*Click*
*Drumroll*
Akikan!
I've already seen it. My favorite thing that came out of the series was this face:
*Click*
*Drumroll*
Seikon no Qwaser
No no no no no no! NO! No way! Thank Cthulu I already watched the first episode.
*Click*
*Drumroll*
Finally. This week it's:
Avenger
Avenger, 13 episodes, aired in 2003. It was directed by Koichi Mashimo, who has many things under his belt, such as being the animation movie producer for Xenogears, He was deeply involved in Noir and many .hack// projects, Madlax, Tsubasa Chronicle, and much more. It was written by Hidefumi Kimura, who wrote screenplays for anything involving Kiddy Grade, and did mechanical design for Agent Aika. Studios Bee Train and Xebec, who both have many well know anime, such as the .hack// series (Bee Train) and Martian Successor Nadesico (Xebec), collaborated on it. And finally, it was licensed by Bandai.
Now then. With that out of the way, let's begin the episode (Dubbed):
We start off with the opening theme, Lunar Eclipse Grand Guignol by Ali Project
The song is excellent. The video itself is also equally excellent. In fact, Ali Project did all of the music for this series.
We open on two figures, one looks like a woman and the other a small child, traveling through a barren, red, mountainous landscape.
The pair arrive at an outcropping overlooking a giant dome.
We cut to inside the dome, as an announcement is made. A woman's gentle voice greets the residents of the dome, bidding them a good morning and informing everyone that the storm that was had been raging during the night had passed, as the shutters of the dome open.
We cut to a woman in a bathtub who resembles the woman we saw with the child.
 |
| She's laying under the shower. How is her hair not wet? |
She says, out loud, for someone to try and kill her. A little unusual. She opens her eyes and has a vision of herself falling through a strange structure.
 |
| Ah, my first censor bar. |
Nudity warning for this series, by the way. We cut to her standing. As she stands motionless, she gets a fuzzy image of someone in her head.
Then, a mechanical voice calls out to her, "Oh my! Ms. Layla!". Three small robotic girls come out dressed in maid outfits and go about bringing her breakfast, fresh towels and a bathrobe.
As one of them talks to Layla, it's face changes to the face of a blonde, heterochromatic girl.
Layla picks up a fork. "Shut up, alright?", she says, as we cut to outside to the mansion of a house she's staying in. We then hear the robotic girls scream. Pleasant! We then join an old man and another robotic girl in what appears to be the ruins of an old, destroyed building.
We cut to a guy hovering over a broken robotic girl in a junk heap.
It seems he's salvaging it for parts. He is approached by the old man, who remarks how he's already working so early, and addresses him as Mr. Fix-It. Mr. Fix-It then says he prefers not to be called that. And then he states that he's "A bona fide doll breeder". So the robotic girls are apparently called "dolls". Uh, how do you breed a doll? Is it slang or something? The old man then asks, "What kind of doll breeder would use recycled parts from a dump like this?" and addresses him by his actual name. Speedy.
We cut back to...
Roboticide. As Layla sits there amongst the mechanical corpses, a man approaches from a balcony on the second story of the room as more maid dolls file into the room. The man remarks that she is the greatest gladiator he has seen. He then tells her that a tournament is approaching and that he wants her to win it. "Why don't you shut up." is Layla's answer. Charming.
We are then in what appears to be a sewer. A man in a cape bursts out of one of the entrance to a large pipe.
He walks through an area full of ruined buildings and is startled when the dolls that Layla killed fall out of a pipe.
He calms himself by remarking that they're just more broken dolls. He then spots an unusual looking doll that resembles the one Layla hallucinated earlier.
 |
| That's a little creepy. |
The man then asks if she is able to move. She confirms, stating that she was manufactured by the Dome City Complex, is a "pet" type, is a 10-year-old class, and her design is custom. So someone wanted a pet 10-year-old girl robot. That is two reviews in a row in which the anime has seemingly pedophilic undertones. What am I going to review next? Kodomo no Jikan? If you read my first review, then you already know my feelings on this. If you haven't read it, then please, do so.
Moving along, we cut back to the guy who was talking to Layla, the mayor of the city, as he discusses her with one of his cronies.
They say that if she continues to win, the city will prosper. But if she loses, then she will be killed. Well, that's a little harsh!
We cut back to the man with the heterochromatic doll as she guides him through the city. They're headed to the city hall. We learn that the man's name is Garcia, and that the doll's name is Nei. They pass by Speedy who remarks that Garcia is a Barbaroi gladiator, like Layla. Then he says, "Wait just a minute. That doll is...". Is what? Is what?!
Garcia and Nei then get stopped by another gladiator named Gates, who boasts that he is the strongest gladiator in town. Garcia asks if he is the gladiator delegate. Nei says that he was the former delegate, but was defeated by Layla, who is the new delegate. Gates gives Garcia a swift kick to the chest, knocking him down, and tells Nei to shut up. Garcia says that Gate will be a good warm up before he takes on Layla. Gates says he doesn't have a chance against her. Then they fight. But not for long because Garcia grabs Gates by the arms and jumps behind him. Putting him in a painful hold.
After Gates receives a thorough ass whoopin', Garcia and Nei depart. Garcia asks Nei what she know about Laya. She says that she is about 18 years old. Garcia says that the rumors are true about her being a Barbaroi who is accompanied by dolls, and may be the daughter of someone named Volk. He then states that this time, it'll be her turn. Whatever that means. Speedy then begins to follow them upon hearing the name Layla Ashley, remarking that this is getting interesting.
We then cut back to Layla. She says that she sees a storm. The dolls, who are watching her, say that the storm from last night had already passed. Layla then reasserts that she sees a storm.
And we have now reached the half way point.
We start on a blonde woman named Westa. The same woman, it sounds like, who made the announcement at the beginning of the episode. She is speaking to a group of people.
She says that even though the storm has passed, the moon is still there, as if it's crushing their people's future. Uh-oh. Sounds like someone has to awaken the giants and reclaim the mask. The man in very strange attire, Volk, replies that you make your own future.
We then join Speedy, who was selling information to the mayor. After the mayor leaves, Speedy insults him. When suddenly, we see the blue-haired dolls from earlier cowering in terror on a nearby balcony, trying to dissuade Layla from destroying them. Speedy looks up and sees Layla approach them.
She begins threatening them, when she and Speedy lock eyes.
Speedy then realized that the woman he was awkwardly flirting with was Layla.
We then join Garcia and Nei as they have and important discussion about shoes.
Garcia says that our shoes can mean our entire lives to us. Nei agrees. Then this happens
Garcia states that he is ready and begins walking again.
|
| Dawwwww |
Garcia begins discussing about the mayor with Nei, when, speak of the devil, the mayor shows up.
 |
| Hey kid. We got candy in here. |
We rejoin Speedy as he talks to the still terrified dolls. They don't recognize him at first, even though he's the one who brought them there. So he takes out a pen-like device, presses a button on it, the dolls go goofy faced and then remember him. Is Speedy a Time Lord? The dolls inform Speedy that Layla had been acting strangely since she disposed of a doll she brought with her. Speedy then decides to break into the house to meet Layla. He meets Layla in her room and says that she doesn't look like the gladiator he saw three days prior. He also remarks on how the mayor had showered her with luxurious gifts and amenities, but instead of enjoying them, she destroyed them instead, and what a shock it must have been to live outside the dome, and then suddenly be smothered in luxury. Layla states that she is cold. Suddenly, the mayor, his crony, Garcia and Nei are all standing behind him.
And then we are in a colosseum, about to watch Layla and Garcia fight. An announcer announces the rules. The first two are pretty standard. Only approved weapons may be used, and the loser is the one who can no longer fight. The last one, however, is the worst. The loser forfeits all rights and privileges to the winner.
And... Fight!
In the middle of the battle Garcia notices that Layla isn't fighting back. She's dodging his attacks, but just enough so that he doesn't hit her vital points. Suddenly, Layla states "Kill me. Just try and kill me". Then, with a burst of speed, Layla is suddenly behind Garcia, and then she pokes him in the throat.
Garcia falls to his knees. He then asks if it's true that she is Volk's daughter.
We cut to Speedy, who has decided to leave the dome to follow Layla and Nei because they're more interesting.
We cut to Layla and Nei leaving the dome, with Speedy approaching from behind on some kind of motorcycle type vehicle.
We cut to Westa and Volk. Westa says that there is a storm coming that will destroy everything in it's path. Including both of them. Volk reassures her, saying that even in the face of such a storm, "the mountain" will not move.
We then cut back to Layla and Nei as the walk past a sign that says "Welcome to Mars." Yep. This takes place on Mars.
Ending Credits: Mirai no Eve
I like this ending. But I'm probably pretty biased since I've already heard it many times before (StepMania).
I'd put this episode at 8/10. I liked this episode. I don't know how else to put it. I like the style. I like the setting. I like the music. And I like the characters. I'm definitely going to finish this series. I keep getting a Code Geass vibe off of it, which isn't a bad thing. I noticed that there are a lot of terms used that are Roman. So I'm pretty sure that there are references and parallels to Roman history and mythology that are going right over my head. Where's Oancitizen when you need him?
No comments:
Post a Comment