It’s been difficult to formulate a review for Crest of the Stars. I mean, I really, really like the show. I think it promises to develop into something interesting, and compared to what’s commercially available in the US, it's pretty damned unique. But for some reason, I can’t manage to get the review started... of course, it looks like I just have. So I may as well just run with it! Crest of the Stars is a thoughtful, dialogue-oriented tale. Sure, it’s about a space empire - the Humankind Empire Abh - who traverse distant galaxies, conquering planets and subsuming them into their huge (1500-world-strong) collective. The aim of the Abh is to prevent war by making sure all of the planets are controlled by the same governing force. The Abh themselves are genetically engineered beings who look like blue-haired elves and are supposedly direct descendents of the original population of Earth.
The story unfolds on the planet Martine, where a young boy named Jinto Lin, son of the planet’s president Rock Lin, is catapulted into a destiny he couldn’t possibly have understood before it came upon him. With the surrender of Martine to the Abh empire, Rock Lin becomes - literally - king of the world. Suddenly, Jinto is a prince. All of this is spelled out in rather long (and overly dramatic) dialogue sequences in the first episode with Jinto’s surrogate father, Teal. To be honest, the first episode of this series is a bit trying, since it’s basically an attempt plow through as much background info as possible in around 25 minutes. In fact, the whole first disc sort of qualifies as setup material, as Jinto leaves Martine and his school pals behind and meets up with Lafiel, his first Abh, with whom he strikes up an important friendship.

The story, then, while centered around complex politics and featuring a huge cast of characters, is actually about the bond formed between Jinto and Lafiel. This is an almost entirely character-driven story; politics comes second, and action a distant third. Space battles are used sparingly -- they're present entirely to set the mood and provide exposition. All in all, expect a lot of dialogue and a very low action quotient throughout the disc. The mood is also set by the show’s soundtrack; the opening theme is actually an instrumental piece set to backdrops of starfields and outer space phenomena, while the ending theme is a pretty and haunting vocal set against watercolors of the main characters. This show is a serious talker, and every possible second of dialogue that can be crammed in to afford insight - flashbacks and narration aplenty - is used.

That brings me to another point. Since the dialogue is so key to the series, good acting is central. The Japanese cast is great, especially Jinto and Lafiel. I just love their voices, and their personalities are so well communicated by the actors. Even though these I’ve never haerd of them, they do a wonderful job. On the other hand, my coffee table is less wooden than the English dub, provided by the typically reviled Ocean Studios. I don’t know what’s going on here, since I have few complaints with their other projects (MS Gundam and Gundam Wing rarely bugged me) but the dub just trivializes this show. Avoid it.

Series like this are something we just don’t see that often in the U.S. It’s similar to the fan-favorite (and eternally fansubbed) Legend of Galactic Heroes; both are based on popular series of Sci-Fi novels in Japan, so it makes some sense. The politics and intricate characters of Crest of the Stars, along with its slow pacing, will probably disappoint action fans. Those of you looking for some great character studies will be impressed. I’m really curious about what’s going to happen to Jinto and Lafiel, and acquiring the second disc is definitely a priority of mine.

Grade: A-