First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

「キング・オブ・ルーキー」 (Kingu Obu Rookii)
“King Of Rookies”

I’m not quite sure what the I just watched but what we got felt like a strange mixture of cool and confusing.

The Best and The Rest

While I don’t expect the first episode of any show (except maybe ufotable’s Fate/stay night) to give us all the pertinent details up front, The Rolling Girls threw so much at us that I’m having a fair bit of trouble trying to figure it all out. From what I could make out though, it seems that the country of Japan is literally trying to figure itself out after the Great Tokyo War. With its states not warring with one another but constantly bickering, it comes down to people known as the “Best” who represent each side to duke it out in a one-on-one battle. These Bests are supported by the “Rest” — aka typical people who make up the general population. Together they form taskforces that represent their region and help maintain them as well as protect them.

Okay, whew that was a bit of a length explanation but honestly I’m not sure how I feel about this whole Best and Rest system. Maybe it’ll make more sense once they reveal just how someone becomes a Best since it seems that it really isn’t dictated by equipment and the likes. Either ways, I thought it was awfully corny how the entire was tricked into going to a rigged amusement park. I mean, it sounds like Japan is still dangerous enough for people to bring up a treaty that managed to create a sense of peace, so how could people living in an environment like that not second guess a free trip to somewhere?

Maccha Green & What I Really Liked

I’ve heard some impressive names in the past but Maccha Green has to be one of the coolest names for a hero, ever. Toss in the green suit that apparently empowers its wearer and you have a pretty impressive character.

Now, while this might be a minor plot point compared to the actual problems all the characters and the country of Japan as a whole are facing, I think my favorite part of the entire episode was between Nozomi and Masami (Ma-chan). That short moment when Nozomi was feeling like a nuisance and Masami managed to comfort her was a brilliant moment that got my eyes a little watery. Seeing how the scope of this show is so wide, I really hope that we get more moments like that!

General Impressions

Like I always say, it’s tough to really get a feel for a show before giving it a few episodes and The Rolling Girls is no exception. From what we got this week, it definitely feels like there’s something here but it’s going to take some work to really mold it into something special. Luckily the quality of the artwork and the animation are top notch so even if the next few episodes don’t pan out, you’ll still have something extremely pretty to look at. So with that said, what did you think of The Rolling Girls? Tell me down in the comments!

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「人にやさしく」 (Hito ni Yasashiku) by THE ROLLING GIRLS

49 Comments

  2. Eh. My first impression was basically – interesting, but horrendously messy. And the rainbow colour palette isn’t doing it for me this time… combined with the pastel explosions and star/heart effects, it’s reminding me too much of Pretty Cure effects which keeps taking me out of the narrative. Especially a problem given that it’s a rather schizophrenic premiere.

    Still interesting enough to check out for a while, though.

    Corin
    Reply

  4. The Suit? Nahhh, It’s that Lucky Charm. >). (If you had to ask me)

    This series caught my eye when the preview called it KlK meets Kyosougiga. Doesn’t seem too far off. Definitely flows like other offerings from Trigger. The Rainbow Explosion reminded me of Bones, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of their influence. Particularly if there are more mecha involved.

    That ramen eating contest. XD. bwahahahha. I certainly haven’t a clue what’s going on outside of our initial characters, but hopefully we’ll learn more as things go on. We hadn’t a clue in Kyosougiga, either, did we?

    kumakaori
    Reply

    1. Bloody bloodless battle.

      It feels like they looked at all the censorship going on, and saw how half-assing it was ruining anime.

      Then they decided: “Wait, why can’t we make this both extremely violent and kid-friendly at the same time?”

      Censorship – Thus, The Rolling Girls

      ReverseTales
      Reply

  7. The first episode kind of reminded me of FLCL. Nothing makes sense at first, and you just sit there with a big WTF face. In the next few episodes, they start explaining what is going on, and you just sit there with an even bigger WTF face. I think it’s pretty certain that Rolling girls will follow the same pattern

    I like it though. Big fan of those kind of nonsense shows. They teach you to don’t take everything so seriously.

    Amiluhur
    Reply

  8. I have moderate expectations on this series and thank goodness it really exceed my expectations, the animation quality my goodness (so colorful) plus the action scenes(can’t wait for more) plus the weirdness of this show(the crocodile head, Maccha Green and her outfit,the gasmask girl), don’t really care about the plot (for now since it’s the 1st ep.) but the important thing here is that this is one of the exciting series for me ATM.

    Kirigiri
    Reply

  9. It’s fun, I think this kind of anime is a good one to brigthen our mood, or to nutralize the more serious and depressing anime this season. Could be wrong though, but I hope this maintain the laid back or whacky atmosphere.

    Cryarc
    Reply

  12. This show may fall into a category I think of as “post-surreal-apocalyptic”. These stories take place in worlds where society has broken down – but not due to some mundane cause such as war or resource exhaustion. Instead, they’ve broken down due to some sort of failure in common sense or cause and effect, where events that simply could not make sense before now become possible. These sorts of stories border on near future urban fantasy, but unlike traditional magic fantasy in which an attempt is made to rationalize the magic, in these sorts of stories there’s always a fundamental strangeness and resistance to logic. They can also border on deeper-future SF – Yokohama Shopping Log comes to mind.

    A few examples from this genre –

    – FLCL.
    – Sekai Seifuku (which I liked a lot, despite the slump in production values towards the end)
    – Some of the fantasy works of Sean Stewart (Galveston, Mockingbird).
    – Some of the fantasy works of Felix Gilman (The Half-Made World, Thunderer).

    The translations in the subs seem a little off, but it is clear that the “Best” aren’t just the top 1%. They’re somehow different than mundane humans, with greater powers – but rather that trying to make them seem real, as does, say, “Tokyo ESP” or something similar, their abilities are made to seem irreal. And, the irreality of their abilities is somehow linked to the breakdown of society. So far it seems to be a fairly gentle apocalypse…

    When done well, these types of narratives can be puzzle boxes that, when pulled apart, become more meaningful. Or, they can end up being confused and confusing.

    dbm
    Reply

  13. a better comparison (that a lot of people all over the internet have figured out) is that it feels like a mix between Kill la Kill and Kyousougiga. i guess all that says about this show is that its primary purpose is to entertain, not be understood. and that’s fine by me! i am very entertained.

    Nitro
    Reply

  15. Okay, for those who don’t understand the plot so far:

    There was a war (the Great Tokyo War), and at the end of the war the ruling class (the heads of government, wealthy, influential, etc.) disappeared. Because of this, Japan separated back into 10 prefectures; however, at some point these prefectures gained independence from one another. Due to conflicts with one another, the Twin Tower Declaration was written: Conflicts that couldn’t be solved by negotiation were to be solved by fights between government representatives of each state (Bests). (This is presumably to save lives that would be lost in actual wars; it’s like wars via representation.) At the beginning of this episode, the group opposing Maccha Green (the protagonist’s side) was apparently forced out of Tokyo by a group called “Always Comina”, and they were trying to take back the land with force.

    This does still leave open questions. What caused the war, and why did the ruling class disappear? How did the various states gain independence after the war? Are there states that don’t obey the Twin Tower Declaration? How are Bests designated? What makes Bests different from normal people? What is “Always Comina”?

    I don’t have answers for most of these questions, but I do think the Bests’ power comes from those moonlight stones somehow. The Rest are merely normal-people support groups that assist Bests with their governmental functions, and (apparently) help police their state. Regarding the roller coaster scene, apparently the Bests are allowed to target enemy Bests’ Rests, even if it causes collateral damage.

    Now that we have all of that out of the way… I thought it was a pretty good first episode. The fights were cool; the characters were introduced well; the scenes alternated between serious and absurd/funny (I’m looking at you, food eating contest); and overall we got a decent introduction to this wacky world. I do think the roller coaster scene was a bit cliché, but that alone isn’t enough to make the whole episode bad imo.

    I’ll definitely keep an eye on this one.

    P.S. I’m quite happy now that RandomC has covered or introduced all of the shows I plan to watch this season (minus one I’ll probably drop). :3

    TripleSRank
    Reply

    1. I loved the roller coaster scene along with the ramen eating contest.

      You know, a lot of content was stuffed into a short period of time now to think of it. A lot of stuff really happened. Guess they made good use of their time segment.

      Rick Anime
      Reply

    3. Yeah it was like Kill La Kill meets FLCL. Hopefully Trigger gets back on the action anime bandwagon. Last season, they took a bit of a detour with “When Supernatural Battles become Commonplace” which was 10% Action 90% slice of life (it was entertaining though for what it was)

      Rick Anime
      Reply

  19. I don’t really care much for the world they’ve created. Maybe it’s because I found the infodump obnoxious, or maybe because splitting the country into the 10 old prefectures is just random and uninteresting to me.

    But the characters are well done, and so is the art. So I’ll keep watching for now.

    The backgrounds kind of confused me. Are we in a peaceful society with few conflicts, or conflicts all the time that disrupt things? Because it LOOKS pretty peaceful/prosperous, which conflicts with the whole setting and leaves me scratching my head.

    It’s fun as long as we don’t get any more infodumps. Those turn my brain off.

    s_w
    Reply

    1. It’s both. There are a lot of conflicts, but society is peaceful overall because said conflicts are carried out by proxy. (This is, of course, assuming all of the states follow the Twin Towers Declaration. There might be some that don’t.)

      TripleSRank
      Reply

  27. With Ep 4 This Anime got One Fans more. It is me.

    Nut i must Admit the end of Ep 3, let me think a little bit if i was watching the wrong Anime…

    I loved that Responsibility won over Greed

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  28. Moe meets LSD.

    Tarantino and Kyoani have a baby.

    Kill la K-ON!

    Look at all the pretty lights.

    Shitload of things are happening. Maybe two are plot relevant.

    It may be slice-of-life, but it’s slice-of-life with oppa gagnam STYLE in spades.

    Stranger
    Reply

  30. Ep 07:

    Now they trow a Big Giant Rock on my head. The Moonstones, the driver for the Story and the Girls to go on a Journey, is not important anymore. Now they just Travel for the Excitement, and curiosity…

    Roller Girl, the Episode with Macha Green and her Counterpart, was the Best so far. You not deserver to be watched from me anymore, a Show that started strong, and lose his Head in the 4-5 Episode, and in the 7 Episode to call it all a Joke. Do not deserve my time

    i feel like betrayed

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  31. Ep 09:

    You know, you trying to hard to copy the unprediction of Space Dandy. it work on Space Dandy, but you cannot copy this kind of Storytelling with this Show (for me)

    What was the red Line in Space Dandy? There where no such thing. But Rolling Girls had this Moonstone things, 4 Girls goes out to Help others, to gain Stones… So Space Dandy will not work here for me, sorry. it is not your fault, but i lost me in the middle of the Way

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

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