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★★★★☆ Houseki no Kuni [Review]

The mystical story of Phosphophyllite, a genderless gem-person, aloof and weak, that breaks apart easily, but nevertheless immortal; the pieces can be glued back. Living in an island together with other gems and their sensei, constantly battling against the "moon people" who want to take their precious gem-flesh back to the moon.

It has an air of Shinsekai Yori.

Rutile fixing Goshenite and Morganite broken legs in front of Phosphophyllite.

12 episode partial adaptation of a manga.

9/10★ - Intriguing, beautiful, and sometimes stunningly horrifying.
Strengths: characters development, characterization, excellent use of 3D.

It's different from other anime at a fundamental level: the characters don't bleed, they shatter. With that as starting point, it develops into a wondrous melancholy. You know they can't die, but you can't help but feel apprehensive, specially for the useless main character that set out to be useful.

This series is a perfect fit for its 3D. Characters don't just have a same face, they have a same body. They're cookie-cut. This aspect of looking perfectly copy-pasted enhances the idea they aren't organic, but made of stone. Statues that fit a model. But even so their expressions deliver their emotions amazingly well.

The positive effect of artistic choices don't stop there. You can feel in the music the strong implication of alien rituals occurring. The enemy sound track is not a heart-beating thriller, it's a dancing mantra. It's not dying you should be afraid of, it's this unknown, systematic ceremony.

The subtle eerie-ness of the world is well-hidden under the charm of the characters. You don't have time to feel anxious, to worry, because in the next minute the arms and legs are glued back on the torso and the gem-character is smiling and joking as if nothing had happened. It's a non-stop ride from start to end.

AniDB - MyAnimeList - IMDB

Details

At core it's an adventure, set in a fantasy world, that's actually sci-fi, full of mystery, and action, and characterization that brings out some heavy drama and many times lighthearted comedy. It has a bit of everything.

The cast is full of girls. I mean, guys. I mean... genderless minerals It's like the androgynous version of KanColle or Kemono Friends. There's no romance. It's not ecchi. Contains nudity rarely, but if you're going to worry about that you'd sooner worry about the constant butt shots they probably included to make up for the absence of breasts in androgynous gems.

Gems don't bleed, so there's no blood despite the violence in this anime. Note that the gem-gore can be a bit of horror, as characters look like they have their limbs amputated a lot of times, and the eyes pop out when heads shatter.

Names

宝石housekinokuni
Land of the Lustrous

Screencaps

Cinnabar sulking in a cave in front of the sea under two moons.
Goshenite and Morganite ready for some sword fighting.
Defeated Goshenite and Morganite broken in pieces in front of Kongou-sensei and the other gems.
Cinnabar protects Phosphophyllite from a flurry of arrows.

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