On Netflix over the course of two nights, I watched a really fantastic 11 episode animated saga called Jyu-Oh-Sei or "Planet of the Beast King" (2006). I like the fact that a lot of Manga style animation or Japanese animation has a set amount of episodes and definite story arc, to the series. American style is typically to drag something on and on endlessly exploiting as much from it as you possibly can until the story no longer makes sense and you stopped caring about the characters long ago. (Really, do we need four Incredible Hulk movies, none of which correspond to the other ones?) Obviously it makes more sense to have a definite direction with the story-line and a great ending, but of course that is maybe not the most profitable?
Anyways I really loved Planet of the Be King. It was originally a Manga series in Japan written and illustrated by Natsumi Itsukiast. The story starts out like this: twin boys living in a space colony, find out their parents have been murdered, and the boys are sent to live on a harsh planet filled with large carnivorous plants. It is a few hundred years into the future, the earth is in some sort of jeopardy and humans have colonized another solar system. Problem is, terra-forming the planets has caused massive sterility in the colonies for some reason. Only on the last, un-terra-formed planet, can children be born naturally.
There are a lot of levels to the story. One thing is that some of the characters have names that derive from Norse mythology. Thor (the stronger of the twin boys, who rises up in the planet's ranks), Odin (a political figure responsible for the colonies) Loki (one of Odin's scientists, working on genetic enhancement). This draws obvious parallels to Norse mythology. The Scientists and politicians are playing as Gods would, determining life and death on a planet where the inhabitants have no idea what is up above. A person living on Chimera (the last wild planet) can rise through the ranks and become Beast King, and then can find out what is up above, but that is all they know. Here we have the idea that a "God" very well could be considered any group with better technology then we have. We have the idea of fact turning into legend, turning into mythology etc.
Also there is the battle of plants vs technology. The wild planet wants to remain wild, and the human scientists and politicians are trying to figure out how to make it livable for them. It's the balancing of science and nature to an end result that hopefully can be better for both or a compromise. We also have the evolution of humanity. What is the next step? What happens when our planet is unlivable? With or without our help it's going to happen eventually.
Another aspect to the story is the relationship between different sides of the self (the twin boys). Do you trust yourself and try to make the decision with most heart, or do you do what you have to do to survive? And if you do make the hard choice in tough times, is it evil? What is evil? What does it mean to be human? These are the kinds of thoughts I was having while watching parts of the series.
There are so many different ways that Planet of the Beast King works as a great story. Heck, with 11, 22 minute episodes, it's about the perfect length to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster trilogy! Seriously though, I think this story has that much potential. There are twists, turns, mind blowing reveals, epic battles, love stories, space stations, jungle battles, it's got it all. And with every bit if not more style, then let's say something like Star Wars had. With the right director, this story has that much potential. (I want my cut too, if it ever happens, this post is proof it was my idea).
Anyways I really loved Planet of the Be King. It was originally a Manga series in Japan written and illustrated by Natsumi Itsukiast. The story starts out like this: twin boys living in a space colony, find out their parents have been murdered, and the boys are sent to live on a harsh planet filled with large carnivorous plants. It is a few hundred years into the future, the earth is in some sort of jeopardy and humans have colonized another solar system. Problem is, terra-forming the planets has caused massive sterility in the colonies for some reason. Only on the last, un-terra-formed planet, can children be born naturally.
There are a lot of levels to the story. One thing is that some of the characters have names that derive from Norse mythology. Thor (the stronger of the twin boys, who rises up in the planet's ranks), Odin (a political figure responsible for the colonies) Loki (one of Odin's scientists, working on genetic enhancement). This draws obvious parallels to Norse mythology. The Scientists and politicians are playing as Gods would, determining life and death on a planet where the inhabitants have no idea what is up above. A person living on Chimera (the last wild planet) can rise through the ranks and become Beast King, and then can find out what is up above, but that is all they know. Here we have the idea that a "God" very well could be considered any group with better technology then we have. We have the idea of fact turning into legend, turning into mythology etc.
Also there is the battle of plants vs technology. The wild planet wants to remain wild, and the human scientists and politicians are trying to figure out how to make it livable for them. It's the balancing of science and nature to an end result that hopefully can be better for both or a compromise. We also have the evolution of humanity. What is the next step? What happens when our planet is unlivable? With or without our help it's going to happen eventually.
Another aspect to the story is the relationship between different sides of the self (the twin boys). Do you trust yourself and try to make the decision with most heart, or do you do what you have to do to survive? And if you do make the hard choice in tough times, is it evil? What is evil? What does it mean to be human? These are the kinds of thoughts I was having while watching parts of the series.
There are so many different ways that Planet of the Beast King works as a great story. Heck, with 11, 22 minute episodes, it's about the perfect length to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster trilogy! Seriously though, I think this story has that much potential. There are twists, turns, mind blowing reveals, epic battles, love stories, space stations, jungle battles, it's got it all. And with every bit if not more style, then let's say something like Star Wars had. With the right director, this story has that much potential. (I want my cut too, if it ever happens, this post is proof it was my idea).
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