"Oooh, what pretty colors!" That was the one comment I voiced aloud as I watched the first volume of "Earth Maiden Arjuna." And, frankly, it sums up the experience rather nicely. The series is a mixture of CGI, mahou shoujo clichés, and Greenpeace press releases--none of which blend together quite as well as the creators obviously intended, but still add up to a fun and somewhat exhilarating 75 minutes (Yes, I know. Hey, Bandai, what's up with the skimpy episode count? Who do you think you are? Viz?). And it's really pretty.

The basic plot of "Arjuna" is thus: Juna Ariyoshi, an everyday, run-of-the-mill high school girl with a fondness but lack of talent for archery, dies. Of course, that's not the end of the story. Like every good pre-magic magical girl, the powers that be (in this case, a psychic boy named Chris, his also psychic keeper, and a bunch of environmentalists that would make David McTaggart seem neutral on the subject of global safety) have decided that Juna is the only suitable applicant for the job of the Avatar of Time--Chris's title before he became too physically weak to carry out the duties that come with the title. Speaking of which, well, I'm not really sure what those duties are. Maybe we aren't supposed to know yet. It had something to do with protecting the earth using the powers of nature to defend the planet against the Raaja, a demonic race born from the polluted Earth, but not actually killing said demons. This may sound very socially aware and possibly even along the lines of some other environmentally conscious anime like many of Hayao Miyazaki's works (I'm absolutely certain the creators were shooting for that comparison), but once Juna is reborn into her human body the series really just goes along the basic and well-worn path of a mahou shoujo series, including such plot devices as the "emotional struggle to understand the power deep inside of the heroine" and character stereotypes such as the popular "ever-caring, warm-hearted, but clueless boyfriend." Seriously, I kept waiting for the dolphin-safe tuna themed cuddly mascot to pop up.

But, really, such an archetypical anime is not always a bad thing. Personally, I am a huge fan of this sub-genre, and really I don't mind watching the well-worn standards at work as long as they include something new to the mix, and Arjuna does this nicely. Chris and his band of mystical tree-huggers seemed awfully militaristic, which makes me suspect the organization may not be entirely altruistic or at the very least not as "nice" as most super-heroine-creators/trainers/directors. And also there are some interesting twists on some of the familiar character designs of this genre, such as Juna's mother's disturbing indifference to her daughter's disappearance. Not to mention, there are plenty of good ideas here, and I have no reason to doubt that things will probably pick up once we get over the "training" cycle the show is stuck on throughout the first volume. So, really, what I've established is that "Earth Maiden Arjuna" is a fun but flawed (and pro-nature) mahou shoujo anime. Yeah, that sounds about right.

And this is one of their happier dates.	Further proof of the dangers of radiation.

Now then, let's go on to more important matters like, say, the sheer prettiness of it all. I mean, the series isn't on an aesthetic level of a movie or even some of the most well produced OVAs, but rarely have I been captivated by the color and vibrancy of an anime's visuals since my early days as a rookie otaku. In many of the more industrial scenes, the screen seems to shimmer with pseudo-realism, and the nature shots are similarly captivating but contain more of a feel that something wicked this way comes--which is more of the kind of atmosphere I'd like to see in anti-pollution messages. Given, the character designs fluctuate between terribly garish (Juna's mahou shoujo persona) and bland (any of the "normal" humans), but this show is about the world that surrounds the characters, not the characters themselves, so it suits me just fine.

On another note, animes without the budget of a your average Final Fantasy game (read: all of them) should not use CGI, as it tends to be ugly, and directors seem to be overly fond of using it in every freakin' scene. The end.

The presentation of the disc itself is done in the average Bandai style. The cover is nice and gives a very basic idea of the look and feel of the show. I'm not fond of the clickable Push Here button Bandai uses in their DVD cases, but it's a necessary evil I suppose. There is nothing of interest in the way of extras, really, but the menus are well organized do their job nonetheless. However, that background music for the menus is a little obnoxious, and I do wish Bandai would have replaced it with less obtrusive sounds. Overall, it's a perfectly ordinary package.

"Arjuna," at its core, is an interesting series. It's Sailor Moon meets Save the Whales, but for the most part that unlikely combination works. There are a few lackluster elements, but I see great opportunity to improve upon them in episodes to come. And since I get these disks free, you can bet I'll be watching.

Distributor: Bandai Entertainment
Creator: Shoji Kawamori / Satelight
Released: 2001

Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: A-
Presentation: B
Content: B
Overall: B+