Ranked #1720

Figure 17

Characters/Development
There are two aspects within the series. The first is where the characters fight off the Magyua threat one by one. Each fight is different from the last as we see the technology and weaponary being improved and new tatics thought up as each of the Magyua is different and stronger than the last in their own ways, which remains interesting throughout. The second is where Tsubasa struggles to become more self confident, especially during the fights with Magyua. There’s also the life of Tsubasa and Hikaru on the farm and during school as they both support each other and play with their friends during free time. There is both happy and sad moments which can bring a tear to your eye as the emotion feels realistic. Both aspects flow very well together as both are developments during the series that I felt were perfect. The relation between Tsubasa and Hikaru developing were very sweet and cute moments as they were there for each other.

Animation/Scenery
At first the anime feels quite old for its time as it does appear slightly dull. The picture is too soft and the colours aren’t very good during the first two or so episodes but eventually it gets a lot better. The picture gets more clearer and sharper. There is also very few repeated scenes throughout the series, but everything else is unique and animated well during the given situation, be it calm or a fight with a Magyua. Other than that the animation remains very good without too many complaints. The main character designs are great but a few of the other characters aren’t anything too special but overall it does have its own style without anything excessively cute either. Characters always wear different clothing, keeping it a little more realistic and develops the personality of characters more by the clothing they wear. There is a wide variety of scenery in Figure 17, but most of them are usually natural areas, but many scenes on the farm,in Tsubasa’s school and even some space scenes and other minor locations. They are beautifully designed with a lot of colour that mixes perfectly, nothing that goes out of place and since there are scenes during different times of the day and year add to the variety.

Audio/Music
Again at first the quality of sound is quite dull but later improves. Voice acting is great, nothing to complain about there. The anime however didn’t seem to have a wide variety of sound effects at first so those are heard quite alot throughout some time. I also noticed very few sounds started late during the animtation but nothing too major. Background music was fantastic for both aspects of the anime, most that can be easily remembered too. Music for the calm moments had both happy and sad moments, some with a reconisable tune being used that I liked the most, the same goes for the music used during the battles that brought tension and excitement to those bits. I found the track used when the Figure 17 fights the Magyua was the best for these situations, but the other ones were still good.

Conclusion
With the two aspects to the anime, it can be both exciting or upsetting. I enjoyed every moment while watching this one, but I enjoyed the relation between Tsubasa and Hikaru grow the most. It is a serious anime with very light comedy, but filled with emotion that felt realistic thanks to the good voice actors and music helping achieve this too. One of the best anime series I’ve watched in a while, everything about it I felt was really fantastic. read more

What is Figure 17? That's exactly my question when I first heard about it. I asked everyone I knew, and found only one other person who knew about it. No one seems to know about this obscure yet I first found it while browsing through Saimoe 2002. The first thing that interested me about Figure 17 was how cute the characters in the show are. However, as I watch on, not expecting anything great, Figure 17 somehow evolved into one of my favorite anime of all time.

I see Figure 17 was having two separate stories. One part of Figure 17, the "main plot," was the story of Tsubasa Shiina's encounter with the aliens at a UFO landing site and her attempts to help destroy the Maguars (alien creatures). The other part is Tsubasa's friendship with Hikaru and their daily lives, either studying/playing in school or helping out their neighbors. It is the second part of Figure 17, the slice-of-life-like adventures and the subtle development of Tsubasa, that is where the series shine most. Eventually, the two stories would combine into an amazing finish.

Story: 5/10

Most of what Figure 17 is character development, and it excelled at it. However, the alien plot was a bit...bad. Well, it wasn't bad, but it was cliché and uninteresting. In short, characters can use these hourglass devices to transform into a figure, which gets boosted abilities. Tsubasa's case was a bit difference since her figure did not revert back to the hourglass device but into a duplicate of her with her memories. (Don't worry all of this is in the first episode so you are not getting majorly spoiled.) Along with D.D., the alien trying to defeat all the Maguars, Tsubasa and Hikaru would "merge" into Figure 17 to dispatch these creatures.

The action was actually pretty good, but the figure designs (are they naked?) were quite bad, the Maguars had little new moves, but worst of all, the figures had no new moves. In fact, the action was so repetitive (except for the last episode) that the "main plot" seems distracting. I would rather watch Tsubasa and Hikaru spend time with their friends. Taking all things into consideration, the alien plot was definitely necessary for the ending, but they could have reduced the repetition or introduce something new in both sides' attacks.

Art: 7/10

For an anime that was made in 2001, the art was pretty good. The character designs were exceptionally good...except for the designs of the figures and Maguars. When D.D. first transformed, I expected something more exciting than the silver surfer. Other than that, the animation was solid and every scene was animation well, even the action scenes. In fact, it was just short of amazing, but nothing amazing when it comes to the designs for the "main plot."

Sound: 8/10

The repeating theme song of the series was undoubtedly catchy and encouraging as well. I'm not a big fan of the OP and the ED was about romance (?) which does not really fit the series at all. However, I liked how background music was used in a series. Have you ever watched an anime and realized that without the background music, the show would not be as good? This was the case. It was beyond "just there" and very noticeable as an important part of the series.

Character: 9/10

I have touched on the amazing character development that took place in this series and now I will expand on it (with minimal spoilers). Tsubasa starts out as a new student in class who just moved into town. She is exceptionally shy, to the point of mild annoyance, not sociable with her classmates which leads to some bullying. Even when some of her classmates try to talk to her, she would not reply and isolate herself even more. Of course, this would all change when Hikaru, her duplicate, transferred into her class.

Of course all of this sounds very corny at this point because it is obvious that somehow Hikaru will help Tsubasa overcome her shyness or something. But it's not really just that simple. Tsubasa's transformation is subtle and gradual. It is not where this event happens which led to Tsubasa being this much braver. In the later half of the series, Tsubasa will undergo some of this transformation on her own and in many ways surprised me quite a bit. What I thought to be just some corny story became a very interesting journey. Someone once said that Figure 17 was like breathing life into its characters. I wholeheartedly agree.

Enjoyment: 8

For the most part the alien plot was boring, but I already said so many bad things about it anyways. Episode 1 was actually quite annoying at how Tsubasa was so emo in school (and even at home). Episodes 2-4 were slow but nice to watch, since character development don't happen overnight. Starting from episode 5, an episode mostly dedicated to Tsubasa and Hikari helping out at her father's workplace, the stories revolving around Tsubasa's daily life became amazing. Episode 7 was surely relaxing and nice development, and episodes 9-11 will be some that I will definitely remember.

Figure 17 definitely had its share of sad moments, and anyone who have seen it will not disagree. One thing about Figure 17 is how realistic it is, despite its alien plot. I have watched many anime which had something along the lines of what episodes 9 and 10 showed, but nothing was overdone. At one point, I wanted to scream out, "This is what anime should be," because it took something not original and perfected its presentation. That is truly the magic of Figure 17. Through the sad times and through the fun times, through the tough times and through the relaxing times, Figure 17 is impeccable in its portrayal of human emotions and that is why I enjoyed Figure 17 so much.

Overall: 7/10

Figure 17 may have been spot on in one aspect but that doesn't mean the entire series was perfect. The one indication of something usual about this series is that the "main plot" was often pushed aside for the slice-of-life aspects of the show, and frankly, it was the less enjoyable portion of the series. It seems like the series wanted to explore Tsubasa's development but chose a terrible medium (alien transformation) to show the development. To me, it felt like the action aspect of the show got half-assed.

But the real question is, "Does it matter?" From a technical point of view, the series is not perfect hence the 7 score. However, this would be the series that I would recommend to everyone. It can be relaxing and it is also emotional. And don't forget that Tsubasa and Hikaru and very cute. It is probably enjoyable by a large audience since there is pretty much something for everyone. Why am I reviewing this series? Because this is a series that is memorable. There a many series that delivered the "wow" factor but then become forgettable. But Figure 17 is one that had a lasting impact, and for that I will praise it.

"You can keep dreaming, but this love can never be put into words." read more

First; if you haven’t read the synopsis before you read this, do it now.

Story [8/10]
The story is very well written and it has a natural development. The setting seem very unique, but it’s not very different from other shows of this kind, in short: two school girls who gets super powers and are fighting off aliens that are invading Earth. The real difference is that the girls, Tsubasa and Hikuru is only 10. There isn’t much action going on as we get to see just as much of Tsubasa’s and Hikuru’s everyday life, and how they deal with things such as friendship, love and death. This part of the show is particularly good as it is written in a very believable and realistic way. There are also some moments where your eyes can get a bit wet. The balance between the genres of the show is good, but could’ve been better. The story develops a bit slow, and the episodes can seem a bit too long. It’s not a bad thing, but I’d rather have more episodes than longer episodes in this kind of series.

Art/animation [6/10]
The animation is ok. Not the best, not the worst. The details are very good. The style and especially the colors reminds me of shows from the early 90’s.

Music/soundtrack [7/10]
The opening theme is not very memorable, but not too bad. The soundtrack is fitting and the tunes can get stuck in your head for a while. The ending is mediocre.

Characters [10/10]
The characters are all very believable [Important for this kind of show]. Both the characters and their relationships are developing in a very natural way [Important]. The voice actors are very good and makes the characters come to life [Important].

Enjoyment [6/10]
Although the show is great, I for some reason didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. I don’t know why, but for some reason I felt bored watching it. It’s a very good show but it still left me disappointed.

Some final notes:
Couldn’t find much to pick on this time. If there was anything it would be; after reinforcements arrive they soon learn that it’s not enough as the invasion is getting out of control. But they don’t get any new reinforcements because they wouldn’t make it in time anyway as it would take months to get to Earth, but the first reinforcement got there within a few weeks.
read more

I had no preconceived notions about this anime when I bought it, but it had me rooted to the spot in the first episode. Not so much for the action sequences, but for the dynamics of the relationship between the 2 girls that become the main characters and watching their friendship develop and Tsubasa slowly finding herself with the prompting of Hikaru.
I enjoyed seeing their interaction with their friends and dailly lives, and how they dealt with the ever sinister threat presented by the Magyars, and how each time Tsubasa finds the courage to stand up and fight when called upon by her "sister". Sadly, the last few episodes were weepies, but in my case it was tears of joy at seeing our heroine blossom, with cherished memories and the hope of a new life back home in Tokyo.
The background artwork is beautifu, the production is slick, and I was not left with the sense of "to be continued." The only gripe I had was the episode length, at times I felt like I was watching a movie!
It's highly recommended, but only if you are more interested in human relationships than alien invasions. read more

To me, I always thought "Figure 17" was a pretty darn good anime, but nothing really special.

Here is the story. Figure 17 is about a little girl who follows a shooting star to a spaceship in which contains a clone named Hikaru. I haven't seen this anime in a long time, but let me explain. Her twin sister tries to teach her courage, confidence, and happiness. And they all go on adventures, expierence many different things, and try to defeat beastly Maguars with the help of two aids named D.D. and Olienda (or whatever her name is). I know it's a slice of life story, it raises up to about 13 episodes with 45 minutes of drama and 5 minutes of action and goes between summer and winter.

The story is the most enthusing part of Figure 17. As I said, it features a slice of life drama to about 5 minutes of action. The thing about the two twin sisters teaching themselves about life is really unique.

The art is very beautiful. Yes, I know it looks old, but the background of scenary and the characters are very interesting.

Sound, I always thought some of the characters sounded like the ones in Cowboy Bebop. Which really made me smiled. The music is very enthusing to watch and some of them are very sad compared to what this anime may be like at the end.

The characters seem to be a little shorter than I expected, but they had really great personalities. Tsubasa is kind of inevitable, Hikaru's selfless, the dad is caring, and Oldina and D.D. are both very helpful.

I enjoyed this anime from episodes 1-9 but throughout the rest, it becomes sad. And therefore, the anime always put me to sleep for a reason because Tsubasa and Hikaru are always worrying about defeating the Maguar's babies and not the mother. It's very boring to see, and that's why I give this anime a 7/10. read more

Remember in Cardcaptor Sakura where the slice of life moments and the character interactions were the only thing that mattered? It was also a mahou shojo show but the battles were just fluff, an excuse to see Sakura in moe clothes and for Shaoran to be tagging along for some reason. Well Figure 17 is also like that; it has action and a somewhat serious premise but it ends up being good only for its “normal” moments and not its supernatural.

So in the story a bioorganic weapon is accidentally thrown on Earth and DD, a space police officer, uses his special Figure 17 weapon to destroy the numerous planet-killing plants that have scattered on Japan. A passing girl named Tsubasa unconditionally fuses her DNA with Figure 17 and the result is an identical looking person like her. Having to use her as an alias while looking for the alien threat, DD asks from Tsubasa to cooperate and pretend she is her twin sister Hikaru. He also brainwashes a few relatives to make them believe the cover easier. After that, the plot is about the two girls experiencing various cultural and rural events half the time and battling the devastating Maguar alien plants in the other half.

It all sounds too corny but in practice the show is a step higher than the average mahou shojo. Not that it is even a mahou shojo, there is absolutely no magic involved; everything has its scientific explanation. It’s just that like in Cardcaptor Sakura the slice of life moments end up being far more interesting than saving the world from the threat of the plants. And truly, the switch from the calm everyday life to the hard action against killer plants looks almost like two different shows entirely. I guess the animators opted for some sort of ecology-pro story where you get to enjoy the green pastures long enough for you to care about being saved by the alien superhero.

Ok, nothing bad in that but the action part left me indifferent. Not because the action was bad; in the contrary the battles have far more strategy in them than most action shows. It’s just that the Maguar plants were completely empty of personality and presence in general. I didn’t care in the least if they were there at all and thus without motivation to hate something other than mook monsters I simply didn’t like the action part. I understand that they truly were mindless weapons of mass destruction without personality who were activated without a further purpose by some alien villain but that still didn’t make me care. Not only that but they also didn’t seem to affect the actual lives of the far more colourful and interesting lives of Tsubasa’s friends and relatives; thus again it’s like I was watching a different show. But as I said, the action scenes are very well made; they just feel irrelevant to the rest of the anime.

Back to the meat of the show, the normal everyday lives of the two girls is actually very well done, as they interact with many people and Hikaru is constantly learning new things. It was so cute and sweet and all. At one point we even have a death of one of their friends from a complete accident, which gives the show a very dramatic switch and again makes you wonder what the hell are the aliens even doing in this series.

A minus in the “normal” side of the show is a news reporter who is constantly looking for proof of the alien threat. A lot of time is spent on him speculating things we already know if they are true or not and in effect count as dead time. Even after he was proven right in the finale, he still didn’t offer anything to the show other that lots of boring intermissions. Shoo with you man; I wanna see the girls learning how to milk a cow.

In a similar notion, what’s with the opening video? It makes you think you will see some sort of heavy action show. I love that song and I even feel it has Buzuki (Greek acoustic guitar) for a few seconds but man, the merits of the anime are NOT in the action.

Other than that, the production values are average to good as nothing is given too much or too little attention to ever feel bad or good. The atmosphere of the everyday life is very sweet even if nothing major is going on and the action scenes have choreography and strategy rarely encountered in a show that is mostly for young teens rather than kids or elder teens.

ART SECTION: 8/10
General Artwork 2/2 (nice blend of sci-fi action with simple everyday life)
Character Figures 1/2 (generic)
Backgrounds 2/2 (very good greenery backgrounds and sci-fi decorations)
Animation 2/2 (the action scenes have choreography and strategy)
Visual Effects 1/2 (simple)

SOUND SECTION: 7/10
Voice Acting 2/3 (good but not great)
Music Themes 3/4 (gotta love the main music theme but it does feel a bit out of place)
Sound Effects 2/3 (nice but not great)

STORY SECTION: 8/10
General Scenario 2/2 (nice blend of sci-fi action with simple everyday life)
Pacing 1/2 (the action parts and the reporter’s search for the aliens make it feel slow)
Side Stories/Extra Spices 1/2 (it tried to expand to many different characters but only the alien officer and the girls are interesting)
Believability/Reasoning/Realism 2/2 (gives a scientific explanation for all the alien gizmos and the strategies used in battle)
Conclusion 2/2 (rather cheesy but solid)

CHARACTER SECTION: 7/10
Presence 2/2 (strong, especially of the girls)
Personality 1/2 (generic)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic)
Development 1/2 (simple)
Catharsis 2/2 (rather cheesy but solid)

VALUE SECTION: 4/10
Historical Value 0/3 (none)
Rewatchability 1/3 (low; not much to expect from a second view)
Memorability 3/4 (high; it has an interesting way to show things)

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5/10
I loved the normal parts and the action had choreography but the alien villains were completely uninteresting and the reporter was just eating away precious time.

VERDICT: 6.5 / 10
It is not a bad show but seeing it from afar you think it was made by two different teams, one making the everyday life and one making the action and the alien technology explanations. Plus it’s not like it has a great story or great characters; it’s just nice to look if your expectations are not too high.

SUGGESTION LIST
Cardcaptor Sakura
Brigadoon Marin to Melan read more

The first thing that captures your attention is the art. The cute characters and the flowing lines attract you to it.

The background music is also very enjoyable and entered at the appropiate time.

The story is quite good actually. I won't tell anything of course, but it is definitly worth to see :).

The only down thing for me was the length of an episode. At almost 45 minutes long I think the storie is a bit stretched out and could have been even more enjoyable if it had been shortened.