(CR) Kemono no Souja Erin ~ Beast Player ~

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Looked to me like they had plenty of money for the Moribito adaptation. I haven't watched Erin in quite some time, but I don't recall sequences any more expensive to film than the attack on the mountain king's fortress or the assault on that castle in New Yogo.

Oh yes, they could probably do anything that appeared in the anime, but the anime only covered the first two books. There are two more, and the climactic battle is literally apocalyptic in scale. The other thing about the later books is that there are more time skips. Erin is in her early 40s at the end, and her son Jeshi (or Jessie) is around 20.

There's also the fact that the anime is heavily adapted to suit a "family" audience. The books are more for grownups. As we saw, the first two books translated well. I'm not sure the later books would, and that means they'd have to do the entire series in the more grownup tone. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it would be different.

[Darkonus]

Has the last 2 books been translated to English, either Fan translated or anywhere else?

[BBOvenGuy]

Today I was in my favorite bookstore (Vromans of Pasadena CA), and I came across an English translation of the first two books. That is to say, the books that were adapted into the anime series.

Holy cow! I never knew such a thing existed. (Actually, according to Amazon, it hasn't existed for long.)

Needless to say, I snagged a copy. Now I get to see what was changed for the adaptation.

[SeijiSensei]

So I rewatched Erin for the first time since it was released and was amazed at how little I remembered of the plot in the latter third of the story. Toward the end I could only watch a couple of episodes before needing to stop and catch my breath.

I had a couple of issues with the adaptation. They could have spent a bit more time telling us who the Holon, the Wajyaku, and the Saigamal were, and how these groups (tribes?) were related. The role of the Saigamal was never really explicated, at least not clearly enough for me. And, of course, the comic-relief duo dragged down the rest of the story and cast.

I'm a bit surprised Nanase never voiced another anime character after Erin. She really did an excellent job in a demanding role.

All in all, I was more impressed with this show now some ten years later. If only the NHK would take the same tack with this story as they did with Moribito, releasing a gorgeous live-action version with 18 of the 22 episodes presenting material from the other novels. Erin would require a solid CGI staff to create the animals; Moribito's characters are all largely human.

Definitely glad I decided to watch Erin again.

[BBOvenGuy]

I have finished the novel! See above if you want to get your own copy. I highly recommend it. My oldest niece (just turned 15) got a copy for Christmas.

There are a lot of differences from the anime. A lot was added to fill the full-year run, and it was made more kid-friendly. But I think both versions work. The novel works as a novel, and the anime works as an anime. That's a rare thing. Most adaptations that make a lot of changes to the original are pretty bad.

Here's a brief rundown of the differences:

Spoiler for "The Best Player" novel:

As has been stated before, the novel begins with the mourning cries of the Toda after the Kiba have died, and it ends with Lilan carrying Erin away from the battlefield.

That said, each of the opening episodes in the anime, relating Erin's childhood adventures in the village, is based on something mentioned in passing in the novel. So they didn't come entirely from nothing.

There's an explanation for how Soyon killed the Kiba. She recognized that they were going into their fertility cycle and knew that the tokujisui (the special water) would kill them in that state. She didn't poison them so much as she didn't prevent them from being poisoned accidentally.

The two egg thieves (I forget their names - in my head they're Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) are completely absent, as is the instructor at Kazalumu who's Damiya's spy.

Erin does not meet Ialu as a child. They don't meet until the Yojeh's visit to Kazalumu. Ialu does carpentry as his hobby, but doesn't make harps or play them.

Jo-ohn does not have a flatulence problem (thankfully). He does begin to experience heart trouble around the time his son shows up, so his death from a heart attack isn't a complete surprise.

Lilan has lines of dialogue! Okay, not literally, but as shorthand to demonstrate how well Erin understands her. Things like, "Back, neck, itchy. Scratch." The first couple of times, there's an explanation that Lilan isn't using actual words, but later the narrative dispenses with that and just gives her lines.

Shunan and Seimiya are not interested in each other romantically. They know each other, but the time he comes to the palace with the war veterans and gives her his ultimatum is the first time they have any meaningful conversation.

Nugan's role is almost non-existent. He has fewer lines than Lilan.

The story of the "great catastrophe" is not described in detail until the scene where Erin crashes Seimya's bath time. It's mentioned. The scout from the Mist People tells it to Erin, and Erin tells it to people, but the book just says stuff like, "And Erin told her the story of the great catastrophe," without sharing the details.

After the bath scene, there's an extra scene where Erin and Lilan are flagged down by a group of Mist People, including Soyon's mother. They ask Erin to come back with them and avoid committing a great sin, and Erin refuses. They try the silent whistle on Lilan again, but Erin has plugged Lilan's ears as a precaution.

Erin doesn't wear the big mitten after her fingers are bitten off. Her hand is bandaged and in a sling for a while, but when she flies Lilan out to rescue Shunan, she tears the bandage off to get a better grip on the reins.

Okay, that's all I can think of.