Ranked #1992

IS: Infinite Stratos

One of the problems with the anime industry is the tendency to overuse stereotypes and themes, and many of the studios in Japan continue to operate under the idea that the shows they create will generate a profit in some manner (regardless of the content), through DVD sales or merchandise. The sad fact is that many producers barely break even from one season to the next, which then prompts arguments of piracy, licensing, pricing, distribution costs, etc, all of which seems more than a little strange as while it may appear that the studios have some perfectly valid arguments, they've neglected to talk about one thing - the anime they make.

Every season viewers are subjected to a barrage of average or substandard fare that serves no other purpose than mindless juvenile media, yet these shows continue to be made because the entertainment industries always prefer the safe bet over a "risky" venture. That said, there are always one or two anime that manage to rise above mediocrity, but there's still a very large gap between being good, and being great.

IS is, first and foremost, a reasonably popular ongoing light novel series by Yumizuru Izuru that began publication in May 2009. Six volumes have already been released under the MF Bunko J label (part of Media Factory), and the seventh is due out in April 2011. In May 2010 a manga adaptation by Akahoshi Kenji began serialisation in Monthly Comic Alive, with production on the anime adaptation beginning later that year.

Set in the near future, the story initially seems to be about powered exoskeletons called Infinite Stratos, an advanced piece of technology that is more powerful than any existing weaponry, but can only be used by girls and women. Because of this, society and the world have had to adapt so that females are now in authority, but all of that changes when Orimura Ichika, a 15 year old student, is found to be the only male in the world with the ability to pilot the machines. Because of this, and for his own protection, he is forced to attend the prestigious Infinite Stratos Academy.

Seems a pretty straightforward set up right?

In fact this show is so straightforward and predictable it verges on being dull. Aside from being a light novel/manga adaptation (which seems to be the rage these days), the storyline is about as generic as one can get in anime, with almost every stereotype and "popular" theme on display. The plot initially seems intriguing until one realises that the whole concept of Infinite Stratos is nothing more than an excuse to put a "special" teenaged guy in a school full of hormone crazed girls, and let them have fun with each other. The storyline is only peripherally about the problems resulting from the development of the Infinite Stratos machines as they never really come to the fore until towards the end of the series.

But those are only the surface issues.

The series is limited in terms of design as many aspects of the visuals are adapted directly from the manga. Unfortunately this doesn't really do the show any favours as aside from a degree of futurism in the backgrounds and the conceptualisation of the exoskeletal armours, everything else is the epitome of genericism. The big book of harem characters has been used extensively for pretty much everyone, with all of the lead roles looking more like cardboard cut-outs that would readily grace any other generic high school anime of this type. Granted there is a degree of facial expression, but that's not enough to raise the character design in any measurable way.

Thankfully there are two areas where the visuals actually manage to pass muster. The backgrounds are coloured and detailed rather well, but there are some scenes where the quality improves dramatically in order to focus the viewer's attention on the action. In addition to that, the animation is pretty good throughout the series, but the quality work only really comes to the fore during sequences of IS combat.

Another area where Infinite Stratos does manage to attain a degree of respectability is the acting, but even that's not really saying much. After all, this is a harem romantic comedy with some science fiction and fanservice thrown in for good measure, so viewers shouldn't expect Shakespeare. It's surprising then, that Uchiyama Kouki actually manages to play the role of Ichika rather well, and the same could also be said of Hikasa Youko et al in the roles of the girls who want to find out how well Ichika can use his weapon.

That said, all of the exclamations, weird noises, mannerisms, and changes of pitch and tone that one would associate with this type of show are on offer, but while they're handled rather well by the seiyuu, there's simply too little going on for them to really show off their talents. The main reason for this is the mundane script, and viewers may find themselves suffering from bouts of deja vu during specific scenes, especially if they've recently watched any other harem anime.

As for the music, the background tracks are nice enough and there is some variety to be had thanks to the composition skills of Nanase Hikaru, but the problems lie in the choreography, and more importantly, the relevance. There are occasions where the score seems out of place with the on screen action, and while this is due to a slight error in the timing in some cases, more often it's because the background music simply doesn't mesh with the scene. This is also true for the opening theme, Straight Jet by Kuribayashi Minami, which already has difficulty standing out since it's a pretty standard J-pop affair so the last thing it needed was poor choreography. As for the ending theme, Super Stream, this generic little ditty is sung by the actress of whichever female character is managing to keep up with the manliness of Ichika during the credit sequence, while the other female seiyuu performing backing vocals.

Speaking of manliness, it should come as no surprise that there's little in the way of it here, but then this is justified to a degree by the fact that Infinite Stratos features a female dominated society. Ichika is the typical harem lead who doesn't seem to have a clue that so many girls like him, especially as he has very few redeeming features and a slight complex about his older sister, and in true harem fashion he even forgets or misunderstands childhood promises so the story can have that little bit more drama.

And that's just him.

The girls are just as poor when it comes to characterisation, although thinking about it, maybe poor isn't the right word. They fit into the story rather well, they may look like cardboard cut-outs from other harem anime but they do retain some individuality. They can be annoyingly self centred and stupid, but they're supposed to be hormone crazed teenaged girls so maybe that's normal (apologies if you're a hormone crazed teenaged girl who doesn't act self centred and stupid).

Oh wait. Most of them are supposed to be tsundere characters (all of them except the one with the short blond hair in fact), so maybe poor was the right word after all.

There's little in the way of actual character development as the derived and contrived nature of the plot and story doesn't really allow for any great introspection from any of the roles. There are many potential opportunities to push the characters in a totally new direction, but these are not taken as the whole series is less about telling a good story, and more about cashing in on the harem bandwagon.

Regardless of its flaws, Infinite Stratos will undoubtedly find a home in the hearts of some viewers, which is perfectly fine if you like this type of show, and to be honest much of the series is reasonably inoffensive, especially if the viewer has managed to sit through any other harem anime. That said, it should be pointed out that the concept of the story had the potential for being something special. The idea of a society dominated by women due to the development of a new weapon offers up questions of gender roles, societal balance, political machinations, technological advancements, etc, etc, all of which are treated as minor annoyances that get in the way of finding out which girl Ichika is going to choose.

Granted there are some good points to be found in various aspects of the series, but these are outweighed by a lacklustre storyline, poor characterisation, and an overall sense that everything has been done before. read more

IS: Infinite Stratos..
If my Greek isn't so rusty, I would confidently say that "Stratos" means "Army"
But after watching this anime for the first time, I could conclude that Stratos actually means "Harem"
Why? Because when you're the only guy in a girl school, THERE'S INFINITE HAREMS POSSIBLES! Thus they should rename this anime to Infinite Harems!

Now to tell you the truth, I was a bit reluctant to watch this. Oh sure, harem turns me on, like any normal guy, but mecha genre really turns me off.
But after looking through the mecha suit design, "Hey! You can still see the girls! They're not covered under huge piles of metal!" So I decided to give it a shot.

Wow... Was I wrong about this being a whole mecha genre. They focused more on the harem part! What proof do I have you ask?? Other than the fact he is the only guy?? Well in the ending, they add every new girl he added to his "harem" running along with him. HOW DOES THIS NOT SHOW THAT THE ANIME IS GOING TOWARDS THE DIVINE HAREM ROUTE!

The artwork is up to date with your standard mecha genre anime so I see no disappointment there for those who loves mecha with a harem. No, not mecha sex you perverts! And don't you go googling "Inyoku Tokkyuu Zetsurinou" or "Dyogrammaton" neither!
Nothing to add about sound, it's well balanced.

Anyways, onward to the characters! The main aspect of every harem animes!

-Male lead who walks into girl while changing [CHECK]
-Dense Male Harem lead [CHECK]
(If all the guys were dense like the typical male harem leads, we wouldnt need birth control)
-Childhood friend who is likely to be friendzoned by the producers cause somehow anime directors hate Childhood friends [CHECK] x2
-High class lady with a high ego whom parodies western people [CHECK]
(Why do some japanese people think Westerners are all egoistic? Who knows *rolls eyes*)
-A hyper active and high pitched girl with an attitude [MAYBE EVENTUALLY]
-Chinese girl wannabe with a chinese restaurant (Macross frontier reference??) [CHECK]
-TSUNDERE!!! [CHECK]
-YANDERE!!!! [HOPE NOT O_o]
-Glasses Girl [CHECK]
(Well his teacher might go into his harem for all you know!)
(UPDATE: YES SHE DID!!)
-Bossy older sister who is good at everything [CHECK]
-Fangirls of the bossy older sister who are Yuri-able [CHECK]
-The three musketeers! Or the three girls who always appears as background characters! [CHECK]
Mahou Shoujo???? [WOULD BE RIDICULOUS IN A MECHA ANIME BUT WHO KNOWS???]
-Girl crossplaying as a guy with the ability to change very fast due to the fact she has flat chest.. [CHECK]
(Correction: My friend corrected me that in the future, technology is so advance, that breasts can be compressed)
-Women who clearly broke the "Stay in the kitchen" law [CHECK]
Im not being sexist here. I think it's a good thing women are advance and inventing machines........ to make us guys sammiches...

Despite all the criticism, this anime is enjoyable if you just wanna watch something haremic (Yes I invented that word!) but with a touch of action, mecha specificly.

Overall, for all you harem lover who enjoys imagining themselves in a school full of girls and you're the only guy then this is the anime for you!
Even if you do get a renob like me by watching mecha animes. (Oh please don't google renob up...)
For you mecha lovers out there, this might be a disappointment but fear not, every season, new mecha animes are coming in so there's still hope! So put down that gun.. Yes.. slowly, put it down.. Sit back.. and relax... read more