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REVIEW: Asobi ni Ikuyo: Bombshells from the Sky ep 1-6


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Charred Knight



Joined: 29 Sep 2008
Posts: 3085
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:30 am Reply with quote
This is definitly the suprise of the anime season, a great series that is utterly unique. I especially love how they use the various groups to satire various fans. Those assitdroids are amazing especially the scene where they try to commit suicide to atone for their actions.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:20 am Reply with quote
I'm aghast to see another fanservice show being reviewed by Key. I really am. Especially at how it earns high grades. I'm sure the show has an "A-" rating of story when compared to other fanservice shows. It's not hard when up against Ikkitousen/Needless/Kampfer/Kanokon/etc.

I hear great things about the show, but even after reading the review I don't know what makes it great. Maybe it's because all the mentions of "fan service" (7 times) don't exactly interest me.

Am I wrong in saying that this is a standard ecchi/harem/action show? If so, then why?
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ArthurFrDent



Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:06 am Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Am I wrong in saying that this is a standard ecchi/harem/action show? If so, then why?


Well, it depends a ton, a ton, on if you will watch even though there is fan service. If you can't stand that at all, or you are unwilling to look past it to see the rest of everything, then yeah, there is nothing for you.

But. If you watch the prologue and the action it entails, you will see some interesting stuff that isn't really servicey to begin... and you will see some of what the show can do. Since I'm up to date, the review holds no spoilers for me, but it does outline a lot...

Since all the other stuff has been covered, I want to hint at a few things. So far many of the inconsistancies that you might normally handwave, show up with more reasons in later eps. Watch it from the beginning and let it unfold before you. In seeing the latest ep not mentioned here, I think a few new things are being added, one having a great deal to do with a main character, but we don't know what it means yet. Though I have formed a suspicion. That's the FUN part of all this. You get your tropes, but they actually mean something and/or are finished in a way you didn't expect. Like the Alien attending school. Yeah we also get a sauna scene with the cathians having their various parts covered by assistdroids with signs... what happened next almost made me fall off my chair laughing. It was an important expositional scene, that keeps the other catians in play, but it is little flairs like that that keep it interesting. But pay attention to everything, because a lot of the plot points have more meaning than you think. Not JUST what is giggling.

In character development, I think there are some good nuances too, especially with the childhood friend. They have a wholly novel way for her to meltdown emotionally, and it was important to see it.

All in all, I think people who balk because it's a harem, and it IS... there is a girl for every kink in this one, shortchange themselves on every other thing going on. From all the detailed equipment and guns, to the backgrounds and such... to appealing characters. I think it's worth a free look.

Personally I hope they don't stop with 12, and that they license it for here sometime. I'd love to see this blu-ray. Also? I think the subs aren't as sorted as they could be, but that may be the speed with which they are doing this... I think we are only a week behind.
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Westlo



Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 1684
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:20 am Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Am I wrong in saying that this is a standard ecchi/harem/action show? If so, then why?


It's pretty much a hardcore sci-fi writer (Asobi ni Ikuyo has 14 light novels released) having some fun with the genre and its tropes.
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Fletcher1991



Joined: 14 Apr 2009
Posts: 514
Location: Long Island, NY
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 5:00 am Reply with quote
Well I was certain I wasn't going to watch this anime, but that A- rating just made me put it on my plan to watch list. Plus its short, minds well at least check it out I guess.
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kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1048
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 5:50 am Reply with quote
The main problem with "harem parody" series is this: they don't take the parody seriously. Yeah, they laugh at some clichés... but they still use them thoroughly.

You cannot laugh at a genre, then play by their rules and then saying that you're somewhat different.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:57 am Reply with quote
The fan sevice in episode five seemd a little forced in some parts but other then that I really think it's a great show it reminds me of Dears if Dears had no slavery element and was more self aware.
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extatix



Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 25
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:57 am Reply with quote
Somehow I've been watching a variation on this show with the same name. Weird. The Asobi ni Ikuyo I saw was a perfect example of a show I'd loved when I was 12, cute robots, violence without any consequences, fanservice without actually showing anything (if you don't plan on showing anything don't do fanservice, it gets old quickly) and a story with no depth at all.
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hissatsu01



Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 963
Location: NYC
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:04 am Reply with quote
I really can't see how this show merits an A-. I watched several episodes before giving up. Even if I could completely ignore the fan service, the thing it was best at was boring the crap out of me. I don't see how cosmetic changes to "generic loser suddenly mysteriously surrounded by girls" propel this show to that level. And as for "Another big plus is the near-top-of-the-line visual production," I agree... for the first episode. Production values rapidly fall off a cliff after the first episode. Lots of off model shots after that.

Edit: To me A- means an excellent show with minor flaws that keep it from being great. I can't see how this show even approaches greatness on any level.


Last edited by hissatsu01 on Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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Northlander



Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 900
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:47 am Reply with quote
I would be a bit leery about this rating too, but the show has actually been surprisingly funny so far. (I'm five episodes in, and only the third episode had some aspects in it that got on my nerves.) The funniest part so far seems to be the fact that about 80% of the characters in this series seems to be a member of at least one secret sect or organisation, and I'm sure the other 19% will be revealed sooner or later.

The only thing I'm wondering about now is... how does Elis hear with two sets of ears? How does her brain manage two sets of sound signals? Does her brain stem come with biological DTS circuits?
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Shichimi



Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Posts: 349
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:58 am Reply with quote
I don't know if I'd agree with the rating being quite so high, but I am really enjoying this show. Episode 6 is a highlight for me, as they seem to have gone back to the whole 'no alien looks like this!' theme.

As for the fanservice, I don't really think it's that over the top so far (although I haven't seen ep. 7 yet, and that's set at the beach). What really got me was the nonchalant way the catians treat sexuality; there's a whole running theme of them going into heat, which I imagine some people could see as being a bit much.

As someone else has said, this is the surprise show of the season. Smile
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18138
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:35 am Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Am I wrong in saying that this is a standard ecchi/harem/action show? If so, then why?


Honestly, the entire review is devoted to exactly that.
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Great Rumbler



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 327
Location: Oklahoma
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:23 pm Reply with quote
I gave the series four episodes to show me that it wasn't just another harem/comedy/action series, but all I got out of those four episodes is that another harem/comedy/action series is exactly what it is. That first episode really surprised me, but the next three episodes? Just par for the course for this sort of thing, unfortunately.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:40 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Megiddo wrote:
Am I wrong in saying that this is a standard ecchi/harem/action show? If so, then why?


Honestly, the entire review is devoted to exactly that.
But your review doesn't particularly highlight any part that makes Asobi ni Ikuyo stand out from the others.

Review wrote:
That is where this series' similarities to others of its ilk end, however. For all that this title firmly establishes itself as a Magical Girlfriend/Harem series, it also just as firmly strives to be something more. Here is the rare case of a fanboy-pandering series which actually dares to push the envelope of what can be done with its genre.

Okay, this got me particularly interested, because as I said, I have been hearing good things about the show, and I thought maybe I wrote it off too soon. So I awaited to see how it strived to be something more.
Review wrote:
Instead of being stupid, it deigns to actually be clever; instead of enslaving itself to clichéd genre conventions, it subverts many of them. Instead of merely relying on slice-of-life stories, it actually has a substantial underlying plot, serious moments of character development, and dedicated action scenes;

Lists can be really fun Key. I like lists myself. I use them to remember what to get at the grocery store for instance. However, in a review, they are practically meaningless if there is no substance to back up anything in the list. How is it actually clever? How is it subverting genre cliches? What is the actual substantial underlying plot, apart from "Bad people don't want aliens having fun"? I would have loved to see some actual substance in the review. If all I want is a checklist of what the show has, the ANN Encyclopedia does a pretty good job showing what genres and themes a show has.
Review wrote:
One does not have to look hard to find evidence about how impressively well-thought-out the series is. The notion of First Contact being with a busty bimbo like Elis has long been a staple of the genre, but the series turns that on its head by postulating that some might be violently opposed to such a gross violation of their image of what First Contact should be like.

I don't even undertand what in the world you're trying to say. How is that an example of a show being impressively well thought out? Am I understanding that there is a faction that is so opposed to what the first alien on Earth looks like that they take up weapons to fight? Cause that sounds really, really stupid.
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the Rancorous



Joined: 08 Feb 2006
Posts: 2248
Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys
PostPosted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:45 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
I hear great things about the show, but even after reading the review I don't know what makes it great. Maybe it's because all the mentions of "fan service" (7 times) don't exactly interest me.

I get the feeling you only focused on those fanservice mentionings and completely tuned everything else out. The review explained in great detail what sets this show apart from its ilk. And considering your avatar, I'm a bit confused by your stance on this show...
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