Star Ocean EX

[Tommy]

I`m not sure if this is a manga or an anime television show. I heard it was both.

I`m a huge fan of the video game series and would love if you guys gave me the 411 on either the manga or the anime. If it`s only a manga, mods, feel free to move it. Not that you need my permission.

[Breakman]

Yup, it's both. Let's see here if I could find my old mini review I did at another board... Ah! Here it is... (Edited to up to date.)

Name: Star Ocean EX
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action
Rating Range: PG-13 and above I would guess
My rating: 7.5/10



If you didn't like the game, give this show a shot nevertheless. It's based on the manga about Star Ocean: The Second Story, not the game.

Pros:
* Nice love story for you girls.
* Ashton is in it.
* Adding more story to the original.
* Some of the offensives in the game is not found here. (Instead of saying "God is evil" as the game said, it is "The Sorcery Globe is evil." A big plus to me. ^^)
* Skips the tenuous and/or boring parts of the game.
* Hardly any nudity. You just see the chest and above of someone (I still can't figure out who it is...), in the intro.
* Oh, did I tell you Ashton is in it?

Cons:
* Terrible subtitles (I watched to versions of one episode and they nearly had two different translations! Whoever subbed this just ran it through a machine... or never even bothered to translated some episodes. ^^; ) and some characters' voices are not really... good. ^^;
* There are some suggestive themes (Mainly that Celine has a tattoo in an... interesting place. It was actually funny when she showed it to Claude though. ^^;; ) and a strange relationship. (Let's just say Ashton likes young girls... BUT he doesn't do anything! ^^; He just has a crush on Precis which looks extremely young for some odd reason.) That's mainly it.
* Animation is not all that good...
* Even though they cut out the boring parts from the game, this has it's own boring episodes.
* Some episodes are violent and have some sexual innuendo.

Conclusion, it is mainly for people who likes videogames-to-anime, didn't quite like the game but liked the characters, or read the mangas.

People who loved the game might be disappointed. This show is only half of the story (it is mainly just Claude's part of the story).

People who were offended/didn't like by the game but liked the characters, should really check this out. (Me. ^^)

Christians might be offended by the use of magic, the suggestive themes I stated above, and the terrible subbing. But I think... its way better than playing the game because they cut out a whole lot of stuff that isn't Christian-like (such as talk about you-know-what, homosexuals, etc. You know, reasons why I didn't like the game.). You could say that if you watch this, don't play the game because they are very much different.

I enjoyed it overall. Why I picked it up is because it had Ashton and (as I said many, many times) it was based on the manga, not the game.

Hea. Hope that was helpful? ^_^

I know that they are just recently selling english dubs of the show. One DVD for $30. About 3-4 episodes a pop. Pretty expensive stuff... Glad I got the Japanese version. ^^;;

Oh yes... This review was on the Japanese dub, not the new english dub.

[Nate]

I'll add some stuff that bothered me about the anime:

1) Ashton is portrayed as incompetent. EXCEPTIONALLY incompetent. This is unfortunate, because I am a huge fan of Ashton. Basically Ashton can't do anything on his own, the only time he EVER does anything cool like in the game is when Gyoro and Ururun are in possession of him. Which is lame.

2) No one seems to notice Opera or Ernest's third eye...which is odd.

3) Leon seems to be...well, lacking in his magical skills as compared to the game. I think he casts a spell ONCE in the duration of the series.

4) Unlike in the game, in the anime Claude never seems bothered that he is CONSTANTLY violating the Underdeveloped Planets Treaty.

5) Unlike in the game, there is very little interaction between Claude and his father. In fact, Claude never once (to my recollection) seems interested in trying to contact his ship to get off Expel.

6) This is the worst one, and it requires a spoiler box. If you've played the game up to the second disc, this spoiler is safe to read. If not, I'll simply state that the anime doesn't have an ending:

[SPOILER]First of all, the anime ends right before Claude and co. get transported to Energy Nede. Second, in the game, Expel got blown up and completely destroyed. The anime has a much worse, cheesier plot device.

Remember the bird in the game you had to fight to get the Tears of the King to turn Ashton back to normal? Apparently he's a major player on Expel, and he freezes time while Claude and his friends go to Nede so that Expel won't be destroyed. Pretty lame, huh?[/SPOILER]

Even so, it's still a good anime, even though it doesn't end. Maybe some day, they'll finish the anime.

[Breakman]

1) Ashton is portrayed as incompetent. EXCEPTIONALLY incompetent. This is unfortunate, because I am a huge fan of Ashton. Basically Ashton can't do anything on his own, the only time he EVER does anything cool like in the game is when Gyoro and Ururun are in possession of him. Which is lame.

And that was the main reason I liked him in the game. He got attached to having those two dragons because he was able to do more than he could and he had friends.

5) Unlike in the game, there is very little interaction between Claude and his father. In fact, Claude never once (to my recollection) seems interested in trying to contact his ship to get off Expel.

He did try, but if I remember right (forgot which episode... Probably around 5-9?) his communicator breaks.

In the game, he gives up trying to communicate because he feels that he has a job to do on Expel.

6) This is the worst one, and it requires a spoiler box. If you've played the game up to the second disc, this spoiler is safe to read. If not, I'll simply state that the anime doesn't have an ending...Even so, it's still a good anime, even though it doesn't end. Maybe some day, they'll finish the anime.

Yea, I forgot to mention that. So there is no Noel and Chisato in the anime. There is an ending to the show, yes, but it is only radio drama (or was that even incomplete?). I haven't listened to it so I have no comment...


Thanks Kaemmerite, of reminding me things. B)

[MasterDias]

* Some of the offensives in the game is not found here. (Instead of saying "God is evil" as the game said, it is "The Sorcery Globe is evil." A big plus to me. ^^)

Wait, what?
"God is evil?"
I didn't get that from Star Ocean 2.

(such as talk about you-know-what, homosexuals, etc. You know, reasons why I didn't like the game.)

I don't remember any talk about homosexuals either. Unless it was something so miniscule that I missed it completely...

Even so, it's still a good anime, even though it doesn't end. Maybe some day, they'll finish the anime.

Unfortunately, it probably won't as the manga was never finished. Manga-ka switched publishers and couldn't continue it, I believe.

[Breakman]

Wait, what?
"God is evil?"
I didn't get that from Star Ocean 2.

Well, I guess you could look over it. The translation of the game was pretty bad. The translators would say the "Ten Wise Men" most times, but sometimes tack on the phrase "...of God" with them. Yea, the english version would try to explain that God is "Tria", but it doesn't hide the meaning. The original names (Japanese version) of the "Ten Wise Men" were Zaphikel, Jophiel, Metatron, Kamael, Raphael, Zadkiel, Haniel, Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel. The three last ones in notable places of where they were in the bible. (Thanks to PAC (http://www.christiananswers.net) and Gamefaqs.com on the names of the angels.)

Maybe I'm just looking into it too much, but I got the impression that this game wanted to make God look evil. Sending his angels to kill all the poor humans who just wanted to live in peace. Hea.

I don't remember any talk about homosexuals either. Unless it was something so miniscule that I missed it completely...

Or that you missed some private action scenes. The one that always sticks to my mind is the City of Armlock one with Ashton and Claude. How they phase their sentences and the drink you can pick "Heartthrob" would raise their friendship and romance points.

Just the thought of having romance points towards the same gender in the whole game does sound odd, huh? Why can't ones of the same gender just raise friendship levels between them instead?

[Kisa]

it is the anime for star ocean the 2nd story. add or minus a few details..... ^^ can't wait to get it!

[Nate]

Maybe I'm just looking into it too much, but I got the impression that this game wanted to make God look evil. Sending his angels to kill all the poor humans who just wanted to live in peace. Hea.

You know, if you REALLY want to know my theory about that, I could send you a PM. It would be one giant spoiler box here that has no bearing on the anime, only the game...I warn you that it will ruin SO3 for you, if you have any interest in playing it, though.

[MasterDias]

Well, I guess you could look over it. The translation of the game was pretty bad. The translators would say the "Ten Wise Men" most times, but sometimes tack on the phrase "...of God" with them. Yea, the english version would try to explain that God is "Tria", but it doesn't hide the meaning. The original names (Japanese version) of the "Ten Wise Men" were Zaphikel, Jophiel, Metatron, Kamael, Raphael, Zadkiel, Haniel, Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel. The three last ones in notable places of where they were in the bible. (Thanks to PAC (http://www.christiananswers.net) and Gamefaqs.com on the names of the angels.)

Maybe I'm just looking into it too much, but I got the impression that this game wanted to make God look evil. Sending his angels to kill all the poor humans who just wanted to live in peace. Hea.

Yes, the Ten Wise Mens' original names were taken from the Bible and various Apocryphal writings but:
[spoiler]they were biological weapons created/programmed for the protection of Nede, but their creator lost his daughter to a terrorist attack and he re-programmed the Wise Men to destroy the world.
They aren't actual angels.
And Tria was a game in-joke related to the fact that Tri-ace was the game's developer[/spoiler]

Or that you missed some private action scenes. The one that always sticks to my mind is the City of Armlock one with Ashton and Claude. How they phase their sentences and the drink you can pick "Heartthrob" would raise their friendship and romance points.

Just the thought of having romance points towards the same gender in the whole game does sound odd, huh? Why can't ones of the same gender just raise friendship levels between them instead?

I don't think the romance levels between same-gender characters actually affect anything.
As far as endings are concerned, same-gender characters are only best friends.

[Tommy]

Oh, cool. They have manga on the 3rd one and I recently beat the game. Is the manga about Star ocean 3 during the game or after the game, or before the game.

Thanks a lot, but you guys spoiled a lot of things for Star Ocean II for me. I`m STILL on Expel.

I think Ashton is cool and all but his obsession with barrells is .... odd.

And as for the Bibical thing, you obviously haven`t played the 3rd one. And if yu have, you haven`t beat it.

[Ashley]

Thanks a lot, but you guys spoiled a lot of things for Star Ocean II for me. I`m STILL on Expel.

Hence the use of spoiler tags...

[Breakman]

For the lack of a better word, don't "patronize" me. I played Star Ocean 3 and beat it. (I don't know how I got through that game, but I did. And I'm not talking about difficulty here...) I know what their "world" is and what everything in that world is too.

So playing a game of a game that has God as the bad guy is okay? *shrugs* Alright...

It doesn't matter what the god's name was (or who he really was in SO3), it was the intent. Just the fact that Japanese adding Christian elements incorrectly is what bothers me.

Boy, this is totally off topic... ^^;

Hence the use of spoiler tags...

*laughs* XP

[THE ANIME MAN]

Just as an added note to the first post.

There is also a manga based off this.

As well as a second game called Star Ocean: Blue Sphere for the GBC.

[Tommy]

There is also a manga for Star Ocean III and I`m pretty sure the 1st one which would make um, all of them.

Sorry, i shouldn`t have assumed you didn`t play So3.

[SPOILER] Is it a coincidence that the villian`s name is Luther? I mean, if it wasn`t for Martin luther we would`nt be such prosperous religion. Honestly, if I wasn`t a Christian, and I often questioned life after death and played this game, I would have often questioned if Tri-Ace was right and that the world was a video game.

How do we know 4D isn`t in a videogame being controlled by 5D space? [/SPOILER]