The first disc of Arjuna was one of the freshest and most creative anime I had seen in a while. It was with this motivation that I plunged into the second disc. What I saw was something entirely different from the first few episodes.
Action seems to have taken a rest in order to allow plot to step up. When Juna and Tokio get lost in the Japanese Alps, an old man feeds them and teaches them the ways of organic gardening. This episode leads the way for a retrospective look at the way humans live. The first two episodes on the disc take a look at the pros and cons of organic foods and why we have forgotten the ways of the past. Juna begins to evolve and starts to see the heart of what Chris was saying. Her evolution is triggered by the realization that living life the east way is not always the correct way.
Episode five (The Small Voices) contains a very powerful moment between Juna and her teacher. He asks Juna why humans live and do things the way the do. “Because it’s easy” is her response to every question. Juna slowly begins to realize that she is corrupt and that even the things she does is because it’s easy. She phones someone when they could arrange to meet, she memorizes phrases when she could come up with a meaning on her own and she even answers all of her teacher’s questions the same all in an effort to make her life easy.
The entire disc takes a look at the way people live. The last episode questions the reasoning behind words and the way they can be twisted and manipulated to affect people. Words can actually take form and Juna begins to see this. When Chris becomes the target of these words she is able to see how what you say can affect people.
The animation on this disc remains top notch. Colorful backgrounds and lively characters are all present. The backgrounds are mostly hand painted with a mixture of computer graphics. Through the use of computers the backgrounds are able to move and zoom seamlessly. There were a few times when the characters faces appeared to be a little distorted, but these times were few and far between and only happened in episode four.
Yoko Kanno’s music is better than ever. While Juna talks with her teacher a lovely piano theme plays. Ambient noises and mysterious sounding strings help add atmosphere and depth to the story telling. Even the overall theme of the music fits the theme of nature both rural and human.
The menus themselves are simple yet effective. Sound menus include stereo, 5.1 surround and even an isolated score. Music lovers will be sure to appreciate that. The extras on this DVD include a Shoji Kawamori interview and the Arjuna dictionary.
Arjuna Journey is an excellent disc that builds upon the first. It clears up most questions left at the end of the first disc and we seem some nice character development. A few extras and Bandai has released another success.
Tags: arjuna