Mar 30, 2009
This animé actually has few true "plot twists" that would surprise anyone who has seen more than a few animés. But mysteries aren't everything in storytelling, what distinguishes a good story is when you know what is coming but you're still biting your nails and hoping that it does, or doesn't, happen. And this is what this animé managed to do, at least to me.
There are two parts to this animé as has been said, the high school/romance part and the sci-fi part. For those hoping for quick-ass action, avoid this title, battles are few and generally quickly over with, they often serve to increase
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the tension on the characters and not to be the main events. A bonus point however for more realistic sci-fi in terms of equipments and weapons... given the more serious approach of the material, I was afraid when seeing some calling the animé as part of the "mecha" genre of seeing mecha as such as Gundam and the like.
As to the second part, this is what sucked me in. The characters may be based on typical character types found in animé, but they get a chance to be fleshed out well so that you find them sympathetic and grow to like them. At the end of the story, you're really rooting for the main characters and feeling for them. As some say, this animé is slow-paced, but this slow pace I believe allows characters to grow a bit beyond their mold and truly become alive, as relationships don't develop overnight nor do the developments seem forced. This is truly an animé more for the emotional side, at which it succeeds...
However on the rational side, it fails a bit. There's a lot of questions that go unanswered or sci-fi aspects that go only slightly explored. It's ultimately the sci-fi bit that gets a bit forced at times to make way for the relationships bit. And for those interested about the ramifications of an all-female species and concerned about a coherent fleshing out of it, you will be disappointed. Same thing with the intentions of the main vilain, whose actions often seem illogical. It seems the sci-fi context is almost only used as a reason to put the characters into relation and to justify the drama surrounding them, and for little else. The ending rubbed me in the wrong way too, it succeeds emotionally (again) but fails rationally (if it wasn't a spoiler-free zone, oh, the questions I would ask!).
In short, a very good tale for the shoujo-ai fans and for those looking for drama, but best avoided if your main interest is science-fiction and you don't care much for romance and relationships.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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