the beloved episode 6—keeps Stellvia’s heroes on par with the legends. It also may not have the intricate, realistic detail of Planetes or Uchuu Kyoudai[, but the imagination and intention of Akizuki Ryo proves a degree of originality that allows the series to compete.
Needless to say that Uchuu no Stellvia does take on a teenage romance to some extent. This part of the story isn’t really vividly explored, but it is offered in samples to us as an opportunity for character and plot development. We begin to see Shima’s inner monologue more clearly as more and more difficulties arise for her. It is pleasant to behold a romance avoiding the plague of triangles and power struggles; but rather focused on the little things between couples that remind us of our own circumstances.
Beware of gushy teenagers and emotionless blobs. (65/100)
Shima’s great. Really, she has a believable personality…up until “teenage rage” pops into her head. While Uchuu no Stellvia tries to relate to its audience through teenage romance and drama, it often times reaches a cheese factor that could rival soap operas. Seriously—too many times in this series does a character breakdown result in some sort of incessant pounding into our skulls about how badly we should feel for them. There’s even a FRIGGIN EPISODE dedicated to this crying service – the ever-so-hated episode 19 “Crybaby Hothead.” Perhaps I’d always been too old mentally for this undertaking, but considering the dwindled fanbase it wouldn’t really even matter if I was.
NO LIEZ…YEP.
Which also leads to the point that almost nobody is as believable as Shima and Ayaka in this entire series. Shima’s battle with her ego feels real, as does Ayaka with her pride. Kouta was an utter disappointment, if not almost a sham because of his general dryness. Yayoi, Rinna, Akira, and Arisa are fairly forgettable, and interesting ones like JoJo or Pierre aren’t really explored too greatly. What’s worse is that nearly all the adults are literally one dimensional, and the blatant fact that the series couldn’t contribute enough focus on them demonstrated how much budget was focused on a target group of potential watchers rather than artful expression. I would normally excuse that a series as vivid as this one didn’t have enough time, but there was a great deal of this full season anime focused on depicting crybabying and logs. Unfortunately, it is the inexcusable fault of tasteless fanservice and poor direction.
Space is so pretty in this series. (80/100)
Character animation is pretty consistent with its time period. The eye sizes are rather strange, and the direction technique is pretty straightforward, with little artistic spontaneity. I do feel, though, that the “space” feel of this anime is really prevalent. Unlike many series which might focus a bit on looking at pretty pictures of the universe or wasting ENTIRE episodes pasting spaceship battles and planets in the background, Uchuu no Stellvia stays conservative of the views of space and inherits its beauty by the nature of life of its characters. Rather than explaining to us in great detail the methods of travel or methods of clothing, our characters just simply do these things. They get into gigantic rockets that ship them across the void of space, or take turns navigating an obstacle course as though they were in gym class on Earth. Combined with the music, this provides some of the strongest appeal of the entire series.
Seikou Nagaoka: an unsung hero. (90/100)
He’s the same awesomeness that composed the music for Strike Witches, Battle Programmer Shirase, El Hazard: The Magnificent World, and well (not my favorite) but Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama. While many of the franchises he has written for aren’t all that particularly amazing, it is important to say that his background music and compositional style definitely adds to the vigor of every series. While Strike Witches is 99.9% fanservice as it is now, it would be 99.9999% fanservice without Nagaoka.
In the same light, Uchuu no Stellvia would be 1/3 of the science fiction it is without this music. Many an anime fan will rave on about the OP and ED, both of which I’ve heard for a long time and have grown weary of, unfortunately. As proof of lasting quality, though, there is a particular track that plays during underdog moments (it’s been forever since I’ve had the OST so I can’t remember) but adds a great deal of charm to the first arc of the series. At emotional parts or times of crisis, little jingles on the piano aid the atmosphere with a great deal of tonal body and color. During the eye-catchers in between commercial breaks, little “sci-fi” diddies by Nagaoka remind us that the series is actually about space. Overall, it’s a hell of a package and adds a certain kick of Stellvia’s OST which could serve as a reminder of the originality when the series gets rebooted someday.
A great treat for the new and the old. Just make sure you’re mentally prepared for melodrama. (99/100)
And that really is all that ever could have been wrong with Uchuu no Stellvia. The depth of storyline and creativity could be well received by most otaku and sci-fi nerds, especially girls who seem to have a particular fascination with space. The title suffered simply from just being too attached to teenage melodrama, which turned off a significant portion of its potential fanbase in the process. I suggest this to be a sort of weekender spree when you might have the patience to deal with the poor characters and the strong desire to feel immersed into another universe.
With Stellvia, it’s almost like you could live in the future right now.