Toward the Terra – The End
30 September 2007
Toward the Terra is hard to talk about. It was a surprisingly poignant piece of science fiction that evoked emotions ranging from paranoia, fear and rage, to happiness, peace and understanding. The science fiction aspect almost seemed like a vehicle for a greater message, allegorical in some strange sense. On one hand, it’s message is clear and simple and on the other it’s an enigmatic fleeting emotion. It’s almost impossible to capture both in words and even more so to communicate it to others.
Words are shallow, completely lacking in conveying the true nature of human emotions. The most striking revelation from watching Toward the Terra is, flashy explosions, physic powers and superhuman abilities aside, the true nature of the Mu’s power is to communicate with others. They share feelings, they literally feel each other’s pain and sorrow, each other’s joy and happiness. It was Karina who took hold of Jomy’s hand, Karina who calmed him and made him stay. It was Shiroe, Sam and Matsuka that finally got through to Keith, breaking through his mechanical exterior. It was Leticia who came to Swena and told her she finally understood what her powers were for. If the Mu are truly our successors on the evolutionary ladder, then perhaps all humanity needs to do is listen.
Unfortunately, there’s a difference between hearing and listening. The SD system, governed by a network of constructs referred to as Mother, was created to keep human beings in check as they spread across the universe, suppressing humanity’s greatest sin, greed. It was also, lest I understood this incorrectly, some sort of strange experiment to test whether or not the Mu factor was able to survive. The fatal flaw in all of this was that neither the SD system nor Mother was created to accept the Mu. In the end, Keith Anyan, the perfect child of Mother, made a decision for himself, finally fighting alongside Jomy, humanity working side by side with the Mu, to destroy Mother. In his own words, he unleashed human greed from Pandora’s Box.
Perhaps an even greater revelation came when Keith asked Jomy if he regrets this or not, he answered that at the bottom of the box was hope. I suppose, this greed is really synonymous with all human desire. Was it not greed, was it not desire to see Terra, the promised land, the beautiful blue planet that made it all possible? Was it not a longing for peace and co-existence, a hope for a better future that everyone sacrificed their lives for? The last shot of Terra, in shades of green and blue, sparkling with life, the shining planet carrying all the hopes and dreams and sacrifices of countless people, makes it quite clear what life truly is.
Regardless of my random babbling, Toward the Terra was something I truly enjoyed. Had it not been for bateszi’s post, it would’ve escaped my attention completely. I would’ve missed out on something astonishingly brilliant. It’s powerful, stuff like this moves you, but then again, my words don’t really matter, you have to see it for yourself. Toward the Terra is like a great symphony, each note, each measure, each movement a crucial piece making up the whole. All you have to do is listen.
couldnt agree more. i thought dtb would be the best anime of the year, but when i marathoned through terra, i was in awe and still am. show is a masterpiece. vote on anidb and animenfo. the higher the score the more likely people will check it out. we need to spread the word about this show. i dont understand how people cannot like the animation…. same thing with kemonozume and noein. phenomenal shows that were passed over because people choose to remain zombies and not embrace originality.
[…] by this, mainly because of such strong character development and connections, as others have stated. I believe this is partly in lieu of the story layout, which tends to jump time gaps seamlessly […]
Gosh!It’s so amazing!I’ve already totally fall in love with Terra(Soldier Blue) for months.Just keeping searching things about Terra for all day in holisays…and now run into your blog.
Your reveiw is so great.I can’t add more.Greatest human race,greatest Mu,geatest Soldiers,greatest Terra….Well,kind of no need to expread my love all over the Space…I…I just want to say I’m a Chinese too.right now,in a high school in Shenzhen,in my computer class.I thought maybe it’s not polite to use Chinese directly..so…
…Magic Terra.
…Long live to SoldierBlue.