Kemono no Souja Erin (Beast Harpist Erin) first began airing on NHK in January of this year and is scheduled for a 50 episode run. The series is based on novels by Seirei no Moribito creator Nahoko Uehashi, with animation by Production I.G. Personally, after seeing only 17 out of 50 episodes so far, I think KnSE is one of the best quality TV anime I’ve seen in recent years, both in storytelling quality, and the animation aesthetics are not too shabby either. Unfortunately, I also feel it’s one of the most underrated series of the year since, when compared to just about all other current anime, hardly anyone is talking about it or watching it…
My guess as to why KnSE is so underrated is precisely because it’s unique; you won’t find any blatant fan-pandering or cliche anime situations or archetypes in this show. Even the character and scenery designs are pretty humble and not meant to be flashy and otaku-pleasing. There’s no hyperbolic humor, fan service, unnatural angst, or anything else that interrupts the flow of this beautiful show. It’s one of the few recent anime where I feel the creators’ intention was more to tell a good story than to appeal to anime fans. I feel that KnSE would be grouped better along with Ghibli movies than with your average TV anime.
Another thing that might deter some fans from watching it is the fact that the first few episodes are pretty light and may give the impression that the show is for kids. The show starts while the protagonist herself, Erin, is still a child and she and the other village children have fairly innocent adventures in these early episodes. But, if one pays close attention, there are subtle hints about the darker themes of the show even in the first few episodes, though nothing major happens until a little later on.
Although the first few episodes are just as well constructed as the rest of the episodes, I can see why some fans would blow the show off as something that’s more for Japanese children/family viewing than for actual anime fans. But there is way more to KnSE than it first appears to be. As the series progresses, Erin grows up and her fate takes her to different places where she discovers the dark aspects of life and learns more about the world, creatures, and people around her; the true horrific ideals of the village she grew up in, the cruel exploitation of other creatures by people, and the tension mounting between the kingdoms of the Queen and Grand Duke. And amidst all these themes, the series takes its time and gives ample focus to Erin’s personal development as she matures, goes through different stages in her life, learns specific things about the world, and meets different people. There’s much death, sadness, and injustice in the show as well as beauty, cuteness, and warmth. All in all, so far everything has been handled brilliantly in this anime with nothing out-of-place or rushed.
But even if KnSE is not aimed at the anime otaku audience, anyone who can appreciate a well made and excellent animated story, even if it’s not fraught with the anime cliches and archetypes that we desire, should definitely give this show a try. Despite being 50 episodes long, the series does not take long to show its true colors: episodes 5 and 6 start to reveal some of the deeper and darker themes, and episode 7 is the first major, unexpected turning point. So, if you’re tired of all the typical anime nowadays that’s filled with cliches and stereotypes, definitely give Kemono no Souja Erin a try, at least past the first few episodes. (it’s currently being subbed by Static Subs). This show is proof that there’s still some creative, quality TV anime being produced in this consumerist age =)
“you won’t find any … cliche anime situations or archetypes in this show.”
“There’s no…unnatural angst”
“a well made and excellent animated story,”
That’s strange, because I dropped this series after about six episodes, exactly because of the clichéd anime situations, unnatural angst and really bad CG integration. To me, the huge amounts of forced angst in these first few episodes was the major turn-off, and the CG dragons didn’t make t much easier to like this series. I usually love well-done children’s series, I’m a big fan of the World Masterpiece Theatre, which IMO has an even bigger contrast between the innocence of the lead character and the very dark themes throughout the series, but I just couldn’t get into this series.
I’m at episode 24 and it’s my weekly staple. Honestly, it’s a very different kind of anime. I don’t think it’ll do well in terms of sales or popularity. I like it, but most people’ll find it quite dull. Good for you to like it as well!
However, the most underrated show is not this. It is Inazuma 11, people don’t even sub it!
@psgels If you watched a few more episodes past 6, you’d see that the series takes a big turn; Erin leaves the Touda village, grows up, and more characters and conflicts are introduced, including the war between the two kingdoms. There is some angst and maybe some situations that may seem cliche, but compared to most other anime, it’s pretty minor, especially in the later episodes.
OMG! i also love this show
it’s rare to find a someone like this show
I find the story line very refreshing, there is some angst in the story but I find that a”normal” type of angst. Excuse me to naruto fans but the most annoying angst I have ever seen is the sasuke type of angst which just made me dislike the series (a bit). Also I agree to the fact that the reason this show is not popular is because it doesn’t show “fan-service,” “total bloody blood lost,” “overly dramatic romance scene/story” etc.
I just love the relaxed pace of the concrete story line… and it also reminds me of ghibli movies a lot
I don’t know whether it’s underrated or not, but I’ve been watching it since the start. Personally, I think it’s very good. It actually tells a nice, interesting and emotional story in a fairytale-esque way, without feeling the need to go all out with chibi characters/funny reactions/boobs. Stuff like that. I don’t consider that an amazing accomplishment really, but I’d say it has a more “normal” (bad expression, I know) way to tell a story, at least from what I’m used to. Due to the fact that the series is based on novels, maybe it’s not that strange if it’s not “crazy”. But then, books can be crazy.
… Anyway.
That ending song, “After the rain”, is very nice. So are the insert songs that you hear in pretty much every episode.
Overall: I like it quite a bit.
I loved this anime just because it was so unique. At first I thought it was childish looking but after I had watched a few episodes I thought it was really good and the best thing was that the characters emotions was well balanced. ;)
This is definitely an under-rated anime. In my perspective I fell in love with the show with the first episode. Seeing Erin’s curious and cute behavior just had me watching more. Although I don’t think many people will appreciate the anime for like it’s mentioned on this post there’s no “fan-service” or “cliched love plots” honestly this is an anime for every age to enjoy.