Search - Ellcia, Vol. 1 on DVD

GOD'S SHIP GIVES ULTIMATE POWER

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 10/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The aging King Nabosu of Megaronia has conquered most of the known islands around his kingdom due to finding an ancient technology left over from a previous destroyed civilization. Now his eye starts to drift to the land of Eija, one of the last islands that has not fully submitted to his rule. But when his court priest tells him of a prophecy of a "Chosen One" who will destroy Megaronia with "God's Ship" he doesn't take the dire oracle with much seriousness. His daughter, Princess Crystel, on the other hand starts to drool at the thought of acquiring this powerful weapon that is said to have already destroyed Megaronia once before! With the king of Eija in tow as a hostage, Crystel, along with the deadly warrior Felkis begin the search for the divine ship. Meanwhile, a group of pirates from Eija, led by the feisty girl Eira are on a collision course with Crystel and Megaronia, as a fateful series of events lands them control of God's Ship, named Ellcia. Eira will have to decide what to do with the ship, whether to use it to protect her country and save the king, or reduce Megaronia to dust. It doesn't help that an evil spirit from ancient times is moving in the world after being accidentally released by Eira's crew.

Since it came out in 1993, Ellcia has a lot of bad habits left over from old 80's anime. Mainly, The character designs are pretty awful. The costumes especially can leave your eyes hurting a little and Eira's tuft of miscolored hair on her forehead almost stole the show. But if you can get past the dated designs, the story and character personalities are pretty interesting. The story, while familiar, brings its own chaotic and forward-moving energy that makes up for some contrived circumstances. The pirate crew is mostly there for comedy relief and they do their job well. I really liked Eira because she's not interested in God's Ship except for protecting those she cares about. She really has no ambitions to subjugate the world with it like Crystel. The animation itself is well done and gets you nostalgic about the days when computer animation didn't exist in anime. An oldie but a goodie."