Sekai Seifuku: Zvezda Plot Episode 1 [First Impressions]

BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THIS IS GOOD

In case y’all were wondering, YES, it is possible for me to like an anime that has lolis. Especially if the loli is trying to conquer the world and rides cute tricycles.

So where do I start with this one? It’s the last series of the (disappointing) Winter lineup I had some hope for. The synopsis is totally bonkers and sounds like trash for pedophiles, but it did have the team behind Darker Than Black behind it, it wasn’t a light novel adaptation and it’s got A-1 Pictures that usually do a decent job with animation. I was basically counting on this one to make or break my final verdict that Winter really sucks.

Truth be told, I’m not sure if it’s met my expectations, or if I actually had any proper expectations going into this one. But that could be why I enjoyed it. It was silly, campy with a very Star Driver-esque vibe and the characters probably won’t have much depth or whatever, but on an entertainment standpoint I enjoyed this premiere episode more than most series released this season.

I haven’t really gotten a clear idea on the setting really, but the world seems to be in a serious mess, with martial law being declared in the first episode, as we are introduced to a hungry and broke runaway teenage boy Jimon Asuta who later runs into a young girl called Hoshimiya Kate as she tells him of her dream of world conquest and later asks him to join her in her conquest. Thinking it’s a joke, he agrees, but later gets into a bit of a fight with Kate. This is where some weird shit happens. Like, even for anime’s standards. I have no clue what is going on. Manned tanks are going after Kate, there’s this lady with an eyepatch interrogating Asuta about Kate’s whereabouts, weird colourful things that look like the viruses from Moyashimon start popping out, and as Asuta is about to get fired by one of the tanks, Kate appears to save him with the help of a magic circle of sorts, later defeating the tank and the man in it. Apparently she has ‘conquered’ the tank, its driver and the surrounding area and has begun her quest for world conquest.

So yeah, that was basically what I understood from the first episode. I was in a bit of a daze watching it (so let me know if I misunderstood anything about the premise) but I had fun. I think. The series has got a pretty unique story going for it – world conquest by a loli and her army of soldiers, one of whom is a ‘General’ looking like Inferno Cop without the Inferno. What made me really enjoy this episode in particular though, was the loli. The series has got a pretty good sense of humour, but the loli gets the best lines.

There’s also her giving her self-introduction while trying to balance herself on her tricycle. Her cute, pink tricycle.

Asuta himself is a pretty bland lead that goes with the flow as most characters his role do, but at least he’s tolerable. I like seeing his reactions to the loli. I like seeing how he gets duped by this little devil. It’s pretty entertaining. The other characters should prove to be fun too. The other girls look like they came right out of Star Driver’s KIRABOSHI!~ while the dude is a skeleton in army wear. I am almost certain they will be awesome. I am also looking forward to seeing more of that fantasy element introduced, it’s pretty out of place in the setting (what with all that martial law business) but I’d like to see where the story can go, really. Also, there is a giant octopus in this show that later explodes. A+ material right there.

The visuals are pretty alright, I do wish the colour scheme was less pastel-y and muted. They could have gone with crazier colours considering the wackiness of the premise, but seeing how this wackiness itself is, as I said, out of place in the world the characters are in, that could be an explanation for that artistic choice. I’m not really digging the filtered backgrounds though, it makes it look cheap. The music is okay. There really isn’t any memorable track in the BGM as of yet, and the theme songs are generic but not horrible. I don’t mind really. In this case the craziness of the series makes up for the aesthetics that are kind of lacking.

So yeah, that was quite a fun ride. Have some Kate gifs I made because she’s the best.

Possibility of watching: Definitely 

Possibility of Blogging: I’ll give it 3 episodes because I’m not sure if I can blog this without my posts becoming  full-on Kate Hoshimiya appreciation essays.