Buddy Complex

When ordinary high school student Aoba Watase is suddenly targeted by a giant robot known as a "Valiancer," he is saved by his mysterious classmate Hina Yumihara. After revealing that she and their robotic enemy are from the future, Hina suddenly propels Aoba 70 years forward in order to prevent his death.

Upon arrival, Aoba finds himself in the cockpit of a Valiancer called "Luxon," stuck in the midst of a firefight between the military forces of the Free Pact Alliance (FPA) and Zogilia Republic. After he shows high compatibility with an FPA pilot named Dio Weinberg, the two perform a successful "coupling," allowing them to share experiences and subsequently increase their capabilities and skills. Although Aoba is able to survive this unexpected battle, he is taken into custody by the FPA ship Cygnus, who wishes to interrogate him. While the student's main concern is whether he will ever be able to return home, what he doesn't realize is that he is about to get caught up in a war to protect the world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yumihara, Hina Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Watase, Aoba Main

Matsuoka, Yoshitsugu Japanese

Weinberg Junyou, Dio Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Nasu, Mayuka Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Gerafil, Bizon Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Rossetti, Anessa Supporting

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Soeharto Supporting

Miyashita, Eiji Japanese

Vantarhei, Fromm Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Vasily, Tarjim Supporting

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Junyou, Fiona Weinberg Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Makimoto, Yuki Producer

Hirayama, Tadashi Producer

Tanabe, Yasuhiro Director

Tsuruoka, Youta Sound Director

Reviews

Jun 10, 2024

spacenewtype

Recommended

Nice little show, though it feels like it had enough steam to go at least for a 25 episode run, if not a full 50. I don't know why it wasn't longer... Amazingly, it does manage to wrap the story up well enough in a two-parter which is quite impressive. I wish there were more, though, and as a result there isn't as much to dig into and love as there might have been if it were longer.

It is very competent in just about everything it tries, though it does not break new ground anywhere really. If you've ever enjoyed a Sunrise mecha anime ... in the past, you'll likely enjoy this one too.

The Japanese performances are excellent as you'd expect, the music is good - especially the opening theme. The strongest element in this show for me was the character designs. There's something about them I find really appealing, something like a cross between Cross Ange and Eureka 7.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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May 1, 2022

Fortress_Maximus

Mixed Feelings

Story: 4 - Of the three original Sunrise mecha series from the early 2010s that didn't have a big name attached to them, Buddy Complex plays it the safest and by-the-book. The ongoing war in the series backdrop is the most generic real robot setting there is, it's not below average, it's decent at best.

But it does have some innovation or things done before but rarely seen like time travel and the titular buddy system.

The big issue with the story, though, is its pacing, most of the content it copies were series that did them in 2 to 4 cours, this does it in 1 ... cour and leaves us on a cliff-hanger

Art: 5 - The character designs were okay, not the best fit for a series of this genre but it's not bad. The mechanical designs were fairly unique.

Sounds: 5 - Nothing too special. The OP and ED at okay to listen to.

Character: 5 - The inclusion of a time-travel element works in this regard; the fish-out-of-water journey of Aoba was quite captivating, how he adapts to life in the future, searching for his old home and school. Most of those outside the main characters felt like clichés, however.

Enjoyment 5: A series a few good ideas held back by its pacing and vast amounts of genericity.

Overall: (4+5+5+5+5)/5 = 4.8, rounds up to 5

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 12, 2014

Dark_Sister

Not Recommended

Second season? Seriously? I will probably watch it because it’s gonna be hard to make it more boring than first one, so maybe I won’t be so disappointed next time, but why just 4?
Story: 2/10
What story? Only the first and the last episode were really worth watching - even though the whole “time travelling” thing doesn’t make any sense… Hey, I’m really curious how Aoba got into the future first time? Cause there must have been reason for Bizon to find him in the past, right? But I expected too much – the whole plot aimed to explain how Hina got in Aoba’s ... world and that’s all. Rest of the story is vague and we would have not lost anything significant if they had cut off this 11 episodes.
Characters: 5/10
Sorry, but cuteness is not any determinant for me. Characters are 100% schematic and their decisions tend to be reckless at least – with Aoba at the helm, and there’s nothing worse that irritating protagonist.
Art+ Animation: 8/10
The only point to watch this anime. If you like to watch fighting mechas and colorful, bright and precise animation that’s anime for you. Plus – pretty girls and fancy uniforms;)
Music: 5/10
Not bad, absolutely neutral. I have to admit that I am not able to call in my memory anything which could disturb my reception in some way.
Enjoyment: 4/10
… Which was powered by unceasing expectation for something MORE than next the same looking battle or another character who disappears on following episode and doesn’t play any role in the series. As I wrote earlier – only animation met with my expectations.
Overall: 4/10
This anime is wasted. It could be really great mecha series with some dose of mystery bound up with time travelling, which is just perfect instrument to make a little mess in our heads, but…
It wasn’t such a waste of time after all, but I think this effect was possible only if you watch it week after week, because if you watch it at once there’s a danger that monotony will kill your enthusiasm.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Buddy Complex Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Feb 2, 2014	74 replies	by TheSelleri »» Jun 27, 2:48 PM
	Why does this feel like it should have been longer? (Potential spoilers) Damolisher - Nov 1, 2021	3 replies	by TheOnlyOneTM »» Jun 10, 5:36 PM
	Poll: Buddy Complex Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Stark700 - Dec 29, 2013	218 replies	by aleinam »» Mar 8, 6:04 AM
	Poll: Buddy Complex Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Mar 30, 2014	199 replies	by HagePotPotato »» Sep 7, 2023 5:45 PM
	Poll: Buddy Complex Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) tsubasalover - Jan 12, 2014	153 replies	by HagePotPotato »» Sep 6, 2023 8:13 PM

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