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REVIEW: Arpeggio of Blue Steel


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Minimimiau



Joined: 06 Oct 2013
Posts: 194
Location: somewhere on this planet.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:42 pm Reply with quote
The story in general was good, The animation was excellent but about the story the first 5 episodes are boring, but when the ship Kongo appear it becomes better and better.
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HitokiriShadow



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 6251
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:49 pm Reply with quote
I was originally going to skip this show entirely for being all 3DCG, because that is a road I really, really do not want to see anime go down. At least here the 2D/3D clash isn't an issue and while it was far from perfect, it was far more tolerable than I thought it would be based on the PV. Some episodes were even really, really good (Haruna and Kirishima's time in Maki's house, in particular; there were shots you almost couldn't tell it was 3DCG).

I did end up watching it and enjoyed it quite a bit. One of the top few shows of the season even. And it was the best selling show of the season, so good odds of getting a second season at some point.

Review wrote:

Arpeggio of Blue Steel is based on the eponymous manga by Ark Performance, so it does not have any direct connection to Kantai Collection, a “character card battle game” with a similar premise which is getting its own anime adaptation later in 2014. (That being said, there have been some cross-overs between the two, such as some illustrators from the latter working on end cards for the former and a special Arpeggio-themed event taking place in the latter in late December 2013, and the fact that the source manga for the former came out four years earlier suggests possible inspiration.)


Interestingly, the endcard for one of the Arpeggio episodes (around ep4, I think) was actually the first place the art for Shioi (KanColle's I-401) appeared. They didn't reveal her for the game until the event started right after the anime finished.
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EmperorBrandon
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 04 Oct 2002
Posts: 2209
Location: Springfield, MO
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:15 pm Reply with quote
HitokiriShadow wrote:

Interestingly, the endcard for one of the Arpeggio episodes (around ep4, I think) was actually the first place the art for Shioi (KanColle's I-401) appeared. They didn't reveal her for the game until the event started right after the anime finished.

Actually, that was the endcard for the first episode.
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Thespacemaster



Joined: 03 Mar 2012
Posts: 1095
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:38 pm Reply with quote
Ok if i have to b honest yes the CGI was not the best thing but it was far better than it was expected to be so u have to give credit to the animators for that.

Yes the Story was not perfect but considering that it deviated from the manga and yet still managed to actually tell a good story and finish it quite well is something to admire. Especially considering that a lot of anime which deviate from the manga usually end up quite bad.

The thing that really bothers me is that a lot of the characters from the manga as well as some of the more potential plot points were left out in this series, as well as that it left out a few plot holes, but if the creators can come up with a good second season that can handle these problem that it wont be much of a problem there still more potential story progression that can be made with this series.
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unready



Joined: 07 Jun 2009
Posts: 398
Location: Illinois, USA
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 2:41 pm Reply with quote
Theron Martin wrote:
... the story .. spends very little time establishing the foundation for its cast. ...; indeed, the story reveals almost nothing about them, such as why one character always wears a full face mask.

I generally agree, but the facemask is explained. In one episode where they're in dry-dock, one of the regular military guys asks him why he wears it. He responds that he has allergies.

Nit:
Theron Martin wrote:
... Asian Fleet of Fog leader Kungou ...

Kongou, not Kungou.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:37 pm Reply with quote
Yeah, I knew better on the spelling; that was just a careless typo that has been corrected.

I totally forgot about the dry dock scene mentioned, but even factoring that in I think the point I was making - that the crew should have been developed at least a bit more - is still valid.


Last edited by Key on Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Northlander



Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 900
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 3:53 pm Reply with quote
The mask one of the crew members is wearing is because of his asthma. They explain this in one throwaway sentence, so I don't really blame you for missing it. I was probably lucky in noticing it myself.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Maybe I'm not as technically astute as some but I never really understood what the problem people had with the CG in this series, I thought it was okay.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5521
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:28 pm Reply with quote
The manga is soooo different and better. They actually did more than "lol our ship is more powerful than yours" in the manga. It was more about tactics AND power instead of just power. I enjoyed the anime a lot but I think everyone that remotely liked the anime should read the manga too
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FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:50 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
The manga is soooo different and better. They actually did more than "lol our ship is more powerful than yours" in the manga. It was more about tactics AND power instead of just power. I enjoyed the anime a lot but I think everyone that remotely liked the anime should read the manga too

The Blue Steel Fleet were almost always at a fire power disadvantage, and even if they had a "trump card" of sorts Gunzou had to come up with a strategy that bet that the opponent would not call there game.

So I hardly think the protagonists had a "boring invincible hero" vibe that you seem to be implying.
(unless you are referring to the Fleet of Fog, in which case it makes sense to have the "villains" to have an overwhelming technological advantage)
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kevinx59



Joined: 27 Jan 2012
Posts: 959
Location: In sunny California
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Good review. I enjoyed Arpeggio a lot, but I agree, they really should have fleshed out Gunzo's crew (and probably Gunzo himself). Does the manga expand on them? I've read a bit of it, but I'm waiting to buy it, strike witches, and girls und panzer when it is released here. The animation was pretty impressive, although weren't the character's always CGI rendered? And what I found interesting was that the backgrounds themselves looked hand-painted and not CGI like the rest of the animation.
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Ronin2081



Joined: 28 Jan 2014
Posts: 127
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:20 pm Reply with quote
I did enjoy the series a lot and it didn't let me down the way the Coppelion one did; though I didn't like the end of the series with Kongou. The one thing that I wish though, which ties into what I just said, is that it followed the manga a little more since there were moments that helped to give more depth to some of the characters; Shizuka for example had more depth to her.
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MyssaRei



Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:53 pm Reply with quote
Actually, the story starts deviating as early as the aftermath of Takao's battle, though it becomes REALLY noticeable for anyone who's even remotely read the manga by the time the crew have to battle Haruna and Kirishima.

The removal of Hibiki, as well as the Hakugei and its crew, kind of messes with one of the points of that particular chapter -- that Humanity was starting to fight back with its own weapons (the Hakugei super-sub) on top of the assistance Iona was providing.

As for Harem-like, ah, I think Fence mentioned already that there's technically only two girls who're anywhere remotely interested in that way for Gunzou: Iona (platonic) and Takao (romantic) in the Ars Nov anime, while in the manga it's Takao (romantic) and Yamato (we don't exactly know yet, but she's watching out for him).

Takao's a bit of an interesting case too, as they weren't really planning on a "lead" female, but Takao sort of fell into that role. That said, the manga is an ensemble story anyway, as the plot bounces around the Blue Steel Fleet, to Haruna and Kirishima, to the European campaign, to whatever it is Yamato is doing with 400 and 402.
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Cyclone1993



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 947
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 5:55 pm Reply with quote
HitokiriShadow wrote:

I did end up watching it and enjoyed it quite a bit. One of the top few shows of the season even. And it was the best selling show of the season, so good odds of getting a second season at some point.


Really? That's certainly great news. Judging by the complete lack of discussion about it on the internet, I figured it was a flop. Not that I don't believe you, but I would like to see the data for this, I want to know what other series did well last season.

Anyway, I agree the beginning of Arpeggio is pretty slow compared to the rest of the series. I don't drop anime, but I did definitely stall on it after the first episode. When I went back to watch it, it ended around the Maki arc, and by that point I was beginning to like it. Then the last third of the series was phenomenal.

I even started reading the manga for it. (And Coppelion, which works A LOT better in manga form) I wonder how they will make a second season though since it did end up differing from the manga quite a bit. How long does it take to make a CG show compared to a typically animated anime anyway? Anyway I'd love to see more!
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MyssaRei



Joined: 12 Dec 2013
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:27 pm Reply with quote
Cyclone1993 wrote:
Not that I don't believe you, but I would like to see the data for this, I want to know what other series did well last season.


Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio -Ars Nova- *1,050+12,087=13,137 (Sanzigen)
2013/12/27 *1,050 Vol. 1 (Two episodes up to Vol. 6)
2013/12/27 12,087 Vol. 1

Reference. Thanks to the stat obsessive people over at Asuki for it.

Any anime doing over 5000 unit sales is doing pretty well, I'd say, and at more than 10k with just the first volume, Ars Nova qualifies.
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