Rolling☆Girls

Rolling Girls came into the scene with plenty of promise. Following in the path of the widely known Kill la Kill, Rolling Girls, with a variety of vivid and artistic colors had a fair amount of potential to become the next big thing. But does it live to the expectations? Not quite.

Set in a period where all the territories and districts inside Tokyo are divided and ruled by various people, the first glance you'd get from Rolling Girls is a positive one. If you just started this anime you're in for a good ride for the first couple of episodes as Maccha Green, the ... "Best" for the Tokorozawa district is up against Kuniko Shigyo who's the "Best" for Higashi Murayama. The fight scenes at the start is extremely cool and stylish with great aesthetics and a wonderful art style. However, it only lasts for a couple of episodes as after that the show clearly loses its charm. After the fight, both Maccha green and Kuniko get injured and are unable to defend their own territories and thus Nozomi, a "Rest" and a substitute for Maccha Green's squad, sets on a journey to various districts and places in place for Maccha Green and search for the heart-shaped jewel, which is believed to give power to the one who wears it and thus helping them to get stronger and be a "Best".

The greatest asset for Rolling Girls is its art, without a doubt. Following the trait of that of Kill la Kill, Rolling Girls uses an extremely unique, elegant and an exaggerative art style. The way the characters are depicted is truly beautiful and the backgrounds which match that of an oil paint art, is pleasing to the eyes. As the show progresses further, Rolling Girls gets very boring and tends to be repetitive with our girls going from place to place. And as a result the plot seems to be all over the place but the one thing that kept me hooked into it was certainly its aesthetic visuals.

I really hoped to see more of Maccha Green and the next fights she would encounter but that was quickly thrown away into the water as the show focused a lot more on Nozomi and her friends that she makes in the way as they travel from place to place. The development for each of the character isn't progressive too as they vie for the stones that would make them stronger but instead mostly end up causing a mishap.

Perhaps another redeeming factor for Rolling Girls is the soundtrack. The opening theme is catchy and gets inside your head quickly and also with wonderful visuals. There are several tracks inserted into each of the episodes and it perfectly suits the scenario. The art plus the soundtrack of this was a good enough reason for me to keep watching Rolling Girls.

Rolling Girls tries to be adventurous and wacky but eventually fails as the show progresses. It had all the things you need to turn it into a good anime, but not a good plot. I really tried to enjoy this show for what it had but alas if the core of the anime itself is bad then there's no way I could. This doesn't mean Rolling Girls is a horrible show, you may easily come to like just by its superb art style and visuals. I could only wish for a second season but it ends on a note where it's pretty satisfying and shuts itself down so there's little chance for it...

SPOILER-FREE (I try :p)
Just a disclaimer, I can see what the other reviews refer to, lack of story and sucky plot, etc. However I feel like the most important part of Rolling Girls was the character development, which I have not seen covered in the reviews I have read. This series might not be for everyone; those who like a plot intensive series will not find it here (there is a plot but each episode more or less has episodic plots (a plot may extend to 2-3 episodes along with the main plot that is barely there except for the last 3 ep.). Many may ... compare it to Kill-la-Kill (i did until i got 3 ep. into the series) however those who like klk may not even like Rolling Girls (but i digress)

Back to the main point, I feel like this series should be judged mostly on what it claims to be.

ACTION: Looking at the genres, yes it is slightly action however action fans may be slightly disappointed at the lack of fights throughout the mid-part of the series so I would down mark that, say..5/10. The fights that ARE there are actually pretty well drawn and eye-candy. If the series were to have had more fighting scenes, those that like this genre would enjoy this series quite a bit but sadly it is lacking for it to be tagged Action :p

ADVENTURE: "Adventure fiction is a genre of fiction in which an adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, forms the main storyline" According to this definition, Rolling Girls is accurately placed into the Adventure genre. They travel all throughout divided Japan risking their lives as reps for the Best of the heroine's hometown. Can't argue much there. 8/10

SUPER POWER: Now here comes the interesting part. Super powers are shown all throughout the series. The Bests are the ones with the fantastic shiny powers while the Rests are our everyday common folk. This makes up a big part of our plot (which is pretty lacking in a way). These superpowers are shown throughout the series in different ways, through races, fights, etc. but I also feel like it is shown through the heroines. To keep this spoiler free, throughout the adventure the heroines discover more about themselves and find out what their superpower is (not as in the literal superpower, whether or not they have them is up to you, potential watcher, to watch >83) It may not be official but I feel like I should put up my opinion somewhere :pp 10/10 (in all ways possible >83)

SLICE OF LIFE: Despite the fights you may see in ep. 1 and 2, this is DEFINITELY a slice of life. The heroines go on a journey to represent a tiny town and discover more about themselves and their inner strengths as they progress into their little adventure. If you put aside the ridiculous fighting scenes and plot and actually look at the characters themselves, you'll definitely see the Slice of Life in there. Just imagine.

It's getting pretty lengthy however I feel like all those other reviews are scaring off people who'd like this series too ;A;. Yes, the plot is lackluster however the characters are great. They may seem like annoying moe girls (I thought so too) however the ending changed things for me :p. I would've given this series a 7-8/10 however that last bit towards the ending made me look at the series from a different perspective. This may not happen to everyone however I feel like it's important to atleast note that. Hopefully this review was not too lengthy/ doesn't-scare-you away-from-the-series. Many may agree to disagree on this comment however I hope that for those of you who read this that it might change how you see the show. It isn't the best series out there however I feel like it is under-rated (and in no way am I over-rating it, I just want people out there it is worth a try)
Thanks for reading and hopefully this review will leave you thinking (even if it is just a tiny bit like 0.01% or something >.

When I first read the synopsis for Rolling Girls, all I said to myself was "..... What the heck is this?" Not in a "This looks so stupid" kind of way, though. More like "What on earth is the plot supposed to be??" After twelve episodes of adorable mob girls and flowery explosions of wonder I can proudly report... that I still have no idea what I just watched. So ladies and gentlemen, here is my opinion of the anime Rolling Girls.

Story: 6
The story of this show is, well... not good. The writer seemed to have a bad habit of ... having some wonderful idea and throwing it into the story without ever telling us what exactly that wonderful idea was supposed to be. For example, imagine sitting in some class where the teacher keeps using this seemingly important term "parydot." You have no idea what the heck a parydot is, and neither do any of your classmates, but apparently your professor sure does. Of course, he'll never explain it to you for some reason only God knows. That's what watching Rolling Girls is like; you constantly question whether you missed some crucial piece of information or not, even though in reality none of what seems to be integral pieces of the plot are EVER explained.
If you were to ignore this aspect of the show, however, what would be left is some really loud and over-the-top plot that... I honestly didn't hate. Something about the way they blew every action way out of proportion reminded me of Gurren Lagann. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not trying to compare the whole show to Gurren Lagann, though I suppose in retrospect they have more similarities than you'd initially think... Hmph, maybe I am comparing it to Gurren.....

Art: 7
The art of this show is certainly unique. All of the backgrounds look like watercolor paintings, which give the show a fresh and interesting look. The palette used is full of bright pastel colors that look like liquefied Starbursts. And even though I had never seen art quite like this in an anime before, it wasn't distracting at all, which I was pleasantly surprised about. If I had to describe it all in a concise manner, I'd have to say it was just plain fun.
The animation, on the other hand, was just meh. It was pretty standard, with a few awkward shots and movements every episode or so. Not good, but not bad either. This was mostly obvious in the slower-paced scenes of the show, when there wasn't too much action going on. And even when action was going on, it was a bit of a toss-up whether you'd get a smoothly animated fight or not. I'd say the animators would get the action right about 70% of the time. But lemme tell you, when they got it right, they got it RIGHT. Those over-the-top scenes I mentioned before really stood out in my mind, and I mean that in a good way.

Sound: 8
This was my favorite aspect of the show. While the opening and ending were nothing special, just standard-old J-Pop, the OST was just great. It really set the mood in the most important scenes, and before long I would catch myself bouncing on the edge of my seat, grinning like an idiot. I'm one of those people who don't really notice the OSTs of shows, I get too caught up in the visuals, but this case was different. The music of the show grabbed my attention and, most importantly, complemented the story. And don't even get me started on that song at the end of episode 8. :-3
As for the voices of the characters, in this regard I was also pleasantly surprised. Rolling Girls consists of a bunch of different one-to-two episode arcs, so naturally our quad of MCs meets a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of different characters. When this happens you usually run into the problem of many of the characters starting to sound the same to you. Rolling Girls managed to avoid this problem, however. Each character had a unique sound to them that made them easily recognizable. Even more impressive, I didn't hate or find ANY of their voices annoying in the slightest. Bravo, Rolling Girls, bravo.

Characters: 7
As has been already stated, there are a lot of characters in this show, most of which you will only see for one or two episodes. And all of them were fairly likable, I'd say. Some were cooler than others, but none of them were especially terrible. Some I wanted to slap across the face a couple of times, sure, but none I wanted to kill out of pure hatred. They each are unique with their own aspirations and motivations, and none of them are "recycled" throughout the show.
While all of this is just fine and dandy, they're just side characters in the end. And our main characters, our "Rolling Girls," unfortunately did not impress me as much as them. They're personalities have nothing wrong with them, and they're not all that bland either. They... just..... don't go anywhere. In a show like this you'd expect our travelers to be the ones to grow the most, but that just doesn't happen. Our main characters hardly do anything, the plot is focused on and furthered by the struggles of the side characters. They're barely developed except for one (kinda...), and at the end we're thrown some random connection between the four that totally just came out of left field. It was quite saddening.

Enjoyment: 6
There was something weird about Rolling Girls that just made it hard to watch. I would sit and stare at the video on my computer screen, but I found it soooo difficult to press "play." Once I started, everything went fine, but just that initial click was a real challenge. This has happened to me for a couple of anime, and I just can't explain it. And even though there were many scenes that I greatly enjoyed while watching the show, I can't say that I've ever experienced an episode that just flew by with Rolling Girls. While I wanted to have one of those "five-minute episode" experiences, I felt like the episodes were twice the normal length instead.

Overall: 7
All in all, this show had its high and low points. It's artistically different and refreshing, but lacking in content. In my humble opinion, it was just "okay." I'd suggest it to anyone who's got time on their hands and just wants to watch something simple and ridiculous.

(A note on my ranking scale: My average anime score is 7. This is because I rate on quality and enjoyment, not in comparison to other works. A 5 would be something I was completely indifferent to, and since I somewhat enjoy most shows I watch, my average is 7)

STORY [6] --- ART [7] --- SOUND [6] --- CHARACTER [6] --- ENJOYMENT [8]

Seeing the varied review scores on this site is unsurprising to me. Rolling☆Girls takes inspiration from everything, doesn't excel at anything, and at the end of the day resolves nothing. So why did I find it so enjoyable and relaxing?

Right from the get-go it's easy to see what influenced Rolling☆Girls. FLCL, KLK, Samurai Flamenco, and Kyousougiga are the ones that jump to my mind.

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The story of Rolling☆Girls doesn't stay on the forefront at all times, and is primarily a premise to get the show rolling. Our main girl, Nozomi, is filling in ... as a substitute "peace mediator" for her injured friend, and travels across post-fictional war Japan. Each arc just focuses on the group of girls tackling a new issue, whether it's a problem they find themselves in or a local problem that needs solving. And it isn't until the last arc that things get personal and the girls find themselves part of a critical issue. In fact, most of the problems are solved only because the girls play support and give a motivational push to other, local characters.

This plays a lot into the background idea of the "Bests" (mosa) and their supporters, the "Rests" (mobs). Nozomi wishes to transcend her lack of abilities as a Rest for her Best friend, yet never are she and her friends major players in solving problems. Their involvement feels artificial and contrived, in line with their role as Rests. The irony is that the show's caption pretty much spells it out from the start. "Rolling, Falling, Scrambling Girls. For others. For themselves. Even if they're destined to be a 'mob'"; yep, the keyword is "destined."

Ultimately you are watching a show about side characters. The characters you never pay attention to in all the popular battle or mystery anime; the characters who get the short end of the stick when it comes to claiming the spotlight or getting recognition.

Characterization? It's there, but it's not entirely apparent until the last arc when each of girls' skills and motivations are questioned. It isn't a driving point of the show, but it is there and it's as plain and inconsequential as you might expect for a show about secondary characters. I'd go into more, but the gist is that each girl grows up a bit and becomes more mature or independent.

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Visually the animation is contemporary, on a simpler level than KLK. In fact, a lot of the explosive action from KLK occurs in Rolling☆Girls during fights between the "Bests," superpowered fighters from each prefecture. Additionally, the character designs are cute and pleasant. Meanwhile, the background world is visually distinctive between prefectures/arcs. The colorfulness and wackiness of characters is oddly reminiscent of Kyousougiga's Kyoto, even if the themes of the shows are nothing alike.

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So let's move onto motifs. The biggest reasons I name FLCL as inspiration are the scooters and bikes, and the ever pervasive past-generation band Stones that the girls bond over. Add in a cover of a late-80s song for an opening and you start to get a picture of the tone of the show.

But I think Samurai Flamenco also provides a thematic base for Rolling☆Girls. Nozomi looks up to these superhero-tier Bests, and despite her remaining as a supporter rather than becoming a superhero like Masayoshi, she does her best to tackle every new challenge that confronts her. Near Rolling☆Girls's conclusion, the sudden and unexpected conflict is a little similar to Samurai Flamenco's jump in craziness midway, albeit on a much smaller scale.

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As I said, Rolling☆Girls doesn't excel at anything. That is to say, it never once takes something to its extreme, and you never feel any sense of urgency or thrill in its story. The fights between Bests are tame, the strife in each arc mild and non-catastrophic. Rolling☆Girls doesn't match the visual chaos of KLK, the world is never as alive or likeable as Kyousougiga's, and--for better or for worse--Samurai Flamenco's escalation of events dwarfs the final fight in Rolling☆Girls. The soundtrack is unfortunately nowhere near the memorability of FLCL's. Even the ending is lighthearted and easygoing, in spite of the fact that a main character was leaving the planet forever.

I could only recommend Rolling☆Girls to fans of cute girls looking cute, in an unfamiliar non-school setting. There is a small bit of action, but Rolling☆Girls is just so middleground that you can't take things seriously, but you can't laugh off everything either. It is lighthearted, easygoing, and well-intentioned. The conclusion won't have you in tears or applauding, but you won't be raging either.

I did have a good time watching the anime, and was less bored with it than this review might have you expect. I can definitely see myself rewatching it one or two years down the line to pass a drought.

Thanks for reading! I wrote a surprisingly large amount of words for my first review but hopefully I got my main point across. If you want to discuss this anything with me hit up my profile.

The Rolling Girls, first off, caugh me off guard. I had read the negative reviews, the feedback on different forums, and how more or less a majority hated it. I was hesitant when I picked it up, though I don't regret my decision; what I found instead was a true diamond in the rough with a lot of heart: an awkward, crazy, pretty fast paced narrative that rewards your focus, oddball characters that all have relevance, and a climax that's quite rewarding and fitting for what the series was going for. Yes, it's about squid aliens and superhero fights; of four seemingly useless and incredibly ... lucky girls to oversee the events throughout the series, and grow themselves. It's quite the childlike tale. But that's exactly what was so charming about it.

I, too, understood the critics. It's not a series meant for anyone. But if you can appreciate the times when you were a kid and everything was extravagantly outlandish, irrealistic, and somehow awesome, then you'll have a good time with it. The world in Rolling Girls is just the way it is, pastel-colored and dreamlike, and that's part of the series' childish surrealism. If you're wanting for something complex and mature to reward your time, go watch Mononoke or something.

Still, if you're merely interested in the series itself, don't hesitate to give it a try. It's worth the watch.

And, of course, this is the perfect show for stoners. The soundtrack makes half the show, its 70s-like song list and how it fits together with the storyline rolling along is eargasmic. The animation is pretty pleasing and relaxing. The storyline has a pretty decent message, and manages to tie itself off pretty well towards the end. The loli knight's arc was the only one that felt like filler. Overall, 420/10.

My first thought of Rolling Girls was an all out action anime, but I guess I was wrong about that, it certainly did contain actually with like street races, concerts and stuff which includes the best fighting each other. But it wasn't those really exciting action that you would actually want more of those stuff.

The story was half confusing, it required me to watch the previous episode before watching the released one to make sure I didn't miss anything important. It felt like as if I missed something since the episodes don't even relate somehow. It was confusing but the overall concept of trying to ... make peace and encourage friendship was successful, you will still get some feels of the characters.

The art was pretty nice in the first thought, it was drawn like a cartoon style to make it look rather flashy and cute. Lots of bling bling during the actions.

For character development was good, you get to know the characters in the positive side but not a lot in the negative side. But you can see the bond between the main characters start to grow better and better.

Second review - Rolling Girls, where to even begin, when i started watching this anime I was more like 'what even am I watching?' however as i carried on watching the anime I started to really enjoy it.

It's about a load of girls going on a trip and yada yada, read the disc. but you get the general idea. It was crazy and weird, but the more you watched it the more enjoy I got out of it. They put in jokes and funny scenes, an anime can't be all serious or you'll get bored.

Even the characters themselves were made funny, they had ... their own traits and their own styles. Personally I loved this about the show, it gave it character and allowed you to enjoy watching the individual personalities evolving throughout.

Honestly, if you want an anime that's serious and is all about the plot line then this isn't for you as such, this is a funny anime that actually keeps to the plot but with a spin of amusement on the side. Me being honest, I would love to watch this again as it gave me the laughs and was all about the fun an anime should be.

Canaan ~

As what the title stated, the 'rolling girls'... we have four girls who are air-headed, an enthusiastic girl on becoming the 'best', a girl who can draw but with funny eye designs and a alien octopus girl. What they do, they're the subs for Macca green and go explore around Japan. Make my review short.

Story 6/10 - Story is on flow, just that it's too random.

Art 8/10 - So vivid and colorful artwork designs, but some areas are a bit cartoonish, and some animations are a little off but still ill give an 8 for its vivid designs.

Sound 7/10 - Just listen

Character 7/10 - You ... watch and you will know.

Enjoyment 8/10 - Though random, still manages to make comedic scenes at least, far better than making it boring.

Overall: 7/10

I think the problem with most reviews is in that they are all subjective. While in general, shows that primarily have one main genre, it doesn't help shows trying out different mixtures of genres. And this is what Rolling☆Girls tries to do. While it claims to be action and adventure, it is also a slice of life. This is where the problems start.

Slice of life is not for everyone, and usually works better with drama/non-action genres. But for those that love slice of life, this is an anime that is able to do combine action and adventure with slice of life. And what is ... key about this slice of life is that in being both action and adventure, they can have both flashy scenes and many diverse characters along with the different and interesting stories the "normal" girls get to see as they travel.

This would have had "higher" reviews had the focus been on the overarching plot itself. However, the novelty of this was to see this story from the point of view of the "normal side characters".

It might feel like the side characters stand out more than the main characters, but that is the point. These girls are classified as "normal" girls, and the anime does very well at making that clear. However, despite being normal throughout the anime, you'll find that without the ending would not have been the same.

Think of it as NPC's trying to have an impact on the story.

I am not sure of why all the hate on the reviews,

I find the show very fun and enjoyable, most of it is silliness and while not as in depth as some other anime's, the show does a good job of doing what it does, being fun, while not taking things all that serious. I recommend for those who want something to watch that is silly.

It shows the girls going to may different areas and helping each clan or group between disputes, its simple and they usually find a solution having to do with a message, whether that is a lost memory or friendships ... lost. While simple I think it gives a clear ending to each part of the story.

This anime is not the greatest, but it isn't bad either, I recommend!

Personally, I'm really into animation and art, and the style of this show is what got me from the start. If there was one thing that stood out to me for the whole show, it's the musical number in Episode 8. I, personally, enjoy dubbed anime and the song 'Stones' has me utterly hooked. Otherwise, the story was lackluster with no real world-building. It's a great show to watch if you enjoy a fast-paced adventure with a general overarching storyline!

Another note is that the four main characters aren't that well developed. We get a character who idolizes a hero that she can never live up ... to, a character who has no clear backstory, an alien, and a character who wants to become a hero at any cost. With that setup, it could've hit greatness but instead, they ended up with little to no character development on most parts.

Although the ending made me cry, admittedly, It's a show with very little substance when it comes down to it, and it sucks because it really could've been something quite great! Rolling Girls will always be an anime that I watch when I need a pick-me-up, purely for its amazing art and general happy feel.