Comet Lucifer

Episodes 1-2

Charge up your hoverboard and polish your giant robot, because it's time for a good old-fashioned sci-fi anime adventure. If the first two episodes of Comet Lucifer are any indication, this series is planning to deliver the kind of “plucky teenagers versus the world” appeal that so often defines coming-of-age stories. It may feel familiar, but it's certainly entertaining.

Our certified teenage protagonist is Sogo, a cheerful guy with a nifty sci-fi scooter and a hobby of hunting for rare stones. His excitement over finding a particularly unique gem is promptly interrupted by his friend Kaon, who's in the middle of trying to escape from her fiancé. The ensuing flying car chase ends with Sogo and Kaon falling into an extensive system of caves, where they inevitably get caught up in a secret military operation. Things blow up, Sogo's rock starts glowing, and he and Kaon find themselves running from a giant robot with a mysterious girl in tow. We're not quite sure why the government is after the telekinetic Felia, but they're willing to employ a former war hero and his homicidal acquaintance in order to get her. In the absence of a better idea, Sogo and his friends decide to protect their unusual new friend.

For better or worse, Comet Lucifer takes a very safe approach to introducing its world, story, and characters. Nearly every scene conjures up memories of similar shows from years gone by: many viewers will get a Eureka Seven-ish vibe from it, and I'd argue that there's a bit of Last Exile thrown in for good measure. Sogo leans towards the “ambitious but irresponsible” end of the anime hero spectrum, Kaon is clearly meant to serve as his levelheaded love interest, and Felia borrows traits from every innocent girl who ever climbed out of a magic box. We've got kindly innkeepers, flashy rich guys with long-suffering butlers, and even a sinister old man in a wheelchair. Unless this is the first anime series you've ever watched, you'll inevitably find something here that you've seen before.

The good news is that Comet Lucifer presents these familiar elements in a competent and enthusiastic manner. The writing is generally solid, and these episodes unfold at a pace that is neither rushed nor sluggish. Action scenes are exciting, directed in a way that makes it easy to follow what's going on. While the cast has a “paint by numbers” feel at the moment, most of the main characters are easy to like. Fallen war hero Gus is an early highlight for me, but that's partly due to the fact that I enjoy watching formerly good characters play the villain. It adds a layer of depth and complexity that's much harder to build when the bad guy is just an irredeemable scumbag. The only potential weak links in the cast appear to be the exceedingly innocent Felia and her annoying talking rock-worm, but neither of them are lost causes quite yet.

Comet Lucifer is also a good-looking series. Action shows depend on solid animation more than other genres, and the production values here have been consistently above average thus far. The big robots blend in fairly well with the rest of the art, and they throw their weight around in convincing fashion during the fight scenes. Some of the mechanical designs are pretty neat, especially Roman's fancy hovering hot rod. The characters themselves are recognizable without being too outlandish, and they look equally good sitting around or sprinting to escape a cave-in. If Comet Lucifer can maintain its current animation quality over the course of the season, it shouldn't have much to worry about on the visual side of things.

There's a lot of potential here, but that's about all there is at the moment. In the absence of any truly unique traits, it's hard to tell how well this show will stack up against the big names in its genre. It needs to find a way to distinguish itself from the crowd if it wants to make the leap from good to great, and its success in that endeavor will depend largely on where the story goes from here. If the characters prove to be as deep as they are likable, and the plot doesn't go off the rails, we could have a real contender on our hands. That's a big if, however, and this genre is notoriously packed with trainwrecks and also-rans.

I'm excited to see how Comet Lucifer will unfold over the course of the season. While it may not be a sure bet yet, it's giving off more good signs than bad ones. Until it makes a serious misstep, any prophecies of doom that I make should be treated as the bitter grumblings of someone who's seen far too many promising shows crash and burn over the years. For the time being, it's an easy recommendation for fans of big adventure with a hint of science fiction.

Rating: B+

Comet Lucifer is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.