Post by Agai Lazen on Dec 7, 2014 5:48:21 GMT -4
I recently completed an anime called Robotics;Notes. Hot-DAYUM this is a good one. It's actually kinda hard for me to put into words what this show is like. Well, imagine a cross between the plot-centric episodes of X-Files and Gurren Lagann. But really, this show is so much more than that.
I guess I should start at the beginning. The series starts with the Tanegashima High's Robot Research Club, its sole members being Akiho Senomiya and Kaito Yashio. The two have wildly different personalities, Akiho being loud, outgoing and somewhat sensitive while Kaito is passive, tactless and apathetic.
Akiho's dream is to finish the robot that her elder sister started construction on, GunBuild-1, based on their favorite mecha show, Gunvarrel. This is where the Gurren Lagann-esque half of the show comes in, with the character interactions. Specifically, Akiho's (and by extension, the Robot Research Club's) refusal to accept defeat. The drive to keep on going to achieve your dreams no matter how hopeless it may seem. While Gurren Lagann was masterful at conveying this message, I dare say that Robotics;Notes does it much better.
With Gurren Lagann, after Simon takes back Lagann the battle is basically won from then to the end of the series. With Robotics;Notes, the cast has to go through many hurdles, each one being a traumatic and painful experience. The "never give up!" message rings so much stronger because of that. Often times the daily grind can get to us, lots of times we forget where happiness was, and start to give up on finding it. That's when we need guidance from our loved ones the most. If not family, then friends.
The X-Files half of this is when Kaito comes across a mysterious AI called Airi, and starts discovering documents that predict the near-extinction of humanity, called the Kimijima Reports. If the drama won't get you interested, maybe X Files-esque conspiracy will. A really neat tool used in the show is IRUO, an augmented reality interface. I love how creative they get with this tool, and its fitting with the 'age of technology' setting.
HIGHLY recommend this one, especially if you're a mecha fan like myself. Another big theme with this is the romance of super robots. We're all familiar with that, the robot of justice that saves the day with the power of love and courage. However, Robotics;Notes deconstructs it down in a very cruel way. What if Power Rangers (or Voltron) was propaganda meant to brainwash you? What if it ended where everyone dies, and cryptically predicts the end of the world? The Robot Research Club tries their damndest to reconstruct that image of hope that's been lost to time.
I guess I should start at the beginning. The series starts with the Tanegashima High's Robot Research Club, its sole members being Akiho Senomiya and Kaito Yashio. The two have wildly different personalities, Akiho being loud, outgoing and somewhat sensitive while Kaito is passive, tactless and apathetic.
Akiho's dream is to finish the robot that her elder sister started construction on, GunBuild-1, based on their favorite mecha show, Gunvarrel. This is where the Gurren Lagann-esque half of the show comes in, with the character interactions. Specifically, Akiho's (and by extension, the Robot Research Club's) refusal to accept defeat. The drive to keep on going to achieve your dreams no matter how hopeless it may seem. While Gurren Lagann was masterful at conveying this message, I dare say that Robotics;Notes does it much better.
With Gurren Lagann, after Simon takes back Lagann the battle is basically won from then to the end of the series. With Robotics;Notes, the cast has to go through many hurdles, each one being a traumatic and painful experience. The "never give up!" message rings so much stronger because of that. Often times the daily grind can get to us, lots of times we forget where happiness was, and start to give up on finding it. That's when we need guidance from our loved ones the most. If not family, then friends.
The X-Files half of this is when Kaito comes across a mysterious AI called Airi, and starts discovering documents that predict the near-extinction of humanity, called the Kimijima Reports. If the drama won't get you interested, maybe X Files-esque conspiracy will. A really neat tool used in the show is IRUO, an augmented reality interface. I love how creative they get with this tool, and its fitting with the 'age of technology' setting.
HIGHLY recommend this one, especially if you're a mecha fan like myself. Another big theme with this is the romance of super robots. We're all familiar with that, the robot of justice that saves the day with the power of love and courage. However, Robotics;Notes deconstructs it down in a very cruel way. What if Power Rangers (or Voltron) was propaganda meant to brainwash you? What if it ended where everyone dies, and cryptically predicts the end of the world? The Robot Research Club tries their damndest to reconstruct that image of hope that's been lost to time.