You might be browsing your anime section at a local Suncoast or Best Buy and think to yourself, "Hmmm, what's this show about? All I see is a skull mask on a grass background." Indeed, Utawarerumono has one of the most unorthodox covers in animedom. This unusual cover is a clever marketing gimmick that might get people to at least pick it up out of sheer curiosity. But is the show behind the mask any good?
 Utawarerumono has an extensive backstory, and I'd recommend reading the Wikipedia entry to get it. But I'll mainly focus on what volume 1 gives us. A mysterious man in a mask is rescued from a forest battle by Elulu, a girl who has distinctive animal ears and a tail. The man, who is soon named Hakuoro, is an amnesiac, so naturally he decides to stay with her, since he can't remember any other life. Elulu, her shy younger sister Aruru, and kindly grandmother Tusukuru in turn live in a village of humans that have these animal ears and tails.
It turns out this peaceful village is constantly being badgered by corrupt Nuwangi and his obese father, and when Tusukuru gets hurt during a scuffle Oboro, a rash and ego-driven swordsman, attempts vengeance on Nuwangi and his military men. Of course, he's unable to do it by himself, and Hakuoro has to gather much of the village for a raid into the enemy base to rescue him. After Hakuoro successfully exacts revenge, he is elected the head of the rebels.
From what I've gathered, Utawarerumono is another classic case of an anime that starts off slowly but gets better as it goes along. The first four episodes are fairly dull and poorly paced, and they don't accomplish much aside from introducing the main characters and setting up the conflict at hand. But episode five shows glimpses of the main series plot—Hakuoro leading the rebels to overthrow the government—and I wouldn't be surprised if the next volume gives us an epic battle between the two groups, resulting in quite a few plot developments.
 This leaves you, the casual consumer with little (or no) advanced knowledge of the series, in the same predicament as I'm in: Do you stick with it through some initial episodes that drag on and on in the hope that it will blow you away later on? Or do you just say, "If it doesn't entertain/enthrall me in the first four episodes, I'm done with it"? I can't wholeheartedly recommend it just yet, but there are some aspects about the show that I do like.
For example, there's nothing wrong with Utawarerumono in the technical department. It has pretty forest backgrounds, unique designs (due to the animal ears/tails), and well-orchestrated background music that would be right at home in a U.S. fantasy adventure flick. The action scenes, as disappointingly short as they are, offer some of the better animation in the show, but even the regular animation is pretty darn respectable.
And while the show is deadly serious most of the time (you wonder if the people of the future are capable of telling jokes or even having a light personality), a tiny bit of comic relief comes in the second episode when Aruru adopts a tiger cub that grows to tremendous proportions in a short amount of time. It's also refreshing that, being that this anime is based on an H game, there are no dumb, overused harem antics or situations. The focus is on Hakuoro's tough decisions as the leader of the rebels and the rebellion against the corrupt king, and it's better for that.
 So what's the problem? Well, so far anyway, I'm not really into the characters, who feel like archetypes instead of deep, three-dimensional characters. Elulu is your typical helpful anime protagonist; Aruru is the "Yahhh! Stay away from me!" girl who eventually warms up; Tusukuru is the all-compassionate, all-knowing, and all-wise village elder; Hakuoro is the man with no past; Nuwangi is the bratty jerk; Oboro is the hot head; and so on. This may change later, as this is a 26-episode series and there is a lot of room for development. And, to be fair, the show gives a few characters certain unique traits, such as Aruru's ability to communicate with animals. But for the most part, everyone's fairly shallow so far. As a result, I'm not into the plot either, especially since it's not exactly the most original story in the world: the idea of underdogs who want to overthrow the evil empire isn't exactly novel. When Hakuoro came to Elulu's reascue after Nuwangi started harassing her in front of the timid villagers, I was thinking, "Haven't I seen this kind of scene numerous times before?"
I also wasn't a fan of certain story elements being repeated, even right from the start. Episode three introduces Oboro's blind, ill, and bedridden sister, Yuzuha. Half the episode involves Oboro and a few others standing around the bed, talking about her condition, and watching the medicine take effect. Now, that's fine: this episode reveals that Oboro does care about his sister, which shows he isn't completely self-centered. But then in the next episode, after Tusukuru has been slashed by enemy forces, we get another "characters stand about a bedridden character" scene! I know it was kind of necessary because of the plot and everything, but still.
Well, even if I'm not completely sold on the show itself yet, I have to give ADV credit for the video quality on this release. It's crystal clear, with very little (if any) image compression, and the colors are nicely defined. All region 1 anime DVDs should look this good. As for ADV's dub, it's perfectly serviceable. There's nothing really wrong with any of the casting choices, and the VA's deliveries are just fine. However, seeing as how this is such a low-key show (outside of the action scenes), little of the dialogue is very high-spirited.
 One thing that's really useful on the DVD is a glossary of terms and characters in the show. Since this is essentially a different universe (well, it's still Earth, but far in the future), with lots of creatures, locations, characters and their different roles to keep track of, it's a handy resource. The DVD also comes with a booklet of both U.S. and Japanese cast/crew comments, another interesting extra that gives insight into what the original creators intended and some of the challenges they faced. Other extras on the DVD include extended end credit previews, a seven minute omake, trailers, and an art gallery (not much, since it's only thirty seconds of art). ADV clearly has high hopes for the show, as it has given it more special material than Air Gear and Coyote Ragtime Show.
I really hate to lambast Utawarerumono too much. I'll acknowledge that the show has its strengths, mainly in how it looks (but what do you expect in an anime based on an H game?), but my disappointment with the action scenes and the inability to get into the plot or the characters outweigh them. However, I've read in numerous places that the first few episodes are weak compared to the rest, so hopefully it does get better.
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