n the opening moments of Blue Seed, a young woman enters a cave filled with writhing plants. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen surround the site as a few individuals beg her to come back, insisting that the fate of Japan is in her hands. But, claiming she has to seek her own destiny, she disappears in a flare of white light.
It takes much of the 13-hour body of this series to put that dramatic, oblique opening into context. The girl is Kaede, one of the twin descendants of the mythical Kushinada line that began when the god Susano-O slew an eight-headed dragon and wed its would-be victim. The dragon, like all the myriad goblins, ogres and spirits of Japanese folklore, was actually an Aragami, an alien plant-based creature that spawns via parasitic "blue seeds." Kaede and her twin Momiji, as the current Kushinadas, can destroy the Aragami by sacrificing their lives.
The director of the Terrestrial Administration Center adopted Kaede and spent years using her blood and body to develop technological analogs to her powers. But when she disappears, Momiji has to be called from her countryside home and informed for the first time of her true lineage and powers. As the only one capable of averting an impending Armageddon, she becomes the target of monsters and government agents alike. In the end her only duty may be to die to protect her country. But is the polluted, secular modern Japan really worth it?
What do you add to the series that has everything?
It's Legend of the Overfiend without the gore and sex. It's Neon Genesis Evangelion without the downtime and the monster-of-the-week syndrome. Simply put, Blue Seed is a fantastically well-integrated and complex series that incorporates ancient Japanese tradition and mythology, modern environmentalism and futuristic science fiction seamlessly and beautifully.
The central conflict between Kaede (representing despair and world-weary cynicism) and Momiji (representing youthful, often-naive energy and hope) is shaped by so many complex factions and factors that it's easy to forget this is another teens-vs.-monsters series. With ordinary Japanese citizens demanding Momiji's death, while the Aragami are often forced to protect her for their own preservation, it's rarely clear who, if anyone, is in the right. Writer Yuza Takada (3x3 Eyes) further clouds the issues with compelling arguments for Japanese rebirth and purification in the wake of the profit-seeking greed that has consumed the country's land and beliefs. Kaede offers that purification--at humanity's expense. Momiji would fight to save her race--and preserve a corrupt and evil system.
This serious dynamic keeps Blue Seed fresh throughout. But there's lots more to watch for here--martial-arts-vs.-monsters action, cute romantic squabbling, big explosions, skillfully developed characters, giddy, over-the-top humor, a quick education in Japanese myth, a bubbly soundtrack, and bright, razor-sharp animation. This series is beyond stellar--it epitomizes nearly everything that makes anime unique. Even panty jokes.
