Allison to Lillia

Allison and Lillia is a great adventure that takes place high up in the vast blue skies, while it isn't the greatest adventure title you'll see, it does remain a good watch!

Despite this title having many military action elements to it, its actually all kept pretty darn clean. There are rarely any deaths that take place, most of which are the bad guys, and there is no blood to speak of with it, which is both a positive and negative depending on your taste. Now without posting any spoilers, I can tell you that this series is divided into two arks: Allison's Tales (first ... half), and Lillia's tale (second half).

Story: 6/10
Starting with the first half about Allison and Will, things start off kinda slow but begin to get better and better as the story progresses, and by episode 3 begins to pick up. (though the pacing of both story sequences do stay rather slow throughout, just so your aware) Basically Allison and her friend Will are trying to find the legendary hidden treasure in order to unite the two countries together. This concept works well, as the two make their way into the adventure many plot twist and friends are found along the way. This series is also great with its little detective work bits that the viewer can try to figure out along with them. Still, some may find that the overall plot moves way too slow, (this is true with both story arks) as they seem show a lot of friendly chat between the characters a lot, which can be seen as fillers. On Allison's last episode everything is concluded and will leave you with a smile on your face and good satisfaction! However once Lillia's story begins you may get the impression that the writers didn't know where to take the story anymore, as it basically has Lillia and her friend Trieve wandering about aimlessly with no real goal as to what they are both trying to accomplish (or the villains for that matter, we never even find out who the main one was at the end) with the story. Lillia herself can come off as stuck up and Trieze as cowardly, that they just don't have the appeal of the cast before them, which makes it hard to actually care about these characters. Not the worst by any means, just a bit of a stumbling block I felt.
The ending itself leaves much to be desired though, as it leaves a bunch of plot holes in the end and most questions and circumstances unresolved. A good story overall, I just wished they would have developed the second half more.

Characters: 7/10
Truly, the character development is indeed good, as all of them do actually grow closer and closer to one another. All characters are likable for the most part and have distinct personalities to them, and never come off as redundant. Not to mention Allison trying catch Will's interest about her is also nice, even though he is a dense as they come when dealing with it, he never comes off as annoying, plus the way they are carried out is charming and cute! While there isn't a large variety with the character personalities, it still hold its own. Some may feel that the second half characters are a bit more of an annoyance, which they kinda are, but this at least helps in the variety department to some extent!

Art: 7/10
The animation done by Madhouse is good overall, while its not their best work by any means, Allison and Lillia is a nice anime to look at, what with well detailed characters and scenes. They just never really went that extra mile to make it really stand out. As I felt it was missing the overall colorful affect of other adventure titles that came before it. The character design, while not exactly unique, does really give you the feeling of being in this era!

Soundtrack: 8/10
The music is very charming, with a catchy soft sung opening and ending, with great live orchestral Background soundtracks to compliment, that definitely fit the series to a T and give you the sense that adventure looms right over the horizon.! It won't appeal to all music lovers out there, but most will agree that it works for the kind of atmosphere they were going for. The voice acting is also spot on, and you will find that they really took the time to find the right voice actors for the right roles. My only complaint was that some of the voices were starting to get a bit on the repetitive side.....especially regarding some of the male villains. Kinda sounded like it was the same guy doing some of them.

Bottom Line: 7/10
Even though the overall story is quite slow paced and has its short comings (which might kill it for some), Allison and Lillia still remains an entertaining watch! I feel this series truly could have been great had they developed Lillia's story ark a little more. As it stands now though, it is still a fun little adventure despite it all!

The world is a confusing place. We have a whole variety of different opinions about how the world should be run and why, along with how people should act in certain situations. With the billions of people scattered across the Earth, to say that a majority of people believe in a single set of societal rules would certainly be a strong accusation. When all of this is taken into consideration, I could imagine how difficult it would be to draw out a realistic, yet imaginary world where nothing about our countries or cultural agendas exist. This is something Allison to Lillia sets out to disprove; ... that a realistic, yet imaginary world can be both conceivable and simplistic all at once.

The story begins in a world that isn't our own. While it resembles a post World War view of Europe and harbors technology within that timeframe, it assures you that it isn't what you believe it to be. The viewer is quickly introduced to a young man by the name of Wil, who, at first glance, seems like a studious and cautious boy destined for a hard-working life as a school teacher. His character is basically the equivalent of any typical male hero on his own. However, just as quickly, we are introduced to the second protagonist of this series: Wil's childhood friend, Allison. Allison is an aspiring pilot who's gutsy personality and adventurous spirit makes her a perfect mis-match for Wil, and makes for an entertaining variety of banter between them. The chemistry between these friends is spontaneous, while also cliche. While it's been done in the past, the gradually progressing romance between the two feels more realistic the more the viewer gets to know about their past together and the hardships they have to face while trying not to get under each other's skin. Wil and Allison's relationship from the very start is coated in a distinct aura of innocence and care. The relationship between these characters work for this reason and this reason alone.

The plot centers around two countries that are currently at war with each other over ownership of the land they both currently reside over. Again, certainly doesn't sound like Europe, does it? While this makes for an interesting premise, one of the many things that this anime likes to do is think of a topic, then resolve it within three to six episodes. What you read in the synopsis only covers the first four episodes of this series, while the rest of the series becomes more focused on little sub-plots that arise after the main plot is resolved. This makes the title feel more episodic in general, which may kill any hope to those looking for a long adventure with a sort of epic atmosphere. Along with these sub-plots comes more opportunities for the title to make itself as realistic as possible. It takes those opportunities and destroys them. Many times throughout this anime I found myself questioning the decisions certain characters make or why something was resolved in the fashion that it was. There are plenty of inconsistencies that reside inside the plot of this anime that only hurts the credibility of the world within it.

The overall design of this new world is colorful and shiny, like Van Gogh painting with diamonds, but without the Impressionist designs and tarnished easel. It only adds to the feel of innocence that surrounds the characters and their equipment as they take on the imaginary world. While it invokes nostalgic emotions, the movement of the characters are a bit slow-paced, especially during action scenes. The character designs are memorable, but only for those they decided to focus on. Wil and Allison are visibly brighter than any other character in this series, which gives the impression that they are more important than anyone else in the series. While that may ring true, it could always rub supporters of the side characters the wrong way.

The only reason this title gets by with all of these issues is because of the overall likability of the characters. While Allison and Wil together are already enough to satisfy the void of necessary characters, there are others that come along and hold a firm position in the title's roster along with them. It holds a certain charm that seduced my inner desire for adventure and pre-adolescent fantasies of a dangerous journey across the land with only my closest friend by my side. The imagination put into this is enough to intrigue those with any taste in entertainment.

Suddenly, Allison to Lillia travels fifteen to sixteen years into the future.

The focus of the series now lies on Allison and Wil's daughter, Lillia. While at first she seems to exude more personality from her Mother, as the series progresses, she quickly adapts into her own blend of her parent's worst qualities. This is simply an ironic statement. The truth is, she steals every bit of likability out of her parents and over the course of the series, decides never to show it. This is not an ironic statement. Within the first few episodes of her introduction, Lillia is shown to have the adventurous spirit her Mother possesses, while showing the same hesitance that her Father had at the face of adversity. This is quickly abandoned soon after in order to convert her into a typical damsel in distress. Who is she distressing to? A new character named Treize, who's personality is a blend between unspoiled royalty and spoiled milk. Along with a few other new faces, the anime gives the reigns to Lillia and Treize, two childhood friends who go on spontaneous adventures together while developing a stronger friendship in the process. Sound familiar?

The second part of the series is when the creativity begins to take a turn for the worst. While the idea of the two original main characters having a daughter is refreshing, it ultimately backfires when you take away her personality and put her in the exact same situation as her parents, except without any overwhelming obstacles in their way. To put it simply, Allison to Lillia is a 26 episode anime that resets itself after episode thirteen, with the addition of new characters and the main conflict missing. Along with this repetition, comes more inconsistencies and plot holes. Don't worry, they reset that, too. But fret not, along with these inconsistencies comes drama through cliffhangers and deus ex machinas, something the first thirteen episodes used minimally, and seemed to forget later on that less is more.

With the addition of new faces with recycled personalities, plots that don't amount to much and suspense based on extreme exclamations, Allison to Lillia downgrades into an imaginative world of exploration into the standard cliches of mindless action/suspense. It begins with the promise of a grand journey and concludes with a train falling off of a cliff. This may be symbolic. All that's left to say is that this was a very enjoyable one-cour series.

This show should be watched by aspiring writers. Its greatest contribution is that it shows how a project can have tremendous charm, good redeeming characteristics, and yet fail when considered as a whole.

A gruesome autopsy can be fascinating to a scientific observer; this show can be fascinating to a creative artist who hopes to learn how art projects can go wrong.

Let us start with the redeeming characteristics. The art designs are charmingly retro, featuring costumes, weapons, vehicles, and technology spanning a period from about 1930 to 1955. If you love World War II costumes, you might watch the entire show just to ... see the visual designs.

The lead voice talents are good. The music is initially redeemed by the opening theme, but the rest of the music is mediocre and the whole sound fails to inspire, draw the project together, or create a cohesive mood. (By contrast, [i]Ergo Proxy[/i] takes a similarly small selection of music and uses it to create a mood.)

The characters are somewhat stereotypical. Further, they are puppets in the service of an idiotic plot, so they behave irrationally. The characters are usually armed to the teeth with deadly firearms, but they are fervent pacifists, so they usually refuse to shoot. If they must squeeze a trigger, they are sure to fire warning shots or to target something nonlethal. This show prettifies warfare by showing shiny planes that can be wrecked with their pilots always parachuting to safety. There are tens of thousands of opportunities for death and destruction - and in 26 episodes, there are fewer than half a dozen injuries. Characters can stand a few yards away from a dynamite bomb, with no ill effects; but they can be rendered conveniently unconscious by punches. It's pretty standard for heroic anime teenagers to be passionately in love with each other and yet incapable of touching each other, but the shyness in this series goes beyond anime-standard silliness into self-parody. In the face of this idiotic pseudo-violence and pseudo-tension, the plot holes, though numerous and annoying, are scarcely worth mentioning.

Somehow I found the whole mess to be surprisingly watchable. There are some ambitious, artsy flashbacks that tugged my heartstrings, and some ambitious supporting characters that failed to move me. There were a few suspenseful sequences that actually evoked World War II era commando tactics; there were some cute moments; there was at least one good laugh. If nothing else, there is a morbid fascination in asking, "How much cheesier can this get?" because the answer is always, "Soooo much cheesier."

Some viewers have suggested watching the first half and skipping the second half. I disagree; if one is going to stare into this abyss, one had better do it whole-heartedly. I recommend that most viewers should skip this entirely, but aspiring writers should bear with the cheesiness for all 26 episodes. It builds character.