Seikon no Qwaser

Title:Seikon no Qwaser
The Qwaser Of Stigmata
聖痕のクェイサー (Japanese)
성흔의 퀘이서 (Korean)
Overall:Watch
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: R1 License - Sentai Filmworks (ADV)
The St. Mikhailov Academy student Oribe Mafuyu comes across a mysterious silver haired boy. The boy is a Qwaser, a being that draws power from breast milk and is able to manipulate a specific element - Iron. And now, in the 21st century, the mystery revolving around an Icon turns the academy into the battlegrounds for the fight between the Qwaser! (Source: ANN)

This has been described as being a very ecchi and adult (or mature) series, which places a heavy emphasis on fan service, especially with breast milk as a plot device.

Anime adaption of a manga series authored by YOSHINO Hiroyuki and illustrated by SATOU Kenetsu.

24 TV episodes (~24 min)
1 OVA episode (~23 min)
16 picture drama episodes (~4 min)
New series set to air Jan 9th, 2010

There is a special 16 episode picture drama included on the Blue-Ray version. (Ext link: MAL)

There is a special OVA accompanying the 10th volume of Seikon no Qwaser’s manga edition. This OVA is factored into the series as episode 10.5. (Ext link: MAL)

Read the translated manga online at MangaFox.

A second season started airing 2011-04-11. See: Seikon no Qwaser II

Episode Details 
99
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Avoid 8 7 7 6 2 2 Ggultra2764 [series:2120#1552]
And I thought Eiken was the most unbearable piece of garbage I've seen from anime. Whereas Eiken had no plot whatsoever in its ridiculously ecchi antics, this turd attempts to create a cookie-cutter shounen action anime mixed in with enough perverted material that made it hard for me to even watch at points. Seikon no Qwaser's gimmick with its ecchi content comes in the form of the superpowered beings called Qwasers having to suck on breast milk to grant them their elemental/ metal manipulating powers. With this gimmick also comes plenty of instances where you can see rape-like situations and moments of sadomasochism from its cast. The problem with implementing this ecchi content for Seikon no Qwaser is that implementing its breast-sucking scenes and other perverted content in serious moments like action scenes and character development make them look more creepy, awkward and uncomfortable than immersible for any sane viewer, and the gimmick really does enough to get in the way of any relevant elements to the title's plot.

If you strip away the breast sucking, perversion, attempted rapes and sadomasochism though, you have nothing more than a typical story of revenge coming from Sasha's tragic past and encounters with the secret cult known as Adepts with plans of world domination, along with a cast of archetypal characters you would see done to death from enough high school/ fan service titles like the clumsy ditz (Tomo), the ojou (Miyuri), the sharp-tongued and manipulative loli (Katja) and the tomboy (Elizabeth). The villains among the Adepts are mostly nothing more than either your garden variety mook serving to get offed by Sasha and other Qwasers or a power-hungry loon who thinks he is better than everyone and wants to rule the world. The first half of the anime mostly features Sasha offing the different mooks of the Adepts and much of the second half is where the Adepts execute their big plan of world domination that Sasha and the other Qwasers have to stop, with the second half developments coming along after some pretty pathetic attempts at comedy with one notable character gaining amnesia for a couple episodes. In other words, the plot to this anime is just one huge excuse for its breast-sucking gimmick and other perverted content.

In terms of visuals, Seikon no Qwaser is rather standard in its presentation with decent-looking scenery and character designs. While animation shortcuts are apparent with this series at a number of points, Qwaser battles were engaging to a degree thanks to the abilities of the Qwasers to manipulate their individual elements. The very frequent appearance of huge boobs bobbing and bouncing around at enough points, however, does kill any enjoyment one would want to get from the Qwaser battles thanks to how annoyingly distracting they are.

Overall, Seikon no Qwaser is nothing more than just another ecchi show trying to find another creepy gimmick to get its sex-crazed otaku fanbase gawking over huge boobs and perversion, while using standard character archetypes and plot cliches as a crutch for its ecchi antics. Unless you have a thing for any imaginable ecchi content, definitely don't waste your time on it.

Last updated Wednesday, August 15 2012. Created Wednesday, August 15 2012.
Watch 7 8 7 8 6 7 21 [series:2120#3223]
(All episodes watched) Rating: Just barely a watch. First twelve episodes are pretty good but things deteriorate from there.

This series is just plagued with problems. The first glaring one was the main character Tomo. So useless. I guess she would be what's called a "moeblob". And this is coming from someone willing to watch K-ON! and Lucky Star. Basically her only redeeming feature is her breasts, which, in my book, aren't even redeeming because they are so utterly ridiculously large. I understand they're kind of plot-related but it's still stupid. Other characters were in general much better, but often went out of character for no real reason. In particular, Miyuri went from being bossy and a jerk to Mafuyu and Tomo to wanting to travel with Mafuyu and back several times over.

The problems in the second half of the series are too many to detail but mainly the plot just ceased to make sense. What is this nonsense about the Qwaser of Gold's possession and him needing the blood iron sword of whatever? A bunch of characters also had strange lapses in appearances. What was the point of introducing Mutsumi and Takasu so late in the series when all they did was disappear for a few episodes and help fight a couple evil people near the end. Speaking of which, they were introduced stupidly as well. Two or three of them were shown in the first 18 episodes from time to time, but after that, something like six or seven more random badguy-characters were introduced for no particular reason. The show's cast was plenty big already.

Episode 24: Pointless episode. Zomg ecchi filler. Surprise surprise.

The fanservice element in this show is just ridiculous. I can appreciate a good ecchi series, and I've watched many, but the amount of fanservice in this show was just... overbearing. Breasts breasts breasts breasts breasts. Argh!

Sorry if this seems like more of a disorganized rant than anything else, but this series really had some promise but dropped the ball, which annoys me to no end. I had to get this off of my chest. (Ha ha, chest)

Last updated Saturday, August 07 2010. Created Saturday, August 07 2010.
Buy 9 10 9 9 8 8 Xenoknight [series:2120#2967]
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Last updated Wednesday, December 01 2010. Created Tuesday, January 12 2010.
Watch Stretch [series:2120#628]
(Promo & 12 episodes watched):

Woah, this is going to be one fairly kinky show! That first impression was made clear by the "Uncut Promo", what with lots of above the belt nudity, wildly exaggerated breasts bouncing back and forth, and cameras shoved into embarrassing regions of the body. When I first watched this show my 'sleaziness alarm' went off, because it clearly would have been all too easy to rely on the ecchi to attract viewers without putting any serious effort into the story itself. This stuff could be delicious fun, if the writer was talented and meant it to be so, or it could be a sorry substitute for storytelling quality. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the former. Qwaser looked like a mystical fighting show with a sort of Eastern Orthodox Church/Russian flavor to it. You almost expect Rasputin to show up at some point. But I couldn't help detecting a nasty, mean-spirited vibe accompanying this show. Sex and brutality are all too common (though not as blatant as in the promo), and except for Mafuyu and Tomo themselves there seem to be no likeable characters in this show at all. In Tomo's case her boobs have crossed the line from being sexy to being laughable--they look more like sacks of wet cement draped over her shoulders in order to flatten her actual breasts. How does she remain so cheerful when there has to be some sort of cord digging into the back of her neck? I have an informal rule that whenever just one of a woman's breasts has become distinctly larger than her head, things have gone too far. The premise of alchemy, magic and secret warriors ("Qwasers") seemed pretty nonsensical to me. The one series this most reminds me of is Asura Cryin', which was a confusing, frustrating, poorly explained show which I eventually abandoned. Apparently the Qwasers are supposed to thrill me, but they're simply repeating actions which we've already seen countless times before. I don't detect much of interest about this, and I didn't really give a damn about yet another generic magical war show.

I acquired an "uncensored webcast" of episode one, which, for all it's fanservice, was apparently heavily censored. I rewatched it to see what had been taken out and was startled by the brazen ecchi (almost hentai) scenes. This is boob fetish taken to a new level. Qwasers basically get their fighting energy by sucking on a sexy (but pure) girl's tits. I really have to humor myself in order to pretend that this touch will contribute anything of literary value to the story. On the other hand, I must admit that the episode did make a bit more sense without the missing clips, but only at the expense of my feeling dirty afterwards. I can definitely see why the TV stations decided that they weren't going to go this way, and it's hard to blame them.

I must admit that I kind of get a kick out of the shameless and scandalous attitude of this show. Things like girls in soaked outfits in the ED sequence, playing some sort of bathtub game, for example. If the Qwasers actually needed to f--- girls to re-energize, that would be out-and-out porn, but this almost as shocking act keeps the story presentable on TV. The problem is that what is daring and raunchy today is liable to be commonplace and boring tomorrow. I hoped the girls wouldn't wind up as little more than sex dolls who continually need Sasha to rescue them. I'm sure that the breast milk angle was little more than a crass move to hedge the studio's bets regarding this show, but fortunately they weren't relying entirely on it and Qwaser does seem to have a halfway decent plot after all. Or at least the characters developed well enough and the jokes were funny enough to keep me entertained. The one thing which kept me watching Qwaser was the amusing banter between the principal characters. Mafuyu and Sasha were especially fun and quirky. Sasha's brusque, undiplomatic attitude is amusing, especially since he's just 13. Tomo is pretty much a ditz, but Mafuyu can be identified with as she struggles to protect her sort-of sister and avoid being driven mad by Sasha and the high-and-mighty girl at school. The fact that the troublemaker girl in Mafuyu and Tomo's class also plays a significant part in the story was a nice touch and suggests quality. The fight scenes remind me of FMA, since Qwasers are basically specialized alchemists by a different name.

Episode six helped crystallize my basic opinion of this show: ecchi taken to new heights, but nevertheless a show which doesn't rely entirely on it, since the writing and jokes are distinctly fun. Thus, a good show--until a very nasty sex/violence scene came along (and I was watching the censored version), which made me wonder if I should eat my words. I wish this show wasn't so dirty, since it is good enough otherwise to stand on it's own two feet. I mean, there is nudity and there is animation which seems to cry out to the viewer "don't you want to ---- her right now?". Girls who are treated like trash yet inexplicably come to enjoy it and worship their "master" are nauseating--what kind of person is this show being targeted at? Episode 11 was f---ed up. There are two masochist twins who delight in being 'punished'--it made me feel embarassed to be watching. If as much effort was put into making the plot interesting as is put into designing obnoxious characters with disgusting sexual fetishes I wouldn't mind, but I still have little idea where the overall story is going. I can't help thinking that the plot is being used as little more than an excuse for characters that will make male viewers bone up. Maybe the censored version really would be preferable.

And I was seeing less and less evidence that the longterm plot would ever come to anything. What's the deal with this Theo-whatever icon? What is the story behind "Athos"? If Sasha was used as a human lab rat, why should I trust it? What's the link to Russia? Who are all these guys who are watching from the sidelines? How did modern-day alchemy come to exist? It's frustrating how little explanation we get. The fights don't make much sense because I have little idea what each opponent is capable of (using mercury as a weapon?), and thus why things work out the way they do. Instead the fights seem little more than excuses for more titsucking incidents. The only thing that is clear about this show is how perverted it is. As I see it, ecchi is OK if it makes sense in the context of the rest of the show, and isn't just being used as a cheap thrill for male viewers; if not, then it is more of a liability than an advantage.

Somehow I had gotten the idea that this was a one-season, 12 or 13 episode series with some extra DVD-only episodes, but it looks like it is in fact 24 episodes long. I learned this from ANN, where I also noticed that viewers tended to give Qwaser either very high or very low ratings for quality, which goes to show what a polarizing effect the porn element has. Although Qwaser was only halfway finished, it has done such a mediocre job of telling a story that I have no reason to believe that any sort of coherent plot will emerge. Since the story goes on and on without providing a basic explanation of what's happening, and we get less interaction between the likeable characters, I couldn't maintain my interest. With things going as they were, my inclination was to abandon this show at the midpoint rather than squirm through another season's worth of 'dirty' episodes.

To clarify my feelings about Qwaser: slipping in the bit about Qwasers needing to replenish their energy from the boobs of sexy girls actually seemed like a clever, naughty and risque move--at first. If it had expanded on that, dealing with the embarassment and bizarre situations which are liable to happen, and the genuine feelings of the people involved, it might have been great. To a limited extent it did, but before long it was clearly just repeating the same erotic situation over and over, just trying to give male viewers a boner without continuing to invest any significant writing talent. That really annoys me, all the more so because this show really had potential with it's colorful characters. I can't help feeling that the makers just got lazy.

Catch Mafuyu's montage at the Kendo Girl Scrapbook page!

Meaningless bit of trivia: have you noticed that when you type the word "Qwaser" all six letters are located together in the upper left corner of your keyboard?

Last updated Wednesday, November 13 2013. Created Wednesday, December 16 2009.

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