Girly Air Force

Colorful, fighter aircrafts known as “Daughters.” Hawt Japanese women. And a young boy, Kei Narutani, who arouses the “Anima” (young girls who are specifically designed to pilot the “Daughters”) because he’s the chosen MC for Girly Air Force. What else could you ask for?

“Anything but this garbage.” — Random MAL user

“Yeah…yeah.” —Krunchyman

The world is under attack from a mysterious entity known as Zai (evil, advanced aircrafts), who have surpassed human technology and are considered, relatively, unstoppable. Except when the government employs “Anima” to combat the “invulnerable” foe. Because one of the “Anima” is defective, Kei is requested to spend time ... — “awaken the sleeping beauty,” if you will — with Gripen (the defective “Anima” in question) and hang out around town; thus, changing the series from a tedious action-adventure to a banal slice-of-life.

Gripen exhibits the blank slate anime trope, where, besides her food preferences, she doesn’t have any thoughts, opinions, or knowledge of any societal norms. Hence her inane dialogue from time to time. Kei is your typical, prosaic main character, who holds an affinity to Gripen because it’s quite obvious the writers are laying the seeds for a possible romance. And with the “Race for Your Love” scene in episode three, where Kei furiously rode his bicycle toward Gripen after finding out she was made out of Xi parts. The affection between the two is, effectively, written on the wall. Making the series extremely dull, contrived, and a waste of time; unless you enjoy vibrant aircrafts and tired tropes.

From my first viewing of Girly Air Force, it felt like I’ve seen this somewhere before. And no, before anyone mentions “Arpeggio of Blue Steel”, it’s actually not that. What I mean is that I’ve seen similar anime like this before with the ideas of objects translated into cute girls. Kantai Collection, Frame Arms Girl, and Strike Witches are a few that comes to mind. Yet, a voice is telling me that Girly Air Force really felt lacking in terms of execution. And with regret, I didn’t really get this show.

To be fair, the light novels aren’t very popular. Before this got announced as an ... anime adaptation, I had no idea it even existed. But since it’s been publishing for more than 4 years since September 2014, there’s bound to be enough to make this into a fluid story right? As an anime only viewer, watching Girly Air Force felt like a challenge because of its themes. The concept of an alien invasion (entities known as “Zai” in this show) attacking a country is a copy-paste formula I’ve seen in many sci-fi shows before. Girly Air Force doesn’t exactly think outside the box with this formula as we are shown that humanity have their own weapons of defense. The advanced aircraft fighters known as “Daughters” are employed in this show. The pilots consists of the main characters known as “Anima” that resembles young women.

First impressions are important and unfortunately, Girly Air Force takes several strikes from the start. We meet protagonist Kei who encounters a mysterious girl. Oh and did I forget to mention that they kiss already? It doesn’t take long for this mysterious girl named Gripen to build a relationship with Kei. Throughout the story, they come to understand each other but it’s clear there’s a lack of chemistry between the two. Between the awkward humor, cheap dialogues, and weak emotional connection, there’s little reason to actually care about them. When I mentioned that I didn’t get this show, this was part of the reason. Why should I care about Kei and Gripen’s relationship when there’s little character development between either one of them? To make matters worse, Kei has the personality of a potato while Gripen exhibits borderline android-like behavior. The show also think it’s clever to pull out “cute” moments for Gripen to make her look more human. But honestly, it’s embarrassing to watch. How many times are going to get to see Gripen eat like a little kid at the candy store before it gets old?

Upon joining Japanese military, Kei also meets other Anima such as Eagle and Phantom. While they show more personality than our android girl Gripen, neither of them are developed enough. Eagle has a child-like personality who adores her “papa” while also being overly friendly. Yet, she can also show an irregular way of expressing herself when irritated. On the other hand, Phantom displays a superiority complex while not getting along with nearly anyone. While this show is not a harem, it has tendency to make characters be more dependent on others than they should. Gripen is a clear example of this as she begins to show way too much attachment to Kei. Eagle also trusts Kei because her papa has faith in him. Oh and of course, we can’t have a show without a childhood crush so Song Minghua is there for that role. It’s too bad Kei is laughably dense about her feelings which result in many awkward moments. Someone with a face like Kei drags down this show even more with its already degenerate cast.

When I first decided to actually watch Girly Air Force, my hopes were that somewhere along the way, the storytelling would be able to at least draw enough interest. What kind of story did we get instead? It’s a poorly made one with tongue-tied sci-fi ideas. In fact, many of the episodes hardly connects the show together such as kidnapping angle, washed down invasion plot, or even some of its slice of life content. That’s right, this anime at times feels unintentionally like a slice of life with the character interactions. Between the three main Anima, there’s also a rivalry developed between them but should we even bother to care? The main premise of the show is for humanity to survive and explore ways for them to defeat the Zai, right? Perhaps, there’s something more that I’m not seeing here. Maybe it’s a show that tries to get viewers to experience the behavior of these abnormal girls. Nonetheless, I really don’t get this show.

Who would have guessed that Satelight would be animating this? They’ve been known to be attached to projects with sci-fi themes such as Macross, Aquarion Evol, Muv-Luv Alternative, Symphogear, etc. Their experiments have shown plenty of flaws over the years and Girly Air Force is another to add to the list. In essence, the visual quality of the show only stands out the most when it gets to the action. I will admit that the aerial combat is top-tier when the momentum gets going. But when the characters aren’t in the sky, everything feels radically plain. This isn’t much of a criticism but more as the truth. Characters look too light novel fashioned with little distinction. The show also seems to love making Gripen and Eagle as cute as possible whenever they are with Kei. It doesn’t also help that Kei falls for certain suggestive scenes and dialogues like a typical anime healthy boy would. Abandon hope for a likable protagonist because Kei is at the bottom of the barrel.

After 12 weeks of mindless Girly Air Force adventure, this felt like a book that needed to be put down. Maybe I’ll give the light novel a chance in the future but for the anime adaptation, this was nothing short than a thumbs down. I was bored for the plot, felt almost no emotional attachment to the characters, and nearly zero connection to the show’s ideas. Trusting in this show makes me wonder if we even need more anime about cute girls doing…sci-fi things?

I am astounded and stunned to fathom what's so good about this show, except that it is built on cliches and tropes, one after another. That's what is obvious from the get-go, and unless you're a fan of these irregularities, it doesn't help that this show gives off bad vibes from the start.

The story (and worldbuilding) is that mankind/humanity is under attack from extraterrestrial entities only known as Xi, large colourful bird-ish planes who have surpassed human technology and are considered unstoppable. One fateful day, the dull MC, Narutani Kei, stumbles among one of the Xi's many attacks, and is caught in the crossfire between ... the Zai and the JASDF's way of quantitative and qualitive control: Colourful fighter planes known as "Daughters", powered by autonomous units called "Anima", android-like human girls made from scrap Xi parts, and engineered to only serve one purpose: to repel the Xi in whatever shape and way possible technologically, that mission failures are not tolerated. And then...the storytelling collapses on its feet, HARD, as plot is basically non-existent and non-progressive.

And here...is the first problem: Inserting cliches and tropes where it doesn't really make total sense to the current (and future) situation(s). While Kei notices the first of the "Daughter" planes, which houses Gripen (the dull, naive pink-haired girl), he attempts to save her like any other righteous human would...and *kisses* him for absolutely NO reason. (Shit, that weird scene still irks so much in my mind.) Naturally, with the big effect of the Xi's attack for killing his mother, and wanting to know more about the power of the Daughters, he joins the JASDF and joins the staff responsible for the exclusive program in hopes of getting his sweet, sweet (and naive teenage) revenge against the Xi. And then, as luck would have it, Yashirodoori, the scientist behind the reverse-engineering of the Xi's weaponry and developer of the Anima system, notices Gripen's *strange* emotional dependency on Kei, and decides to "pair" them up together (ooh that "pairing romance" troupe).

The second problem is with the characters, both mains and sides. Gripen, as blank as she looks, is actually for a reason. Suffering from an inherent emotional defect which leaves her scatterbrained and lacking a sense of purpose, that's the answer to her fragile affinity with Kei (like seriously, can you believe this???). Eagle, the blonde-haired loud-talking girl, she's at best a talking parrot based on her perky and capricious personality, aside from being talented (which naturally is the case). What irks me is that on their first impressions, Eagle takes interest in Kei, but never crosses that line, as saying that the writers initally wanted a harem of sorts. (Oh God, please kill me now.) And last but not least (of the Daughters), Phantom, the green-haired original JASDF Anima that is first to be developed and built, takes a drastic step on her prideful superiority both on ground and in the skies, manipulating information as and when she likes it to gain any tactical advantage firsthand, causing frictions within the team (and I kinda hated her at first but understood her intentions well soon after).

Even more patronizing, are both Kei and his childhood friend Song Minghua. Watching Kei stumble and grow is as worrying as his character development built in the process as not only Gripen's "beck and call" backup (his MC appeal), but also the "instant training" troupe that's the cause of his revenge, that beckons to always question his purpose in helping the Daughters fend off the Xi, being 1 step forward and 10 steps back. Even worse, is his childhood friend-cum-"random sibling romance" Minghua. Strapped within the same devastating situation as Kei, she "swore" to protect him...like a girlfriend would (but really never displays "subtle" affections), with Kei sister-zoning her. Wow this is getting great...or so it hoped.

I'm not at all surpised when Satelight is involved in anything that is mech-related, as the studio's past experiences have all held up in bits and pieces, whether good or bad, and Girly Air Force is no different. The art styles have all held up decently well, and along with the frantic animation which is both clean and stylish. And of course, the Xi and planes have that artifical CGI feel to them, and is honestly not that bad and is not repulsive either.

For a show all about planes and sci-fi action, you would expect a good OST to follow-up on this piece, but what came out of it are all generic tunes, both OP/ED and the BGM. Not impressive, but decently held up.

If I can fall flat on this show, it means that this show has failed. Not in terms of expectation, but pure enjoyment. Sure, I'd like some things to at least spice up the action, but episode after episode, even the enjoyment wanes substantially to the point where I can wave my byes away in the moonlight. If you like this show, good for you, but it just isn't for me.

I have control.......Or so as what original creator, Natsumi, Kouji, concepted, cu'z frankly using the concept of other worldly being out to invade planet earth and it's up to mankind to fight against these invaders was just too cliche to say the least, the worst part was that this anime has more to do with the relationship between a human Narutani, Kei and an anima Gripen. Now let's be honest around here, the way I look at this I kinda see this as more like a dream come true for the original creator Natsumi, Kouji, cu'z everything here was based from his novel of ... the same name and quite frankly this is his only success, given that 3 of his works weren't doing well, why he used a SAAB JAS Gripen to be part of the JSDAF instead of the F-16 was mainly because he has a fascination with such plane from Sweden, that he can only fantasizes it in his novel, but IMAO that makes him and the publishing company ASCII Media Works a pair of stupids. Now I don't know about the Xi's, those invaders from another world, but not know much about them nor having a main antagonist that represent them as other cliche sci-fi thingy, was just another blow to this anime's story plot since it does add to the boredom of watching it, so what did studio staff of Satelight did?? Introduced an weak antagonist in another anima by the name of Rhino whose daughter is a F-18 Hornet that adds to the stupidity, another stupid around here was Phantom's analogy of pushing to on coming traffic Narutani, Kei as if she wants to kill him , but the flip flops into saying that she only wants to injury him..... So how do I see this?:

Story- Poor 3: It was simply loaded with a lotta weak analogies, that simply contradicts common logic where the premise of the excuse was that it is just
a work if fiction.

Art-Mediocre 5: As usual, we see girls not dress for the occasion, such as girls not dressed in proper military uniform given that they're part of the JSDAF, aircraft that were just too colorful as if it would be something that the armed service would frown about.

Sound- fair 6: Cu'z I just don't care as who did who with the character's voices, but I do like the opening theme "Break the Blue!!" by Run Girls, Run!

Character-Pathetic 1:

Let's go over each:

Kei Narutani- Basically he epitomize a typical cheater, where at one point he says to his childhood friend Minghua Song that she's is very important to him and in the next he says to Gripen that he would be with her.

Minghua Song- If I were that girl I would have left that guy, but not before punching him in the face or maybe put some poison on his food, since he cheats on her anyway.

Gripen- Basically I see her as this dojikko, who just can't do anything right without someone being on her side.

Eagle- Well to put it simply, she a whore, cu'z she acts love dovey with Haruka Yashirodōri her creator and on the next she flirts with Kei.

Phantom- To me either she is this murderous Undere or a deceptive Mayadere.

Rhino- Sad to say that she has to be the main antagonist, when they could have made a different one.

Viper- Because her character is simply that of a minor role, she is basically a big waste.

Enjoyment- Poor 3: I was waiting for a main antagonist to show up, but what we got was a weak one.

Overall-Dreadful 2: I kinda feel like wanting to go to Japan , look for the original creator and punch him in the face, afterwards go to studio Satelight and punch the studio director as well.