Arjuna is the best anime you’ve probably never heard of unless you’ve heard of it as Earth Maiden Arjuna, it’s actual full name. I came across it On Demand, a long time ago, yet didn’t get the chance to watch the full series until years later. I think every anime fan should see it at least once. Arjuna follows the story of Juna, a girl who dies in a motorcycle accident. Her soul, or spirit, floats up and sees how the Earth is going to die. During this, a boy, Chris, promises to save her life if she’ll become the Avatar of Time, fight the Raaja and save Earth. Juna agrees and thus becomes the Avatar of Time.
This is a heartfelt anime that has a lot of things going for it. For one, the soundtrack is amazing. It’s one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard, of any anime. There are carefree filled songs that are lighthearted and great for relaxing to or even going to sleep listening to. I sometimes put in one earbud and set my MP3 player’s sleep timer when I’m going to bed. The more peaceful Arjuna songs are some of my favorites for such an occasion. And then there are the creepier, the Earth is dying songs, as well as mysterious but awesome chanting filled songs. It’s one of the most unique yet amazing ost’s you’ll get from an anime.
The music isn’t the only amazing thing about Arjuna. The story is quite enjoyable too. There are the parts that make you think more about the various subject matter in a different light, such as how the Earth gets polluted and treated like trash. And in addition to that, there are parts where Juna is in these awesome battles against the Raaja as well. Speaking of which, I know Arjuna has various Hindu themes and Indian culture references added to various parts of the anime. For example, this guardian she’s able to summon to protect herself, Ashura, is supposed to resemble Asura from Rigveda, an Indian collection of Sanskrit hymns. Ashura’s design in the anime, even sort of looks like something from Indian culture. You can kind of tell at certain parts based on its design, what culture it originates from.
The plot is pretty simple, nevertheless, there are a lot of things going on that kept me intrigued enough to keep watching. Like the subplot with the various characters, in which you’ll see more of Juna’s relationships with her loved ones. You’ll meet quite a handful of characters throughout the show. There’s Tokio, Juna’s boyfriend, who is somewhat of a clueless idiot at times. Her somewhat obnoxious friend, Sayuri who regularly hangs out with both Tokio and Juna. And then the various others, like a telepathic girl Cindy, who is always taking care of Chris, the boy who saves Juna’s life. He was originally supposed to be the Avatar of Time, but he gave up his powers to save Juna and passed the title and powers onto her. He became extremely weak and frail upon doing so. Cindy is not a fan of Juna and thinks she’s too much of an idiot to save Earth. You’ll have to watch the show and see how it all plays out
Arjuna is a very short, 13 episodes anime by the way. It won’t take much time out of your schedule to complete it. Despite that, it’s one of the best anime I’ve ever watched. Possibly one of my ultimate faves. It has an English dub as well as the English sub version with Japanese dub. Having originally watched the English dub, it’s my preferred way to view this one as I think it’s dubbed very well. It’s also a pretty old anime now, originally airing in the beginning of 2001. It’s probably best to buy a copy off eBay if you want to watch it in its full glory. You can find a few complete series copies listed for only twenty to thirty bucks. The character art style is more basic than other anime, but it makes it much more unique. And the way Juna’s Avatar of Time transformation was designed, is certainly the strangest looking magical girl you’ll ever see. I like it though. Again, it’s very unique and makes it quite different from any other save the world magical girl type of anime.
Earth Maiden Arjuna will make you think deeper about the themes explored and is a wonderful anime, the best unheard of anime ever, in my opinion of course. I’m extremely glad I stumbled upon this anime once upon a time. I’d be seriously missing out if I hadn’t. It has the most awesome soundtrack, decent enough animation to hold up, alright today and a great story that makes you think about our own Earth and society. Whether you’re just looking to waste some time for a day, or maybe you want to look into more unknown anime you hadn’t heard of, either way, I highly recommend Arjuna. You’re missing out if you don’t at least give it a shot. Try out an episode or two for yourself and see what you think, possibly get completely hooked like I was.
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