What can I say, this was a curious experience. Despite having some obvious flaws, it still managed to be impressive by the end, making bold proclamations without shoving anything down your throat. It's an awkward dish made by someone you know and love, that nonetheless tasted home. It forced a smile on me, it made my eyes wet, while I was fully aware that what I was eating is going to fail on a competitive contest. Therefore, I could only grow to treat this anime with love, albeit a tough one. Which is rare, to be honest.
Thematically, this anime is incredible. The last five episodes are enough to change your entire perspective on this show, even if you considered everything up until then as mediocre. Among other things, it covers the political and philosophical aspects of conflict, without picking any particular side. It gave me some Legend of the Galactic Heroes vibes, really: just like LotGH, Argento Soma leaves you wondering about the nature of conflict. What does it mean to fight towards a common cause? Who's my enemy, and who's my ally? What's the difference between "my" and "ours"? In the midst of panic and social unrest, we'll quickly dismiss these fundamental questions, in favor of the imminent. Our ability to plan and foresee in these kind of circumstances is severed, and this notion is positively reinforced throughout the anime. In other words, there's a message of caution here, of introspection and self-awareness, of making sure that I know what I want, but also where I am. Discerning what is "right" for me, and potentially for others too - why am I working towards a certain goal? Truly vital concepts, not only in the context of war or conflict in general, but also of a person entering adulthood - a period shrouded by confusion, indecision, and the fear of uncertainty. These themes are portrayed beautifully in Argento Soma.
The preceding ideas are further deepened through characters, obviously. While the anime fails in delivery, its intentions are clear and humble. First thing to note with characters is how everyone is actually at the age they're supposed to be - you know, adults and young adults? This atmosphere can really alleviate viewers who are fed up with mass-produced character sets in other shows; teenagers with stereotypical designs and personalities, furthermore playing in a setting that requires discretion, respect, and above all critical thinking. These depictions simply aren't realistic, but they're so overused in other shows that we've almost grown used to them.
Argento Soma is here to remind you how such a setting ought to look like. You can feel tension in critical situations, character logic is mostly satisfactory, and there's always a sense of connection within our cast; be that in the relations of our main group's members, Funeral, the military, or the government. Consequence is rarely forgotten in character interaction (unless said character is Ryu), providing gravity behind individual action, besides making the world more believable. Needless to say then, I enjoyed Argento Soma's characters. Yes, Ryu too. He had some of the OP essence as with many anime protagonists, but his character arc was rarely inconsistent, even if flawed (morally). With some exceptions, there was no particular reason to disapprove someone, because as I said, their logic is pretty solid; everyone had a reason as to why they were doing whatever they were doing, which was pretty cool.
Out of the cast, commander Ines was probably my favourite. I might be slightly biased here, but I just enjoy the representation of women in "unusual" work sectors, in this case the military. And it wasn't just a display of swagger and raw muscle you'll most often find in other shows. In Argento Soma, there is a genuine political concern for both the official and unofficial approval of women in these positions, a concern voiced by Ines herself: "Was I truly chosen for my skill set?" Her rebellion is not one of upheaval, but of sincere, collected, and justified dialogue, in spite of the recipient being an awfully conservative and pigheaded regime. Also, keep in mind that this show aired on 2000! It was another thin, yet clearly visible layer in an already thematically rich show, one that I personally savored.
As for the quality of this anime, and starting with graphics, they were good. Can't say much more. I liked character design: it felt unique without being presumptuous... if you make a small exception for Ryu. I cannot lie though, Ryu looked pretty cool, and Dan too. Emo vibes? Yeah, totally, but they looked cool, so I liked them, and that's that. Similarly, I liked Ines and Michael, although that guy's mouth was pretty confusing at times... still, I could always admire the unique stylistic approach. In the rare occasions where characters wore non-military clothes, you could take a glimpse of an entire new world of style. Take a good look at characters in the final episode - just gorgeous!
Musically, the anime was hit or miss. It's orchestral at core, and while this really helped to deliver sentimental and some tense scenes, it failed to accompany action. Never going beyond a certain limit in tempo, it lacked sharpness and intensity, elements that are more often than not, obligatory in fast-paced sequences. I always crave for shows to correctly not use music at certain scenes, though Argento Soma was not the brightest example. Let's just say that I wasn't very pleased having music play on top of Harriet singing, more than once. Thankfully, it wasn't disastrous enough to mix different keys, though that alone did not save these scenes. So conclusively, music in this anime didn't make for an exceptional experience, but wasn't bad enough to ruin it either.
***Entering spoiler territory***
At this point, you might have asked: why did I rank Argento Soma with a 7, despite my largely positive remarks so far? Well, there's a reason for that, and I'll have to enter spoiler territory to elaborate. I previously said that the anime fails in delivery, and I stand true next to this belief. While character interactions can feel organic at times, there are numerous occasions where developments were rushed or ignored altogether. Particularly, Lt. Green and David Lawrence were butchered. The former gets criminally little time for backstory (along with Sue), the romance with Ryu comes out of nowhere, and she's outright killed at the last episode time skip... without any explanation whatsoever!
Lawrence on the other hand, is turned upside down towards the end of the anime, without any cohesion in the transition. At first he resembles a villainous figure, almost an imaginary one judging by his spontaneous (dis)appearances. Then he's suddenly an ally of our cast... it's a mess. What are his motives? Why is he asking for Funeral's data from Ryu? Why is he aiding Ryu exact revenge on Frank, if he considers Frank (Yuri) his comrade? Why is the black SARG's pilot turning into tomato juice a reference to him, if he's not even on the government's side? Why is that pilot even killed in the first place? David is a character that, not only makes no sense, but takes the rest of the plot down with him. Oh yeah, and he lives with an injured leg by the end, after being gunned down at point blank. That's peak comedy right there.
Speaking of plot and holes: in the reveal that the aliens have no bad intentions, the show conveniently ignores how they were disintegrating innocent civilians with lasers... it becomes an uncomfortably transparent inconsistency, when the show simultaneously wants to highlight Harriet's past trauma. And speaking of Harriet... can we stop harassing this poor child for one second? She's handled like a ragdoll throughout the show. Yes, the dangers and the dilemma of having a child partake in military operations is acknowledged, mostly by Sue, and occasionally by Ines. But will we still choose to ignore how Ryu harshly mistreats her without consequence? How they chose to put her in the co-pilot seat of a SARG tasked with interception, and not in the much safer transport aircraft? How Ryu's college buddy was salivating over her like it was normal, or how two dudes were literally going to rape her? So okay, we get it - she's an innocent victim of war and the adult world, so can we tone down the unnecessary degeneracy? Needless to say, I was stunned with some of the things my eyes saw... oh, and while we're at it, can the military stop going nuclear every second time? My thanks in advance.
***End of spoilers***
Most of all however, the deciding factor for my rating was pacing, and the overall enjoyability of the first ten or so episodes of the anime. Admittedly, I had tendencies to drop the series at about episode eight or nine, as it wasn't making any essential progression with its episodic structure. It placed some question marks here and there, little pieces to keep some of your interest, though these weren't enough for me. Most of its early focus was placed on character exchanges. As I said, these did indeed have value, but they lacked impact; the anime lacks in delivering character moments. Mecha action wasn't that satisfactory either. Code;Geass, and even Argento Soma's closer relative, Evangelion, had way more enjoyable mecha action - especially the former. The reason is simple: progression. Each fight had something new, a new weapon, a new enemy, unknown variables. Yes, Argento Soma had unique enemy types, but what about their design? What about Funeral's side? Nothing changes. I understand that mecha action isn't the primary focus of this show, though can't the same be said for the two anime I brought up? Argento Soma simply didn't have any spice in its mecha fights. They were not bad per se, though definitely not enjoyable either.
At the end, this anime begged for patience and focus. Was mine, even if forced at times, rewarded? Certainly. More than half of the show's length was used for slowly setting up characters and the world surrounding them, but then effectively utilized them to deliver themes through a surprisingly wonderful story. And there really isn't a better way to describe it other than "wonderful". Although Argento Soma preferred the realm of reality, it couldn't help but get romantic at times, and I loved that. Sure, I wouldn't miss some of Harriet's singing concerts... but the show's ideas came through for the most part. This anime really is a journey towards an enchanted land. The road might be quite rough, but rest assured: once you get there, a wonderful world will unfold right in front of you. The decision lies on you: do you want to take the journey?
Wonderful (as defined in Oxford Languages): inspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration.
