The Silver Tribe was given knowledge and technology from the Golden Tribe, which they shared with the Bronze Tribe. They used this and their control of the bronze Tribe to try and eradicate the Iron Tribe, humanity, which it deemed as a danger to the universe. Earth and its solar system were captured by the Silver Tribe and mankind was spread to the four winds, trying to regroup and survive extinction at the hands of the Silver Tribe. The Heroic Tribe, on the other hand, was pretty much already extinct, due to its own bidding.
The Heroic Tribe was made of giant creatures of incredible power and incredible rage. They decided to go on an extermination campaign across the heavens and kill everything. With the help of the Golden Tribe they were stopped and only five surviving. The Heroic Tribe put the punishment for their Tribes crimes on them. They forced each of the five to be imprisoned in the body of a lesser Tribe. One of the reasons this was done was to help teach the remaining Heroic Tribe what a soul is. These Nodus, as they are called, were bound to their host and had to obey the host in every way. They had to offer their strength and abilities to keep the host alive. In return each host/Nodus is tied to a series of obligations that it must fulfill, in accordance to the Golden Tribes wishes.
The series starts with a lone human ship, the Argonaut, searching the unknown reaches of space for the lost fifth Nodus, a human who was raised by the Golden Tribe on a remote planet. Their hope is that the human Nodus will help lead them to their path of freedom and their place in the galaxy. The humans have built a quasi religion around the fifth Nodus that involves twelve events/steps that will happen before mankind can become the most powerful race in the universe. The Argonaut is lead by a princess of the ruling monarchy named Deianeira. Deianeira is gifted with psychic powers, most importantly, telepathy and divining. She, with the loyal crew of the ship, goes beyond the star ways in search of the lost planet, not fearing the chance of being lost in space forever.
The series starts with a lone human ship, the Argonaut, searching the unknown reaches of space for the lost fifth Nodus, a human who was raised by the Golden Tribe on a remote planet. Their hope is that the human Nodus will help lead them to their path of freedom and their place in the galaxy. The humans have built a quasi religion around the fifth Nodus that involves twelve events/steps that will happen before mankind can become the most powerful race in the universe. The Argonaut is lead by a princess of the ruling monarchy named Deianeira. Deianeira is gifted with psychic powers, most importantly, telepathy and divining. She, with the loyal crew of the ship, goes beyond the star ways in search of the lost planet, not fearing the chance of being lost in space forever.
They find the ruined planet and it's only human inhabitant, a wild yet completely optimistic child by the name of Age. Upon making contact with the lone boy a Bronze Tribe hive arrives at the planet, intent on destroying the Argonaut. The Bronze Tribe are a mass collective of giant space bugs who travel around in moon sized hives utilizing technology that the Silver Tribe learned from the Golden Tribe. Such as technology which allows them to have near-perfect deflector shields and teleportation. In the battle Age's home and mother, a ruined human space ship, is destroyed by the Bronze Tribe. In a fit of rage Age brings out the power of the Heroic Tribe bound to him, Bellcross. When the Heroic Tribe bound to a Nodus is called out, the Nodus will instantly change into that Heroic Tribe member retaining a part of them selves, the part that restrains the Heroic Tribe from rampaging. That control though is fragile and can be broken if the Heroic Tribe member goes into what is called mental chaos. Age/Bellcross instantly battles the invading Bronze Tribe, jumping into orbit and destroying the hive with his bare hands, thus causing the remaining Bronze Tribe to flee; this is the power of the Heroic Tribe. Much to everyone's relief Age happily agrees to come with them. He knows/feels that Deianeira is the one who will make the plans put in place by the Golden Tribe come true, being as he is the human who was raised by them. Now the Argonaut has to get back to the current seat of power for mankind, while being pursued by the Silver Tribe and the Bronze Tribe.
The Silver Tribe, which can be best described as telekinetic space Elves, are in control and possession of the other Nodus, one of which is member of their own tribe. Each Nodus has a contract clause that ties them to the Silver Tribe, usually under threat of their tribe's elimination. The Silver Tribe are connected to each other through the depths of space by a mental link. They have also given up emotions and instead one selected member of the tribe is given the duty of experiencing the Tribes’ collective emotions.
My initial opinion after watching episode one of this series was, ‘not another space mech show’. Initially I thought Bellcross was some mech and I was disappointed. I was hoping for a really well done hard sci-fi space story, which is what it seemed like it was going to be, but then this stupid berserker Eva rip off mech shows up to be all badass and stuff…I was pissed. Then I watched episode two and realized that no, that is not a mech that is Age and when he brings out the Heroic Tribe member trapped in him he transforms into it, Bellcross. So I didn't have any thing to worry about, the only mechs in the show are just background pieces, they aren't even a part of the story really, just another piece of equipment used in the show, they are not the focus. Not that I hate mechs, I love mechs, but it is incredibly rare for there to be a space anime that doesn't involve mechs as one of the main components. Heroic Age is one of those, and it is an engaging and well written sci-fi story.
Heroic Age is all about how the humans and the Silver Tribe have to deal with each other, while both pursue a common goal, the wisdom of the Golden Tribe, while knowing absolutely nothing about each other. Instantly the Silver Tribe deemed the humans as a treat and a menace and began its war against them. Humans, as always, persevered and didn't give in to destruction, hoping and waiting to reclaim peace and some power of their own.
The animation is modern in quality, nothing too flashy, but easy on the eyes. The mechanical designs are pretty interesting and unique. There, to my memory, is really no moment the series drags on, it is always pushing forward, pursuing its end. There are no filler episodes but some times you wish they would stop talking and show the action, in the end you are always well rewarded. One of the greatest attributes for this show is the scale of it. Some of the battles in the series are incredibly massive, larger than anything I have ever seen in anime before. The power of the Nodus is incredible and larger then life as well. When a punch from Bellcross can flatten a city, while he is in orbit, you know your dealing with a powerful force…that's just him warming up. As we watched these epics battles the amount of destruction that the Nodus were capable of continued to leave us in awe. As the series progressed, the amount of damage done with attacks continued to grow…it was insane.
One thing that I didn't like about the series was the incredible pessimism. There really isn't that much despaire in the series, or suffering. This is kind of glossed over and talked about as statistics when a few hundred space ships are wiped out in one attack. Although I usually scoff at the series’ that get really gritty and try to show you that war is hell and full of suffering, this one could have used a little less sunshine, well at least what I thought of as sunshine.
All in all, this was an enjoyable series. It ended well, was satisfying and does not leave you needing more. If you enjoy sci-fi, especially epic space operas, this is a great series, notably in a genre that has seen little creative input for a long time.
The Silver Tribe, which can be best described as telekinetic space Elves, are in control and possession of the other Nodus, one of which is member of their own tribe. Each Nodus has a contract clause that ties them to the Silver Tribe, usually under threat of their tribe's elimination. The Silver Tribe are connected to each other through the depths of space by a mental link. They have also given up emotions and instead one selected member of the tribe is given the duty of experiencing the Tribes’ collective emotions.
My initial opinion after watching episode one of this series was, ‘not another space mech show’. Initially I thought Bellcross was some mech and I was disappointed. I was hoping for a really well done hard sci-fi space story, which is what it seemed like it was going to be, but then this stupid berserker Eva rip off mech shows up to be all badass and stuff…I was pissed. Then I watched episode two and realized that no, that is not a mech that is Age and when he brings out the Heroic Tribe member trapped in him he transforms into it, Bellcross. So I didn't have any thing to worry about, the only mechs in the show are just background pieces, they aren't even a part of the story really, just another piece of equipment used in the show, they are not the focus. Not that I hate mechs, I love mechs, but it is incredibly rare for there to be a space anime that doesn't involve mechs as one of the main components. Heroic Age is one of those, and it is an engaging and well written sci-fi story.
Heroic Age is all about how the humans and the Silver Tribe have to deal with each other, while both pursue a common goal, the wisdom of the Golden Tribe, while knowing absolutely nothing about each other. Instantly the Silver Tribe deemed the humans as a treat and a menace and began its war against them. Humans, as always, persevered and didn't give in to destruction, hoping and waiting to reclaim peace and some power of their own.
The animation is modern in quality, nothing too flashy, but easy on the eyes. The mechanical designs are pretty interesting and unique. There, to my memory, is really no moment the series drags on, it is always pushing forward, pursuing its end. There are no filler episodes but some times you wish they would stop talking and show the action, in the end you are always well rewarded. One of the greatest attributes for this show is the scale of it. Some of the battles in the series are incredibly massive, larger than anything I have ever seen in anime before. The power of the Nodus is incredible and larger then life as well. When a punch from Bellcross can flatten a city, while he is in orbit, you know your dealing with a powerful force…that's just him warming up. As we watched these epics battles the amount of destruction that the Nodus were capable of continued to leave us in awe. As the series progressed, the amount of damage done with attacks continued to grow…it was insane.
One thing that I didn't like about the series was the incredible pessimism. There really isn't that much despaire in the series, or suffering. This is kind of glossed over and talked about as statistics when a few hundred space ships are wiped out in one attack. Although I usually scoff at the series’ that get really gritty and try to show you that war is hell and full of suffering, this one could have used a little less sunshine, well at least what I thought of as sunshine.
All in all, this was an enjoyable series. It ended well, was satisfying and does not leave you needing more. If you enjoy sci-fi, especially epic space operas, this is a great series, notably in a genre that has seen little creative input for a long time.
UPDATE: The series is licensed in North America by FUNimation and is available on DVD and streaming.
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