I think it’s a great premise, as it’s something that governments around the world practice and which we should be wary of. Once the spread of ideas is censored, we can only act on the information that does trickle through and by controlling this governments in a way are controlling the very ways we think. However I don’t feel it’s handled especially well within the show. The books the MIB seems intent on collecting appear to be manga and children’s books, and I can’t see those being seditious in any way. Nor do I understand why they focus on commercial bookstores or allow the books to reach stores and then remove them; wouldn’t it be more likely they’d stop seditious literature at the publisher itself?

On information control and books. I think the setup is interesting, but I do view it as a delivery for underlying complexities, be it the shoujo, slice-of-life, or whatever other enjoyable things may come. Interesting as well, and I’ll just throw it out there because I feel this is related… Fahrenheit 451 in anime/manga form.

As for the episode, I love the setup and direction. Solid/enjoyable characters, comedy, building romance, and very strong showing!

Late on the commenting, final exam week a coming, short time to view the airings. ^^ I like the energy Impz

not kidding.

ho ho ho.

Imagine if this is taken away from you. What will you feel? Imagine a more drastic scenario where all books that promotes a lifestyle (even your “Little Miss Neat” books) that is against a collective mindset are all banned. Will books become an important commodity to transmit ideas now? Rather than saying it is books, I believe Library War is communicating more about information. It can be physical, electronic or anything that has latent or explicit information.

@Susie Q: That’s our “job”, isn’t it? If we review something and it turns you off so badly, I will feel miserable and quit immediately (perhaps not quit, lol!). The truth is that I am just trying to spread the love of series that might not seem that interesting at first glance.

@Kibou: The whole thing about war, romance and action is weaved together beautifully. It’s not awkward or out of place. It’s almost like it should be this way. That shows how Library War manages to make a seemingly complex situation more palpable for us to digest.

I think the premise of information and control in this show seems like a pretty realistic topic (interesting too!), but apparently some do write it off as odd, which is unfortunate. I also like how this war provides the background for both the action and the romance in the show! Very unique and relevant to my interests, since I like both genres if not done excessively.

As for Golgo 13, I’ve watched the first episode without prior background, and my honest opinion is that its concept has not aged well. Action/machismo shows have moved very far along and it’s no longer enough for me to believe that a hero is superhuman simply by creating a highly exaggerated scenario, and then have said hero casually resolve everything with a single bullet. Action-heroes bleed nowadays, I’m afraid, ala James Bond in Casino Royale. It doesn’t make them weak. It actually makes them sexier. Plus, I’m a bit leery about how Duke Tolgo is automatically supposed to be terrific in bed, simply because he’s assumed to be super manly. James Bond, chauvinistic prick though he is, does his trophies the courtesy of at least some foreplay.

Er…that’s just my opinion of course. Obviously, Golgo 13 isn’t my kind of entertainment. Sorry for the off-topic critique. ^^;

it intrigues me actually… the acts of the MiB mirrors some governments who censor things that are not beneficial to them and this censorship in turn leaves the citizens easier to manipulate…

and though i don’t really read books teh thought of fighting over books is kinda romantic in a way… there’s something about books that can’t can’t be reproduced via electronic means…

there are already 2 good groups subber CG in a very timely manner yet there’s still no subs for this… i’m glad i can barely raw this… and also glad that you’re summarizing this to supplement my poor rawing abilities…

By the way, I must admit that I am one of those superficial people that dislikes mind game because it was just way too, for the lack of a better word, mind blowing for me. Nonetheless, I do not think that I want something that different. I do not need that many moe girls, but it probably needs to have some form of conventional graphics for me to appreciate it.

People often say they want to see something different, but then when something truly different comes along, they say “oh…that’s a little TOO different.”

Kaiba (i watched the first 2 episodes btw) is straight in your face controversial, but I think that it has some promise. I am usually the type of guy who will try to at least watch 3 episode of a series before saying I like it or hate it. I never go about dissing a series like golgo 13 for e.g. since I will not watch it. It’s just a show I know that I cannot appreciate. If so, I should not try to impose any view on it. It’s not fair to readers who wants a proper decent review.

Actually, Golgo 13 is not shonen. It’s “seinen.” The use and prevalance of the word “gar” is unnecessary, since seinen embodies the whole “super-manly” concept just perfectly.

Yep, thanks for a bit of clarification. I admit to be a novice in terms of jargons relating to the anime industry in general. Nonetheless, specifics are not my priority, but I am sure you know what I am trying to say.

Yes, the thing about Library Wars that is quite special from the norm is that it does not allow itself to stick to one style. It sometimes goes with the chibi, but sometimes goes with a very serious facial expression. For me, I do not think that anime should be restricted to just a style (shounen, shoujo) but should be allowed to expand as long as it fits. I have to say that Library War will fail if it did not have the light hearted facial expressions and the romance factor.

Its topic is somewhat unbelievable for the uninitiated (which I have tried to explain a few times in the posts about its possible realism and the theories of information control). If it tries to go all serious, it is likely to fall flat. Hence, it is a good mixture of a personal touch, and uses the information theme more as a background knowledge. Hence, its possible weakness is covered, and we have a polished shoujo romance show without losing its roots which is action.