“The culprit”

Ever since episode 4 of Soukou no Strain I’ve been having this feeling that they’ve slowly but metodically been digging tunnels under the elements that first perked my interest in this show. The first three episodes featured deaths, betrayal, angst, and hardships - all of which are things I typically enjoy in my anime. Our protagonist lost everything and the world as she knew it was completely re-shaped. Losing her ability to fly the prized Strains she had to struggle with the grunts, flying their regular and clumsy mechs that weren’t fit for any kind of glory, and the only thing that kept her going was the burning desire to find out why her brother betrayed her.

Everything was just perfect. Sure, she got another Strain but that wasn’t such a big surprise and she was still introverted and had problems with the rest of the crew. Even despite this deus ex machina I felt that this show had some great potential.

Then came episode 7. The hollowed out story finally caved in. The illusion shattered. This episode looked like it belonged in a generic harem/school show, with completely misplaced comedy and cheerfulness. What the hell happened? Are they trying to cater to every single viewer out there? If I wanted to watch a show with comedy, ecchi and the characters getting into stupid situations I’d watch a harem show. All they managed to do with this episode was to kill what little remained of the atmosphere.

What was just a few weeks ago the show I anticipated the most has dropped down to the “will soon be dropped” category. I am utterly disappointed.

Posted by Matte on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at 5:23 pm.