Last week, while feeling a little tired and not up to much, I decided to just chill out and watch something. I wanted to try something new that I hadn’t seen before, so I went to the list of anime on Crunchyroll, just to see if anything stood out to me. Eventually I came across a show simply called “Erin” on the site, which I’ve since learned it’s full title is “Kemono no Souja Erin” or “The Beast Player Erin”.
The anime is based upon a Japanese novel series called “Kemono no Souja”, by Nahoko Uehashi and tells the tale of Erin, a young girl who wishes to become a “Beast Healer” or “Beastinarian ” like her mother and eventually ends up finding herself drawn into a war due to the way she can communicate with and control beasts.
In the land the show takes place in, there is a constant war going on. The people of the Shin Oh region, under the control of the Shin Oh (Queen) dislike war and fighting so do not possess an army, therefore the people of the Tai-Koh region, under the control of the Grand Duke, fight any invasion in order to protect the Shin Oh. They do this by using Touda, large dragon/lizard-like creatures, in their fighting. Touda are raised and cared for in the small and quiet village of Ake. It’s here that 10-year-old Erin lives with her mother Soyon.
Soyon comes from the “People of the Mist”, a clan of people with green eyes and hair that are said to be able to control beasts, like Touda, with forbidden techniques, which seems to make others un-trusting of them, though Soyon left her heritage behind when she married into the Ake village.
Soyon works in the village as a Beast Healer for the Touda, to which Erin shows interest and curiosity about her mother’s work, claiming that she wishes to become a healer just like her mother. Erin has a keen eye and at times notices things others don’t, though she soon begins to sympathize with the creatures with the way they seem to be treated. They’re given a special water that apparently is supposed to make them stronger, but are also controlled through fear via a “silent whistle” that admits a sound that only beasts can hear, which makes them freeze upon hearing it.
When a very tragic event happens to Erin, the show follows her journey as she grows up, meets people and learns things about nature. As she does, she becomes very entranced by beautiful creatures named Ohju (A creature with a canine head, but bird-like body) when she witnesses them in the wild. When older, she goes to an Ohju shelter to join classes on how to become a Beast Healer.
Eventually, due to Erin witnessing Ohju’s in the wild, she’s put in-charge of a young Ohju named Lilan, who refuses to eat. Erin begins to work day and night in order to attempt to understand and connect to Lilan, even sleeping in the hut she’s being kept in. Erin decides that she isn’t going to give her the same water nor use the silent whistle that is used on the other Ohju (And the Touda before), as she wants to raise Lilan naturally as she would be in the wild. This actually goes against laws that are written, which are explained later in the series.
Erin soon figures out that she might be able to communicate with Lilan through a harp that she has, as it makes similar sounds to an Ohju’s natural call in the wild. After some modifications to the harp, the idea works and this begins a very strong bonding process between Erin and the Ohju, Lilan, as Lilan becomes trusting towards Erin, seeing her like her mother, something that was said would never happen, because the beasts are said to never get used to a human and they can only be controlled through use of the silent whistle.
As all this is going on, the storyline with the country begins getting tense, with some people realizing that the country is doomed if nothing is done to avert it. There is a lot of deceit, unrest and distrust between the Tai-Koh people and the Shin-Oh people. Once it’s found out that Erin can control Ohju’s without the silent whistle, she finds herself and Lilan being dragged into the war. Erin, who only thinks about the Ohju and their well-being, doesn’t want Lilan to become a tool of war and is determined to find a way to stop that from happening.
The story of this show is a very beautiful, touching and at times, quite a tragic tale which had me in tears numerous times while watching it, whether the scenes were happy or sad. I’ve missed out or not fully explained some of the things that happen in the show, because it really is best if you watch it for yourself without knowing too much of the major stuff that happens. Some parts, like the war and unrest of the country, is hard for me to explain, but it’s very interesting how things unravel and how Erin eventually ends up getting involved.
There are many characters in the show, which at times I found hard to follow the names of them all, but the major players in the plot do stand out a lot more as the story goes on. The most important character though is Erin, who I found I really grew fond of during the course of the show. She grows from a very bright-eyed, curious child, into a strong, caring and brave woman, who, despite any set backs that may occur, or what she may have to face, is always willing to do what she thinks is best. The bond that grows between her and Lilan, during both the happy and difficult times, is amazing and you really find yourself just wanting the best for both Erin and Lilan. Erin is a very pure and kind-hearted person, she’s also a person who will bravely accept what punishment she may receive, if she stands her ground against something, when she believes it’s the best thing to do. Her compassion and dedication towards Lilan is just simply astounding.
The animation of the show is great and in some scenes, mostly when showing the history of the land and some pretty intense scenes with the Touda and/or Ohju, it does get very arty and rather surreal in a way. I also liked how when certain scenes were playing out, it would switch back and forth between something happening with nature as well, relating the nature to the event happening, which really united the themes of the show.
The music that plays during the show is also very fitting and very beautiful. It conveys the feelings on-screen quite perfectly.
The show does tend to re-use flashbacks a lot, though I do feel most of the time they’re justified and help to show what the character is thinking of and especially what trauma they’ve received in the past that continuously haunts them. Though by the end of the show, I was getting a little tired of them, as it was starting to feel a bit hammered in, but mostly they are used effectively. There are two flashback episodes used to re-cap the series a certain points and help along time skips that happen during those episodes (there are two time skips that both jump ahead 4 years).
The subs on Crunchyroll were fine for the most part, but I did find it irritating that there were many different spellings of many character’s names that varied from episode to episode, since it was hard enough to remember which character was which at the beginning already. A few of the female characters, specifically Lilan who comes to mind, are referred to as male. Other than that, the subs are fine and watchable.
In short, I think if you like coming-of age stories with a very touching and tragic storyline, this maybe something for you. I would say at least watch until episode 7, if not until about episode 10 to really get the feel of what the show is like. At first the show starts with just the building of Erin’s life in the village with her mother, but episode 6 and 7 I believe is the first major turning point in the series that creates Erin’s path for the rest of the series. It’s definitely one to check out if you decide you want to try something new. There are 50 episodes to the series and I got so hooked that I managed to marathon the whole series in just three days, I was really dragged in by the story and the characters. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Erin in each episode.
If you’re curious, here are the opening and endings to the show that I found on Youtube. The videos are mirrored though so the real videos would be the opposite way around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRyAVs1EMPc - First Opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddENS-0QNCc - Second Opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H09fhUCuTBw - First Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iLoyA7hcmc - Second Ending
There is no dub of the series, but it is subbed and available to legally watch on Crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/erin
The anime is based upon a Japanese novel series called “Kemono no Souja”, by Nahoko Uehashi and tells the tale of Erin, a young girl who wishes to become a “Beast Healer” or “Beastinarian ” like her mother and eventually ends up finding herself drawn into a war due to the way she can communicate with and control beasts.
In the land the show takes place in, there is a constant war going on. The people of the Shin Oh region, under the control of the Shin Oh (Queen) dislike war and fighting so do not possess an army, therefore the people of the Tai-Koh region, under the control of the Grand Duke, fight any invasion in order to protect the Shin Oh. They do this by using Touda, large dragon/lizard-like creatures, in their fighting. Touda are raised and cared for in the small and quiet village of Ake. It’s here that 10-year-old Erin lives with her mother Soyon.
Soyon comes from the “People of the Mist”, a clan of people with green eyes and hair that are said to be able to control beasts, like Touda, with forbidden techniques, which seems to make others un-trusting of them, though Soyon left her heritage behind when she married into the Ake village.
Soyon works in the village as a Beast Healer for the Touda, to which Erin shows interest and curiosity about her mother’s work, claiming that she wishes to become a healer just like her mother. Erin has a keen eye and at times notices things others don’t, though she soon begins to sympathize with the creatures with the way they seem to be treated. They’re given a special water that apparently is supposed to make them stronger, but are also controlled through fear via a “silent whistle” that admits a sound that only beasts can hear, which makes them freeze upon hearing it.
When a very tragic event happens to Erin, the show follows her journey as she grows up, meets people and learns things about nature. As she does, she becomes very entranced by beautiful creatures named Ohju (A creature with a canine head, but bird-like body) when she witnesses them in the wild. When older, she goes to an Ohju shelter to join classes on how to become a Beast Healer.
Eventually, due to Erin witnessing Ohju’s in the wild, she’s put in-charge of a young Ohju named Lilan, who refuses to eat. Erin begins to work day and night in order to attempt to understand and connect to Lilan, even sleeping in the hut she’s being kept in. Erin decides that she isn’t going to give her the same water nor use the silent whistle that is used on the other Ohju (And the Touda before), as she wants to raise Lilan naturally as she would be in the wild. This actually goes against laws that are written, which are explained later in the series.
Erin soon figures out that she might be able to communicate with Lilan through a harp that she has, as it makes similar sounds to an Ohju’s natural call in the wild. After some modifications to the harp, the idea works and this begins a very strong bonding process between Erin and the Ohju, Lilan, as Lilan becomes trusting towards Erin, seeing her like her mother, something that was said would never happen, because the beasts are said to never get used to a human and they can only be controlled through use of the silent whistle.
As all this is going on, the storyline with the country begins getting tense, with some people realizing that the country is doomed if nothing is done to avert it. There is a lot of deceit, unrest and distrust between the Tai-Koh people and the Shin-Oh people. Once it’s found out that Erin can control Ohju’s without the silent whistle, she finds herself and Lilan being dragged into the war. Erin, who only thinks about the Ohju and their well-being, doesn’t want Lilan to become a tool of war and is determined to find a way to stop that from happening.
The story of this show is a very beautiful, touching and at times, quite a tragic tale which had me in tears numerous times while watching it, whether the scenes were happy or sad. I’ve missed out or not fully explained some of the things that happen in the show, because it really is best if you watch it for yourself without knowing too much of the major stuff that happens. Some parts, like the war and unrest of the country, is hard for me to explain, but it’s very interesting how things unravel and how Erin eventually ends up getting involved.
There are many characters in the show, which at times I found hard to follow the names of them all, but the major players in the plot do stand out a lot more as the story goes on. The most important character though is Erin, who I found I really grew fond of during the course of the show. She grows from a very bright-eyed, curious child, into a strong, caring and brave woman, who, despite any set backs that may occur, or what she may have to face, is always willing to do what she thinks is best. The bond that grows between her and Lilan, during both the happy and difficult times, is amazing and you really find yourself just wanting the best for both Erin and Lilan. Erin is a very pure and kind-hearted person, she’s also a person who will bravely accept what punishment she may receive, if she stands her ground against something, when she believes it’s the best thing to do. Her compassion and dedication towards Lilan is just simply astounding.
The animation of the show is great and in some scenes, mostly when showing the history of the land and some pretty intense scenes with the Touda and/or Ohju, it does get very arty and rather surreal in a way. I also liked how when certain scenes were playing out, it would switch back and forth between something happening with nature as well, relating the nature to the event happening, which really united the themes of the show.
The music that plays during the show is also very fitting and very beautiful. It conveys the feelings on-screen quite perfectly.
The show does tend to re-use flashbacks a lot, though I do feel most of the time they’re justified and help to show what the character is thinking of and especially what trauma they’ve received in the past that continuously haunts them. Though by the end of the show, I was getting a little tired of them, as it was starting to feel a bit hammered in, but mostly they are used effectively. There are two flashback episodes used to re-cap the series a certain points and help along time skips that happen during those episodes (there are two time skips that both jump ahead 4 years).
The subs on Crunchyroll were fine for the most part, but I did find it irritating that there were many different spellings of many character’s names that varied from episode to episode, since it was hard enough to remember which character was which at the beginning already. A few of the female characters, specifically Lilan who comes to mind, are referred to as male. Other than that, the subs are fine and watchable.
In short, I think if you like coming-of age stories with a very touching and tragic storyline, this maybe something for you. I would say at least watch until episode 7, if not until about episode 10 to really get the feel of what the show is like. At first the show starts with just the building of Erin’s life in the village with her mother, but episode 6 and 7 I believe is the first major turning point in the series that creates Erin’s path for the rest of the series. It’s definitely one to check out if you decide you want to try something new. There are 50 episodes to the series and I got so hooked that I managed to marathon the whole series in just three days, I was really dragged in by the story and the characters. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Erin in each episode.
If you’re curious, here are the opening and endings to the show that I found on Youtube. The videos are mirrored though so the real videos would be the opposite way around:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRyAVs1EMPc - First Opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddENS-0QNCc - Second Opening
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H09fhUCuTBw - First Ending
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iLoyA7hcmc - Second Ending
There is no dub of the series, but it is subbed and available to legally watch on Crunchyroll: http://www.crunchyroll.com/erin
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