The actual being called Shingu is introduced in the first episode. It’s a powerful giant being that seems to defend the town from alien attacks. Strangely, the inhabitants of the small Japanese town were unsurprised by the arrival of aliens and this mysterious “hero.” To be honest, neither was I. Shingu follows in the footsteps of many other anime that themselves follow the formula of giant monsters, mechs, or aliens battling aliens, mechs, or other giant monsters. This series distinguishes itself early on by pushing the giant monster into the background. No, that’s not what is really important in the Shingu series. Something else is.
“Something else” is always more important in Shingu. The series strings you along, giving you a tidbit of background in nearly every episode. When you learn something new about the story, it seems like there’s always something more important hanging around in the background, waiting to be revealed. If you like the formula by the end of the first DVD, you’ll like the series since it pretty much follows that formula for 21 more episodes. If you don’t like the pacing so much but are expecting it all to build up to a tremendous, soul-shaking revelation, well, you may disappointed. At least, such revelations aren’t floating on the surface. Now if you are hoping that at least you’ll see every little loose end tied up, you don’t quite get that either. There are some fundamental questions I have about a couple of the main characters, Muryou and Nayuta, that were just left to linger. Shingu is something you enjoy for the journey, not the destination.
With that kind of pacing, it’s hard to describe too much about the plot without spoiling anything. But, in general, you find that there are a few different aliens with interests in earth. With things being revealed so slowly, I found the first few episodes a lot more enjoyable when I went back and watched them after viewing the entire series. It just made a whole lot more sense, and made everyone’s motivations clearer. I guess that's the point, as it puts you in the shoes of the main character, Hajime. Just as he has to accept things as they are until he gets an explanation, so do you.
You’ll see quite a bit of bickering over school clubs and events by the time Shingu has run its course. It has a genuine feeling, like you’re really watching a group of middle schoolers get through their day. There are also a lot of funny moments, but it never goes over the top like many other typical Japanese school dramas. During all this, you’ll see each character grow and develop during their normal school lives and during their private lives. Most notable is the gradual softening in the lead heroine Nayuta’s ever-stubborn demeanor. It’s all pretty wholesome and charming, so much so that I found myself a bit bored at times. So much time is spent at school, it makes me wonder if the title change was a deliberate marketing strategy to take the focus away from this. After all, the Japanese title calls this series Record of the School Wars: Muryou, while the full English title is Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars.
I’ll have to admit, though, the lack of wacky, over-the-top antics can be quite a relief to those that have watched a fair amount of anime. A prime example of the restraint in this series is the scene on the train. Setsuna encounters a bit of a slimy character on the train who relentlessly hits on her and tries to pick her up. Setsuna patiently ignores the man. After a few minutes of trying to persuade her to go out with him, if this were any other anime, you might expect the guy to try something else and get berated, slapped, or otherwise rebuffed. Instead, Setsuna casually tells the guy he’ll have to ask “them” if it’s ok to go out to dinner, referring to her family members that quietly showed up while the man was talking to her. They treat the guy just as warmly, and end up making him embarrass himself even worse. It’s one of my favorite scenes just for it feeling so different and genuinely funny.
On a side note, don’t expect the extra features for this DVD series to wow you any more than the series. A few pencil sketches and scanned production notes are usually what await you. If you can’t read Japanese, then the production notes won’t reveal too much for you anyway. The booklet enclosed with each DVD is far better than the bonus features on the DVD. It explains the cultural significance of some things that may be otherwise lost on a western audience, and also explains some of the settings and technology of the series. For me, I’d rather have all that cool stuff included on the DVD itself. Something unique about this DVD set is the reversible cover. It’s unique but don’t get too excited - the only difference in the reversed cover is the Japanese title as opposed to the English one. Everything else is exactly the same. I'm not someone who considers trailers (i.e. commercials) a special feature, and I also don't think the character bios are too special either, so really the production notes are the only notable feature here. As a final note, I have to point you away from the horrendous English voice-acting in this series, unless you need help sleeping.
It’s hard for me to recommend Shingu for just anyone. I’m being pretty hard on it, but still I feel it’s for someone. The story is interesting, but leaves some lingering questions. The characters develop and their personalities all have depth, but as you get to know them, you may not be surprised by everything they do. Really, it’s not a bad series, but it lacks something to grab the average viewer and hold their attention. It’s got charm, but it lacks punch. The surprises and plot twists are there, but they’re fed to you so gradually that it makes everything feel mild. And after the whole thing was done, I felt much of it could have been condensed quite a bit and come to the same point. When I read through the interview with the director, Tatsuo Sato, it turned out that some of these things were deliberate. Ah, that explains it. Wait...
