2001 Q2 – Spring (April’s Fools)

Figure 17

(13 monthly 47min episodes)

What’s it about ?
A young girl moves to Hokkaido with her dad and nearly bores me to sleep before seeing an alien ship crash in the woods. The alien pilot is humanoid and probably a good guy ; a monstrous thing has hitch-hiked on his ride and he has trouble fighting it off. Our heroine merges with a sentient alien armor to dispatch the monster, but there’s a weird after-effect : the armor has taken human form, which means our girl’s now got a twin sister.

Characters

Tsubasa, a very boring 10-year-old girl. Quite asocial, which doesn’t exactly endear her to me.

Her dad is a bit more interesting : he moved to Hokkaido after his wife’s death (apparently from complications from Tsubasa’s birth ?), and is starting over as a baker’s apprentice.

The alien dude looks like your standard issue alien action hero, although he’s clearly overmatched by the beastie. He’s as surprised as anyone when Tsubasa merges and proceeds to kick tons of ass.

By the way, “Figure 17” is the name of the Tsubasa/armor merger.

Production Values

Perfectly okay for this sort of thing, I guess.

Overall Impression

There are series that benefit from the double-length format. This is not one of them, as the pacing is so relaxed it’s downright lethargic. We’re treated to half an hour of Tsubasa’s daily life before anything happens, and that’s so boring I nearly gave up halfway through.

Some of the underlying ideas are somewhat interesting, I guess, but I have no wish to wade through hours of navel-gazing before it gets to the point.

Even a Giant Teeth Monster right behind her can barely wake Tsubasa up !

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Chance! Pop Session

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Three girls going separately to a concert of a famous pop-star and stumbling upon a pamphlet for a music school. Presumably they’re going to apply, but this is a very slow first episode.

Characters

Reika, the pop-star. There’s the very beginning of a subplot with her stern coach (an ex-popstar herself), but it doesn’t go anywhere yet.

Nozomi, the very rich and sheltered girl who can afford a first-row ticket and has a ~~watchdog~~ butler following her everywhere.

Akari, the country girl who’s an absolute Reika fan. Attends church, has a hopelessly dull sweetheart, the works.

Yuki, the city girl who struggles to make ends meet. She works backstage on the lights. Of the three, she seems to be the one most intent on breaking into stardom. Frankly, she’s the only vaguely interesting character here.

Production Values

Very cheap-looking, with limited animation everywhere it can. The songs aren’t very good either, which puts quite a cramp on the whole thing.

Overall Impression

I don’t want to unfairly knock down a show from a genre I have very little interest in… but this is quite dire. Besides the overall cheapness, this is a very slow start, with barely any plot to speak of. Normally this would be an occasion to develop the characters, but apart from Yuki nobody grows beyond a single dimension.

It’s a 13-episode show that barely has any substance in its first episode. Pass.

No backstage pass ? The Kung-Fu Butler (tm) is a more than adequate substitute. — No backstage pass ? The Kung-Fu Butler ™ is a more than adequate substitute.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars (Gakuen Senki Muryo)

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

2070, a future that’s basically the same as now, except we’ve got neat folding laptops. A giant alien floating thing shows up above Tokyo and wreaks havoc on anything electronic, but nobody really panics because it’s quickly dispatched by another giant alien floating thing that looks a lot more friendly (and has the good taste to disappear once it’s done its job). Meanwhile, one of the few characters who seems to have a clue about the whole thing moves to a backwater town and enrols in the local middle school. Cue the usual clichés : making friends despite being a bit weird, slice-of-life scenes with the supporting cast, rooftop ki fights with the local bully… Wait, what ?

Characters

Hajime, our narrator, who seems to be a normal middle school boy apart from his habit of droning pointlessly about everything that happens on screen. He’d be quite annoying if not for two points : (1) his general reaction to the alien attack’s TV coverage is “Yeah, right…”, and (2) there’s a point where he turns to the camera while continuing to narrate, and even his little sister comments on how weird his behaviour is. So presumably this is going somewhere.

Subaru, the weird transfer student. He coincidentally had a perfect vantage point with his grandfather when the alien thing showed up, and they both talked as though they knew what was happening. He seems completely clueless about ordinary school life, to the point of showing up in a school uniform despite them being out of fashion for decades.

Moriyamata, the student council vice-president, who immediately pegs Subaru as somehow related to the alien attack, and summons him to a ki fight on the school rooftop. (How they got there is strange in itself, considering the acrobatics Hajime had to perform to join them.) He gets completely (although gently) schooled by Subaru, who offers to teach him to use his ki powers properly.

Production Values

This feels very retro-looking, especially the character designs. But overall this looks quite pretty and well-animated. The opening sequence with the alien attack is impressive, with a nice level of detail for the consequences of the electronic failures slowly propagating through the city.

Overall Impression

This is definitely intriguing. The Evangelion parallels are undeniable, but this has no angst whatsoever and everyone seems very relaxed about the whole thing. In lesser hands this absence of dramatic tension would be a turn-off, but here it feels like it’s a deliberate part of the plot that’ll be explored in due time.

I want to watch more. Mission accomplished.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Hanaukyo Maids (Hanaukyo Maid-tai)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A boy receives a sudden inheritance from his grandfather : a ridiculously huged mansion, staffed by hundreds of maids. (Also, tons of money.)

Characters

Taro, our protagonist. Completely baffled by the whole thing. In the grand tradition of stupid harem comedies, he’s got an allergy to girls, which makes it all very awkward.

We don’t actually see his grandfather, but he sounds like a gigantic pervert : his video will to Taro only has footage of maids sunbathing on a private island, there are nude statues everywhere, and then there’s all the training of the maids to be very intimate to their master. Now, I can somewhat understand why a squad of them would help him pee and bathe, but there’s little excuse for the “final service” after lights out.

Mariel seems to be the head maid or something (although it’s not actually acknowledged onscreen). Taro seems to like her, and she’s the only maid who does not set off his girl allergy (which of course raises all sorts of alarms in my brain – hopefully they’re not going that route, are they ?).

There are literally hundreds of other maids, although the only other notable ones are a set of triplets who seem the most sexually aggressive of the bunch.

Production Values

Terrible. This is barely animated at all. Also : boobies ! There’s LOTS of nudity here.

The ED sequence has live-action footage of what looks like the voice-actresses cosplaying as their characters, which is frankly embarassing. At least they’re properly clothed…

Overall Impression

Dear gods this was horrible and sanity-destroying. This obviously tries to be a raunchy sex comedy, but this is neither funny nor titillating.

This somehow got a remake in 2004. I can’t see how that’d improve things.

I had trouble retrieving the only SFW scene of assault in this episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 7.

Zone of the Enders – Dolores, I

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A space trucker finds out that the dodgy shipment he’s carrying back to Earth is a hotly sought-after experimental mecha.

Characters

James, our protagonist. A war veteran (or so he claims) stuck into a dead-end space-trucker job, he’s at least well into his forties and got a not-so-loving family waiting for him back on Earth (at the very least, his teenage daughter wants nothing to do with him, and his son doesn’t even return his calls). The series goes out of its way to depict him as a washed-out loser, miserably failing at flirting with girls half his age, and drowning himself in booze. He does get some sort of epiphany halfway through the first episode, although given that his idea of reconnecting with his family involves purchasing an overpriced cat for his daughter and burying himself into self-help books (with his cabin increasingly looking like a pigsty as he does so), I’m not too optimistic on his chances of success.

Laia, James’s up-to-no-good contact who sets him up with his shipment. It’s hard to look more shifty than this dude, and James has enough history with him to know better than taking the gig. But overpriced cats cost money, so he eventually relents. (It helps that Laia’s backup trucker wound up mysteriously shot dead mere hours after taking the job – although Laia’s not telling this to James, of course…)

Dolores, the cargo. A fifty-foot-tall mecha that behaves and speaks like a teenage girl. No, seriously, she’s even shy about having a man “down there” (into the cockpit).

There are of course some shady people looking into taking hold of Dolores, with enough connections to infiltrate the UN space patrols.

Production Values

Perfectly watchable, and there’s been a lot of care put into background details to make the setup feel grounded in reality. The score is a bit dated and MIDI-ish, but it does the job.

Overall Impression

Wow, that was fun. I don’t know if it’s the novelty of having a “mature” dude as a protagonist, but I really enjoyed this. It’s not exactly deep or subtle, but this looks like a madcap romp in a relatively grounded space sci-fi setting. Despite being a loser, James is a compelling protagonist, and he’s already got lots of chemistry with Dolores.

Google tells me this is a sequel to an OVA that itself spun off a videogame franchise, but it seems to stand perfectly well on its own.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 7.

Project ARMS

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A high school student is stalked by both a creepy transfer student and a team of men in black. Maybe this is linked to his weird right arm (which hasn’t been the same since a mysterious incident years ago)…

Characters

Ryo, our protagonist. Kind-hearted, a bit of a slacker… and owner of incredibly 80s sideburns. His right arm is definitely not normal, what with healing ridiculously fast and transforming into something else at the end of the episode.

Katsumi, totally not his girlfriend, and typical bossy tsundere material. Spends most of the episode either in distress… or with Ryo thinking she’s in distress (while his opponents couldn’t care less about her). She’s actually less annoying than this sounds.

Hayato, the creepy transfer student with his left arm bandaged. The kind who single-handedly defeats a dozen bullies offscreen. His left arm is actually a weird claw-with-blades thing, and he’s somehow able to make Ryo’s arm vibrate by “resonance”.

There are quite a few men in black circling around Ryo and Hayato while delivering cryptic exposition. They want to capture the two ARMS subjects, but there’s probably more to it.

Production Values

Not a lot of budget, but enough directing tricks to somewhat disguise it as artistically-motivated. Good use of colour to build the atmosphere, too.

Overall impression

This is actually quite decent : the characters have a lot of chemistry, the atmosphere is well set, and it moves at a decent clip. The character design’s a bit retro, but you get used to it quickly.

The problem is that I don’t care about the story. At all. It’s a bit of a cliché, and despite the quality of the execution I can’t see this series going anywhere interesting.

That's quite a skin condition Hayato has got there... — That’s quite a skin condition Hayato has got there…

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 7.

Galaxy Angel

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A squad of women can perform any mission if you pay the price… This episode : finding a lost cat. No, really.

Characters

Ranpha, the hot-tempered blonde who complains about everything. Only Yukari Tamura’s charisma can keep her from being too annoying.

Forte, her tall and snarky partner, whom I mistook for a dude until I saw the frankly embarrassing cleavage hole in her clothes. Urgh.

Milfeulle, a girl they encounter during their mission and who just happens to have found the precise cat they’re looking for. She’s got insane amounts of luck, although it seems to mostly be the ironic kind. Presumably she’s joining the team soon.

There are a couple of other women on the team, plus their elderly boss, but they don’t contribute much to this episode.

Production values

Not very good, to tell the truth. It’s got decent comedic timing, and that’s all I can really say for it. Forte’s costume aside, the fanservice ain’t too obnoxious, but it’s still quite present.

Overall Impression

That… wasn’t very good, was it ? While the characters have some decent chemistry, there’s no plot in sight, and even the characters complain about the inanity of the premise in the very first scene of the episode. The comedy is decent, but nothing you haven’t seen done better elsewhere.

This got three sequel seasons ? Really ?

Now, which cat's the right one ? — Now, which cat’s the right one ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 6.

Noir

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A top-flight assassin meets an amnesiac high-school girl who’s even better than her at killing people. After a fashion, they decide to team up to investigate the mysterious links between the two of them.

Characters

Mireille Bouquet, elite French assassin. Very intrigued by the whole thing, although she’s clearly the type not to accept bullshit as an answer. She’d have shot Kirika five minutes into the episode if the latter hadn’t produced a watch playing a lullaby that triggers random flashbacks to Mireille’s (presumably traumatic) childhood.

Kirika Yumura, Japanese high-school girl, although it’s immediately made clear that both her name and background are fake. She woke up amnesiac a few days ago, got hunted by mysterious men in black for whatever reason (she quickly disposed of them), and then got in contact with Mireille because that’s one of the few hints about her past she’s got. She’s a true killing machine, instinctively making some very impressive acrobatics.

Production Values

Very impressive. The OP has a wonderfully fluid sequence of Kirika kicking ass in silhouette, and this standard is maintained for the few fight scenes she’s involved in during this episode. There’s mercifully barely any fanservice, and it manages to avoid showing any panty shots despite Mireille’s tight miniskirt and Kirika somersaulting around.

There are long dialogue-less sequences, letting the animation and the music do the storytelling. And the score is absolutely glorious, injecting tons of atmosphere into the series. Sometimes it goes a bit overboard (do we really need a blaring Italian choir when Kirika is just leaving school ?), and there are some false notes like a terrible eye-catch jingle that seems straight out of the 80s, but overall the music is an absolute joy to listen to.

Overall Impression

Well, that’s an impressive beginning, I’ll say. Tons of style and a good starting point for a story.

But this is not the first time I watch this series, and I regret to say that it becomes lost into a dull mystical conspiracy plot that takes ages to go anywhere, interspersed with “hit of the week” episodes that quickly become repetitive. I gave up after 10 episodes, and I’m in no hurry to retry.

Which is too bad, because I can admire what it was trying to do.

Kirika strangling a dude by his tie. Hardcore.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 6.

Ask Dr. Rin! (Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite!)

(51 episodes)

What’s it about ?

An ordinary junior high school student tries using her divination powers to improve her love life.

Characters

Meirin, our protagonist. She comes from a family that makes a living from Feng-Shui divination. Her brother has set her up the “Dr. Rin” webpage, where she gives Feng-Shui advice to whoever writes in (it’s quite popular among girls, to the point that his father is starting to lose business). She’s more than a bit clumsy, and madly in love with…

Asuka, her (male) love interest. Captain of the soccer club, good-looking, the works. He’s more than a bit annoyed by Meirin’s aggressive stalking, although he does soften up a bit after she saves him from a nearly-fatal accident.

Said accident was provoked by a mysterious blonde boy who stalks Meirin/Dr Rin very creepily, and isn’t above getting rid of the competition (read: Asuka) by possessing a crane and dropping a ton of junk on top of him.

There’s also a few other classmate of Meirin and Asuka’s, but they don’t make much of an impression yet, with the exception of Meirin’s best friend Yue, whom I hope is only kidding when she offers herself as an alternate target for Meirin’s affection.

Production Values

Not very good, but it does the job. I quite like the catchy OP tune.

I wondered for a bit whether Meirin’s divination stock footage was a parody of Sailor Moon-style transformations (colored ribbons of light wrap around her… for no reason, as she doesn’t change clothes at all !), but it seems most of the similarities comes from having the same music composer.

Overall Impression

Hey, this is actually quite fun ! Despite Meirin being an obnoxious and unrepentant stalker, she’s slowly grown on me. Even the bullshit Feng-Shui divination (which looks nothing like any Feng-Shui I’ve ever heard of, but does come with a marvellously toyetic divination station) fails to annoy me.

Now, I have no clue how you sustain 51 episodes on this premise, and it’s stuck into fansub-limbo-land anyway, so I can’t really recommend it. Still, I like it.

Mighty Feng-Shui divination powers, activate !

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 6.

Great Dangaioh

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Giant combining mechas fight for the survival of mankind against one of the most generic evil armies I’ve ever seen.

Characters

The three pilots : Hitomi, the hot-blooded girl ; Mishiou, the cold, analytical other girl ; and Kuya, the stoic silent guy (he only gets one line that’s not a mecha command). Not much beyond the archetypes at this stage.

The evil army is led by an old bearded dude, seconded by a toady mad scientist and four clichés generals (who all appear to be robots or cyborgs of some sort). In a semi-interesting twist, they’re all dead by the end of the first episode, and their floating fortress destroyed.

The good guys seem to be some paramilitary group whose leader has history with the big bad evil guy. There’s another notable female officer who seems to have foreboding visions (the opening scene has her as a teenager, ten years ago, at ground zero of some city-obliterating disaster which turned into a contact event for her).

Production Values

Decent. The art style for female characters is a bit weird and took me some time getting used to.

Overall Impression

Bo-ring. I nearly fell asleep while watching this one. Most of the characters are one-dimensional, the mecha fight scenes are beyond cliché, and the show takes itself so seriously that it’s rather baffling.

I’m told this is a sequel to a late-80s OVA, but I fail to see any obvious link from the latter’s synopsis.

Avoid.

Yes, the bottom mech has just split into two feet so all three could combine.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 6.