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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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[series:4881#628] | ||||||
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(Ten episodes watched): Two girls at an elite upper class boarding school are actually fans of Rock music and talented musicians themselves. And... And that's about all that happens in episode one. Will these girls form a secret band or something? They don't seem to like each other all that much at this point. Will they—actually, how will they—get in trouble with the school's administration? I was left with little idea where this story was going after an episode that was heavy on the details but which I wished at one point would hurry up. I also felt that we hadn't gotten to know either of the main characters all that well. Suzunomiya feels 'unstimulated' in this upper class 'birdcage', and says she made a 'hard choice to throw everything away for this life'. But we have only a vague idea of what that choice was, and she's on track to graduate as either the prestigious 'Noble Maiden' or at least one of the highest ranking students in her class, and comes from a very wealthy family (even if her mother married into that wealth), so I don't exactly feel sorry for her. We know even less—virtually nothing—about Kurogame except that she would be an excellent drummer for a Rock band. With the characters this vague I couldn't muster much curiosity about where things would go for either of them. There were no noteworthy jokes to speak of, so I can't help thinking that my time would be better spent elsewhere than watching this show. But ANN claimed that this would be one of the best new anime of the season, so perhaps I'll watch episode two after all. After around a month, I did. Otoha, who viciously trashed Lilisa's guitar skills after their first jam, now seems to really, really want her as a partner for more sessions (she says she was over-emotional with her criticism). At first Lilisa hates her and wants nothing to do with her, but gradually becomes determined to demonstrate that she is a mean guitarist after all (perhaps because she can't hold a candle to her step-sister, Alice, when playing the violin). It doesn't make a whole lot of sense but left me curious where this was all going. Come to think of it, the pace wasn't all that fast in episode two either. It looks like two more girls will be recruited to form a full-fledged band. Indeed in episode three Otoha proposes they form a band, and Lilisa not only agrees but proposes they make their ultimate goal a performance at 'Fuji Rock', Japan's most prestigious Rock-and-Roll show. OK, but how will they preserve even a shred of their facades as cultured aristocrat young women? It is already difficult to believe that nobody has noticed the ear-splitting music they generate within an abandoned building (their room is supposedly 'sound-proofed'). The two girls have a sort of love/hate relationship: they are perfectly reasonable most of the time but their less admirable natures show through when they get lost in the emotion of performing Hard Rock. Alice fervently despises her new stepsister and Lilisa's mother. In episode four Alice almost stumbles upon Lilisa's secret, which would have been disastrous, but Otoha saves the day. Lilisa and Otoha decide to accept a job substituting for some missing musicians in a conventional band making a performance at a festival. But, by coincidence, it looks like Alice will be in the audience. In episode five the two girls find that this 'symphonic' band they have joined is pretty lackluster, and to save it and especially its conductor from being humiliated they resolve to spice the performance up. Alice sees this and initially thinks she has won her fight with Lilisa, but is thrilled by the difference she and Otoha make and can't bring herself to expose her stepsister's secret. In episode six we meet the third and fourth members of Lilisa and Otoha's new band. Lady Tina Isemi (light blue hair) is the vice president of the student council and widely admired, yet Lilisa finds that she actually has extremely low self-esteem and self-confidence. I found this difficult to believe; perhaps it would be better if she were just frustrated by an inability to express her true self, but that would make her very similar to Lilisa. Surprisingly, Isemi would love to join the band, which she sees as an accomplishment that she could truly take credit for (for once). Her musical skills are pathetic, however. Tamaki Shiraya (purple hair) seems to be living a life similar to Lilisa at another elite girl's school, except she has somehow become a renowned punk rocker without being exposed (or maybe she just doesn't care?). Problem is, she demands that her old friend Otoha dump this blond girl and form a band with her. And Otoha has already committed this four-person band to a 'battle format' competition in just two weeks. Episode eight explains how this came about. A number of wagers have been made which will determine who winds up in what band after the competition. No matter how I look at it, however, I can't comprehend how novice musician Isemi could possibly be transformed into a competition level band member in two weeks or so. And the premise of seemingly upper-class girls who are actually punk rockers has been virtually forgotten, at least for now. In episode nine the competition gets underway. The initial performance by Blanc vis Noir (the ad hoc name Shiraya has given the band) is uninspiring, thanks largely to errors made by Isemi, but predictably they do much better with a second act. I wish exactly why they managed to improve so much had been made more clear. In episode ten the audience doesn't know what to make of this to-the-limit number, which means the girls have lost their bet and Shiraya is obliged to go join another band. But things sort themselves out and Blanc vis Noir has passed its first major test. One new problem is that Alice noticed Lilisa sneaking back home late at night in an odd outfit. We get a predictable but amusing encounter between Lilisa and Shiraya in their fake upper-class personalities. Last updated Wednesday, June 18 2025. Created Wednesday, April 16 2025. | ||||||||
