“Socialists must explain to the masses that they have no other road of salvation except the revolutionary overthrow of “their” governments, and that advantage must be taken of these governments’ embarrassments in the present war precisely for this purpose.” Lenin, Socialism and War (1915)
Warning: This post contains spoilers
I liked two things about Tytania: music and directing. Music was among top five of 2008 due to wonderful string pieces (others were Macross Frontier, Kuroshitsuji, Xam’d, and Kaiba). I have not heard music by Hiroshi Takagi before, but the music in Tytania is quite good. I expressed my admiration for the director elsewhere, but, unfortunately, some unrealistic scenes reduced my overall enjoyment.
The plot is a different matter… It is important to mention that anime took some liberties in adapting Yoshiki Tanaka‘s incomplete novel. For example, too much emphasis was given to Lira in anime among other things. I enjoyed some political intrigues, but the anime lacked impact.
Some things that are different in the novel:
- The novel focused on Tytania and Jouslain, Hyulick was just a supporting character up to vol 3.
- The silly “Lira rescue” arc didn’t exist in the novel because Lira (and De Boar) was captured when assisting Hyulick escape from Emmental (around episode 4) and died then. That said the anime pretty much ruined De Boar character to make the silly Hyulick-Lira romance more plausible. Hyulick did kill Alses as revenge for Lira though.
- The silly Estar and Chronos prison arc did not exist. And also the episode when Hyulick was emo in Casabianca. I think all the events post Alses death up are anime original up to the Radomorz v. Bal’ami scandal (this one is in the novel).
- Much less Lydia in the novel. I think in the novel, Ajman didn’t even pay attention to her, much less having that creepy obsession to her.
- Episode 5 did not exist. Tyrandia issue went straight to Syracuse battle, without Jouslain attempting peaceful solution.
- On the minor side, Radomorz was not much of an idiot asshole as he was portrayed in the anime
What was Tytania really about? Jouslain pointed out the importance of change and choice in the last episode. In episode three, Huric mentioned, “When Tytania is gone, another will replace it. There are many people who live good lives under Tytania.” Huric is reluctant to oppose Tytania, but changes his view to blind hope after a personal tragedy: “To see a universe without Tytania.”
Hope and change are strong words that ignite minds of people, but may lead to grave circumstances. In the end, everyone has a choice of being a passive observer or pro-active agent, shaping the future, but we have to be careful about what we wish for. Overall, the plot is incomplete and warrants at least another season.
Other Tytania Posts
No space operas this Spring season, but some anime are promising: New Anime Spring 2009: Naked Men with Toxic Assets
Kitsune's Thoughts 
Definitely deserves another season. I never touched the manga, but I do like Tytania for its development and plot direction indeed, and its animation. I doubt if anything was silly when you only viewed the anime, most of it seemed quite possible.
Of course, if it stopped here, that would be a major disappointment and silly indeed.
Yes, another season would be nice. If they do make another season sometime, the director might change because Noboru Ishiguro is quite old.
Seconded. Another season is a must if not to see Tytania’s downfall, then to see Idris die.
haha Poor Idris 😛
Rather than a downfall, I would be interested in Tytania’s transformation.
Thanks for the review. I havent see this show yet..
It is worth watching if you like space operas. I am sorry if the post spoiled some parts of the show.
i know this is late, but i had the last few episodes and didnt watch them until now. anyway, it does make me wonder what the show was actually about. i mean, we all know empires dont last forever, they never do, but what exactly did these rebels do. i mean the last episodes were better but still had some things that felt stupid. first of all, that ship, they literally showed the same room over and over and over, and when it gets destroyed, i am supposed to feel bad or something. how many people have died over the course of the show and they are having bouts of depression verging on suicide because their old, beat up ship is wrecked. second, Sera or whatever her name is, the rebel at the end, not only does it look like she is fairly high in the pecking order, not only is she cute, not only is she the first person Fan meets from the resistance, not only is she the one he mostly hangs around, but she also is seemingly the only female resistance member on the entire planet. kind of felt like a forced, “he always gets the girl” kind of thing. not to mention Zarlisch being too stupid to fricken pick up a breath mask from the any number of dudes he knocked out. (i could go on….) but really what did Fan actually do. they kept talking about his reason for fighting, but essentially he was just being chased around and fighting back. he didnt need a reason other than, “how about i dont die today”. the only initiative he took was the stupid Lira rescue. and while i didnt hate Lydia, she was just pointless. not to mention that they only showed her a couple of times in the beginning of the show, a little more once she got to the capital, but once she was pretty much ‘grounded’ to that garden, what was the point in showing her sooo much, she just sat in that chair and waited for the mail. intense stuff right there. and GOD, those two planets that Zarlisch messed with towards the end. what was even going on, you have probably the #1 most wanted criminal in all of Tytania, being pursued by the war mongering duke of Tytania, and both planets had to get involved, in some way or another. the first planet was slightly understandable and mostly stupid, going through all that trouble for a man that was already in custody just to keep face. moving him from prison to prison asking for double checked, signed, stamped, and properly handled documents before you hand over a criminal that was already in Tytania custody to begin with. and that last planet, WOW, sending out a fleet to fight Tytania because they are about to destroy an anti-Tytania resistance group out in the middle of the desert without checking in first. i mean they could have just said, “we would like to let you know that we plan to very much protest this to the clan lord, and we would highly suggest refraining from any such similar action again in the future, but do to the profile of the criminal in question and his priority to Tytania, at this time, we would like to offer any assistance.” then Zarlisch would say shut up and watch, end of story. anyway, even with all of that, i still kind of liked the show, defintiely needed more Jouslain seeing as how he actually did something in the show. i want a second season. (long post, i know)
Oh wow, thank you for such a long feedback 🙂 It is never too late to express your opinion 😉
They made a big deal out of it because, the ship was very dear to the captain. Human lives were also mentioned earlier in the anime during some Jouslain dialogues.
haha Well, Sera is definitely not the only female member of the resistance 😛
Zalisch does not need a mask because he is invincible 😛
Lydia is a required loli to diffuse the testosterone-dense atmosphere 😛 She is very brave and smart for her age, as noted by Jouslain. Clearly, she will be the next head of Tytania 🙂
Yes, the leaders of the planets could have responded in a manner you describe, but that would be less fun 😛
Indeed, definitely need more Jouslain and another season 🙂
P.S. Paragraphs are your friends, give them a hug sometime 😛
haha, firstly, you are lucky i didnt give you a 60 line run-on sentence, i could have done it. anyway, you do have to respect Zarlisch for being a beast that can live off CO2, but he did die, so he isnt invincible, unless they resurrect him for season 2, if it happens. actually, he did take at least 50 laser beams to the body and came away with only slightly paler skin and some dirt on his uniform, so props to him.
and i get why they did the thing with the ship, but they were all sad when it crashed the first time, then they were sad again when it was shot up, then they were sad again when it finally blew up. i guess it was just odd trying to connect with a ship, of which we only ever see one room, and a captain who doesnt speak.
and i like Lydia, but at least the other loli gave us a song a dance. as the future head of tytania, she must show us more than a propensity for having crushes on guys with blond afros/perms.
as for Sera, i doubt she was the only female, but i sure didnt see any other ones. but i have to say, i did like the big guns they were using.
haha They’ll make Zalisch a cyborg! That would be so scary! D:
Well, the ship was shown throughout the series, and it was pointed out many times how much the captain treasures it. However, I do see how connecting with the ship may not not be easy for viewers.
Oh yeah, Kallen’s song and dance were great! 🙂 She will fight with Sera for Huric 😛
Well now, it was very clearly shown that Lydia falls for Francia at the end 😛 She made some tough decisions such as becoming a hostage for the sake of her country. The girl definitely has potential 🙂
I think Tytania definitely deserves another season. Like you I do agree the music was wonderful, and while the show has flaws, it filled the void left by code geass. Especially after gundam 00 left me wanting actual intrigue. The second season should focus on the obvious jouslain, and as for lydia, I think we already know whats going to happen, she and Bal will become the leaders of tytania. Though am I the only person wondering where Bal’s sense of revenge and ambition went? He became so docile, we rarely ever see him fulfilling his ambition. I love Jouslian’s character But there is no way he is that charismatic.
I also expected some kind of a reaction from Bal, but we just see him and Jouslain at the end of the episode and nothing related to that event in the next episode. I think Bal might still have some feelings that he keeps inside.
It will probably need a season 2, and 3, and even 4 to get somewhere if they want to keep Fan in the plot and make him achieve something.
I’d like to see Idris die too… or rather, I’d like to see him watch Lydia become Clan Lady 😀
Yes, we need more! 🙂 I don’t want to see much Fan though 😛
Oh… Poor Idris… How can you torture him like that? You are so evil, Dohrnaira 😛
I just finished the show, it dose have impact for what it is Sci fi/Lite period war melodrama and I feel its better than most, despite being half anime original. The whole Lira/Lydia stuff gave it more depth that it would have as a overly dramatic long running series about TytaniaXJouslain and the sometimes bland politics of governance.
To make the series more casual they went with a more palatable story set with more interesting main characters, yes I would have watched it if it was TytaniaXJouslain focused because such things are interesting to me, however as it is its better than say macross frontier with its constant drive for lolis and slice of life crap that distracts from the story. I would be this series is up their with Toward the Terra and Heroic age.
For a second season I think focusing on TytaniaXJouslain would be a good call, the first series wets your appetite for the fiction silly characters aside, the next one should be more polished and cover the things that where skipped while handling Tytania’s fate, whatever that may be.
IMO Hurick and crew have been worn down to a nub, if you use them as the main cast on their path to fight Tytania it would make for an annoying 2nd season, put them in the back ground and focus on Jouslain and melodrama and the things that evolve around it, it may be a 180 but I think continuing on the Hurick and crew story as a main deal will result in a lack luster lulz fest…then again MF sold rather well…….. and yes I like G00 more than MF, I’ll take limited or no romance vrs childish and poorly witting romance anyday, unless its a comedy or something then I will be happy with the resulting lulz fest >>
Thank you for a long thoughtful comment 🙂
Yes, Lydia’s role is interesting – I wonder how she will develop. She is definitely better than Ranka 🙂
Indeed, Hurick has to go. I would rather see more Jouslain 🙂
I think Lydia was a well used gimmick( who was treated very respectfully BTW) to break up the melodrama and tension, it worked well, Lira’s role was fundamental in setting up the story since Hulick is the lead and they wanted a cast and even story for that matter the casual crowd could easily relate too.
It could have been done better(and my only complaints is the lack luster ending) but as it is it could have been worse like relying more on gimmicks(cheap romance and simplistic revenge plots) and cliches(loli’s and over use of sexuality).
Now comes the big question will season 2 ,if it is made, be Hulick and co or focus on other things?
Don’t get me wrong I like Hulick and co but their lose ends could so easily be tied up in 1 or 3 eps that dragging it all out will only degrade the season, if they use a split multi story setup to run arches tuned for the anime concurant I think it could do well if based more on the manga/novel.
Jouslain needs to be the center piece of the tale with Idis as one of the main antagonists, its clear he is willing to do anything to rule and that ambition will lead him,possibly Tyania and the story to it’s end.
At least there should be enough there between original content and anime content to hash out a new season if there is not enough original content to fully fill it. Season one opens up the doors to the public and season 2 should focus on fans of the fiction/melodrama and not just anyone but modern media can not help to water stuff down so who knows what will happen.
Now about MF
Really MF was not that bad but instead of war dramaXmusic with a healthy level of romance between the leading roles its slice of lifeXwar drama with a obsession with music and childish romance. Even as off as M7 was it was better IMO. MF was to heavily watered down to go after to many demographics. I like my anime to be “either or” if it tries to do to many things to plz to many people it becomes a train wreck.
Also..I found SHerrel to be more annoying and childish than Ranka, at least Ranka is a kid but more so the writing and dialog around the romance was… just was meh. I appreciate Gundam 00 for treating romance 3rd to story and character building, if you are not going to focus on it or are going to do it badly then don’t focus on it, simple things like random conversations and scene’s of people hugging and holding hands are more than enough to convoy feelings you do not have to stick it in peoples faces and do it repeatably unless of coarse its some strange romantic comedy were such things are the foundation, pile on a serious plot to it and well….its a lulz(abstract/silly/incomparable,ect) fest.
Oh if only animesuki forums could see me now the flames would never end. ^_~
LOL
*yawns*
just to add to my Lydia comment, she was so well used she became a corner stone of the concurrent story setup, drama,drama,drama fun silly time with Lydia,drama drama,drama fun but poinant(sp) and informative time with Lydia,ect,ect,ect.
She may be a small 2ndary character but she was very well used and could easily be reused in the same manner in the 2nd season.
As I said I like Hulick and all but there’s not much more left for him story wise, he could pop up randomly in the story if needed, but gaa hes out of steam and there’s more important characters you can focus on.
Thank you for your essay, ZippyDSMlee 🙂
Lydia’s role may gain more importance as the plot progresses. Yes, Lira is an essential ingredient for the path anime creators have chosen, but I really didn’t like the concept of liberating the galaxy out of revenge or just because Hurick feels like it.
The ending is ok as a setup for the next season. We can only speculate how the second season will unfold. I really hope to hear from Noboru Ishiguro this Otakon. I am not expecting an announcement, but at least that they are open to a possibility of another season.
Oh, that’s a good point about luring the audience. The first season might have been used to get attention of a larger pool.
Well, MF was a well-designed vehicle of money making, but it was fun in some aspects.
Sheryl is very annoying in the beginning, but some of her better traits come out later in the story. She is definitely better than Ranka, but neither are in the list of my favorite anime heroines.
Yes, things were quite different with Gundam, and I agree that romance can be portrayed in a more subtle way. The triangle was a big part of Macross Frontier, and one of the reasons why it galvanized so many people.
haha Well, readers of this blog tend to be calm and reasonable in most cases 🙂
Kitsune
The ending leaves me wanting to much even for a setup for a next season, still I can’t really nit pick at it to much it has issues but only small annoying ones that don’t really detract from the over all experience.
I tend not to go on fanboy triads, but then again I can be incoherently blunt at time, MF is ok and all but I think its more of a romantic comedy set in a serious war drama, the combination has been done before but Macross as a series was more balanced than this…. then again if they had more ‘less subtle’ romance in M7 it would have been as wishy washy as MF.
I think MF would have been great if they focused a bit more on the pairings and their combined story’s and character building with some SLO stuff as filler, the SOL and triangle stuff felt needlesly forced at times which took away from the drama.
There is more than enough material to make this series(MF) an equal with other space operas even better more so than the first series(SDF), IMO they were reckless in making it too casual(Like the US transformer films,god they suck)..it would have have made them money regardless of watering it down.
Have you checked out vipers creed or Koukaku no Regios?Regios seems average so far with very annoying battle music but vipers creed seems to be an even tempered gem so far,8 eps into it.
I am watching a handfull or more shows FMA:BH is ok so far tho I can’t help but like the style/direction/pacing of the old series a bit more,Basquash! is fun but dumb, Tears to Tiara is pretty nice,may even be better than uwartumo(one who must be sung?,I can never spell it right another egroe title turned into a nice lite ecchi adventure anime),Cross game has me wanting more and more, and Guin is a nice gem as well, the ending song kicks my ass. I am probably watching a few more series, if I like it I lock onto it if its so so I forget to check up on it, Tytania came out of the blue I tried one ep liked it enough to go to the next then I was hooked. Can you recommend anything(that comes to mind) from this or last season that might be something I like?
If I have the time I will try and comment on your other newer articles if I have seen enough of them to make any worth while commentary. *bows*
Based on the trailers and the plot, Viper’s Creed and Regios didn’t interest me. Also I didn’t follow Basquash and Tears of Tiara.
I like Kikuko in FMA:BH 🙂
Cross Game is a good show, but it is something that I wouldn’t follow.
Guin Saga has the best music and excellent background art 🙂 Nobuo Uematsu is really great! The ED is also one of the best of the Spring season 🙂
I don’t think this Summer season has many good shows, but you might want to check out Canaan.
From the previous season, you might like Phantom.
If you liked Tytania, you could check out what some consider the best anime of all time: Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Regios(just finished it off a day ago) is not that bad it picked up after the first ep and once they used a better arrangement of music it got better. It is rather cliche and average in some of the tried and true story telling elements it dose but the plot(different dimensional worlds, main lead who was as a bad ass as much a ditz) In some things it tries to be different, so I found it more substantial than your average shounen series that dose everything for action or humor.
As for Vipers Creed(8 eps into) I will put it up there with Guin saga and Tytania it has a mature vibe that dose not get lost in overt sexuality or violence(which is a big win to me it seems some shows try to hard to lsoe themselves in them for the sake of getting more watchers), now it might suffer from being a bit bland because it goes threw all to typical story/character cliches but even still I regard it as above average,Regios might be to simplistic but Vipers creed is deffinailty one you should try and check out, it might surprise you.
Tears of Tiara tries to limit fan service and I think dose a good job at being a lite drama/fantasy anime, though I would have to recommend one of the above because it can be simplistic at times, still I am surprised so much effort has gone into it.
Cross game is good but slow, I liked Lovely complex and even Hatsukoi Limited more, I am not much for romance anime but when they do a decent job with charatcers and story I can’t help but pay attention.
Phantom I am trying to like but I truly hate mind fcking in story telling so dark and despairing story telling to the point it breaks upon itself… it just dose not comupte for me. Canaan I need to see more of but the first ep is kinda blegh.
Thank you for taking the time to give suggestions!! *bow*
It sounds like Viper’s Creed might be better than it seems.
Its got a decent story and solid if not cliched characters. The fact it dose not run its gimmicks(sexuality/violence/mechs/ect) into the ground makes it interesting than most. The story is told set around arches based off the members of Viper blademen squad, though it seems to focus on one more than the rest. All in all check it out it might be worth while. Regios is more average and cliched and I can;t help but thunk they rush through things to quickly, I am going to watch it all again…I just hope I can survive the bad battle music of the first few eps!! Mmm I might watch Tytania again as well!
Thanks, I’ll consider it.
[*SPOILERS*]
I think it would be best to have a season 2. because there are still a few openings in the ending of season 1 or is the season 2 out now? I kind of just finished the show and I’m now looking for a season 2. although I think it would be nice to put in a bit more Lydia scenes and Fan’s girls should either not die or be given a bit more episodes to live. xD I thought it was a bit early for Lira when she died did she die from drowning? I only saw here going in to the water.
Yes, there should be a sequel, but I am not aware of any now.
haha Yes, Fan’s girls should be given more time.
I disliked that death scene – one of the weakest in the series.
Thank you soooo very much for Review *_*
I start reading novels after I saw something like 7-8 first episodes of anime, and so much differences came as shock… Novels more interesting, and so much deeper. I was so sad about “broken” plot in anime. But I’m glad more peoples know about this. Thank you!
You are welcome 🙂 Yes, novels tend to be better than films most of the time.