Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Library War Japanese: 図書館戦争
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 11, 2008 to Jun 27, 2008
Duration:
23 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.671 (scored by 9959 users)
Ranked: #9682
Popularity: #852
Members: 20,740
Favorites: 179 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action comedy military romance |
SynopsisToshokan Sensou tells the story of Kasahara Iku, the first woman to join the Library Task Force. In the near future in Japan, the Media Enhancement Law has been forced upon the population censoring all books and media. To counter this, the Library Defense Force was created. To protect themselves against the Media Enhancement Law Commission, all major libraries are fully equipped with a military Task Force, who take it upon themselves to protect the books and freedom of media of the people. This anime follows Iku and her fellow soldiers as they protect various special books and artifacts from the oppression of the Media Enhancement Law Commission. A love story, war story, and comedy all rolled into one. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Toshokan Sensou, Toshokan Sensou: Spitfire!, Toshokan Sensou: Love & War Side story: Toshokan Sensou Special Sequel: Toshokan Sensou: Kakumei no Tsubasa
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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freesia64
65 of 91 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
I just happened to hear about this anime by chance from another website. The premise was interesting so I decided to give it a try and was totally amazed. The storyline, characters, artwork, and sound are engrossing and completely draw you in. While the characters themselves may not be completely unique, their interactions with one another and the realistic emotional outbursts are i think rare among most anime.
Most people don't really mention this but I also consider this a full romance. The relationship between the main characters develops more naturally over time. They are not sappy or fake but there was a lovely tenderness and protectiveness towards one another that was great and heartfelt. And in this anime you definitely get a somewhat satisfying ending vs. most animes that leave things very open ended. I am hoping hoping for a second season because my only complaint would be that this anime was way to short.
The storyline is smart with strong sociological undertones. The advantage is you can choose to really ignore the important issues if you want to you. You can enjoy the action, comedy and romance alone or you can also appreciate the underlying message and concept. Either way, I don't believe it will diminish your enjoyment of the show.
So overall witty and lovable characters, great story, nice artwork.. this is now one of my top fav. animes of all time. read more
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Archaeon
162 of 228 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Toshokan Sensou (or The Library Wars), is another one of those odd anime that I seem to end up reviewing. The show has a nice premise which is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 all rolled into one.
The anime is based on a series of four light novels by Arikawa Hiro (entitled Toshokan Sensou, Nairan, Kiki, and Kakumei respectively), which were published from 2006 to 2007. The novels were later serialized in two mangas. The first manga was made by Yumi Kiiro, and published in Lala magazine from September 2007. The second was made by Furudori Yayoi, and was published Dengeki Daioh magazine from November 2007. The twelve episode anime was made by Production IG, and released in April 2008 on Fuji TV's Noitamina (which is animation written backwards) timeslot.
Story
The basic plot for the novels is based on the "Statement of Intellectual Freedom in Libraries" that went into effect in Japan in 1954. The story is set 30 years after Japan passed the Media Enhancement Act in 1989, a law which effectively gave control of all published material to the government. The law was passed in an effort to censor any media that could be deemed as hazardous to Japanese society, but 30 years later blanket censorships, book burnings, and a culture of fear and exclusion have become the norm for society, as Media Enforcement troops are everywhere.
Because of this, and because of a tragedy that occured 20 years prior to the beginning of the story, the libraries now have their own defense forces, and the main character, Kasahara Iku, joins the Kanto Library Defense Force as she was saved by a member of the that team some years back. The show follows her struggle to become a good librarian and a good member of the defense team.
Art
The art style is very much hit and miss. Although the characters are nicely designed Production IG have adopted a style that has quite noticeable black borders around characters and objects. This give the show a far more "cartoony" feel than it should possibly have, especially during the dramatic moments. This "cartoony" feel can be off putting to some people, whilst others may be oblivious to it.
The backgrounds and settings are well designed, but overall they aren't anything special. The animation itself is usually quite smooth and flowing, although there are some glaring faults (the scene in episode 11 with a van crashing through a barrier made from two buses and receiving no damage is a prime example).
Sound
The sound is okay overall. The OP is nice, if unmemorable, as is the ED. The VA's are quite good overall. Inoue Marina plays the role of Iku very well, and her voice suits the design of the character. The same goes for the rest of the VA's with their resepctive characters. The sound effects are pretty good throughout the show. Most of these are used in the more dramatic or action filled moments to good effect.
Characters
The characters weren't bad on the whole. Iku is a nice enough lead on the whole, although I found it a little off putting that she is a stereotypical "jock" (i.e. all muscle and no brain). She is determined and caring, but coupled with that is a short temper, reckless behaviour, a dislike of serious study and classrooms, and a endency to overreact. This can make her character confusing as it's sometimes unclear how the show is trying to develop her.
The other characters (Doujo Atsushi, Shibasaki Asako, Tezuka Hikaru, etc), receive very little development throughout the course of the show, especially given the fact that the show is about Iku. This makes the show unbalanced as, although we are clear about what drives Iku, we are rarely shown any of the other chaacters' motivations.
Enjoyment
Here's the reason why I said this show is a bit odd. It never seems to settle on being one thing as it has drama, action, suspense, comedy, and even romance all mixed into it. he unfortunate thing though, is that it never quite pulls of the comedy, the romance is a little on the limp side, the drama is sometimes hammed up, and the suspense is normally easy to work out. Couple this with the cartoon style art and the show is difficult to take seriously.
However, the show is enjoyable on the whole, especially if you don't treat it as a serious anime. It's effectively a coming of age story and as such it actually works on quite a few levels.
Overall
Toshokan Sensou isn't a bad show on the whole. Yes, there are some obvious failings in the show, but it is still rather enjoyable in a no-brain kind of way. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wants a serious show, or to anyone who wants a comedy. Although the basic premise is a serious one, the show works better as a straightforward action anime, and as such it's not a bad way to waste half an hour (hence my overall score of 7).
If you're going to watch the show then don't have any expectations of high drama, challenging concepts, or any kind of socio-political message. It doesn't require any introspection or deep philosophical ponderings, and the best advice is to watch it in the same way you'd watch Die Hard, Rush Hour, or any other action movie.
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Recommendations
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The protagonist is voiced by the same seiyuu, and she is a tomboy girl who always tries her best. Also her love interest is someone from her past that she saw once but now she doesn't recognizes him. Same vibe overall.
They both have female leads. The animation is similar. The comedy is similar as when the characters change into different "modes".
The story is very different, but the premise and ideas around both these stories are very similar. If you're looking for a decently strong female character in a story and a bit of romance, then these are for you.
The female protagonists are very similar and actually have the same seiyou. They both face many challenges to be the best in their profession but they never give up and work hard to achieve their goals. They are strong, funny and yet vulnerable all at the same time.
The relationships they enter into with the male characters are also great because they develop more naturally over time. They are not sappy or fake but there is a lovely tenderness and protectiveness towards one another that was great and heartfelt.
So overall witty and lovable characters, great storises, nice artwork..
It is similar in the relation that the protagonists possess, with exepcion of that these it tells the history of this one it develops mas rapidly.
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Premise is similar, both contain oppressive laws taking away things people take for granted. Media Enhancement Act in Toshokan Sensou allows censorship of books whereas in Chocolate Underground, chocolate is banned in the country by health laws.
Both have similar comedy. Fighting for their own rights
''Media Enhancement Law''(Toshokan Sensou) similar to '' Perfect Health Law'' (Chocolate Underground)
and of course same animation studio production I.G.
chocolate banned? then try book banned too
One bans chocolate, the other bans books. Where Chocolate Underground is more of a child-friendly view on a dystopian future, Toshokan is a more "grown-up" take on the same ideas of government tyranny, personal liberty, and those who would resist. Toshokan has more violence and a romance storyline and is geared more towards adults.
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Opening Theme"Atashi no Machi, Asu no Machi (あたしの街、明日の街)" by Takahashi, Hitomi
Ending Theme"changes" by Base Ball Bear
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Related ClubsRomance+, MAL Book Club, Production I.G Appreciation Society, Draccon's Tea House, Anime-tion, chiaki's favorites!, noitaminA, Anime Experience, VOMIC (MAY SOM CARDS R UP 4 GRABS!!!), Marina Inoue fanclub, Romance Anime/Manga Fanatics, Daisuke Ono Fan Club!, Akira Ishida, !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Decadence, Kanto Library Task Force, Pittsburgh Japanese Animation Club, MAL's Bookclub, Bermuda Tri Star Angle Club, Miyuki Sawashiro Club[[ Live Action Adaptations ]], Anime and Manga Romance Club, Ro-Otaku see all
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