Himiko-Den

—by John Yung

One of the anime series that aired last fall, HIMKO-DEN garnered little attention, probably because other series such as KARESHI KANOJO NO JIJOU, SORCEROUS STABBER ORPHEN, and GASARAKI were airing around that time. Another possible reason for the neglect is the fact that HIMIKO-DEN is based upon the PlayStation game of same name. With a few exceptions such as POKÉMON, video game-based anime series tend to be hit-or-miss deals, with a lot of them being misses with the mainstream audiences. Yet the producers keep trying, and HIMIKO-DEN was one such effort.
Admittedly, not much is known about the HIMIKO-DEN PlayStation game over here in the States. What's known is that it's an RPG/strategy game. The commercials for the game that aired with the series were funny but divulged little information about the game itself except for a few seconds of pretty screenshots and a rapid-fire announcement hype about the game's genre. So it's not clear how closely the anime series follows the game's story, if at all.
The plot of the series centers around Himejima Himiko, a teenage girl who doesn't know who her true parents are. All she knows is that she was found as a baby with an amulet. Her real parents lived about a thousand years in the past and were custodians of a sacred flame. During a ritual to renew the flame, an evil empire attacks, interrupting the ritual and causing most of the six female guardians involved to be dispersed throughout the land. Himiko would have been killed in the invasion if the evil general had not tried to burn her in the sacred flame. The vile act places her under protection of the flame and sends her forward to the present time.
Himiko's destiny recalls her back to her parents' time and brings along her schoolmate Kutani Masahiko. Thrown into middle of a war to cast out the invaders, the two teenagers find themselves siding with the rebels led by Seika and Imari, two guardians who managed to remain home. The rebels have yet to obtain a major victory, mainly because the evil empire has a supernatural power on its side, a dark mist that creates undead soldiers. This dark mist is the evil that was being warded off by the sacred flame, so the rebels have their work cut out for them: reunite the guardians, rekindle the sacred flames, and kick out the invaders.
HIMIKO-DEN's plot doesn't seem terribly original, but it's also not completely cliché-ridden. Rather than concentrating on bits that seem to be borrowed from other anime series, looking at the plot as a whole will reveal that writers actually scripted a coherent story instead of a framework excuse for the fight of the week. The ending is somewhat predictable, but it's the path taken to reach the conclusion that's rather enjoyable.
The most disappointing part is that there are so many characters, some subplots and only 12 or 13 episodes; most of the characters and side stories don't get much development at the expense of the plot. Of the characterizations that are fully realized, they are handled pretty well. Himiko is a headstrong girl; she may have her moments of weakness, but she's far from being a helpless damsel in distress. Kutani acts like the macho sempai that he thinks he should be, and even though he's sometimes out of his depth, he's able to find a tenacity to get him and his friends through difficult situations. The other characters are stereotypes: Imari is the tough swordswoman; Seika, the demure priestess; Kyou, the cute mascot; the evil general, well... an evil general, and etc. One of the notable exceptions is Fujina, the guardian who has her own agenda.
The catchiest part of HIMIKO-DEN is the opening animation. Stylishly directed and well-edited to the moody song "Pure Snow" sung by Sasaki Yuko, the opening animation introduces us to the main female characters. In comparison, the series animation is blandly animated and directed; it does an adequate job of telling the story, but it doesn't quite push the medium the way the opening animation does. The character designs are quite appealing and were adapted for the TV series from the game by the character designer for the RAYEARTH OVA series. The soundtrack does a better job of distinguishing itself by using traditional Japanese instruments for certain themes, but ultimately like comparison between the opening and the rest of the show, the music doesn't do anything outstanding.
For an anime series based upon a video game, HIMIKO-DEN is a surprisingly decent effort. Despite the series' short length, it manages to tell a story that's not too contrived and plot-driven instead of action-driven. Overall, the characterization, the animation, and the music are okay, but the character designs and the main characters are more interesting than the attempts made by other series such as SAKURA WARS or TOSHINDEN. While that may not say much in the favor of HIMIKO-DEN, but considering predecessors like POWER DOLLS and VARIABLE GEO, it could have been worse.

VHS/LD/DVD, 60 mins
Vol. 1 ASVX-1435, ASLY-1452, ASBY-1436
Vol. 2 ASVX-1454, ASLY-1464, ASBY-1459
Vol. 3 ASVX-1455, ASLY-1465, ASBY-1460
¥5700
Available Now in Japan
Where to buy