kiehn.jayda - 2014-01-31 09:39:59

Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi is set in the near future of 2022, technology has advanced enough so that a perfect rendering of yourself can be projected onto a computer screen without the opposition knowing that you're not really there (for quite some time too!). That's some kind of technology!

This story is based around two siblings, Remu and Shiki Mikage. They have a close/distant relationship, because Shiki is apart of a project/game/experiment at her academy OMFC, where you place yourself into a device called a "Body Pool" and you do not have to eat, drink, sleep, or go potty. She says she can study all she wants.

But, there have been a lot of problems with these devices (Also something else called NSC or something like that They don't really explain it), as something called the "Early Rapture" occurs, where 53,635 (Apx) people suffered severe brain damage using the machine, and at least 200,000 people have died from it.

Anymore would be spoilers, and I have already given away a good portion of this production.

This is obviously a story where not enough information is given for it to end right here, it is set up so that either a light novel (it apparently is already a light novel), manga, or anime adaptation can be made.

The animation, despite it being a little on the average side, is quite unique with its comic book look, and some imagery can be quite pretty. But the futuristic setting it generic, and I must say, if you don't like the color blue, you'll hate this show. Everything is blue.

The voice acting by the prevalent popular cast is what you would expect, very good. If anything the script is what holds back their talent.

The music is good throughout, nothing special, or too generic. The ending theme is good, quite catchy, and sung very well by the ever so popular Eri Kitamura.

There are quite a few fight scenes in this short, and I personally would have liked it more if it was more about the Body Pools, and how the corporations would have to deal with this. Like an episode of Ghost in the Shell: SAC.

Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi does have fan service, which is kind of unexpected. Some of it was unavoidable (being naked in a body pool), but they could have left a lot of it out (Like Shiki changing her clothes), or chosen much more suitable camera angles (Lots of under shots, and oppai shots.)

The characters are not very relatable. Remu and Shiki have kind of an Incestuous relationship (or at least want to have one), and it is very obvious from the get go that Remu has a sister complex. They're okay characters for the time allotted. But it can get cheesy at times, especially when the scenes are "Dramatic".

There are two big problems with this series.

One is not that there are too many questions left unanswered (That's a given with just 20 minutes to tell a story), but that the questions are too hard to answer if they extend the story without plot holes, or some really clever writing. You will know if/when you('ve) see(n) it. I tried to think of ways where they could solve their "Issues" without it being a major problem, but they already have plot holes from the beginning of this series.

And two is that even if they did extend this Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi , I would not see it. The story just felt a little too cheesy to me. I understand that it's hard to make shows up to the standards of GITS: SAC, but they could have taken out the cheesy romance, and replaced it with a more intellectual narrative.

I give this a 5 mainly for the fact that it did not succeed in having me want more. I do not care how this world that they created turns out.

There are too many answers that need to be answered that I can only believe will leave plot holes. As many know, Xebecs is not known for summing up stories without plot holes.

It is an interesting watch that only gets boring when they focus too much on fighting the enemy for confessing their "Feelings", and cheesy feelings at that.

Keep pursuing your dreams! ~ Wynn

ubradtke - 2013-05-22 09:19:55

Young Animator Training Project/Anime Mirai short reviews: Part 9/12The previous Young Animator Training Projects have had a very family friendly sort of tone with well told stories and universal themes. Arve Rezzle then comes along and says "fuck that, let's do some light novel bullshit about a teenager who wants to bang his sister!" and we get this mess.OK there's a little more to it than that. It's a sci-fi story based around this social network which you upload your mind to, except one day suddenly everyone's minds get temporarily separated from their bodies and they lose all their memories. The idea here is that you don't know whether the body you've returned to is actually yours, which is a fascinating concept. Unfortunately in Arve Rezzle it is just that. A concept. I gather this was supposed to originally be a much longer TV series or OVA. Instead we get this hacked together story that barely has any characterisation, hasn't got enough time to explain its technobabble, introduces villains whose motives are seemingly non-existent, and ends by solving absolutely nothing about the central focus of the story.Then there's it's very light novel approach to characterisation, in that the male character has no personality beyond wanting to bone his sister, and the female character's first appearance is totally naked. The camera has some serious male gaze going on, looking up her skirt and around her tits, to the point you can practically hear the heavy mouth-breather behind the camera muttering "yes imouto-chan, just lift that *huurrrrrrr* skirt a little bit *hhuuurrrrrrr* higher please". The animation is also kinda bad, which is surprising considering the incredibly high quality all the other YATP had. It's just all round a poorly thought out, poorly put together package that has no right existing in this form.Verdict: Skip