Gun x Sword

******* He appears to be on top of the world. Surrounded by a legion of followers that fervently scream his name and a trio of women that lovingly caress his shoulders, this man seems to be the center of attention, and he’s not only aware of this but he enjoys it as well. This man is Lucky Roulette, the ringleader of a gang known as the “Wild Bunch”. They’re a nasty assortment of thugs, mugging, murdering and inflaming anyone or anything that obstructs their path to riches and renown. The “Wild Bunch” migrate from one town to the next, mercilessly pillaging the inhabitants’ resources before movingto the next locale. Their acts of destruction are all overseen by Lucky, who views each undertaking as an opportunity to assess how much luck he possesses. “It’s the one thing in God’s domain. No training to it. No honing of one’s skills. Nothing. That’s why I want to test it. I want to find out just what God thinks of me,” - Lucky To that end, he endeavors into each heist without abandon, which simultaneously endangers his life and pushes the boundaries of his good fortune. Cackling maniacally, twirling his pair of revolvers, Lucky obliterates everything in his line of sight and, through pure luck, he finishes with nary a scratch on him. Because of this, Lucky feels as though he’s not only fortunate but exceptional as well. He believes that no matter what activity he partakes in, he’s guaranteed to succeed because of his luck. However, it is when Lucky begins terrorizing the small town of Evergreen and encounters a hopeless drifter named Vahn that everything changes for him. When Lucky learns that Vahn injured a few of his members during one of their raids, he coerces Vahn into playing a simple card game with him as a method of uncovering how talented Vahn is. In the middle of this game, he promises Vahn that no harm will come to him if he wins. Lucky also claims through a lengthy monologue that attacking Vahn would contradict his personal code of honor, stating that he only engages in fair fights. However, when Lucky loses the card game, he reneges on the promise he made. Valuing his good fortune above all else, Lucky believes that, during the card game, Vahn deprived him of what he cherishes most. As a result, he ambushes Vahn in a dark alley and drenches him with steaming hot lead, which not only triggers his ultimate downfall but also tarnishes the moral principles he claimed to protect. Lucky Roulette’s characterization is a blatant argument against the concept of an honorable criminal. He discourses at great length on righteousness, claiming to support his moral code, but when circumstances demand he prove where his loyalties lie, he abandons his beliefs. Stripped of his noble platitudes, Lucky is your typical bandit, just as petty, self-absorbed and shortsighted as his peers (if not more so). Lucky’s proclamations of honor only serve to emphasize the extents his hypocrisy reach, which makes him all the more fascinating to watch during his brief appearance in Gun x Sword. In the context of this show and what it aims to accomplish, Lucky Roulette is but a one-off villain, defeated in its very first episode, never seen (nor referred to) again; he is a pawn, unwittingly participating in a scheme far bigger than he could ever fathom. Lucky’s role is minor, yes, but it does carry some level of significance. With each episode, Gun x Sword would burrow further and further into the concept of an honorable criminal, exploring the nuances of this idea through various individuals (each with their own unique moral code), before ultimately confronting it via its main antagonist (who is arguably the most complex “honorable criminal” of them all). However, this thematic exploration all begins with Lucky and his card games. Honestly, the fact that Gun x Sword created such an insignificant character and used him to establish the groundwork for one of its most essential concepts speaks volumes about the level of writing we’re dealing with here. ******* It’s difficult not to marvel at the scope of this show’s vision. Gun x Sword (GxS) is ambitious, an anime aiming to integrate a myriad of themes and concepts into a narrative that seamlessly transitions from episodic, small-scale events to a far larger plotline (what GxS accomplishes with the idea of an honorable criminal is but one of many feats its storytelling achieves). During this transition, it ceaselessly diversifies the intent of its individual vignettes, each episode (unique in its own right) serving as an experiment for GxS’s overall purpose. While one episode is a Pulp Fiction parody, another is a high-stakes mecha tournament. This is an anime that can dedicate one episode to elaborating on the dangers of childhood nostalgia and an entirely different episode to waxing poetic on bathing suits. It is this wondrously creative writing that highlights the adventures of Gun x Sword’s protagonists Wendy and Vahn. Established on the Earth-like planet known as the “Endless Illusion”, GxS is an anime that’s partially defined by its scenic backgrounds, by its gorgeous fight scenes, and by its devastating plot twists but what guides all of this forward are the motives of this show’s central characters. Wendy is an insecure yet assertive young girl, an individual whose arc is focused on retrieving her older brother Michael from the clutches of The Claw (GxS’s main antagonist), alongside surviving and maturing in a world that doesn’t favor her small stature. Vahn is the stereotypical anti-hero, a poor man’s Spike Spiegel that’s pursuing The Claw because he murdered his wife at their wedding three years before this show takes place (as a memento, Vahn still wears the tuxedo from that day). Together, Wendy, Vahn and their motives are the foundation for Gun x Sword, and all that it aspires to do. They are also the nucleus of an anime that prioritizes its ambitions far too often for its own good. With its wings stretched behind it and its chest puffed out in front of it, Gun x Sword is Icarus, grasping the heavens above but ignoring virtually everything outside of its line of sight. This show propels its narrative (and the multitude of ideas embedded within it) into increasingly innovative directions but, in the process, it mishandles and (at times) neglects more than a few impactful plot elements. Focused on the bigger picture, Gun x Sword doesn’t apply the same attention to the smaller pieces of the puzzle. This show is one that attempts juggling several concepts at once but, though this pursuit is admirable, it doesn’t always succeed. While it’s understandable that GxS struggles under this workload, the degree to which this show fumbles with some of its ideas is, at times, baffling. For starters, there is a certain subplot involving a watchdog and its two puppies that exudes the stench of a halfhearted effort. Gun x Sword tries positioning these characters as devices for an overarching message on the human condition but it doesn’t dedicate enough time to properly develop this idea and the result is naturally less than ideal. Then, there are the unsettling implications contained within the dynamic between Wendy (who is in her early teens) and Vahn (who is in his mid-twenties) that Gun x Sword never bothers exploring. I don’t expect this show to present a detailed opinion on underaged relationships but, if you’re going to portray your protagonists with a considerable age difference as a couple (and, dear God, is GxS guilty of this), then a comment or two on how you feel about this topic shouldn’t be too much to ask for. Naturally, there are other concepts that GxS fails to flesh out in one way or another (of particular interest is episode 14’s tragically underdeveloped viewpoint of mass-produced machines) but, in the grand scheme of things, they (and the deficiencies I mentioned earlier) are inessential. When examined individually, that might not appear to be the case. However, in the context of all that Gun x Sword represents and accomplishes, their importance is downsized considerably. What this show forfeits on a conceptual level by botching several of the themes it tackles, it more than compensates by emphasizing its force of personality. Gun x Sword has quite the theatrical flair. This show doesn’t merely advance its plot lines to thrilling peaks; it revels in those dramatic highs. GxS throws itself wholeheartedly into exploiting each and every twist and turn its story takes for maximum effect. The result is a show whose overdramatic approach is simply irresistible to watch. And for something like this, it requires a soundtrack that’s worthy of its efforts. GxS needs a soundtrack that’s just as gloriously over-the-top as it is, a soundtrack that not only complements the tone of this series but elevates its theatrics to new heights. Luckily, Kotaro Nakagawa, famed composer of the soundtracks for Code Geass and Planetes (among others), is here to make this possible. It’s his experience with creating uniquely cinematic scores that allows GxS’s music to flourish. Primarily reliant on a combination of orchestral and jazz, this show’s score is highlighted by the intensity of its sound. Nakagawa’s saxophone riffs awaken with the fervor of a firework display while his violin solos roar with a Hans Zimmer-esque self-importance but GxS’s score really shines in his efforts with Hitomi Kuroishi. A frequent collaborator on Nakagawa’s projects (and a musician I’ve long admired), Kuroishi provides her harp, her drums and (of course) her angelic voice to this show’s soundtrack with her songs “Paradiso” and “La Speranza”. As awe-inspiring as the songs created by Nakagawa and Kuroishi are, it is Gun x Sword’s opening theme that’s truly the pinnacle of its musical brilliance. Backed by a symphony of trumpets and drums, it is a series of climaxes, energetically transitioning from one to the next. It is also a marriage between flute solos and background vocals. Last but not least, it is an opportunity for Gun x Sword’s supporting cast to be properly introduced. In the opening theme, they are nothing more than silhouettes. However, in the viewpoint of first impressions, they seem to be nothing more than plot devices; they appear to be mouthpieces masquerading as characters (and not very talented mouthpieces, at that). Every message GxS conveys through its supporting cast makes for an unappetizing watch. Shallow at its best and heavy-handed at its worst, this show’s social commentary is one that not only offers nothing new to the issues it discusses but it also pushes to the forefront a rather limited perspective. When its characters state their opinions on topics like ageism, classism, and sexism, their efforts betray a lack of knowledge on the subject matter. As more exposure is provided to the supporting cast, these individuals are allowed opportunities to deviate from their mouthpiece roles and to distinguish themselves. While this show falters in communicating social themes through its supporting cast, it shines in developing their personalities. With the benefit of a different approach in place, it’s apparent that these characters are more than tools for GxS to employ however it desires; they are people striving to preserve their beliefs and fulfill their ambitions. Enhanced by these intensely personal characteristics, the supporting cast is rendered human, which ultimately makes investing in their individual journeys far easier. Not only does this cause the supporting cast to be all the more enjoyable but it also adds a layer of nuance to this show’s overall theme of revenge. A hero falls victim to devastating circumstances, resulting in the deprivation of everything he/she ever cherished. However, instead of succumbing to sorrow, the hero uses their most vulnerable moment as the driving force to settle the score with the cause of their despair. Revenge is a concept that’s both exceptionally alluring... and exceptionally narrow. In comparison to ideas such as love, power, and prosperity (which are broad and abstract concepts that can be defined however you wish), revenge is specific and concrete, which severely limits the extent to which you can explore it. To its credit, Gun x Sword provides a valiant effort. Through Ray Lundgren and Vahn, this show not only dissects the idea of revenge but how it consumes individuals, alongside those around them and (in the end) it questions the benefit that results from revenge. However, where GxS ultimately falters isn’t in its thematic exploration but in the conclusion it reaches after its analysis. (A useful aside: It’s impossible to overstate how important revenge is to Gun x Sword as a whole. It isn’t merely among the many themes this show builds upon. Revenge is THE theme of GxS, the concept that everything else revolves around. Vahn’s pursuit of revenge allows him to encounter Lucky Roulette (and Wendy) in the town of Evergreen, which causes this series to move forward. Without the idea of revenge, none of what GxS accomplishes (and wants to accomplish) would be possible) Revenge for its own sake is not unique, nor is it entertaining. There must be a deeper meaning to the motive if you really want people to be invested in your character. For Ray, a man whose wife was murdered because she remained loyal to her principles, revenge is only part of what he desires. In pursuing his wife’s killer, Ray wants to uncover whether or not the choice she made was correct. For Vahn, however, it’s different. You see, after all of the time Gun x Sword devotes to questioning the purpose behind Vahn’s pursuit, the answer it reaches is the equivalent of a shoulder shrug. By not providing any depth for Vahn’s motive, this show’s development of the idea of revenge is a half-finished effort. If this flawed thematic exploration were an isolated incident, it would be quite difficult (but not impossible) to properly appreciate everything else GxS has to offer. However, factoring in the other underdeveloped concepts that are scattered throughout this show, the various pieces of the puzzle that (by themselves) seem insignificant, results in something too devastating to overlook. Gun x Sword leans far more towards style than it does substance; this is an anime that amazes with the outlandish ideas it raises but underwhelms with how little it’s willing to develop them. It promotes itself as something of a thinking man’s shonen/mecha but its efforts in justifying this title are inconsistent, to say the least. I admire Gun x Sword. No; it would be more accurate to say that I admire what Gun x Sword could’ve been. With its joyously overdramatic approach, its experimental narrative, and the overwhelming ambitions it aimed to fulfill, who can’t appreciate the heights this show wanted to reach? When it involves potential, few can compare to GxS. However, when it involves realizing and maximizing that same potential, this show ultimately falls short.

This anime really surprised me. I found it via Netflix. Van, the main character is seeking revenge on the guy (known as the Claw) who murdered his fiancee on their wedding day. Along his journey, he meets many others who are travelling with him for their own purpose. Wendy, the "heroine" of the story had her brother "kidnapped" by the Claw. The first half of this anime appeared to be episodic. However, I loved how this anime tied each episode together. From the different names that were added to Van, to the way this anime referred back to previous episode.The amount of detail this anime had really surprised me. What made me really enjoy this anime, wasn't the overall story. It was the supporting cast. In face, I really didn't even like Van. His character was rather dull for me. I enjoyed almost all of the supporting cast. They made me give this anime the score that I did. Without them, I would have rated this anime a much lower score. If you want to truly enjoy this anime, try to get past the first few episodes. As Van starts attracting the rest of the cast, you'll find that this anime starts getting better and better. I even enjoyed the cast of the enemies. Overall, I give this anime a 9. I wish the ending were a little bit better but I still highly recommend this anime.

I have to be honest here: I kinda expected Gun X Sword to be a little different than what it really was. I thought it was going to be a purely-western anime, and that the main character, who is dressed like the typical main character in a western movie, would wield a weapon that functions as both a gun and a sword (this show is called "Gun X Sword", after all). Well, I got the 'dressed like the typical main character in a western movie' part right, but that's about it. The story is nothing new. The main character's wife was killed, and now he's searchingfor the bastard responsible, while making some friends and helping others along the way. It's been done before, but that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, it's actually done really well here. The series takes place on a different planet known as the Endless Illusion, unlike many other series that take place on Earth, though Earth does get mentioned once. The animation is crisp, clear, and absolutely superb. Every character is well-detailed and very rarely look like one another. The backgrounds and scenery look gorgeous. If you have an HD-capable TV and Netflix, I encourage you to watch Gun X Sword in HD. Seriously, it looks freaking beautiful. As for the music, the opening theme is amazing. It fits the series well, gets you excited for the current episode, and if your watching Gun X Sword for the first time, it helps the opening itself do what any opening should do: grab your attention and keep you interested. The music varies from adrenaline-rushing, exciting, and fast-paced to calming, peaceful, and emotional. My favorite has to be Paradiso by Hitomi, which has to be the most beautifully sung song I've ever heard in my entire life. I've watched the Funimation english dub, and I must say that the voice acting is also superb. Every voice actor injects voice into their respective character with each line they speak, almost as if they are the characters themselves. The characters, with the exception of maybe one or two, are all kick-ass and likable. Van, voiced by David Vincent, is a tall, lanky, wandering swordsman who searches endlessly for the man with a claw for a right hand that killed his wife on his wedding day. He's normally calm and tranquil, though any mention of the man with a claw for a right hand will drive him into a fiery rage. Van tries to remain uninvolved in other people's situations, and usually only helps them out of public sight. He wields a shape-memory-alloy sword that he can straighten with an electric jolt and use as a weapon or loosen and use as a grappling whip. Whenever he eats, he always asks for all the spices and condiments available, smothers his food in uncomfortable amounts of them, and upon taking a bite, shouts a phrase like "DAMN, THAT'S SPICY!" or "GOD, THAT'S GOOD!". Van also pilots a giant robot known as Dann of Thursday, which is kept in a giant satellite in outer space when not in use. Wendy, voiced by Stephanie Sheh, is a teenager who is looking for her older brother, who she believes was kidnapped by the same man who murdered Van's wife. She keeps a pet turtle named Kameo given to her by her brother. She joins Van after he saves her hometown of Evergreen. Unlike Van, she's willing to help others in need, rather than leave them to themselves. She carries her brother's gun with her, which only contains one bullet. She's also irritated when people put her aside due to her coming of age. Overall, this anime is probably one of the best I've ever seen. If you like giant robots, westerns, and tragic revenge stories, then this is the anime for you. It's available on Netflix for streaming, so if you've got Netflix, check it out.

Gun x Sword is an exercise in futility. I had high expectations for this series. When I learned that the plot centered around the protagonist attempting to avenge his dead wife, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, with each passing episode I felt more and more dread that this series would not live up to my initial expectations. I still had a faint sense of hope that the series would prove me wrong in the second half. My prayers were left unanswered and I am left with a 26 episode waste of time. It is soulless and formulaic in every way. It has no depth. It throwseverything possible at the viewer in a vain hope that something will stick. The simplest way to describe it is that on the surface, it is a Trigun ripoff with elements of Cowboy Bebop mixed in and none of their depth. Once you start watching this trainwreck you will see it lacks the quality and deep writing of its predecessors. This is a style-over-substance series, and in that sense you can say it was a pioneer for what would become of the anime industry. For those of you that appreciate a deep, well-written story with developed characters and thought-provoking situations, steer well clear of Gun x Sword. The story takes place on an Earth-like prison planet. Somehow, this prison planet was able to develop into a modern civilization with advanced technology, including mechas called Armor which are piloted by the characters in order to fight each other. The setting tends to vary, but for the most part it is similar to Trigun's futuristic wild west. Our protagonist is a tuxedo-wearing cowboy named Van. He is out to avenge the murder of his wife at the hands of someone named The Claw. He pilots an Armor called "Dann of Thursday" that is stored in a floating charging station in space. When Van turns his hat sideways, Dann shoots down from space to someplace near Van's current position. Along the way, we are introduced to a multitude of pointless characters with their own motivations for tagging along with Van. These characters are never developed any further than when we were first introduced to them. The first tagalong, Wendy, is a child who is searching for her brother who joined up with The Claw. Wendy is a defenseless, useless character who is completely out of place in this supposed story about vengeance. She exists to give the story the illusion of having layers and depth, but in reality her character is a hinderance to the core story because her own story does not align with Van's in a manner that develops either of their characters. Her search for her brother is a subplot that runs astray of the main goal. This is a repeat pattern you will notice all throughout this series and it is clear the studio thought throwing new character after new character at the viewer would be a substitute for having to develop the characters that have already been introduced. The further into the series you get, the more pointless characters seem to fill up the runtime of each episode. A Faye Valentine ripoff, complete with unfinished business from her childhood, named "Carmen99" shows up and tags along with Van for some reason. Now, my first thought upon hearing this was that Carmen99 is an internet username that this character uses to find jobs or something similar. It doesn't sound like a normal name for a character in this series, since every other character has average sounding names like Wendy. I do not remember if it is ever explained why she has this name. However, I later found out that she is called Carmen99 because that is her bust measurement. I am sure the studio thought that was very clever, original, and well-thought-out. Let this set the precedent for things to come. The two other major supporting characters that are introduced are a Vicious ripoff named Ray, another man whose wife was murdered by The Claw, and his little brother Joshua, who is searching for him. Ray and Van are often at each other's throats as they both want to be the one to kill The Claw but no development of this rivalry ever happens, the closest thing that comes to them reconciling is a brief discussion near the end where they maintain that they want to kill The Claw before the other and then part ways. The only memorable thing about Ray is his hilariously cold and angsty attitude. My favorite part in this entire series is during an Armor fight between the protagonists and two annoying children, a brother and a sister, that are working for The Claw. Ray pulls out a sniper rifle and assassinates the little girl. Rather than ponder to himself about how he just murdered a child, he immediately reloads and says something along the lines of "one down". Joshua is a contender for the most annoying character not just in this series but in anime history. He does not contribute to the story in any meaningful way above creating plot holes and being an all-around annoyance. He has no awareness of what is going on at any given time. He enjoys preaching about morality in a half-hearted, shallow fashion. In one episode, Wendy meets The Claw face to face. Ray then appears and just before he can kill The Claw, Joshua steps in front of him while preaching some nonsense about pacifism. Meanwhile, he has no issue with his brother murdering a child. Once again, this is a character that does not aid Van's quest for vengeance which is supposed to be the main story. This is a quality that is present in the entire cast of Gun x Sword. The main antagonist, as mentioned before, is an old man named The Claw. True to his name, one of his hands is a claw. Despite being a murderer, he has somehow convinced other members of this show's mentally-incapacitated cast that he actually wants peace, happiness and rainbows and to believe in him despite having already murdered two innocent women. His henchmen acknowledge this inconvenient fact, yet they willingly fight for him anyway. The ramblings of this shallow, one-dimensional villain are somehow so influential that it can turn almost any member of this idiotic cast into his loyal servant. Even Wendy is intrigued by him and briefly leaves to have a conversation with him near the end of the series because she wants to understand his motivations. The writers seem to think that having other characters pick up the slack for a shallow, one-dimensional antagonist is good writing. By now, you have noticed that I have stopped talking about the story and have spent three-and-a-half paragraphs discussing characters. This is because in Gun x Sword, the amount of characters thrown at you and the shallowly-written subplots they bring IS the story. Character development is non-existent in this series. Rather than deliver thought-provoking perspectives about grief, sorrow and loss, or put Van through interesting moral crises where his quest for vengeance would slowly turn him into a monster, the studio hopes that giving the viewer some shallow exposition will be enough to suffice. The plot is as basic as it gets and serves as a pretext for the nonsense that occurs in this series. The first half of the series comprises of Van and Wendy wandering from town to town, meeting its inhabitants and assisting them, meeting another tagalong, or dealing with the villain of the week until the episode ends. As I was watching, I thought back to the way the episodes of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun were able to deliver interesting stories that kept my attention. Those series had a modest amount of established characters who grew as they went through their journey because it was about how the characters dealt with the people and situations they came across. No one grows or changes in Gun x Sword. The amount of time spent on the journey does not affect anything except for the amount of characters you will have to keep track of, and the amount of time wasted on this travesty. It is later revealed via flashback that Van was one of an elite group of security guards for the prison planet and that Dann of Thursday is one of a set of Armor named after days of the week that these guards would use. His wife was a scientist that helped develop these Armor. At some point, The Claw showed up and decided to start a cult centered around him bringing about world peace by resetting the world End of Evangelion style. Because Van and his wife were the only ones to not go along with the ramblings of a one-dimensional murderer that justifies his killings with philosophy, one of the other security guards who was a friend of Van invites The Claw to Van's wedding where The Claw would attack Van and his wife. This doesn't immediately kill them however, and for some reason this "friend" is present in the hospital room with Van and his wife, who is in critical condition. This friend and Van's wife exchange words about healing Van by making his life depend on his Armor or something and then she dies. Then he and Van talk and despite arguably being the one to blame for the death of Van's wife, for some reason he agrees to give Van ownership of Dann of Thursday which is supposedly more powerful and advanced than any other Armor, effectively shooting himself in the foot. This is a completely nonsensical backstory that makes no sense if you assume the characters, and by extension the writers have any intelligence. The second half of the series only gets worse. Every single minor character and their grandma decides to tag along with Van in what can only be described as "Super Friends" on crack. They live on a knockoff of the White Base and this is where character overload becomes a real problem because instead of dealing with 3 or 4 shallow, undeveloped characters at once now you are dealing with 10+, most of whom only appeared in one episode, for the remainder of the series. At this point I lost all hope of proper character development ever happening. By the time the episode about the woman-only bikini kingdom arrived I lost all hope of this series ever redeeming itself. The finale arrives not with a bang, but with a whimper as Van simply walks up to The Claw after thwarting his world reset and he is stuck in his seat. This angry, vengeful embodiment of wrath and sorrow brandishes his sword and quickly slashes him across the chest exactly once, with no blood or gore whatsoever. We see this from the back so that the animators could avoid having to animate a satisfying death scene for the villain. Afterward, the characters exchange pointless dialogue with each other and part ways. There is an epilogue scene where a slightly older Wendy, now operating a restaurant, is telling the events of the series to a reporter. Van walks in and asks for something to eat. The viewer is supposed to be happy to see them reunite. The only thing I was happy about is that this disaster finally ended. The art style and animation were fine. Pleasing colors and hit-or-miss character designs. Van has the best and most memorable character design out of the entire cast, everyone else is forgettable or a ripoff of a character from another series, while others like Wendy's brother or the whore that works for The Claw have that weird, "big anime eyes" look that clashes with most of the other characters. The designs of the Armor, for the most part, are unmemorable. The movement of the animation isn't very fluid or intricate and while they did not go above and beyond, they at least gave the series its own style and it usually works. The sound design was also fine, I did not care very much for the song used in the OP as it was clear they were trying too hard to make it sound epic or imposing. I think the best parts of the OP song were the flute and the choir. The ED has a melancholy song that would have fit well had this series decided to stay the course with its core plot, play it completely straight and develop it into something interesting. The majority of the insert songs were unmemorable. The sound effects weren't particularly memorable and there were no instances where I was amazed at their use. I was sad and disappointed by how much of a disaster this series turned out to be. I was expecting something much greater than what it really was. Gun x Sword suffers from serious cases of clashing tones and character overload. You will not find character development or well-written, meaningful stories in any of its 26 episodes. It is a complete waste of time, and it is a shame because it could have been much better if they actually cared about telling a good story centered around the human condition instead of trying to appeal to casual audiences that tune in for nothing more than mecha fights and fanservice. If you value your time, stay far away from this trash.