Synopsis:
A baby girl named Himiko is born in the land of Yamatai. She is to carry on her parents' duty of guarding Bokka, the sacred flame. Since an invasion from the kingdom of Kune is forthcoming, six queen candidates are called upon so that one can be chosen to lead Yamatai. But Governor Shikara of Kune storms the castle and disrupts the ceremony. The Bokka disappears along with the baby Himiko, and the six queen candidates are dispersed to various parts of the land. Himiko winds up in modern day Tokyo, where she is raised as the daughter of archaeologist Dr. Himejima. Himiko is now in high school. She knows how she came to be Dr. Himejima's daughter, and she visits the site where she was found with her best friend Kutani. However, a mysterious power transports both Himiko and Kutani back to the land of Yamatai... where Himiko will fulfill her true destiny.

Review:
Legend of Himiko has everything I could want in an anime series. It's got a beautiful heroine with a destiny to fulfill, equally attractive supporting characters, fantasy elements like time travel and magic powers... in short, it should have been perfect. Should have been.

Legend of Himiko suffers from having too many characters and too little development. Aside from Himiko, Kutani, and the six queen candidates, there's also Governor Shikara and his team which consists of at least eight other characters. Many subplots are mentioned and hinted at but never given any substantial background or resolution. I would have wanted to know how the demi-god Chosa came to be part of Shikara's group, how Seika's father ended up the way he did, how Shikara got his hands on Shohi, etc. However, these plot points are just suddenly... there. I could not appreciate Legend of Himiko's attempts at humor either because I found them to be uninspired and out-of-place.

The plot is on the predictable side. I was hoping for some sort of surprise twist right down to the last episode but there was none. Legend of Himiko's best features are definitely the lovely visuals and music. I really loved the distinctive character designs. Everyone looked great and not like they came from the same mold. The opening and ending sequences, as well as the theme songs, are also exceptional.

Legend of Himiko is no "Fushigi Yuugi" or "Vision of Escaflowne". I really wanted to give it a higher rating but its shortcomings prevent me from doing so. Still, I did enjoy watching it.

Miscellanies:
Legend of Himiko is twelve episodes long.

Screenshots:

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