Fafner: Heaven and Earth

[Vent Noir]

A bit late to the party I suppose, but I just watched the movie. Enjoyed it overall, although I was a bit confused about what was happening towards the end. Anyone else want to talk about it?

[LightningCount]

A really underrated modern mecha movie that deserves more credit and viewers. (This was more of what I was hoping for from the 00 Movie in terms of balance). I just saw it in January, and saw the series not long before that for the first time. I really want to see more Fafner now, but I have no idea if Heaven and Earth and the TV series re-release by Funimation dd well enough for Funimation to consider Right of Left (which looks superb) and the upcoming Exodus sequel series.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I do think the last act of H&E was pretty confusing and deserves another watch to understand, which I haven't done yet. I believe the end result gist of it is that the Festum are split into multiple factions, the Neo UN forces want to destroy all Festum and the Tatsumiya islanders, and the Tatsumiya islanders want to return to total isolation to avoid all factions with their new island core (which was accelerated in development by Kazuki's mother's sacrifice). Also, Soshi is reborn from the sacrifice of the movie's main villain, and Kazuki gets his eyes back.

All and all, here's what I wrote about it [and the series] on this thread a few months back (viewtopic.php?f=7&t=15354):

I’ve finished watching Fafner TV and Fafner: Heaven and Earth. Bring on Right or Left and Exodus!!! This franchise has launched itself from out of nowhere into my upper tier of mecha anime. Its world and characters really drawn you in. The TV series has some pacing problems--sometimes throwing too much info at one time, sometimes switching gears too fast, or sometimes not explaining enough details--but it manages to tell an engaging, compelling story with a lot of depth and scope that creates a dialogue between viewer and show.

Some of the character stories are really well handled, especially in the early going and toward the end. It’s awesome how minor and major characters' plots blend pretty cohesively. Despite a strong setup in the latter episodes, the final two episodes of the TV series itself are one of those things that felt like it was a bit rushed, but there have been far more rushed endings than this. It was a little confusing on the whole, though not as much in an obtuse way like, say, Evangelion or BIG-O can be.

Outside of these pacing issues, there are animation issues in the TV series. While there are flashes of strong animation, and the animation never particularly looks ugly, it doesn’t ever reach its full potential of visually realizing the mecha combat. A lot of the fights are poorly choreographed. However, this animation/choreography issue is rectified by Heaven and Earth, which gives off a unique modern vibe that can perhaps only be compared to the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. I’m not usually a CG mecha guy, and there’s room for improvement, but Heaven and Earth, for all intents and purposes, gets the job done in a big way. Heaven and Earth sort of feels like a landmark mecha movie, and I think it is by modern standards.

The main enemy in the movie leaves a little to be desired, and some of the main characters don’t all get the time and epilogue one would desire, but there is a lot of ambitious action and quiet character moments for both established and new members of the show. It does a lot of subtle things well, building off the TV series. Like Seri, the bug girl, brings her latest bugs to share with the new island core (which reflected their first meeting in the series), and has a headbutt attack with her Fafner reflective of a stag beetle (showing how her underlying personality comes out when combined with Fafner). The new English dub cast is regrettably not as strong as the TV series (and there are two dub errors I noticed related to Soshi and Gobine), but they do a serviceable job, and I am thankful to have a dub for such a quality movie. I think the things it leaves open, and a somewhat rushed/confusing ending cause it some problems, but it also makes me hungry for more. The Fafner franchise has probably left me the most intrigued by a mecha/giant robot property since Gundam 00 Season 1, and prior to that, probably RahXephon. So, for me, that probably makes it one of the more notable mecha concepts of the last decade. (Speaking of mecha, the designs in this franchise are amazing).

Some specific things I wonder about Heaven and Earth, though:

*Why is the UN nuking Festum still? (I thought they were defeated in the TV series)
*Was the radiation sickness of Commander Makabe caused by the prologue nuclear attack, or something that precedes the TV series?