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(All episodes watched): Crystal Blaze struck me as verging on an American style tale rather than the usual anime one--perhaps because of the man-with-a-gun main male protagonist, and the conclusion with multiple crisis(s) resolved simultaneously (with a fair share of jokes). The result was a fairly original and fun show. After watching the first episode and reading the synopsis above, I wondered if it was really refering to the same show I'd watched, since the synopsis was about one called "Glass Maiden". In fact, this series has two distinct titles for some reason.* The Middle East setting was news to me; at first I'd thought that maybe this was happening in the US, but later I concluded that it was Japan after all. That's kind of symbolic of this show, at least so far: you don't really know what's going on! Crystal Blaze seemed to get off to a good start with a bizarre incident in which a woman seems to burst into flames then is preserved in a statue-like golden crystal form. The OP sequence was snazzy and encouraging. But at the end I wasn't all that impressed. Considering the amount of airtime they'd gotten, all characters still seemed distinctly undeveloped. Who are these people, I thought, and why should I root for them? The show seemed to be trying to be cool by including shootouts, except they were animated in a lacklustre and unexciting manner. I still had little idea what was going on with these Glass Maidens, and didn't really care all that much. Not exactly a brilliant opening episode, and I fear for the series as a whole. But Crystal Blaze can't be all bad, since I was still watching at the midpoint. It's definitely not a high priority series, but has a certain charm; sort of a corny, campy show (corny and campy because that's what it wanted to be, not because the makers did a crappy job). Or, a second class show which is kind of fun nevertheless. These plucky characters in what's almost an excuse for a private detective agency are fairly likeable after all. Shu especially, reminds me of Ryo from City Hunter; he's an expert whereas the rest of the staff are little more than teenagers. Their frequent client Porilyn is an interesting character, if you know what I mean. No doubt Sara and Shu will wind up in love. Not much info about the whats and whys of the Glass Maidens, except the usual illegal-secret-weapo The final episode was slightly anti-climactic in that the main crisis passes in the first half of the episode. Still, I liked it; except for what exactly happened to Sara at the end, every plot thread was definitively resolved--again, not what I'm accustomed to in anime. The stunts were a little absurd, but I don't care--it was fun anyhow. Crystal Blaze could have been much better, but could have been much worse as well. *Apparently a rock group in Finland has already copyrighted "Glass Maiden" as their name! Last updated Saturday, September 27 2008. Created Friday, April 18 2008. | ||||||||
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Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Language Series Web Site | http://anime.biglobe.ne.jp/crystal-blaze/ |
| Project Site for "Glass Maiden" by Fuji Creative | http://www.fujicreative.co.jp/intldept/new/glassmaden/Top.html |
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