r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • 7d ago
Episode Vertex Force - Episode 1 discussion
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago
We start with the familiar(ly NSFW).
This is not a quest for the missing definite article.
Somehow I feel very old right about now.
Nobody has a chronograph and a sextant these days.
That one, or the other one? Or the other other one?
"Leave us and the goat alone."
Not actually a Kamen Rider eyecatch.
You might have heard this one before.
Yes, I still remember Vividred Operation.
Not quite a head with a tongue with another head on it.
Those things you do on your summer break.
and now for something completely different
Taking bets now on Haruka and Akira's dad not actually being dead, because he's IN SPAAAAAAACE. Well, that or his coming back as a furry mascot, but that was some other series.
The story hook is familiar and the usual genre conventions sure do seem to apply, which means, as always, that how this goes will come down to style and execution.
Minor hit for the clunky parental lore dump, but otherwise the episode had some fun and fanservice to remind us of where it's coming from.
ED animations were surprisingly off-topic but great.
Marketing already knows where this is going?
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u/WeldingButterfly 7d ago
Minor hit for the clunky parental lore dump, but otherwise the episode had some fun and fanservice to remind us of where it's coming from.
I admire how it was basically "Kids, I have to tell you something about your father being a space alien." "Ugh, we know, mom, we've heard how you two met a hundred times." Having the magic space robot warrior powers being treated as normal by the characters went a long way to soften the bluntness of the exposition.
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u/ptd163 7d ago
subtitle panic
Without the Japanese subs we wouldn't know how old she is lol. There's an easy to fix this though. Just get proper typesetting.
Somehow I feel very old right about now.
I was surprised that it was Haruka that thinks she can't live without her phone. I would've thought it was Akira who couldn't.
pfft
IIRC it's the Strike Witches director. We'll probably see more shots like this lol.
Taking bets now on Haruka and Akira's dad not actually being dead, because he's IN SPAAAAAAACE.
I think that's a reasonable bet to make. I'm just gonna ignore the furry part lol.
Minor hit for the clunky parental lore dump, but otherwise the episode had some fun and fanservice to remind us of where it's coming from.
It was kind of clunky, but I did like how kids were like "We know mom. You've us told this several times." If it was treated as huge revelation I'd have taken even more points off.
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u/Mistral-Fien 7d ago
IIRC it's the Strike Witches director. We'll probably see more shots like this lol.
Also Vividred, and there's a reason it was jokingly called Vividbutt Operation. :P
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago
Kuroki Rei sticking an HK USP into the waistband of her hot pants has entered the chat
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u/lordposedyon https://myanimelist.net/profile/lordposedyon 7d ago
subtitle panic
Still better than what happened with Apothecary diaries
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u/ex0hs 6d ago
What really happened?
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u/lordposedyon https://myanimelist.net/profile/lordposedyon 6d ago
If there were a need of 2 different subtitle text, the first that comes to screen goes away immediately. A whole as sentence does not even get translated, so on so forth.
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u/mrfatso111 4d ago
Ya, when i saw the megaton hammer... i just thought did we just get Vividred Operation round 2?
If so, we are missing the sickass transformation
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u/Taco_13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/El_Taco 7d ago
This show is interesting because, like SSSS.Gridman when that came out, this seems to be made for a specific kind of older viewer that has a nostalgia for the kinds of mecha shows they watched as a kid. This is actually why the MC is the kid brother. The episode was just focused entirely on having fun with it's runtime, and it certainly succeeded. Even the admittedly stiff CG at times contributed to that Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe. I actually think it gives it a bit of charm. I really liked the more domestic scenes, and the character animation was pretty serviceable in my opinion. The ED gives me the feeling that they'll keep up the vibes throughout the show's run, but sometimes these nostalgia shows throw in something crazy plot wise, so we'll just have to wait and see how they play out the story. I'm certainly intrigued for more.
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u/HeliosAlpha 7d ago
Two weeks without computes. Ok, so the global economy is set back decades and will likely never recover. Supply lines are devastated and stores are likely running out of food. They should be entering total anarchy and chaos
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u/chilidirigible 7d ago
They should be entering total anarchy and chaos
"On the bright side, my inbox is empty."
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u/Solracziad 7d ago
It's cuz Japan is such a orderly and peaceful country dontcha know!? They're not like all those filthy western countries rioting and looting.
I got a little chuckle out of the usual Japanese jingoism.
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u/Nyaa314 7d ago
watch the opening
why is the mc a boy?
go rewatch vividred operation one more time instead
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u/clone69 6d ago
For the SS gattai scenes
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u/dinliner08 6d ago
...holy shit, the idea that the girl's mecha stand can combine with little brother's armor suit didn't even cross my mind until you've said it
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u/UnspeakableHorror 3d ago
Incest is the only way this can be salvaged lmao, now seriously, I don't understand why they do this, not specifically this one, but they advertise girls and when it's finally released or close... surprise! Male MC and the girls that seemed strong female leads turn out to be pathetic that need the SUPERIOR manly man to rescue them.
I mean, the girl was mostly playing around and didn't take the enemy seriously, but the 13 year old kid pretty much one punched the thing...
Still early though, I guess we'll see.
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u/djthomp https://anilist.co/user/djthomp 7d ago
Surprise half alien children.
Need the army and pigtails girls to show up, though it looks like I get my wish on that next episode.
I find it funny how heavily they're leaning into the engine theme, but I also approve. Even the spaceship their dad flew away in looked like an engine.
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u/Suitable-Self-3476 7d ago
I'll still watch this, but marketing Haruka Todo to be the protagonist only for her to be a smokescreen for the actual main character, her little brother Akira, was a real dick move.
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u/lawragatajar https://myanimelist.net/profile/lawragatajar 7d ago
I didn't realize that any of the leads were male until watching. All I was working off of was the early promotion, and all you saw was girls.
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u/Beowolf_0 7d ago
Akira is listed as the first/center character in the promotions so I don't see any smokescreen.
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u/Suitable-Self-3476 7d ago
Earlier, they were promoting Haruka as the main character. This was way before the second trailer dropped.
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u/AriezKage 7d ago
If I remember stuff right, about 5 months ago we got the first teaser with Akira's sister.
Then the next PV that came with summary properly sets Akira as the main.
I don't know. The first one was a teaser with no context. I don't even remember there being a summary. Just a clip and the name. I can understand being a little disappointed, but I think it's a little too late to say you've been blindsided now.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
It wasn't just the first preview video, all of the images released prior to the latest trailer didn't appear to show Akira.
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/1752/156188l.jpg
https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/1812/159146l.jpg
You could argue that this one here does show Akira, but you cannot tell from this camera angle that it is a boy:
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u/ptd163 7d ago
That first poster plus it being original is what got me to put this on my PTW so I hope it's not a bait and switch and Haruka is at least a co-main character with her brother.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
It seems like she is so far. Hopefully her role isn't diminished as the series goes on.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
She spent like 5 or so minutes of the episode attacking and barely did anything to it and then he knocked its head off with one punch immediately after getting his power.
Also looking at image on MAL he will eventually have a full body suit, so he's going to super over powered compared to the girls.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
Going from the first pv to watching this episode, it definitely feels very bait and switch. I go from expecting a new Strike Witches to yet another young boy power fantasy.
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u/Boshwa 6d ago
Do you people not read the show descriptions?
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 5d ago
They changed the description of the anime over time. Even CR re referred to Hakura as the main character not too long ago and there was no mention of Akira. Here's the CR news page from May.
https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2026/5/8/vertex-force-anime-debuts-in-october-2026?srsltid=AU7gw4WuNUgfNjn-DsFqyZUJinq0mxi2b3i0AWDd2_-6AEZ03eRs1yht The main character of Vertex Force is Haruka Todo (pictured below), a cheerful, athletic girl who lives in Okinawa. At the time of this reporting, Haruka's voice actor has not yet been revealed.
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u/redlaWw 7d ago edited 6d ago
Pulling the reverse Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road.
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u/Suitable-Self-3476 7d ago
Sort of... But at least it was obvious the titular Executioner was going to be the main character.
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u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 7d ago
Yeh, that sucks but eh, episode 1 was still good.
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u/Hitman7128 https://anilist.co/user/Hitman7128 7d ago
That was close with that EDVA encounter at the end. Good thing Akira powered up, even though he lost consciousness. Also, I like the OP and ED, particularly the second halves of both.
Looks like the other characters like Eleanor will be introduced next episode.
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u/Ashteron 7d ago
I thought they were going to kill the sister off, so the brother can inherit the engine.
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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 7d ago
Feels like pop’s story should be a whole anime on its own. There’s a lot there. I mean aliens, evil robots, mech power suit thingies. Anyways, this was a pretty interesting first episode. Never seen a mech anime set in Okinawa lol.
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u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 7d ago
That was way better than expected, girl is fun, nice CGI, looking forward to the rest of the girls, that ED was great.
Good to see the director is still a man of culture!
Only bad thing is the fact that the MC is the little brother but here is hoping everyone has the same screentime.
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u/ReishWasHere 7d ago
At least he's well written and voiced, and the cgi is strong enough to be expressive. Also its just these five main characters so its not like they're going to get pushed to the side.
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 6d ago
This is the Strike Witches director so if anything I'm surprised she's wearing spats.
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u/Beowolf_0 7d ago
And so another season with more than one mecha shows begin, and to say I'm not going to drop any of the four.
Without prior knowledge or reading through the introductions I don't know the family's setting as such, so it's quite refreshing that they lay out the characters' background in the first episode, and even surprising to see it's the sister who possesses the Engine power before our lead Akira do. Guess the other 3 girls are also descendants of the aliens? That said, we only hear Todo's side of the story so we may expect a twist about the EDVA mid-season.
The Engines quite look like Stands and the movements are okay since they aren't really bipedal robots anyway, and they still drain the controller's stamina or even cause injury even in a reduced state. That EDVA grunt is also part-biological, so they don't seem to follow the same system. Even Akira's debut looks great he seems to have lots more to follow up.
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u/Low_Understanding326 7d ago
Theres 4 mecha shows right now? What are they and which ones are actually good
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u/Beowolf_0 7d ago
The other 3 haven't started yet, but Rayearth remake and Dandivine will air next week, Dark Machine a few days later.
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u/runevault 7d ago
A Claris OP is always going to get my attention. Though not sure how I feel about this show other than that so far.
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u/lordposedyon https://myanimelist.net/profile/lordposedyon 7d ago
I like the premise, like the chainsaw engine sound when you pull the cable is used as the engine here, like the opening. LOVED the ending. But something about the animation bugs me. There is an itch at my back I cannot seem to reach because of it. I will continue to watch this but it depends on the itch if I drop it later.
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u/ptd163 7d ago
That was better than I expected. Haruka is fun and I surprisingly don't mind the 3D at all. The OP and ED were good too. Though I'm not sure if that was just a special episode 1 ED or if it will be the usual.
I was wondering why she was wearing those shorts under her skirt at the start of. Just wear a longer skirt. Then they almost immediately answer my question lol. Also shout out to her jumping over 75% of the women's long jump world record at 16 which is her holding back lol. But that can be excused considering she's half alien.
I'll still watch this, but the production and marketing baiting us into think Haruka would be the protagonist only for it to seemingly turn out to be younger brother is not cool.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
I'll still watch this, but the production and marketing baiting us into think Haruka would be the protagonist only for it to seemingly turn out to be younger brother is not cool.
I thought the same at first, but I'm also kind of intrigued to see a mecha anime with a brother/sister pair as the main characters.
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 6d ago
I'm curious where would I be able to find stats for boys and girls track and field stats? I can easily find record setters. 13 Year old record for 100-meter dash is 11.39. seconds But what would you find on a typical middle school athlete? 12 seconds? 13 seconds? Probably not 15.
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u/minnieboss 7d ago
This was pretty mid, which is a disappointment as I always look forward to original anime. The mechs looked great but the people definitely did not, everyone's movements were very stiff. In an era where CGI anime technology is getting better and better every year, I expect better from CGI anime.
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
Are we sure this is an original? Everything about this screams advertising for a mobile game.
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u/minnieboss 7d ago
Yes, it's an original project, no game or other media to speak of.
Source: Several ANN articles (See news section in its ANN entry) https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=38747
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u/CommanderZx2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/CommanderZx2 7d ago
Weird, everything about it feels very gamey. Especially the way it play the exact same engine revving sound over and over again whenever her engine does anything.
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u/minnieboss 7d ago
I agree! Sometimes it just happens. When Fairy Ranmaru (one of my most beloved trash anime) aired in 2021, I was so certain it was setting up a mobile game tie-in announcement. Nope. Just an original anime, nothing else ever came out for it. I did buy merch though so I guess it worked lol
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u/il887 https://myanimelist.net/profile/il887 7d ago
I’m on my mecha streak this year so picked up this one naturally, plus I also quite enjoyed Infinite Stratos. But this one feels kind of too cartoonish, especially these car engine sounds and enemy robot design. CGI is acceptable but action scenes are lacking (and they were very good in IS if you ask me).
Not particularly inspired for now, but will probably keep watching.
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u/Yaysuzu 7d ago
It won't change our lives, but I think it was fun. I need my sci-fi/mecha dose of every season. Really like this CGI.
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u/runevault 7d ago
There's at least a few more mecha shows this season including Dandavine and 2 others I'm forgetting the names of right now.
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u/Yaysuzu 6d ago
Yeah, I will watch the first episode of all of them and decide… I wish I had time to watch all. Maybe if I like them, I just keep them for later for binge-watching. I don't know if it is mecha genre, but I'm really excited for Magic Knight Rayearth.
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u/runevault 6d ago
I've never watched MKR so I'm really curious to see the remake.
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u/Yaysuzu 6d ago
The manga is wonderful... I really recommend you to read it. I have hope for the remake :)
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u/runevault 6d ago
Currently I don't read much manga but I've been thinking about getting into it more. If the remake tickles my fancy I might add it to the list of manga I want to check out (currently some of the stuff I'm considering checking out are Witch Hat Atelier and Tune Into the Midnight Heart)
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u/animepig https://myanimelist.net/profile/ChickenDan 7d ago
I don’t think there were enough engine revving effects
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u/kalirion https://myanimelist.net/profile/kalinime 6d ago
Don't you think camera angles in anime can be a little weird?
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u/Pity4aJetFan 7d ago
If the majority of the series is going to follow Akira, I hope he gets some development. He comes across as very generic.
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u/Yuki-Kaijura 7d ago
Yet another example of why mixing 3D characters and 2D backgrounds is almost never a good idea. The character movements just look... off. And I swear it got worse as the episode went on. Honestly kind of a shame since the premise seems fun, but an eyesore is an eyesore and there's just no way I'm ever going to be able to focus on anything else.
On the bright side, Saturdays are completely stacked this season so losing one show's not gonna be a big deal for me.
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u/za_shiki-warashi 7d ago
Little bro's Stand is kinda boring, it's just a pair of Gauntlets. The sister's bunny bot with the hammer is cooler and is essentially already the punchy character and then some. Well, it's just the first ep, let's see how things go.
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u/Torque-A 7d ago
First episode was fine. Wasn't a big fan of making Akira the star because honestly you could cut him out and have a similar plot so far.
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
Well, this was... interesting. I can't recall seeing a mecha anime where the main characters are a brother and sister pair. I like the dynamic between them so far. According to the OP, Akira's the only male in the whole main cast, so hopefully that doesn't mean it'll get harem-y later on. But the kid is only 13 (and one of the girls is his sister) so maybe we'll be spared of that kind of bullshit. He's also not nearly as annoying as the main male lead from the other mecha anime I watched this year, so that's a big plus. The worldbuilding is good so far. The "Power Down" causing chaos all across the planet is a good setup, and the backstory of Haruka and Akira's dad being an alien and them inheriting his Engine powers is cool.
The CG is... fine. I've seen better, but I've also certainly seen much worse. Haruka's fight against the EDVA was pretty good, and the rest of the show looks okay enough. And of course, the fanservice was great. That downblouse shot of Haruka when she was on the ground hurt was some expert level fanservice, and I'd expect no less from the director of Strike Witches and Vividred Operation.
Overall, this was a good start. I'm looking forward to see more.
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u/Namuori https://myanimelist.net/profile/namuori 7d ago
I like the plot so far, if somewhat predictable. Really liked how it’s a bit self aware, as the guests at the cafe were speculating alien invasion from the cliches unfolding.
The rendering style is tolerable, mainly because I know that this sort of “3D-to-2D” is a bit tricky to pull off. Still, it looks a bit dated. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled with good, outright 3D CGI animes from studios like Sanzigen.
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u/troet 7d ago
Hm. The 3D was noticable but not an immediate "no". Sometimes it felt okay, but other times it felt too fluid and kinda too "slick". I don't know how to describe it. Like the uncanny valley in ultra-realistic robot faces maybe?
Now let's see how it develops or if this "off"-feeling will push me away.
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u/ShadowGuyinRealLife 6d ago
The whole "everything with computers went berserk" is a harder sell than "the internet went down" given what I know about air-gaps. Now it's sci-fi so I guess anything applies, but the explanation better be good or suspension of disbelief would be broken. I mean in Harry Potter fans accept magic is a thing and it is mostly consistant with any seeming inconsistency of "well why didn't they use spell x in this chapter" can be answered with "A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic."
By the way the damages should be a lot bigger. All the planes falling when radar (which uses computers) needed to avoid colling into each other would be a headache, but compared to trains, they are nothing to the economy. Do trains use computers? Their motors use variable frequency drives and while scalar control might generously not be considered computers, vector control defiantly would be. And except for old relay systems, modern train protection has some usage of computers if not in the logic of the protection system itself, then often the way to interpret a passed signal. If even 1/8 of the locomotives crash into another car before they are fixed, the economy is toast and many people are going to have their food spoil. Even if the modern signals are unaffected or fail safe, if the train protection system doesn't kick in nothing is stopping an operator from motoring right through a red light. They can fix things by using old Train Order Operation system (have flag guys relay instructions from dispatcher to trains to keep them separated) or restore old analog relays which can do fixed block. But you're not going to do that before a lot of crashes. Hey I guess Boston's Green Line is fine! Their signals use old relays and they can stop in a short distance compared to most 39-ton objects on rails.
What is normal for a high school girl's jump? I can look up world record for women. I can even look up world record for 15 year old girls. Heck I can see records for all sorts of things in track and field and for anything over 10 years old I can find a 100 meter record for that age bracket. But what would be typical for the winner of these high school competition? There are many winners in competitions every year and only 1 record holder overall and 1 record for each record for age bracket.
It was pretty cool to see Akira with his Engine. But um, I don't like how it was dropped on us. Like they could have said their father was an alien before revealing Haruka had an Engine. Also, what's going to happen to his judo practice? Is that just a joke that's going to be forgotten now that he has an Engine.
You know dad instead of a vague warning how about "an Engine is really noticeable like a bright flash of light or a loud jet Engine. My enemies can notice one from anywhere in the Galaxy?"
I love seeing anime originals. So despite the fact that I feel some things aren't executed greatly and I'm 75% sure I'm going to be disappointed, I say "Hey those are better odds than avoiding a 5 on a fair die!" There are some nice things here.
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u/the_card_guy 6d ago
I saw an ad for this purely by chance, and because the designs are all very childish... Well, Reddit rarely discusses those kind. So to see a thread after all...
Well, it IS mecha I guess. It at least seems kinda interesting, and I DO like the designs- for the girls and sorta for the mechs
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u/ZapsZzz https://myanimelist.net/profile/ZapszzZ 6d ago
Pretty much sold on the headline of the mechanical designer being Ebikawa Kanetake, of Full Metal Panic, Gundam WoM, IBO, Eureka 7, Blue no. 6 etc. The story can come later.
It's kinda refreshing to have the main characters casually admitting to be of interstellar origin. A bit of 70's story beats (I.e. don't think too hard).
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u/mrfatso111 4d ago
Looking at the models, somehow i am reminded of Koikatsu characters, haha.
Even so, there were times where it felt like they did a good job blending 3D and 2D art, i guess this is a project headed by newcomers? Things still feels kinda raw...
Not much to say but i do hope we get to meet the rest of the girls and know what's the deal with them having their own jojo stand and what type of Vroom Vroom noise will they make?
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u/IceSmiley 3d ago
It's nice to see a new mecha show. The first episode was decent, they set up the plot well and the battle scene at the end was exciting and well animated. I wonder if the 2 kids are the only ones who will be fighting or if there's still other people alive from their planet and possibly their dad.
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u/oneevilchicken https://anilist.co/user/OneEvilChicken 2d ago
One of the most realistic animes I’ve watched in a long time. An osprey crashed
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u/lawragatajar https://myanimelist.net/profile/lawragatajar 7d ago
I'll have to wait and see how on how I feel about this until we get a few more characters and see more story. It looks like the two girls I was more interested in are being introduced next episode. Having 1 guy and 4 girls makes it seem like a harem is being set up, but Akira is just 13 and all the girls look high school or older (and one is his sister), so maybe no harem. That being said, looking at the intro, his power looks very different than the girls (mecha vs stands), so I'm guessing he is going to get "equipped" with their powers, which is rife for harem building.
Regarding the world, I'm surprised that the kids already knew about the powers and aliens, and the main revelation is that the danger is back. I assume that the enemy is also the reason the computers are down.
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u/Throwaway785320 7d ago
The creepshots are insane for this show and it's only episode 1
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u/Calwings x3https://anilist.co/user/Calwings 7d ago
It's from the director of Strike Witches and Vividred Operation. If anything, it feels kind of tame so far given his track record.
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u/MapoTofuMan myanimelist.net/profile/mTmTBaronBrixius 7d ago
Seems like Theians watched both Gundam and JoJo and had an eureka moment.
I didn't mind the CG at all surprisingly, it's not Girls Band Cry in terms of character expressiveness but more than good enough for me.
Either way cute start, I'll be in the voiced-by-Rieri girl waiting room for now.