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Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Rolling Girls BD+DVD
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phia_one
Posts: 1657 Location: Pennsylvania |
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I really enjoyed this show and it most likely would have made it into my Top 10 if it wasn't for the problems the review mentioned, especially the main characters. I felt that the side characters had more personality and depth than the 4 main leads (well, except maybe for Ai since I actually did like her). Maybe things would have been different if it had more episodes.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4090 |
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"It's not a very good show" and "Overall B-". Well, if B means good and B+ very good then a B- certainly is not very good. Yeah, that's what that means...
Anyways, this was and still is my top show of 2015. Thrill of discovery, the wonderment of what's going to be around-well, not the next turn but the next, next turn as these are two episode stories. One part road trip and one part coming of age story, Rolling Girls has no time for what happened, it has no interest in what's coming up, it's all about now, right now, live in the moment and for the moment whether you're one of the Best or just one of the rest. Does it makes sense? The second episode weaponizes vomit, of course it doesn't make sense! But while the show doesn't follow a sense of logic, it does follow people's sense of propriety, that is the stuff you thought mattered the most to you carried with you to the present whether if it's being a hero or a motorcycle racer, guitarist or a peach famer. Overall tho, you got to be cool. But because of that, I thought the Comeket story was the weakest; There were no antagonists and what mattered most to the featured Best was a life size figurine. Beautiful imagery, great music and wonderful odd characters. Wonderfully odd characters. So odd... Anyways, loved it, still love it, will always love it. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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It felt like a cute girl doing cute things trying to be something else but ultimately failing. I also got the impression they were trying to redo Kino's journey or something.
It's really a shame because it was gorgeous and some of the character were actually really interesting (the side one, not the main one). It's still watchable just from a visual point of view, but the main group of girl were too inconsequential to feel part of the story, but to present to feel like real spectator, had they picked one option and commited to it it might have been better. |
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fathomlessblue
 Posts: 349 Location: Manchester, UK |
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I recall some of the Anime Limited staff talking about how impressed they were by the industry-specific promotional materials during a visit to Wit Studio some months before the show aired. You can really see why based on first impressions. All the ingredients were there to make one of the most spectacular anime experiences of recent years, yet the staff were just incapable of turning it into a cohesive whole.
I'd be more forgiving if Rolling Girls ended up a solid series with some glaring flaws, however nearly every problem in one area seemed to bleed into the next. The main cast were so aimless and ineffectual that it became impossible to care for their arcs. The various settings & plot reveals were a mesh of poorly defined concepts sprung out of the air, lacking any sense of grounding to provide physical weight to the actions. The side-characters stories often felt diminished from filtering them through the lens of Nozami's incredibly passive negotiator role. All these in turn affected the stunning animation which too often ended up like celebrations for their own sake rather than feeling tied to the emotional crux of character arcs. It was like seeing a jigsaw broken up and then forcing the pieces together in random order. At every point you can clearly see the what it should have been, which is what makes the experience even more painful to see. Last edited by fathomlessblue on Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Elric_Edward
Posts: 18 |
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some of the best animation gifs I've ever seen have come from this show.
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Same. It REALLY makes me want to watch it, but I'm not sure I have time to put up with, what seems like, a really terrible mess, over all. |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5471 |
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I know they're done by completely different staff, but I really hope Flip Flappers doesn't fall into the same trap Rolling Girls did in terms of ambition.
I think in hindsight it needed a much better screenwriter to handle this show. Maybe someone like Reiko Yoshida since she knows how to handle a cast of normal girls. |
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Tenebrae
Posts: 486 |
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This show had potential, but sadly didn't live up to it. I think I may have even missed an episode, but seems it made no difference. An average outing lacking direction, lifted above the grey goo only by its art.
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dm
 Subscriber Posts: 1367 |
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I loved this show, even though I concede the flaws Nick lists. Partly I viewed it less as character drama and more as a twisted sort of travelogue. I'm not sure if I thought the Kyoto arc was the best through any intrinsic quality or if it was driven by nostalgia for a recent trip there. It's certainly the arc I keep revisiting.
Viewed as animated postcards from six locations in an alternate universe Japan, the series was great. Sarah Vowell does Kino's Journey, or maybe The narrow road to the deep North (or, in this case, South). No, the series didn't need to be longer, it probably would have worked well as a few episodes of OVA. |
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GaryNhk
Posts: 68 |
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Its not a terrible mess at all its a fun relaxing watch through out. It does mislead you by its first 2 eps with the huge fight and makes you want to see them more but I grew attached to the 4 leads. It reminded me of kino's journey where each new place they ended up having its own story they just happen to get involved. Music great too that colorful opening song gets stuck in your head after you hear it more than once. only downside funi gave it a plan jane combo release. With all the colorful art would of been a nice stand out limited edition to own... |
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relyat08
Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I'll take some of those more positive opinions. It might be worth checking out as a travelogue. I have friends on both sides of this, but most agree it's pretty messy. I will keep it on my list though.
I have a lot of faith in Kiyotaka Oshiyama, but this will be his first TV series, so who knows. I'm optimistic about it though. |
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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I enjoyed watching The Rolling Girls, but I do think the stories of the starring quartet could've been explorer a bit deeper... I did, however, get a bit of a thrill with the colorful superpowers and explosions.
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1115 Location: Puget Sound |
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Nick's review neatly summarizes why I dropped it around ep 4 or 5. Gorgeous animation - but poorly drawn characters and an incoherent plot.
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dm
Subscriber Posts: 1367 |
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I'd almost say that watching episodes 1 & 2 (to get the basic setup) and then 7 & 8 (to get the absolutely fantastic, dynamic, high-powered sakuga of the conclusion of the Kyoto arc) is a fine way to experience the series. I wouldn't blame anyone who stopped at that point, because I'm not sure the episodic story is worth any more time, but damn, the conclusion of that pair of Kyoto episodes was one of high points of that year's anime for me.
Oh yes, plus the music. I imported the soundtracks, but I'm a Blue Hearts fan anyway. |
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CCTakato
Posts: 514 |
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I remember really loving the first two episodes of this and being really on board for more but then the rest of the episodes felt like it was part of a completely different show to me. Like the first two episodes I loved for all the high stakes action and I thought it was going to be some whacky superhero show. It had almost a bit of a Kill La Kill vibe to me but more streamlined and less gratuitous fanservice. But then it just decided to ditch all that and turn into this weird episodic road trip thing. That could have been fine and I was willing to give it a shot but the stories they chose to focus on just felt so incoherent and confusing to me that I had no idea what was happening. I do agree though the show looked really pretty and it's a shame at how much potential was lost.
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