It is an anime that, every time me and my friend Zach Stanifer finished watching a subbed episode, we'd simultaneously look at each other and say "soooooo goooooood!"
Now, many people might right this anime off at first sight as a cheesecake magical girl show for guys to gawk at. And, while the protagonist is quite attractive and the outfits quite skimpy, but that's just a skin deep look. At the core the show is about amazing over the top action...
And this makes sense. After all, the anime is made by veteran writers and artists that worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and Gurren Lagann.
While essentially a tale of friendship and revenge, the execution and ideas flying around are what set this anime apart:
Ryuko Matoi is a new student enrolling at Honnouji Academ to seek revenge on his killer. The primary suspect is Satsuki Kiryuin, the school president and heir to a fashion empire. We quickly discover that this fashion empire has fairly fascist ideals, world-domination schemes, and that their passion for fashion kills. Satsuki and her cronies are equipped with special uniforms that give them incredible power. When Ryuko stumbles upon an experimental uniform made by her late father, she must use it to takedown her opponents and discover the truth behind her father's murder.
Her best friend in the series is Mako Mankanshoku, the other figure I'm reviewing, and serves as the comedic relief of the series to contrast the angst of our protagonist.
Her best friend in the series is Mako Mankanshoku, the other figure I'm reviewing, and serves as the comedic relief of the series to contrast the angst of our protagonist.
The themes of the show include the relationship between people and clothing, fascism (as fashion), friendship, rivalry, resolve, etc.
It is insane, beautiful, and hilarious.
If you're interested in watching it yourself, check it out HERE on Crunchyroll.
I like the anime so much I decided to buy some rather pricey but incredible Japanese Nendoroid figures of the show main protagonists (and eventually the villain) to help add some girl power to figure collection, fulfill some otaku needs, and generally just have too much fun with toys.
The format I'm going to use is rating the figures based on packaging, quality, pose-ability/functionality, creativity, and value.
So, without further ado, let's get to the figure review!