Anime: Idolmaster Xenoglossia

The most archetypical thing someone expects from a mecha show is at least a boy and at least a huge robot. I mean it’s so commonplace it became an expression: A boy and his robot. Well guess what; Xenoglossia decided to mess with the formula, which is a good thing; messing with the clichés keeps any genre fresh and even helps it evolve further. I am very in favour of subverting the formulas and I was very happy to see a mecha show doing that. But then my joy departed as soon as I saw how they changed it for worse…

Irrelevant info follows…

In this show it is not a boy and his robot; it’s actually a girl and her robot. Sure, there were already dozens of other mecha shows with female pilots in them; the older of which I remember was Mazinger Z. There were these two chicks and they were piloting these feminine-looking robots whose main weapon was boob missiles. How disgraceful was that for women… So after all these decades one would expect for the treatment towards female pilots to have somewhat improved. And it’s true that shows like Gundam were in favour of having good female pilots in non-girly looking mecha and fighting with something other than boob missiles. Yet even there the big shots were again all male with women having a rather secondary role to the most part. Even famous works like Gunbuster treated them as fan service material and the silly sexuality of mecha shapes never really left. Remember the Swedish Gundam in Gundam G? What kind of crap was that? At this point I must make clear that I am not a feminist. In fact, I hate feminists; the only thing they want is to be liberated from male oppressors just to become oppressors themselves. But what I never forgive is to use gender stereotypes as nothing but superficial entertainment.

And this is where Xenoglossia comes in…

So here I am watching the first episode. I see nothing but girls. Ok, I guess it is a mecha with a girls-only crew. Sure, why not? Let’s see how they handled the premise. And so for the first ten minutes I see nothing but cute girls doing cute things as if this is a K-On wannabe. After that some mechas appear who seem to be used for protecting the planet from incoming asteroids. Ok, I guess it will be about cute girls piloting mechas and destroying asteroids. And then the camera zooms on Haruka, one of the girls, who is your stereotypical clutz, naive loli with ribbons on her hair who still wears pantsu with penguins on them. We get these constant pantsu jokes, which are supposed to be funny but felt only distasteful to me, before a mecha drops in front of her and immediately takes her inside it… after another pantsu joke.

This was the first episode and for some reason it felt very familiar with another show I had watched in the past. Let’s see now, we have a secret organization, an apparently living sentient robot, a meek protagonist, a woman with long hair and a penguin… HOLLY CRAP, THIS IS NEON GENESIS WITH LOLIS! No, seriously, it is. The control room looks like NERV, the robot tries to protect Haruka like EVA-01 did, and Kisaragi, the woman with the long hair, is a Misato look-alike. As for the penguin, ok, in this version he is not a hot-spring animal but a pantsu decoration. What is this, are they really trying to retell the Neon Genesis story with lolis and pantsu penguins? So far it feels completely retarded. Ok, let’s see how they handle it later.

The second thing I noticed is how the opening and ending videos all have to do with moe-moe girls and Haruka being naked. I don’t care how some love this crap; I say it is nothing but shallow otaku bait. I like lolis myself but only in *hem* adult manga. Using them as superficial attraction is nothing but hot air and they better evolve them further if they want me to care. Neon Genesis had stereotypical characters and its females were also treated erotically but by the end of the show they had being given so much colorization and (in theory) development that you really cared about them. Let’s see what they did with these girls.

… Yup, as I feared this is a heavy on fan service show. It never shows or blurs boobs and pantsu but it’s not like you can’t imagine what is going on; they just keep it out of screen. And look at that, there isn’t a single episode where the girls ain’t naked, having a bath, checking their underwear, measuring their boobs and whatever. Well what a sweet way to use gender roles… Not. You know what? This is still a male-oriented show despite having an almost female-only cast. It’s just that instead of the target audience being hot-blooded teenagers, it is moe-fans. And as long as that is all you want, you will indeed get lots of it.

Sexualization of underaged girls aside, the show does a fine job at fleshing them out. They remain moe-moe bait all the way but they also do develop into more mature characters along the way and you do get to like them more. But surely, the fan service is killing most of your appreciation for them. One short ero scene per episode is enough to spice things but they overdone it by throwing in as much as possible; usually unneeded too. It is all indirect and off-screen, you can still imagine easily what is going on and I still find it distasteful.

But say, what is going on with the story again? Well, it has to do with preventing asteroids from dropping on Earth by using huge robots named iDOLs. Now you may ask why the robots are piloted by little girls only. You see, the robots are sentient and must love their pilot in order to allow someone to control them. Plus, they are not purely Earth-made so humans have no complete control over them. So the school of all the pilots is just a front for a secret organization dedicated to protect the planet from outside dangers. Yes that’s right, a lot more things the show took identically from Neon Genesis. And sure, it excuses why you only see little girls in that base; it’s because the robots are lolicons… err, I mean because they like the innocence found in little human females. And the girls usually return the favour back by being open to them… in more ways than an occasional washing and waxing. They talk to them, pet them, reveal their secrets to them, cosplay for them … even undressing before them in order to show… more of themselves. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are playing doctor as well … out of screen of course. But it’s true that at times it feels very creepy how they treat these robots like otaku boyfriends because they are huge, hard, and become one with them when things get rough and shaky.

So what else is there in this show besides creepy romantic relationships between moe girls and their stud robots? Ah, yes, the Neon Genesis rip offs… err, I mean tributes. They are there to help the story become more mysterious and interesting. But naaaah, there isn’t much plot going on in this anime. Things move too slowly and most of it is moe-moe and getting to know the girls; the whole fuss about the asteroids is nothing but a vague backdrop decoration. Hell, the mecha action is also background decoration. Not only there is very little of it but it is also simplistic and short in duration. There is even a conspiracy by some other secret organization in order to dominate the globe or something but it all plays out in a very dull way; I didn’t even care about what is going on most of the time. It felt like a bad End of Evangelion imitation to begin with. Even the whole sexy/moe aspect started becoming repetitive and boring very fast.

Down to it this show tried to combine moeness with mecha action and failed badly. The mecha part is completely boring and way too obviously a Neon Genesis ri… tribute, while the moe feeling got watered down completely by a lot of irrelevant stuff around fighting other robots. Meaning that the blend did not make the anime better but worse.

The only thing I really give credit to the show are the production values. They are darn good for their time; the mecha look great and the girls lively and super moe. The OST is also very well made with sad and cheery pop pieces. Not that I liked the songs or find the budget to be able to save the show from utter mediocrity but does boost the score somewhat. It is otherwise nothing but a superficially made show around sexualized lolis and otaku robots.

… Plus, Penpen is a lot cooler than some penguin pantsu.

And now for some excused scorings.

Overview
More than a hundred years after the moon's destruction, the earth is left to the attack of numerous asteroids which fall to the atmosphere. Things are different without moon, water level is high and many cities were left underwater; cellphones don't work as they work in our days and must be plugged to get good signal; and also, 5 mysterious "cores" appeared... To fight the asteroids a corporation is mounted: Mondenkind, which uses this cores to move giant robots (Idols) to destroy the asteroids. A rival organization exists thou which seeks the Idols for their own purposes. What will happen if all 5 cores get together?


Rating

Animation
With great graphics and great animation, the series catches the attention since the first episode. Animation style is pretty good, Idols are well drawn (although ugly in design sometimes) and characters reflect their personalities adequately. Scenery varies between the city, school and space mainly, trying to keep a realistic look and feel. The first opening theme is not as impressive as the second but still it presents the characters and doesn't spoil mayor details. Ending theme on the other hand is a classic "naked girl" (AKA: evangelion, serial experiments lain, etc.) and gets old quickly.

Sound
Characters voices fit very well in their characters and voice actors are very good at what they do. The first opening song is a little too "pop"-like for my taste, the second however is more adventure-like and suits the series better. The ending song is good as well, however since its the same trough all episodes, it get boring eventually.

Story
The story starts up with a great background which is hidden from watchers in its mayor part. Not too many details about the disappearance of the moon are presented but that makes you familiar with how the characters should feel since they don't know much about it either. As for the main story, its an adventure-romance anime, revolving around a girl and her robot (whom she believes, has a hearth) There are many turnarounds like in a normal relation and that keeps the story interesting.

Character
Character development is one of the strongest points of the series, the main character, Haruka, is developed quickly and you get to know her very well. Secondary characters are developed more slowly but sudden twists in what you believe their personality was is an excellent touch.

Value
A great series overall, i really recommend it. This series has a great story background, great animation, good characters, comic relief, a touch of ecchi, good music, adventure, romance, drama... what else do you need?

Enjoyment
Personally, im the type for heavy psicological anime, and this series has none, however its very entertaining and you really come to like Xenoglossias world. What i particularly liked is the background: an earth without moon existing miraculously but fearing its destruction anytime. Wath i particularly disliked were some lengthy unnecessary ecchi scenes.

Conclusion
Watch this series.

Overall
Despite the numbers you see to the side, iDOLM@STER Xenoglossia is definitely my favourite anime from the year 2007, surpassing fan favourites such as Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, Seto no Hanayome, and carryovers from 2006 such as Code Geass and Death Note. This petty underrated Sunrise production will probably forever be remembered as the absurdly contrived mecha X pop-idol spin-off stuck between Code Geass and Gundam 00, or even as the unofficial third "Mai-" series, but below this wrongly labeled veil is a great love story between a girl and her robot in an epic struggle to save the world.

Before you step away from the previous sentence, let me remind you that love can take shape in any form, whether it's between the common theme of man and woman, or between man and an inanimate object. Xenoglossia doesn't tread on uncharted territory, but it makes the concept work like how the Mai- series had with the characters and their Childs, or even my previous fear of the Gundam series. Strengthening the bonds are the introduction of some of the cutest characters I've seen. Originally pop-idols for the popular XBOX game, Sunrise kept most of their personalities intact and scripted their way with them to create a wonderful love story by involving them with robots instead of being a generic rise-to-fame story.

With most of the writers being part of the Mai- series fame, it's no surprise Xenoglossia is similar to the franchise in terms of storytelling and character interaction. However, it wouldn't be fair to say that Xenoglossia is a carbon copy - it takes the best aspects of both Hime and Otome and puts them at work: funny and cute character moments, a rising plot shadow in the midst of all things normal, and revealing pasts that creates a simple yet complex character web. And as the second half comes, the world suddenly tumbles into disarray and everything is put to the test for the final showdowns. Unlike Hime and Otome, Xenoglossia is without any absurd mess, whether it's too dramatic or too light-hearted, and is a great mixture of both emotional as well as action-packed battles.

Apparently, Japan doesn't think much of this series, but Sunrise really put heart into retaining the characters' personalities to the original game and making a good story out of it. Most, if not all, the characters have different voice actors than the original, and after watching some videos of the original game, I'd say who does what fits their intended roles: the game voices are good for the game, and the anime voices are good for the anime; whoever is more professional, it doesn't matter.

Alongside their voices are the personalities. Haruka is very much my favourite cutest character of this year, even surpassing my favourite from Lucky Star, Tsukasa. She's got that extra spunk of determination and spirit asides from her cute design and voice. Iori is a great rival, and Yukiho... came from the left field as a great and perhaps deep friend. Yayoi brings lots of life to these characters, too, even in the deepest of pits of their lives. Development of characters are great in the span of 26 episodes, as I have already began to sympathize with most of them by episode 9.

The concept could turn people off, but if you accept it, you'll be in for a great ride. I voucher this the best recent Sunrise production in years; something done right, for once.

Animation
Some of the best animation this year is featured in Sunrise's latest, eventually surpassed by Gundam 00, right after Xenoglossia ended its run. Clean crisp animation, great character designs, and lots of detail in both foregrounds and backgrounds (sweat in space, vending machine logos, etc.). The transition to DVD had relatively few changes than other shows, proving Sunrise animators poured their souls into making this a high-quality production, even with its non-popularity. A few ugly CG areas and battles (they got lazy in the battles with lots of RIFFAs getting taken down by hax) (this does not include the Drop destruction sequences and such, as I thought they were pretty good since they were in space) down this one point from 9 to 8, though.

Sound
A great set of OPs and ED reflect the changing mood of the series without being spoilerific in the sequences that follow them. I wished they used one of the other songs off the singles for their insert songs, though, as hearing the first OP again in the final episode shifts the mood too much. Also, a great voice cast and BGM usage makes the show even more enjoyable.

Story
There are certain scenes that detract the series from being good, and some cringing moments (episode 8, in particular, was disturbing for me, but I got converted the episode after). As with pretty much all recent Sunrise series, the background of the plot isn't explained very well and thus makes some of the sci-fi stuff a little unbelievable. However, the storytelling is still great relative to past series like Mai-Otome and Code Geass.

Value
Serin is the only group that has completed the project... but sometimes they can be as worse as the speed-group Your-Mom - full of QUALITY moments such as useless translation notes, WHY-WOULD-THEY-DO-THAT translator's notes, and tidbits that will make you rip your hair out. They think of viewers as idiots, even translating the word "debris", which shouldn't be necessary as it isn't a JAPANESE WORD THAT WE DON'T KNOW.

As for rewatch value, I plan to rewatch this. The question is, would you?

There is nothing more beautiful and pure than the love between a girl and her robot.

Amami Haruka is a insecure girl, who's always trying her best at being energetic, optimistic and dreams of becoming an Idol. After passing an audition she believes to have done the first step but it turns out she has been chosen as an iDOLM@STER. A girl destined to pilot a robot and protect the earth from debris drops resulting from the remains of earth's moon which was destroyed decades ago and now forms a planetary ring. Hesitant at first she comes to realise that the iDOLs are more than just man-build mecha and have a heart of their own and it becomes her wish to understand Imber, the iDOL which chose her as master.

Idolmaster Xenoglossia is another mecha show in the long list of Sunrise productions, however, it does have a few points which make it stand out compared to everything else since Turn A Gundam and GaoGaiGar/Final.

Its animation is surprisingly well done. The show has a high amount of nice mecha action scenes which are technically above those in either the Mai-series and Code Geass. And in contrast to them there is overall a low amount of badly drawn frames. The series as a whole has probably overall less bad quality than an average episode of CG alone. It does also feature above average character animation aside from the action scenes, not as dynamic and detailed as in a top show like Noein or Gurren Lagann but far above the average norm we have to endure in most tv series. Far less cheap cuts, some nice change ups and rarely pushing it at the cost of work amount.

Unlike some past shows it does also feature far less cg scenes, actually almost none, save for a few drop scenes, until the very late episodes, which feature a few mass grunt battles on cg, which aren't too awful though, some scenes even feature nice transitions such as Haruka's flight with Imber in 24.

But more so than the animation, it is the directing which widens the gap to the average standard tv series even more. While the scriptwriting isn't exactly stellar and there are many silly elements which of times disturb the flow of the story more so than actually help its development, the directing manages to overcome many of those parts by clever use of cuts, angles, using the characters' best traits to their fullest and effective musical addition. The first half of the show is rather formulaic and episodic and may turn viewers off due to its slow pacing, throughout the middle segment it does actually pick up for a bit, but once the show hits the second half, which is indicated by the change of the opening, hell breaks lose and the serious parts of the show manage to shine, rewarding the viewer for one's endurance. That is not to say that the first half is bad, the characters are carefully exploit and the relationship between Haruka and Imber gets a lot of development as well as some other characters, especially Iori and Makoto. Some of the humorous parts work very well in those first episodes, the Gunbuster episode with Iori being Coach, was a nice gem amongst them. And it does already foreshadow some of the latter subplots, without giving too much too early away.

Another reason why Xenoglossia is as entertaining as it is may be due to the background music. Not only does the music stand out in the show and works well most of the time, it does also have a soundtrack which is great to listen to as standalone, even if not at the same level as for example Kajiura Yuki's work on the Mai-series. While the first part of the show has mostly a happy vibe by applying many fast tracks which use mainly wind instruments, especially the flute, and some other playful short tunes, the second half slows notably down and features many orchestral tracks, which do an impressive work on accompanying the most important serious parts of the show, Especially Hikari ni Mukatte is an extremely powerful track when used in episode 19. Discord and Purple Moon are two other tracks which stand out amongst many other good ones.

The intro/outro aren't as noteworthy, except for the second intro, Zankoku yo kibou to nare by Yuki Aira. While Binetsu S.O.S!!, the first intro by Hashimoto Miyuki, goes well with the carefree first half of the show and is more of a fanservice for fans of the Idolmaster franchise. The second intro greatly differs, with the song itself being quite fitting to the plot of the show's second half, it is especially the animation and directing which stand out. Interesting transitions reflect the characters' relationships in a nice way. A fade in of Imber and a serious Haruka, a still of Haruka against the wind with an after-image effect, 360° turn when switching to Makoto and Yukiho and the fast cut to her reaching for Chihaya's hand, there are many interesting details and the fight in the latter part is quite awesomely animated. While Intros usually are always a few notches above the actual show and look like 1:30 minutes made on a budget of several episodes, this one still deserves a place amongst the better ones. Outro, Yuukyuu no Tabibito by Snow, was nice and the animation was nothing special, the small hints on HarukaxImber and the ending of the show (flowing Haruka being always watched by Imber's eyes, Aurin), were a nice touch overall.

Binetsu S.O.S was also featured in the last episode of the show, adding to the overall contrast in this episode, between the Idolmaster parts remindful of those of the earlier series and the bittersweet ending.

And the ending is quite a fitting one for the ride that was the latter third of the series, with the exception of episode 22 perhaps, but other than that the fast moving plot, the serious scenes and character interaction were quite entertaining. Haruka was anything but original and much of her development was expected from the beginning but she was still quite a likable character, aside from the seriously heavy overdose of cuteness (think I'm gonna die, etc.) it were scenes like her coming to realise her feelings or actually any scenes with Imber, especially to the end of the series which did leave a good impression. A cute lovestory between a girl and her robot, if that isn't refreshing and entertaining.

And even if one happens to not like Haruka (impossible), there are a few more characters which do get a good share of the spotlight, especially Minase "Shining Forehead" Iori, who has almost as much time for herself as Haruka, or Makoto and Yukiho who go through the most development throughout the show. The highly expendable sidecharacter cast could have been smaller and waste less time but that's a prerequisite which seemingly can't get rid of for that type of show.

Does Xenoglossia have an impact and will be remembered greatly in several years for something especially outstanding? Most probably not. Does it deserve to be given a chance? Yes, I think so. Because unlike its exterior appearance, with the game franchise it's based on and what not, it does prove to be more than just a shallow display of the Idolmaster characters in a show with giant robots.