Utawarerumono: Mask of a Stranger Vol 1
Utawarerumono: Mask of a Stranger Vol 1 By Andromeda An injured man is found and taken in by an old healer and her two granddaughters. When he awakens, he finds that he has no memory and wears a mask that he cannot remove. Even those that found him have no clue who he is, why he is wearing that mask or what he was doing near their village. Just as they are curious of him, he is curious of them. Unlike his kind saviors, the masked man doesn’t have animal ears or a tail. Curious about this he reaches down and touches Eruruu’s tail. This causes a reaction he didn’t expect, her blushing and him ending up on the ground. Apparently that’s just one of those places you don’t touch, an intimate place. So many things to learn in this new place. <I>Utawarerumono</I> is set in a fantasy feudal Japan with a comical twist, similar to Inu Yasha but not quite as comical. It seems as if everyone but the mystery man has dog ears and tails and instead of horses they have large lizards to ride on and pull carts. Everyone so far seems to be happy with their daily lives until one day someone destroys the shrine of the forest goddess. Now with the wrath of Mutikapa-sama, the guardian of the forest, fear has taken hold of these people. Having been given the name Hakuoro by the healer, the masked man decides to help those who have helped him. With the villagers help and discovering a secret, Hakuoro just may defeat this vengeful beast. But this isn’t the only problem that Hakuoro, Eluluu, and the villagers run into. After all, this is an age where a government has a strangle hold on the people. Cross him and you’ll find yourself facing a strong enemy who will do anything to take you out, even wipe out whole villages. This series drew me in with the first episode. It made me curious as to who this man was, why he couldn’t remove the mask on his face, why he didn’t look like anyone else, and why no one seemed to question why he wasn’t like the rest of them. The humor that comes along at the right moments was just enough to make me smile and laugh softly, never taking away from the story that’s being told. The opening and ending songs are good enough for me to want the soundtrack. Not to mention the art was bright and clean, giving appeal to the eye. One of the extras included on the DVD is an omake that was quite hilarious and made me hope that in the following volumes to come, there will be more. <I>Licenser:</I> ADV <I>Animation Production:</I> Oriental Light and Magic <I>Length:</I> 125 mins <I>Retail:</I> $29.98 <I>Availability:</I> 01.16.07
Utawarerumono: Mask of a Stranger Vol 1 By Andromeda An injured man is found and taken in by an old healer and her two granddaughters. When he awakens, he finds that he has no memory and wears a mask that he cannot remove. Even those that found him have no clue who he is, why he is wearing that mask or what he was doing near their village. Just as they are curious of him, he is curious of them. Unlike his kind saviors, the masked man doesn’t have animal ears or a tail. Curious about this he reaches down and touches Eruruu’s tail. This causes a reaction he didn’t expect, her blushing and him ending up on the ground. Apparently that’s just one of those places you don’t touch, an intimate place. So many things to learn in this new place. <I>Utawarerumono</I> is set in a fantasy feudal Japan with a comical twist, similar to Inu Yasha but not quite as comical. It seems as if everyone but the mystery man has dog ears and tails and instead of horses they have large lizards to ride on and pull carts. Everyone so far seems to be happy with their daily lives until one day someone destroys the shrine of the forest goddess. Now with the wrath of Mutikapa-sama, the guardian of the forest, fear has taken hold of these people. Having been given the name Hakuoro by the healer, the masked man decides to help those who have helped him. With the villagers help and discovering a secret, Hakuoro just may defeat this vengeful beast. But this isn’t the only problem that Hakuoro, Eluluu, and the villagers run into. After all, this is an age where a government has a strangle hold on the people. Cross him and you’ll find yourself facing a strong enemy who will do anything to take you out, even wipe out whole villages. This series drew me in with the first episode. It made me curious as to who this man was, why he couldn’t remove the mask on his face, why he didn’t look like anyone else, and why no one seemed to question why he wasn’t like the rest of them. The humor that comes along at the right moments was just enough to make me smile and laugh softly, never taking away from the story that’s being told. The opening and ending songs are good enough for me to want the soundtrack. Not to mention the art was bright and clean, giving appeal to the eye. One of the extras included on the DVD is an omake that was quite hilarious and made me hope that in the following volumes to come, there will be more. <I>Licenser:</I> ADV <I>Animation Production:</I> Oriental Light and Magic <I>Length:</I> 125 mins <I>Retail:</I> $29.98 <I>Availability:</I> 01.16.07