BlazBlue Alter Memoryby Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 4 Ragna the Bloodedge, a wanted terrorist with a bounty on his head and assassins out to kill him, and the Primes, a line of some sort of organic android, are pawns in a struggle to rewrite reality itself! But who are the players and what do they want? For that matter, who is Ragna, and why do the primes resemble his sister? And why are they apparently living through the same events over and over?I couldn't really tell you any answers, because 13 episodes later, I barely know anything more than when I started, the players' motivations mystifying. Even the big exposition dump halfway through the series does little to help. Maybe it would make more sense if I were familiar with the game the series is based on, but I doubt it would make the series any less anticlimactic than it turns out to be. I hoped some episode commentaries or a making-of documentary would offer some clarity, but the only extras are textless openings and closings, and some trailers. The dub and sub are closely matched about two-thirds of the time, in spirit if not exact words, but other times are in direct opposition or have nothing to do with each other, even when lip-flaps aren't involved. On the whole, the dub is better. There is some swearing (strange, as it's in the dub but not so much the sub). Some of the female battle costumes are ridiculously revealing, but there's no nudity or fan-service. There are some grievous injuries, but the blood is cartoonish, mostly coughed up; there's no viscera, and most of the wounds seem quickly overcome. The animation is good, and there are some really nice character moments, and cool ideas and designs, but I feel like the scenes were written for different stories, then frankensteined together. I do love when enemy characters work together, but it's frustrating how the characters here change direction, going from wanting to kill to helping or vice versa, for no apparent reason. Many characters introduced go nowhere, and few really get a proper introduction (especially in a series where several characters have two or three identities); we're clearly meant to know them all already. And one character talks about events being the same as always, then finally changing -- but then goes on to talk about things happening again after the time-altering event as if they are still happening the same way as always. It's confusing in a story that's already very unclear. The whole series seems to exist so people can say "Ragna the Bloodedge," "Noel Vermillion," and "Azure Grimoire" (and story-specific terminology that's never really explained) over and over. About the only reasons to watch are the insane-but-entertainingly-so character of Terumi (but only the English version -- the Japanese seiyuu is annoying), the also-sometimes-insane (and other times rational and cultured but cranky) Jin, and for Ragna's more tender moments with the Primes. It's more like, if you have to watch, those aspects make the mess of the rest of it somewhat bearable. The hyper Taokaka, on the other hand, makes it less so .... Written: June 21, 2015
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