First Impressions – Aquarion EVOL, Brave 10

[gg]_Aquarion_EVOL_-_01_(42m)_[9A9E2BF9].mkv_snapshot_00.51_[2012.01.10_22.54.06] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_05.10_[2012.01.10_23.25.43] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_18.49_[2012.01.10_23.40.12]


Aquarion EVOL – 01

[gg]_Aquarion_EVOL_-_01_(42m)_[9A9E2BF9].mkv_snapshot_01.22_[2012.01.10_22.54.36] [gg]_Aquarion_EVOL_-_01_(42m)_[9A9E2BF9].mkv_snapshot_02.41_[2012.01.10_22.55.56] [gg]_Aquarion_EVOL_-_01_(42m)_[9A9E2BF9].mkv_snapshot_08.38_[2012.01.10_23.04.12]

I tried to give this one a chance, mostly out of loyalty to Satelight and curiosity about Okada Mari writing a mecha series – and a sequel at that.  But to be honest, it just didn’t do a thing for me.  From what I can tell, we have a sequel set 12,000 years after the original Aquarion and starring the cast of Guilty Crown.  That all seems well and good, but the sense I got was that viewers are expected to be intimately familiar with the mythology and those of us who weren’t are pretty much going to be lost at sea.  I really felt as if I was dropped in  the middle of a story and not a terribly interesting one at that, though I’m sure the effect is different for hardcore fans.  The voice cast sounds pretty tired to me too – familiar actors doing familiar voices and boy, am I sick of Kaji Yuki.  I’ll give this another look next week, but it’s a longshot to stick.

Brave 10 – 01

[Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_02.53_[2012.01.10_23.23.26] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_08.25_[2012.01.10_23.28.57] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_09.22_[2012.01.10_23.30.04]
[Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_11.16_[2012.01.10_23.32.19] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_12.24_[2012.01.10_23.33.27] [Doki] Brave 10 - 01 (1280x720 h264 AAC) [66A50573].mkv_snapshot_16.49_[2012.01.10_23.38.12]

This one was pretty far down on my list going into the season, but I actually liked the first ep quite a bit.  This re-telling of the “Sanada Ten Braves” saga of Sengoku-era Japan from Studio Sakimakura (this is only their second series after Cardfight!! Vanguard) is certainly fujoshi-friendly, à la Hakuouki – a little too much so for me, to be honest.  But it’s lively and likeable, and even if it’s a cavalcade of bishies I’m always inclined to like a good Sengoku-era tale.  It’s a classic damsel in distress story – Miko Isanami (Satou Rina) is on the run after her shrine is put to the torch by Tokugawa Ieyasu.  The lone survivor, she sets off the find the Lord Yukimura Sanada (Morikawa Toshiyuki) and along the way is saved by wandering Samurai Saizou Kirigakure (Ono Daisuke) who reluctantly accompanies her to Ueda Castle.  While violent, the material is played pretty lightly, and Isanami is a fairly stock anime heroine.  But the premise is good and the writing fairly sharp, and it should be interesting to watch as Sanada gathers the Ten Braves together to defend Isanami, and perhaps find a way to co-opt the strange powers she seems to possess.  Plus, romance – both between Isanami and Saizou (though I’m sure there’ll be a reverse harem) and seemingly between Sanada and his page (for the Otome Road crowd).  This isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s fun and easy to watch.

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9 comments

  1. K

    Do I hear you on Kaji Yuki!

    But speaking of seiyuu, the cast of Brave 10 is the main reason I am watching. It would be nice if it turns out to be more than a guilty pleasure though.

  2. d

    Oh. Somehow the comments format changed?
    Brave 10 seems too bishie for me. Please, just please do not go down the Bishie Reverse Harem route. Please no. Just one Question: Why do they use their special skills to attack the pawns but not each other?

  3. Blogger, always changing things up…

    I suspect the reverse harem thing is inevitable.

  4. d

    Oooo Replies are now possible?
    Still a chance of not having a reverse harem as this show is mostly seen in the male's POV.

  5. Are spoiler tags now possible?

    Guess not.

  6. S

    I liked Brave 10. He had a good start for me.

  7. m

    To my surprise I rather enjoyed this quite a bit too. While I like reverse harem settings in games, most anime adaptations don't handle it very well, because they keep the heroines as bland as in the games (which works okay in an interactive story game, but not in other story telling forms.). Hakuouki for example annoyed the hell out of me, the heroine just has nothing that makes her interesting, at least in season one, I didn't bother watching the second. Anyways, I really do hope this series will, if any romance happens, focus on Isanami and Saizou. I like them together and I like Isamani more than I expected. 🙂

    I'm curious how this show will turn out to be, but I hope it will be good. :>

    I kinda started my own blog now, it's less about anime and more about video games and tv series, and more fangirling than revies… I linked you in my blogroll, hope that's okay. 🙂 (You can find the blog here: http://geekouts.blogspot.com)

  8. That's fantastic, thanks – I'll check it out!

  9. A

    I relish reading and looking at posts that make browsers want to make comments that create good discussion about what has been written about on your anime blog. Thank you. have you seen this anime's merchandise, its pretty amazing! Although I have some these toys that I collected from PIJ I’m excited!Its really cool! http://bit.ly/Aquarion

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