Arpeggio of Blue Steel...
I picked up Arpeggio of Blue Steel...
Arpeggio of Blue Steel has plenty of eye candy. The opening sequence featuring the Fleet of Fog pulverizing the last remnants of humanity's combined military might on the high seas, was absolutely beautiful to look at. Arpeggio of Blue Steel makes good use of flashbacks to get over the awkward early phase when our intrepid hero, Chihaya Gunzou, meets his new submarine/girl and starts the series two years after that meeting in the midst of their latest battle.
Early in Arpeggio of Blue Steel, there is quite a bit of death on exhibit as humanity's forces are obliterated, but, throughout the series, there is surprisingly very little red ink. Although, the combat vessels are personified as pretty girls, there's, also surprisingly, not a whole lot of fan service in the series. Make no mistake, there are a few scenes of scantily clad women and some suggestive dialogue, but, compared to other fan service heavy series like, Heaven's Lost Property, Arpeggio of Blue Steel is quite tame. Hyuuga's antics in the middle of the series are a little over the top, but, still quite tame.
On its face, Arpeggio of Blue Steel appears to be traditional animation with some CG elements, but, in fact, Arpeggio of Blue Steel is entirely CG. Occasionally the CG ocean elements don't come off as convincing as one would like and the backgrounds can be a bit generic, but, the vehicles and characters are well rendered. The character animation in Arpeggio of Blue Steel is not as ambitious as the character animation in Expelled From Paradise and as a result, its CG roots are not exposed as prominently.
In Arpeggio of Blue Steel, many of the pretty girls as weapons, do show some character development during the course of the series. Many of the pretty girls as weapons explore different aspects of humanity and question their roles as servile tools of the Fog. There is some humor in the series with Kirishima personified by a stuffed teddy bear toy providing some levity. Another interesting aspect of Arpeggio of Blue Steel is the aura of mystery throughout the series as the series deliberately leaves some important questions unanswered.
Overall, Arpeggio of Blue Steel has some issues with its animation, but, is still very entertaining and engaging. I found it easy to watch and re-watch the series. There is surprisingly little bloodshed and no naughty bits to speak of in the series. You'll need to read your anime as the series is subtitled only. Even with its minor flaws, I would be very comfortable giving Arpeggio of Blue Steel a 5 out of 5.
According to Wikipedia...In Arpeggio of Blue Steel, the Fleet of Fog came on the rising tides of the oceans. Where the waters swallowed the land, the ships of war, bearing far superior technology to anything humanity could produce, brought desolation to the armies of man.
Conquering the oceans, the Fog isolated the nations from one another. With no means of communication, and no ability to conduct trade, humanity was doomed, unable to inflict the slightest scratch upon the overwhelming power of the superior ships.
But not everything is lost. Despite the rumors surrounding his father, Chihaya Gunzou is following in his old man's foot steps by attending a naval academy. But while his father might be dead, or worse, defected to the Fog, Chihaya wants to gain the power to break the stagnation gripping humanity. And as it so happens, he gains that power when a mysterious girl approaches him, and claims she has orders to obey him.
As strange as it seems, the truth turns out to be even stranger, for that girl is Iona--that is, I-401 Iona, the Blue Steel, a submarine formerly with the Fog. Now Chihaya suddenly has the power he needs... even if he has to make an enemy of humanity to affect the change he desires!
A CG rendered anime produced by Studio Sanzigen titled Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova-, began airing on October 7, 2013... [and] features an original ending that differs from the plot of the manga.I wasn't sure what to make of Arpeggio of Blue Steel. At first glance, the series seemed like it might fall into the trap of pretty girls as weapons trope where the pretty girls as weapons spend too much time exploring the pretty girl aspect of their personas. But, the series starts with an explosive opening sequence that grabbed my attention immediately. Arpeggio of Blue Steel was exciting and engaging from the very beginning and didn't stop until the very end. I sat through the entire series in one sitting and then I sat through it again.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel has plenty of eye candy. The opening sequence featuring the Fleet of Fog pulverizing the last remnants of humanity's combined military might on the high seas, was absolutely beautiful to look at. Arpeggio of Blue Steel makes good use of flashbacks to get over the awkward early phase when our intrepid hero, Chihaya Gunzou, meets his new submarine/girl and starts the series two years after that meeting in the midst of their latest battle.
Early in Arpeggio of Blue Steel, there is quite a bit of death on exhibit as humanity's forces are obliterated, but, throughout the series, there is surprisingly very little red ink. Although, the combat vessels are personified as pretty girls, there's, also surprisingly, not a whole lot of fan service in the series. Make no mistake, there are a few scenes of scantily clad women and some suggestive dialogue, but, compared to other fan service heavy series like, Heaven's Lost Property, Arpeggio of Blue Steel is quite tame. Hyuuga's antics in the middle of the series are a little over the top, but, still quite tame.
On its face, Arpeggio of Blue Steel appears to be traditional animation with some CG elements, but, in fact, Arpeggio of Blue Steel is entirely CG. Occasionally the CG ocean elements don't come off as convincing as one would like and the backgrounds can be a bit generic, but, the vehicles and characters are well rendered. The character animation in Arpeggio of Blue Steel is not as ambitious as the character animation in Expelled From Paradise and as a result, its CG roots are not exposed as prominently.
In Arpeggio of Blue Steel, many of the pretty girls as weapons, do show some character development during the course of the series. Many of the pretty girls as weapons explore different aspects of humanity and question their roles as servile tools of the Fog. There is some humor in the series with Kirishima personified by a stuffed teddy bear toy providing some levity. Another interesting aspect of Arpeggio of Blue Steel is the aura of mystery throughout the series as the series deliberately leaves some important questions unanswered.
Overall, Arpeggio of Blue Steel has some issues with its animation, but, is still very entertaining and engaging. I found it easy to watch and re-watch the series. There is surprisingly little bloodshed and no naughty bits to speak of in the series. You'll need to read your anime as the series is subtitled only. Even with its minor flaws, I would be very comfortable giving Arpeggio of Blue Steel a 5 out of 5.
