Crest of the Stars (1999) User Reviews

Amazing scifi story, not so great on animation

[gga · 1 September 2002]

Crest of the Stars is one of rarities among films and more so among anime. It is a tv series that actually has a great script behind it and it covers a lot of background very fast. Based on several Japanese science fiction books, Crest of the Stars is still a relatively short tv series (13 episodes, covering its first season), that was a hit in Japan and word of mouth is also slowly making it a hit in the States within anime fan groups. The series has now expanded to be three seasons' length. Crest of the Stars turns a lot of the predictable science fiction conventions on its head: a race that experiments with human genetics but ends up being more human than those that don't; a Galactic Empire more interested in trading than political conquest and that instead of destruction relies on bribery to obtain its worlds, you will soon know this is not your average sci-fi series. It is probably not even your average sci-fi movie either, being way above most Holliwood offerings. This is the sort of film that fans of true and more brainy science fiction epics may enjoy (think Asimov's Foundation or Herberts' Dune). Fans looking for non-stop action in the vein of Aliens, Evangelion or Robotech will, however, most likely be disappointed. The animation, character and mechanical design (all of which tend to be of decent quality in even the cheapest anime productions) is, in my opinion, is not the strongest point of the show. I found it average at best and many times it is bottom of the barrel (most of the first episodes), even for a tv show. However, what will keep you watching this series is the intriguing story and more so, the interesting characters. And the overall feeling, as with "Blade Runner" that yes... this was a possible society... that we could evolve into this. Using flashbacks, multiple threads and subtitles to give you a lot of information (which surprisingly never becomes confusing), the tv series does ask you to be patient. It starts very, very, very slowly as it tries to convey a whole universe in a short amount of time. Eight years ago, the genetically engineered Abh race claim the planet Martine. Martine's leader, Rock Lin, surrenders and makes a deal to keep on ruling the planet and becoming part of the Abh nobility. It is so that we meet his son Jinto, now a 17 year-old boy, who has kept his identity secret all this time. But now he is about to enter the military Abh academy as part of his training to becoming a noble. He is not exactly sure about his feelings for his father who some consider a traitor. Albeit legally an Abh, ironically he has never ever seen one. But now he is about to: Lafiel, a beautiful girl a year younger than him, who also happens to be part of the nobility. She's his escort and crewmate aboard the ship that is to transport him to the academy. Both make for a strange couple as Jinto would like to be accepted as a noble, while Lafiel would rather not be part of it. The Abh empire is not the only conglomerate of planets and unknown to them all, a war is soon about to break...

An Excellent Film

[zerabp · 10/10 · 15 January 2007]

Crest of the Stars is an excellent and heart warming anime It tells the story of Jinto a young man known as a "Terran" (someone who was born and lives on a planet" who is unmercifully thrust into citizenship of "The Humankind Empire of Abh" when his home world is over thrown by their empire. It then follows him on a journey through the stars with a young Abh woman named Lafiel. Together they learn how to survive in many different situations and learn to rely heavily on one another for support. It is a heartwarming story of friendship and of discovering one identity and is a tale every anime fan should add to their collection. Also of not there are two sequels "Banner of the Stars" and "Banner of the Stars II" both are equal if not better then their predecessor and should be viewed after seeing this first installment of an excellent series.

A rare sci-fi gem

[rastrelly · 10/10 · 20 August 2019]

I'll be brief on this one. While CotS might be lacking on animation and art quality, the series and its sequels provide a heartfelt and genuine protagonist duo, wonderfully crafted sci-fi setting, deep lore within the setting, nice and diverse set of themes to think about, and, to top all of that, the best space battles in science fiction period: thought out, complex, multi-layered engagements built around well-developed fantastic rule set, that is never broken, making space combat believable, immersive, meaningful and impactful.

An absolute must see for any sci-fi fan.

The best show to see

[TimothyMcKann · 16 April 2005]

When I first started watching this show on TechTv's"Anime Unleashed", I only got to see some of the episodes. They were pretty good, I really want to get this for my collection, and I did. When my father bought me the entire collection for Christmas. I got to see all the episodes in order. It was pretty cool that Jinto and Lafiel got to travel on a great space adventure. One of my favorite episodes in this series was when Seelnay,(one of Baron Febdash's vassals), got to team up with Lafiel for a revolt against the Baron. But I believe it was the right thing for Lafiel and Jinto to kill the Baron. I also liked in one of the episodes was when this group helped Jinto and Lafiel, and one of the guys told them a story about a man who dived into a thorn bush. What I also think about this series, it had some good animation. I think the last episode was pretty good. That was when Jinto and Lafiel rode in a coffin to outer space. This is a great series to add to your DVD collection if you already seen it on TechTv's Anime Unleashed. So in closing, do get it. You will see what I mean.

Seikai no Senki

[tzer0 · 6 November 2003]

There is also, Seikai no Senki, or Banner Of The Stars, which picks up where Crest Of The Stars left off, with Jinto serving on a battle cruiser under now Captain Lafiel, who is serving under the sister of Baron Febdash, whom she killed, as the war between The United Mankind and the Ahb Empire resumes.

Great "alien invasion" anime

[be2000 · 2 July 2002]

The series is about a powerful race called the Abh that control 1500 star systems, and now they have decided to mess with our heroes.

We follow the son of the president 7 years after the takeover. He is just about to attend military training at the Abh Capital.