Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation: Nep no Natsuyasumi

The year is 2019, and all single-season anime series have decided to announce a squeal. Idea Factory has decided to hop on the bandwagon, and I assume the meeting must have gone something like this:

"So we should bring back one of our series for a second season, but Mars of Destruction and Skelter Heaven were complete failures. Oh, we have the Neptunia series that aired back in 2013, and it has become much more successful after we released the games on Steam in 2015! But we're not comfortable sponsoring a whole season 2 yet, so let's just make a second OVA for it to test the waters first."

Since Hyperdimension Neptunia was one of the first anime that I've ever watched, I couldn't pass this up. So after 6 years, how does the sequel hold up against the original? The art style seems improved and more detailed now (I don't think some parts of the original's art are holding up well with time). They've matched the original art style so it still looks like the same series, but they've included blush and more detailed faces.

That's about where the positives end. The animation was only good at best, with a few spots that were noticeably underwhelming (like Nepgear running with stiff arms). The story and development were almost nonexistent, not that I expected much from a single episode, but what was there just felt off. It doesn't help that it follows a different story line than the games. The writing didn't flow well, and several lines didn't feel natural. It even felt lacking in the trademark Neptunia humor.

As someone who has always enjoyed the series despite its flaws, this OVA simply felt like a disappointment to me. I'm honestly pretty confused why they made this random OVA so suddenly to begin with. If this was just an experiment and they are pushing for a season 2 with a story from the Victory games, I would hope the writing would be better but it could have some potential. Unfortunately, this OVA doesn't contribute much interesting to the series, and you could probably pass over it without missing out on much.

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It. Was.. fine I guess. Ngl I just feel rather underwhelmed because this ova didn’t feel like it had much substance. Still, if I can give it any credit, most studios don’t usually give us any new content from a series years after it already ended. Maybe this was supposed to transition into a potential 2nd season, but eh. The animation was nice, the reference to the super crown was hilarious but that aside this OVA was rather dull. If you were a fan of Neptunia and this was the first episode you’d seen in 5 years, you’d probably be majorly disappointed. There’s not much conflict, the stakes are pretty low, it’s just dull.

Also Neptune herself doesn’t get much screen tine in this special allegedly about Neptunia. It’s mostly relegated to her taller, Long haired AU counterpart. Plus, the climax of the episode (where any action really happens) wasn’t all that intense.

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I've talked about the Neptunia anime. It was okay. Definitely designed for fans of the games and with a real problem over-condensing, but decent enough. Well, last July they put out a one episode OVA. There's been speculation that it may be a harbinger of a second series for the anime. But, for now, let's just look to see if it's any good. 

Story:

Gamindustri is experiencing a very hot summer. Neptune decides that this would be a perfect time to meet up with the other goddesses and play, as the alternative would be doing her work. Which Histoire would prefer, but Neptune being Neptune doesn't listen. Things go a bit awry when Nepgear and the other sisters find themselves inadvertently  going through a gateway to another world. 

The biggest issue with the OVA is that it's too short to do much with the concept. So, kind of an extension of the issue with the anime proper overly condensing things and not developing them well. Except this isn't based on anything from the games, unless it's part of a newer one I haven't played.

Just like it has the same major issue as the main anime, it also has the main positives. A strong sense of fun and good comedic moments. It is fairly enjoyable to watch and seeing Nepgear interact with a more serious, responsible version of her sister is interesting in its own right. 

Characters:

There's not that much in this OVA that's new for the franchise, aside from the other dimension Neptune. It's mostly the characters that fans will recognise being themselves. Which is fine. The cast of Neptunia is a lot of fun and they have compelling interactions that are also very very gay. Other dimension Neptune is largely based around being a foil for the regular Neptune. Which works nicely. 

Art:

It looks like the anime proper. Which looks like the games. So, it looks good with strong character designs, great action sequences and a slight fan-service problem. 

Sound:

The actresses in this franchise as a whole are just really good. And this OVA gives both Tanaka Rie & Kanai Mika a chance to shine by giving them other dimensional versions of their characters to play who both sound enough different to make them really believable as different characters but also similar enough that they're believable as different versions. If that makes sense. The music is very much like you'd find from the games with the theme tunes from the anime mixed in. So, that's good. 

Ho-yay:

There's not that much considering the source material. There's a little bit betwixt Uni and Nepgear as well as some between IF and Compa at the start. I guess with the limited time and focus on the sisterly dynamic they just didn't have room to Red it up. 

Areas of Improvement:

Give things more time for proper development. This was a problem with the twelve episode anime as well. And if this is the precursor to a second series for the anime, that would be my primary advice. Take things more slowly and develop them really well. Because both this OVA and the anime proper could have been paced so much better. 
If you're going to bring up the idea of a slacker Noire and a serious Neptune and then show a serious Neptune, at least give us a glimpse of a slacker Noire. 
This should have been longer. This goes along with the pacing thing. A part of the problem is that they make this basically the length of a single episode but you can't really do much with a whole new dimension and building up the characters therein while also showing the regular dimension in that amount of time. Honestly, this probably should have been an hour long. That would have given them enough time to really do something compelling.

Final Thoughts:

This OVA, like the anime it's based off of, is fine. If you're a huge fan of the franchise, you'll find some things to enjoy. If you're not, this isn't going to change your mind in the slightest. If you don't know anything about the franchise, you'd be better off trying the first game. Just because its pacing is so much better and you get a stronger sense of the characters. Ultimately, I give this a 6/10 and if it is leading up to another series of the anime, I'll watch it but I don't have much hope of it being better than decent under the circumstances. 

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