I have pretty mixed feelings regarding this anime. I like the vibes of it all along with the world/lore. The story isn't very coherent, which sometimes I can like quite a bit since it makes the viewer piece things together. My issue with it, is I don't think it's done well, as instead of trying to make the viewer figure things out, it just feels more messy than anything. However, I do like the social-commentary sort of aspect of it all, and how it focuses on Rouge learning to do what's right and what's equal.
What makes me most interested in the anime, is the fact it vaguely reminds me of the animes Texhnolyze, Psycho-Pass, Ergo Proxy and sort of Trigun Stampede. Those kinds of animes I don't see much of anymore, so it's nice to watch an anime that's somewhat similar. However, it feels more lackluster than those other animes because I honestly just found it to be quite dull. I like the feel of the world and the lore, the objective of the characters is interesting, but I felt pretty eh on the characters. While the story is a bit interesting, a lot of the time I felt like it was a lot of nothing. With things being so messy and not keeping me too engaged, I got pretty bored. If things were explained/shown more, such as the character's lore or the lore of the world/story in general, I'd like it better.
I don't know the full lore of what's been shown so far, but the lore is well-shown of the different creatures and the world. Many different futuristic settings are shown along with some bleak looking settings as well. It's a bit more light than the other futuristic bleak sort of settings I've seen in anime before, but I still like it. The anime has a bit of social-commentary, it's not the best I've seen done, but it is pretty interesting. I like how it focuses on equality. It makes Rouge think out her actions instead of just following orders, and we see her struggle to figure out what's right to do.
Now with the story, it's hard to really say exactly what it is since it's not very coherent. The best I can say is that there's these robots that are basically humans, but they're not treated equally and instead treated as servants. Some of them are fighting back which creates a bit of a power struggle? So it brings up these questions of what's right to do in order for there to be equality. Rouge figuring out herself along with learning what's right and what she can do for the world to help with that equality is a big focus. At least I think that's it or what the story is aiming for. As earlier in the anime, she just goes along with what she's told, yet now she's questioning herself and wanting to help people. That in itself is pretty interesting and usually something I'd be into it. But it just feel boring. I mean there's been some moments that have caught my attention, but a lot of the time it feels like a bunch of messy events. The ending wasn't very good either, it felt very underwhelming to me. Maybe if the story was a bit darker it would be better.
Maybe it's the characters that I also found to be a bit boring. Rouge has been becoming more interesting, but neither Rouge nor Naomi have been all that interesting. They seem more of just traits rather than deep characters. (This could change, so if it does, I'll update this, currently I've seen up to episode 9 as of writing this.) Naomi is okay, she's witty but I can't say all that much else about her. Then there's Rouge, who started out as just feeling like Naomi's action sidekick. Yet now she's figuring out her past and what's right and wrong. For awhile she was just following orders, yet now she's realizing she always didn't do the right thing. She sees how these robot people are being mistreated, and she wants to help. I like seeing this change in her, the shift from just following orders to now wanting to fight for what's right. So she's getting more interesting, but aside from her character growth, nothing has made me too interested in her character. So she's alright, not bad, not great.
Oh and the fight scenes are well done. The robots look neat and all the fight scenes are pretty intense and cool looking.
I like the animation and the character design a lot. I've already written quite a lot about how I like the setting of it all. Overall, I'd say the animation, character design and setting is really done well. I also really like the music, it fits the vibe of everything well. The opening and endings songs are both good too.
Maybe I was too harsh on the anime in my review. It's not bad, but it's not too interesting. I will update this review if my opinions change as the anime goes on. As of writing this, I've completed up to episode nine. Maybe if Metallic Rouge were to get a secound-cour that would allow the anime to explain the lore and characters more in depth, it would be better.
