With the newest Gundam series spreading mecha fever throughout the anime community, now is the perfect time to look back at a positively wild yet beautiful mecha show from the start of the 2010s. From Takuya Igarashi, the director of Soul Eater, Ouran High School Host Club, and Bungo Stray Dogs, comes the dazzling epic, Star Driver.
Aired in the Fall of 2010, Star Driver was animated by Bones Studio C, responsible for the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Darker Than Black, and Igarashi's previous works at Bones - Ouran and Soul Eater. It follows Takuto Tsunashi, a young man who washes up on the Southern Cross Isle with the intention of stopping a mysterious organization from breaking the seals needed to unleash a terrifying power on the world.
A Director At The Top Of His Game
If you are unfamiliar with Takuya Igarashi, we highly encourage you to read our piece on his career and his style of direction. In the meantime, here's a TL;DR: Igarashi has directed some of Studio Bones' most beloved and visually relentless series in his over 30 years in the industry. He's notable for the way he blends drama and comedy, transitioning between them seamlessly.
Of his trademarks are the use of cartoony, fourth-wall-breaking arrows, and other such sight gags to keep the audience's eyes glued to places and things of note. Additionally, his works' tonal elasticity extends to the artwork, with character designs that can be sharper, edgier, and more tonally striking, or round, cute, and silly, depending on the tone of a given scene.
His command of tone gives his works a broad appeal, hence why so many have become enamored with his works, but Star Driver is perhaps the greatest test of his ability to elevate a story. This is not a series that is talked about very much unless one is as deeply enamored with its director as the author of this piece. Because this is quite a bizarre show.
Tale of the Galactic Pretty Boy
Even to one who fondly remembers the series, rewatching it brings back fond memories, but also crushing reminders of just how bizarre the series is. It barrels at high speed from its opening scene, with two of its main characters having a discussion that turns from friendly to serious in a flash, before suddenly the tension is cut by the arrival of our protagonist, washed up on the beach below the starry sky.
Everything throws the audience into the deep end. The way Wako knows that Takuto has washed up on the beach because she "smells a boy she doesn't know." The way that, after he's saved, his breakfast the next morning is served by maids with cat and rabbit ears with no explanation. It's all very random and weird, but also incredibly dazzling, which seems to be the intent of everything.
It's the perfect series for famed voice actor Mamoru Miyano to strut his stuff, chewing up every scene be it comedic or deadly serious. He has voiced Kotaro in Zombieland Saga, Dazai in Bungo Stray Dogs, and Bedivere in Fate/Grand Order Camelot to name just a few. His excitement is contagious, making his gentle whispers resonate with a profound heart, solidifying him as one of the best Seiyuu of modern anime.
Takuto says he's there on the island to enroll in the academy, but in truth, he's there to stop a secret organization called the Glittering Crux Brigade. The Brigade wants to break four seals embedded in the island's four maidens in order to free an onslaught of magical mecha called "Cybodies" from an extradimensional plane. But Takuto has a Cybody of his own, "Tauburn," and as the Ginga Bishounen, or "Galactic Pretty Boy," he'll make sure they fail.
It's... a lot, and truth be told, the first episode is the ultimate litmus test for whether one can stomach the rest of the series. But even beyond that, there is another quirk to Star Driver's storytelling that can turn fans off of the series. It is quite formulaic, with each week involving everything from character building to high-school shenanigans, until a big fight closes out the episode each week.
The Spectacle of the Week
See, Takuto has to stop the brigade, many of the members of which are students at the academy, putting him directly in camp with his enemy. They all know him, but he doesn't know them thanks to their masks, which for the audience's sake, do absolutely nothing to hide their identity, but they and their BDSM outfits sure fool Takuto and the gang.
This formula can make the story predictable, but it's worth sticking with in spite of that. Star Driver is the kind of show that is best binged to get through its growing pains and into the thick of its character drama. The main trio is immediately likable and quickly become friends, but as their battle continues, they share the secrets burdening them, and become even closer.
Takuto's gleeful attitude contrasted with his serious dedication to protecting others makes him a novel hero. He has a strong friendship/rivalry with Sugata, who is far more serious and almost burdened by his responsibility to protect Wako at all costs. Wako herself is in the most dangerous position of them all, yet doesn't let it break her spirit.
Additionally, there are so many great supporting characters, be they recurring or one-off villains, and the marriage of the school stories and the weekly action ensures no character is left without time in the spotlight. While rigid, it yields great results. You can count on great action in every single episode, which is impressive for any TV anime.
There are re-used animations like the transformations or finishers, but each new fight brings with it new gimmicks and tricks the foes try to throw out to defeat Takuto and his Cybody. It's one of those shows that makes a game out of one-upping itself, delivering something gorgeous each week, and it had to have been a herculean undertaking. It looks so dazzling that - like with some of Igarashi's other work - it's hard to imagine it being made in today's animation industry.
For how cumbersome its storytelling can be at first, it feels intended to be rewatched. When rewatching the premiere after finishing the series, seemingly small moments are filled with so much more weight. Furthermore, that formula, though contentious, fills the series with an almost musical rhythm, like the maiden songs before each battle. And when that formula - like the maiden songs - changes, it is thoroughly felt.
Star Driver is weird and won't appeal to everyone, but stick with it, and it can be an incredibly rewarding series thanks to phenomenal direction, performances, and a beautiful score by Keigo Hoashi (Summertime Render, Yuki Yuna is a Hero). It's one more series that goes to demonstrate how Studio Bones make some of the most well-crafted and fascinating series, even if they aren't always the most popular.