Technoroid: Overmind

While Technoroid: Overmind will likely stay overlooked by the majority of anime fans, those looking for either an under-the-radar music show or an intriguing Sci-Fi/Slice of Life anime should certainly check it out. Another brainchild of Noriyasu Agematsu (a man perhaps best known for his other original creation Symphogear, and in general, no stranger to creative music shows) and featuring the stylings of his acclaimed group of composers Elements Garden, viewers can be assured of quality songs. The average Technoroid viewer will come for the music, and will likely not be disappointed. That being said, this anime has plenty of other hooks – in fact,the idol aspects of Technoroid are deceptively secondary to the character-driven slice of life segments and mysterious science fiction drama that make up the majority of the anime. Most of Technoroid's runtime is spent developing upon the core androids making up the unit KNoCC (Kei, Neon, Chrom, and Cobalt), along with their relationships with a human boy, Esola Shibaura, and the greater world surrounding them. The anime takes place in a futuristic setting where robots and humans both play vital roles in society, and explores both the personal and societal consequences of such a world. Arguably Technoroid's greatest strength is the former – through a series of heartful episodic vignettes, the show demonstrates the main androids coming to understand their own human-like feelings, as well as other people around the androids coming to understand them. However, the latter also comes into play – spoilers aside, from the ending of episode 1, our mains are left entangled in the beginnings of a greater societal conflict that slowly shapes the journey of the main plot. Not all humans are fans of the increasing roles of androids in society, and their fears lead to greater problems that eventually boil to a climax. Technoroid may bite off a little more weight than it can chew here, but despite some simplistic, saccharine points, the journey through this conflict manages to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. Additionally, this major conflict keeps the show driven, both helping it to keep occasional background tensions to engage the viewer and slowly hooking them in as things intensify. Ultimately, the idol part is still relevant, of course – the fusion of musical performance with the aforementioned aspects is what makes Technoroid a unique show. Our four android heroes find themselves in need of money to stay functioning, and this leads them to becoming Climbers at Babel – an entertainment tower akin to reality TV. The challenges KNoCC face in their daily lives help empower them to pass through Babel's various stages, resulting in a performance near the end of the average Technoroid episode after/during which the day-to-day problems are resolved. However, during the plot-heavy segments, this structure does get abandoned, leading to several straight episodes later on without any idol songs (not that there's anything wrong with that – there's enough going on in the show by then that viewers won't even notice). Additionally, a couple songs in the midsection do blur together – nevertheless, these performances are generally rather enjoyable and usually tie into the episodic conflicts rather well. The rival group Stand-Alone deserves special acclaim; while the times they actually perform are few and far between, they manage to deliver a couple real spotlight-stealing songs. Really, there's not much else to be said without getting into the details of the show. Doga Kobo may be a surprising studio choice for an anime in this vein, but they deliver a competent product. While it is part of a multi-media franchise, Technoroid: Overmind manages to avoid most of the pitfalls these shows encounter, and genuinely feels like those behind it wanted to tell this story. And yes, I seriously have no idea why the MAL score is this low (at the time of writing, it's reached 6.38, and was somewhere in the 5.7 range while airing). If I had to guess, half the rather low count of watchers are people who try around every seasonal on MAL and have little interest in a show involving male idols to begin with. It'll go up. All in all, if something in this show calls to you, I'd recommend giving it a try. Technoroid's blend of entertaining plot, endearing characters, and intriguing concepts leaves it one of the most pleasant surprises I've had with this medium in a while.

You know what I always say about idol shows: it's nothing more than just a cash grab at a growing franchise...that no one bothers about it. Only the ones that do, make a splash, and for others like Technoroid, created by RUCCA, CyberAgent, Avex Pictures, and Elements Garden under its creator Noriyasu Agematsu, the brainchild of Fall 2021's mediocre showing of Visual Prison under A-1 Pictures, it's the umpteenth time that people in the West are saying: we DO NOT NEED more bullcrap shows like this. But Technoroid: Overmind, is a wee bit different, and is something that's more than what the average idol showhas to offer. The Technoroid franchise consisting of the Japan-only Unison Hearts mobage, a manga version, and Doga Kobo's Overmind anime, it's obscenely clear that whatever Noriyasu Agematsu was trying to conceive, it had a lukewarm reception, just like Visual Prison 2 years before. And I'm just going to assume this, but more idol shows in this day and age are getting harder to stand out, and this is no differnt for Technoroid: Overmind, which is nothing more than just the imitation of the game adaptation of Detroit: Become Human. And you need not look too far from the similarities of this being just like said game, as quoted by Super Jump Magazine on the game's motive: "Although it has its intended message (and it really likes to moralize it), Detroit is a game that functions best when it focuses on character interactions and the relationships that develop from them. It wants to tell a story with wide-reaching implications on class, discrimination, and what it means to be human. And if you play the "machine" way, on the futility of change, success, and...authoritarianism, I guess?" I thought that the narrative for Overmind is quite the intrigueness, being all different from supposedly tried-and-true tropes that were becoming all but stale, but finding out that it's a copy-paste, self-adjusted rhetoric of said game, the originality of the show's focus is really kinda lost, especially when it tries to force its idol themes forward, because this is an idol show at its heart and core. But still, you have to give credit where credit is due, and the show's plot is not boring at all (albeit at times) and keeps you on your toes on this somewhat dystopian future of humans and robots being at war, declaring that Androids are inferior to humans, and like their machine counterparts, they have no heart at all. This is amplified through the show's central idol group KNoCC, consisting of Cobalt, Chrome, Kei and Neon, and also the child of their creator Esola Shibaura. Being made Androids, there is discrimination against them as a whole, that's especially amplified by the rival group STAND-ALONE, consisting of its leader Kite and brothers Light and Night. That being said, the quote of "The best stories it tells are the ones between its characters." is true, in the sense that they are fighting for a just world, that's the mission of KNoCC and Esola as a whole in trying to figure out who they are, what their purpose on Earth is for, and be the one thing that humanity hates it best: be like humans with a heart for people. And you need not look far than Episode 1's sudden "plot twist" to know that this show is unlike any other idol show out there, with the whole "Blast Furnace incident" and the police (in the form of Android Inspector Bora) in search of this illusive truth. And the cost of that truth wlll break its government to its foundation, pure eradication and purposes all wounded up for the right or wrong reasons. For this alone, I can say that while Overmind as a whole is kinda rough with the ascertained quote "Look, it's a bit clumsy with the execution.", it at least got its points across that both humans and Androids can live together, even in an unjust world. And for that, it's a plus point that I rarely give, especially in idol shows. With Doga Kobo taking a break because of the studio's most recent COVID-related breakout, it's a given where shows like Kubo-san and this wil get delayed having their releases pushed back a bit, and it's honestly better late than never, albeit with degrade visuals that are just lazy with subpar work done. Korean director Im Ga-Hee is a relative unknown, so it's shows like these at get the least amount of reception that is a safe zone that will not affect the reputation of the staff under her name, so that's A-OK, I guess. Obviously, idol shows are all about the music, and both producers of Elements Garden and Avex Pictures have a lot of experience under their belt. As expected, the usual OST of the idol theme is not something that I would be of particular interest, and to be fair, is only appreciated by the niche. I will have to admit though that while KNOCC's OP "Love No Hate" is kinda average, it's the collab of KNoCC and STAND-ALONE's "Invisible -one heart-" (there is an "-all hearts-" version for the mobage) that is low-key one of my favourite ED songs this season. But still, it's really on the average side as far as idol OSTs go. But still, while Technoroid: Overmind is really forgettable, it's watchable, that out of all the idols shows of the past few years, this one is no slouch, and is a touch above average. I still wouldn't count on anyone having a keen interest to watch this show, so just take a peek at it, then forget that it ever existed. Detroit: Become Idols. Over and out.

It is quite an interesting theme. I have not seen an anime, where androids/robots find feelings. It is quite new to me. Honestly, I do recommend it, but definitely not to people who dislike cheeky idol anime, it is fairly good. Yes, but.. honestly would be a downer, for anybody that expects a life-changing anime, for example One Piece or Your Lie In April, those two have fairly impacted my taste in anime. This anime is just fully for fun, ,,choose your own family,, oriented anime. It has dark times and stuff, but watch it if you feel genuinely bored of the usual idol stuff.