Mecha-Ude Ep 1 Review: Let Me Give You A Hand, Literally!
There are plenty of franchises being left in the dust, never getting the spotlight they deserve after making the initial wave of impression. Thankfully, Mecha-Ude was fished out after a 5-year silent to receive a full tv series treatment. When the concept first debuted, it garnered a lot of interest, but as the years went by, fans are slowly forgetting, and this is its chance to re-established itself as a potential sci-fi series. With episode one, I’d say it did a very decent job.
Mecha-Ude’s concept and world settings have been released for a while, but I reckon the tv series is many people’s first impression. And the opening scene is basically an action packed American style fight. I really like that they give us minimal info but really set up the premise of the show. It’s obvious that there is an “artifact” that shouldn’t be in the hands of the “organization” and a “rebel” force is trying to liberate that. The setup is simple and straightforward, accompanied by very nostalgic and snappy animation. You can notice that the scenes are 2D and there are many sequence where the details aren’t very polished and seemed a bit low quality, I reckon it’s a mix of a few factors – the budget constraints as well as they want to deliver the “2000s shounen action” feel. I think they really deliver that feeling with Aki’s first fight. Super fluid 2D with very nostalgic feeling.
And typically after an explosive opening battle, we switch to the “mundane” normal life with our main character – Hikaru. He’s a very stereotypical school boy that has a bit of a confidence issue. He’s the type that listen to self-help advice and be like “next time, I’ll do it.”. And just when he mustered enough courage to “take the next step”, it landed him right in the middle of our plot. The mysterious artifact turned out to be Alma – a very unique Mechanical Arms (Mecha Ude) – and Hikaru bonded with him – or rather, his jacket did. I find it pretty funny that the Mecha Ude bond with the clothes instead of the user, so if Hikaru wanted, he could leave Alma behind and just…go poof. But of course, Hikaru is a good-natured boy, so he couldn’t find it in him to. The banter between Hikaru and Alma really reminded me of a more matured Gintoki and Shinpachi.
The episode mix serious parts with comedic parts very well. Sugita’s voice really fits those funny old man type and Alma is basically just that. But during intense sequence, his deep voice really lend to the atmosphere. And we also get our Patrick Colasour expy of the anime: the blade user (whose name I already forgot lol)
The episode mix serious parts with comedic parts very well. Sugita’s voice really fits those funny old man type and Alma is basically just that. But during intense sequence, his deep voice really lend to the atmosphere. And we also get our Patrick Colasour expy of the anime: the blade user (whose name I already forgot lol)
For the first ep, not much was revealed regarding Alma and his abilities, but rather just to establish Hikaru and Alma’s partnership and showcase some Mecha-Ude’s abilities as well as setting up the “bad guys”. Aki’s basically Asuka on steroid here down to the looks and personality, and her Mecha-Ude is very suitable for her. The animation is decent, the quality isn’t super good but as I mentioned before, it felt like a 2000-2010 shounen series with some Sakuga moments. I reckon it is more than good enough to follow along if you’re a long time anime watcher. While the manga and the ONA is already out there, I’ll go in with a fresh pair of eyes to see how they will translate the story into a tv series, and I expect some badass fights coming up next!
=Aaron=
=Aaron=
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