Review for Utawarerumono: Volume 6 - A Song For Posterity (Review)
Thursday, 20th May 2010, 15:28

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Introduction
I feel like I have been watching Utawarerumono for months instead of weeks, although in this case that is a statement of praise rather than a comment on any potential properties of boredom within the series. This is the diametric opposite of boring, it's just that there is so much going on, so many plot developments and character evolution, that it seems impossible to be contained within a brief run of just 26 episodes. Surely there must be more room to tell a story this epic. It's a TARDIS of a show, and as each development takes it into ever more fantastic territory, it's as if the show keeps regenerating into something new. To absolutely murder a metaphor, with this final volume about to explore even wilder territory, I guess we'll find out if Utawarerumono ends up as Tom Baker, or as Sylvester McCoy.

Utawarerumono is a fantasy series set in a strange world. It's based on a PC game, but before you recoil in horror, it's one of those narrative adventure PC games that the Japanese are so fond of, barely interactive animated storybooks, with sex scenes. This anime ditches the sex to produce something a little more appropriate for a broader audience. This is a strange world, populated with dog-eared people, strange animals, very real deities, oppressive governments, and on the verge of war. It's in this world that a masked stranger awakes. Hakuoro has no memory of his past, but a mask is affixed to his face, impossible to remove. He wakes in the village of Yamayura, healed and nursed back to health by a young girl named Eluluu, and is taken to heart by the kindly village people. Against all the adversities and challenges this harsh world throws against the people of Yamayura, this noble, enigmatic man becomes a beacon of hope, and a source of strength. But this is just the first step for Hakuoro to take towards his destiny of changing the world.

The concluding episodes are presented on this disc from ADV.

23. Where The Heart Lies
Kunekamun continues its onslaught, despite Hauenka's defeat previously. Hien demands that the mission of unification is completed, but when Genjimaru advises a cessation of hostilities, Kuuya refuses, claiming that she has gone too far to stop now. It's the last straw for Genjimaru. Hakuoro has problems too, there is a sudden distance between him and Eluluu, she obviously knows more than she is telling, and the memories keep returning for Hakuoro. This last flashback is even more detailed, a masked man waking in a technologically advanced laboratory, a scientist named Mizushima, and a furry eared experimental subject #3510, who the masked man names Mikoto, and who looks and sounds just like Eluluu. But then there arises an opportunity to end the war, as a defector from Kunekamun arrives, offering to lead Hakuoro's forces against his former people.

24. On the Path of Destruction
The war intensifies, and once more Hakuoro's forces face implacable, ensorcelled foes in battle. The winged advisor who had stood at Niwe's side previously, is now working with the Kunekamun people, fulfilling an ancient pact. It's a pact that Genjimaru has broken with his defection, and seeing him at Hakuoro's side spurs the winged man, Dii into action. He teleports Hakuoro, Eluluu, and Genjimaru directly to Kuuya's palace, where the war will be decided once and for all. Strangely however, he can't face Hakuoro directly, he has to use proxies. The proxy he chooses is Camus.

25. Traces of an Ancient Dream
Hakuoro demands the truth from Urutori; he wants to know just who Camus really is, and how she is related to Dii. The truth is astounding, if incomplete. This much is certain, Hakuoro is determined to rescue Camus, and he prepares for what will probably be his final quest, leaving Oboro in charge. Of course no one is prepared to let him face Dii alone, and everyone heads to Onkamiyamukai together. It's where Dii and Camus are, but it's also where the missing pieces of Hakuoro's past lie. Depending on the choice he makes, Hakuoro may wind up changing the world forever.

26. Utawarerumono: Him Whose Song is Sung
The conclusion.

Picture
This being a Region 1 disc, Utawarerumono gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer of the NTSC variety. It means a slightly lower resolution than PAL discs, and a greater prevalence of aliasing, but it also means that the image is clear, sharp, and colourful, and the animation is smooth, and free of ghosting and judder. Utawarerumono is an interesting animation, period fantasy as it is, it reminds me somewhat of Inuyasha, with its simplicity of character designs, and wholesome bright, primary colours. That said, there is something of a more atmospheric aesthetic to the animation, it's much more detailed and vivid, and with the fantasy setting, there's something Ghibli-esque about it, reminiscent of films like Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke. All in all, it's a very pleasant show to watch. That's with the exception of crowd and battle sequences. Where there are a lot of people on screen at any one time, and shown at a distance, the animators have used something akin to a 3D RTS graphics engine to render the crowds in CGI, and the graphics do tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Also when the camera gets a little too close, the uniformity of features becomes apparent.

Sound
Utawarerumono comes in DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese stereo, along with optional translated subtitles, and a signs only track. In a nice move, the episode titles get a subtitle translation, but in an unconventional font that very much suits the look of the show. The dialogue is clear in both versions, and the show gets some very earthy, folk style music, along with a couple of very pleasant theme songs. I was happy enough with the Japanese version, which had some memorable character voices. Not so much for the English dub, which is pretty run of the mill for anime, not exactly standing out, but not really all that awful either.

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