Ending Thoughts: Houseki no Kuni

Synopsis

Set in a distant future, there exists immortal and genderless lifeforms known as “Gems.” So far there exists only 28 on earth and as such are highly sought out by their enemies known as “Moon Dwellers.” They are mysterious beings who resemble statues and seek to capture Gems to turn them into decorations. For the Gems who go against them they are all assigned different roles.

One Gem by the name of Phosphophyllite a.k.a. “Phos” seeks to join the ranks of fighters. However, being the youngest and one of the most fragile, she is restricted and is instead assigned the role of creating the first natural history encyclopaedia. This is her story.

General Thoughts

As the series progressed, it’s very clear on how much thought was placed into the development of Phos and their journey. In the beginning of the series we had this earnest and energetic character who just wanted to be able to fight. The deeper the story went the deeper the character development went for Phos. There are just multiple points to the series that made it so interesting and different, not just in art and animation but also in character work and plot. When introduced to Phos, you would have expected them to be the general underdog hero who passed all her struggles with passion and determination. Instead we get this completely different twist of a character who took on a different shape when having undergone the challenges and loses that they did.
The way that the story pieces itself together and builds up its lore and concepts are another point of the series which makes it so interesting. The different tones, the action sequences and just the general looks of the characters and background all just tie in the story and characters. If there was anything negative to be said about the series, it would be that it could have done better in building up the relationships between the characters. This mainly is towards Phos and Cinnabar, for the first two episodes or so, it seemed as if Cinnabar was to become a sort of essential character for Phos, but as Phos went through their own struggles, Cinnabar was show very little development. It would have been more understandable if there was more to their interaction other than one or two scenes but there wasn’t and it just leaves something lacking.

Ending Thoughts

It was clear towards the climactic portion of the series that there would be a further continuation to the story so for one thing, the way that the series had ended is not all that surprising, especially if you had read the manga. However, while the introduction of new characters gave a new insight into certain things, it also brings some extra weight to the series which is, in this writer’s opinion, a little much already. Then there is also the climactic point that had occurred between Phos and Cinnabar over finding a new job for them. As stated, there could have been a more concrete build up between the two.

Outside these nit-picks however, the art, animation, and story remains strong, most especially on Phos’ insights and planning. It’s interesting to note that not only did her personality change but at certain times you can hear their change and tone and attitude. This not only cements their development but also gives more layers to the story and characters. While there were some misses in terms of relationship building. The way each character has their own piece to the story and its mystery adds a nice touch. Just the way that the ending managed to tie in everything that has happened in the series so far and pave way to a new arc is commendable.

Conclusion

If there was ever an anime that to on CG to the best of its abilities and still kept its quality in style. From the tone, the designs and the actions, just everything about the art and animation of the in the series was a visual pleasure to enjoy. With the beginning of the series, there wasn’t much to expect with the main character given their general quota has been done before. But with the progression of the story and characters, we see that the series takes on a completely different twist in terms of character development and world building. There are multiple points to the series which make it highly unique, but there are also points that series could have improved on, such as the introduction of new characters at certain points and relationship building between characters. In the end, this was more than the regular fantasy adventure story, rather it became a truly thought-provoking, highly insightful story filled with amazing action, engaging drama and great mystery, though with just the slightest misses here and there.

Rating: 8/10