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SUMMARY

One day, a young, Japanese high school student named Juna is in a motorcycle accident. Juna awakens in a hospital, only to be looking down at her own body! 

While floating between the realm of life and death she meets a mysterious boy named Chris. He grants her a second lease on life but under one condition; she must become Earth Maiden Arjuna and protect the Earth from the Raaja.

However, things are not always as they seem.  Juna must discover the truth about the Raaja before all that she loves is gone forever.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The quality of the picture is really great. Colors are perfectly captured and brought to life. My only complaint is that the CG segments tend to be almost too sharp and have a harsh quality to them.

AUDIO: The sound, for the most part is very well-balanced. Between the characters, it was great. When the music was quiet it was barely audible. I would really have liked to hear the music  brought to the fore front a bit more.

EDITS: No edits as far as I can tell. The DVDs I had were director's cut versions, with extra footage on the last 2 DVDs

EXTRAS: Well, the extras department was kind of weak. On the first 3 DVDs you get a Preview Collection, Arjuna Dictionary (like that should be considered an extra), and interviews with Shoji Kawamori.   On the last volume, it’s the same thing with the addition of two Appare adventures.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Shoji Kawamori's concept for Arjuna is interesting, if not original.  He does a good job at showing how her destiny affectes her family and social dynamics.  My biggest problem with the story is that it was a little too preachy.  It seems as if Arjuna is more interested on blaming all the environmental issues on humans than weaving a good story.

ACTING:  I enjoyed the acting of the Japanese cast.  Mami Higashiyama was very appropriate as the voice of our leading lady Juna. Her voice was more mature-sounding, yet she possessed a naive quality that made her perfect as Juna.

Tomokazu Seki was another great choice! Seki san was able to easily see the transition from Tokio's relaxed, happy go lucky personality to a serious, self-hating character as the series progresses. It was very fluid and natural.

Everyone in the American cast did a nice job. Overall, I was rather happy with it, but I would have liked to see Andrew Francis emote even more as Tokio grew more dark and serious as a character.

FAN SERVICE: Well, there are naked people in Arjuna, but you don't see anything. I consider it artistic nakedness. If you are looking for that kind of fan service in Arjuna you will be severely disappointed.

CONCLUSION:

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of Arjuna when I first started watching it. I like the concept, and I was fascinated with watching how the effects her destiny causes her “old” life to deteriorate.  As I continued to watch, the tone got a little too preachy, making me feel like I was watching one big ecological guilt trip.  I was not too thrilled about that.

I found the premise of Arjuna very interesting.  Juna is recruited by the mysterious Chris to save the world both from the Raaja and from its self. Armed with knowledge of the truth, Juna quickly finds herself unable to function in the industrialized, fast food eating society she once belonged to. Thanks to her forced "environmental training" she realizes that technology and modernization have buried her instincts on how to survive. 

As she continues the fight to save the world, her “normal” life starts to fall apart.  Everyone she knows (friends, family, her boyfriend) doesn’t really seem to understand who she is anymore.  

As episodes pass and Juna becomes more in tune with her natural and instinctual self. She is able to see true thoughts and emotions, unclouded by words.  She can hear the voices of babies still in their mothers wombs, and the cries of a suffering Earth.  All these intriguing concepts helped me to stay interested through out the entire series.

My biggest problem with the series is that the tone was very preachy, and at times, harsh. As an environmentally conscious individual, I already do my part to make this world a better and less contaminated place.  So, why do I feel like I'm being blamed for the problems of the world.  It seems like the writer has a landfill sized chip on his shoulder, and he is making us pay to look at it.

The stark, bright, and realistic animation style is an interesting contrast to the CG, and sometimes even live footage. I liked the art style, but there are not any characters that stand out in terms of looks-except for Juna in her "magical girl" form.

Let me lay a name on ya, YOKO KANNO! You know if she has her hands in the music in any way its going to be good! The score , while not my personal favorite, suits Arjuna quite nicely. Kanno san's use of mixed meter, all female choirs, and orchestral arrangements is just brilliant.  Top that off with a driving guitar and wild percussion and you have some interesting musical colors.  The only down points is that the ending theme is okay, and there really isn't any kind of established beginning theme.  

The last DVD claims to be "LOADED WITH EXTRAS" Hardly. You get the same things as on the other 3 DVDs, but you also get Appare's 2 adventures. For those who don't know Appare is this trippy little orange stuffed animal with giant anime eyes and a squat little body. These 2 minute segments make absolutely no sense.  They will leave you scratching your head in that "I dont know if this is funny or not" way.  

Arjuna is really a "stop and smell the roses" anime. It makes you take some time and think about the message. If you are in the mood for pulse pounding and edge of your seat anime, this is not the series for you. If you are in the mood to see a truly beautifully animated story with some interesting takes on environmental themes, and you think you can handle the preachy tone, then definitely see Arjuna. Just remember to eat your non-pesticide vegetables, listen to your babies, and always ALWAYS recycle.

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