Forum - View topicSoukou no Strain, mecha series from Studio Fantasia
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5466 |
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And no don't expect blatent cheap fanservice like their other works like Najica Blitz Tactics and such. After seeing the first episode, I thought it was pretty cute with all the usual, teenaged mecha pilot training stuff, but spoiler[the second half of the episode is where all hell broke loose, and it threw me off guard when the main female protagonist named Sara witnessed all her friends getting killed in action. And she comes to believe her brother (whom she tried to get in contact with thus the reason she became a pilot) was a traitor.]
Pretty good stuff here. And what surprised me is that this series according to this entry is loosely based on A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett. I also heard that some of the names are also based from the story the Secret Garden. |
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5466 |
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And then episode 2, spoiler[...Sara transfered to a new military academy, and she changed her last name because most likely she wants to sever any ties to her traitorous brother. She also lost her MIMIC which something she needs in order to pilot the STRAIN. So basically, she's back to square one and has to work her way up again. And not to mention she's stuck piloting a less powerful mecha. Luckily, she still kept her stamina up, but a lot of cadets were making her life far more difficult. Heck, someone broke into her locker, ripped her uniform (of which she still wore anyways), and stole her necklace her brother gave her. She pretty much looked like trash when she looked for it though in the end, she found some mechanical doll called Emily.
] Ayako Kawasumi pretty much rocks in her role as Sara especially being able to subtly change her voice tone with the given events that happened to her. Too bad this series started late though between this and Code Geass, Soukou no Strain shows a bit more promise. And you have to love Sara's character! 
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HitokiriShadow
 Posts: 6251 |
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While its not anywhere near Najica/Agent Aika levels, the series DOES have its share of fanservice.
I wasn't suprised at what happened in episode 1 because I remembered reading something about a series in which spoiler[a girl is training to be a pilot or something and her brother ends up being an enemy and leads an attack where she is living/training. While the blurb I read in Newtype didn't mention her friends being slaughtered, I figured they were going to be offed pretty quickly.] While I couldn't remember for sure that this was the series, I was pretty sure it was about 30 seconds in. It's also nice to see a female mecha/something sci-fi trainee who is actually competent and isn't the Loveable But Incompetent Klutz with Lots of Guts and Hard Work type, which seems to be the norm. Overall, it seems to be one of the better series this season. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6202 Location: Houston, TX |
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i wanna check this out based on the plot, but i just can't get over that crappy art style. it looks like another moe circle jerk series.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Characters were designed by the same designer for PantsGoblin's favorite seires. It's natural to be cute under her pen. Not to mention Sara has exactly the same pose as Milfeulle on posters.... |
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5466 |
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Episode 3.....oh boy!
spoiler[Well, the first half has some comedic moments especially with those two kids in the pit crew. And also the cadets were supposed to have training in that sub-light speed space. Of course the second half is where the enemies including Ralph and his badass Strain appeared and really teared through the defenses. Those cadets pretty much had no chance (not even that bitch Isabella....). With things looking really hopeless, it's all up to Sara who gets to pilot a specialized Strain where she uses that doll Emily as her MIMIC. Cues EVIL CLIFFHANGER!!!  ]
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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Episode three was frustrating because in the second half I knew it was just going to be a lead in to episode 4 more than anything else. Argg, cliffhangers.
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SnowfairyX
 Posts: 438 |
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This is probably a strange reason for me to want to check out a particular series but I was immediately interested as soon as I found out that the group subbing the series were the first ones that decided to work on Higurashi, also their very first project. Now knowing that the series is loosely based on A Little Princess interests me even more. I've never read the book but I've seen the most recent movie adaptation, which I really loved a lot. I've seen The Secret Garden as well, which was also a pretty good movie but I don't remember any of the character names. I've seen the first episode just very recently and it's pretty good so far but mecha is usually my least favorite genre. Still, it's pretty interesting based on its origins and the episode itself was fairly entertaining so I'll definitely be continuing watching it. |
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5466 |
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Episode 4 was pretty sweet!
spoiler[With Sara's newly, custom-made STRAIN unit (and with the help of her MIMIC doll, Emily), she was able to take on her brother at a pretty even match. She even had a chance to kill him, but obviously she didn't take it. Lottie tried to fight against him as well, but she's definetely underpowered. Supposedly the reason she has a grudge against him is that he killed her brother in the past. Some rather interesting things that happened in the Deugue. When Ralph was giving his report to Medlock, she was trying to seduce him, and Ralph allowed that to happen. And it rather intriguing that the real Emily and the doll Emily later on wears the exact same clothes. Hmmmm..... 
Despite Sara's performance on saving some of the pilots, she still gets bullied. But at least she gets to move to a new room, right? 
Of course next episode shows that the "bitch squad" which are Isabella's followers aren't going to take lightly on Sara.] |
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Zero89
Posts: 147 |
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Souko no Strain is a severely underrated show... then again, I have no idea why I like it... anyways, on to my question what's up with all the talk about spoiler[Sara using someone else's mimic---- didn't she do that in the first ep--- she was shot down by her bother, and then 'borrowed' some dead reasoner's strain, right?... ]
edit: sorry for this sounding weird... I'm high on nyquil right now... |
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omar235
 Posts: 1572 Location: Florida, Jacksonvile |
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Well I took a peak at the first episode and I have to say it was a pretty good start...I hope it gets licensed...yeah I know I have only seen one episode and already hope it's licensed but its just because I am a big mech fan and hope any mech anime gets licensed.
High on Nyquil...eh...careful you don't overdose or you might not post again for a few days...or ever.
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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Two episodes in, and I like it.
I expected this to stay light-hearted, fanservicey, and school life-oriented for at least a good while, but the twist I kind of didn't expect (spoiler[not so much the fact that her brother was the one betraying the Union and attacking everyone, but that everyone died and Sara just...leaves and any character or setting development in the former half of the first episode is rendered pretty much useless.]). I couldn't enjoy the semi-school life feel of the second episode too much because of my "what the hell happened?" reaction to the first episode, but hopefully at least something will be revealed soon. Sara said that "all that's left are questions", and she's pretty much right, because there's a ton of questions to be asked after two episodes. spoiler[Why did Ralph betray the Union? What happened between the time Sara last saw him and now? Why does he look so different? Is it actually him, or is it an imposter of sorts? Who is the girl he took away?] |
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darkchibi07
Posts: 5466 |
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Episode 5...ouch!
spoiler[The "bitch brigade" (also known to be Isabella's followers) pretty much tricked Sara into going to the basement. And that's where they ganged up on her and started beating her up. Sara, just took that beating without resisting; she pretty felt very sorry for herself of what happened in the last battle, and she still haven't forgiven herself for what happen to her original friends. Luckily, her Reasoner group came to save her from those girls. I bet it'll still be awhile for Sara to start opening up more, but this event might be a good starting point.] |
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shadow_guyver
 Posts: 307 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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It's a reasonable question. It's hard to get a good glimpse of, but spoiler[Sara is carrying her mimic around with her. Mimics aren't part of the strains, they can be taken out and put in. Kind of like memory cards for a videogame console. Basically she took out the mimic in the strain if there was one, and put hers in.] |
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HitokiriShadow
Posts: 6251 |
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I think it was a combination of spoiler[survivor's guilt and understanding what they were feeling]
I hope spoiler[she starts opening up soon, because her attitude is starting to get annoying. You have friends again! Not everyone hates you! Start talking to them, dammit! Of course, her attitude is somewhat understandable. If you don't get attached to them, it won't hurt so much when they die.] On a side note, Lavinia is... entertaining. The crew desperately needed a more lighthearted personality to balance out Sara and Lotti. |
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