ANIME REVIEW: Terra Formars

Terra Formars was originally a manga serialised in Weekly Young Jump which was then adapted for anime in 2014. There were also two OAV (basically one-off or very short anime series) covering the earlier missions often referred to the show.

The anime ran from September 26, 2014 to December 19 2014 and consisted of 13 episodes

For those interested I did a little research and unfortunately could not find any evidence that there will be another season. There is still a manga to read though.

WHY I WATCHED

Terra Formars was marketed as a Horror/Sci-Fi which sounded pretty interesting to me and other than that it pretty much came out of nowhere. It sounded like a fairly cut and dry idea, hard to go wrong, it reminded me a bit of Gantz but could just as easily be described as Attack On Titan in space.

WHAT I THOUGHT

Terra Formars is a wild, wild ride. There is a OVA which is like two episodes wrong but I’m not whether or not you should watch it first, it shows the previous missions will be referred to in the show from the beginning so make up your own mind. So first up is Terra Formars scary? Definitely not in a jump scare serial killer behind you sort of way but more of a no one is safe so don’t get attached to that character you find endearing.

One thing of note is that when Terra Formars was first broadcast is was heavily censored (what else would you do with a horror show) so trust me when you I say you want none of that action it is more horrifying than any of the deaths on the show.

Zeroing in on the show’s core reveal it to be a battle anime (think Naruto, DBZ) with the fights being more violent but just as intricate with just as many “let me just pull this special move out of my ass” moments which will make you smile.

The explanations for the Science behind the abilities of our protagonists and the enemies is well worked though it doesn’t exactly have me wanting to queue for that surgery. The announcer is awesome I kind of want to check out the English dub to see if he is up to scratch but somehow I think I will be disappointed.

As I mentioned previously absolutely no one is safe but if you had to watch one character it has to be Michelle K Davis as one of the leaders of the crews and perhaps the most badass female anime of recent times (say last five years). She is one of the few female protagonists you see in a show where you think yeah even without her powers or abilities she still kick the crap out of most who tried to take her on.

The show isn’t all action though there are flashbacks which serve to show why people would choose to go to Mars on what could be well be a suicide mission. The flashbacks speaks of mega corporations and the divide between rich and poor growing even larger.

So if you have a strong stomach and a love of epic multi-episode battles handled a lot better than they were in Dragon Ball and if you want to see some strong women calling the shots than go pick this up on DVD or on a streaming service if you can find it.

ANIME REVIEW: Is it Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon

Familia Myth is what I will be referring to this as from now on but having the full title is useful.

So in no particular order these are its titles.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? - Eng Title

Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka - Long Title

^{DanMachi - Shortended Title}

Familia Myth is the anime adaption of a light novel series from SB Creative – GA Bunko. The anime series had an initial 13 episode run and started broadcasting on April 4^th.

PLOT

The story follows the exploits of Bell Cranel, a 14-year-old solo adventurer under the goddess Hestia. As the only member of the Hestia Familia, he works hard every day in the dungeon to make ends meet while seeking to improve himself. He looks up to Aiz Wallenstein, a famous and powerful swordswoman who once saved his life, and with whom he fell in love. He is unaware that several other girls, deities and mortals alike, also develop affections towards him; most notably Hestia herself.

WHY I CHOSE IT

I was not sure about this show at first but decided to give it a try and when I checked it out on the various anime sites I saw that word most dreaded of anime fans "

WHAT I THOUGHT

I was not sure about it at first and even a look at that cover was a bit off putting somehow I could sense the harem issues but after a bit of back and forth probably 2/3 of the way into its run I took the plunge. The show is not a harem at least it is not the only thing it is. It really can be described as the typical male anime protagonist gradually proving himself and rising up through the ranks, this story has been told dozens of times but I was entertained all the same.

If I could de-construct DanMachi into its constituent parts and look at them I would probably come out having no idea how the show manages to work as well as it does. It is also interesting because this is basically an anime version of most fantasy JRPGs. The idea of experience and talent trees are presented in an interesting way.

Bell Cranel is the protagonist of the show and starts out as a level 1 adventurer (yes they have levels) who is just beginning his career. He is a nice if oblivious dude which should give you some idea of the character arc you’ll watch but still he is compelling to watch.

Hestia is a god one of the pantheon who came down to the world at some stage in the past to live with humans. She’s called the “Loli-God” down to looking like a kid, those ponytails and her other apparent assets. I couldn’t tell you why other than the obvious but she makes me uncomfortable, it is not the first time I’ve see Lolita with overly large breasts but her body combined with her personality makes it super weird.

Ais Wallenstein is the superstar of the world of Dungeon and considered to be one of the top adventurers as well as one of the most beautiful who Bell falls for in the first episode.

So to settle up if you like adventure anime and JRPGs then DanMachi is a show that is worth checking out. This initial season looks good for a renewal though I can’t confirm that. So just remember that as I said before this is so much more than a harem show.