Thursday, March 28, 2013

Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Age Appropriate: Older Teens
Emotional Response: Yeah! Get 'em!
Notable Features: Magic, typical teen boy, heroism
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good


"Eeeeeeeek!" - Any Girl

Akatsuki Ousawa is a true hero is Alayzard. He's defeated a dark lord, subsequently defeated the previous hero, and saved this new world. The series opens with him running from royal maids, using their magic to try to subdue him from his present course. Akatsuki's goal is to get back to Earth, his own world, with whatever he carries with him. He easily evades the magical maids, but is stopped by Queen Listy in the end. She only wants to know why he's abandoning her, and Alayzard. He never gives her a real answer, but promises to return if she ever calls for him. This is all in the first episode.

The season is all about the package. Akatsuki has smuggled in the Dark Lord Garius's daughter, Miu! He promised to look after her when he defeated Garius, and now he's stolen her away to Earth to protect her. They enter the Tower of Babel school, as Class B students, and pose as brother and sister. It appears that Akatsuki's plan is to hide in plain sight, acting as normal students, and feeling safe because no one should be able to follow him back due to some sort of magical Otherworld gate rules. The storyline is a mix between their unique sci-fi battle/magic-based education, and the behind-the-scenes workings in both Alaycard and Earth realms. The two characters make some good friends on the way, and become integral pieces of the end of the season battle.

-----

I wasn't entirely sure about this one when I started it. I really chose it because it was a 12 episode series, and I wanted something short. It seemed good enough at the time. I enjoyed it, even if it wouldn't be on my WATCH THIS NOW list. The most bothersome part of it was realizing that there was no real end, and after feeling unsatisfied for awhile, realizing that this was clearly meant to be only the first season.

The way it's meant to a "continuation" of some unknown heroic story was a bit unique, but the hero-saves-the-day part was very traditional. This isn't a problem, but my understanding was that it was going to be something other than just pretending to be unique while actually using the idea as a vehicle for any other hero story. Still, it was pretty good. I'll happily watch the second season if it ever comes out. I have hopes for the series at this point. I won't wait with bated breath or anything, but I'll be happy to watch more. I suppose that's really the review, right? Go ahead and watch it, might be fun. I only made it for "Older Teens" because there is a lot of censored nudity and a little bit of pervi-ness from Akatsuki. Definitely not for youngsters. So, yeah, pretty good, watch it if you want. I won't cry if you don't or anything.

-----

Alright!: Disgaea

1 comment:

  1. Hi there~

    I also pick an anime to watch based on the number of episodes. I guess it is because I'm impatient. I'll try to watch this anime as I'm intrigued by the the girl with a really huge hammer.

    Check out my blog if you have time. ^_^
    Geek Gone Girly


    ReplyDelete