All right. Everyone who reads this blog for the last two years will know that I have an intrinsic dislike for mecha shows in general. However, the belated coming of Macross Frontier made me find my old love of robots firing hyper beams of energy at monsters. I used to watch the first Macross with glee. However, that was Macross Frontier. It is Gonzo with a mecha show. Will it suffer the mace of bane?

To Aru Majutsu no Index is described by the Grand Meister Totali to be a “Shana-like” series. I like Shana, so I should like this too. Right? RIGHTTTT? In addition, it is created by my beloved JC Staff and kept the crew of Shakugan no Shana for this. All the elements of total-win seems to appear in this series. Will it deliver though from the overbearing expectations I have of it?

The third part series of impressions is here.

Kurogane no Linebarrel

Summary

Koichi is a cowardly student that hates to be bullied, but never has the strength to resist. He is asked by three bullies to buy them buns. His friend, Risako, tried to protect him but he wimped out to purchase the buns for them. As he headed out, he suddenly saw a giant robot falling directly down to him. It then landed on him with a giant bang. When he woke up, he noticed that giant robot and a naked unconscious girl. Since it was obviously dangerous to stay, he brought the girl back to his home. The girl did not have any memories of herself. After seeing the Arma (a group of independent military specialists) causing carnage in the town, she said she had to fight those people.

As she ran, the ARMA was actually hunting for a robot. Koichi remembered how he always had to be safe by his friends and he was tired of this. Just at that moment, his male friend appeared again to help him. Fallen debris caused by the carnage of ARMA’s robots injured his friend, and Koichi suddenly summons superhuman powers to break the wall. The girl suddenly remembered who she is, and said that her name is Emi Kizaki.

She told Koichi to summon Linebarrel, and he did as that robot he saw earlier flew down from the sky. He then entered it and suddenly turned into a superhero to repel the men of Arma. The leader of this squadron wanted to fight Koichi more, but was told by his superior to retreat for now. After the battle, Koichi says he is no longer a weak person, but Emi told him the grave truth that he is no longer alive.

The good

I think that anime viewers are often negatively biased toward CG (look at the hate of Blassbeiter) and Gonzo is the type of animation company that tries to use it extensively. I have no complains about it and I found that it is not too annoying. In fact, it adds to the nice mecha battles in this episode. Graphic quality is perhaps pretty high, but with CG effects, it’s really hard to tell.

The story seems to have many interesting holes and gaps that might be interesting to pursue. Who are the ARMA? What is the Linebarrel used for? What is the reason for Linebarrel’s existence? Why is Koichi dead, yet still alive? There are many interesting plots that are waiting to be resolved.

The bad

Koichi is just destroyed by the pacing of the story. At the start of the day, he’s a whiny wimpy boy that does not fight back to bullies. Even when people try to protect him, he feels inferior and wimps out. Then, he becomes this cheerful boy that helps this girl in trouble. Then, after entering the robot, he suddenly becomes this superhero of justice that has no fear in him. After the battle, he turns into some psychotic midget. What the hell happened within 1 single day? THAT MAKES NO SENSE.

That adds on to the point that the story was moving way too fast. The pacing is totally off and instead of building excitement, I was shouting out WTF, WTF, WTF after every 30 seconds. Nothing made sense after 14 minutes and I wondered if that is a good or bad thing. It’s up to your discretion though.

Verdict: The show was by far average but the transformation of Koichi from wimpy, normal, totally heroic and eventually to a mental psycho within a single episode just makes it completely unbelievable. I am not sure if I can recommend this as yet, but there is some story potential here

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To Aru Majutsu no Index

Summary

A boy named Kamijo Touma is running from a large mob, expressing how unfortunate his life typically is. Earlier, he tried to stop a guy from approaching Misaka Mikoto. He was actually trying to protect the mob from being assaulted by the thunder-conjuring Mikoto. Mikoto, after being annoyed by Touma, tried to fry him with her attacks. The next day, we see Touma complaining about his unlucky life as the electrical attack meant that the town suffered a power outage. When he goes to lay out his futon on the veranda, he is surprised to see a young nun laying on its railing. The girl says she is hungry. Touma makes fun of her by giving her a hot dog that he accidentally stepped on twice, and the girl devoured the food while sinking her teeth on his hand.

This girl later introduces herself as Index, explaining that she is being chased by sorcerers because of the magic book she is carrying. Touma does not believe in magic, despite believing in supernatural powers. That perplexed Index. Touma then mentions that his right hand has the ability to nullify any magical attacks. When he called it a gift from god, Index jeered at it and says that he is just boasting. Touma proved it by touching her magical shirt, and it degenerates. After being bitten everywhere by Index for an outrage of modesty, she leaves. Touma tells her to come back if she needs help.

Touma soon realizes that he needs to go to school. In class, their young teacher Tsukuyomi Komoe is conducting her lesson. When Touma’s friends trick Komoe into believing that Touma was not paying attention, Komoe cried. Touma laments about his unfortunate life. Touma is approached by Mikoto again in the afternoon, still wanting to settle her score with him. Touma ignores her as usual, but because of Mikoto’s actions during this threat, the two are forced to run from the nearby robots that have reacted to them. When he returned home, he saw the bloodied unconscious body of Index. It turned out that a sorcerer was the one causing that wound to Index.

The good

Where do I even start from? The OP has a distinct Shana feel to it, and that is a good thing to be referred to. Kurogane is the one that informed me that most of the crew working on Shana is back in this Index show and it makes me happy. A lot. The graphics for this series is also above average, but that is to be expected from JC Staff. They have often held a good standard for animation consistency. Nothing compared to the gods of Kyoto Animation, but they are fine as it is.

The characters are also very quirky and hilarious. I have been tired of the “I am the main male lead, and I am wimpy” type of shounen character in such action series. Touma knows how good he is, he complains and he is so fricking awesome with his sarcastic remarks. It might be a strange reference, but this is how I imagine a milder Kyon in an action series. That, by the way, is fricking awesome.

The girls are also wonderful in which they have unique personalities rather than the cardboard type of characters that plague many series. I also like the set up of the story, which leaves some things open while leaving the viewer in a climax. That is what I call an absolutely well done first episode.

The bad

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this. If there is something I really have to nitpick, it is Mikoto. I didn’t enjoy her character too much, but it’s a very mild discomfort. Nothing too painful to endure.

Verdict: Very strong first episode. Unless you have some serious grudge against JC Staff, I see every reason for you to follow this series. This might be a winner.

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