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Crest of the Stars: Difference between revisions
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''Crest of the Stars'' and its sequels, ''Banner of the Stars,'' ''Banner of the Stars II'' and ''Banner of the Stars III'', focus on the developing relationship between Jinto and Lafiel against the backdrop of an interstellar war between the Abh and the allied powers of the United Mankind. Lost Chapter of the stars however, is a prologue to Crest of the Stars and deals with the relationship between Lafiel's parents.
One of the most interesting conceits of the franchise is that, in basically ''any'' other kind of space opera, the imperialistic, militaristic Abh would be the ''unquestionable'' villains; and, indeed, at times when the bigger picture is put on prominent display it can be a bit uncomfortable to realize just what Jinto and Lafiel are a part of. In the latter ''Banner'' series, even the residents of Jinto's home planet [[What the Hell, Hero?|want to know just why the hell he's loyal to the all-conquering Abh at all]]. A large part of the point of the show is a refusal to fall into easy stereotypes, however, and no side of the great conflict is black-and-white pantomime evil.
The franchise is known for its deep characterization, colorful characters, and ability to go into long conversations over very trivial matters without seeming bland (in the second series, two characters get into a surprisingly ''interesting'' conversion over wine). There is some action, but if that's the only reason you're watching this you'll be bored to tears. Overall it's quite an entertaining and memorable series, as long as you don't mind long stretches of talking heads.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Absent Aliens]] - {{spoiler|The Abh are a servitor species created by humans.}}
* [[Achievements in Ignorance]] - Jinto succeeds in befriending Lafiel, the 3rd in line for the Imperial throne, by asking her for her name, which no one had ever done before.
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* [[Distressed Dude]]: Jinto early on. Lafiel has to rescue him. "I'm at a loss without you around."
* [[Drives Like Crazy]] - Ironically, it's [[Emotionless Girl|Ekuryua]], her driving is so bad that she induces motion sickness in a shuttle full of Abh. [[Beyond the Impossible|Abh are genetically engineered to fly in ships without inertia dampening]].
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]] - In the novel, they explain that the Abh are descended from an Island nation, which feared the loss of its culture, and so created a race of beautiful blue haired, almost androgynous elves.
** [[Don't Explain the Joke|Its Japan]] [[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE!]]
* [[Dying Moment of Awesome]] - {{spoiler|the last stand of the ''Gosroth''.}}
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* [[Emotionless Girl]] - Ekuryua, [[Cute Kitten|unless Diaho is involved]].
** Most Abh especially those of higher rank are encouraged to be this. Ekuryua just takes it to extremes.
* [[
* [[Explosive Decompression]] (Averted)
* [[The Face]]: Deconstructed with Jinto feels about being forced into this role. Because he seems to get along with everyone (perhaps because he wasn't born into Abh society like everyone else) he has to act as a go-between both inside the Basroil's crew and with other soldiers. This means shouldering everyone's emotional baggage and translating it for one receiving the message.
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* [[Fictionary]] - The Abh speak Baronh, a language created by the author. It follows Japanese rather than English structure.
** Baronh is an uncanny mix. Its grammar leans towards Latin (strongly-inflected words), its pronounciation and spelling towards French (large set of vowels and nasal sounds, mute consonants), and its vocabulary is based on ancient Japanese.
* [[First
* [[Foreign Queasine]] - Cat is considered a delicacy on Samson's homeworld of Midgrat. When the United Mankind sent ambassadors, the locals were repeatedly lectured on democracy and how unhealthy it was to eat cat. The Abh didn't say anything. According to Samson, this is why Midgrat joined the Abh Empire.
* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] (averted to some extent)
* [[Full Name Ultimatum]] - Lexshu gives one to Lafiel.
* [[Generation Ships]] - The planet Martine was settled by one of these and the Abh's original home was one as well before they cracked the FTL issue.
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** An interesting twist on this occurs in the second season where multiple episodes are devoted to nothing but the Abh fleet defending against wave after wave of Macross Missile Massacre.
* [[Male Gaze]] - Present during a conversation between Jinto, Ekuryua and Samson, where Samson is talking about his experiences as a mustang (enlisted man promoted to officer). It suggests that part of the reason Samson has been in the Star Forces for 20 years is because of the pretty girls in latex space suits.
* [[Mayfly
** Not so surprisingly, Jinto is actually the one that acknowledges this the most as Lafiel still wonders at time if she and Jinto is a different race while Jinto is ALWAYS conscience of the difference.
* [[Meaningful Echo]] - {{spoiler|"You shall call me Lafiel!"}} Possibly also the first series' [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]].
* [[Mildly Military]]: Jinto brings a cat on board a vessel that's going into combat. Admiral Abriel and his chief of staff insult each other even more than usual for Abh. Spoor treats [[The Laws and Customs of War]] as nuisances to be ignored when she wants to terrorize the enemy (including one instance where she makes up a loophole that allows her to kill prisoners in cold blood, and threatens her chief of staff with disciplinary action when he protests). Oh, and Nereis likes to take baths when there's a pitched battle going on.
* [[Never Be Hurt Again]]: The backstory has the Abh overthrowing their human creators and masters, then going on to conquer most of the known universe, while in the process of conquering the rest.
* [[No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine]] - Happens in the first series.
* [[Not Helping Your Case]] - Nereis and Nefee are part of a family known for its spectacular insanity. They claim they want to redeem their family's reputation, but they're not doing a very good job of it.
* [[Obfuscating Insanity]] - Aside from Nereis and Nefee, Spoor's reputation for being nuts even by Abh standards covers her brilliant tactical mind.
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** Lots of people resent the limitations they bring, so it actually becomes the basic conflict of the whole series. Morioka is quite a master of the subtle, yet profound detail.
* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]] - The impression of the crew of the ''Basroil'', upon seeing Lafiel elegantly attired as per page image for a private dinner. She got this reaction from Jinto ''twice''. First when she walked out and second when taking off her shawl.
* [[Shipper On Deck]]: Former baron Febdash is ''sure'' that Jinto and Lafiel are a couple because of [[First
* [[Shoot the Hostage]] - In the first season an alliance ship tries to use several Abh royalty as hostages: Spoor says they should feel fortunate to be able to die in the presence of Abh nobility.
* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]: Lafiel, polite and proper even when threatening someone. By her strength of will and cleverness, {{spoiler|she recruited Klowal's pet-like maids into a rebellion against him}}. As for 'being in charge' she may be a princess but she's still a 'pilot trainee' and has to obey her superiors.
* [[Slasher Smile]] - Lafiel gets to display one when she's [[No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine|having dinner]] with the Baron.
** The novel indicates that the Slasher Smile is pretty much present in the social arsenal of every Abh, and the meaning of it is unmistakable, something along the lines of getting "a bouquet of scorched roses".
* [[Slave Collar]]: All the Baron's maids wear one; Lafiel compares them to trained cats.
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* [[Space Opera]]
* [[Space Romans]] - Abh didn't copy all the external bells and whistles, but many features of their life are a dead ringer. Their penchant for conquest, their four-level citizenship structure (very similar to the late Republic to early Principate plebes-patricians-equestrians-senators) and demography, their love for intrigue, the level of autonomy they usually give to conquerred provinces, etc. Even their controversial status as a [[Designated Hero|good guys]] is similar.
* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]] - From Baronh to English by way of Japanese.
** Varying degrees of [[Did Not Do the Research]] and [[They Just Didn't Care]], depending on whether you're talking about the English anime, manga, or novel releases. As noted in [[Cot S]]'s entry on the trope page, the information on Baronh ''is'' out there -- [[Shown Their Work|Morioka was very thorough]] in his [[Con Lang]] creation.
*** Justified somewhat in that authentic Baronh spellings would drive anyone but hardcore linguists crazy. "Lamhirh" is most closely pronounced "Lafiel"? It's actually somewhat questionable why authentic latin-alphabet spellings even exist for Baronh, seeing as it has its own alphabet...
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* [[Stun Guns]] - Abh blasters can be this since they have variable settings that range from flashlight to hand cannon.
* [[Super Human Trafficking]]
* [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]] - Snarking is a highly developed art form in Abh culture, and it can be argued that all their social life revolves about exquisitely polite and witty ways ''to insult each other''.
* [[The Bridge]] - Crest Of The Stars partially goes for the standard aversion, making the bridges of its ships cramped and flight deck like,.. but only for the lighter units. Capital ships feature standard elevated platforms for the captain (with enough room to swing the ceremonial sword), loads of Bridge Bunnies etc. Although both the capital ships and the lighter elements have their bridges in the heart of the ship and not exposed ? this comes as a major plot point in one series when {{spoiler|Lamhirh's friend and mentor dies in a doomed destroyer's bridge}}.
* [[The Empire]] - The Humankind Empire Abh , though Your Mileage May Vary. Their mode of operation is to forcibly take over planets that do *not* have faster-than-light travel, though oddly they do not interfere with those planets which have purchased the technology from others. In the novels this is explained by the fact that their empire began on an interstellar merchant ship, and that they still respect "vested rights". They do not seem to be overtly oppressive towards the planets they control, but they do not allow *any* starship not owned by the Empire to be armed or use faster-than-light travel technology. Then there's the fact that only the "space elves" in charge are able to command warships, though this is due mainly to their physiology, not overt racism.
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* [[Undying Loyalty]]. Jinto for Lafiel. Yes, [[Ship Tease|it sounds like a marriage vow.]]
{{quote| -- ''I always want to be there for you, Lafiel, through thick and thin; through good times and bad times. I know I'll grow old faster than you because I'm a lander but to me that doesn't matter. I'll be there. If you become empress I'll be there. If we become dust in the emptiness of space I'll be there.''}}
* [[Unfortunate Names]] - Spoor. Get a dictionary and laugh. It's because of [[Spell My Name With an "S"|lame phonetic transcription]], because the [[Con Lang|correct form of her name]] in Latin script is Spaurh.
* [[Unusual User Interface]] - The genetically engineered Abh from Crest Of The Stars have one extra sensory organ in the middle of their forehead designed to interface with the sensors of spaceships in a read-only way.
** It's more then that, the sensory organ also give the Abh an innate feel for 3D space and moving in free-fall. To develop this, Abh children are put in zero-g crèches in their infancy as its necessary to experience free fall for the organ to develop.
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* [[Uterine Replicator]] - Abh reproduction involves in vitro fertilization and, usually, artificial wombs. Their genome is so tweaked, they can't even naturally conceive healthy offspring. Woman still occasionally choose to carry the embryo to term the old fashioned way, the Abh consider this to be a charming romantic display of love.
* [[Villain By Default]] - The Abh subvert this trope (though they seem to embrace it at first). They have an interstellar empire acquired through conquest and they ban space travel for everyone but the Abh. It's all for good reason however; i.e., trying to prevent a vast and destructive conflict.
** Given that they are trying to avoid a vast and destructive conflict by means of a vast and destructive conflict, there's arguably some crossover here with [[Well
** They seem to embrace their reputation as "villains" because their political rivals aren't going to stop fighting them even if they go out of their way to deny it. They're all in the same business, rulership and conquest; add in the belief that the Abh are some kind of inhuman biological robots, a politically convenient excuse for fighting whether one believes it or not. It really doesn't matter what the Abh say about it, war's gonna happen.
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]] - Given how large part of their social life is based on a culture of polite insult, it's not surprising that most of the Abh friendships happen this way. Among the best examples are Bibauth brothers, Crown Prince Dusanh and his Chief of Staff, and [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold|Admiral Spaurh]] with, well, everyone.
* [[Warrior Prince]] - The ''basis'' of Abh society, as their [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|royalty]] is ''expected'' to be [[Authority Equals Asskicking|extra awesome]] in the military department. Crown Prince Dusahn and his brother prince Dubeusec (Lamhirh's father) definitely qualify, as was their mother the Empress and countless other ones.
* [[Well
* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: The Bibauth family is famous for two things (other then being a root family): Giving birth to geniuses and giving birth to lunatics. The culture of the Empire says one cannot have the former without the latter.
* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]] - The Abh take this very seriously: unnatural-looking hair in colors ranging from blue to purple or even green are a required genetic trait for newborn members of their race.
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