Ceres, Vol. 1: Reincarnation (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Yu Watase
Directed by Hajime Kamegaki

Features:

• Character profiles
  
• Line art gallery
  
• Clean opening & ending
  
• Interview with scribe Watase
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Angst
• Pain
• Terror
• Turmoil
• Loss

Released by: Viz
Region: 1
Rating: 16+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Get it NOW.

There is very little in the world of anime more pleasurable than to look at the artwork of Yu Watase, and her scripts aren't bad either. Here in this new reissuing of Ceres, we get both: a fascinating tragic story and gorgeous art.

Ceres draws upon a Japanese folktale about a "heavenly maiden" whose feathered cloak was stolen by a mortal man, forcing her to remain on Earth and become his wife. For the Mikage family, this story isn't just a folktale, but is genealogy. Now, searching for revenge, every so often, the Maiden's spirit is reincarnated into a Mikage girl, and when she turns sixteen, the angry spirit will burst out and threaten the entire family, both for revenge and to retrieve what was stolen from her.

As a preemptive strike, the Mikage clan kills off any girl who shows the powers of the Maiden. Alas for Aya, a cheerful normal schoolgirl, she displays the forbidden powers, and now the entire family is out to kill her. Her only allies are a mysterious man named Toya, strangers named Suzumi and Yuhi, and maybe, just maybe, her own brother, Aki. But between the combined might of her grandfather, her cousin, and the might of the powerful Mikage empire, will any of it be enough? There is a great deal of tragedy and pain in this series, so don't expect anything less. There is also a possibility for redemption and love, but it will take all of Aya's courage and the mercy of some friends to save her.

The visuals take full advantage of Watase's gorgeous art. The colors are crisp and clear, with little bleeding; the sound is similarly crisp and enjoyable. Both the English and Japanese voice actors were well-cast and know how to emote properly. The show's angst and tension really come across in their performances.

The only real problem with the disc isn't with the production values, but rather with the way you cannot pop the disc in and go straight to the main menu, but rather have to either sit through or skip through some trailers for other releases. Granted, the other releases are all quality and should interest fans of the show, but still: a way to opt out of watching the trailers easily would have been appreciated.

The extras are solid: we get a fantastic snippet of a never-before-seen interview with Yu Watase herself (part one of it, anyway) that promises to continue on future volumes. This is a real treat for any anime fan; would that more anime companies would add such bonuses to their discs. We also get a nice gallery of line drawings mixed with character profiles; this is a great feature for anyone new to the show and will please existing fans as well. We also get a creditless opening and closing--a special windfall for fans of the show's artwork.

Given that this is a two-disc set with the first twelve episodes of the series, this is a phenomenal value for the price. If you don't have money for many more series, then this is a great place to spend those meager funds. Overall, Ceres is one of the best shows out there. If you missed the original release of this show on separate discs, then do yourself a favor and pick up the series in these two-disc sets. It will appeal to shoujo and shonen fans alike, and fans of science fiction, spiritual powers, character studies, and historical fantasies. An intriguing, if not all that cheerful, plot combined with outstanding art should appeal to anyone, even people who don't think they like anime.