# Land of the Lustrous (2017)

> A fragile crystalline gem is assigned to compile an encyclopedia in a shattered far future, and finds purpose alongside an outcast who guards the island at night.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/64426

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, science fiction, fantasy, drama
- Created by: Takahiko Kyougoku
- Network: AT-X
- Cast: Tomoyo Kurosawa, Mikako Komatsu, Ai Kayano, Ayane Sakura, Mutsumi Tamura, Saori Hayami, Yumi Uchiyama, Ayahi Takagaki
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7790776/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melancholic, contemplative, wistful, eerie, thoughtful

## What critics say

Audiences rate the single season positively, praising its striking visual design and thoughtful, melancholy take on a fragile gem society.

## Synopsis

Land of the Lustrous (2017) is a Japanese seinen science fiction fantasy anime produced by Orange and aired on AT-X, created by Takahiko Kyougoku. Set in a far future where the world has been wrecked by six meteors, the story follows Phosphophyllite, known as Phos, a young and delicate crystalline Gem voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa who longs to join the battle against the Lunarians. Instead Phos is assigned to compile an encyclopedia, and that quiet task leads to Cinnabar, voiced by Mikako Komatsu, an intelligent Gem exiled to patrol an isolated island at night because of the corrosive poison in their body. The engine of the twelve-episode series is the search for a role both outcasts can embrace while the Lunarians keep threatening to shatter Gems and turn their remains into decorations. Told as a single serialized arc, the show balances striking, unsettling imagery with a contemplative, melancholic mood and thoughtful meditations on identity and belonging. Its luminous, mineral-textured visuals and dreamy pacing will appeal to fans of Made in Abyss, Mushishi and Attack on Titan who want a wistful, philosophical post apocalyptic fantasy with an unusual cast of non-human characters.

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