The series itself is based off of the manga of the same name written by Ark Performance. The premise sets takes place in a setting of an alternate history although there are many similar paths crossed. For one, that path involves the Japanese attempting to recover their nation through engaging trades. Unfortunately, its enemy forces have powerful weapons of war known as the “Fleet of the Flog”. These are essentially weapons that has turned the tides in battle and pushed back its adversaries to the brink of despair. Luckily, there is some hope because of a certain naval group that is capable of dealing with this threat. They are called the Blue Steel and this series chronicles their journey.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel might be a series that people would sway their heads away at first. The idea is hardly original as demonstrated in previous sci-fi war theme series such as Strike Witches, Tactical Roar, Blue Submarine No. 6, and Full Metal Panic. Potential viewers for the series might also sway their heads away as lead director Seiji Kishi is in charge of this adaptation. His mediocre direction of recent anime series based on adaptations such as Devil Survivor 2: The Animation and Persona 4 had numerous problems. Therefore, this show might initially be met with some controversy. For me, the series has its ups and downs. To call it a scientific masterpiece would be over exaggerating but it’s also not a waste of time to watch either. Because of its premise, this show itself does set itself differently with its cast of characters and brings the military science fiction theme in a different light.
Taking place in the future of 2056, technology has far advanced than our modern world. Just imagine in over 40 years what our world would be like. For the characters in this series, they’re not living at home relaxing but are on the war zone to carry out an important mission. That mission is no walk in the park because of the obstacles ahead. Taken from an objective standards, the obstacles comes into two forms. The most obvious involves the ‘Fleet of Fog’, fictional avatars named after non-fictional battleships. The other obstacle involves also dealing with humans and corrupt governments that wants to achieve various goals with their own deeds. It’s a bloody revolution and no one wants to play nice.
The main characters from this series includes the captain of the Blue Steel, Chihaya Gonzou. He can be described as a serious man with tactical mind of a leader with the ability to lead his crew through obstacles. However, he can’t do this alone without the help of his crew members. Among this group is a prominent avatar with code name 104 that also goes by the name “Iona”. Throughout the series, she describes herself as a weapon born to fight with no other purpose. Ever since she joined the human side, the government and various factions has their eyes set on her. Iona can be easily described as a giant killer. She may be have a small body structure but Iona’s abilities shines in battle many times thanks to her initiate ability to eradicate emotions and fight. This is proven early on when the crew takes on Takao, another human avatar of a Fog cruiser. Unfortunately, there’s hardly anything we can bring out from Iona. She’s a character that is surrounded in mystery with her stoic behavior. Her relationship with Gonzou and the crew can be described as professional although throughout the series, she questions herself exactly who or what she is.
And that also brings another point. The concept of more human behaviors.
Later on in the series, other Fog Ships are introduced that becomes a threatening factor to Blue Steel. Their purpose is set on destroying the privateers. However, it’s noticeable that they later on question their own purpose. This doesn’t just include Iona but also other Fog ships especially after they encounter a human girl. The encounter brings out a variety of human behavior including responsibility, guardianship, and even friendship. It’s questionable whether the characters in this series can truly establish a bond between Fog Ships and humans. Humans seems to fear Fog Battleships while the latter seems to despise humans for weaknesses. On the other hand, some of them clearly demonstrates human behavior ranging from love, care, jealousy, and even betrayal.
The plot itself follows the premise well with its journey but does derive from the manga quite a bit with certain omitted scenes. It cuts out parts with this adaptation involving some of the comedic dialogues/scenes. Most importantly though is perhaps character development during the journey that is minimized in this series. Being a one-cour show, this anime suffers problems with rushing. Therefore, expect certain factors that might not match up in the end. There’s also a lack of exploration in terms of characters’ backgrounds. Most of them are vaguely expressed by whom they are presently. The lack of background histories can become a problem as viewers might have more questions with no concrete answers. The main protagonists (crews of the Blue Steel) are also difficult to get attached because they hardly get any development. In fact, most of the Fog ships gets more development than Gonzou and his crew which is a down factor for Blue Steel. However, one certain main character also has a highlight purpose because of who she is. In fact, it brings out the human vs Fog ships’ personality that tests new boundaries of these artificial weapons of war. For the Fog ships, some of them learns from these behaviors and demonstrates their own ideologies.
Action wise, the series makes sense although the CGI might take awhile to get used to. As the series takes mostly in a naval environment, most of the battle takes place at sea. The battleships themselves are modeled after real life naval ships. Hence, they are designed with devastating firepower that proves itself in battle. Most of the Fog ships possesses different personalities that reflects their designs. The weapons used throughout the series often includes missiles, force shields and wave motion cannons that clearly outshines our modern world’s technology. The spectacular results of these weapons bring can be pleasing to the eye especially when the Fog ships themselves becomes what they are designed for - annihilation.
On the other hand, there is also comedy present throughout the series whether it’s obsessive love, yuri-like fantasies, or the awkwardness in the form of a stuffed animal. Some dialogues are also mixed with words that can bring out laughter with its implications of suggestive factors involving “engines” and little misunderstandings.
What isn’t pleasing though should again be addressed to the overall adaptation. The way it is constructed omits very important details involving Gonzou. The lack of exploration involving his parents or past is a serious drawback that is hard to redeem itself. Most characters from the original Blue Steel barely get any of their own spotlights. It turns out that Iona would be the ace despite her soulless personality. But without a clear background or exploration of her past, Iona also becomes a poorly constructed character. It’s a shame that our main characters just doesn’t shine as much as one would hope...
Judging by art standards, Arpeggio of Blue Steel matches well by science fiction means. The way most of the characters are designed given them an impression that they are weapons of war (Fog Ships) or humans whom stands up against what comes at them. (Blue Steel) The animation studio SANZIGEN is not well known though in the anime industry. They are known for only a few science fiction theme series including 009: RE: Cyborg and Black Rock Shooter; the latter that received very mixed reactions. Fortunately, the background of the series redeems itself with glorious naval features, explosive battles, and science fiction aesthetics. The drawback would be the CGI that makes the show itself less powerful with its computer generated graphics. There’s also some fan service usually featuring the Fog Ships that might generate some reactions of eye rolling especially with the way camera angles are pointed at.
The soundtrack is pretty well done by OST standards. Most battle scenes are accompanied with a dynamic beat and dominant intensity. It brings out the intense environment that exists in this alternate historical world. The OP song “Savior of Song” is well performed by Nano (Btooom!, Phi Brain: Puzzle of God 2, Ark IX) with vibrations of energy. The ED song on the other hand provides feedback of a more calm atmosphere similar to some of the comedic scenes in the series.
All in all, this show can be a mixed bag depending on your experience with science fiction anime. The idea of a scientific mission sounds engaging but the plot itself is unimpressive as result of its poor adaptation. This is mentioned before because the way it cuts itself out that omits several important factors. It destroys the development of our main characters and where they came from. However, there are themes that are explored that can be interesting to take note of. The problem might be that the answer is for viewers to decide in the end with its ambiguous nature. Luckily, the action, powerful OST, and comedy will definitely leave you with impressions. Some characters (especially the Fog ships) do get development so expect moments where you’ll get to like them more. The fact remains ultimately is that military science fiction anime can take different turns and angles. For Arppegio of Blue Steel, it steered in a path that defines warfare in its own way.
