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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Watch | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
 Dreamer
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[series:1684#2279] |
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This series was a bit on the slow side, but still worth watching. Be warned, it's pretty bittersweet. Art, Animation & Character Designs Artwork at times was just fantastic. I was blown away in episode 1, near the beginning with the seagals in flight and surrounding the girl on the rock. The lighting was gorgeous with the sea backdrop. Music The soundtrack had some nice piano, violins and other string instruments akin to classical pieces. Yes yes, me like a lot. The ED was a nice quiet lullaby with female vocals. Series and Episode Story The story was a bit on the slow side. It almost felt subdued by the tranquility of the settings and musical compositions. The plot doesn't really get far in terms of development but rather, we know almost right away that there's going to be a potential "invasion". But rather than the series building up to that, we get instead a slow character development and dynamics between our two main characters.... "Mari" and "Hagino", and as well a progressive learning of what "happened" on that "fateful" day on the island of Kamikakushi. Unfortunately, we pretty much know and could easily guess so there wasn't much of a surprise. I say "much" because there is a "slight" surprise nearing the end but even then, it's barely an "oh, that's what happened?". There's some scenes that seem overly dramatic, or rather melodramatic and wants the viewer to sympathize with the situation or character at hand..... but more times than not, it didn't quite work. But the battle scenes near the end was impressive in terms of artwork and animation. Overall, this was a pretty decent series with amazing artwork and visuals. The plot was slow but still keeps you watching. Last updated Wednesday, March 31 2010. Created Wednesday, March 31 2010. | ||||||||
| Buy | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1684#1552] |
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It's not perfect, but Blue Drop did enough to impress me with its mix of character drama and sci-fi focused around Mari and Hagino. Besides the developing relationship between the two, the show also delves into the mystery surrounding the event that led to everyone, except for Mari, to be killed on Kamikakushi Island. On both fronts, the show takes its time at slowly developing Mari and Hagino's characters as well as unveiling more details on the Arume alien race and the government investigation into the Kamikakushi incident. Beyond these aspects, the show also does well at looking into the normal school lives of Mari and Hagino. From their friends to the play being prepared for the school's culture festival, these aspects of their lives focused on added to my interest in the series. The music to the series even did well to complement the somber mood of the series, especially the OP. However, the show doesn't resolve all its mysteries. Why did Hagino choke Mari at the start of the show? What major significance was the play to Hagino that she didn't take action to stop a full-scale Arume invasion? Why did the Arume go for a full-scale takeover of Earth if they desired preservation of their race through the human population? These were just some things for me to nitpick over after seeing the series. Beyond that, Blue Drop's just another 2007 anime title that I greatly enjoyed with Mari and Hagino's developing bond, as well as the mysteries surrounding the intentions of the Arume. Last updated Sunday, September 20 2009. Created Sunday, September 20 2009. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
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[series:1684#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched--twice): I had read the synopsis above before watching the first episode of Blue Drop, but there are so many new series appearing these days that I had lost track of which show the synopsis was referring to, and went into this episode having virtually no idea what to expect. The episode opens with a scene aboard some sort of futuristic passenger space shuttle, which implied that the series would be taking place in the not-too-distant future, but otherwise human technology seems unchanged (the very last episode explains what’s going on), so I was left wondering why it had been included to begin with. If it hadn't, and the viewer had been as clueless as myself, you would think this was a school drama--until the final scene, that is. Early on I found the story to be confusing, and began to worry that this was going to be excessively avant-garde to the extent of doing more harm than good. What I mean is, some pretty strange stuff happens, but instead of reacting with "WTF was that?!", Mari just shrugs it off as if it's nothing she hasn't seen plenty of times before. I began to think that maybe too much weirdness was being included for a good OP episode; the story seemed to wobble back and forth between this weirdness and touches which I found genuinely interesting. Then, after a startling cliffhanger at the end, I found myself thinking "I want to see some more of this"! A decent intro had come together after all, and I was left especially eager for the next episode. Whereas numerous new fall series had blurred together in my memory, the plot of this one remains fairly distinct, which is a testimony to it's quality and the interest it holds. Not everything in the synopsis above has happened after one episode, and I think I enjoyed the show more than I would have if I had known what to expect. Blue Drop wasn't bad at all. Well into the series, I found myself still having trouble making sense of the plot--the machinations of Hagino's alien superiors, alien technology, i.e, what exactly "Blue" is, etc. I wish these elements had been explained sooner, or if they already have been and I missed them, more clearly. There's a proper balance to be maintained between giving away too much information and too little; I think Blue Drop tends towards the latter. Still, I liked the developing friendship between Mari and Hagino, and was eager to see where it would go. In episode ten exactly what happened at Kamikakushi Island is finally explained for those (like myself) who hadn't figured every detail out by themselves. Exactly why things turned out like that isn't made clear, but definitely a step forward. The final episode includes a confusing but quite cool battle. As the alien main ship went into "Genocide Mode" I didn't know whether to laugh, to be thrilled, to be moved, or what. Right to the end I remained largely clueless as to exactly what was going on, but even a fool like me could tell what was happening in general. And I enjoyed it, so I don't mind too much. It's frustrating that this show is clearly a work of art, with more thought and originality devoted to the plot than usual, yet manages to be so confusing. I would have only a vague grasp of the plot--and then even weirder stuff would happen, leaving me even farther behind. Why were the schoolgirls more interested in the upcoming school festival than a major UFO incident? Why did Hagino consider her part in the play to be so important? For that matter, I still don't know why she tried to strangle Mari way back in episode one. But the reason I'm so frustrated is because the basic concept behind this show is clearly so good, and I wish I was able to enjoy it more thoroughly than I am. An intriguing and original story which unfortunately is told in a confusing and frustrating manner--definitely worth watching, though. P.S: I'm currently rewatching Blue Drop a second time. With what I remember from the first time, and watching it at a rate of an episode per day rather than per week, the story makes a good deal more sense. It was mentioned that something like half of the humans who died at Kamikakushi island had in fact killed each other; maybe this is an Arume trick to conquer the earth quickly. I would guess that somehow the same mind control backfired on Hagino when she inexplicably attacked Mari in episode one. It isn't explained very well, nor is Mari's telepathic capability, for instance her ability to see the hologram of Hagino's second-in-command, Tsubael. A good series shouldn't need to be watched twice to make full sense, but I can't claim to be one of the sharpest viewers (what with a lifetime of TV watching), and at any rate Blue Drop is a fun and intriguing show even the second time around. I do find that on the one hand the story is making a good deal more sense this time, but on the other it's hard to get excited at times when I already know what's going to happen. Again, my conclusion is that Blue Drop started with a neat story but could have done a better job of explaining it. Why was the incident at Kamikakushi staged? Wasn't Azanael killed in the shootout aboard the flagship? What was the deal with Onomil? And 'telepathy contact data'? Was that what saved Blue during the battle? I'm left with plenty of weak connections between plot elements, ones that I can't be positive I've gotten right. But one thing which I agree with from my first viewing is that this is a neat show and well worth watching. Last updated Sunday, February 14 2010. Created Thursday, October 11 2007. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Blue-Drop (Japanese) series web site | http://blue-drop.jp/ |
| Wiki entry regarding the Blue Drop series. | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Drop |
