Reviews

Dec 19, 2013
Mixed Feelings
Galilei Donna. A world of that is filled with science and politics, a world in which space vehicles are a common sight in the form of goldfishes. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the series takes place in a futuristic setting. The technology is there. The conflicts are set. And in the center of it all are three young girls with nothing in common except their last names. They are the Ferrari family and no, they don’t come with a garage.

Noitamina has always been known to present unique series with all types of tropes. This time, they bring forth a new title out of their hats with this little scientific adventure. It’s a ride that started out well with the settings, characters, and themes. Yasoumi Umetsu whom is in charged with the directing is often more known for his work in the animation department. Memorable series such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, and Welcome to the NHK were all part of his work with his animation style. However this time around, he plays the role of a director. Unfortunately, that role didn’t go in a path of success. Instead, it dropped like a slippery slope faster than Ferrari ride.

Essentially, the series blasts off like a rocket. Even the first few minutes of the show is breathtaking with a devastating mecha engagement that puts many peoples' lives at risk. The extravagance of this start will easily have viewers’ eyes glued to the screen as we are curious to see what’s going to happen next. For what we may know, the Ferrari sisters have become targets by kidnappers that seemed to want a bounty on their heads. The Ferrari sisters themselves have almost nothing in common in terms of their intellect levels, personalities, or appearances. What they have in common is the blood pumping in their veins that signifies their ancestry towards a well-known physicist, Galileo Galilei. There’s definitely a legitimate reason why kidnappers want to target them from the very beginning. Although vaguely explained or elaborated, it’s easy to guess because of their ancestry and what they might inherit. But even with this set up, there’s interest because the way the story is set up. That’s what I thought at first anyways.

But the tragedy doesn’t stop there. We quickly find out the girls’ lives is no fairy tale. It’s a grim reality because what happens in their hometown changes their lives forever. There’s some odd twists, foreshadowing, but also predictable factors that constructs the story. By odd twists, I mean it in a way that tries to set up a sort of suspense for viewers. While this works out right at first, it takes away the more emotional factors later on in the show with certain revelations. At the same time, it become strange to realize certain characters’ roles have altered greatly from their original set up. There’s also suspense among the characters themselves in regards to what they inherit. For all they know, it’s important. Unfortunately, they don’t know themselves what their kidnappers want from them. It’s a decent set up to a mystery if the show walks on that route most of the time. However, it instead goes on a path involving a travesty of justice involving the ambitions of our antagonists. To make it worse, certain “good guys” in this show turns out not to be so good after all reflecting on an antithesis in their roles. It becomes absurd at certain points with the various plot holes and hard to absorb it in all at once. It's ravaging to see what direction the story will go. Given the previous experience of director Umetsu, he’s trying to create some sense of insanity in this show while creating a sense of mystery. That sense becomes a degeneration later on as there’s just too much to take in all at once. This doesn't also help with the fact with certain supernatural twists added to the series involving a bit of science travel.

As the main stars, the Ferrari sisters are the driving force of this show. Their oddly similarly names - Hazuki, Kazuki, and Hozuki have almost nothing in common. Hazuki is the eldest of the trio who has the dream of becoming a lawyer. Taking on the role of the elder child, she is supposed to be the guardian in the absence of her parents. Instead, what do we get? A young woman with high level drinking tendency fused with a wild personality and amazing brutality through the words of her mouth. Kazuki is the middle child that plays more of the cold role. She hides her emotions most of the time although deep down has problems of her own like skipping class. Finally, the youngest of the sisters Hozuki has a strong interest in science. Little do her parents or classmates know that she is behind the creation of humongous mecha. It’s odd since she plays more of a role in action than her siblings despite being the youngest. In this role, she goes against the typical ‘big sister should look out for her younger sibling’. In essence, these trio of girls mostly are isolated from one another despite being close to one another after their reunion. The only time they seem to coexist whole together is when their lives are truly in grave danger. Hazuki does display her role to protect her sisters but often lacks the direct initiatives. It’s only when danger comes the shove is when she takes direct action. To say the least, the Ferrari family is the like the wheels of an incomplete vehicle. It’s missing the steering wheel because of their parents.

As far as action goes, there’s plenty of opportunities for that. The scientific inventions in this futuristic worlds sets off a decent balance of motifs and warfare. The mecha designs reflects a style of what futuristic spacecrafts looks like. Taken for granted however is the shape of Hozuki’s choice of vehicles as they take shape of goldfishes. It may be the symbol for peace and hope as their hometown have become infested with bounty hunters. The aerial combat otherwise is played out in a fantastic fashion with added aesthetics. The way the world is crafted also resembles a bit of a steampunk style that paints a more elaborated meaning to the aircrafts.

On a more negative symmetry is some of the absurdity of the series. Not only do they open up plot holes with weak characterization but they also creates too much twists. In fact, some of the supporting characters and even antagonists such as Roberto gets more insight. The weakness also deals with a lack of historical backgrounds involving Ferrari’s family. What we get instead is whom they are now rather than whom they were in the past obliterating a sense of relevant characterization. Some other characters also shines more than the Ferrari family such as the flamboyant leader of the air pirate group, Cicinho. Later on, there are also sudden tragedies and violence that comes into play to sent some sort of message. It feels a bit senseless since there are stages of interlude that degrades the overall story. Other times, sudden events feels rushed and makes little sense in essence.

The artwork of this show is brilliant with constructed talent. Noitamina’s animation brings out a sense of uniqueness especially with the space vehicles. A1-Pictures crafts the Ferrari sisters’ charms to relevance. The backgrounds is gorgeous along with the gadgets that forges the installation of the settings. The setting also makes sense since it takes place in a futuristic world. The artwork reflects that and conveys it with a purpose. An example is how the sisters looks quite different in appearance despite their blood relations. Most of the characters also has their designs that matches them. The stage of the series also gives off an Italian like feeling with its backgrounds. Fan service is minimal and completely omits the typical onsen/beach episodes so you can save your headaches for those fillers.

Soundtrack wise, the show is well balanced. OST is performed fashionably during action scenes. When emotional moments takes the stage, the soundtrack backs it up to convey the tone. There’s also bits of comedy but most of it sets forth a more mystery like atmosphere. The Ferrari sister’s voices matches well that matches each of their characters whether it’s confident, stoic, enthusiastic, joy, or sorrowful. Both the OP (Synchromanica) and ED (Innocent) gives off a feeling of scientific creativity, charm, innocence. Additionally, it creates a sense of unity as we see many shots of the sisters together like actual siblings.

So ultimately, how do I describe Galilei Donna? It felt like watching National Treasure with a less emphasis on mystery solving. Because the show defies common sense at various stages, it’s hard to take it seriously sometimes despite the way it started. The characters are hard to get used to at first and some might not ever be in your favor by the time the show ends. There’s a lack of characterization and plot holes here and there surrounded by inconsistency. On the other hand though, the technical aspects courtesy of A1-Pictures demonstrates a superior presentation of the futuristic world that the show takes place in. Some of the tragedies and emotional factors might also hit a nerve for viewers. And being labeled as a show with galactic star wars extravaganza, the action of the series is well performed. So sit back and enjoy that when you witness crafty vehicles and fish shaped ships fire away. Now with only 11 episodes, this show will be a breeze to get through as long as you’re aware to what you signed up for.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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