While I don’t agree with everything you said, you provided a very good mini-review there that touched on just about all the poignant aspects of the series. Thanks for the input =)

While it is an original story with pleasing artwork (the background reminded me of stain glass windows), it is also very long-winded, over-narrated and annoyingly self-reviewing. At least 1/3rd of this production (maybe more) is past footage replayed again and again to the point of nausea. Many scenes simply linger too long on the screen. I found that my finger remained poised over the time-advance button throughout all 50 episodes.

The story, while likeable, is produced & directed in a bland style. The comic relief characters mostly fail in their mission and are often annoying or awkward. The climax scenes are consistently and inappropriately violated by the opening theme song (complete with subtitles) marching in like Bozo-the-Clown at a funeral.

For me, the visual aspect of animation provides a large part of my enjoyment factor. Any anime that avoids the bush-baby-eyed micro-mouthed syndrome, MECHA-SHAZAM-TRANSFORM gimmicks and looping graphics shortcuts that plague mainstream anime automatically receives my attention and respect. The visual aspect of Kemono no Souja Erin does receives high marks from me and is the main reason I lasted through all 50 eps.

The soundtrack is decent. I especially like the ending song, which was unfortunately replaced after ep 24.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Kemono no Souja Erin begins as a gentle story of a wide-eyed nature-loving child (Erin) and her relationship with her loving mother, who is the center of Erin’s world. It is animated in a sunny pastel style and appears, at first, to be directed toward small children. This is reinforced by the narrator over-explaining, in the simplest of terms, every single plot development and emotion that Erin experiences, but in the 4th or 5th episode Erin has a front row seat to her mother’s execution wherein Erin repeatedly screams out while her mother is brutally mauled to death (albeit bloodless) by giant man-eating lizards in a long and drawn out scene (opening theme song included). Erin repeatedly relives this traumatic event in detail throughout the remaining episodes. All I could think about while watching this scene was that small kids are going to be watching this. Following the mauling, in the next episode, the only antidote that they offer to sooth the viewer’s trauma is an awkwardly presented farting beekeeper who has a sexual attraction for his horse and an Erin that recovers faster then I did.

END SPOILER ALERT.

I advise any parent to preview the first 5 eps before allowing young children to watch this show.