An unsung hero of the early 90's.
Blue Seed happens to be a rather cliché anime, loaded with the big explosions, monsters, and cheesy romance that often showed its face in early 90's anime (Sailor Moon, for example).
However, this particular anime has one aspect that sets it apart: unpredictability. I honestly thought, being an experienced watcher that this series was bound to follow an absolutely unoriginal route. For the sake of the reader, I will not explain as to whether or not my intuitions were right.
However, I will say that Blue Seed impressed me beyond it's typical theme, and I find a much greater respect for older animes than before because of it.
The fate of the Kushinada.
The Aragami are a group of malicious creatures which had invaded Earth in the long past. According to legend, the great princess Kushinada, through her own sacrifice is capable of wiping out the entire race of Aragami.
Of course, that is all in the distant past, since now Momiji, the youngest female successor to the Kushinada family wants to live her life like a typical teenage girl. Well it turns out, after an attack on her in her hometown, that she can't! The Aragami are back, and a special division of Tokyo anti-Aragami peacekeepers now defend Earth's last trump card against the giant enemies.
This synopsis covers relatively half the plot. Let's not forget the necessary love conflict, a lot of plot twists concerning the Kushinada, and future of world in the hands of a teenage girl once again. We've all seen this theme before; but I can say that this anime proves to be one of those few times where the theme keeps up well, and the story remains interesting the whole way through!
I should say that the beginning is somewhat boring, but around episode 3 or so getting addicted isn't much of a task. Later on, an ease of pace ensues, and then a bit of silliness interjects into the story to keep it going till the end of the season. Seriously, 3 or 4 episodes could have been left out to make things better, but overall I wouldn't want to manhandle it to my liking alone. That's the producer's decision, after all.
Limited characters.
Words like "flat" and/or "boring" can't quite fit these characters. Flat, in my opinion, suggests that they lack a maturity, or rather, a sense of reality. I don't think this series is intended for that sort of feeling, though. I'd say it's a bit more like "impulsive." While the story is unpredictable, the characters by no means are difficult to read. What someone is going to say or do, they pretty much do. Whatever seems right, is right. One can argue that this anime abuses this concept, but I feel that it is one of the few things that kept the characters consistent and meaningul. Without it they all would be better off as Happy Lesson clones, in my opinion.
I claim Momiji to be the most sufficient character in the series. Momiji's development surpasses that of everyone else - of course being the main character - but even to a point where she seems like the only one worth understanding. Kusanagi fails to reach this sort of level, since his "asshole" routine becomes tiresome and endless as the anime draws towards its serious moments. Meanwhile, other characters, such as Kome and Yaegashi really balance out the atmosphere between Momiji and Kusanagi. They also add a bit of comedy and action to the fight against the Aragami.
I feel the most useless character to be Sakura. Her presence; even her own episode in this whole series proved to be absolutely meaningless when it comes to the story's overall point. I can understand filler episodes, but her portion proved to be "useless fillers." I still suggest giving her a chance though, since despite her awful attitude and crude personality, she supports the main cast with her abilities and sense of humor.
Ecchi in the animation? Too old, looks...wrong.
There seems to be some sort of fetish for Momiji's childish pantsu, since almost every episode contains shameless pantsu shots of her! I can't complain much about it, except that it looks completely unappealing in this style of animation! Traditional style. Big eyes, sharp hair, pointed bony structures in the face - this series really takes on the effects of the 90's animation style. I found it to be too retro and frustrating at first, but after some time, I grew to enjoy it. I suppose it might be the flashy colors that get on my nerves.
Horrible OP. Decent ED. Great seiyuu!
The OP, Mysterious Tokyo doesn't really cut it for me. It doesn't make sense, the singing is really too flashy, and the style sounds like something one would hear out of K9 cop or G.I. Joe. I love 90's music, but this style has always gotten on my nerves.
The ED is somewhat better, since it was a BoA III nomination, and also sung by Megumi Hayashibara!
As for Hayashibara, she has always proven herself to do phenomenal seiyuu work. I loved her as Lina from Slayers. Her work as Momiji is superb, and colors her character fully to the extent that it could be. I'm sure she is what makes sense of this whole series overall.
I'd recommend it to a few and the proud - it's really worth it.
If you find yourself interested in older titles, this would be a superb choice. I would also suggest this if you like to see shameless pantsu shots; like the idea of monsters invading Tokyo; adore the thought of women firing huge weapons at these monsters; you have a thing for Megumi Hayashibara. It's not exactly an anime to pin down to a certain group of people, but I might also point this title out to Sci-Fi anime lovers.
Can a newbie watch this? Probably not. Like I said, unless they liked the concept art and style of Japan's 90's animes, they will find Blue Seed to be childish and "flat." I would check to make sure they have seen other titles like it before deciding to even look into this one.
Anyways, the most important part of all this is to enjoy the moment. Blue Seed is definitely an anime that leaves a "moment" feeling with you. It's unpopularity and low rating are really quite deceiving, making it a series that proves that rating isn't everything.