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EP. REVIEW: Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation


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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:23 pm Reply with quote
Episodes #1-2:

OK, first off. I've already written about my opinions regarding Abe Atsushi voicing the main lead (if you don't have the energy to scroll to the relevant section - I love it). With that out of the way, let's see what this show offered thus far.

The premise of Gunslinger Stratos -THE ANIMATION- is quite easy to follow, but the plot itself might not be. As Lauren Orsini wrote in her Review, the interpersonal relationships start to get a bit complicated. With alternate version of the characters inhabiting the world as well, things do feel like we are taken for a ride and are expected to take note of all the road signs along the way. The main leads are "willing to be average" Kazasumi Tōru, his wannabe-girlfriend Katagiri Kyōka, her brother Katagiri Kyōma, his assistant? Aide? Romantically-interested in him? It isn't quite clear what her relationship with Kyōma is, but anyways, Rindō Shizune, and her sister (and the kids' teacher) Olga Janetine. That's quite the info dump, and is wasn't handled in the most graceful of methods.

But the premise itself is quite simple; in the future, there was an anomaly with the timelines, causing them to collide and both will be destroyed. In order to avoid that, exceptionally-talented people are fighting to save their timeline, but that means it will be at the expense of the other timeline. Their opponent? Their doppelgangers from the other timeline. As for why Japan of 2015, it wasn't explained, so I'm guessing some kind of a loop, or a self-fulfilling prophecy if you will, of Time-Traveling Fighters (from here on called TTF for short) are fighting in Japan of 2015. Why? Because there are a lot of TTF in Japan of 2015. Why? Because TTFs are battling there, and so on and so on... Might not be all that different from the Gold Rush to the West (where's the gold? Where there are people. Where are they? Where the gold is).

The animation department of the show leaves a bit of a bitter taste for me, because the PVs looked smoother, fuller, livelier, and overall had "more" in them, compared to the lower scale that is shown here. It still looks OK and the character designs look solid, but it still feels like something in the quality was lost along the way. As Lauren wrote in her Review, the designs are unique and easily-recognizable, but their movement is minimal, or at least not as rich as it should be in an action anime. I did like, however, the animation of the Energy Cube. Quite impressive.

Despite all that, I still find the show entertaining (again, mostly due to me bias when Abe Atsushi is involved, but not only that). The plot, despite being a bit intricate too soon, shows promise for something better a little further down the line. Also, the other seiyūs manage to capture their feeling and current state (stressed, relaxed, excited), helping building a believable world with relatable characters, and not something and sounds phoned-in or lazy (Denpa Kyōshi, I'm looking at you).

Let's see if Episode #3 can decide whether this show's "foot in the door" will lead to a "welcome home" or to a "please get out before I call the cops".


Last edited by Hameyadea on Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:52 pm; edited 2 times in total
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_Cyphon_



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 996
PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:48 pm Reply with quote
I was being attentive for the first few minutes of the show, and then I just couldn't stand it anymore. When that cliche "childhood-friend-jumps-on-back-of-main-character-to-say-hello" scene came up I just outright exited the video. And this art style is just....

I'll come back to it later if I need something to watch.
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DeSpawn



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 82
Location: Boston, MA
PostPosted: Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:27 am Reply with quote
I am finding the main character Boy & Girl character design to be meh at best...actually its the main male character that bugs me the most. Its a lets use children for our secret war game thing. But with Time Travel i have to reserve judgement till some more of that is fleshed out. Episode 3 kind of dredged on a bit but picked up in act 2.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:13 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Tohru has an incredible power he can barely control, and we saw a new hint of its manifestation as he pulled rubble through time to attack Sidune.

Is that what happened? I thought Remy did that, which led Sidune to put a knife to his throat for trying to kill her. If Tohru did it, why did he shove her out of the way? But I was also confused by his "not again" line. When did this happen before?

Clearly I'm not paying very close attention, since this hasn't really engaged me to any great degree yet. I'm still stringing along with it though, hoping it will make better sense soon.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:51 pm Reply with quote
I guess this is getting a little better, but the main thing I've noticed is that annoying spelling of Sidune, when the characters are clearly calling her Shizune. We ran into that z/d romanization in KuroBas too. Despite the discussion about it there, I still don't understand it.

The other thing is apparently it's not wise to talk about Sand Syndrome.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 2:38 am Reply with quote
While this isn't the "objectively" worst series I'm watching this season, it's the one I seem to put off watching the longest. You'd think the "who won" cliffhanger of last week would have brought me back sooner, but to tell the truth, I forgot all about it until the starting recap reminded me I was supposed to be in suspense.

Given that for 5 episodes this thread has 6 posts including this one, and half of them are mine, I'm apparently not the only one staying away from this. I wouldn't be surprised if Lauren was about to give up on it too, though the reviews have not been lacking. They're more interesting than the series has been.
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_Cyphon_



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 996
PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 4:46 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Given that for 5 episodes this thread has 6 posts including this one, and half of them are mine, I'm apparently not the only one staying away from this. I wouldn't be surprised if Lauren was about to give up on it too, though the reviews have not been lacking. They're more interesting than the series has been.

I was genuinely surprised when a notification popped up in my email saying, Ep. Review for Gunslinger Stratos has a comment! I actually had hopes for this, but I should've known not to put too much of my anticipation in a game adaptation. Granted there have been decent GAs, but except for a rare few none of them are anything special. If it tells you anything I literally dropped this in like 3 minutes of the first episode.
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Sat May 09, 2015 3:48 pm Reply with quote
Episode #6:

I wonder where, when, and how this 10-minutes video (official video by Square Enix. Japanese audio track only, no subs except for YouTube's "on-the-fly" ones and they are rather... Well... You know) fits in with the story of the TV show.

Also, I think the character designs in the clip are better than the ones in the TV show.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:27 pm Reply with quote
Episode 8

Glad I'm not the only one having trouble keeping track of what's going on. I assumed it was just me not paying attention and having a swiss cheese memory as usual. Like, I was surprised when he came out of the sandstorm, because I didn't remember him going inside it. Very Happy Is Dr. O evil now?

Lauren wrote:
If time phones were a thing, wouldn't we just call them phones?

No, as long as not-time-phones exist, people would make the distinction. We still call them cell phones to differentiate from land lines. Or at least I do, but maybe that's because I don't even have a cell phone.

I'll admit it was an awkward line though, like some 50's sci-fi character saying "Let's hop in my space car and go get some space lunch."
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23665
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:30 pm Reply with quote
Is this the thread where Gina is talking to herself? Wink I gave up about three quarters of the way through the most recent eppie. I don't think this is a terrible show or anything, but as I was watching it today, it just suddenly hit me: I don't care how this turns out or what happens to any of the characters. So, dropped.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun May 24, 2015 8:41 pm Reply with quote
I talk to myself in a lot of threads. This is just the most current one. Very Happy

I keep wanting to drop it myself, for the same reasons, but they keep throwing me measly scraps that bring me back. I think I might like it better if I watched several episodes at a time though, since I honestly can't remember what happens week to week.
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laureninspace



Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Fri May 29, 2015 8:41 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
I keep wanting to drop it myself, for the same reasons, but they keep throwing me measly scraps that bring me back.


If it makes you feel less alone, I will NOT be dropping it. I'm with it until the end! There are some parts of it I really like, bogged down by a lot of things that just confuse me. Luckily the reviews give me time to decompress and make sense of it all.
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chex mix



Joined: 28 Mar 2015
Posts: 415
PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2015 6:18 pm Reply with quote
Just out of curiosity, what redeeming factor(s) this episode even led to it deserving a D, not an F? This show has been unwatchable for a few weeks now and this week's episode felt like they absolutely literally copy-pasted a dungeon cut scene from whatever game this is based off of onto my television and claimed it was anime.

Seriously, because I'm trying to find something positive to finish watching this garbage for, and I've come too far to quit now. >>
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laureninspace



Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:38 pm Reply with quote
chex mix wrote:
Just out of curiosity, what redeeming factor(s) this episode even led to it deserving a D, not an F?


I've never given an F to anything before. Yes, the animation was poor, the music was nonexistent, the plot was unfortunate, but it was a finished product that could be watched by human eyes.

I believe an F should be reserved for something truly unwatchable. For example, I might give an F to Vampire Holmes.
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AnimeAddict2014



Joined: 16 Feb 2015
Posts: 925
PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:13 am Reply with quote
in this series people are dying left and right after showing up for 2-3 minutes (more or less)

like the old man (looks like some mafia boss)-- died after showing up for 1 minute??.. Confused
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