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A rare item should always be protected.

Izumiko Suzuhara is not what you would call social. Raised in the remote mountains by her grandparents and with a penchant for modern technology to break at her fingertips she's learned to grow up by herself.

In a bid to step out of her shell, Izumiko enrolls into a school based in Tokyo along with Miyuki Sagara, her estranged childhood friend. Together they discover that Izumiko is more than your typical shy 15 year old and in fact is a vessel for the goddess known as Himegami with Miyuki tasked as her guardian. Forced to get along with their entwined destinies, Izumiko and Miyuki are battling an uphill battle in Red Data Girl.

The Episodes

Red Data Girl is a charming series with a deliberately slow pace, perfectly complementing the traditional Shinto elements that make up the plot. The series follows Izumiko, a 15 year old girl with mysterious powers, who has spent her life in a mountain shrine training to become a Shinto priestess. There are few action scenes in this anime, with most time spent discovering the various characters and their roles in Izumiko’s eventual fate as host to the goddess Himegami. Early interactions are emotionally engaging, particularly with Izumiko’s frustration at her parents controlling her life. Throughout the series these relationships grow in a satisfying way, as destinies are revealed and peace is made with inevitable outcomes.

The artwork in Red Data Girl is stunning with several moments being on a level well above that seen in most other anime series such as when Izumiko performs her priestess duties at the Tamakura Shrine. Here she dons gorgeously detailed kimono robes and performs ceremonial song and dance routines with a paper fan.

Lush forests, inspiring shrine architecture, and beautiful kimonos are illustrated with the sort of care usually seen in a Studio Ghibli masterpiece. In fact comparisons could be easily made with the Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke, a feature film that also deals with gods and humans clashing.

A note in the series opening explains that the series name "Red Data Girl” refers to the “Red Data List” produced by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). This list is used to evaluate the extinction risk of endangered species around the world. In the context of the anime, the Red Data Girl then refers to the Himegami, is a goddess in danger of becoming extinct, with Izumiko being her final host.

This concept of mortality is explored in many ways throughout the series, both in life, and in death. On one hand we have the Soda triplets that Izumiko meets at school. Initially she believes Mayura and Manatsu Soda to be twins, though it is soon revealed that they had another brother who died at a young age. Through a special ritual, they are able to summon their dead brother Masumi, now a powerful spirit that is fiercely protective of his siblings and who fights by their side. Masumi is very much dead, but continues to keep on living as long as his siblings hold on to his existence. This is a complex relationship that causes conflict with their parents, who are so far into denial that they believe they only ever had twins.

On the other hand, we have Ichijo Takayanagi, a boy that makes himself known almost immediately as a school rival. He is revealed to be in control of many “spirit agents”, souls he has trapped in a zombie-like state that do whatever he asks.

Red Data Girl explores this concept of mortality in an inspired way by making it ambiguous who to feel for; Izumiko, as the host who will no longer exist or for Himegami, a goddess who faces permanent death.

DVD and Special Features

Despite this being a DVD release (a Blu-ray is also available but was not provided for this review) the image quality is sharp and vibrant and does this visually impressive anime justice. English and Japanese audio tracks are in Dolby Digital 2.0. The Japanese track is fine though the American voice actors on the English track struggle with Japanese name pronunciation at times which distracts to the point of it being unbearable.

Considering the prominence of Japanese terms and cultural references, viewers would have the best experience sticking with the Japanese track. The music on both tracks is wonderfully atmospheric, with forest creatures piping up in the background of scenes giving a realistic feel to this otherwise surreal series.

Special features are limited to a handful of trailers which is a shame. It would have been nice to see some artwork or storyboards of the production that went in to creating this detailed world. Information about the Shinto religious references would also have been helpful, if only to help further understand the background of the story.

Who Should Watch?

Red Data Girl is accessible to most ages but would best be viewed by teens and older. Some concepts may be lost on younger viewers however they should still get a lot of enjoyment out of the series with a little adult guidance. Heavy use of Japanese and Shinto religious terms contribute to this, however they don't detract from the experience.

Overall

Red Data Girl is an enticing visual treat, supported by a solid grounding in Japanese Shinto spiritualism. It is ideally suited to those who can appreciate a slower paced show that pulls you in and keeps you entertained while also forcing the viewer to think.

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Disclosure: A review copy was provided by Hanabee. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy. The DVD featured in this review is the Region 4 DVD release by Hanabee which is identical to the Region 1 release. Alternate releases are available in other regions.