Earthian

アーシアン

8.0(1)

OtakuDen

6.0(4,058)

MAL Score

Ranked #10381

Popularity #6631

Boys Love
Drama
Mythology
Psychological
Urban Fantasy

Episodes: 4
Duration: 35 min per ep
Aired: Jul 26, 1989 to Dec 21, 1996
Status: Finished Airing

Synopsis

Since time immemorial, angels from Eden have been watching over the people of Earth, whom they refer to as "Earthians." Among these celestial observers are Chihaya and Kagetsuya, two agents tasked with evaluating the complexities of human nature. While Kagetsuya adheres closely to their mission, Chihaya finds himself increasingly drawn into the lives and struggles of the Earthians, often frustrating his partner with his impulsiveness.

As Chihaya delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding his own unusual black wings, he discovers unexpected connections between himself and the Earthians. Each revelation leads him to question not only the nature of humanity but also the very purpose of their watchful presence. In a world where emotions intertwine and boundaries blur, the journey of these two angels unfolds, exploring themes of understanding, connection, and the essence of love.

Otaku Consensus

Earthian is best treated as a fractured late-80s-to-mid-90s OVA artifact: its shoujo-BL melodrama, Yun Kouga-derived character art, and tragic urban-fantasy atmosphere give it a personality that outlasts its narrative mechanics. The recurring critical complaint is not the premise but the execution, with reviews repeatedly targeting erratic pacing, logic gaps, and an adaptation structure that jumps between drama, action, guns, aliens, and even giant-robot material without enough connective tissue.

Why You Should Watch

Watch Earthian if you want early boys-love angst filtered through celestial mythology, 90s OVA grit, and shoujo character design rather than the cleaner emotional packaging of modern BL anime. It scratches a similar itch to Angel Sanctuary’s winged religious melodrama and the doomed, theatrical mood of X, but in a shorter, stranger form that feels more like a recovered time capsule than a polished franchise entry. The appeal is in the collision: elegant bishounen designs, adult-leaning violence, homoerotic tension, rock-music flavor, and sudden action/sci-fi elements all crammed into four episodes released across seven years. If you enjoy beautiful narrative wreckage with strong aesthetic identity, Earthian has more to study than its modest scores suggest.

Key Characters

C
Chihaya(VA: Nozomu Sasaki)
Chihaya is the emotional fault line of the OVA, a soft-featured shoujo lead whose outsider quality turns the story’s angelic mythology into an identity crisis rather than simple fantasy decoration.
K
Kagetsuya(VA: Kazuhiko Inoue)
Kagetsuya works as Chihaya’s colder counterweight, and Kazuhiko Inoue’s casting gives their partnership the restrained tension that keeps the BL subtext from feeling purely decorative.
M
Messiah(VA: Hikaru Midorikawa)
Messiah is the kind of catalytic 90s bishounen presence fans remember less for exposition than for the pressure he adds to the OVA’s already heightened romantic and psychological atmosphere.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
J.C.Staff produced Earthian as a four-episode OVA released from July 26, 1989 to December 21, 1996, an unusually long span for such a short series. That production footprint helps explain why viewers often experience it as moody and episodic rather than smoothly serialized.
2
Yun Kouga is credited as both original creator and original character designer, while Kenichi Oonuki handled character design and animation direction. The result keeps the project visually tied to Kouga’s shoujo sensibility even when the writing veers into action and genre sprawl.
3
Its tag profile is unusually hybridized: AniList weights Shoujo and Angels at 79%, Guns at 60%, Boys’ Love at 48%, and Rock Music at 20%. That combination captures why Earthian can feel like BL tragedy, urban fantasy, and OVA-era action all fighting for the same frame.
4
The series has a reputation for tonal divisiveness: one critical line reads it as thoughtful, intelligent, and tragic, while another places it firmly in cheesy yaoi-angst and riffing-material territory. The split is part of its identity, not an incidental reception quirk.
5
Earthian carries adult-leaning material despite its elegant shoujo surface, with THEM Anime Reviews listing a 15+ content rating for violence, adult themes, and brief sexual situations. That harsher edge separates it from softer romantic fantasy entries built around similar imagery.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: Earthian’s four episodes took more than seven years to finish airing, beginning in 1989 and ending in 1996. That means the OVA bridges two distinct anime eras while remaining only feature-length in total runtime.
Fun fact 2: The core Japanese voice trio is a notable snapshot of 90s anime casting: Nozomu Sasaki as Chihaya, Kazuhiko Inoue as Kagetsuya, and Hikaru Midorikawa as Messiah. Their presence gives the small cast a more recognizable seiyuu pedigree than the title’s low popularity ranking suggests.
Fun fact 3: AniList lists only 13 favourites for Earthian, despite the title having over 4,000 votes on MyAnimeList. That gap reflects its status as a known but rarely championed cult OVA.
Fun fact 4: The production credits separate art, background, sound, and effects roles clearly: Hidetoshi Kaneko served as art director, Masatoshi Kai handled background art, Daisuke Jinbo is credited for sound effects, and Gou Abe for special effects. Those credits underline its OVA craft lineage rather than a television-series pipeline.
Fun fact 5: Online reviews repeatedly single out pacing as the major fault, with one calling it among the worst they had seen, while another still found the anime enjoyable as a tragic, intelligent oddity. Earthian’s reputation is therefore less ‘forgotten classic’ than ‘fascinating problem child.’