PLOT: I watched Toshokan Sensou back when it was airing and remember being very entertained by it. It’s all very light and fluffy as the series focuses on the characters rather than dwelling on the whole censorship war that is the setting. Basically the premise is that this is a world were censorship of books and the media is a big issue and two factions are perfectly willing to spill blood over books and freedom of the press. Its in this climate that Kasahara Iku decides to join the Library Task Force to follow in the footsteps of her ‘Prince’ who saves her and her favourite book when she was younger…..yeah I know it sounds rubbish, but believe me Toshokan Sensou is really entertaining!
I got major Full Metal Panic vibes from the series – mainly due to the military setting and the emphasis on romcom rather than combat. Not that there isn’t any action, there is plenty, but its not the main focus. The characters are the driving force for this anime, Iku and her relationship with her superior Atsushi is deeply amusing in a Lovely Complex way and the supporting cast is also lots of fun. The only bad thing about the show is its too short. We’ve just got to know the characters and started to be interested in the background plot and then its over – with this kind of pacing it would have been better off being a 26 episode series rather than 12.
ANIMATION: Excellent animation as one would expect from Production IG. I really liked the thick black outlines for the characters and the use of chibi’s to enhance the comedy. The action set pieces were really well put together and the backgrounds showed fabulous attention to detail. Unremarkable, but well drawn character design too. No complaints about the production quality at all.
MUSIC & VOICE ACTING: I loved the ED in particular; the OP is pretty decent too. Background music is also good. Voice acting is excellent – everyone is very well cast, especially loved Iku’s voice.
So yeah at 1st glance the concept seem a bit on the odd side, but Toshokan Sensou turned out to be a fun if forgetable show with an enjoyable script and nice character interactions.
