Review - Kannazuki No Miko vol. 2 - The Lunar Priestess
Reviewed by Richard Brownell on 9.20.2007.
Score: 8/10
The first volume of Kannazuki no Miko was a pleasant surprise to me. The relationships of the characters at play were intriguing, tense, and felt real in a sense that many anime can't accomplish. This is accompanied by an epic story where the world is threatened by the god of destruction who uses eight people piloting mechs to destroy humanity. As the second volume opens, Souma is on a date with the solar priestess, Himeko, and is in his mech fighting with his brother.
One of most interesting parts of Kannazuki is that Souma is both a friend an enemy. It is his destiny to be the seventh neck and pilot a mech to destroy humanity. But he has somehow been able to resist the urges he has and protect Himeko (and by association, Chikane) from harm. The other necks attack time and again but he is always able to persevere. In this volume, not only does he have to fight against his real brother, the first neck, but he also is finally approached by more than one enemy at a time. Kannazuki is one of those shows where the enemy could all attack at once conceivably, but then they'd probably win and the show would be over. So it's good to see an unfair fight tossed at Souma.
The mechs in this volume continue at about the same level as last time. There are the standard blocky humanoid-shaped ones and the very floaty different looking ones. The combat is animated well though none of the attacks are particularly unique in the world of mech anime. One scene does heat things up a bit showing a more carnal image of one of the mechs, somewhat reminiscent of when an Eva unit goes berserk in Evangelion.
But as with the first volume, the real meat of Kannazuki no Miko is the love triangle and the conflict that ensues. In the first volume, it became apparent that Himeko is not interested in Chikane the same way she is in Himeko. Instead, she begins dating Souma. Of course, this relationship does not seem as perfect as Himeko believes it to be. Souma is awkward with girls and he is also serving as her protector. His dual role as boyfriend and protector can be difficult, particularly when he has to come to terms with his real brother again.
Chikane doesn't have much she can do to sway Himeko's hand though. And her mood quickly turns downward, particularly when she's confronted by the enemy directly. Additionally, she and Himeko are still having trouble completing the ceremony to put this whole epic war behind them. There's nothing more that Chikane would like than to see Himeko happy, but if that means she'll be with Souma instead of her, what then?
The drama gets thicker in this second volume and has a few twists and turns that you may not expect. But while the first four episodes were mostly happy and light-hearted, these four episodes are dark and twisted. There are intense scenes of anger and violence that accompany the emotions of the main characters as things just can't go right for any of them.
Did I mention the catgirl is back? She is and she's as annoying as ever. Why do bad things happen to the characters I like but catgirl gets to stick around? Still, Kannazuki no Miko continues in the second volume just as good as the first. It's got just the right amount of conflict. And while many parts of the storyline will feel familiar to those who watch a lot of anime, they're done in an interesting way that keeps me wanting to see more. The next volume wraps things up and I can't wait to see how things turn out.
Special Features
DVD Features
· Contains Episodes #5-8 (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 Ending
