eve.ryan - 2015-05-19 00:19:21

Story: Madoka is the lone member of her school's Jersey Club. She is one day recruited by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot the robot "Vox" and protect her city from space invaders. They are soon joined by a third girl, Muginami, who seems to have a different goal than Ran. Meanwhile, they still don't know their enemies' true goal, or what "Rinne" might be.

So it's basically a mecha anime about a new person who gets recruited in fighting an unknown source of enemies in order to bring to the world along with some others, right? Right?

Well for the most part, no. In fact if you're looking for an anime with lots of fun mecha action and giant robot fights, you're going to be extremely disappointed with this one since it mainly focuses on the characters, their developments, and their interactions, which to be honest, I really didn't mind that at all (in fact I came here specifically because I heard that there was going to lot of character interactions) since it can leave a lot of possibilities for development and reasons to deeply care for them when something bad happens to them (if bad stuff happened to them).

I really did like the interactions that the characters had in this show and it for the most part feels genuine (there are some hiccups here and there which nearly ruined it for me and it involves a certain character, and I'll get to him later) even though the lines were pretty clichéd, I enjoyed them too much to even care.

And don't worry, there are mecha stuff (fights) in here and talk about the Vox themselves (not much though) and its pretty interesting to hear about its history actually, but sadly they never really go into much detail about it aside from near the end which is full of exposition, and even then we don't know a whole lot about the Vox or the Lagrange and I wish we got to know more about them in the show (maybe have it intertwined with the slice of life aspects and fighting as a way to balance it all out? Maybe the second season has that explained and more explored like AKB0048).

Also there are some bits of fan service in here, but thankfully its not that bad, with the exception of one scene with the girls going to the beach naked... and if that bothers you... sorry but I don't know what to tell ya :c

The pacing is pretty well done for the most part, the fight scenes are paced perfectly (they're long but they're not short either), and the slice of life aspects are good too... though they do seem spacious at parts. The only problem I have with the pacing is the last episode, which is all over the place and kills the tone and mood that the second to last one had, making for an incredibly underwhelming and unsatisfying ending... of the first season. But at least the journey was fun... again, for the most part. You might want to see the OVA also after watching the first season finale.

Animation: The animation is actually pretty good, the fight scenes are alright, the designs are nice looking, and the OP and ED look amazing~

Sound: The opening sounds really cool, its a nice song and I love the chorus, especially those background singers who sing 'FLLYY AWAY!' ...sorry. The ending song I don't think is as good, not to mention to shows up at the end of some episodes and kills the mood, but its still pretty decent. HELLO HELLO.

The voice acting for the dub and sub are really well done and everyone sounds pretty spot on, though the main characters have some really stupid catchphrases ('Woof." "Roger." "Perfect!" *Draws circle with finger*)

Characters: Madoka is your typical happy go lucky heroine who wants to help to other people and not give up no matter the feat or cost (that's what the Jersey Club does apparently). This character type has been done so many times before, but what really separates her from other characters of this archetype is her short but very well done backstory. It does a pretty good job explaining why she is the way she is which is actually pretty good c:

Lan is an alien from the home planet Le Garite (that's not a spoiler, its revealed pretty early on), who was sent to protect Madoka and the aircraft. She is not used to earth culture and often picks up terms from the strangest sources, often saying "Woof" (there's a reason for that too but its a pretty silly dumb one, much like her fear for Voxes). Lan is supposed to be an emotionless girl until she meets Madoka and learns about the Earth culture (and she shows a lot of different emotions at different times which really makes her stand out).

The last main character is Muginami, another Ovid pilot who transfers in Madoka's class and joins the Jersey Club. Although she appears to have a slow-witted personality, she is actually sharp and perceptive. She's probably my least favorite main character, I mean I like her fine, but her backstory... its not bad, its pretty decent in fact, but there's one part of her backstory that I cannot stand (besides that one guy who says 'little shit') is her conflict with her brother, who is also the main baddie... sigh.

I really don't like this guy, he's a horrible villain, is way too over the top to be taken seriously, spews lame lines, has a weak motivation, treats his sister like little shit, and is obnoxious beyond all belief! And the worst part I'm... not supposed to hate this guy? Well he does have a backstory that he used to be a nice guy to Muginami but its not fleshed out enough and I don't see the connection. We need more scenes of them interacting, what he's like before, and also showing what made him so evil, that way it could maybe at least justify his reasons for doing evil things (like calling his sister a fucking parasite! Even Madoka hates that guy >:C)

To be frank, I actually enjoyed the side villains more. Those three guys have interesting personalities and the fact that you don't know much about them really adds a bit of mystery surrounding them. Not to mention they play off each other wonderfully and are very entertaining to watch... why couldn't they be the villains instead? And why do I really enjoy those types of villains? :s

The side characters aren't too memorable either, but they're not bad.

I really like the main characters in this, although their personalities are ones from other anime, they're developments and interactions are what make them stand out from all the others. But aside from the side villains, none of the other characters are memorable that much.

Enjoyment: I liked the show, I would have enjoyed this a lot more if they made the pacing and characters more. It could have been better, but its still a pretty good show overall...

Overall: If you want to see a mecha anime with fighting robots more than the slice of life aspects, then you're probably better off elsewhere. If you prefer slice of life aspects over the mecha but still wouldn't mind the fight scenes with robots, then you'll probably like this show~

Pros: Nice animation, good fight scenes, wonderful character interactions, developments and backstories are pretty nice, the main characters are very likeable, voice acting is great, side villains are awesome, OP is cool.

Cons: Other characters are not that good, the villain sucks, the pacing in the last episode sucks as well as the ending, wish we knew more about the Vox and Lagrange, the ED is forgettable, the fan service can be distracting at points.

Also recommended: Vividred Operation

Thanks for reading my 81st review~