Banner of the Stars II

About Banner of the Stars II

Banner of the Stars II (星界の戦旗 II) arrives as an action anime by Sunrise (2001), and the premise is easy to summarize. The setup: Due to a lack of ambassadors for the recently-conquered worlds the rapidly advancing fleet of the Bebaus brothers leave behind, Lafiel is appointed Territorial Ambassador of the planet Lobnas II. Upon arriving to the planet Jinto and Lafiel discover that the planet was used by the United Mankind as a prison planet and now has a million prisoners on the only inhabited island.

From there, the prisoners are parted in three blocks. The western where women are housed, the eastern belongs to the men and the central is mixed under the restriction that all prisoners living there are sterilized. The women in the western sector want to emigrate from the planet of fear for the men and when they do the men in the east rebel, overthrowing the guards and capturing Jinto to try to stop the emigration of the women.

As an action title, fight choreography, pacing and sound design carry much of the weight. Voice work is led by Yuka Imai as Jinto Linn and Ayako Kawasumi as Lafiel Abriel. It will appeal most to viewers who like fast, high-impact fights. With 10 episodes in total, there is enough room for the story to develop.

Production & Appeal

Production sits with Sunrise, which means the visual identity of Banner of the Stars II follows that studio's craft. Within the action category, fight choreography, pacing and sound design carry much of the weight. A 7.5/10 score points to a dependable, well-liked series. On the casting side, Yuka Imai voicing Jinto Linn gives the lead role a recognizable voice. Released in 2001, it competed with that season's other new series for attention.