Anime Review: Queen Emeraldas

Review Queen Emeraldas

Since the inception of the Leiji Matsumoto Universe there have two great space pirates. One of them Captain Harlock, has had several shows to his honor. Now the spotlight falls the female space pirate Emeraldas.

This time around Emeraldas is having some problems with`the Afrussian government. They have decided to place the skull and crossbones on one their ships, something that Emeraldas says is a big no no. So naturally she lays the smack down on the Arfressian fleets using her symbol for nefarious purposes. Into this conflict a young boy by the name of Hiroshi learns about the need for others.

This Oav may be a decent introduction to the Leiji Matsumoto universe for those who are unfamiliar with Matsumoto's works (although by no stretch of the imagination best of the lot) and a decent watch for fans of said Universe but that is all I say for it. If you are looking for some big relvelation to who Emeraldas is, you will be sadly disappointed. Emeraldas (like her role in Galaxy Express 999) is largely relegated to the role of deus ex-machina that pulls Hiroshi out of whatever problem he is currently run afoul. The other function of Emeraldas in this Oav is that of a philosophical mouthpiece. The problem with what some of her speeches propose is that Emeraldas doesn't really follow through with the idea of needing others given that no crew members are present throughout the show.

The animation for Queen Emeraldas is decent but not exceptional, which is a bit of a disappointment given that it is an Oav. There are instances of poorly done computer animation but other than that the animation is pretty well done.

The Queen Emeraldas Oav is a fair attempt at a philosophical Oav but falls flat. It could have been saved were there another episode or two to stretch the plot out. I give the Queen Emeraldas Oav a rating of fair.