Review of Land of the Lustrous
Houseki no Kuni is an anime that I didn't expect to like, mainly because I'm against CGI being implemented into anime, however, Houseki no Kuni diverted my opinion about this and made me watched other full CGI anime shows like Dorohedoro, Inuyashiki, and Beastars. The gems don't have genders but I'm gonna call them she or her So we start off with the setting of the show, which is a very mysterious futuristic setting, at the very first episode we are told that the world is destroyed by 6 meteors and the world is now inhabited by immortal crystalline sentient beings called "Gems". The gems arehunted by the Lunarians an unknown species that use gems as decorations. after all the explanation, we got introduced to our main protagonist Phosphophyllite, a weak and fragile gem that badly wants to help her fellow gems and be useful, Phos being weak, she wanted to improve and change, thus introducing us to the main premise of Houseki no Kuni. Houseki no Kuni focusses heavily on how Phos changes emotionally and physically throughout the show. Houseki no Kuni also has a really interesting and lovable cast, we have Diamond the hardest material contrasted by her weak personality, we also have Kongou-sensei which acts as the father figure for the gems. Houseki no Kunis story is brilliant, revolving around self-change and how changing introduces a lot of circumstances, Houseki no Kuni contains a lot of fun and enjoyable moments until the Lunarians came and fuck up the gems, our enjoyment is immediately replaced by fear and a creepy sensation from the Lunarians.
The art is amazing, the CGI compliments the shows aesthetic which for the most part are all crystals and minerals. Trying to show the brilliance of the Gems in 2D would be hard or almost impossible, that's why I believe CGI is the best choice for the show. The CGI surpassed my expectations cuz I expected dull-looking moments but instead, what I got was brilliantly coordinated, dynamic, and breathtaking shots that would be impossible to capture if the show was in 2D.
The OST of the show is one of its greatest aspects, it properly conveys the mood and it has a fantastic op and ed. The Lunarians theme has to be my favorite theme in the show, it properly conveys fear and tension while being otherworldly and beautiful.
Overall Houseki no Kuni heavily exceeded my expectation and instantly hooked me just in the first episode, I didn't expect the show to be this good. It easily exceeded my expectations in all aspects of the show especially in the art part of the show. Too bad this show flew under everyone's radar and didn't got the hype and praise it deserves