Freezing on the run

Wherein I type my impressions of the new Freezing anime, as I watch it. WARNING: Quite NSFW below the fold!! No spoiler tags.

Once again, they shrink when unclothed. Japanese anime girls must use Wonderbras.

And we’re off. 4:3? 4:3? Who the hell still makes anime in that ratio? Looking bad. Oh, she’s stripping. Fanservice from the get-go. Not surprised. Now the OP. Hm, it’s almost all about her; in fact I don’t see any guys at all. The odd thing about the manga title is it’s technically about the guys’ power –the Limiters are the freezers, the defensive half of the duo. Not even in the OP, that tells me it’s not going to be about the relationship; it’s going to be all T&A and fighting scenes Just like the manga.

4:3?.

Ooh, Engrish explanations over the title. El Bridgette? How many people have “The” as their middle name. Interesting that none of the manga scanlators caught that. They were all “Sattelizer L. Bridgette.” If this is training, it’s pretty damn brutal and nasty. These girls look like they’re trying to kill each other. Hey, come on, not even animating the bounce much — a near-static close up of her chest moving up and down? I feel cheated

4:3?

Hm, hey, Ms. soon-to-be doomed opponent, nice jeans sweetie; they didn’t give you a uniform?

Impractical combat wear, but it's no full-length dress.

Can't we all just get along?

Wow she’s outnumbered. Eleven girls? Wonder if they’re going to drag out the silly weapon attack names. You know, I think I’d have the weapon ready earlier. I thought she was the untouchable queen because no boy could touch her; i.e. she had no limiter. They’re making it out here to be that nobody can lay a weapon on her. Hey wait, she was fighting eleven girls but defeated nine? Someone lose track?

4:3?

Hamburger! Hey, that much excess fat didn't come from eating rice.

Oh joy, once again, the Japanese consider the three sizes to be a vital military stat… Favorite food: hamburger (American style, not Japanese). in this case I can understand the “hates anyone touching her body” note though; it’s a hindrance with the Limiter. Not that it’s required, but there’s hints in the manga that the guys and girls have semi-ritualized having sex (or some sort of close relationship, if not physical) with their partners; they call the first time “baptism,” and speak of “giving him your favor.” Relationships between partners seem to run from “true love” to “You’re my slave, monkey boy,” but the author never bothered to develop any of those — one of the shallow characterizations that the manga suffered from. It would have made the manga much more interesting to dig into the odd relationships that have sprung up between and among students. And lets not get into how students are defending the world, instead of, say, graduates inducted into the military, mkaaaaaay?

4:3?

Another use of an English term that makes me wonder if the Japanese really understood it: Stigmata.

Ok, and on that note, lets take a break for a classroom flashback to explain what Pandoras are, how the weapons work, and yet more Engrish on the wall. Hmm. Sensei is…well developed. Ok, so they can even regenerate lost body parts; that was sort of hinted in the manga.. But from that shot, what did sensi lose? The hand or …? Since sensei is a war hero, we’re going to get the story of how Kazuha’s sister died? Still no sign of the guys. And there’s her brother, now that we’re back in real time. Too much jumping around; if I weren’t already familiar with the story I’d have a hard time piecing it together, what with all the jumping around. I can’t tell which way they’re going…

4:3?

Knitting and telephone shopping? Oh, come on. Misogynist, much?

Hah, the eyecatch is of Sattelizer with her glasses. And sizes again…. Hm, never realized she was British. Oh, and underwear. God, that font is unreadable, but then I shouldn’t let my eyes wander like that. “Weakness, touched near breasts.” You know it’s coming.

4:3?

Ok, so the student council prez has ridden out her on a helicopter to pick up the new transfer student and the first thing she does is test him; i.e.; narrate to the watcher that the Limiters (guys) are in this, what their role is, and that the anime seems to have come up with a psuedo gobbledygook reason for the sophomore girls to pick their partners from freshmen boys. Third flashback to Kazuha’s death and sensei’s maiming. It was the hand and arm. (Whew. I’d have been really annoyed if it had been something else). They’re jumping around a lot, the constant flashbacks are annoying and confusing.

We get a look at the enemy, and for once, it's not another student.

4:3?

Hey, wasn’t that test battle in pouring rain at night earlier? We’re now finishing it under clear skies in daytime, with no hint it’s been raining. Oh yeah, there was the scene where the clouds broke and SLB (I just can’t keep typing “Sattelizer El Bridgette” with a straight face) was illuminated by the moonlight. This would confuse the hell out of anyone new to the series. Frankly, it’s close to confusing me; but I catch that they’ve probably been at this for hours. With all the jumping around to different locations and times, it’s going to lose people. And wait, didn’t she defeat #3, the blue jeans girl earlier? Now she beats her again?

4:3?

I see why their uniforms are that color, anyway. Blood doesn't show as much.

FOUL! Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards and loss of down! Crap, is she tryring to kill them? We’ve already seen medics scrambling to save the lives of the students she’s downed, but now she’s going for vital spots. (Doctor: “We’re going to have another no-casualty event this year!” Seriously, that’s scary– to think that your classmates might well kill you in training — and not entirely by accident.) She’s bloodthirsty as hell — and her dress has got to be a pain in the battle. Why is she the only one in a dress? Just like Kazuha’s sister; everyone else is in jumpsuits — or jeans. Speaking of which, oops, there goes jeans girl. Only one left — the major rival shows, #2 ranked girl. Hey, another miniskirt.

4:3?

Count the fingers on her right hand. Sigh. Come on guys...

Kazuha, can’t you tell hair color apart ? She’s a BLONDE. Your sister was a brunette. Not to mention, less stacked. It must be the dress. At least this time, their encounter almost made sense — in the manga the girls were battling on the front lawn, right in the middle of other students, just as he walked in. In fact, you couldn’t even tell there was a fight going on; she was just standing under a tree (waiting on her opponent to attack, as it happened.) This time it was held in a special area, but the containment was breached, and they ended up in front of him. Weird, Sattelizer definitely saw him coming, but ignored him. On the other hand, if two girls a-fighting have just punched through a concrete wall to land in front of me, the last thing I’m going to do is run up and faceplant one of them, right in the tits.

4:3?

Hey, nice set. I see Satellizer El Bridgette has access to the Most Common Special Attack.

And when that last thing happens, I’m going for the one that, you know, doesn’t have a top on anymore.

Kazuha was obviously close to his nee-san. Really close.

FOUL! Offsides, defense made contact before the snap, 5 yards and replay the down! Yes, I’m pissed at the performance of my Saints today. No defense, no running game, and wow, she really is weak when touched around the breasts, isn’t she?

4:3?

Overall, not an impressive show. Like the manga, it’s pretty serious and bloody for a fanservice vehicle — blood and tits.

Blood.

Blood on tits. Are they picking her opponents for breast size instead of fighting ability?

But the characterizations are as thin as the manga’s so far, and not much else to draw a viewer besides the breasts.. I strongly suspect that as undeveloped as the manga is in regards to plot, and given the start we’re seeing here, the writers were not up to rescuing this show from its flawed origins. The formula is “seinen with tits” and they’re sticking to it. The previews indicate it’s going straight into Lord of the Flies mode, in which the more powerful students beat the crap out of the lesser ones at will, and the faculty is notable by their absence. Shades of Weekly Shonen Jump. I might follow a few more episodes for the fanservice, but I suspect the same problems the manga had will end up driving me away.

Crap, she makes Saber look cuddly.

Seriously, 4:3?