dbartoletti - 2016-07-05 22:43:39

The 2039 probably was the beginning of calamity for the earth where global warming worsen and sea level rose, it was also marking the emergence of "The Fleet of Fog", in an instant this Fleet forcefully taken over the entire sea. The implications of it wholly affect the humanity, being driven out from the sea, the navy got defeated, and also the economic problems. Seven years passed, a submarine I-401 from The Fleet of Fog which is docked and fell asleep over the captive all of a sudden responds to our main hero, Gunzo Chihaya. This is the beginning of millions surprises and excitements in Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova series.

    I always love the series or movies that bring sea to our view beautifully so we can feel how fresh and perfect the sensation is. Moreover if it goes boom like a damn heavy action and complicated story behind. Miraculously, Arpeggio of Blue Steel wasn't give us just those things to enjoy, it also flavoured by the taste of kewl, kawaii, smart, and strong warship maidens. Like any other common series, Arpeggio of Blue Steel has few female characters around the main hero, Gunzo Chihaya. Note that almost all of the girls are "ships". And the logic way to explain why those ships turn into human form is, to understand more and develop themselves to be more human, with this way they can experience human life events even emotions. In this case, the girls are Mental Model of the ships itself, the core or controller of their ship form. Sadly, they are "The Fleet of Fog", enemies of humanity, 'til submarine I-401 lends her hand to help humanity and gives her everything to Gunzo Chihaya.

    This unexpected turnover makes a great improvement to humanity, and to not letting their hope falls down. Along with Gunzo's crews, Gunzo's trusted friends in his command and one of the kawaii & strong ship, Iona (I-401), their journey begins to take back the sea from The Fleet of Fog. We can enjoy every moment of the war between warship maidens, nice graphics and artistically details. The vivid colouring yet nice blend are mixing with freaking movements. This series also add complicated twists in perfect timing and smooth way. Both the war and problems are masterpiece.

    With its heroines as a stunner, and astonishing captain, the other characters aren't lost their colours. Minor characters are involved in the story development and other characters development as well, like a chain that cannot be undone. Specifically the series focuses on Gunzo, Iona, and The Fleet of Fog itself for every piece of characters development.

    The theme songs, insert songs, and character songs are adorable too. My favorite is "Savior of Song" by nano feat. My First Story. What a damn solid rhythm there with good English pronounciation. For ED songs, there are three different songs. "Blue Field (ブルー・フィールド)" by Trident, "Innocent Blue" also by Trident, and "Our Story" by nano for last eps. Some of the character songs are more melancholic than the beating songs by nano, but it doesn't mean those aren't good.

    I think what I could get from this show was how to value humanity and self-belief, choose what's the best according to what do you want the most for your own sake, sometimes it doesn't mean that you're being self-centered but it can lead you to happiness and freeing your mind from the pressures you hold. Surely it's hard to avert your gaze from the show once you start it, my rate for it is 9+.
Pros:

• The nature of this story plus the visual aspect are thrilling
• Nice character designs
• Can't stop to adore the songs

• The beginning of this show was not satisfying enough (from visual aspect) but later covered as the story went by

renner.alexandria - 2016-02-29 03:21:29

Great Story about an outcast captain and an outcast enemy ship joining together in changing the world. Unfortunately, as with all anime that have a great plot, there is no sequel. It was unfortunate that the MCs were all to stereotypical, but at least the supporting characters had major development. 

sauer.jairo - 2015-08-23 21:35:44

Don't let the first two episodes discourage you - it gets better. A surprisingly well-done naval sci-fi anime.

giles.monahan - 2015-08-10 18:10:31

Badly Written Review So "Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova" Aka "Arpeggio of Blue Steel" Fallows the Battle Ship I-401 and her captain Gunzō Chihaya As they make a delivery to america during  humanity final attempt to get the upper hand on the human fog navel war ...That's the plot But the plots not the focus at least not the main one the focus is mainly on ones self as many of the "fog"Enemy ships Mental modals-(A.I)Are starting to join the human Resistance after encountering I-401-(Mental modal-Iona) The Reasons as to why are more Better explained in the anime With Some Sex Appeal but not as much as You would expect I approve this series on that alone. But then you got the characters With a majority being mental modals-The Ships A.I And the I-401's Crew it really starts to ask questions and examine what it means to be ones "Self"  An interesting Development to the Fog because as A.i they never really had an idea of "Self" until They encounter I-401 So with that in mind be ready to get some slaps to the face about "Self" And individuality 9/10                                 

consuelo39 - 2014-01-28 13:11:23

I fell in love with this anime

frederic.schumm - 2013-12-25 00:29:36

DISCLAIMER: THIS REVIEW IS COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE AS IT'S BASED ON MY OPINIONS AND HOW MUCH I ENJOYED THE SHOW. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova, also known as Arpeggio of Blue Steel, is a 2013 action, sci-fi, military anime based on an ongoing manga written by Ark Perfomance. Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova is one of the most underrated anime of the Fall 2013 season and my personal favorite of that season. So without further ado, allow me to explain why I like this show.

By 2039, global warming had caused sea levels to rise and large amount of territory to be lost. As though in response, a mysterious group of warships clad in mist, the “Fleet of Mist”, appeared in every corner of the ocean, and began attacking human ships. In spite of humanity mustering all their strength, they were utterly defeated by the Mist's overwhelming force. All of humanity's trade routes were blockaded by the Fleet of Mist, their political economy was destroyed, and the human race was steadily beaten down. Seven years later, the Fleet of Mist's submarine I-401 appears before cadet Gunzo Chihaya. The humanoid life form that pilots the sub, who should be their enemy, is instead offering her services to mankind.

Okay, I know what you people might be thinking. It sounds silly and cliche, right? Wrong! It may seem silly and it may seem like typical harem bait, since all the battleships in this show are female, but don't let that fool you. BECAUSE IT'S NOT! Take my words for it as there are NO harem in this show! It's a show about finding the purpose of your existence if that made sense to you at all. Read on to found out what I mean if you don't.

This anime is animated by a studio called Sanzigen, and the studio uses CGI to animate this show. Now some people when they hear "CGI", they immediately dislike it because it looks weird and unnatural, but I liked it as it fits into this show perfectly and it gives a sci-fi-like feel to it. The use of CGI makes the battle scenes very solid and makes it look like an actual naval battle. The studio did a pretty good job at making the battle scenes look epic.

The voice acting is very well-done. It fits the characters' personalities very well. The OST are pleasant to hear as it fits into the situation very nicely whether it's a comical scene, a serious scene, or a sad scene. The best part about the show is definitely its Opening and Endings. From the epicness of Nano-sama's "SAVIOR OF SONG" to the nice feels of "Blue Field" to the melancholy feels of "Innocent Blue".

"SAVIOR OF SONG" by Nano feat. MY FIRST STORY

"Blue Field" by Trident

"Innocent Blue" by Trident

My favorite part about this show is its characters. Why, you ask? Well, each character in this show are very unique. I love all the characters in this show and the role the played in the story. Allow me to explain why I like the characters.

Gunzou Chihaya

First, we have our main protagonist, Gunzou Chiya, the captain of the Blue Steel Fleet. He is a calm, tactical, military prodigy. And here's why I like him: Unlike most male protagonists from other anime, he actually has a brain and uses it! When he's surrounded by boobs, does he get distracted by them? FUCK NO! Does he just randomly charge into battle and hoping that he'll just win because he's the protagonist? FUCK NO! This guy is a true leader!

Next, we have our lovely Fog girls. Who are the Fog? The Fog are sentient battleships who's missions are to wipe out humanity and the "traitor", I-401, and her captain, Gunzou Chihaya. Throughout the series, each member of the Fog goes through changes and each of them have their own character developments. Now let's talk about the main members of the Fog.

Iona

Iona, also known as, I-401, is the deuteragonist of the series. Iona is Gunzou's ship. She was formerly a member of the Fog, however, due to unknown reasons, she defects to help humanity, more specifically to help Gunzou. She is very doll-like. However, as the series progresses, she becomes more human-like. She is very protective of her captain, Gunzou Chihaya.

Takao

Takao, also known as, the "Tsundere Heavy Cruiser" by fans, is the first member of the Fog Gunzou and Iona faced in battle. After her battle with Gunzou and Iona, she became the first member of the Fog to defect to Gunzou's side. She is my personal favorite character of the series. Later in the series, she plays a very important role, so I won't spoil it for you.

Haruna

Haruna is the second/third member of the Fog Gunzou and Iona faced in battle along with Kirishima. After their battle with Gunzou and Iona, she was found unconscious on the shore by a little girl named Makie Osakabe. I won't say anymore, since it'll spoil her whole story.

Kirishima

Kirishima is the second/third member of the Fog Gunzou and Iona faced in battle along with Haruna. After their battle with Gunzou and Iona, she basically becomes the comical relief-type of character in the series.

Kongou

Kongou is the main antagonist of the anime. She is very strict towards the other members of the Fog. She is a very unique character in the series. I won't say anymore about her, since it'll ruin the whole show for you and your fun of watching it.

These quotes perfectly describes the purpose of the Fog.

"Where Do We Come From?"

"What Are We?"

"Where Are We Going?"

I honestly enjoyed this show a lot. The only thing I didn't like was it didn't follow the manga faithfully. Albeit the show went into a different direction than the manga, it did a wonderful job and I like it! For those of you who don't like fan service, don't worry, it's not significant to this show. You can just simply pretend you didn't see any of it at all. This show did a fine job at balancing out the comical scenes and serious scenes.

Before I might forget, another unique thing about this show is that there are almost no Deus ex Machina, a.k.a. ass pulls, in this show at all! It's all military strategies and tactics. I'm serious, guys. There is almost none at all!

Even though this show is underrated, it's very interesting. You should give it a shot. I guarantee after you finish watching it, you would want more!

Now excuse my fanboy talk: "TAKAO IS THE BEST!"

Thanks for taking your time to read this long ass review. I hope you find it useful and peace out!

jhagenes - 2013-12-24 10:17:10

Japan has a strange thing about turning everything they can into an anime girl. And this anime is about boats. That's right. Boats. More specifically, alien boats. Alien boats that are girls. Anime girls. I wonder how many times I've said 'anime' and 'boats' and how many times I WILL be saying it.

Without further ado, let's get started reviewing. Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio is an anime series adapted from a manga serialized and published in Shounen Gahosha. Which I've never heard of because I'm an uncultured swine. There are a couple of interesting and notable things about this anime that will be mentioned a little later down the line. You've probably read the summary already, but if you haven't, you really should. It'll explain much more elegantly than I ever could. Long story short, alien boat girls wreck humanity because ice caps melted and the ocean is everywhere.

STORY

The plot itself is another one of those 'humanity pushed to the brink of destruction' type dealios. It's nothing we haven't exactly seen before, but, you know what, it's refreshing to have boats. We've had giant walls, underground cities, floating fortresses. I think it's about time we had the ocean involved in wrecking the human race. In all honesty, though, having ships be the main focus of the anime is legitimately refreshing and intriguing. What I really like about the writing and how the story is handled actually has a lot to do with the whole 'humanity' thing and what it really means to be human. I know. It's cliched. But I haven't actually seen or read anything with that theme in a little while, so it was nice to watch. I'm a sucker for villains eventually turning over and joining forces with the good guys as much as I am for villains who want to be evil just because they love to wreck shit. And so this works out quite nicely. I'm ALSO a fan of the odds being stacked impossibly against the protagonist, as well as building up a small army to fight the giant, evil, looming presence. Which is why I really really like Fire Emblem. In all honesty, some people might be tired of the 'BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN REALLY' thing, but I enjoyed it.

SOUND

Thinking back on it, there are really only two tracks that stood out to me as memorable. And both had vocals. Another odd thing the Japanese like to do is to insert random English words into, well, things. That might actually just be something EVERYONE likes to do. Foreign languages sound cool, I guess. But what shocked me about the opening was that the English was actually pronounced impeccably. I had to double take and listen again because I was listening for Japanese and my brain got confused. The opening is actually quite nice. The other track that pops into mind plays later in the series and also has vocals. I have to say that they certainly chose someone with a good voice to sing them, even if they might be to everyone's tastes. The sounds of the ship combat were actually pretty good as well. Nothing sounded out of place or weak. The sound effects actually gave the combat a bit of impact, which I thought was nice.

ANIMATION

Now here's where things get a little bit weird. To the best of my knowledge, the entire anime is CG. You know when you're watching an anime movie and suddenly things get, like, weirdly 3D in contrast to the 2D everything else. This is something that happens a lot in Pokemon Movies. It's fantastic for ship combat. Incredible, in fact. It was such a good choice that it pretty much carries this entire score here. Aside from that, fights between people are pretty good as well, considering the CG lends itself incredibly well to special effects. The style very much takes a little bit of getting used to, especially outside of combat sequences. It almost feels a little sluggish, as if it were running at a lower frame rate. It's pretty clear where the budget went, and I'm fine with that. Also, the little anime quirks look really odd in CG, which is something that I noted in RWBY as well.

CHARACTER

ANIME GIRL BOATS. THAT IS ALL.

No, but really. All the boats are girls. And you find out why later. The character designs are actually pretty good, and whoever is writing this has a fantastic way of calculating gap moe. As far as characters go, development is very minimal. At the very least, it's a straight progression from A to B with all these ship people. The characters are nothing too deep or complex. They're really more to be there than anything else, I would say. Strength of the characters is probably the weakest part about it. I think they might be a little self aware when it comes to the whole Boat Anime Girls thing because one of the endings literally replaces all the girls with their boat forms. And it's hilarious. A+

ENJOYMENT

I tend to be a little bit harsher when rating things. What I mean by that is that I don't weight enjoyment very heavily when it comes to scoring. And that's because I actually have pretty bad tastes and I recognize that. I will enjoy most things that I get into. Honestly. I had a blast following this anime and I looked forward to watching it every Monday. Although a lot of that might've been me trying to avoid doing work as long as possible. I'm not going to lie. I really enjoyed this anime. The animation style is a little bit strange outside of anything that isn't a fight scene, but it's not like it's unbearable. It feels pretty well paced and is something you can just sit back and watch without having to think too much about things. It's literally anime girls fighting each other as boats.

OVERALL

An enjoyable watch if you want something kind of refreshing with a lot of action. Ship Combat, Archetypes stuffed into Boats, and a somewhat predictable plot all lead to Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio.

catalina95 - 2013-12-20 02:14:50

Great artwork, animation, voice acting, storyline, and basically everything a good anime needs. Still airing so I can't give complete details on it (Currently on Episode 11) but so far, so good. 9/10, would reccomend.