Houseki no Kuni

In the mysterious future, crystalline organisms called Gems inhabit a world that has been destroyed by six meteors. Each Gem is assigned a role in order to fight against the Lunarians, a species who attacks them in order to shatter their bodies and use them as decorations.

Phosphophyllite, also known as Phos, is a young and fragile Gem who dreams of helping their friends in the war effort. Instead, they are told to compile an encyclopedia because of their delicate condition. After begrudgingly embarking on this task, Phos meets Cinnabar, an intelligent gem who has been relegated to patrolling the isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison their body creates. After seeing how unhappy Cinnabar is, Phos decides to find a role that both of the rejected Gems can enjoy. Houseki no Kuni follows Phos' efforts to be useful and protect their fellow Gems.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Phosphophyllite Main

Kurosawa, Tomoyo Japanese

Antarcticite Supporting

Ise, Mariya Japanese

Diamond Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Cinnabar Supporting

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Padparadscha Supporting

Park, Romi Japanese

Bort Supporting

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Rutile Supporting

Uchiyama, Yumi Japanese

Yellow Diamond Supporting

Minagawa, Junko Japanese

Alexandrite Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Kongou-sensei Supporting

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

Kamei, Hiroshi Producer

Takei, Katsuhiro Producer

Kaneko, Hirotaka Producer

Kamiji, Tomoyo Producer

Reviews

Jan 2, 2025

N0T3LI_

Recommended

The most beautiful anime that will probably never receive a second season.
Don't let the fact that this anime primarily uses CGI fool you- it is likely the BEST that CGI has ever looked in an anime- and the world that Houseki no Kuni resides in is equally as beautiful. Sprawling fields of green, the glistening ocean that surrounds a singular continent- and most of all the wondrous cast of characters all attributed to different kinds of "Gems".

Set sometime in the distant future, Earth has been ravaged by 6 meteorites. Humanity was able to survive the hits of the first 5, but the 6th destroyed most ... of everything- causing the race that ruled to flee into the ocean. Over time, in the deepest recesses of this new world, a new race emerged... An old myth describes ancient Humans who split to survive. Flesh, Bone, and Spirit. Bone, the Gems- immortal creatures made purely of Diamond, Jade, Alexandrite, etc. These creatures protect the Earth under their Master from the people who live on the Moon. The Spirit- Lunarians, striking their attacks to retrieve these Gems as "decorations". The Flesh, a race who has been subjugated on the Moon by the Lunarians.

The worldbuilding in this show is simply amazing. As you continue on, you learn more about the simplistic yet brilliant land that draws you nearer. I loved each and every one of these characters, and how they interact as a big family. Seriously, one of the most adorable anime I've watched. Our main character in this world is Phosphophyllite, the most useless of the Gems. Purpose. Phos is constantly trying to be useful, to find a purpose- to try and be more like her siblings- to be smarter, to be stronger, to be quicker- but with a hardness level of only 3, He breaks at a mere touch. At the ending of the first episode, Phos does receive a goal- to find a new job for Cinnabar, a Gem forced by their power into solitary, lacking PURPOSE aswell.

The fight scenes in this show are also top notch. The designs of the creatures they fight, Lunarians, are a mixture of pure beauty and terror. Every scene flows so well, it's candy for the eye. If you're a fan of this kinda stuff, you certainly wont be dissapointed by what Houseki no Kuni has to offer.

Over the course of this series, CHANGE is also a huge theme. Phos changes for others in many senses of the word- through trauma, he slowly loses the parts of himself that made him him. His joy fades away. Phos also loses parts of himself physically- and by grafting new materials onto himself becomes a stronger version- "but at what cost?" This imagery resonated with me heavily, and is an extremely tragic character study. I won't spoil anymore than that- but this series will BREAK YOU.

All of this culminates in a definite favorite for me. Though, it's been nearly 8 years and no news of a second season... I don't know why. HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 16, 2024

DigiCat

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Visually, this is some of the best CGI i've ever seen in anime, the characters are expressive, with their movements feeling very natural and character designs that compliment the animation style
Worldbuilding is simple but effective, allowing a lot of freedom to play around with the psychedelic vibe the show has

However, this is a very clear case of style over substence
The gems personalities are quite stereotypical with little developement to them, this along with the weak storyline make the moments of darkness and psychological torment feel more like shock factor and melodrama

I feel like there was some wasted potential, the stunning visuals that could've been used ... to accentuate a story come off more as an art gallery showcasing new animation techniques

Overall something to watch if you don't want to think much and jsut relax(ish) in front of the shining screen, if this is your thing there's a few very adorable moments in this anime you should not miss

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 10, 2019

theRealGuyFieri

Not Recommended

The Land Of The Lustrous? More like 'Saitama and the crystal gems: the inexistances of a storyline'
To start of this review, I want to just say that I was looking forward to watching this. After seeing Beastars and how beautiful a show it was and that this show had 'fantastic' reviews of 8/10, I was really hoping to be amazed by the studio and the show. Well, after watching, I can say that, my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

Let's start off at the first episode, I was amazed, I was hooked and was looking forward to where the show will go. At ... the second episode there was a little head-scratcher, I let that pass and still continued to watch. By episode 3 the whole show went downhill from there. But I will not be ignorant and ignore the ups about the show.

-SCORES-
Character: 5/10- some is well developed while others are just shallow and weak
Design: 8/10- I'll give it to them the design characters are nice
Environment: 7/10- I love the place they are in, just wished there was more and the dove in deeper in the surroundings
Music: 6/10- The ost is great but there are many cases where the music just doesn't fit with the scene
Writing: 2/10- It's so bad. Little connection with episodes, there are plots that are just random and unnecessary, some parts rushed some parts too slow, pacing is off till I get a headache, plus why TF does the main character and the supporting character change all of a sudden in ep 9. Yes they want to show development of the main character but why is such a bad manner. Was the antarcic girl such a big impact on her, we barely knew her. Moreover, 'fantastic' why of ending off the show with small supporting character plots that confuses the show even more. Finally, the last episode concludes Pho's quest to find a 'job' for her surprisingly called 'friend' Cinnabar that actually fails to fit the bill and we are left with nothing.
Art: 8/10- Details are there and it's pretty

-CONCLUSION-
My God was this such a painful show to watch, the storyline is not there, I don't get where the fuck does the studio get their writers from, even if it was adapted from the book I can clearly see it's super rushed. Plus why is the speech they say so abstract, some of what they are saying contradicts their past sayings and almost nothing can be made out of what they are saying. I am at majority of the times wondering what the fuck just happened and why the fuck are they doing this. I just wished they thought the whole show out more thoroughly cause I really see potential, even if this painfully boring story was adapted from the book they could have taken extra measures to improve. I can see why people like it due to the visual and that I can agree, but storywise, I don't see the hype around the show and I am let down.
EDIT: I read the manga and I just can't understand why the studio couldn't fit more in episodes instead of dragging and making the pace so slow. Like if they intend on doing a season 2 they could at least end of the series with a part that hints to it, could be that Pho is closer to finding the truth.


and if they can't solve the issue why the Lunarians are trying to kill them then, isn't all of them gonna die one day and there is absolutely nothing they can do, just live on that stupid island defending any attacks and carry out everyday activities? wack yo

light 3

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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