Rinne no Lagrange

[AC]

1:

BEJESUS, this show's gorgeous. For a minute, I thought that only a studio with a disgusting amount of money like Production I.G can do such a thing. And then, to my horror, I learned that it's done by Xebec, a studio that has a rep for making unforgivingly horrible shows. My expectations then nosedived.

I kinda like the Real Drive-esque aquatic setting; it has that refreshing feeling to it that's pretty unique. As for theme, well, I guess it's something like Xenoglossia where you have chicks piloting mecha robots to save the Earth. Nothing particularly groundbreaking there.

But there is one big problem: the so-called "moment of truth" (i.e. the scene Madoka had to make a choice on whether to pilot the robot or not), a hackneyed scene you see in every other action shows like Guilty Crown, NGE, and Gundam series, was terribly flat. There's just nothing working for it at all: no chemistry between Madoka and Ran, no sense of tension even when missiles are flying just outside the base, and Madoka wasn't even scared or didn't even react the way any normal girl would. It's amazingly odd and with that, I just can't believe what I'm seeing.

Something tells me that this is bound to be a stupid show, but at the same time it's too pretty for me to pass. Kinda reminds me of Infinite Stratos in a way.

[Fumoffu!!]

What the hell? Is XEBEC actually going to try this season? No doubt it'll fail, but I a least appreciate the effort.

[Sorrows Neptune]

I actually thought it was pretty decent, although in retrospect there wasn't anything particularly good about it. Maybe I was too distracted by the pretty visuals.

[Rachellular]

1:

I was a huge fan of the music in this, really pretty! Love the opening and ending themes, however the show itself sort of was boring to me. I'm a huge fan of mecha and robots and things and right now this one just didn't capture me like other shows similar to this normally do. I think I'll probably watch like 2 more episodes to see if it like grabs me, but it's looking like a no. I'm really involved in Guilty Crown, so I feel like that will win over this.

[Fumoffu!!]

2:

There are things I like and appreciate about the show:

• The animation, seems Production I.G. has a hand in this, even if XEBEC is the main studio.
• The fact that the bad guys aren't just evil, but have motivations and appear as friendly as the good guys.
• The Opening - I actually like it, it's very different from a typical anime opening, and of all things, the animation reminds me of Gankutsuou, strangely.
• The Potential - Well, it could be good right?
• The way the guy casually adds on at the very end of giving the protagonist a pep talk "The fate of the world is in your hands btw, good luck". I laughed.

But then there's:

• The characters - The protagonist pisses me off, she even changes personality briefly and pisses me off with that too. She's an idiot, complains loudly, and then gets depressed because she wonders about fulfilling peoples expectations, even though in the situation you'd expect her to be worried about being killed by the other mecha. The sister/cousin isn't that strong a character either.
• Actually that's my only complaint, but they were really annoying at times.

[Gessen]

2:

I'm enjoying the series so far, but I agree with Fumoffu!! about the main character's illogical personality/mindset. I'm fairly easy-to-please so I like it overall, but she cares about the wrong things and has odd reactions. The cousin pissing her off to get her to move the mech (emotive drive or something) I get, but is also somewhat forced. I also like how they introduce their busty third without giving any explanation. She's just there for now *shrugs*.

[Aeroblip]

2:

Compared to the other mecha/space shows this season, I honestly think this one is the best so far. It's definitely not the most impressive show, but the tongue-in-cheek nature of the show makes it fun. I'm not expecting some elaborate plot or emotional drama, and I don't think it needs it (but if the show can pull it off well, then kudos). Just turn off the brain and enjoy the ride.

I also agree with Fumoffu!! about the OP. It has a euro-pop style that isn't used often.

[AC]

2:

I suppose that at the very least, this show isn't boring. For a mecha action/comedy, it's very light-hearted, the female lead is likable and the action scenes are pretty to look at. Character-wise, I know for a fact that I'm going to hate the newest third lead character Muginami. A ditz with big boobs is just not the kind of character to score points from me. Never.

But there is one odd thing I feel every time I watch Rinne no Lagrange: I feel like I'm watching Break Blade. From the onset, the reasons for this are pretty obvious: both are produced by XEBEC, both employ similar art and animation styles, their OPs are well above-average, etc. But what I'm looking at is beyond that: did you notice how calm the ambiance was when Madoka was demoralizing under the sea, right after she faced off against Izo? It's the same thing back when the base was under attack, and Madoka and Lan were in the "moment of truth" of whether to pilot or not back in the episode 1. This is the same pet problem I noticed in Break Blade: the handling of the ambiance is derpy. At one point, the ambiance is tense but in the next, it becomes calm even when the villain is trying to destroy stuff somewhere nearby.

On a second thought, this show doesn't remind much of Production I.G in terms of aesthetics. It only reminded me of that because of the production values and budget, but nothing more than that.

[Fumoffu!!]

3:

Whilst there were several issues, I am impressed with how not shit this show is. It's XEBEC, so expecting shit is natural, but contrary to my expectations, its been pretty good.

However, there were issues:

• Firstly, the way in which she rejects the aliens offer even though she doesn't know anything about what is going on. Sure I didn't hear all of what he was saying, but I doubt he said anything enough for her to reject him on behalf of the entire human race without hesitation.
• Second, I presume the "curse" of being a Vox pilot is severe due to the deep fear Lan shows and as had for ages, yet somehow she gets over this problem, a problem she has had for years, due to the antics of Madoka. This strikes me as highly unrealistic.
• The characters are fairly weak, Madoka annoys me.
• Lastly, the fact that whilst being so concerned for the town, she didn't think to run away from the town to the empty sea until she hit the "home run".
  
  
  

  ...the female lead is likable

  
  Oh you.
  
  Though I do have to agree about the third pilot, that sort of character never goes down well with me either.

[AC]

3:

Okay, I change my mind: the female lead is NOT likable. She was, but not anymore. In the last two episodes, she came off as this cheery, positive and carefree girl. In this episode however, she's this grossly simple girl who, rather than getting killed in battle, is more worried about ruining her neighbour's lawn. And for that, my impression towards her changed for the worse.

But it's not just a problem of her character; there's something wrong with the whole ambiance of Lagrange. We have two invading robots who have level a city instantly, yet I don't feel that the city was in grave danger during the whole fighting. Rather than watching a Gundam-like battle where a city gets thrashed and people die, I feel like I just watched a practice session gone awry, to put it mildly.

Basically, this is what you get from XEBEC, a production studio that apparently puts in more effort in the aesthetics rather than in the narrative and characterization just like for Break Blade.

[Sorrows Neptune]

3:

Yeah, the characters were definitely less likable in this episode. It was difficult to sympathize with Ran when we're barely given any idea why she would be so hesitant to pilot, and Madoka came off as more of an idiot hero.

We have two invading robots who have level a city instantly, yet I don't feel that the city was in grave danger during the whole fighting.

That's probably why I felt so bored with this episode.

[AC]

4:

Let me reinstate what's fundamentally wrong with this show: here we have a revelation of how Earth is in some interstellar war. Great, that's what the show is basically about. How did we find out about this? Through a principal office meeting that feels more like a teacher-parent meeting. Now that's what's wrong. I can guess that Lagrange is trying to aim for the same angle as Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure where something big is working in the background while the onset is more or less all fruity and light-hearted. But it just feels wrong: there's no sense that the world is in grave danger. If anything, it feels like this is all one big playground.

And it doesn't help one bit that Madoka is a very dull lightbulb. A bright girl who's a dull lightbulb.

[leokiko.]

They aren't focusing on the war thing...yet. It's obvious how serious the commander is and how annoyed he is that he must rely on a girl to beat them. I bet this light-hearted stuff won't last too long. I hope Muginami will be the trigger to an more serious thing, since she is obviously approaching Madoka with ulterior motives.

[Fumoffu!!]

Let me reinstate what's fundamentally wrong with this show: here we have a revelation of how Earth is in some interstellar war. Great, that's what the show is basically about. How did we find out about this? Through a principal office meeting that feels more like a teacher-parent meeting. Now that's what's wrong. I can guess that Lagrange is trying to aim for the same angle as Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure where something big is working in the background while the onset is more or less all fruity and light-hearted. But it just feels wrong: there's no sense that the world is in grave danger. If anything, it feels like this is all one big playground.

It's weird, but I get the feeling they did it on purpose. I think the reason they'd have is that they want the tone of the anime to be light-hearted at this point. Think of what it would have been like if it had had a massive impact, I would have thought that there'd be a large mood whiplash. I don't think that was particularly well done, but it's not as bad as you make it out to be (or at least that's what I feel).

Anyway, I dislike Muginami, partly because of her trope personality, but her actions annoy me as well. Also, I really hate the cliched "Wow.... look at the new maid, she's amazing, I don't even think I've seen a real woman before now...". It annoys me so much, of course, the similar reaction with Ran should have annoyed me as much, but I found it slightly more amusing. It's fairly novel for an anime character of her personality to be useless at most stuff, or I have just forgotten a whole load of characters. I like Ran, she is the least annoying of the three pilots at the very least, though it's more that I've just decided to like her. It happens.

I think the show is relatively good, sure it had atmosphere issues, but with the aid of the incredibly low expectations I had, I'm liking this. Compared to Symphogear, this stuff is ****ing fantastic.

I've mentioned this before, but the Opening is fantastic, and it's a combined effort of the music and the animation. This Opening as a whole (i.e. not the just song) will probably be one of the best this year. I've said it, just a month in. I think it's a safe bet.

[AC]

5:

So... what the hell is a Vox supposed to be? The whole story seems to revolve around it, yet I don't know what it's supposed to do.