Dimension W

Watching Dimension W makes me feel a bit like my childhood days. I’d watch some random anime on TV with my friends on Toonami and we’d make jokes about the story, characters, artwork, and every other funny thing going on. Dimension W isn’t a funny story but it does have the feel of a show that’s aimed at the Western audience. And furthermore, it takes place in a fictional world in the future so there’s tons of potential. Dimension W capitalizes on those potentials and makes this show not just fun but an insightful experience. Calling Dimension W another stereotypical sci-fi action flick would be injusticeas the series explores quite a bit based on its premise. The show is directed by Kanta Kamei with Aketagawa Jin as the sound producer and produced by Studio 3Hz and Orange. It’s noticeable that Funimation is the co-committee of this series as well to bring their talent into the mix. For those who have seen Darker than Black, you may find the show has a familiar vibe in terms of character design. The interesting part is how Dimension W focuses on its own story and despite not being too refreshing for its ideas, it’s very a high dose of popcorn entertainment. The story takes place in a fictional world in the future. By 2071, humanity began using a source of energy that can last forever for their planet. Through influence of the fourth dimension, they are able to harness energy in the form of objects known as “coils”. Coils are manufactured by New Tesla, an energy company that uses them for profit. However, they also private firms and groups that uses illegal coils for their own purposes. The show introduces Kyouma, a collector who has a hatred for coils. His adventures takes him to all sort of places including his meeting with a peculiar robot girl, Mira. Get the picture here? Any fan of sci-fi should feel intrigued because of the amount of world building with the show. Indeed, Dimension W does a good job by building up its fictional world and constructing it concepts with interesting details. The imaginary setting of Dimension W introduces many concepts including its rich history, society, and technological advancements. As such, getting into this show allows the viewers to appreciate the ideas of the creator. In general, the plot is about Kyouma, a collector who despises coils. There’s actually a credible reason for this as explored in later episodes through background storytelling. His encounter with Mira is a bit odd however. Essentially and for most of the series, he is indifferent about her presence and often calls her names like “junk” and “useless robot”. Despite that, there’s a growing chemistry between the two. Mira is also a character that will spark interest because of her very human behavior. She is a robot but displays a lot of personality as if she is an ordinary girl. Throughout the show, we can see that she wants to help people and her partnership with Kyouma leads her to do selfless deeds. Kyouma is portrayed more as the guy who wants to get the job done and lives life like a simple man with a love for vintage cars but hate for coils. His fighting skills is fairly impressive and is able to fight on par with cyborgs, coil enhanced mechanisms, and even multiple enemies at once. Add a bit of his driving skills and it’s easy to see that Kyouma is the badass everyman. When watching the show, I noticed some trends about the plot structure. It focuses on society and explores Kyouma’s daily adventures. At first, some of his cases really shows more than what he does in everyday life. However, subsequent episodes introduces other ways at how Dimension W’s world works. There’s also murder mystery, cyber-punk themes, and how events from the past connects with the story in the present. The show also introduce Numbers and their presence really exposes the dangers of coils. Background storytelling is also incorporated into the show that explores Kyouma and other characters’ pasts. Unfortunately, the series is only one cour of 12 episodes while the manga has at least 9 volumes. Get the idea? Expect a lot of cuts with certain side characters and certain rush of the story to get to specific arcs. Characters like Elizabeth, Albert, and other many of the minor villains get some spotlights but not much characterization. As one of the downsides, Dimension W’s adaptation content may be a disappointment for manga fans. Despite that, I think the show is still very entertaining for its characters. Then, there’s a lot about the Dimension W universe that is intriguing. We get to see how androids interact, the world fiction of Dimension W’s technological aspects (coils, numbers, machinery, etc), and the show even has some pretty solid action. Kyouma’s a legitimate badass and he has little patience for evildoers. Similarly, the show has both a comedic and serious feel. The comedic moments are timed right especially through the interactions between Kyouma and Mira. In addition, the series rarely tries to exploit its shock values to entertain the fans but rather with its own merits. The art style of Dimension W tends to have a very scientific feel. Character designs are also neat and will remind anyone of Darker than Black. Kyouma reminds me of a lone wolf detective and bounty hunter that came out of a classic movie. Meanwhile, Mira has the appearance of a young girl with robotic characteristics. (see that cute little mechanical tail?) The sci-fi backgrounds and technology also looks credible and advanced enough to be set in its timeline. The gadgets of the show and other robotic designs have a fair amount of details to further make its world building look believable. There’s even a bit of artistic enhancement with creative shade coloring at many noticeable scenes. Fan service is fairly minimal although there are a few times when the camera likes to shine on Mira. The real fan service is the action delivered right to your face. Soundtrack is solid especially when Kyouma is on a mission involving him collecting illegal coils. It’s eerie, energetic, and portrays science fiction with theatrics. In addition, I appreciate how Kyouma’s voice sounds as a mature adult rather than some kid out of high school. On the other hand, Mira’s voice can sound a bit bratty so fans will have to get used to that. Luckily, you will be rewarded with the very creative OP song. Performed by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION, it’s very colorful with the dancing, full throttle action, and creative coloring. OST and music is just as impressive and shows that the creators cares a lot about their work. Dimension W is a show that I think anyone can watch with something to talk about towards the end. Whether it’s the world building, storytelling, characterization, or technical art/music/soundtrack style, the show is a lot of fun. It lives up to what it tries to do despite cutting content from the original manga. As most series in modern years, it’s not very original and still borrows a lot of ideas from other sci-fi works. However, Dimension W still embraces the sci-fi genre and shows that it can be unique in its own way.

If there's one anime this season that went unnoticed, unhyped, and maybe even unfairly underrated, it's Dimension W. While not the flashiest, and certainly not the most outstanding anime- DimW has one thing going for it: it's original. Sidestepping the trappings and tropes that seem to permeate modern anime, and instead embracing a groovy sci-fi near future with androids, flying cars, giant robots, and more- this one was a definite breath of fresh air. Produced by Studio 3Hz, apparently a very new studio, with literally one credit to their name, the animation and art aren't anything special, but neither are they completely uninspired. It's abit on the low budget side compared to some modern shows, but fluid and frenetic action coupled with some stylized CG made it very watchable. Similarly, voice acting is handled competently, and the music fits well, adding accents or enhancement to the mood when necessary. The nearly infinite, but unstable energy source that the show is named for takes a front and center position in the plot- weaving a narrative around the creation of "coils", which as essentially batteries that can access the 4th dimension, a plane of existence where possibility is endless, and is tapped into as a source of energy. Everything takes coils: the robots, cars, computers, and nearly the entire world run on this limitless supply of energy. Kyouma Mabuchi, our main character, is essentially a luddite in this techno world of Dimension W. He works essentially as a mercenary, collecting special types of highly unstable coils which can create massive rifts in space/time, and generally screw up everything, including sucking people into the energy black hole it forms. In return, he gets paid in things like gasoline (a scarce commodity in this future-world) and parts for his "antique" cars. Kyouma's dislike for coils, robots, and essentially anything technological puts him at odds with the technologically obsessed world he lives in- in a sort of "born in the wrong generation" way. His rugged, tough guy, and often rude demeanor are offputting to most people he meets, but he's dependable to get stuff done when it needs doing. The premise of the show is a fairly basic revenge tale, but this isn't immediately apparent, even through the first half of the show. The first section with Kyouma taking various jobs from his boss serves mostly as a semi-episodic adventure, introducing all the myriad characters, and then neatly segues into a long term plot. Without saying too much- there's a very collectible coil situated in a very dangerous area out in the Pacific ocean- one that is worth a lot of money, and none of the "collectors" (people like Kyouma who hunt coils for a living) can pass up. In a sort of "Mewtwo Strikes Back" kind of way- this alluring prize on an island in an old lab turns out to be more dangerous than any of the collectors can handle. They gather, each with their own goals and reasons for doing so- whether to use the money to help a decimated country, for personal greed, revenge, or just to satisfy bloodthirst, and this sets the stage for a battle royale of wits and wills. At times though, the show seems to lose sight of what it was going for- getting sidetracked on what are seemingly one off adventures that mostly end in Kyouma questioning something about himself, but not actually creating any new development. The show has quite a large cast to be as short as it is, but this isn't all great, as many characters are relegated to first string bench warmer status, and play little to no role, especially later on. It does, however, do a fair job of returning to important moments from previous scenes, and wrapping things that seemed like dead ends up. Kyouma's motivation for his job and raison d'etre are both explored at length. Finally, a show with a non-insert main character who actually has both tangible goals and reasons for why they do what they do. In his own angry-at-the-world way, Kyouma struggles against his inner demons, for love lost, his survivor's guilt, and the purpose of his continued existence in a world he no longer cares about. Cynical, hardened, and rather rage-filled, he makes for an interesting character who doesn't need anyone but himself, and honestly doesn't really care if people around him get hurt or killed. While not entirely heartless, he's a pretty cold and stoic character focused almost solely on his revenge. This isn't revealed immediately, but as we learn more about the character, we slowly begin to understand the obsession that eats at him. In finishing, Dimension W was a nice change of pace this season- with a very action oriented show that wasn't preachy or pretentious in presentation, satisfying, and most importantly: unique. It's not a mystery, and it's not a pure shonen battle- it's got just the right amount of spice to keep things interesting, moving, and fresh. I don't think there are too many anime that couldn't benefit from longer to flesh out their ideas and really explore characters and plots, but Dimension W is just about right at 12 episodes. Any less would have felt extremely rushed, and any more would have unnecessarily dragged it out. A shallow anime that's enjoyable enough? Sleeper anime of the season? That's for you to decide. As always, come rage at me, or say something nice. I don't care.

Dimension W, definitely the best thing Studio 3Hz has made so far. Dimension W is a very episodic road trip-ish anime about a dude who is essentially a bounty hunter and a robot girl who gets stuck with him. Pretty standard setup for an action show with some fancy visuals. It's not without its flaws but if that sounded interesting to you it might be worth a watch. --Full review: minor spoilers ahead -Presentation(visuals & sound) Dimension W has some well used CGI, though sometimes it can still stand out a bit too much.The backgrounds are well made, the CGI never felt choppy, and I like the character designs. I've heard from some people that this is their favorite OP of the season, but it just sounded like pretty generic electro to me. Same thing with the ED, not saying they're bad but I've heard better. Overall the animation is just very fluid, colorful and nice to look at. -Story Dimension W is very arch based and starts with what I would call a very bad first episode, it's essentially just a setup for the next episode. If you plan on giving Dimension W a go, then make sure you watch two episodes before deciding if you're going to complete it. The second episode is much stronger, and introduces one of the recurring characters, Loser (yes they actually call him that). There's one more episode that just felt like mostly boring info dumping, but that doesn't come until later on. And even with the info dumping by the characters this is how I understand the coils: wibbly wobbly timey wimey, realities inside of coils. Based on the premise I thought this show would comment on fossil fuel usage, but I didn't really hear much of that at all, for the better or worse. For the sake of explanation I'm going to mention that the coils can essentially provide infinite energy, meaning they can do pretty much anything. The author clearly had fun with this, maybe a bit too much since sometimes it feels like whatever happens the author basically pulled out of his ass. Not that it matters too much since it's excused and explained and the story isn't super important here. One more gripe I have with the story is how the characters backstories are explained almost entirely in flashbacks, come on can't you figure out something more creative? Otherwise the story is interesting enough. The ending is conclusive enough, definitely not just a read the manga ending. -Characters Probably the best or the second best thing about the show, depending on how much you appreciate the animation. For once we don't have a completely bland main character, Mabuchi Kyouma is a person who dresses in traditional clothes and hates coils. Minor note that I don't particularly like the fact that Kyoma does his fighting with throwing knives, it tends to make for poor battle choreography. Though the choreography is still better than average. He has a fairly extensive backstory that I won't spoil. Yurizaki Mira is Kyoma's robot partner who is extremely strong and can detect coils. Their dynamic was quite fun to watch, and mira is also given an okay backstory. Other than that due to the Nature of the show there aren't that many interesting recurring characters aside from Loser But what is there is pretty good. -Overall It might sound a bit harsh to only give Dimension W a 6/10 but there are many shows just like it, and outside of the premise dimension W doesn't have much to distinguish itself with. And on top of that it wasn't really my type of a show to begin with. The narrative can feel a bit choppy at times. Characters didn't get much development because the show was busy just establishing them in 12 episodes. The visuals aren't without a few hiccups and the music used wasn't really my thing either. I could still recommend Dimension W to someone who likes futuristic action shows.

Dimension W was billed as one of this season's shows with the potential to really appeal to a western audience. On the surface it does share some of the elements that tend to get a bit more attention from action-starved overseas fans. A cyberpunk setting, a sci-fi thriller plotline, and a no-nonsense masculine lead in Mabuchi Kyouma. The latter is a near-future Luddite. Dimension W is set in a world where everything is powered by devices called 'coils' which tap into a hypothetical fourth dimension for unlimited energy. Kyouma despises the contraptions, symbolically driving a gasoline-fuelled car when the rest of the population has switchedto electric vehicles. The coils are administered by an uber-powerful corporation called New Tesla, and yes, the very predictable routes of corporate corruption will be explored, beating that horse just a few more times as it barely wheezes a neigh. So the punchline is that Dimension W isn't that good, but how could an anime with such a cool setting be so mediocre? Well, let's start with the setting. It actually sucks. A few episodes start with a synopsis that pisses in the face of Albert Einstein, where dimension w is shown on a cartesian x-y-z graph as a line parallel and opposite to the x-axis. A keen observer might notice this is actually the negative-x axis, but the laziness doesn't end there (by the way, E=mc^2 is only the non-relativistic component). Apparently the energy from dimension negative-x is distributed amongst the populace via a network of 60 control towers, and that's not the only big number used to give an illusion of complexity where there is none. Also, apparently New Tesla just straight up murdered the wife and child of their most important inventor, and if there was an actually legitimate reason for this to be at all plausible, I've completely forgot it. That important inventor, Professor Yurizaki, has developed a robot called Mira that mimics human emotions, who due to a series of goofy hijinks, teams up with Kyouma in his job to hunt illegal coils, which aren't regulated by Megagoogle. Her name is Mira and sure enough she's the best character is the series. Cute, while also having genuine agency in the story. The dynamic between her and Kyouma is great fun, so of course the more screen-time she gets, preferably along with Kyouma, the better this show turns out. Well, more than half of the series is taken up by Kyouma's character arc, where she spends a lot of time as a supporting role. Whoopsie! It's a shame in fact, because Dimension W starts off okay. As overwrought and uninspired as the setting is, it can at least serve as a template for some interesting episodic stories. That describes the first five episodes. The latter seven episodes comprise the aforementioned character arc, and boy if the series doesn't squander its potential in them. One thing I've noticed with one-cour series is that they usually tend to do best when they focus on a cast of four or five key characters, while not getting too distracted by side characters that can be interesting but should nonetheless remain on the shelf most of the time. The alternative is having a good story, which at the moment is an ambitious expectation. The last half of this series does neither. Many different parties participate in a search for a macguffin, and so the focus of the plot is immediately split between the motivations and backstories of these parties. This is such a waste of time, when time is of the essence in the one-cour format. Do you care about the stereotypical African prince, or the mysterious phantom thief Loser, or the downtrodden villain who's shoehorned into the plot out of nowhere? Of course not, but Dimension W shoves every hackneyed detail of these characters down your gullet. Granted, if the series kept up the episodic structure, it still wouldn't be good. The underlying flaws in the setting preclude any attempt to really take itself seriously. But it would have at least had variety going for it. Alas, this show is simply following the broad structure of the manga. At least it looks good. The character designs are on point and blend in well with the style of the backgrounds. Both use a fairly wide color palette that is tamed by avoiding over-saturation. The quality of the drawings doesn't deteriorate much, and the animation quality is above average, although the CG robots are as unwelcome as ever. Wait for Flip Flappers for an exhibition of what Studio 3Hz may really be capable of. So ultimately, Dimension W was just boring. Its source material is crap and it doesn't make any effort to spice it up.