Twelve Moments in Anime No. 11: The Start of Erin’s Journey

Haha, I meant to get this up much earlier in the day, but I was busy with a ton of things this morning, including finally watching the season finale of Dexter. What a holy shit episode that was — season five cannot come soon enough!

Anyway, this moment explores the first turning point of one of the best series to air in 2009, Kemono no Souja Erin (about which I splooged over a couple of months back). There are heavy-duty spoilers involved in this post, so I think it is only fair to warn everyone before getting things started. That said, let’s get to the moment!

Going to Bat for Kemono no Souja Erin

A piece of fiction that is described as being for “children” often has an unfair stigma attached to it. Stories are described as not being “adult” enough. They simplify themes and plots too much. They are too obvious with their symbolism. In short, children’s stories are often accused of being dumbed down so that children will be able to understand them. But this is an unfair generalization that actually simplifies the amazing work done by stories with children in mind.

Kemono no Souja Erin, about a girl whose curiosity and love of nature thrusts her into a beautiful and dangerous world, is one of those stories. I honestly believe it deserves — demands — to be mentioned in the same breath with classics such as The Phantom Tollbooth, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia or whatever other classic children’s story one might like to mention.