Category: Finished Series: Action

It has been fun over the last two weeks of Kotobuki, where we get to learn more about two members of the squad and some more fun times with them fighting against air pirates. One thing first, I still greatly enjoy the tongue-in-cheek conversations Kotobuki employs. It’s fast-paced, it’s irrelevance, it’s silly but Kotobuki is also whole lotta fun. At this point I can firmly say that the characters aren’t supposed to be a full-fledge characters, instead they are cool and boy, did the show deliver on that. On top of that we have some really silly, goofy side characters (read: mostly men) that despite their over-the-top, there’s something charming about them. I know there’s an overarching arc that will come later on, but now I’ve warmed up considerably with this pirate-of-the-week format. One factor that needed mentioning regarding its world-building though, is that the characters are in the era where they don’t have any idea about “sea” or “bike”. Which is interesting if they can manage to explore the world building more.

In episode 4, it’s Zara (not the brand!) who takes the torch and she sure makes an impression as the experient quiet one who manages to singlehanded raids the gang and effortlessly claims back the Raiden safe and sound. She appears to know about basically everything, has her way of gaining information and beat the men in their own game (booze). Moreover, when she meets the young girl who is behind all the paintings the CEO trying to sale, she encourages her to be her own self. The CEO, although unbearable in episode 3, suddenly becomes charming as we learn that all he does is for the benefits of the girl, and naturally it gets in the way of other members of his “organization”. The way they double-cross him is a tad bit on your face, but I let it aside because it’s fun to see them got hit by our girls and the interactions between the girls are as natural as ever.

In the last episode, we have an addition cast, Isao who is the head of View Trading who has lame magic tricks. This time it’s the team leader Reona who going through some sort of focus as it’s revealed that Isao was a talented pilot and had saved her in the past, so that she wants to pay back by protecting him. Unsurprisingly, air pirates appear with overwhelming volume (air pirates are everywhere in this world, not that it’s a complaint), and the man himself joins the battle, shoots down some air jets before accidently self-destruct his plane. As I keep saying every week, while the plot itself is merely passable, and the characters aren’t what we considered as deep, it’s the confident tones and the way Kotobuki represents itself that make it a rewarding ride with heaps of fun so far. Even if this turns out to be a low-tier offering of the season, I’m still pretty much happy with its existence.

It’s clear after the first three episodes that Kotobuki isn’t a show that focuses much on any thematic depth, nor is it a character piece. It has some nice settings, it has one core concept of these Kotobuki team members doing air combats against pirates, and it has extended well-choreographed flight sequences to back it up. It’s pretty telling how they sacrifice 2D character models so that they can go all out with the aerial combat set pieces. In terms of sound and sight, Kotobuki has its chops. It’s not in the level of extraordinary, mind you, but to animate those long battle scenes in every single episode and makes it as appealing as what we got so far is no small feat. The problems lie in the lack of actual story, or even characters that we feel worth spending time for. This week, I still don’t warm up that much to the characters. I do learn more about two of them. Reona (in red uniform), the leader of this group and the voice of reason as opposed to the impulsive Kirie and Chika last week, and Emma (the blonde) who frankly criticizes the mayor before gets rescued by him later on. I don’t mind this “you pick up on character traits as you go along” approach Kotobuk’s currently implementing, but I can see that this approach could turn viewers off because they don’t have a reason to care for the story.

It doesn’t help the case that the story this week is as bareboned as it can get. Rachma, their town was attacked by air pirates who calling themselves “Elite Industries”. The CEO, who acts as over the top as one could, is eyeing the town’s Raiden fighter, and fires off as warning once the town refuses to do the trade. I’m a bit let down by the way Kotobuki clearly makes a ruthless villain we all love to hate, and there is a clear black and white here. The other development this episode focuses on, however, is the town mayor’s indecision to make a final call. This thread works better than the punchable face CEO, but still leaves a lot to be desired. The small town villagers get a sense that they need to participate (and not relying on the girls) to protect their hometown, and the mayor, in a spur of a moment, decide to ride his Raiden and saves Emma, although at the cost of the Raiden.

So yep, story-wise and characters-wise, Kotobuki offers surprisingly very little to hold on to. What it sells so far is the presentation. CG planes look cool in motion and we can feel the impact of every hit the air jets receive. I also quite enjoy the rapid-fire conversations and clearly each girl sounds and behaves different, although to be fair it’s all style with no substance right now. The only way the show could improve is that they need to get more constructed, as fighting pirates week-to-week, quite fun to look at, gets dull rather easily.