▪	RELEASED BY:		FUNIMATION ENTERTAINEMNT
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		ENGLISH DD 5.1 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		255 MIN
		▪	RATING:		TV 14
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		10/07/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/14/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Contains the complete 11 episode series.

REVIEW:
Based on the gripping sci-fi adventure manga series by Natsumi Itsuki, the anime series of Jyu-Oh-Sei proves just as involving.  Twin brothers Thor and Rai end up on a planet that only the elite top of the government know about. Kept secret, Chimaera is a hostile planet that has scorching heat for half a year and the other half in freezing darkness. Even the plants are perilous. Everything is predatory. It is a death sentence. But ten year old Thor must find a way to survive and become the King of Beasts, the only way to get off the planet. But secrets abound and enemies are everywhere including the planet and time!

Time is running out for Thor. He burns to uncover the person behind his parents’ murder and the reason whey he and his brother were left to die on a planet kept secret from the general populace. But first he must survive. To do so he’ll be forced to fight, forced to kill. Can he retain his humanity and still achieve his goals? That is the question that drives the soul of the story that is framed with action, adventure and heart.

It isn’t only the planet and the savages on it that Thor must worry about. There is his own conscience. What happened with his brother weighs heavily on him. Nor does he wish to lose his soul in order to survive. But there is also the duplicity of those around him. Not everyone is trustworthy or a complete and utter savage. But some are harder to fathom than others. The Third of the Ochre ring who helps save Thor with the help of the female Tiz seems to have his own agenda. He appears to be a carefree guy but the Third has a cunning mind. Is he friend or foe? It is a question Thor must ask himself at every encounter. And his life depends on surmising the right answer.

He does end up making allies. In fact, his refusal to completely bend to the ways of the societies that survive on Chimaera is what helps him win friends and influence people like Tiz, the good hearted yet strong girl who chooses to follow Thor. Before he realizes it, Thor has made his own ring, his own group that will help him on his way to the Dragon Pagoda, the tower that reaches out into space where he hopes to find his answers and gain revenge.

Time itself, however, is his greatest foe. Those who migrated from Earth so long ago do not live past thirty years of age without medical treatment, a treatment a ten year old of the colonies would have yet to receive. Therefore it is a race against time for Thor to grow strong, survive, and gain the title of the Beast King against all these incredible odds. 

Nearly five years pass after he has gained through luck, or perhaps fate, the title of Top of the Ochre Ring.  In that short time, his advanced aging now has him looking like a young and beautiful man. He has done much for the Ring and has made himself a life on a planet that kills. But still he yearns for the truth and for that he needs to get to space, he needs to become the Beast King. With all that has been working against him - the planet, time, enemies, - a new threat has risen. A familiar face has taken control of the Blanc Ring and gone on a ruthless rampage through the other rings. This young man holds answers for Thor if he can live to find them out.

Jyu-Oh-Sei is engrossing sci-fi adventure. The anime has its share of human drama too. Life, loss and love all play an integral part to the story. Relationships are developed, and with emotions, complications always arise. In the battle to retain humanity and not become a beast, Thor may very well learn that the most dangerous animal of all is the human animal.

The closer Thor gets to his dream is when the true nightmare begins. The old saying is that the truth will set you free, but for Thor it may be his ultimate undoing!

The story goes through an impressive arc of showing the hardship of life combined with the nobility of the human spirit as well as its corruptibility. The series does come to a conclusion by the end of the last episode. It holds some bleak moments and a couple of truly shocking surprises. It’s strong science fiction combined with compelling human drama.

Since the last volume of the manga series the anime is based on has not yet been released, I can only say with certainty that the first act of the anime follows a streamlined version of the first volume of the manga quite faithfully. Bones (Fullmetal Alchemist, Rahxephon, Cowboy Bebop the Movie) worked on the animation process. It stays true to the character designs of the manga and uses vivid colors and dynamic sequences to make the action and danger as exciting and suspenseful as possible. Set on a fascinating planet that is as much a character as the people, the animation does a solid job of breathing life into the imagery. The details are eye catching and the sound effects to bring the jungle to further life are phenomenal. It has a catchy opening song “Deep in My Heart” by Koichi Oomoto. It is the uplifting ending theme “Take My Hand” sung by Younha that I find particularly appealing.

EXTRAS:
Bonus features include clean opening and closing animation, FUNimation trailers, and original Japanese commercials. Although commentary was supposed to be included on the first disc, none was there to be found.

An art box holds the two disc set in two slim DVD cases that have reverse cover art and open left-to-right like Japanese manga.

IN SUMMARY:
It’s survival of the fittest where even the planet is your enemy! Jyu-Oh-Sei is a gripping science fiction action series that examines human nature and the will to survive.