If you are looking for hardcore mecha action along the lines of NGE, this show won't deliver. If you are looking for an intriguing story, this show won't deliver. This show has more appeal to those who enjoy slice-of-life, as what really carries this show is the art and characters.
We have 3 main heroines in this story; Kyouno Madoka - the lead, an energetic, cheerful girl with natural leadership talent; Lan - the mysterious klutz, with tsundere elements; and Muginami, a mischevious, carefree girl, though the most perceptive of the others' emotions.
The story of is simple. In short, waves of mechas attack earth, and only
...
defense is 3 teenage girls. Some basic politics takes place internally, and bilaterally, but no grandiose strategies, atleast, none that are cared to be explained. There is backstory to the characters, and revelations are, though few, usually explained well enough, if explanation is necessary. The show is more talking than action, though the amount isn't oversaturating, but some of the dialogue is profoundly uninteresting.
As for a more indepth view of the characters, only the 3 main characters are really blessed with a good degree of depth. That said, all 3 of them have a good backstory, which not only serves to explain their motives, but doesn't drag out so much to take precedence over the present events.
Kyouno is very much an opposite of NGE's Shinji or other similar teenage boy lead protagonists who could be described as 'pathetic'. Kyouno is eager to get on with what she needs to do, which makes her enjoyable to watch, certainly not overly frustrating. She drives the story forwards well, without the story becoming too centred around her. Her biggest flaw, if anything, is that she is too... 'nice'. Whilst she won't pull punches to set people straight, her personality can at times be overly bland.
Lan on the other hand, differs from Kyouno quite significantly, she is quiet and to begin with, it is difficult quite understanding her actions, not due to their complexity, but due to a modest level of strangeness. Lan is my favourite out of the 3, as she interacts with the other 2 main characters in ways very entertaining to watch, but usually at the expense of her dignity. Lan just about covers enough various minor elements from other stereotypes to avoid falling into a set rigid one, which serves to make her character relatively unique.
Muginami joins the main cast a little later. At first, I was worried her generous endowments would make her simply the fanservice character, but once it delved into her backstory, I was satisfied that she is certainly much more than that, she has real personality. Generally more cheerful than Lan, who she often finds herself at odds with, she is often seen reacting to the other 2's moods and responding in trolling ways. Muginami's motives, reasoning and loyalty is often all too wishywashy though, so it would have been good to see a bit more consistency in her personality.
The villains of the show, however, rarely have, or at least show clear motive, asides from control. They are generally lacking in depth in their personality, and often don't even appear to be antagonistic at all. This would be a factor that'd add depth, if their actions were overly coherent enough to even form a gray area, certainly, the main antagonist - Villagiulio - lacks good presence, and even more so for his subordinates, who are perhaps the blandest of the them all. The protagonist supporting characters vary from some of the major ones doing nothing asides from issuing orders, to those with mixed motives, to those that are there to set Kyouno straight and give her support when she needs it.
On the art front, this show is brilliantly animated. From the character designs to the backgrounds, everything looks good, moreso than that infact, its visuals often left me in awe, something relatively unusual in anime - ironic, for something that many people may have started the show, by watching the low-quality preair. The scenery is colourful - very vivid colours, especially with the sky and lighting make for fantastic eyecandy. Even better when the 'Flower declaration of of your heart' becomes more literal.
As for the character designs, we have the sleek looking Voxs - the mecha piloted by our 3 saviours of earth. Somewhat based on modern fighter jets in their default form, these are very sleek beasts, looking something akin to the Arwings from the Star Fox video games, albeit with more curves. The antagonists' mecha aren't nearly as good looking, a more generic affair, but still, they are fitting.
For the people, the designs vary a fair bit for the characters. Many will look, as expected, generic, but clear - there is a certain simple refinement to all the characters, everything is crisp. As for our main characters, Kyouno is relatively normal looking, but her given colour, (Each of the 3 main characters represent a colour, which is also their mecha's colour) a nice shade of green looks good when in her pilot's suit, and her token jersey gives her an appearance that does help her stand out, without breaking what would be expected for a schoolgirl to wear.
Lan and Muginami though, show the strongest designs. Lan's sleek blue is represented in both her light blue hair (which doesn't come across as obnoxiously unnatural) and her usual attire, which looks good without being too skimpy. Muginami's orange theme is also represented in her hair, though her outfit also is fortunately reserved, but not quite so much as Lan's, as she could have very easily been a pure fanservice character with a more revealing outfit. Though Muginami's bust isn't really 'exploited' as such, disapointing those who'd want more ecchi elements to the show, she comes across as strong and sexy, which is what I'd prefer.
As for the villains, these guys have pretty plain designs, making them quite forgettable. This can also be said for some of the supporting protagonists, however, but it is a shame to have no distinctively cool looking villain.
As for music, the OP is again, a delight for the eyes with visuals, with a fitting song, though the jpop/dance isn't to my preference, it is still worth not skipping it, simply to see the rich colours in motion. The ED goes for a more laid-back jpop song, with simpler visuals, but simple in the sense that it discards the unnecessary, which makes it an interesting contrast to the OP. The BGM is for the most part, well fitting, but somewhat bland - whilst this doesn't come across as overpowering, it rarely invokes much emotion either.
Rinne no Lagrange on the whole, is a show that proves to be mostly balanced, but lacking in terms of story. I say again, this show is likely to appeal to those of slice-of-life, because, for a good portion of the show, it is one, certainly once all 3 main characters are brought together. It is the subtle nuances of the characters, their interactions and development that is what should appeal most, along with the fantastic art, that doesn't so much follow a niché style, but is wonderful regardless. This is a fun show, that is somewhat serious, but intertwines this with good mellow sections in a way that works but can leave some wanting more of one aspect and less of the other. It wouldn't hurt to try this show, don't expect big things, but you're likely to be pleasantly surprised if the current MAL rating is a little off-putting.
Worth noting is that there is a second cour coming 3 months from now, though this didn't result in this season having a bad ending, it was acceptably satisfying for now.
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Mar 26, 2012
Rinne no Lagrange
(Anime)
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If you are looking for hardcore mecha action along the lines of NGE, this show won't deliver. If you are looking for an intriguing story, this show won't deliver. This show has more appeal to those who enjoy slice-of-life, as what really carries this show is the art and characters.
We have 3 main heroines in this story; Kyouno Madoka - the lead, an energetic, cheerful girl with natural leadership talent; Lan - the mysterious klutz, with tsundere elements; and Muginami, a mischevious, carefree girl, though the most perceptive of the others' emotions. The story of is simple. In short, waves of mechas attack earth, and only ... |
