Dolls' Frontline

After World War III decimated the world's population and rendered large amounts of land uninhabitable, various private military contractors began using combat androids—also known as "T-Dolls"—to maintain peace in unstable countries. While they are physically superior to flesh-and-blood fighters, T-Dolls are incapable of formulating complex plans and thus require a human commander to issue orders.

Sangvis Ferri was an industry-leading T-Doll manufacturer until they attempted to install a specialized T-Doll as the company's sole commander—resulting in the immediate deaths of everyone at that facility. Seizing control of Sangvis factories, the rogue AI declared war on the remnants of mankind. Now facing a hostile robot invasion, Griffin & Kryuger is the only paramilitary organization strong enough to withstand confrontation and halt their destructive advances.

Investigating the events related to Sangvis Ferri's aggression, the elite task force "Team Anti-Rain" searches for highly confidential information in an abandoned warehouse, but they are shortly ambushed. Hoping to safeguard their findings, the group temporarily disbands and each Doll goes into hiding. Meanwhile, the lazy but gifted Gentiane is hired by Griffin as a rookie commander and given her critical first mission—track down Team Anti-Rain and recover the classified data before Sangvis Ferri can.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

M4 SOPMOD II Main

Tamura, Yukari Japanese

M4A1 Main

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

ST AR-15 Main

Katou, Emiri Japanese

M16A1 Main

Yamane, Nozomi Japanese

Kalina Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Gentiane Main

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

UMP45 Supporting

Mineuchi, Tomomi Japanese

HK416 Supporting

Nonaka, Ai Japanese

Negev Supporting

Suwa, Ayaka Japanese

WA2000 Supporting

Tomatsu, Haruka Japanese

Kouchiyama, Takashi Producer

Maeda, Yuki Producer

Imao, Keigo Producer

Cui, Dalang Producer

Reviews

Dec 4, 2022

EmperorThor

Recommended

Some soldiers give their rifles female names. Here these rifles go alive as cute babes.

While this show has flawed plot and dubious battle system, I still willing to rate it high because rifle-waifus are cute waifu material.

Art is good and four main characters are rather likable. I particularly like M4A1. Other gun-girls are also mostly nice.

Antagonists are well designed and very creative.

Art is good, finally some good use for all this high quality art.

... It has similar over feel as Frame Arms Girl, but somewhat more cohesive and makes somewhat more sense.

Overall I can recommened it mostly for waifus. However these are good waifus.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 26, 2022

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Game adaptations work for various ways, but it's main objective would always get you to try out the game, which is its biggest selling point. And it's by no small means that MICA Team's KanColle-inspired crew of anthropomorphized firearm moe waifus is a small franchise, OH NO. Girls' Frontline is a massively popular mobage RPG that's insanely loved by its fans ever since its release in China in 2016, that year after year, expanded to more territories, and gradually released to English and Japanese players in 2018 as Dolls' Frontline due to trademark constraints. So, think of this as the equivalent to Yostar's Azur Lane ... and DMM Games' KanColle.

Usually, game adaptations will have their own story and plot that's conceived by the writing staff team in the anime's production, but you would be surprised to know that this adaptation is adapted straight from the manga version. Which as a non-GFL player, I feel that while fans have every right to criticize this move, at least there is but only one direction, and that is straightforward, which IMO does service the plot decently, even if it feels thin and slow on the pacing side of things. And as hardcore fans would say, to truly experience the game franchise at its best, the mobage would always be the superior version against the anime adaptation, and it's for this reason that this feels same same, yet different.

The anime adaptation follows the set of rigils: the common "good vs. evil" of the side of the Griffins vs Sangvis, the team of focus (which is AR Team: comprising of M4A1 (M4), ST AR-15 (AR15), M4 SOPMOD II (SOPII) and M16A1 (M16)) and their newbie Commander Gentiane. To hardcore GFL fans, this is already a red flag that the anime adaptation packs a side story that even then, under the watchful eye of wonky Asahi Production in-house director Shigeru Ueda, which if last season's travesity of a mess with last Summer's Peach Boy Riverside's adaptation is of concern, can be frightening. But somehow with the backlash that IDK if Shigeru Ueda have heard of laments after that entire ordeal, thankfully he chose to just make things simple and at least followed the narrative of the source material (albeit a different version of it) to the T. Good riddance Shigeru Ueda, because this should be a lesson as a director not to unnecessarily tamper with what's already given, plus adding things that break the flow whatsoever.

Even if the story was kinda of a fluke, the characters I'd say didn't felt polished as compared to reading the manga version of it (which I only discovered episodes in). In the manga version, at least most of the T-Dolls, given Griffin's or Sangvis's, they do at least exemplify their personality in whatever ridiculous ways possible with some infused comedy to even out the nearly-serious tone of the story. But while the tone is kept subtly in the anime, it mostly went too overboard with the seriousness of the situation of a sub-intended "World War III" between moe combat androids, so much so that the almost 25-minute runtime (plus OST) feels like a chore to sit through. Don't get me wrong, I love the insane battles here, but somewhere along the line, things doesn't seem to match up with the overall feel, and for better or for worse, makes or breaks the entire flow of the anime.

And that leads me to the entire production of Girls'/Dolls' Frontline. Asahi Production for one is a subpar studio, and they only make about 2 to 3 shows per year, so this shouldn't be a problem all things considered. And what this studio has done for this show, it's technically one of the better action-heavy shows ever produced, and it has stakes to make it feel that way. And for some happy reason, I must really give props to the team whom did the OP credits, because that is ingenious, almost game-like excellent quality MV right there, that is definitely a first for me to see this kind of disparity between the OP and the rest of the show (which sadly just drops quality bombshells like the obvious). But again, this is a double-edged sword to see such a MV that's so well-crafted that made me think that this was ripped off from the actual mobage OP montage, and the final production being a mediocre attempt.

The fantastic OP MV is backed by yet another fantastic OP song sung by former Little Glee Monster member Sakamoto Yuka, who's now a soloist and is currently known by her stage name yukaDD(;´∀`). Honestly, if the final product can match what the OP production is made off, then I will be even more happier. But obviously it wasn't meant to be, and with the mediocre production, came inconsistent BGMs, and especially those gunshots in battle, because it triggered me more than one occasion that I actually thought that they were ripped from other gunfight shows of the similar kind. Team Shachi's ED...felt like the stereotypical early 2010s songs when idol music was just starting to bloom in Japan, and though was a song fit for the occasion, it just couldn't match the insane values of the OP.

In the end, a game adaptation is a game adaptation, its objective unchanging and the shallow storytelling will always be its Achilles' Heel. But I praise Dolls' Frontline for actually doing something different (like a manga adaptation of the game), that while it doesn't shatter my thoughts of game adaptations being so bad at almost everything, the experience just mildly improved by a tad bit. It's definitely watchable, and not as bad as your typical shoe-horned game adaptation of few plans and many loopholes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 26, 2022

slavemaster_1991

Not Recommended

I'll be honest, I never expect much from anime that is a game adaptation. Sadly, once again my scepticism was totally justified. So what do we have on our hands?
Story. To be put bluntly Girls Frontline, the source game, can be divided in two parts in terms of plot: horribly boring, dull and uncreative start and OH BOY WOW second part. And while it is to be expected, still going for the story from the start in a 12 episode show is a bad call - the whole story is so dull it makes me yawn and the season ends before the actually good part ... begins.
Art. Ok, so you have no real plot - at least give us some cool action, so we can atleast enjoy the show? "Lol, lmao" was the answer. The art is simply horrible. All the models are potato faced, basic and lack details. The animation is not lacking - there is no animation in most cases. What could you expect from a firefight between gun wielding androids? Maybe you expected a lot of manuvers, flanking, cover, suppression fire? Jokes on you, lets just approach the enemies in wall-on-wall style and just shoot each other. Oh, and cause everyone dies from a single hit (even though those are supposed to be androids with at least SOME level of armor) - lets make said androids shoot with stormtrooper accuracy, while animating it in two frames - enough for a "tracer" to blink in and out of existance without doing any damage. Funnily the best looking animation can be found in the opening, even the art style differs by having well defined borders and much more depth to the models.
Sound. The exact same problem - the only good part is in the opening. All the bgm - pathetic, cheap, irritating. Most of the voice acting - really lacking, wich was an unpleasant surprise to be honest, as MICA got the whole team of VA that are used in the game. All other sounds - footsteps, gunshots, explosions - most likely taken from some free site, most of guns don't even sound like guns or like they have different calibers.
Characters. Once again - abysmal. While I know that most characters here are androids, yet according to lore all of them have their personalities, quirks and traits. Nothing of that is shown clearly. Even actual humans here feel more like robots with one defining trait, only the MC is different - she can be described in not one, but two words(!) - arrogant and irritating.
Enjoyment - none, zero, null. Even for me, who actually enjoyed the game and was interested in the world of GFL. For anime only it must be even worse, as there is simply nothing good in this anime. I remember watching Azur Lane and at least you could get some fanservice and more or less pretty girls, here you don't have even that.
Overall - a waste of time, potential and money. Who even thought it is good enough to be broadcasted - I have no idea.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Dolls' Frontline Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Jan 7, 2022	146 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Aug 20, 2:13 PM
	Why is the title Doll's Frontline LeviLeads - Apr 8, 2021	13 replies	by PhilTheStampede »» Aug 10, 8:58 AM
	This show doesn't have a Hebrew Dub? Kuudere-Hime - Jul 20	0 replies	by Kuudere-Hime »» Jul 20, 8:35 PM
	Poll: Dolls' Frontline Episode 3 Discussion Stark700 - Jan 21, 2022	38 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Feb 26, 9:40 PM
	Poll: Dolls' Frontline Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jan 14, 2022	62 replies	by RGreatDanton »» Feb 26, 12:23 PM