Xenosaga: The Animation Vol. 1: Enter the Gnosis 2005 Geneon Entertainment Official Japanese Website Buy It Now

Making the jump from video game to anime is a path is seldom is successful. Fans of games expect a lot, and in particular, we do hope to find some similarity to the subject matter itself. The Zone of the Enders OVA and series are more of a side story to the video games, and can be accepted whereas as series such as Final Fantasy Unlimited has very little to do with the games save for some familiar faces and Legend of the Mystical Ninja is just pure nonsense.

In 2002 Namco Bandai Games introduced the first of a series of games; Xenosaga, a series that is something of a rarity when it comes to role-playing games. Something like Final Fantasy may very well be headed to its thirteenth installment, but the game are not interconnected save for monsters and creatures. Xenosaga however was different in the fact that each of the games did see the same characters, plus new additions as the series went on, and for RPG’s, this is a very seldom seen occurrence.

The Xenosaga anime follows the plot from the first game, though compressed down into a 12-episode run. If you’re unfamiliar with the series, Xenosaga isn’t your typical fantasy RPG but instead a science fiction adventure, much like the Star Ocean series, another game that made its way to the world of anime, though seemed to have lost its direction along the way. In Xenosaga, mankind has long since abounded living on Earth and has taken to living in space as well as a number of planets. Humanity has also discovered the Zohar, but this has drawn the attention of an alien race known as the Gnosis who want the object for themselves.

Vector Industries has been working on a variety of sophisticated androids known as Realians, and at the head of the research and development is Shion Uzuki. The pride and joy of these creations of the combat android KOS-MOS who seems to be performing just as expect, if not better. The Gnosis however attacks the fleet that Vector is using to conduct its research but KOS-MOS has been programmed to protect Shion no matter what the cost and complete her mission. Shion, her assistant Allen Ridgely and Lt. Luis Virgil are pushed to safety while KOS-MOS fights against the Gnosis. However, the four find themselves reunited shortly after the tragedy on a cargo vessel and begin their journey to Second Militia, but it’s one that will be plagued with dangers.

Although it’s been a number of years since I played Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, the story is still somewhat fresh in my mind, and the anime provides the same story minus all of the random encounters. The familiar characters of Shion and KOS-MOS are both present, and KOS-MOS is a necessity. Think of her as being something of a Terminator, though much cooler. A female android dress is a rather revealing costume, capable of generating anything from a sword to a pair a machine gun cannons to take down her enemies with . . . what’s not to love about that? Allen still plays something of a background character, but is also present.

True to the game, KOS-MOS, Shion and the others will soon find themselves aboard the Elsa, a cargo vessel crewed by a group of “salvagers”. Captain Matthews, Hammer, Tony and choas are more than willing to help, though KOS-MOS has really given them no real choice in the matter; either abide by her wishes so she can continue with her mission or perish as she breaks into the ship. The Elsa also happens to be where we meet two other characters from the game. Ziggurat 8, nicknamed Ziggy, is a cyborg, a relic as he calls himself, who is on a mission himself. His services have been requested to rescue MOMO, a Realian prototype who is the basis from the 100 Observational series.

The Gnosis are only the beginning of the enemy factions. These creatures are capable of phasing themselves out of our dimension, though the Realians, and KOS-MOS in particular, have a means to combat them, harm them, and ultimately kill them. But another threat is lurking known as U-TIC, an organization that is believed to be non-existant, at least until they manage to resurface and in hot prusit of Ziggy and the crew of the Elsa. Albedo, a character seen during the attack on the Vector fleet and later, seems to have an agenda all his own despite working with U-TIC, but at these early stages, there isn’t too much information given. Jr. and his all-female crew also make their way into the series in the fourth episode.

Xenosga: The Animation does stick true to its source material, but the difference is that instead of a great deal of combat, the story itself is more the focus. Some of the ideas briefly brought about in the game are explored a little more, and even some of the background side stories, like Ziggy breaking into U-TIC headquarters to rescue MOMO, are briefly shown to simply get you familiar with what has happened without the need to spend 30-minutes or more fighting enemies just to fill in the gaps.

Although the Japanese version of the game wasn’t ever released here, the original Japanese cast reprises their roles in the anime, though that’s not true for the English dub. Even some for the original music from the game seems to have been included, and this helps give Xenosaga a feeling that is very much like the game that it is based on.

The visual approach for the series is a bit like Zone of the Enders crossed with Starship Operators. The Xenosaga game had a definite look that was similar to anime, so making the transition into a true anime isn’t any stretch of the imagination. There is some computer animation used however, though very sparsely, but also very obvious. Xenosaga though isn’t reliant upon CG, and that works in its favor, and many of the backgrounds you will find are quite elaborate and as far as character designs go, the similarity between the series and the original game is uncanny.

But, you do need to get ready for a disappointment. ADV has found that only including clean versions of the opening and closing animations as bonus features to be satisfactory. Xenosaga has plenty of its own lingo that could have been further explained, the characters could have had bios included, even a look at the game wouldn’t have been a bad thing to include. With this being a mere 12-episodes from start to finish, I really don’t expect to see much more than what is found here on future volume.

If all anime based on video games was on par with Xenosaga, the genre would be a much better place. Hopefully Xenosaga doesn’t decide to go too far off the beaten path before the closing moments of the series, though I have to wonder how only 12 episodes can cover even a portion of what is found as far as the story goes, but that’s something that we’ll have to see with the remaining volumes. If you loved the game, you will most certainly love the anime, and if you’ve never played it, the science fiction opus is sure to enthrall, empress, and perhaps even prompt you to seek out the game to play for yourself.

Episode 1 – Awakening

The discovery of the Zohar may be just the thing that mankind need in their fight against the Gnosis. Shion Uzuki and other members of Vector are meanwhile testing the skills of their latest Realians, and a surprise attack by the Gnosis awakens KOS-MOS.

Episode 2- Imminent Defeat

The onslaught and carnage of the Gnosis continues while KOS-MOS tries to locate Shion. The Zohar is taken and KOS-MOS forces Shion and the others to leave the ship before it is destroyed while she continues her mission.

Episode 3 – Chance Encounter

KOS-MOS finds her way to the cargo ship Elsa and boards while Shion and the others just happen to be saved by the same vessel as well. It seems that everyone’s destination is Second Militia, but their trip may be short lived after they are attacked in hyperspace by U-TIC.

Episode 4 – Jaws of Death

The Elsa and her crew manage to escape from the U-TIC forces that aim to destroy them, but their daring plan puts them right into harms way; a huge Gnosis fleet. Luckily a Kukai Foundation craft is close behind and has more than enough firepower to assist, but KOS-MOS decides to head out alone to face the enemy.

-mike-