Chrome Shelled Regios - Reviews

Another title that I've seen where the sum doesn't equal the parts. What went wrong here was bad plot management and character development.

Story:

The story itself had a lot of potential for greatness, and in some ways it was great. Sadly due to bad plot management and a poor resolution, that is to say almost none, it just tore down what would have been a good story. Episode transitions were sometimes confusing at best, and outright nonsensical at worst. I never did get the "mini-series" in the show, it seemed like they were trying to go for something and came up short.

Animation:

The art here was quite good most of the time, the action was fluid and detailed, most of the characters were uniquely drawn, but they had to go with crazy hair colors for some reason. The landscapes were great to look at but the cityscapes just seemed cookie cutter to me.

Sound:

Once again, nothing in here that made me swoon, as is usually the case since I never really pay much attention to it. Unless something really sticks out in either direction this is a category that's just there.

Characters:

There were several characters here so I understand that it was hard to do much in the way of character development, and some really did grow and change to some degree. Sadly there were a lot of characters that mostly only managed to annoy me. The male lead was especially confusing since he never seemed to solidify as a particular type but waver from several in any given episode. There were also lot of characters where they didn't tell you anything about them but just seemed to be there as background noise. There was almost no resolution in the interactions so the show really seemed to go nowhere.

Overall:

Sadly there were just too many issues with this title that I couldn't ignore or overlook, It's worth watching if you have nothing better to do but I still say try to find something more worth your time first. I couldn't help but feel lost half the time because a lot of these characters seemed to have background stories which they didn't share. I suspect this was based on a video game and that's where those stories are. This may be where the show failed as a whole since it didn't take into account that there were non-fans of that game watching without a clue as to what was going on. If I'm wrong, and there was no video game for this title, then the show was an epic failure and even less worth your time. :P

Chrome Shelled Regios.

 

Wow... just absolutely wow. For only 24 episodes, this anime had an 80 episode ambition. Infamously noted as a series for pushing too much into too little time, it was exactly as they all said. Chrome Shelled Regios was an interesting, fun anime that collapses under its own weight.

 

Story: Story receives a split decision from me. The story itself is really damn interesting, but the way the show carries it out is not. I know it must sound confusing, and I'm not entirely sure how to better explain it. Had the show been 50 episodes long, it would have been a tour-de-force of an anime. What we are instead left with is a confusing spider web of plotlines, which never get quite tied up, or for that matter go anywhere. A character named "dick" shows no real purpose besides being a sort of Deus Ex Machina, the wolf mask gang is never described in detail as to who they actually are. Even the main bad guy is only mentioned briefly, and projected as if ready for a sequel, however nothing has been announced. I suppose in short, if a second season starts up, this show may reclaim itself, but as of right now, it just didn't reach the stars it was hoping for.

 

Animation: The animation for CSR is wonderful. Vibrant battle scenes, imaginative cityscapes, and creepy insect monsters all make this an enjoyable watch. There is a large amount of ecchi fanservice, but it is never too horrible, and not every female character has size 400quadruple-D breasts.

 

Sound: Sounds was above average. Good voice acting, and great soundtrack.

 

Characters: This is another point the show fails at. All the characters go through so much transformation, without actually doing anything, that it bogs down the storyline and annoys you. Layfon can never truly decide if he should fight for himself, or others, or his city, or his pride, or for his lols. To be honest, the only two characters I enjoyed at all were Nina and Felli. Nina plays a great character because of how dark her character becomes. It's refreshing to see a character depressed because of someone else with a greater power. Sure, every action anime has an envious character, but I can't recall ever seeing a character that breaks them down trying to make up for the shame of not being as strong as them. It's a wonderful comparison. And Felli is a great character because she starts off as not being able to feel emotion, and through a storyline of love, and teamwork, she starts to be able to pick up on them a little more. It's subtle, but sweet, and she's incredibly adorable.

 

Overall: Overall, the series will get 7 out of 10. It was a very interesting storyline that became strangled by its own ambition, full of initially intriguing characters that turned out to be stagnant. I feel as though this storyline would be better told sitting down and explaining to a friend.

 

 

I recently watched this again and remembered what I loved about it and hated about it.  I rate it pretty high but I can not put it at the top of my list.  When you create harem themed stories, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, not that I particularly love the theme, but if a story goes there, then it works better if it is done right.   A few basic rules apply: first, it must be believable, if the main character is some random loser, not rich, not powerful, not of royal blood, not exceptionally good looking, or the world he or she lives in is not imbalanced gender wise or some other reason why many people would partner with one, then would it work? or be plausible?; second, mostly harem stories are about lies.  If the main character leads on others and never commits to one or tries to have them all, it is like they are deceiving the others.  There are times where some would-be partners would not mind this or accept it but in the settings of many anime it doesn't reflect how rare such a thing truly would be unless there were changes as listed in the first condition.  I don't like lying myself, not that I care if it is part of a character but if that character is supposed to be a hero then it reflects expectionally badly on their potential hero status and might actually make bad guys more empathizing, well at least it does in most harem settings because it will more often than not hurt that character or at least you will feel their pain as a viewer.; A third reason is, it reflects badly on the support characters to see it or accept it especially if it hurts them or others and yet those involved keep competing so overly enthusiastically.  This enthusiasm would be somewhat more believable if the characters were going through mid life crisis or felt their biological clocks were ticking down but not something I'd expect to see in most anime given they are centered around much younger characters.  Chrome Shelled invests heavily in the 'harem' theme but not in a good way, in fact it is in a deplorable way.  No one seems to care that others are after him and Leyfon never seems to get they are interested so even if he was focused on one, they are all hurting.  Bad Leyfon.  None of them have a strong enough bond that I can even see a potential love interest and the least of which is Nina.  I never sense anything there at all other than boss/employee bond or a friendship bond maybe.  Yet, I feel the story tries to force this least plausible/acceptable mismatch down viewer throats with the flimisiest of reasons to do so.  

There are three major negatives about the show that drag it down from being top notch rating and ranking in my book.  I just mentioned one, a harem theme but one done badly.  The next is the illogical flip to another story which makes no sense.  It has no connection to the story whatsoever and nothing is ever really mentioned about it until like episode 11 when you see 2 characters watching a tv screen and discuss paying more.  Sorry but that is not enough to explain it and it comes way to late.  I now fast forward that nonsense to watch the actual show, but I did watch it once or twice.  That is just bad storytelling inserting something that makes no sense and has nothing to do with the story and never making a valid reason to connect it in anyway to your story.  Because it never happens.  More somewhat loosely so, is offered later, like the Queen mentioning Saya, whom I suppose is a character in that show, but what it signfiies is so murky I can not say it has much impact on the story.

The third thing is the red head freakshow that only shows up when 'electronic spirits' are involved.  He has no character or reason to exist, and shows up so rarely nothing ever comes out of what he is then again even if what you see might be considered something, it is a bit late and too muddled to matter.  They do not say much about the other 'heaven's blades' but at least you get an idea who they are, what they are, and that they exist, and even have a purpose, but you do not with the red head interloper, Muscaine.  Near the very end when this interloper shows up for the last time, it is mentioned his world was lost, but again, that is so vague and disconnected to the show, I just can not see any correlation whatsoever.  If there is supposed to be one, then they did a horrible job of establishing that.

The things that make the story good are Leiyon's backstory.  He was punished for trying to survive.  Apparently being a 'heaven's blade' doesn't pay much.  If the queen was so concerned you would think she would have made the rewards great enough not to risk members going for moonlighting work to make ends meet.  If they did not pay enough, then she should have provided them with some other means to make up for any lack of finances her 'blades' might require.  The queen is a total pervert who hits on what is essentially her step daughter because she is the offspring of her ex so thats like her step daughter, it is not quite incest but it has an air of creepiness none the less.  It is never clearly made what her relationship with Leyfon is, whether she is a childhood friend, girlfriend and promised one, or more like a sister.  Of all the girls in Leifon's life however, knowing her best and longest, you would expect he might have an inkling if there was some romantic interest in him that he would at least be vaguely aware of it even if he was extremely dense.  I have heard the story strays a bit from the novels and manga, but I have not seen anything that was extremely negative.  The dub is done quite well as are the sounds and sound effects.  The electronic spirits are confusing as there is never any real indication of what exactly they are or how they work.  Several characters have hidden abilities or hidden powers and/or secrets they keep from others.  That is part of the appeal and watching them get pulled back here and their is part of the fun.  Leyfon is a mostly good character but sometimes puts on jerk/super ahole mode which adds depth but risks damaging his good guy hero status as well.  You do not see it very often, but it is a bit confusing why it happens if he has no interest in others or only helps people then the reasons he gets snotty don't really add up.  It is like he blames others for his problems and takes his anger out on everyone around him when he gets in that mood which as I said, makes no sense.  

Leyfon has extraordinary skills he shows and how much he has might impress you compared to other characters.  The on again off again love interest from the cook is cute but a bit uncertain. He saves her multiple times, but I can not tell if it is real love she has or if she is just so grateful he saved her that her appreciation confused her or maybe it is just a crush based on admiration.  Fili is the next most confusing love interest possibility behind Nina since she likes to insult or physically abuse him every time they make contact and he does not seem to like that so why she thinks she has a chance boggles the mind. Realistically only Leerin and maybe Mayshen have a chance at love with him unless the anime's creators have a totally screwed up since of what love is.  The flashbacks to Leifon's past in Glenden are revealing and the Queen's uncertainty about his status and assigning a new blade is telling.  Either she knows something about him even he doesn't or she doesn't blame him for what he did or maybe she is afraid to offend her would be step daughter, Leeshin.  

Most of the characters are quite well developed even many of the ones that don't appear much or appear later or are only support characters, except for Muscaine.  Zuellni is an annoying character who appears to be a rather oddly mature toddler yet is mute but hangs around Nina for some unknown reason yet in Mayeth, you get the sense it is bad to get too close to any city spirit, so we are given confusing signals about the nature of 'electronic spirits'.  Zuellni is cute but her confusing conflicting natures are an annoyance.  She looks like she could be 25 or 30 years old but her body is more like a 4 year olds yet she acts like a mute baby, so I really do not know what to make of her.  To me it is a bit like having ketchup with peanut butter on a chocolate covered pork sandwhich, a combo most people probably would not dream of, and yet I see it in Zuellni.  She's an annoying character but does not show up often or significantly enough to greatly effect my review of the show.  The enemies are a tad repetitive being all giant robo bugs with mutation powers and super hard armor that can at times possess people just like stray electronic spirits, confusing huh?  This is a rip off I suppose of the classic horror film 'Screamers' but not done as well.  Students have competitions but oddly I never actually see them in class and rarely see anyone in a school building.  Kind of odd cause, there are few teachers at The Irregular At Magic High School so there might be a reason you would never see a teacher or classes there yet it still shows both at times.  It plies Leifon's backstory as tragic and necessary but it is never exactly made clear why that was so necessary.  We hear the city's life credo is 'surive at any cost' or something to that effect which is why Leifon though somewhat a nice guy has a few screws loose.  However, if that was the city's credo and he was only doing what the city and life there taught him, why was he punished for doing what he was supposed to do?  It is a bit confusing.  Those mysterious oddballs in hoods and dog masks have more character build up and depth than Muscaine oddly enough.  Gorneo has a beef with Leifon concerning his past, but I have to wonder, if Gorneo knew Gahard so well, why didn't he know what kind of scumbag he was?  It never occurs to him he might have deserved the treatment he got?  It's a bit of a mystery.  The side stories with the cop friend, Naruki, are refreshing and contribute to his nice guy nature and need to help others and a nice distraction from the overall story arc and the wars against other cities and bugs.  

Chrome Shelled is a pretty good story but it is plagued with bizarre mysterious that make significant plot holes that are never unravelled.  It has at least 3 major nuisances dedicated to dragging the show down cause these elements are either done so poorly or done in a way that adds nothing to the show or distracts from the show rather than adds to it.  It has a strong enough setting and situation to pull your attention in but those open ended questions that are never answered might well undermine the success of that pull.  

I'm really torn when writing this review. I feel like this anime could be absolutely amazing, because it is, and yet it isn't. For starters it needs to have about 50 more episodes. I feel like the creators intended a very long series and had to wrap everything up very quickly.

Story 6/10

The story is pretty interesting and has a lot of potential, however there were just too many plot lines brought up and left hanging. There are concepts that are simply short-lived and there are incidents that happen on the basis that it will be explained later...but they never get around to it. The whole idea of this badass kid trying to fit in like a normal person and not being able to because he's so badass is just great. But there are about fifty other things going on that tend to take away from the "main plot". Like I said before, if the series had more episodes and could be spread out a little more, than I don't think this would be a problem. The setting of a dying world with moving cities run by electronic fairies is pretty neat, but there again is a whole story (especially the Haikizoku) that is never really clearly explained or resolved. You've also got the 11/12 Heaven's Blade receivers that are never really introduced, the whole story going on with the queen and Leerin, the whole story with Leerin and Layfon, the inter-platoon relations, Layfon's past, Nina's past, Layfon's many relationships with many young women, Nina and Dick and Saya, the Psyharden, oh and the ongoing search for Selenium which again is kind of a fuzzy topic. Plus, you never really get an explanation for the black and white, semi-TV show/might be another world story with absolutely awful English that interrupts the show every episode.

 

Animation 8.5/10

The animation is pretty sweet. The fight scenes with kei and dites are really fun to watch and I really enjoyed the animation for using kei by itself to increase speed, throw up a shield etc... There were a few scenes with simple face panning and then simply sword to sword meeting that dropped the rating of this category overall, but I did really enjoy most of the fight scenes.

 

Sound 8/10

I don't usually pay much attention to sound quality and such, it's only when a track annoys me that I tend to rate this category differently.

 

Characters 9/10

I rated this category pretty high but for a just reason, most of the characters are just great. Layfon alone could run the show for me. He's goofy and awkward and turns into a ridiculous fighting machine. However, you never can really gauge the power level of Filth Monsters from Layfon. One minute he's cutting through hundreds of them and the other minute he's taking days to defeat one. I realize there are different stages and such, but I also feel like maybe that classification got thrown out towards the end when they are trying to wrap everything up. But that aside, Layfon was a pretty legit main character and it made me sad to see how awesome he could be (in the last episode) and know that I wouldn't get to see anymore. Nina was kind of a downer to me, but she never really annoyed me or anything. Her fighting style is pretty cool and her whole story with the fairies and such could have been a neat side plot. Felli was another favorite. Her powers and attitude towards Layfon made her a very likeable character. The other platoon members and students were also, for the most part, pretty interesting. You only get a few episodes with the big guns from Grendan, which was upsetting because some of them looked pretty friggin sweet.

 

Overall 7/10

A little above average is the perfect way to describe the series as a whole unfortunately. Like I said before, so much potential! Don't get me wrong, it's definitely worth watching but just don't expect any closure of any form. I'm hoping that the series will get picked back up again someday and someone can help it reclaim its full potential.

Another time, another review.

So many great ideas went into this story, but so few of them were played out. It's sad when a show has so much potential and then very little comes of it.

I persevered through all the disjointed, sloppy story-telling in the hopes that everything would be woven together into a satisfying, or at least understandable, whole. It didn't in the least. In the end, though they kept hinting at the big, amazing back-story that must exist somewhere out there in the cosmos, I was left with the impression that they were just making stuff up as they went along.

The fights were fun to watch, and there were some interesting character ideas. Character design was pretty poor, sometimes to the point of distraction, and the music was a bust. If there had only been a story worth following, I could have recommended this, but all I can really do is let others know not to expect too much.