Dhruv Sharma
‘Houseki no Kuni’ explores a very unique thematic through line which revolves around the idea of change. With mesmerizing CGI-induced visuals and a very engaging script, the anime takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. There will be times when you’ll find yourself laughing at the ridiculous gimmicks of the young Gems in the show and then there will be times when you’ll be left devasted with their battle against the Lunarians. Along with this, it also involves some deep lore and intricate world-building which makes it perfect for repetitive viewing.
Produced by Studio Orange (‘Black Bullet‘, ‘Beastars‘), ‘Land of the Lustrous’ comes off a fun fantasy series but the more you understand each of its characters, the more you’re able to relate to them and their flaws. ‘Houseki no Kuni’ is one of kind and you’re really missing out if you haven’t seen it yet. With that said, if you’ve been anticipating a sequel of this anime, we might have some news for you in the next section.
Houseki no Kuni Season 2 Release Date: When will it premiere?
‘Land of the Lustrous’ season 1 premiered on Oct 7, 2017 and went on till Dec 23, 2017. The first season covers close to 5 volumes of the manga which means that the creators of the show still have 30 more chapters of the source to cover. So if there were to be a second season, a lack of source material will certainly not be a problem. Moreover, after its release in October 2017, the sales of the manga almost doubled. So even if the anime was solely created to promote the manga, it clearly succeeded.
Also, if we consider its overall rating and popularity on most platforms, the show has been doing really well so far. In conclusion, ‘Houseki no Kuni’ does have a good chance of getting renewed in the new future but since no confirmations have been made from the studio’s end, we’ll just have to wait and see for now. If the sequel is already being considered by the creators of the series, we can expect ‘Land of the Lustrous’ season 2 to release sometime in 2021.
Houseki no Kuni English Dub:
An official English dub of ‘Houseki no Kuni’ is not available but you can still stream the anime on Amazon with its original Japanese audio and English subtitles.
Houseki no Kuni Plot:
Set in the future, in the world of ‘Houseki no Kuni’ crystalline organisms called Gems have taken over. Each of these gems has a special role to play in order to fight against another species known as the Lunarians. The sole motive of the Lunarians is to simply destroy these gems and then use them as mere decorations.
Phosphophyllite is another one of these gems who is young and weak but still hopes that someday she will be able to be a great warrior. But instead of becoming a war hero that she aspires to be, she is forced to compile an encyclopedia because of how fragile he is. Though a little reluctant about it at first, Phos decides to give this task a shot and that’s when she meets Cinnabar for the first time. Cinnabar is another smart gem who has been assigned the job of looking after an isolated island at night. Realizing that Cinnabar hates his job as much as him, Phos vows to himself that she’ll find a suitable job for both of them. What follows is a tale of adventure and bravery in which the two gems embark on a journey to protect their fellow gems.
Houseki no Kuni Characters:
Phosphophyllite
Phos is the main protagonist of the series and at the beginning, she is apparently one of the youngest members of the gem community. Phos always wanted to be useful and also, more than once, tried to help her elders with their war against the Lunarians. Unfortunately for her, like all the other young gems, she’s weak, brittle and clumsy, which disables her from doing any kind of physical task. Initially, her task was to create a natural history encyclopedia, but as time went on and she met Cinnabar, she realized that needs to set an example for others by pursuing what she really wants to do with her life. She goes through major changes in her personality throughout the span of the series.
Initially, she talked big of herself but deep inside, she very well knew that she’s weak and is not capable of doing most tasks. On the outside, a lot of times, Phos even seems to be overconfident and cocky as she always preaches about being more capable than what others expect from her. But she’s actually very insecure about her lack of strength. Much later in the series, Phos ends up losing her arms and gets new ones that are made of gold-platinum alloy. The new arms give her more strength and she is easily able to battle the Lunarians with her newfound strength. With this, she becomes more confident and humble.
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