| | Alternate title : Aquarion of the Holy Genesis
Studio : Satelight
Licenced by : FUNimation
Length : 26 Episodes
Year : 2005
Genre : Action - Comedy - Fantasy - Mecha - Science-Fiction
Synopsis :
(by Yebyosh)
A catastrophe occurred some 11 years ago and now Earth is mostly depopulated. Police states are what remains of bustling cities, rations and such guarded by the military. Living outside these tightly governed places are certain bands of vagrants. It is into one of these bands that Silvia de Alisa and Pierre Viera popped up at. They are there to find out if Apollo, a red-haired kid with beast-like behaviour is one of them, Elements but supposedly with the Wings of the Sun.
Their organization, Deava, was formed when the Aquarion machines were dug up by the magician Gen. Their purpose is to fight against the Shadow Angels, fiends who come in various forms and sizes, crossing between dimensions to kidnap humans for mysterious purposes. The Aquarion machines can combine to form various forms of the Aquarion mecha, which has the potential to destroy the larger Cherubims (Shadow Angel Mechas).
Much mystery awaits our protagonists, Apollo and Silvia, for it seems that they are the reincarnations of the lovers Apollonius and Serian, 12000 years ago. What part would this play into the scheme of things? Who are these mysterious Shadow Angels and what happened to our world? Why is the name of Atlantis uttered? Find out in Sousei no Aquarion.
Alternative Synopsis :
(by token)
Holy Genesis Era. Year 0011. Mankind has lost 2/3 of its population. The Great Catastrophe, which ruined the planet 11 years ago, caused the ice of Antarctica to melt.
In the Lost Atlantis, which was believed to be destroyed 2000 years ago, the winged race of Shadow Angels resurrected. They sent their bio-mechanical `mythical beasts` to harvest the life energy `Purana` of humans in the few remaining cities.
Humanity tries to hold off the onslaught when the `Godspeed Magician` Fudo Gen excavated in the sea near Crete the so-called vector machines, legendary machines which gave new hope. With these 3 new weapons, Mars, Luna and Sol, piloted by gifted pilots who possess the `element` to activate them, the legendary `Mechanical Angel Aquarion` can be united from the 3 `vectors`...
The `elements` who needed to have pure souls and sharp senses, finally start off the fight and the time of uniting humanity`s hopes into the legendary Aquarion has come.
Added : 2005-10-30
Synopsis by : Yebyosh / tokens
Last update : 2007-03-17
Last update details : Link removed
Score : 7
Number of reviews : 11
Link(s) :
Official #1 : Official Sousei no Aquarion Website (Japanese)
Official #2 : TV Tokyo's Sousei no Aquarion (Japanese)
Song(s) :
Opening #1 : AKINO - Sousei no Aquarion / Creator of Aquarion
Opening #2 : AKINO - Go Tight!
Ending #1 : Yui Makino - Omna Magni
Ending #2 : AKINO - Arano no Heath / The Heath of the Wasteland
Ending #3 : Gabriela Robin - Celiane
Ending #4 : AKINO - Genesis of Aquarion
Release(s) :
2006-04-23 -- Episode(s) 22 by AnimeONE & Anime-Kingdom. BT Link
2006-04-18 -- Episode(s) 21 by AnimeONE & Anime-Kingdom. BT Link
2006-04-16 -- Episode(s) 20 by AnimeONE & Anime-Kingdom. BT Link
Found 44 releases. Click here to [ Find them! ]
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Posted by : Fayree
Posted on : 2007-03-22 
It seems like everyone has written a lot about this anime (plot, characters, graphics, etc), so I will just write what I thought in general. I thought the plot could have been so much better, but the storyline was not developed well at all. You didn't find out where these people came from, why they had these powers, ect. The main characters, Apollo and Sarah were not appealing: Apollo was crude and brash, and Sarah was in love with her older brother. Also, whenever they entered fight scenes and "united" or whatever they called it, is seemed like they would have an orgasm or something. Definitely not kiddy stuff.
The good thing was that the animation was really good, and the characters were good looking (I don't know if that matters much, but hey). Very interesting looking landscapes and objects.
Anyways, the lack of depth in general is why I give this a 4.
Posted by : Guido 
Posted on : 2006-03-26 
How can I say it?
Exciting, touching, revealing, gripping, beautiful, and above all, splendid.
Sousei no Aquarion delivered a solid end, starting with an exciting beginning, but fell loosely in the middle.
I'm not quite at all angered with the filler episodes of the first arc, however, the staff could had kept away those ridiculous fillers that were episodes 17-19 and started the rollercoaster from that point until the end; instead doing so at episode twenty.
Nevertheless, Shouji Kawamori entertains and captivates his audiences with his already known philosophical themes about the self, humanity, the cycles that govern the existence, and one's own journey toward self discovery.
I think that the message in Aquarion was that of understanding among non-human and human races that eventually leads to empathy.
The music was thrown to the roof and timely played for each sequence in the final episode. I utterly give the staff a solid ten for the music and OST department. It is a soundtrack that has turned into a classic among anime titles.
My last complain only was for the 3D CGI animation for the Aquarions, the vectors, and the Cherubims. Their animated movements looked polygonal, static, and mechanically, but I felt that the operatic soundtrack did wonderful effects to bring the mecha battles into life and made me disregard that blunt flaw in the animation.
Aquarion may not be on par with other of Kawamori's works (Macross, Tenkuu no Escaflowne), but for me it succeeded in putting a lot of efforts to flesh the protagonists's maturation and coming to terms with what they learned from the other characters.
Posted by : pangzy
Posted on : 2006-01-05
Graphics 10/10
Best CGI i have seen to date in an anime. The mecha (aquarion) is drawn out in full 3D. It blends well with the 2D background, making it seem more outstanding without clashing with the background and animation. Great shading and fight scenes. Kudos to the artist making this series. No major large scale fight scenes, but instead focus on one-on-one mecha duels with special moves. Nothing against that but its gets pretty boring after 20 episodes.
Character 2/10
However that pretty much sums up whats good about this anime. The character development are shallow. Our main hero in the story apollo is a brat trying to pilot a aquarion. Silva, another pilot, has a brother complex, other character are not even worth mentioning. Basically a ragtag bunch of teenagers forced together to fight evil. Come on, how boring can it get? Other anime eg gundam, macross at least did some character development to either get the audience to hate or love the character. However, in this disappointing series, the character fails to grow up or even show advancement in their piloting skills. It wouldn't have mattered if its a 22 episode series or 22 standalone episodes. Not to mention a commander who seems to know every move the enemy is going to take and conduct special training before (predictably) enemies attack.
Plot 2/10
Plot started out relatively promising. Our main character is a reincarnation of Apollonius, a shadow angel (and the very race they are fighting against). He fell in love with Serian, who reincarnated into Silva another pilot. *yawn* They start piloting Aquarion, basically a mecha united from 3 fighter units to fight against the shadow angel. The story could have progress much further developing the complex relationship than degenerate into a mindless duel EVERY single episode.
Music/audio: 5/10
Nothing too fantastic, nothing horrible either. Opening theme is rather a rock and roll love ballad. Voice actors are okay, sound effects are of reasonable quality
Overall: 3/10
If you like power rangers and their cheesy ultimate move, or their typical comeback after seeming losing and getting walloped by monsters, this show is for you.
Posted by : Yebyosh
Posted on : 2005-09-28
Sousei no Aquarion harkens back to the golden days of super mecha. Advanced flying machines piloted by superhumans combining their mechanical forms and spirits to form giant robots. Humongous mechanical beings fighting each other, shouting out super moves. With such antics, corny love stories and background abound. What results is an enjoyable action-comedy,
Generally whenever I think of the first great mecha show I ever watched, I remember Getter Robo. Three machines fusing in three possible combinations to form three different robots. Hence excitement was coursing through my veins when I learnt that Aquarion was going to have such a concept as well. I was hoping for a tint of deja-vu, judging how modern animes these days have gone way-overboard with the angst act ( FMA for one ), tried too hard to come up with some vague philosophies ( Soukyuu no Fafner ), or overly pandering to baser instincts ( Elfen Lied and Gantz ). Thus Aquarion surprised me with a campy throwback to a gang of pilots building up their camaraderie while fighting the episodic Monster-of-the-week with super moves being shouted out here and there ( Infinity Punch, Jealous Sword, Unlucky Bottom Attack, Infinity Breast, etc ).
The characters are very enjoyable to me. Apollo, the wild brat, fated to take the starring role. His wild nature manifested with him running on all fours like a beast, and having a most sensitive nose. All the better to smell his fated ( and pre-destined ) love, Silvia, a spritely young lass with superhuman strength who actually has a brother-complex. Thus she clings onto Sirius, a narcissist who disdains Apollo but at the same time going after Lihua ( Reika in Japanese ), a woman who has bad luck constantly surrounding her. Lihua in turn has affections for Glen who becomes comatose during the first mission. Perhaps her includes her being chased by Pierre, a skirt-chaser who possess a fire-kick deadly both literally and in the world of soccer? Then there is the egnimatic commander Fudo Gen, literally heart-palpatating girl of doom Tsugumi, and her nerdy clairvoyant admirer Jun, and many, many more. Let us just say that their relationships are all complex and intertwined in a big web, messy at times but entertaining all the way round. Amongst it all, we get all those funny moments where characters glow in the corny moments.
The 3D animation of the mechas is first-class, mostly. Sometimes you can see the effects of budgeting as the standards fall in later episodes where they drew the mechas out in 2D, or try to emulate 3D with 2D style. Some scenes are drawn out very nicely, eg. the panning across the shelves in the food raid, the nuts and bolts unscrewing themselves off the pipes, etc. Character designs are quite distinct, even the secondary background characters are fairly unique among each other. Women here are drawn out more like normal well-shaped women than the F-cup monstrosities in other anime. I must say, I really like Lihua the best. A woman beset by woes, yet having the strength to overcome it, and getting into a corny romance is a engrossing affair ^o^. However, there are episodes ( likely the animation was subcontracted out ) where the art suffers and character designs look distorted or much different than their first appearance. The worst of these is seen in episode 19 where even though the staff used it as a plot device, it failed to explain the terrible art when the situation has yet to start, and has ended. The women were shapeless, and everyone looked bloated. That episode is a main reason why this show shall never get a perfect ranking in my eyes.
The music was very enjoyable, composed by Yoko Kanno. The opening numbers are quite memorable, the first being a spunky love ballad, and the second more of a get-go music affair. Some of the more prominent cast also get their own character background number, Pierre for example has a Brazillian samba beat playing ( with whistles ) as he appears on screen, very apt considering his professional football ( soccer ) background. The ending numbers are very melodius and pleasant to listen to, despite the lyrics being all fictitious words made up by Yoko Kanno. Hence just listen to the melody of the ending, and look at the pretty montage of the Aquarion cast.
The story is as simple as it was then during the 80's. Just a grand scheme of non-humans vs humans with a love story between the two leads thrown in. Of course, now with all those fangled story lines over the 20 years since, they have to add in some of the new stuff, brother-sister complex, yaoi-yuri ( homosexual ) themes, sex, explicit fanservice ( the girls, mainly Lihua ), and such. Yet most are enjoyable, though mainly it was the presentation which made the show seem to me as a campy spoof of the present anime scene while remaining steadfast to olden anime tradition. Despite the simplicity, there are some shocks in the events leading to the conclusion. The final battle was also a doozy to watch, full of adrenaline as the mechas clash for the last time. The ending was a heartwarming, cliched but enjoyable as it suited well the overall corny atmosphere of the show.
I love the mecha Aquarion ( the working toy comes at ￥20,790, *sigh* ), and most especially the Lihua-Sirius love angle ( their relationship really spawned the most laughter for me ). This show would likely appeal to those with a liking for old-style anime, especially for the super combining mecha genre. A high 8.8 rounded down ( curse that episode 19! ).
Posted by : bacah
Posted on : 2005-08-02
For your information... I watched 13 episodes of Sousei No Aquarion and the first few episodes were quite original and unique, considering the fact that the mecha got 3 forms with weapons and abilities possessed by the characters(Element Users).
The plot is simple with a complicated backgrounds of villians and main characters. The movements and actions were very eye catchy, especially with more actions than conversations.
However when it comes to around episode 6... the episodes hardly got any links although same characters and different villian's mecha were used. So to put it plainly... these episodes were just giving actions and ass-kicking of villians with discovered abilities without any story plot.
The music is excellent! and characters created were fitted well in the senarios...
Lastly... I recommend people to watch it since it is rather motivating and inspiring for this action packed series
Posted by : tokens
Posted on : 2005-06-24
Initially, Sousei no Aquarion seems very promising, especially in the first few episodes. There're lots of beautiful CG that blends in properly and great sound. The characters also show promise. I was also awed by the promise of the show. It reminded me of Soukyu no Fafner in terms CG.
However, now at episode 10, the show is starting to lose it's shine. The CG still looks as good, sound too. What doesn't comes through is the plot and the characters.
Each episode has no relation to the previous, and does not advance the story. These are only filler episodes. Well, technically speaking, these episodes try to introduces the characters so that the audience can get to know them. However, it's done in a forceful manner by making characters in each episode that does not contribute to the plot.
The characters are cliched, with a hot-headed hero and heroine, the cool villian, lots of filler characters and little character development thus far into the story.
Yoko Kanno takes charge of the sound, so there's no complain at all. The music suits the ambience of the show, irregardless of the quality of the plot.
Graphics-wise, this is superb. The studio, SATELLITE, also made animes like Earth Girl Arjuna and Geneshaft, which all have good, if not excellent CGs, especially considering that these animes are made in 2001.
Plot: 8/10
Character: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
Promising plot, disappointing advancement. Similar to E's Otherwise. Although the CG is on par with, or even better than Soukyu no Fafner, Fafner's strength does not lie in it's dosage of CG, but in it's plot and character development. So far, Aquarion is just an excellent CG ride and does not hold much interest if it does not pick up.
Posted by : aluca
Posted on : 2005-06-20
For all I must say...a great way to combine computer animation and the old fashion animation.
The first time I saw this anime...I was like "wow"...
The story line was great. The animation beautifully drawn, and the sound effects were magnificent.
story: it's the old fashion save the world stuff. But the human race is about to be extinct. robots were dug up and people were chosen to pilot them. The boss enemy seems to be in love with the main character, and there's tension between people in the team.etc.etc.
characters: all characters are interesting...espacially the main character, Apollo. He seems to be the recarnation of some kind of god, but the interesting part is that, when he fights, he goes on all fours, just like a beast and he has this split personality which is pretty weird.
soundtrack: the opening is ok...it gets you in the mood to watch the anime. But the ending is a little too sad. I don't know if it's the singer or the music itself. The song just dosen't seem too right
Now for the comment: I give animation a 8/10 stars the story 8/10 stars, character 9/10(because they were so beautifully drawn) and soundtrack 7/10...so the average is 8/10 stars.
Now for those who like to watch robots, mystries, si-fi+magic, women, beautiful men...this is a must see.
Posted by : AnimeCritic
Posted on : 2005-06-09
I must admit that the animation of Aquarion is one of the best that I have ever seen, especially during the union of the elements. The story line is unique and the opening song is fluid and catchy while the ending song is mellow and serene.
There are a few discrepancies that I would like to address which makes Aquarion a three and a half star anime rather than a five star one. The characters lack combat capability while piloting Aquarion, but it was cool when Apollo blew up a city with his "solar wings". I get a big kick out of the union of the elements (It sounds as if they are...never mind. But it's quite funny.) And why do they have to say those cheesy lines every time they unite? Why does the spirit energy radiating from their lower regions on the data screen? I wonder that the developers are implying...
Besides that, Aquarion is a good anime.
Posted by : tabz
Posted on : 2005-05-07
Yes, this series is new, but the concepts were already thought of before. How many futuristic war-torn backdrops do we need and how many variations of the Legend of Atlantis have we seen? Not nearly enough I guess, as this series looks really promising, and one of the post-ers was right. Aquarion luna does look like a mech from virtual on. Other stuff I noticed is that the three ships combining into a supa mech, which differs in ability depending on whose the head is on is, I guess, an improvement on the 'getter-robo' concept. Only Aquarion looks more mech than super robot in a symmetrical aspect anway, but the action seems very supa-robotish. Still, the 'freshness' this series brings count as an 8 out of 10 to me, it's a good series all in all. Well at least so far as I've only seen 4 episodes, but I guess I'm already hooked.
Posted by : ichibanotaku
Posted on : 2005-04-11
This anime had a nice first episode. The regular animation through out most of the episode is great, which I really liked, but many anime do that on the first and last episode to get the viewers attention.
The characters all seem pretty unique themselves, and the storyline looks promising.
Instead of having giant bulky robots, like those that appear in so many anime nowadays, the mechs in this one resemble more of the 'Virtual On' style.
Only problem I seemed to find with the episode is the lack of an ending song, two lines don't count (although it could just not be shown in the first episode), and the CG work done on the robots and machines. That is the only thing that needs work.
Other than that, I'd say this is a pretty good anime
Posted by : Fox
Posted on : 2005-04-11
Who remembers that feeling when they first watched Gundam Seed episode 1
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