First Impressions: Jyu Oh Sei

We first see the twins Rai and Thor running for their lives in a lush forest. But before we know the reason, we are taken to a flashback of their lives before they end up in a forest with people trying to kill them.

The twins live in a futuristic planet called Juno. It seems their parents are murdered by the ones who are supposed to be protecting them, the Federation Army Special Ops. They are gassed, and before they know it they are blasted off to a remote planet dominated by plants.

But plants are not the only living things as they found out. The mysterious planet that is missing from their known Balkan system is also populated with humans. At first the humans look like zombies and they are cornered. But they are saved by a man named Zagi from Iliad. Zagi tells them that the planet they are on is called Chimaera, where convicts of serious crimes are dumped. But for an unknown reason, the existence of the planet has not been made public. They also learn an important fact: most of the plants in the planet are carnivorous! And the only way to survive is to be like a beast;that’s why it is called Jyu Oh Sei, or the planet of the beast.

The planet is divided into four rings: Blanc, Sun, Night, and Ochre. People are divided by their skin color. The twins wonder how to get out of the planet, but there is only one way. And the only way is to become the Jyu-Oh, the one who stands above all four Rings.

However, life on the planet is much harder on Rai, the weaker twin. Rai spills some water, and Thor has to defend him. Thor gets beaten up, and later Zagi tells Rai a painful truth: that if Thor wants to survive, he has to get rid of Rai. Because of this, they leave Zagi’s group.

While walking in the forest, Rai’s complaining gets to Thor. Thor then tells him to die and takes out his beam knife and takes a slashing pose. But they are found out by people from the Ochre Ring. Thor tries to negotiate but actually kills the first guy by killiing him with the beam knife. One of the men fire a gun, but it agitates the plants and grab them. Rai is grabbed first, then Thor. But a hooded figure saves Thor from the carnivorous plants.

Verdict:

Even though I’ve only seen just one episode, the anime has left a good impression on me. A futuristic setting and strange planets is very interesting indeed. But it’s not the only draw here. If you look at the opening, the music doesn’t impress but the images do. It promises lots of action and hopefully, more interesting characters. This anime is on my must-watch list for 2006. =)

Note: This is not a repost. Do not ask me for links to subs or other sources of the anime I blog here. I will not answer such queries. Thanks for reading!