Review - Kannazuki No Miko Vol. 1 - The Solar Priestess
Reviewed by Richard Brownell on 9.10.2007.
Score: 8/10
Those idly browsing their local anime store looking for a mech show will likely gloss right over Kannazuki no Miko. There's a mech on the cover, sure, but you don't really see it at first glance. The predominant parts of the image are the three high schoolers, two girls holding each other and a somewhat upset looking male. This is a good thing though, because Kannazuki is one of the mech shows that I would say is not a mech show. Despite that there is a powerful enemy set to destroy the world, that's only the backdrop to the real conflict of the show, which is precisely why Kannazuki made an impression upon me.
The first episode of Kannazuki is a great one. Rarely do I say this. Most anime, even if they turn out to be fantastic, do not have good first episodes. In the grand scheme of things, they may be paced perfectly and reveal just the right amount of information. But when you consider that these shows are played on TV and that half hour time slot has to convince thousands of viewers that it's worth tuning in again next week, most shows simply don't pull you in enough when there are dozens of other shows they could watch instead. But Kannazuki does make an impression. It opens as your typical Japanese high school drama. The visuals are not identical to the standard Tokyo schools you see in most shows and the uniforms are more colorful, but the drama is the same. There are cliques as well as the most popular guy and girl in school.
Himeko goes to this school, and she is neither popular nor standout in any way. But she does have one thing over the rest of the school even if they don't know it. The most popular guy in school, Souma, is her childhood friend. And the most popular girl in school, Chikane, secretly meets her for lunch and has a crush on her. She doesn't fully understand how special these relationships are, but she soon will. Her 16th birthday (the same as Chikane's) is the next day and both Chikane and Souma are looking to spend time with her.
Before this turns into a typical American sitcom situation of Himeko having to be in two places at once, the show takes a sharp u-turn. Suddenly, the sky is purplish and a portal opens up. Some booming voices appear telling the world of its destiny as the city panics. Souma is looking forward to Himeko's birthday when he suddenly emits an eery glow looking rather pissed off and teleports himself outside. He rips a rather epic looking sword out of the ground and a mech suddenly appears, which he then floats into. The mechs of Kannazuki no Miko will probably not impress long time mech lovers. They are divided between very standard blocky looking mechs and some rather interesting ones. But like I said above, Kannazuki no Miko is not meant to be a mech showcase.
Despite his personal interest in Himeko, it seems Souma is actually her enemy. He's been chosen to be part of the return of the god of destruction. And he gets an urge that can't be ignored to destroy the two priestesses, who it turns out are Chikane and Himeko. It's quite common to see an enemy turn out to be a friend or a friend turn out to be an enemy. But it's rare that a friend is forced to be an enemy right from the start of the show. It makes for a very interesting dynamic because Souma has to choose whether he wants to give in to his urges to kill the priestesses or attempt to protect them from the other mechs that show up to destroy humanity.
This trio of Himeko, Souma, and Chikane does not just exist in the battles of Kannazuki no Miko. It's also the main storyline of the show. Himeko is ignored by most of the world as a rather plain girl, but not by Souma and Chikane. After many years as childhood friends, Souma is interested in bringing things to the next level with Chikane and chose her birthday as the day to tell her. Too bad he tries to kill her instead. Meanwhile Chikane, the most beautiful girl anybody has ever known, is also interested in a romantic relationship with Himeko. The only problem is that Himeko may not be interested in a homosexual relationship. This love triangle is executed perfectly in these first four episodes of the show. There are even some extra bits of spice thrown into the mix; Chikane's head maid is jealous that Himeko is getting so much of Chikane's attention. Perhaps she also has a bit of a crush?
The concept of Kannazuki no Miko can seem a bit absurd. The god of destruction is imprisoned by a shrine on the moon. Every so many years, the shrine collapses, eight mechs appear to destroy humanity, and two priestesses must imprison the god of destruction again. But look past the weird setup to the actual relationship drama in the show and you'll see a shiny gem of a story. The only part that really hampers it for me is a catgirl who is one of the eight enemies of the show. A catgirl. She says "nya nya" all the time. Note to Japan: stop doing this; it's annoying; it's not cute; it will never be cute; stop it.
Kannazuki No MIko surprised me. It surprised me that it even had mechs in it. But it also surprised me with an interesting take on a love triangle. Yes, there are a few scenes with scantily clad 16-year-olds that may seem odd to Americans, but there are many countries out there where 16 is the age of consent. If you'd rather avoid potential thoughts of pedophilia, you might want to try another show. But if you're looking for a show with some quality drama and a bit of mech action thrown in for good measure, Kannazuki no Miko is the show for you.
Special Features
DVD Features
· Contains Episodes #1-4 ( Running Time 100 min. )
· 2.0 Dolby Digital English & Japanese Audio
· 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
· Two English Subtitle Streams ( Dialogue Translation & Signs Only Translation )
DVD Bonus
· Non-Credit Opening
