Shingu Secret of the Stellar Wars

Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars is an anime program produced by Madhouse and directed by Tatsuo Sato. This twenty-six episode anime aired on NHK from May 8-December 4, 2001. The Right Stuf International holds the licensing rights for the anime in the United States.

Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars opens with an alien invasion on Tokyo. This invasion is stopped by a mysterious giant being. The battle is witnessed by Muryou Subaru and his grandfather, and they comment on the goings-on as if there’s nothing to be shocked or surprised about. Everyone else, on the other hand, seems to be panicked.

The main character of the series is actually a middle school student named Hajime Murata, who comes across as being nervous. Hajime often talks to the camera, and serves as the narrator of the series. One day, a mysterious boy named Muryou Subaru transfers into Hajime’s class. The first thing that makes Muryou stand out is the fact that he wears a school uniform in a time in Japan when school uniforms are no longer required. Also, Muryou talks with a voice that always stays normal, whether or not something unusual is going on.

Muryou also gains the attention of Kyoichi Moriguchi, a hot-tempered member of the school’s student council. He thinks of Muryou as a rival in just about everything. One day, Kyoichi and Muryou are on the roof of the school, and Hajime surprises himself by climbing up to the roof to try to resolve things. What Hajime ends up witnessing is Kyoichi and Muryou using psychic power against each other in a duel.

During the anime, Hajime comes to learn that almost everyone in school knows about the giant being that stopped the alien invasion at the beginning of the series. He also learns that everyone who lives in an older part of the city holds a secret. It turns out that many of the leading families have powers, including the power of “Shingu,” to protect the Earth. Hajime also learns all of the current student council members are guardians of this secret, and that many of the town’s residents are also intergalactic diplomats.

Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars is a light-hearted sci-fi anime series. The animation style is similar to the kind of animation one would have seen in the Studio Ghibli films of the late 1980’s (My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service). Personally, I would recommend Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars for anime viewers ten or eleven years of age and older.