Series Information
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OP: “Atashi no Machi, Ashita no Machi (あたしの街、明日の街)” by Hitomi Takahashi
ED: “changes” by Base Ball Bears
Production: Production I.G

[ Episode 1: Underwater Island Drive - ウラシマドライブ ]

Plenty of talking in this library.

Censorship. You hear this term a lot nowadays, especially now that a specific game about stealing cars is out and everyone is going amok about it. Imagine what would happen if there would be a force that confiscate anything that considered lewd or offensive by any means necessary. This is the plot of Toshokan Sensou. Our main heroine, Iku Kasahara, is attacked by the Media Improvement Act, those who enforce heavy censorship among the citizens, for holding the last novel of her favorite fairy tale book. Before she is sent in to jail by defying their orders a mysterious officer stands up for Iku claiming he is part of the Kanto Library and cites his rank as an officer. Because of his act of bravery, Iku decides to join the Kanto Library, those who retaliate against the Media Improvement Act’s ludicrous actions.

Despite the heavy introduction on the laws of the show, the rest is quite lighthearted. Iku’s training involves lectures and physical training such as karate. It would have been easy if instructor Dojo wouldn’t depreciate her every time, which leads to some tension between the two. What is refreshing is the fact that Dojo, despite being 5 meters shorter than Iku, still acts like an authority figure and disciplines her. You can sense in the character sense of awe despite his shortcomings (pun intended) and despite Iku’s constant ridicules, she respects him a lot. The two characters share a lot of the funniest moments of Toshokan Sensou, which result to many SD expressions on Iku’s front. Many people don’t like the cartoony approach to a serious story like this, but I love it since it gives it a personality.

It is outrageous when it wants to be, but gets serious when it needs to. My favorite scene in the episode was the attack by the guy in the bathroom who stole a magazine for the centerfold picture and he attacks Iku with a knife. She stops him but she is punished by Dojo for not cuffing him when she is claiming she have him subdued. It clear he has feelings for her and knows she is special, but she still acts cold to her so she can improve. In the end of the episode when Iku is rescued by Dojo and two more officers, he is covered by the same glowing light that engulfed the mysterious officer in Iku’s origin, making the viewer believe that he is the same person who helped her when she was in high school. Though it is not him, I loved his entrance because it had a symbol of awe with all the effects around him making him an envoy of justice, a mantra Iku follows religiously, thus resulting to her eventual crush on him. If there is going to be one.

The art style is unique with the many caricatures involving Iku’s reactions. It is also noteworthy to point the character’s outline is a lot bolder than most anime, which allows it to differ from many as it uses unconventional drawing techniques to distinguish the character even in the less abnormal scenes. The animation is excellent as you’d expect from Production I.G. The battles such as the karate one and the attack in the bathroom were really brief, but still had some of the best animation I have seen this season. Nothing in Toshokan Sensou feels choppy and it adds to the immersiveness of the show. The OP and ED themes are excellent as well. It’s been a while I loved a Hitomi Takahashi song (last one was Blood+ OP, Aozora no Namida) and her new performance is more soothing than usual, but it fits the mood perfectly. The ED is done by Base Ball Bears, who have been known beforehand by their OP to the hardest anime an American can ever pronounce: Ookiku Furikabutte. Both songs are great and the ED is already out so you can look for that one, I recommend it.

I don’t understand why many bloggers don’t like Toshokan Sensou. The plot is intriguing, the animation is fluid and the characters are not stereotypical at all. I definitely recommend the first episode to watch and I hope that like me, many would enjoy the different universe Toshokan Sensou created. Just make sure your books aren’t due.

9/10

Toshokan Sensou is bursting with AWESOME. That one sentence sums up the majority of my feelings for this show based on this one introduction episode. Honestly, this ranks extremely high on the best first episodes of the spring selection. One thing I noticed was that I was thinking of Real Drive a little after the episode ended. I’m not sure if they share anything in common (I haven’t really thought about it) but they both are two of the more refreshing titles I’ve picked up since the start of Spring.

Firstly, the characters. I really like Iku. She’s the kind of female protagonist that I wish I could meet in real life since she’s a pretty exciting person. She’s pretty strong and, like myself, really loves books. Her interaction with Dojo, her instructor and the male lead is pretty hilarious most of the time. Their relationship so far is pretty dynamic and I really love seeing them together. I also find the fact that Iku being 5 inches taller than Dojo to be quite funny, though despite that Dojo still owns her almost ever chance he gets.

Two of the best scenes in the episode are when that thief was taken down by both Iku and Dojo in the bathroom. That showed a perfect example of how sleek and fluid Toshokan Sensou’s animation is and I’m looking forward to more of it as the series progresses. The other is the scene near the end which paralleled Iku’s situation which took place at the beginning of the episode (in her past). I thought her standing up was pretty awesome but it quickly turned hilarious when she figured out that she didn’t have the authority to claim books for the Library Force. It’s a good thing Dojo and others came to help her though. Still, I felt as if she could have taken those three Media Cleansing agents but who knows what would have happened if she did. As far as I can tell, we probably haven’t seen the full cast yet but I’m hoping to see more Dojo’s friend and Iku’s roommate. Though I’m not sure how that’ll work out since Iku is now apart of the Task Force.

The OP and ED songs are absolutely amazing. They get me going and overall it’s great to be hearing from Takahashi Hitomi and the Base Ball Bears again. I’m definitely grabbing the ED single since it’s out right now. I think I’m going to loop that sucker.

Lastly, I really hope that more attention is paid to Toshokan Sensou especially in the blogosphere. It really deserves the attention as the characters (particularly the main) are likable, the story is unique, and the animation as well as the music are all excellent. You owe it to yourself NOT to miss this, even if you’ve never been in a library in your entire life.