The story is set on Earth in an alternate timeline. In 1967, mankind made first contact with an extra-terrestrial life form called the BETA. The BETA began a war with the humans, and they finally invaded Earth in 1973. Nearly 30 years later, mankind has been driven to the brink of extinction.
The first episode begins in 1997, and Yui Takamura and her friends are in an academy, learning how to pilot mecha known as TSFs. The TSFs have been designed with the hope that they can help the humans defeat the BETA and reclaim their homeworld. Yui's father helped to develop one of the models of the TSFs.
Later in the episode, it is 1998, and the BETA have broken through various defenses and are headed to mainland Japan. One of Yui's friends has a boyfriend on the front lines, and he is killed in action. Another of Yui's classmates loses relatives in the fighting. Yui and her classmates are called up to help defend a temporary storage area for the troops that are involved in the battle. At the end of the first episode, they suddenly find themselves on the front lines when the BETA come to attack the storage area.
Even though there are some "fanservice" elements that I saw in the first episode of Total Eclipse, such as quick flashes of breasts, I was willing to overlook it because the story itself was so compelling. Also, the "fanservice" isn't so prevalent and "in your face" that it distracts from the story or the action. By the time I finished the first episode, I was interested enough in the story that I would be willing to watch future episodes to see where the story heads to next.
The animation in Total Eclipse also looks rather impressive. While there are some CG elements used in the animation, especially for the mecha, I think the animators found a way to meld the 2D and CG elements together in such a way that the CG doesn't draw too much attention to itself. This is definitely some of the better use of CG animation that I've seen in an anime series that is primarily 2D in nature.
Overall, I found Total Eclipse to be an enjoyable viewing experience. However, with the "fanservice" that is present in the series, I would personally recommend Total Eclipse to anime viewers who are 14 or 15 years of age and older.
| Total Eclipse | 25 | 2012 | Masaomi Ando/Takayuki Inagaki | Satelight | N/A |
