emperortopaz's Blog

Oct 25, 2018 7:18 AM
Anime Relations: Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova
This is the Five-hundred-and-seventeenth week of using the "Perfect Anime Girl Sheet". Notice: This Blog may contain Unmarked Spoilers.

*Topaz is on a sub in the middle of the body of water. Beside him is a young girl with long white hair, and in the water are two pink-haired mermaid villains. Ririchiyo drops down beside Topaz.*

Welcome back!

: I didn't go far. Wait, you mean the viewers, don't you? (Darn, I've already ruined the blog!)

A little of both. And to summarize things this month has been a very busy one. We went on quite the adventure, didn't we Riri?

: That's right. We met up with Leviathan, who was trying to fix a statue. We then went to the cavern of Watery Depths and using your powers you managed to break the goddess that was inside out. Turns out that the goddess was Aqua, so you did a blog on her and we got on a boat. Once aboard we were separated, and Mero and Lunar used that to their advantage to try and kill you. However, instead of drowning you were able to summon Iona in the nick of time.

Perfect, thank you for that summary.

: Wait, you're the one who was supposed to summarize things! I feel so used!

*Topaz pats Ririchiyo.*

Don't worry, Riri. You're a great assistant for things like this.

*Iona starts prodding her head against Topaz.*

You want some affection too, Iona? Don't worry, as I have two hands!

*He starts patting the sub girl as well. Meanwhile the two mermaids yell up to him.*

: HEY NOW! Stop forgetting about us! We're here too!

: That is correct. In addition we didn't try to kill you. That was just an accident due to our faulty equipment.

: It was still a boring and dumb plan. Though I suppose that we shouldn't expect much from the fish-for-brains down there.

: HEY! Just because our initial plan didn't work doesn't mean that you've beaten us!

I don't know. Iona probably says otherwise...

: Affirmative.

*Iona then aims her ship's guns at Lunar and Mero, threatening the two.*

: O-oh my. It appears that he has the upper hand.

: Grrr, I'm too used to him bringing girls and not literal warships to battle! Fine then, get on with your little blog!

Sounds good to me. What do you think, Iona?

: I would like that quite a bit, Topaz.

Well then, let's set sail on our maiden voyage with-er, is that the expression when submarines are cast off for the first time? I'm not up on my nautical lingo.

: Being fair I doubt that your readers would know the difference either.

Fair enough, so let's set sail on our maiden voyage by saying...



Though I will have to mention that I've only seen the TV anime. I don't know exactly what happens in the movies or the manga.

: Oh? Did you not want to watch them?

It's more that I had thought that the movies were just re-tellings of the main series, and by the time that I noticed that they had original content it was far too late for me to watch them properly.

: Being fair you're terrible when it comes to movies. You probably could have been told that they were new when they were announced and either forgot by the time the movies came online, or you'd run out of time and never get around to watching them.

There's a lot of media I want to do. Movies, books, games. And not all of them anime-based either!

: That's enough wallowing in you not having enough time for everything. You've got a job to do!

That's right! Iona, you want to be blogged, don't you?

: Hooo!

*Iona puts her fist up with enthusiasm, showing that she wants Topaz to continue.*

Sounds like a good plan, so let's get going!

==Head==
===Hair===
Iona's hair is likely her best feature. While I do usually prefer dark colors, I really like white hair. Especially with the blue highlights like how Iona's hair is, though I suppose that her hair could just be a very light blue that I can't differ from white. Still, white works well with supernatural girls as well as kuuderes, which Iona fits (well, somewhat for the former but still). Her hair is long, which is always a good thing, though it does reach past her hips which may have caused her hair to cover her ass (at least as far as I remember that didn't happen, fortunately). Iona's sides are also really long, framing her face well. This is especially true with her blunt bangs, which almost give her a hime cut-like look. The hime is a little more straight in the manga, but both versions give her fairly blunt bangs which are great. Her hair is mostly straight too, which I really like with long haired girls as it looks sexy. Finally, Iona has some variety at least as far as official art goes, which includes a ponytail version. Overall I really like Iona's long beautiful hair and it's one of the reasons I like the cute sub so much.
Grade: A-

===Eyes===
Before we continue I should mention that the series is done in CG. This means that Iona (as well as the other characters) do look slightly off at times. Not in any dismissive ways, I don't hate the use of CG in anime like a lot of people who unfairly complain about it. I'm just warning that it will have an effect on the series. Anyway, the art style does make Iona's eyes look a little glassy and blank, though as a kuudere/emotionless girl that's not as bad as it could be. Or maybe it's just me that sees her eyes like that, but it still fits her character well. She does have tarame eyes which is a downside, and she has quite a few eyelashes on the outer edges of her eyes too. They're not as bad as they could be, giving Iona some well-needed emphasis towards the corners of her eyes. Finally, her eyes are a green color, and while not bad with her blue/white motif do know that Iona isn't the only green-eyed girl in the franchise (or at least close; Haruna may be the only one with actual green eyes but Takao and Kirishima, for all the time she's not a bear, have blue eyes). Still, she does pretty well even if glasses could help.
Grade: B-

===Face===
As mentioned prior, Iona's show is a pure-CG one, and also mentioned prior I'm not anti- that style like a lot of people seemed to be. Iona is still very pretty, with a lovely pale skin tone and pretty face. Her small features including her nose which is always good, though she may have a bigger one in the manga (I'm not sure as I haven't read it). Also do note that Iona is an emotionless girl, and occasionally she might skirt the line between being “cute” and “creepy”. The CG might have something to do with it, but overall I don't remember it being too much of an issue.
Grade: B-

: For all the enjoyment you had of the series, you sure sound like you're complaining a lot about the CG.

It's not complaining! Sure, it's not what I usually go for as it's very different from the softer looks, but I swear to you that I'm not trying to hate on the CG. It's a good, well-made series and the people who don't like it just for the art are likely full of themselves. I did enjoy the series, 3D animation and all, as it brought a very unique art style that's not seen a lot. Though I think that CG art like this is a lot more liked now that Kemono Friends became popular.

: I am glad that you like the art style.

Certainly, and while the official art doesn't match the style of the anime it does help seeing you in different styles like that.

: So in other words you don't mind any sort of CG in animation.

Right, as idol shows can be a lot more fluid when using CG. Just look at the production difference between something like Aikatsu and, say, Ongoku Girls during certain moments.

: That might just be the difference between Sunrise and JC Staff though. And I didn't mean dancing. I meant, you know... CARS!

*Topaz turns away, with Iona being curious.*

: You seem to be looking away, Topaz. Are you feeling alright? Your vitals seem normal, though your face is getting red.

N-no, it's just that if there's one thing that bothers me about CG, it's that they use it on cars far too much. It looks really off-putting at times, where the car doesn't fit the background due to the lighting effects or scenery details. Other times it looks like one solid hunk of plastic/metal rather than a vehicle. It's just something that takes me out of watching a show sometimes, though fortunately cars aren't shown too often so it's just really a small complaint.

: You do not like vehicles...?

Probably not-wait, why are you looking so down?

: Because I'm a sub and-

No no no! You're an example of an exception, Iona. You see, rather than having a car's CG animation look awkward in relation to the regular objects it passes the fact that your whole series is CG helps out quite a bit. It means that the vehicle doesn't stick out from the scenery. To mention Kemono it's like their jeep thingy looking good.

: So you do like my sub form?

Of course! It saved my life, after all!

: I think that she means in another way.

Oh. Well, I can't say that I'm attracted to your ship form, sadly. Though I wouldn't mind going into your hatch and taking a ride inside you.

: I hope that wasn't intended to be as perverse as it turned out to be.

: Perverse...?

: N-nevermind. Just continue on with the blog, Topaz!

*Riri blushes cutely.*

Look at you all flustered, but out of respect for Ririchiyo let's continue on with the blog. And speaking of Iona's body...



==Body==
===Build===
Iona is pretty cute, but I'd still say that she needs to show off more. She has a slender and cute teen body, one that works well. She also has nice legs, though I'd say that she needs to show them off more. Still, official art does help quite a bit there. Speaking of things that need to be shown off, Iona needed to show off her ARSE Nova more as I don't recall any good ass shots either. Not even official art helps much, though there is a picture of her in a bikini with nice side ass. Could be bigger, but she's a slender girl I suppose. She's also short, though most of the other ships seem to be adults in comparison. Oh, and we can't forget that Iona is a ship girl as well. She's based on the I-401 which is where her nickname comes from. A lot of the series is her and her crew fighting off opponents, which is cool but I can't count her sub form in this area too much.
Grade: B-

===Chest===
As mentioned before Iona is fairly slender. It's possible that she's slimmer in the manga, with an almost flat chest though she's not exactly busty in the anime either. She just has a slight bust, and nothing wrong with that as she's a short slender teen. Fairly simple, but not too much to say. It might have helped had we seen her bare chest or something, but even wearing tight outfits like her swimsuit in the manga help. Though speaking of outfits...
Grade: B-

===Clothes===
Iona is mainly known for having two separate outfits. The first one, and the one I know the most due to being the one used in the anime, is a schoolgirl-looking one. It's a dark blue sailor outfit, a red necktie, detatched sleeves, and a blue skirt. She also wears white boots. Overall it's not a bad outfit, I like the dark blue color and the necktie and this is one situation where a “sailor” uniform is appropriate xD. She also has a white shirt version as well. The movie seems to downgrade this to a lighter-blue/white more school-ish outfit, with a big pink ribbon. I do like her thighhighs though. In the manga her main outfit seems to be more novelty T-shirts that say something, shorts, and garters with thighhighs. She also wears an orange one-piece in the beach episode. Some other outfits include a blue idol outfit (while performing with other ships), a male cheerleader outfit with sarashi and spats, an orange bikini, a white wedding-like dress, a bear suit, and a Christmas two-piece with hat and skirt. Overall she has a good main outfit plus a lot of nice variety which fits her well.
Grade: B

Hey, what's going on there?

*Topaz points to the various boxes now bobbing in the water.*

: Where did all those come from? They look... familiar.

: My sensors are saying that they are coming from that ship.

*Iona points to the capsized ship.*

: Wait, where did Mero and Lunar go? They were here just a minute ago.

Maybe they couldn't stand being so much worse than Iona and swam off, never to be seen again.

: That's being overly optimistic, Topaz.

: WAIT!

*Suddenly Iona ducks, pulling Topaz and Ririchiyo with her. She also moves the sub just in time to avoid a big laser that strikes the water, sending it shooting upward.*

WHAT?!

: OH HO HO! It appears that we have the upper hand again!

*The heroes turn and look at the ship, which has been transformed into a humanoid mecha.*

: It seems that she turned the boat into a mecha! And not a standard one either!

Good to hear. The less we think about the Mermaid Gundam the better.

: Make your jokes now, Topaz! While I have the might of the Ice Sapphire you'll never be able to overpower me!

: Wait, was that the stone that Esdeath had with her? How did you get that?

: That doesn't matter! What matters now is that you'll finally get defeated by your villains. While the anchor idea was just a tease THIS was our last resort to get you to notice us!

It's certainly working, but that's no reason to kill me! Or the others!

: Do not worry. I shall go underwater and take evasive actions.

: OH HO HO! Don't tell me that you've forgotten my powers!

*Lunar then hits a switch, powering up the mecha with the might of the Sapphire. Soon the area around them freezes up, with Iona's sub form getting lifted out of the water by the cold ice.*

Darn it! Not only are we trapped now but I'm cold AND wet!

: Stop complaining about minor things, Topaz! We're about to be vaporized by a polar ray!

Sounds refreshing!

: Laugh while you still can, Topaz. There is no way that you'll be able to talk your way out of THIS one!

*Lunar starts powering up the laser, but just as she is about to fire it a large fist of water punches through the mid-section of the mecha. It shatters from the powerful gushing water, breaking in two with the upper half of the mecha goes flying. It falls onto the ground with a loud crash, and the girls inside are not injured as they climb out.*

: D-did anyone get the number for that bus that just ran through us?

: TOPAZ! How could you do something like that? I was watching you carefully, and you didn't summon any girls. And don't say you've been doing it since the beginning as you didn't know that we were going to attack you again!

That's right. But it wasn't me that did it...

: IT WAS ME!

*Mero and Lunar go over to face Leviathan, who is standing on a small wave outside where the ice ends. Though speaking of the ice, it starts to fragment and crack.*

: YOU?! What are you doing here, and why have you decided to attack now?

: I was watching Topaz leave on the boat, making sure that he had gotten away safely. I thought something was up when the ship capsized, so I started to travel over on the water. I just now got here from the shore, even moving at my fastest.

Thank you for being so concerned. But as you can see, I'm completely normal!

: Well, normal for YOU at least.

At least I'm not currently on fire. Though it would help against the cold.

: You dislike the cold so much, then let it be your death!

*Lunar grabs the Sapphire from the ship and starts running at Topaz. She creates a long lance out of ice using it, and leaps at Topaz.*

: I'll run you straight through!

Oh no! She's jumping and has a lance! That deals double damage!

*Fortunately as Lunar is in midair she is intercepted by a certain goddess. It all seems to go in slow motion, as Aqua's bare ass strikes Lunar in the face from the side, but with so much force she makes the mermaid fall into the water. Aqua is then holding Lunar underwater by her ass.*

: Heya Topaz! I hope that you liked my entrance!

Of course, more girls should have dynamic entries like that. And thank you for saving me from Lunar's spear.

: But of course-AH OOOH! Lunar's moans feel so great against my ass! I-I think that I might... AHHH!

PPPPVVVUUUURRRTT-BBBBWWBBBBLBLBL

*Aqua makes a great underwater fart right against Lunar's face, making her breathe the goddess's rank odors.*

: Poor girl.

And poor Zettai, as I imagine he'd love to be in Lunar's place. But keep her held like that, Aqua. I still need to finish the blog!

: Yes, and I am looking forward to it as well.

==Mind==
===Personality===
Iona is a very quiet and emotionless girl, which well with my tastes. She's also an enemy of humanity, being one of the fog ships that had almost destroyed the human military. Iona was eventually captured and, once they couldn't replicate her technology, she was sent out to battle her former allies. She's very dedicated to Gunzou, the male lead, in particular. She's very emotionless as well, though she still has a heart and dove to save Gunzou when he almost had a heroic sacrifice. Still, Iona seems to have a mechanical personality, not that there's anything wrong with that of course. I like the cute quiet type, after all. I've heard that she's a little bit snarky in the manga, which I'm not sure helps her or not. It would be funnier and perhaps more entertaining, but it would also mean that Iona wouldn't be as emotionless as she is in the anime. I do like how the manga version of her likes anime, though. Mai Fuchigami, who voices Iona, gives her a very nice emotionless voice. She makes her sound very cute. Other roles she's done include Nagisa from Assassination Classroom and Miho from Girls und Panzer. Overall, Iona does really well for me with her kuudere/emotionless side. It is a shame that some of the other ships get more attention and screentime sometimes, but that might just be my tastes.
Grade: B-

===Libido===
Iona really doesn't show too much libido. She is very dedicated to Gunzou, almost existing just to obey his orders. That's why Iona was the first ship on the human's side, as she wanted to be with the male lead. She's also the main female lead, at least from what I can tell (even if she's not as aggressive as the other girls, like Takao). Probably the only problem with that is that it she's the type that obeys orders rather than being in charge. I suppose that means that for my tastes she's a little too-

: Topaz, don't say that joke.

SUB-missive!

*Topaz has a huge grin and points with both hands towards Ririchiyo. She facepalms from the terrible joke.*

: That joke is bad and you should feel bad.

What are you talking about, I feel great! Anyway, there's a little big more to mention here. Although I'm not sure as I haven't read it, it seems that in the manga Ashigara and Haguro tease her in yuri ways. I can't say how true that is, and I don't think that the girls show up in the anime unfortunately (at least from the TV series). She does get hugged quite a bit from Hyuuga the monocle-nekko, though. Anyway, while Iona isn't as aggressive as I'd like I still think that she's a really cute girl and it's good to see a kuudere win once in a while.
Grade: B-

===Age===
I'm not sure how old Iona actually is. She's a ship girl, which means that her body doesn't indicate her actual age. I also can't compare her to her real-life counterpart, as the story within Blue Steel is a little strange and I don't know if it's modern day or in the past. Plus it's difficult to pinpoint how long she lived before going to the humans. That said, the only information we have is that she joined the humans about two years before the series goes. And if you go by Iona's body she looks about teenage, which I'd say gives her a good total. The manga also gives a little more detail on the years, as the time period is 2055-2056, and she was captured in 2039 (or so). She was then experimented on for about six years before being sent out and ultimately lost in sea. She then returns in 2054, where some of the events of the anime happen. Still, even with these years I can't be sure how old she is as she could have been alive for a long time before that.
Grade: B

Total Grades: 68
Average score: 7.6
Final Grade: B

And that's the blog for this week! What do you think about that, Iona?

: I quite enjoyed it *nod*.

: I bet that Topaz could have done even better had he seen the movies.

Shhhh. But what should we do with these villains.

*Topaz looks over and sees Mero trapped in a large fist of water. It's gripped so tightly that she can't even move.*

: H-HELP US, TOPAZ!

: Do not help them! They do not deserve it, after all the trickery they caused us!

: Yeah! We'll only let you out if you admit your failings!

: Ugh, so gross... Blech... BUT FINE! I'm sorry about all this, Topaz! Specs was able to take advantage of my-BLBLL! My weakness! Please forgive us!

I can see that Lunar really is sorry about all this.

: I think that she's saying that just to avoid being under my fat ass for long.

: I don't blame her. You really should let her breathe some fresh air.

Right. Save the underwater fart-breathing for Zettai.

: Fiiiinne!

*Aqua moves, allowing Lunar to gasp for air. She then swims over to the ship and climbs aboard.*

: I do not approve of you coming here, if attacking Topaz is what you want.

: I'm tired of always being the bad guy. So take this, Topaz. You deserve it more than I do.

*Lunar then hands Sapphire to Topaz.*

Thank you for being so kind. And look, Riri! It goes with all my other ones!

: That's quite the collection you have there, Topaz.

: That is right, as there is only one other gemstone. Specs wields it, and used it to make all sorts of magical devices.

Looks like we'll have to go to the final boss's lair next time, Ririchiyo.

: Do we really need to? I mean, we have most of the gems, and you said that she wouldn't be able to progress without all of them.

But I don't want to be attacked at home for them. She'd probably crash through the kitchen as well!

*Topaz and the others laugh, even if most wouldn't get it. However, their good time is soon ruined from a huge thunderous roar from deep below the water's surface. The sub shakes and Topaz even falls down.*

WHAT'S GOING ON NOW?

: Something's coming up! Quick, everyone on board!

*Iona leads Topaz, Ririchiyo, as well as Aqua, Leviathan, and even Mero and Lunar into her submarine form. She then enters it as well and starts sailing away. Meanwhile, inside.*

Man, this place is cramped.

: Indeed, as I am guessing it was not meant for this many people.

: Well, at least we're not fleeing an exploding planet.

: AH! Someone just felt up my bare goddess ass! Not that I'm complaining...

: Pardon me, as it was not intentional!

: As long as you don't ruin the air with your disgusting smelly gases I don't care what you all do. Iona, just get us out of here!

: Topaz?

Yes, let's leave!

*The sub moves much faster, barely avoiding a large floating airship flying out of the water below.*

: Oh my. That appears to be a much bigger craft than even my family could afford.

: Indeed. The sheer size of that ship seems incredible!

: Quick, maybe it hasn't seen us! Let's book it!

*As they move away as fast as they can in the sub, they still aren't faster than the gigantic airship. In the commander's chair a mysterious voice is heard...*

???: Good good... But even with Topaz having the remainder of the gems, with the power of Hope I still was able to return power to my fortress. All the magic I poured into it to clean it, and my army of machines... Everything has gone swimmingly. And speaking of “swimming”, don't think I've forgotten about you, Lunar. You and the others were merely pawns to distract Topaz while I repaired this ship. I knew that he would get the other gems, and now I have no use for you. Good bye.

*The glasses-wearing commander then presses a button. A laser shoots out from the front of the ship, being so powerful that it cuts a line all the way down to the water's bottom. The sub is barely grazed, but it takes heavy damage and sinks below the waves.*

???: MWAHAHA! Was this all it took? I barely even had to dirty my hands! Shows the power level between myself and my minions.

R.Frame: So does this mean that you don't need us, Specs?

Specs: No no. You two can still go over the land like we intended. You were still somewhat helpful, so I shall allow you to have your wonderland.

L.Frame: Such a good commander you are, Specs! We shall protect your meganekko ways until the day we're defeated!

Specs: That fills me with pride, but I doubt that anything will ever stand a chance against me! MWAHAHA!

*With that Specs drives off in her airship, heading towards the city.*

Posted by emperortopaz | Oct 25, 2018 7:18 AM | Add a comment
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