Stella Woman’s Academy, High School Division C3 (also known as C3-Bu) is an anime series based off a manga of the same name written by Ikoma. The series focuses on a group of girls in the school’s airsoft club known as C3-Bu. The three letters of “C” stands for “command, control, and communications” because those are strategic movements used in any combat. So begins a story of girls doing cute things. (with guns)
The series stars Yura Yamoto, a freshman with a shy personality from an unknown middle school. What we do know though is that her past isn’t exactly one of those happy memories where we like to witness over and over. No, in fact Yura’s past seems to be clouded by darkness because of what we see is cases that can induce pity and sorrow. But hey, now she is fresh and can start over.
The start begins here at Stella Woman’s Academy.
As the school is all-girls school, the club at the academy is made up of all girls with the one and only leader Sonora. She is an effective leader with her enthusiasm, skills, and personality that makes her likable by her teammates. We can’t exclude the other characters though because a team needs support and everyone pours their skills to achieve victories. Whether it’s supportive unit, close range combat expert, ace sniper, or commander, everyone plays their roles in battle. As for Yura, she is a newbie in the beginning. After all, everyone starts out like that. Sonora wasn’t born a leader, Honoka wasn’t born as a commander, and the rival of the C3-Club Rin Haruna, wasn’t born an ace of Meisei Girls’ Academy.
The plot focuses on various ideas all packaged into this fun series. As part of that package, we witness Yura’s development throughout the show for both physically and mentally. She starts out as a newbie but is able to adjust and earn the respect of her teammates. Her vivid imagination allows her to picture an airsoft game as if it’s a real battlefield that puts her skills at ease. But as development goes, we later witness a drastic change in her character that might be displeasing to bear. By technical standards though, Yura's character shifts almost 180 degrees and is presented as almost a brand new person that makes it very frurstrating to watch.
Because there is airsoft, also expect competition. That competitions from the various teams encountered throughout the series. Perhaps the most prominent of these competitions though is from Meisei Girls’ Academy. The leader of that school known as Rin Haruna is a girl of stoic nature but presents an intense display of skill at airsoft. More importantly though, she has a history with the ace of the C3-Club Sonora. Whatever went down between the duo obviously wasn’t a pleasant experience and viewers might have different reactions upon witnessing their flashbacks.
Even with competitions though, there’s still the fun. You ever heard your sports coach say something along the line that “the most important factor in a game is not just winning but also to have fun?” Well, this show presents that in a simple way as we witness the girls do their best but at the same time seems to enjoy each and every game regardless of the result.; at least, this applies to most of the time. For Yura though, it might be a difference case for later on, she becomes so intensively focuses that the fun might be taken out of the games. In fact, it can be a bit surprising to see how much she has changed.
As it fun wasn’t enough though, I do appreciate the comedy of this series. There’s random gags and personalities with each of the various characters. In particular, I find Sonora’s tomboyish personality to be an eye catcher and the way she motivates her teammates. Other instances includes the character interactions of the C3-Club ranging from various degrees of humorous moments. There are also episodes involving certain events too like a beach or festival episode. Speaking of beach episode, it’s also time to take those clothes off and have more fun in the sun!
I am not an expert at airsoft games in real life but the concept of some of the weapons involved in this show seems to shine in that aspect. Throughout the series, various weapons are shown in action including Desert Eagles, Vz. 61 Skorpion, P90, G36K, Ak-47, and M60. Technically speaking, this show tries to even follow the actual concept of airsoft with a sense of realism. This can be seen later on with new additions added to these airsoft games. More importantly though, we witness Yura’s new style in these games that can be quite contrasting than we we were originally used to.
Unfortunately, the overall tone of the show jumps around quite a bit and loses its style. Its inconsistency comes from Yura as well as the overall construction of its poor story. Despite conflicts being resolved, the problem lies with the characters themselves and the journey they take. That journey is marked with holes that are hard to fill with oddly directed episodes, weak climax, and cheesy dialogues . The conclusion itself also can leave viewers scratching their heads on "why did this anime end sooner?" There's also a bit of repetitiveness that makes this show unsatisfactory at various standards.
In terms of visuals, the series spells out cuteness with the designs of the characters. Even Sonora, the leader of the C3-Club has a dose of that. On the other hand, Rin is designed with a typical dark beauty-like stance given her stoic personality. Meanwhile, the guns themselves looks real enough but at the times hard to take seriously with the way the characters uses them. The school itself is also hardly noticeable either. Gainax is already known for some of their previous works revolving around schools like Hanamaru Youchien, Medaka Box, and Corpse Party. Their artistic visuals aren’t exactly what I would call a masterpiece so this show doesn’t stand out much either in the art department.
Soundtrack is average but often times throws off balance. The OP song “Shape My Story” by Anna Yano is noticeable though not only for its tone but also for its artistic visuals near the end of the song. On the other hand, the ED song of this series is a bit laughable with the moe character designs and rhythms. Almost all the characters’ voices fits with their roles although I give praise to Sonora’s VA Miyuki Sawashiro (Blast of Tempest, Kokoro Connect, Maoyu) praise because the way she is able to portray a tomboyish character and at the same time able to carry the task as a leader.
For me, this show was a balance between cute, intense, and entertainment. By cute, I don’t mean girls spending their time drinking tea all day or performing like idols on stage. Rather, they are able to enjoy an activity known as airsoft. In a sense, they portray the antithesis of the typical frail women. The show might be a bit repetitive to watch however. At the same time, do take notice of Yura’s character transformation as a bit of backlash to her original self in the beginning. Whatever the case though, this series isn’t just about airsoft games but about these girls having fun at what they do. You don’t actually need to be an airsoft expert to watch this show. Hell, I have almost zero knowledge in the field of airsoft games but decided to give this a shot. What I got though was a 60% fun experience, 40% letdown.
