BLASSREITER (Review)
And his name that sat upon him was Gonzo
During the Spring of this year, Gonzo’s initial online streaming experiment began with two series: Tower of Druaga and BLASSREITER. Both shows were featured not only on Crunchyroll and BOST TV, but YouTube as well for an unlimited time. Tower of Druaga was pretty well-liked, and its twist ending caused some interest in Gonzo’s new properties. Then, of course, Panty Witches was a raging success of the dumbest kind. So what about Blassreiter, arguably the most “Gonzo-like” of the series?
Well, it doesn’t immediately stand out the way either Strike Witches or Druaga did. The series tends to slip into Gonzo’s comfort zone pretty quickly, and as such exhibits a quite a few of their typical problems. But it’s not without merit either — in fact, at times it was really engaging.
Story
Without getting too much into it, since part of the fun is watching the story unfold, Blassreiter tells the story of a human augmentation project — somewhere between Twenty Faces’ cybernetic super-soldiers and Gendo’s Human Instrumentality — gone horribly awry. The augmented monsters, called Amalgams, start running all amok in Germany on their way to destroy and remake the entire world. Through it all, the only people with the balls to try and save the world are some glorified cops on motorcycles.
XAT uniforms require cleavage, regardless of gender. I found this to be pretty progressive on Gonzo’s part.
Characters
The series gets a few episodes in before you finally realize who it’s actually about, and it’s not so much racing hero Gerd Frenzen (which you might think through two or three episodes) as it is XAT cops Amanda and Hermann. By the final episode, they’ve become fantastic leads. Amanda is the strongest female I’ve seen in anime in a very long time. If you’re looking for her to break down and need a man at some point, take your moe elsewhere — she stays on point for 25 episodes.
And, she’s a pink-haired looker!
Animation
Notoriously, a lot of people (myself included) ditched this show from minute one when they saw just how bad Gonzo’s trademark CG had gotten. It was like a video game had invaded my anime. But two things happened: First, it got better. The CG fight scenes between the dextrous amalgams were fast-moving and creatively directed. And second, I watched a couple Speed Grapher episodes and saw to exactly what level Gonzo will stoop if they don’t feel like animating a vehicle using cels.
CG motorcycles it is, then.
I mean, motorcycles are cool, right? Right?
The Gonzo Factor
Gonzo tend to try really hard to make their “adult” shows seem very “adult.” That usually means gratuitous violence and ridiculously amped-up sexuality (lol bewbs), combined in a way that makes everything feel decidedly un-adult. Rather than upping the sex-and-violence quotient, Blassreiter’s crew opted to use hopelessness, despair, religious themes, and insane amounts of character death to create something you might actually find somewhat mature.
Themes
Blassreiter’s characters struggle most with trying to maintain their belief systems and their sense of right and wrong in a jacked-up world where most of their friends have been needlessly slaughtered (sometimes twice). A lot of the characters are Christian and question their religious beliefs, and Zwölf is a church-operated organization, but Christianity is a theme that remains mostly unexplored. Ultimately, the characters like Gerd who become Amalgams cling to any belief, even if they doubted it during life, just to try to remain human as their basest instincts start to take over their minds.
Bottom Line
Blassreiter was part of an experiment for Gonzo. They’re not doing all that well money-wise, but they dumped 2 million USD into Crunchyroll, so something apparently worked (probably Panty Witches, actually…). [Edit comes in the form of getting schooled in my comments section — that money came in April so it's actually part of what powered this whole thing.] Considering more Crunchy shows this season and the off-balance amount of Gonzo stuff in Funimation’s iTunes store, these guys are going to be anime’s first real fixture on the Internet, for better or worse. The good news is, you could do a whole lot worse than Blassreiter.
If you like your anime dark and full of action, but without the over-the-top indulgences in sex and violence that Gonzo can be guilty of at times, give it a shot. I think it’s their best “traditional Gonzo” series in a while. And even if you’re just curious, you can jaunt on down to YouTube and check it out for nothing, so why not?
I did jaunt on down to YouTube and check it out …
Well, it’s okay, but I don’t like 3D mixed with 2D unless it’s a mixed episode of Jimmy Neutron with Fairly Odd Parents
They dumped the money into CR *before* they started the sim-cast with CR (since in the shareholder’s info released recently for their TOB said the shares in CR were officially bought in April, which means an agreement must’ve been reached in March latest). So actually they were gambling on that CR will bring them big bucks, and not on any particular results that CR bought to them.
blissmo – that is a strange thing to bring up when talking about Blassreiter, but whatever floats your boat. I’ve never seen either one of those, though. I’m more of a Foster’s Home kind of guy.
senshi – You are right, of course, thanks. I made a post about that investment and didn’t bother to go back and read it. Just relied on my crappy memory. Really makes me wonder how that’s working out for the parties involved…
@otou-san Foster’s Home is one of the greatest shows ever created to appeal to people of all ages.
I was going to doo a review, but then I realised I hadn’t much time. Either way, underrated show is underrated.
I applaud you for watching a show about motorcycle monsters and whatnot. This, to an end, only shows my ignorance, but I can’t stand this show. I watched one episode and dropped it like a hot potato.
“They’re not doing all that well money-wise, but they dumped 2 million USD into Crunchyroll, so something apparently worked (probably Panty Witches, actually…).” Are you SERIOUS? Crunchy’s graphics were all pixelated and grossy-looking too…
@otou-san: Haha, and I thought you were cool. Even JLeeson has seen Fairly Odd Parents, plus Jimmy Neutron was in the cinemas one time. I am disappointed.
I’m sure CR is loving it – that cool 2 mil can buy you a lot anime licenses and infrastructure etc. Plus it gives them more legitimacy by waving that big “hey look a Japanese animation house bought shares! nya-nya to your all!” sign.
For Gonzo? I’m not so sure. That 2 mil is like 10% of the worth of their debt, it’s a pretty big gamble and I’m pretty sure it’s probably not paying off, knowing how online video sites that relies heavily on advertising in general rarely even turn a profit (I’m looking at you Youtube, Nicodouga, Hulu etc).
Omisyth - I would have called it underrated, but it didn’t seem like anyone bothered to rate it at all, so… anyways, glad someone else dug it.
Hoshi -I too gave up after one episode, but it was pretty deceptive. Re: Gonzo, I am serious, internets are srs bsns, all that stuff, but you’re right. Crunchy doesn’t immediately seem like the best place to dump money. Yes, it’s kinda crappy looking (even the H264 bootlegs and fansubs people upload aren’t so great), and then there’s the legal gray area situation. Licensed shows are taken off quickly — once someone notices. There is lots of old but in-print stuff on CR, but I’m sure all the anime bloggers out there will protect us from its evil.
blissmo – I think your first problem was thinking I was cool.
senshi – I’m all for CR’s legitimacy, even if a lot of bloggers for some reason are not (probably because they are the pillar of morals, even though most have probably bootlegged a licensed show in their day as well). But when I take a look at the ads on CR, I really have no idea how Gonzo will see returns anytime soon, considering the higher-dollar advertisers on Hulu and the fact that that site is making tiny tiny money.
I actually found the show to be awesome (if not godly ^__^), though I’m heavily biased because the character design was done by Naoyuki Onda. But then i do like my shows dark, violent, and pretty and Blassreiter delivers all that. So it was the ultimate win of the season for me. (though still 2 ep/DVD is a rip off)
First couple episodes were awful; But past that point, especially toward the end, it wasn’t bad at all. For what it is worth, it is a Nitro+ story.
I like the style in the pics you posted. The story sounds interesting somewhat, but the truth is, what caught my attention was Amanda. ^^ Not that I dislike moe, but I’m getting a bit tired of it. XD
meows – I’m guessing we’ll get an R1 at some point and it’ll be a better deal. But who knows. Since this has never happened before, I’m not sure if the standard assumptions (that Funimation will license it) apply.
scrappy – Once people started dying, then I realized they meant business. My enjoyment of Blassreiter was a big factor in trying out Chäos;HEAd this season, since it’s adapted from a Nitro+ VN.
char - Blassreiter is about as antithetic to moe as you’re gonna get. No big eyes, no weepy pathos or innocent cuteness, just a lot of death. And… uh, motorcycles.
[...] government demon-fighting teams, heroes-turned-bad, and depressive mood, Zero strongly resembles Blassreiter. It has a few key traits that separate it, though: half length, devotion to standard [...]
If you like watching innocent people die lots, then this anime is for you!!!!
Very good blog post I like your site keep up the amazing posts
I am not sure why yahoo sent me to your blog but I need to say I have become quite captivated by the content you have patched together. How long did it take to start getting so many arriving to your site? I am new to this web site stuff.
This topic has been up for debate quite a lot of times but none of the posts were as detailed as yours. AdminI hope to see such quality posts from you in the future.