The Magnificent Kotobuki

Can you imagine living in a world where it’s nothing but a wasteland? The Kotobuki corps sure knows exactly how that kind of life is like. The art of aviation became an essential part of their life. But in such an imperfect world, they can’t be without conflicts. For a story about aviation, I was fully prepared to be cast into a world where aircrafts is much more than just what they are. The first few episodes immediately dives into a world where we witness the technology and importance of aviation. Technology related to aeronautical practices is a common sight. This came to me as nosurprise considering the anime advertised itself with many of its promotional material in such ways. What did catch me off guard and I regret to say is that the show could have been so much more. Anime that takes on aviation as a major theme is also becoming a more popular trend in recent years. It hasn’t taken off quite yet like isekai but from this Winter season alone, we had at least two titles: Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai and Girly Air Force. However, let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai has confidence to be its own show. As an original anime, it doesn’t have to rely on manga material to be faithful or as a continuation from some prequel series. Anime like this isn’t afraid to take risks although it didn’t capitalize on its concepts. Let me just say that the first episodes themselves accomplished little more than becoming a flight simulator. Indeed, I can’t say this enough but when you have a full squad of badass girls as pilots, you know this is going to take off as a sky fueled action show. It doesn’t take long to realize how skilled the main characters are when the first episode shows their abilities to take down hordes of enemy aircrafts. War veteran Zara is the most prominent to notice for her battle experience. However, don’t count out the rest of her squad. Characters like Chika, Kate, Kylie, and Emma are not to be underestimated when they are in their cockpits. Even a little girl like Chika can be described as “dynamite come in little packages”. Throughout the series, they participate in many dogfights that first came as exciting but soon became very predictable. Let’s face it, this anime sells the Kotobuki squad as the aces in the sky. Their feats are easily noticeable for their complex aerial maneuvers. Some episodes even consists of its squad members chasing down their foes in what seems like near impossible scenarios. But if you guessed it, they make it look easy. Now I don’t want to designate the characters as “overpowered” as they certainly do find themselves struggling on occasions. Still, it’s not very fun when the whole show make others look bad after each episode. I’m not going to lie, after watching a good portion of this series convinced me that the Kotobuki squadron is like an end boss video game; only that the they are badass girls. Overlooking the characters, I think perhaps the show holds some value when it comes to its mysterious world and technology. In fact, the aircrafts themselves makes me wonder how much potential it really has. A weapon is only powerful as its user is what I would think. While the aircrafts aren’t very high standard, they are capable of making dogfights look realistic. The pilots ride the sky and gives a feel of being right there with them in their cockpit. When an aircraft is shot and melts down, it gives the impression of life or death. Being able to depict a war-like feeling almost every episode actually makes the show exciting at times. The downside is that the whole idea can get repetitive fast. Trust me, once you’ve seen one dogfight, it feels like you’ve seen them all. One of the more interesing aspects of the show is its economic system. This includes how mercenaries are hired such as the Kotobuki squad. Furthermore, there’s monopoly that can’t be overlooked in such an unstable world. I think for what’s worth, the anime manages to makes its world a breeding ground for conflicts. The Kotobuki squad not only have to deal with enemies in the sky but also corruption among corporations. It adds fuel to the already desolate world that makes surviving all the more difficult. Luckily for the Kotobuki members, they don’t have much trouble living their lives but you can just imagine for some of the poorer folks. The World War like atmosphere often puts less fortunate people in jeopardy when they don’t have the resources to fend for themselves. It’s a sad and grim reality. Making an anime featuring aviation isn’t easy nor is animating aerial dogfights on a consistent basis. The strange combination of 2D and 3D art style can take a bit of time to get used to. In fact, the character models looks like something from a video game in its alpha stage. It reminds me a bit of Apreggio of Blue Steel at times only without the high level technology. When in its 2D form, character designs are pretty normal on most terms although fan service is evident on occasions. Madame Lulu, Zara, and Naomi are a few examples as the show try to make them busty. But on most occasions, the show sells its animation in the sky where the real action takes place. The dynamic quality of the framework and fluid movements (when ignoring the 3D models) makes the action look convincing. It’s just that when you see it so many times, it loses its relevance. Honestly, this show feels like a flight simulator. The story isn’t very well written despite the immense amount of potential. Characters lack development as the show focuses way too much into the action. It almost feels like playing a video game at times like Battlefield or something when every episode just bites into the action and consumes it without stopping. My impression of the whole show didn’t change at all from the first episode to the end. There’s just so much potential in this anime that eventually became a showcase of mediocrity.

Ya know most of the time we always watch anime were the setting is either in school or in some MMORPG setting of some sort, but every once in while something gives us a breath of fresh air , where something unique and new comes up and thought it doesn't have a good story, it does brings something new to the table and I'm talking about this anime, "Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai" or in English "The Magnificent Kotobuki" and original anime that was really well done with is graphics and 3D art. Its genre is Action, Military, Adventure and it did played well eventhought it was set in some wasteland and them girls were part of a mercenary group under the Ouni Company, whom were the very epitome of girls who can kickass. Given of this anime's genre , there isn;t really a story in fact the plot was simply random from episode to episode. In most case the story plot will tell you about the anime as a whole, this is an exception , cu'z behind the seemly random plot was a good action and adventure, where we're literally being kept in the seat of our pants, cu'z of all those dog fights and adventure that them girls does in every episode. In fact there isn't an episode where dog fight is involve when the ones doing it are girls that should be taken seriously, so kudos to studio WAO World, GEMBA and to this anime's director Mizushima, Tsutomu , they really did a good job, cu'z in some original anime there were those not good and there were those that rely on certain cliches that make it boring... so without any further adieu: Story- fair 6: The story relies on a daily plot that were simply random. Art- Very Good 8: The graphic and 3D images where awesome. Btw there is a one time Zara fanservice and that is all you're gonna get. Sound- Good 7: I have nothing to say about the characters voice , btw the score is for the sound effect of the machine guns that we hear around here. Character- Good 7: Well girl power is all over the place in this anime, and as we see with the Kotobuki Corp, Chicka, Reona, Kyrie, Zara, and Kate each represent a certain bad ass that what a man has that them girls can also have as well. Enjoyment- Very Good 8: Forget the story just enjoy the dog fight, cu'z is what this anime is about. Overall- Very Good 8: It is as what my rating says, so should this have a manga version????? Well, it's a good anime, but making it a manga, no way Jose, it's best to leave it as an anime.

Waifus & Warplanes are easy on the eyes. What's different about this show? (1.) The show is nearly all 3D animated, but this is usually tastefully done and feels natural. It sort of had to by default as aerial 2D combat is difficult to make look "right", but the characters still look like normal anime girls and the scenery is beautiful. If you love plane aesthetics, the artwork will appeal to you even more. (2.) In terms of the genre of the show and what it delivers, Kotobuki is difficult to pin down. The best way I can describe it is "cute mercenary girls doing aerial battlethings in a Mad Max world", with a bit of "slice of life" mixed in. It is an action show, with swarms of planes getting into massive midair battles about every episode. A good dose of comedy is also mixed into the show, which makes it feel less boring during the non-battle scenes. However, sometimes I feel as though I'm watching an older kids' show with how "cartoonish" of a vibe I get from it. The characters? Kotobuki has quite a few pretty women as main characters and supporting characters...and basically any even somewhat-important character that isn't an enemy or an incompetent buffoon. Depending on who you are, this ovary ensemble is either exactly what you want in a show or is going to make you bored of it fast. That being said, each of the 6 Kotobuki Corps girls has a unique personality and something to like about them. Kirie is the main girl we follow throughout the series and this was done deliberately, as her cockiness, snarky humor, and almost comedic facial expressions make her an easy favorite. The other women in the series aren't nearly as focused on but still manage to make the show feel "real" with how much their different personalities can clash or feed off each other. Oh, did I also mention that all of these girls work as mercenaries or at least smugglers? The only thing more excessive than the way these women make money is some of their bust sizes. Overall, the characters are probably the strongest part of this show. While Kirie is given the most screentime compared to the other girls, you will find a moment or two where each one either made you laugh, intrigued, or at least appreciate their air combat skill. Plot & Enjoyment? The plot isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It is railroaded and our main girls have plot armor protecting them the whole way through. Every time the plot throws something "surprising" or "bad" at you, you aren't surprised and already know what the outcome will be. If you aren't watching the girls have air battles, the show falls back to a typical "slice of life" type of story where you watch Kirie eat pancakes and the other girls drink. If you don't go into the show too seriously, and are able to let the laws of physics stretch a bit, this is a very enjoyable show for those of us who enjoy women and dogfights in the sky. Might be better with a drink or two in your system, though.

When Shirobako had an in-universe anime called "Third Aerial Girls Squad" that ended up having a surprisingly decent one-shot OVA, I became hungry for a plane-based anime. Something with adventure, suspense and great world building. I got my wish many years later with Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai. Kotobuki is fast. Before you know it, the episode you're watching is already over. The pacing in each episode is ratcheted up to HELL SPEED and each episode just goes through tons of character development, world building and in-universe politics in the span of 10 minutes, before cutting to another 10 minutes of beautifully choreographed dogfights. While thismeans the show never gets boring, it does have the issue of delivering plot critical information at an incredible pace, so much so it's sometimes easy to miss out on what's going on with the plot. There is almost never a moment of peace or quiet. It's shot after shot of characters interacting with each other, dogfights, or some combination of the two. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The brisk pace does give some charm and identity to Kotobuki that makes it stand out among other anime this season. While the world-building is excellent (in which every event that happens has its purpose and origins) , character building does seem more lacking in comparison. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to see pancake-psycho go through her bouts of insanity, and resident goblin Chika is fun to watch too, but aside from Kylie, none of the other characters go through much character development and stay one-note until the end of the show. Kotobuki is definitely the kind of show that would really benefit from a two-cour structure, a second season, or hell even 1-hour long episodes. The writing is decent enough, so I wanted to see more character spotlight episodes to see each girl shine in their own way. At best maybe each girl gets 3 minutes of spotlight in their "spotlight episodes", but it's never enough. So much potential is just untapped behind it all. And here is where I have to address the elephant in the room I guess. The 3DCG character models clashing with the 2D characters. For the most part, in action scenes and dogfights, the 3D is beautiful and fluid. With excellent cinematic setpieces that would really give you goosebumps. But what's less impressive are the 3D renditions of major characters that really stand out when they're interacting with the 2D characters in the story. I've come to ignore it after a few episodes, but it's just so jarring to see it happen. Even more baffling is that on occasion they would switch out the 3D models with proper 2D models of the mains which look so much more fluid when animated (the beginning of the 2nd episode is a good example of this contrast). I get they're trying to make it more seemless since these characters are always on planes and therefore need to blend in better with the 3D dogfights, but I'd seriously would have preferred if they used 2D character models for the more peaceful on-the-ground scenes and then switch to 3D models when the characters are in flight. Still, in spite of this very jarring flaw, Kotobuki is a fun romp throughout. Fun characters, thrilling events, and brilliant cinematography all lend to an excellent adventure in the skies. All that remains is, when's Season 2 coming out? 8/10 And where's that Project ACES spin-off game?