Vital Information

The Basic

Shion Zaites and six other alien scientists were sent to the Moon to study the planet Earth. Among the scholars and doctors were Shion's fiancee Mokuren, and Shukaido, a weak man who desired her. Due to a horrible war, Shion's race was wiped out, all save for the seven on the Moon-- until an outbreak.

As a virus slowly ate away at the research party, jealous Shukaido fixed a medicine and gave it to Shion. He intended for Shion to remain alive, alone, and go mad. Shion survived for nine long years on the Moon while karma had reincarnated his cohorts on the planet for which they cared so much. Shion follows almost a decade later, and is reborn as Rin Kobayashi, a child who seems oddly adult. Rin continues to cause serious trouble while seeking his revenge and the possession of a kindred soul named Alice.

The anime version of Please Save My Earth was originally intended to be a shorter version of the manga series. The videos were, in fact, a much shorter version and tended to leave out some situations and come to a quick ending. Those who see the videos will note that most of the focus is on Rin, Alice and the repenting Haruhiko (Shukaido). There is also a Please Save My Earth movie, "From Alice to Rin-kun," which is currently available through fandubbing. The movie is said to go into more detail with the manga, and yet somehow squeezes 6 half-hour episodes into one feature film length piece.

A more detailed account of Rin's lives follows, Kurt Vonnegut style. Spoilers abound. Fair warning! Read ahead at your own risk.

The Comprehensive

Little Shion Zaites is borne unto a war-torn planet and soon orphaned. Thanks to some unusual abilities, he is able to survive on his own for some time; said abilities include weightlessness and telekinesis. Shion's powers are so strong that he can stop bullets in mid-flight and change their direction. He does just so when a group of soldiers accidently fire on him, thereby killing a handful of men in self defense. So it goes.

Shion is discovered and taken in by nuns. They place him in their orphanage, where he is introduced to religion of Sarjalim, and designate Shion as a "Sarches," the second-most holy breed of person in the world.

After a short time, Shion is assigned a Vida (that's funny-talk for foster daddy), Lazlo. "Lazlo" is getting to be a real popular anime name... Anyway, Lazlo takes Shion home to his oversized kitty Kya (not wee, not not so wee, he's freaking huge). There, the three live as a happy family until Lazlo and Kya are killed in a tragic and bloody accident. So it goes.

Somehow Shion puts this horrible period behind him, goes to school where he meets Shukaido and Gyokuran, becomes an engineer (smart guy), and is assigned to study planet ZKK-101, otherwise known as Earth. Shion and six others (Shukaido, Gyokuran, Enju, Hiiraji, Shusuran, Mokuren) park on the moon and work together to collect various data. Oddly enough, all seven are either Sarches or Sarjalian and have all been conveniently named after flowers.

Various love triangles develop, but none so frightening as that of Shion, Mokuren, and Shukaido. Mokuren, a Sarjalian (yes that'd be the first-most holy breed of person), earns Shion's disgust and jealousy by being so pretty and nice and sweet. He is also motivated to compete for her because Gyokuran and Shukaido both worship her and claim to be in love with her. As Mokuren believes she is treated differently by the boys because she is a Kitche-Sarjalian, Shion is able to win her trust by promising to "help" her. He then rapes her, hoping to rid her of her Sarjalian powers, which are dependant on celibacy. His efforts fail, as Mokuren is extra holy. She covers for his crime, telling the others she is engaged to Shion, and after that, they remain a couple. Meanwhile, the home planet is destroyed, and a deadly virus breaks out in the science moon base. So it goes.

When only Shion, Mokuren and Shukaido remain, Shukaido gives Shion the only antidote, therein dooming himself and Mokuren. Mokuren passes away, asking Shion not to commit suicide and to "protect the Earth" until the end (psst... hence the title). The end comes 9 years later, and the great goddess of karma sends the scientists to Japan.

Mokuren, now Alice Sakaguchi, lives next door to Shion, now Rin Kobayashi. Rin is as cruel to her as ever, especially when she babysits him. His teasing spurs Alice to smack him lightly, which accidently flips Rin off a balcony. He falls a few stories into a tree and goes into a coma. So it goes!

Upon awakening, Rin remembers his previous life and regains his powers, just as the other moon scientists are awakening as well. Afraid that Earthlings will discover the moon base and use its technology to destroy themselves, Rin decides to use Tokyo Tower as a psychic amplifier to blow up said moon base. In order to do so, he needs the passwords of the other scientists. This triggers a whole mess of deception including mistaken identities, death threats, and blowing up temples, which are eventually resolved. Woohoo!

Most importantly in the end, Alice regains her memories, and Rin is reconciled with her. The spirits of Shion and Mokuren are at peace, and Rin grows up to be a real looker. Alice and Rin get married (despite the age difference) and are happy and have a little baby. It's really cute.