Wakaranai

Rating:    

Masakazu Obara is best known for his directing of the successful Sunrise series Mai HiME and Mai Otome. His new project, Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo is finally a step from under the shadow of the Mai franchise as something completely new, (albeit retaining the same loose formula). Unfortunately, Sora Kake may not be able to match those prior series.

The first thing you notice about Sora wo Kakleru Shoujo is that the character designs have more colour in them than a rainbow, and their eyes seem back-lit by a strange radioactive glow. The result is a cast that look decidedly inhuman, with nary a strand of brown of black hair to be found. Anime in general is no stranger to this graffiti-esque palette of colours and tones, but I’ve never been a fan of it to this excess so I can’t help but say that Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo has emphatically entered ugly territory. The odd pink-haired loli doesn’t go astray (like in Index or R.O.D TV), nor the occasional blue-haired enigma (eg. Nagi-sama), but rendering the whole cast in fluoro is just bad taste. Despite some nice costume designs (especially for Nami’s Sheryl-Nome inspired outfit and the school uniform), the characters initially carry no appeal whatsoever. Given that this series, like Mai HiME and Otome, hinges on a cast of cute and moe female characters, this is a definite misstep. Try as they might, even the impressive vocal talent recruited for the series could not do enough to rescue their characters from downright unattractiveness. I’m usually relatively easily swayed by any moe characters that come along, but I have no interest in these characters whatsoever. Actually, I’ll have to admit that I did begin to warm up to the pink-haired protagonist, Akiha towards the end. The art direction seems to be the biggest flaw in the series, because once your eyes adjust to the blinding radiance of the colour scheme, you can see some interesting ideas and a solid premise emerge.

The series is set in a space colony apparently in orbit around Earth. It’s not hard sci-fi – all grit and realism is well and truly swept under the bed in favour of casual escapism. However, I did find that the setting was established quite well with some nice 3D work (except on the cars – only Production I.G can nail that) and background art. The technology is interesting to look at and some of the views of space were good. The premise, despite revolving around a typically genki girl, has some unusual elements thrown in. Akiha is a sibling in an elite and wealthy household, and , at the very start of the show she is told that she will be follow and arranged marriage immediately with someone she’s never met. I’m not sure how deeply the series will delve into this theme, but, at only 17 (and clearly still quite immature), her feelings of not wanting to miss out on growing up herself add an original layer to her character. The throes of a maiden heart are fascinating indeed. Another interesting plot point that adds a sense of mystery and menace is Nami’s character. I’m compelled by her strange behaviour when she was at the school entrance, breaking out into a nervous sweat when she seemed to be the subject of the nearby crowd’s curiosity. Some kind of trauma? Also, her apparent wish for everything to be destroyed was as surprising as it was chilling.

Moving further into the episode and you’ll soon find your appreciation (or lack thereof) upturned by the introduction of the charismatic and slightly nihilistic AI, Leopard. A self-professed Tea Meister (perhaps a Tytania wannabe?), Leopard is a lot of fun as the deeply flawed AI that has complete power over the mysterious, abandoned colony ship. His tumultuous and senile behavior ends up giving the show much of its character. In this respect, he has to vie with Imo-chan, who is similarly overflowing with character, but of the intoxicating, cute variety. Imo-chan is a plushy-style alien who is maid and school peer to Akiha and is so adorable that you just want to die every time she does anything. She is too cute. Like the alien from Kamichu episode 5, Imo-chan’s cuteness reaches the level where I no longer feel comfortable listening to her as a man and a human being over the age of 4. If a pet character is absolutely necessary, can’t they try and emulate the boisterous cuteness of Kero-chan?

Episode 1 wasn’t really worth watching; it was only rescued by the inclusion of Lepoard. I wouldn’t have watched it if I wasn’t already a fan of Mai HiME and Otome. This series falls far short of having the appeal of either of those two shows, however it does have a few interesting facets to it that could make the show worthwhile. The production was solid, unless, like me, you find it difficult to swallow the overly colourful designs. I reserve final judgement because there are still characters that are yet to be properly introduced (including two loli characters whose character designs actually aren’t quite horrible).

Ｅｔ　Ｃｅｔｅｒａ　。。。

◆ The series probably could have done with some fanservice as a cheap way to increase its entertainment value. All we got was a brief glimpse of Akiha changing, but didn’t yield any real service whatsoever. Perhaps, if we follow the Otome/HiME formula, episode 5 and 6 will offer some concentrated fanservice (they’ve gotta top panty-thieving and tentacle monsters though).

◆ “I CAAAN FLYYYY”. Leopard’s battle cry was clearly a reference to Eureka 7, the climax of which involved the protagonist, Renton, screaming that at the top of his lungs (although in Eureka 7 some unfortunate Engrish made it sound much more like “I CAAAN FRRYYYY”, a rather unexpected proclamation of his culinary expertise). I actually got the feeling that there were a lot more references I wasn’t picking up on too.