What are we watching: Land of the Lustrous
What’s it about: In the mysterious future, crystalline organisms called Gems inhabit a world that has been destroyed by six meteors. Each Gem is assigned a role in order to fight against the Lunarians, a species who attacks them in order to shatter their bodies and use them as decorations.
Phosphophyllite, also known as Phos, is a young and fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in the war effort. Instead, they are told to compile an encyclopedia because of their delicate condition. After begrudgingly embarking on this task, Phos meets Cinnabar, an intelligent gem who has been relegated to patrolling the isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison their body creates. After seeing how unhappy Cinnabar is, Phos decides to find a role that both of the rejected Gems can enjoy. Houseki no Kuni follows Phos' efforts to be useful and protect their fellow Gems.
Studio: Orange
Director: Kyougoku, Takahiko
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIYgPnSvnCE
Where can I watch it: https://twist.moe/a/houseki-no-kuni-tv/1 , https://nyaa.si/view/991627 , https://cytu.be/r/chapochat (At select times)
God I love this show. I've seen it.... A lot of times. I should also add that I'm anime-only and have not touched source material other than to look at pretty artbooks.
This episode really moves fast, it doesn't waste any time and establishes a lot. We're first treated to the rather idyllic lifestyle of laziness Phos is able to live in under this communist gem commune they live within. The setting is beautiful. This is however interrupted extremely quickly by establishing that to be part of this society where everyone has their needs so well met and cared for by all they must work. Everyone within this society is given a job by Kongo(leader) and everyone performs that job to the best of their ability, Phos' ability is however ... Not great.
This show is absolutely full of allegory and I honestly don't know where to start and end with it.
I've always thought that the Lunarians are a bit of allegory to capitalist encirclement.
I firmly believe that the nature of the gems in this show, their hardness, the inherent characteristics each gem holds... These are allegories to the problems of society. Mental health. Physical disability. Etc etc. Phos' very ability to perform work is characterised by her physical weakness and we explore this in the very first episode. Immediately following what we learn of Phos, we are introduced to Cinnabar who has her own physical problems but in a completely different direction, they make it nearly impossible for her to be around other people, she can barely take part in society at all and has to ostracise herself from all. This gives her deeply suicidal feelings, she literally expresses the desire to be abducted by the Lunarians. She is miserable.
Don't get me started on how PRETTY this anime is. Random . Pretty . Shots . I love the use of scale and long-shots.
The 3d is used to excellent effect. It really allows the animators to do things that are just impossible to do in normal animation. There is absolutely no way you can do the constant sparkly/reflectiveness of the gems in anything other than computer graphics, and the scene with Cinnabar is equally impossible without it.
Body horror in the show is used constantly and I feel like it's an allegory to mental states. Anyone that has dealt with anxiety, depression, feelings of body dysmorphia or gender dysphoria will all empathise A LOT with scenes that show characters in their destroyed, shattered, or broken states. The art is used to show us... The mind of the gems, but most of all within Phos.
Really looking forwards to what others think of this and want people to give their thoughts. Please watch this.
I read all the translated volumes after watching it for the second time early this year, and I would love it if they adapt the rest of the series.