20 Seconds. That was how long it took me to be sick of Active Raid this episode You know I used to be the kind of reviewer who would watch shows and burst into gratuitous capslock and then curse a lot, but about a year ago I made some life changes and decided maybe I should become a more gracious and considerate reviewer. Maybe there isn’t a reason to get so angry at shows you blow a gasket and lose it. But you know, just this once, I have to ask very intensely:

 

WHY THE HELL IS IT HOLOGRAPHIC FISH?

[HorribleSubs] Active Raid - 09 [720p].mkv_20160304_170036.687

Why did we have to come to this point? Why did this anime, which I believed might be the next Tiger and Bunny, have to finally just cross a line with me? Is this funny? Maybe it is! Maybe it’s hysterical! Maybe it’s the depression, loneliness, and sheer weight of my existential human existence that makes me want to find this terrible? Are my lackluster feelings on life the cause of this lackluster impression? Would a normal human being react differently to holographic fish? Would I find this funnier if it were in a different situation. You know, maybe. Maybe if this was Dragon Ball Super I’d be enjoying the fish. Maybe if Sailor Moon had some holographic fish and they all commented on how cute they were, I’d be enjoying this.

[HorribleSubs] Active Raid - 09 [720p].mkv_20160304_172926.812

I mean, the fish aren’t even real, and everyone is freaking out. It’s just holographs and everyone leaves the bank like someone died or there was some real crisis going on! I wanted to automatically hate this villain but then he goes on to have an actually interesting rest of the episode: Mythos finds his methods brutish and that it interferes with their plans, so he has him killed. Or so he thought. Dog, as they called him, survives. ., .and he isn’t happy with being a ploy in Logos’ plan.

[HorribleSubs] Active Raid - 09 [720p].mkv_20160304_172958.593

The background plots are finally coming together too! I hate that such an important episode started with something that makes me so mad. I just can’t with these stupid fish! They’re just fish, have you never been to an aquarium!? Why are you running from the air?! There are magic mecha suits- okay, I’m off topic. Things are actually beginning to come together in this episode and Logos actually shot themselves in the foot. But they hired a guy with his stupid fi- anyway the episode gets better. The villains consistently don’t surprise me with their level of stupidity, but it got better, even if I am reluctant to admit that it did so.

[HorribleSubs] Active Raid - 09 [720p].mkv_20160304_181030.968

But is better. . .good? I can fairly look at this show and say, yes, there are problems that are working themselves out! I can put these clues together to make these things make sense. This is not the worst show I’ve ever seen, this is not the most terrible plot I can think of. But is Active Raid good? I can’t really say that. Even the characters I enjoy start to feel stale half the time. While there is growth and dimension everywhere in the show it might not exactly be cohesive or legitimate enough to actually make it feel right. I can’t sit here and tell you Active Raid is absolute garbage that you should never watch- but I never look forward to any episodes of it, and that’s the most effective way of describing my feelings towards this show.

 

The fish.

 

seriously
seriously

Oki

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. zztop

    Active Raid’s head writer said in an interview that the script’s inspired by cheesy shows such as Dekaranger/Power Rangers sentai, Armoured Police Metal Jack(80s mobile suit fighter show) and Patlabor (80s mobile suit police anime). So far the holo-fish show the commitment to this cheese.

    The interview hinted that Season 2 may switch gears into a more plot-focused series ( or what the interview’s translator thinks).

    Other facts:
    – the writers wanted 2 seasons to fit in everything they wanted to cover
    -Kyoukai (blonde team mechanic) is no mere mechanic
    -Funasaka and Rin originally had reversed roles

    So you no longer want to cover Raid?

  2. Javier

    Hmm. I didn’t mind the holographic fish, to be honest, but they were barely even present in the episode after that first scene.

    One of the holograms briefly shows up in a later sequence and that’s pretty much it for them. I almost forgot they existed.

    As for determining what is “good” and what isn’t…that is rarely a truly objective position. It’s informed by multiple considerations.

    Expectations, tastes, pet-peeves, past experiences and similar factors. I think this show will not set the world on fire, but I am enjoying it as an entertaining distraction with both lighter moments as well as occasional good characterization between all the silly jokes and gags.

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