Saint Beast
Reviewer: Vitani [website] [email]Overall Rating: C+
Media Reviewed: Digital fansub
Creator: Arisugawa Kei
U.S. Licensed: No
Released by: Wonderfarm
Run time: 6 30-minute episodes
BL Content: Ambiguous (slashable, yaoi implications)
Genre: Fantasy
Other media:
Multiple drama CDs
Japanese 60-minute OAV
Japanese manga
When the seal imprisoning Fallen Angels Kirin no Yuda and Houou no Ruka is broken, the two rebellious Saints decide it is time to repay the God who had cast them to Hell by vanquishing the Heavens that had been their home. Soon the guardian spirits on Earth begin disappearing, and no one in Heaven can explain why or vouch for the missing guardians. But there is a sense of a vengeful animal spirit at work, and so the Goddess calls upon the four Saint Beasts to investigate.
From the Chinese Legends, the characters for the four main Saints are originally from the anime title Otogi Story Tenshi no Shippo. They are Seiryuu no Gou (Gou of the Blue Dragon), Genbu no Shin (Shin of the Green Tortoise), Suzaku no Rei (Rei of the Fire Bird), and Byakko no Gai (Gai of the White Tiger). Armed with weapons of their legendary symbols, these powerful yet peaceful Saints descend to Earth to live among the humans and explore the situation.
Despite it's energetic opening theme ("Seinaru Kemonotachi" sung by Kitadani Hiroshi) and promising plot, the anime immediately focuses on the slashable characters and their past relationships, leaving whatever interesting, almost biblical-like story there might have been on the back burner. Indeed, with the second episode it seems the Saints are not to get very far in their quest when the Goddess calls on Gou to find Ryuusei no Kira and Fuuga no Maaya, two blood-brother Saints who have not reported back to Heaven in some time.
Following a spiritual trail, the Saints immediately find younger brother Maaya, who seems to be stalking two sisters in an abandoned estate. This genki boy tells them that he has separated from his big brother, Kira, in order to help the sisters. With the arrival of Maaya, young Gai finds a friend to watch television with and splurge on food and shopping (and whatever else more kinky that comes to mind). Gou, however, receives much teasing, apparently having some kind of indifferent "big brother" relationship with the two.
However, as soon as the situation with the sisters is resolved, Ryuusei no Kira suddenly shows up, receiving a huge hug from his adoring little brother. These brothers look a lot like a gothic boy-band, decked out in tight black leather that is practically falling off! Not to mention Kira's weapon of choice is a whip!
But more to the plot, we learn that the brothers are only half angels - they had a human mother, whom they had hoped to find when they descended to Earth, to no avail so far. However, their own personal quest comes to a stall when Maaya insists on caring for the estate that sisters had left behind, as well as helping the Saints in their investigation. This leaves six bishounen Saints sharing one home - yaoi fans can take that and run with it!
Though the Goddess is relieved to have the Saints watching over the brothers, Gou and Rei seem a little perturbed at the idea. Flashbacks ensue to the Saints childhood (who knew celestial beings in Heaven AGED?) where we see chibi Rei taunted endlessly by the mellow sarcasm and careless temperment of "bad boy" Kira. We also learn through a highly adorable moment that Shin had a close relationship with the rebellious Yuda, who back then was a sensitive and empathic man.
When clues start to emerge from the East, the Saints find the broken seal from whence this suspicious darkness came, as well as a guardian under mind-control who gives them only one name as to the culprit - Yuda. The Saints are wary to believe it, wanting to remember Yuda and Ruka as the friends they once knew in Heaven. But soon they'll have no other choice when another angel falls from grace to appear as a spy (and a rival for Shin) and Yuda and Ruka appear on the battlefield to send the ranks of the lower Whisper Angels to Hell!
For those of you curious, the overall realm of Saint Beast is indeed meant for yaoi fans, from the manga to the explicit drama CDs - one parody drama even includes an omake track that is nothing but sexual pairings and even threesome orgies! However, the animated version, which is only a mere six [6] episodes, is much more tame (perchance because it aired on the Kids Station?).
Yet the predominantly male cast does not disappoint in it's obvious slashy-ness. Besides the close-knit relationships between the four main Saints, there is the possible incestual pairing of Kira and Maaya; the sad and reminiscent possible-love between Shin and Yuda; the comrades-in-arms pairing of the Fallen Angels Yuda and Ruka; the warrior against warrior, Guo and Yuda; there is an undertone affection that Rei has for Ruka; and the henchman obsession that the spy Angel, Shiva, has for his lord Yuda - an obsession he's harbored since the group's days in grace, which also spawned a bitter rivalry between Shiva and Shin. So many delectable character choices, so little time!
Design-wise, Saint Beast seems a stout mixture of Angelique, Fushigi Yuugi and Gensomaden Saiyuuki - so there should be a little bit of something here for most everyone to enjoy. The artwork is bright and pleasing, the backdrops bold and colorful, and the animation is fine; there are moments in the last two episodes that seem lacking, the character's movements blunt and jerking, but nothing too bad (like, for example, poor "Weiss kreuz").
While I rather enjoyed the opening theme song and was thrilled that they used character image songs to end each episode, the background instrumental compositions were not entirely spectacular. I get the impression they were looking to add moments of a church-like choir, to punctuate scenes and add to the religious undertone, but it just wasn't cutting it.
One quality factor for Saint Beast is that it has a GREAT seiyuu cast, veterans and newcomers alike! Some well-known voices include the ever-handsome and seme Morikawa Toshiyuki (Griffith from Berserk, Tatsumi from Yami no Matsuei, Homura in Saiyuuki) as Seiryuu no Gou; the amazing and uke Ishida Akira (Cho Hakkai in Saiyuuki, Mizuki in Level C, Eyes Rutherford in Spiral) as Kirin no Yuda; the always cool Midorikawa Hikaru (Schuldig in Weiss Kreuz, Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi, Hiiro Yuy in Gundam Wing) breathes bitterness into Houou no Ruka; newfound favorite Suzumura Kenichi (Kamui in X series, Ayumu in Spiral, Kyoji/Bilka in Nazca) voicing fun n' friendly Fuuga no Maaya; and rising star Sugita Tomokazu (Subaru in X series, Hideki in Chobits) as his stoic niisan Ryuusei no Kira.
In the end, nothing is truly outstanding in this series, but rather fine and enjoyable. Personally, I would have liked to see something more come of the interesting story they developed in the beginning, rather than the induvidual episode and character plots they focused on. Also, don't expect a concrete ending at all since this animated version only scratches the surface of the world that the manga and dramas created.
Overall, I can recommend Saint Beast for anime fans in general, anyone looking for a light-hearted brotherhood of characters and a brief, not-too-complex series; but I think only yaoi enthusiasts will truly appreciate the characters, their friendships, and their role in the stalled plot. Basically, it's all about the bishounen!