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ARGEVOLLEN (TV).


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L'Imperatore



Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 821
PostPosted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:11 am Reply with quote


ARGEVOLLEN (TV)

Genres: science fiction
Themes: mecha

Plot Summary: The story takes place in a world where two countries, Arandas and Ingelmia, have been warring against each other for a very long time. Tokimune, a young man belonging to the eighth autonomous unit of Arandas, saves a girl named Jamie when she is attacked by enemy forces. In order to survive, he rides the new weapon Argevollen and fights.
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One of two mecha-themed TV shows premiering this summer, the other one being the more-hyped Aldnoah.Zero.

Synopsis-wise, this one seems more of a traditional "Allied vs Axis" war story with down-to-earth battles (i.e. no space battles), and less philosophical content (not that it's bad, mind you. Just a matter of preference). Clichéd, yes, but who knows, it might pull some surprises! Wink


Last edited by L'Imperatore on Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:20 am Reply with quote
Not gonna lie, totally read that has "Shirogane ish not evangelion".

I'll probably watch the first two episode cause I'm a sucker for all things mech, but I don't see myself watching more than that.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:18 am Reply with quote
It was really generic and felt fast. The action imo was decent but I hope the story will explain itself better.

The theme song was good though so I'll keep an eye on more of that. And as for the mecha in the episode, the setup reminds me somewhat of Valvrave.
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ookamigirl



Joined: 15 Jul 2012
Posts: 2274
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:07 pm Reply with quote
Mecha everywhere.
Well, it is a state of war after all.
Halfway through, but not seeing anything that would peak my interest.
Still seems just like an average mecha anime.
Ah, so they kept the best for last.
Not surprised by their surprise that much.
Even though that spoiler[Argevollen] is pretty awesome in a fight.
Think I'm gonna skip this one.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:52 pm Reply with quote
This is looking promising, but it's seeming a bit dry.

The main character's voice is definitely gonna bug me, since he was in AoT and Log Horizon, he was the main character in Brynhildr (that I just finished) and Knights of Sidonia (which I'll be watching this season), and he's the main character in Hamatora as well.
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casualfan



Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 333
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:40 am Reply with quote
Episode 1 feels generic, riddled with cliches. Liking the characters and their interactions so far though so I'll try a few more episodes.
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Galap
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Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:50 am Reply with quote
Too bad it's not very well animated: the mechs look particularly bad, even for CG, and the drawn stuff that's there doesn't really captivate.

However, it seemed to have a kind of tilt I liked, that no one really knew all too much about what was going on, and most of them sensed that the war was a little bullshit but being in the station they were in there wasn't very much they could do about it.
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 3:28 am Reply with quote
Generic, boring, cliched, uninspiring, its tone is all wrong and it sports a hot-headed moronic protagonist who always sounds and acts like he has a rod up his arse.

I'll watch the next episode but I know in my heart I'm not gonna go far with this.
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Galap
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Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 3:49 am Reply with quote
Hmm... I'd say that the only thing I really liked here was the tone: I read it as kind of sardonic and jaded. How did you read it, and what was wrong there to you?
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:05 am Reply with quote
^
Everything was too clean, like how the ground was perfect and not stirred up, and there was no grime anywhere. All the uniforms were too crisp (the enemy's uniforms looked like parade outfits). And the soldiers were messing about in the forest cracking jokes despite their country's supposedly-impregnable main defensive line being breached just moments before. You'd think they'd be in shock or something. And the young woman just saw her commander being killed in front of her eyes and yet a minute later she's being ditzy and making fun of the MC's piloting ability.

How are you supposed to show how horrible and dangerous war is when it looks like a video game and no-one takes it seriously? I'm not saying that everything has to look like Saving Private Ryan but for goodness sakes, I want some gravitas. I want people to actually act like it all matters and that what they've seen and done affects them in some meaningful way.
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:12 am Reply with quote
Darn I was kind of enjoying the loud and slow moving mechs there. I think MC should be court marshaled taken outback and shot by firing squad spoiler[for disobeying orders, wrecking a mech, and putting the rest of the team in danger]. But hey since this is anime I'm sure he'll get a pass or it wont even be brought up.

dtm42 wrote:
And the young woman just saw her commander being killed in front of her eyes and yet a minute later she's being ditzy and making fun of the MC's piloting ability.

How are you supposed to show how horrible and dangerous war is when it looks like a video game and no-one takes it seriously? I'm not saying that everything has to look like Saving Private Ryan but for goodness sakes, I want some gravitas. I want people to actually act like it all matters and that what they've seen and done affects them in some meaningful way.

Agreed. They sure took their time about it too. If he was the real hot blooded hero he would have spoiler[ ignored her, thrown her over his shoulder and ran out of there saving her]. But then of course he would not have been able spoiler[to pilot the new kickbutt mech that looks vaguely like the one from Gargantia]. It would have been mildly interesting if he had just spoiler[saved her and then next episode they would have to backtrack and rescue the mech from enemy hands].

Oh well, I'll give it another episode or two. Maybe they will do something that might be interesting or surprise me.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:32 am Reply with quote
I liked it. I see Galap is doing his usual, "my eyes cannot handle any integration between background art and 3D CGI therefore I will automatically proclaim the animation to be terrible." Rolling Eyes I did notice that some of the non-mecha vehicles looked very rudimentary. I think - and I could be wrong - that that is a "rushed production" detail that might get fixed for home release.

I do find the MC annoying but hopefully he'll get modulated. I prefer mecha action when it is kind of lo-fi and ground combat based (as opposed to mecha in space or flying in the air) so I'm predisposed to like this (although clearly the Argevollen is not lo-fi).
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danilo07



Joined: 25 Dec 2011
Posts: 1580
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:29 am Reply with quote
The show would have been infinitely more interesting if it didn't pursue the whole spoiler["mysterious-prototype-kick ass robot scenario ] at the end.But I can't remember the last time a mecha anime tried tried to be even seemingly realistic , so I will eat this thing up.
As far as the humor is concerned, I don't know perhaps it is way soldiers cope with all frustration and stress they encounter.These are trained soldiers , who must be mentally prepared for any type of situation , so they could be using humor or even insults to vent out.There is a character in this episode that basically says the same thing to our MC.
I hope politics will be developed, the portrayal of war so far has been mature to a degree but there needs to be more to it.I am not expecting Gasaraki here , but just going in that direction will elevate this show.
I have no complaints about CG mecha really , it kinda fits their goal.All robots look clunky and ugly , which is kinda what they were going for.It is 2d animation that looks like crap , with character art changing every two seconds.Xebec is a small studio , it was obvious it couldn't handle two shows at the same time.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23667
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:41 am Reply with quote
danilo07 wrote:
I have no complaints about CG mecha really...

Presumably because you aren't someone who tries to make it look like he knows something by mindlessly croaking, "terrible animation, terrible animation!" every time a non-hand drawn mecha comes on screen (which for the last several years has been ALL of them).
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 9:07 am Reply with quote
Episode 1

Yeah, generic seems like a good word to describe this. Hands up for who foresaw spoiler[him piloting a special mecha when they saw the truck]?

Worse is that yeah despite everything is happening there is not the needed drama that should be for the situation. The lady scientist should be in a traumatizing situation yet not acting as such, and the team in general felt like they stuck a bunch of people together and they don't seem worried about the situation enough. I imagine a soldier doing that would be quite unacceptable, but I wonder if he will even be disciplined? Might watch.
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