Blue Seed - Nightfall (Vol. 4)

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The war against the Aragami, metamorphic plant monsters, reaches its climax in a battle that pits 15-year-old Momiji Fujimiya, the hereditary Princess Kushinada, and her friends against her twin sister Kaede, the sinister Murakumo, and the reborn god Susano-Oh. The struggle transcends the human versus monsters conflict to become a debate over the increasing disrespect for nature in modern Japan. That debate is heightened by numerous visual references to Shinto, the nature-centered Japanese religion: when Momiji faces her foes, her robes and the branch with woven paper streamers she waves are part of the regalia of a Shinto priestess. Blue Seed offers an unusually entertaining introduction to the "magical girl" genre because Momiji doesn't whine, as so many of her counterparts do, and the dashing Kusanagi assumes the role of protector-lover without losing his initial élan. "Contains animated violence." Suitable for ages 13 and up: violence, brief nudity, sexual humor. --Charles Solomon

Description

As the general population becomes increasingly aware of the Aragami and the danger they represent, the Japanese government has come under pressure to take the one measure guaranteed to relegate the Aragami to the realm of legend once more. Now Momiji must be protected not only from the Aragami, but from the people who would sacrifice her to save themselves as well. The TAC moves underground to continue the fight, as the country surrenders to the natural forces released by the rebirth of Susano-o. Time is running out and the final confrontation approaches in Blue Seed: Nightfall!

Customer Reviews:

Awsome!!.......2005-09-04

This was a really great DVD,it made a perfect ending to the series.It comes in English, Japanese, and Spanish, and has the last 6 episodes of the series. Not to mention some great music as well.

Turn About is Better Play.......2003-04-12

The first 18 or so episodes of this series are mostly slapstick disguising an essentially tragic theme. Momiji Fujiyama who comes from the line of the Kushinada (more later) is a hapless schoolgirl who finds she is the focus of a war with the Arigami (plant demons) in which she is intended to be sacrificed to save humanity. Unfortunately, this weighty theme gets lost in the writer's efforts to lighten up the script.

Then, suddenly, the sight gags stop and the reality of the impending doom of Japan sinks in. There are indications of this in the third DVD, put now the story line loses its episodic nature and sense of humor, returning to its original grim vision. But even now, Momiji, ever something of a klutz, nearly gets lost in her worries over Kusinagi, her guardian. Somehow, the story pulls itself together again, manages some surprises, and delivers a strong ending. Leaving this reviewer reeling, of course.

It is finally time to give a precise of the Japanese Kushinada legend that forms the basis of Blue Seed. At this point, you have seen enough so that it won't give anything away. Susano-Oh, who seems to be the villain of this piece, was a kami (spirit). The god of Storms and Forests, to be precise. Something of a troublemaker, he still had a good heart. In one story, a great dragon called Orochi was coming to a village every year to eat one of eight daughters. These were the Kushinadas. Susano-Oh comes to the village, falls in love with the last daughter and defeats Orochi. From the dragon's body he takes a sword called the Kusinagi.

This happy story is turned about by creator Yuzo Takada to depict a world on the verge of terminal pollution. One where it may be better to destroy humanity rather than risk complete ruin. This crisis of decision and the desire of the Arigami to rule the world are the real story of Blue Seed. It is told in terms of a young woman whose weakness, loving too much, is really her strength, if she would only realize it.

Expect some confusion and surprises as the story does a complete u-turn. Because the story's zigzag course, I can't give it full grades, even though it finally redeems itself with a flair. The poor quality English dubbing, however, is its worst flaw. By all means use the subtitles.

Great!.......2003-02-08

This DVD is the last on the Blue seed series and it shows a great ending to one great anime serie.

Great Value!.......2002-05-09

Any fan of the Blue Series should definately get the DVD over the VHS. This volume contains the last 6 episodes of the series (21-26), and includes both the Japanese w/ subtitle and English Dubbed versions of the show! Considering single episodes on VHS are the same price, you just can't do wrong with the Blue Seed DVD.

Blue Seed - Nightfall.......2002-02-16

This review is not only about the last DVD release in the series, but also as a review of the entire series. I have never really been into Anime like most people, but this one caught my attention. Blue Seed is about a young girl who finds out that her humdrum life is not all it seems. Taking its cues from japanese mythology as well as other world religions, the story involves the coming of the auragami, a race of spirits who exist in the form of a 'blue seed', or mitama, and must possess a host in order to Take over Japan and the world. The only known way to stop them is to sacriface a female virgin from the Kushinada family. It turns out that, like all living things, certain energies are released that put the auragami to sleep. Momiji, age 15, must be sacrificed in order to save the world.
Luckily she has friends that want to find an alternative to killing a young girl. The fight for the world begins when the auragami try to kill Momiji while keeping her safely inside a Ceramic field, thus removing any threat to their existance. A team of scientists and military types known as the TAC Rescue Momiji, but not before An auragami nearly kills the girl outside the field. Without giving away too many details, Momiji winds up with a BLUE SEED implanted on her chest! Nuff sed.

I now have the entire series on DVD. It can be had on four discs, 26 episodes, With both english and japanese languages, as well as spanish! The clarity of the DVD format really shows here, not because the original material is so good, but because you can see the grain in the film, which in a strange way adds to the overall look of the series. The discs also include the now infamous "Omake Theatres", little humorous 'outtakes' if you will, some racy and some downright side splitting.

Another thing to mention about this series is the english voice acting. In the past, I have often hated the english dubbing of any movie, and in the first few episodes of Blue Seed the acting is at times not very good. But as the series goes on, it improves dramatically, and by the time I got to the last two discs I found that I prefered it over the original japanese. By the time you reach the last episode, the emotional quality of the dubbing is just dead on right, and at times you thing that maybe the series was made with english in mind.

This is the only Anime that I have ever cared enough about to own. As a total package of dvds, this cant be missed.

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