Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

Series Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
Genres: Action, Science Fiction, Mecha
OP: [Kitei no Tsurugi] by ALI PROJECT
ED: [Ame ga furu] by Maaya Sakamoto
LINEBARRELS OF IRON Official Web Site

[ Episode 1: Boy and Iron ]

GONZO’s latest effort is their adaptation of Kurogane no Linebarrels, a manga penned by . I was originally attracted by this simply because it was mecha. Then, as time passed by, I happened upon the manga and really well-put-together trailer featuring one of my favorite artists, ALI PROJECT. After watching the first episode, I must say that I enjoyed it…with some slight confusion. The characters introduced so far are interesting but didn’t really get much time to shine when compared to those in other first episodes so far this season. The production values appear to be GONZO’s standard fare as of late (aka NOT Dragonaut). The animation isn’t particularly eye-popping but it’s decent nonetheless. Oh, and you know that since GONZO is involved that there is CG. It’s better than normal though. The character designs are what to be expected of Hirai Hisashi but I would’ve preferred to see the designs seen in the manga despite liking the use of his work in series such as Gundam SEED and Heroic Age.

There is one thing that I must question though since it was pretty hard to overlook. Why didn’t Kouichi notice that he had a massive blood stain on his clothing? Something like that is pretty hard to miss…isn’t it? Some parts also felt rushed, especially when you compare Kouchi at the beginning of the episode and at the end. That was a pretty sudden switch in personality if you ask me. Also, questioning how Kouichi could pilot LINEBARREL is pretty pointless given that there is always some kind of explanation given later on. I am curious as to what Emi meant by Kouichi being dead. He obviously isn’t by normal standards since he is walking around and busting up walls and leaping tens of feet into the air. More than likely it has something to do with why he now has those abilities. Emi’s origin is also a matter of curiosity for me. She obviously isn’t a normal human given the current circumstances. Also…why did Kouichi have to touch Emi’s breast to summon LINEBARREL? Oh, I did laugh a bit and I’m not complaining but it just seemed to be kind of WTF at that moment.

Anyway, I’m glad to see that Noto Mamiko is lending her talents to Emi’s character and look forward to hearing Hirano Aya and the ever-awesome Fukuyama Jun. Overall, Kurogane no Linebarrels wasn’t exactly the strongest first episode of the shows I’ve seen so far for the fall season but it shows that it has potential which is more than enough to keep me watching.