derangedxzombie

The premise seems simple enough, schoolgirls from different schools (each school iconic and themed on Countries in WWI/WWI like Japan, Britain, Germany, Italy, Communist Russia etc) wage battle in relatively friendly - but dangerous battle tank competitions. Tanks and their use in these competitions are quite prestigious and a big deal in this anime, schools that are proficient in tankery programmes earn a good reputation and funding. There are also families (like protagonist Miho Nishizumi's) who have a line of talented tank combatants and battle strategists.

The schools are each set aboard huge aircraft carriers that have cities upon them, and there are various grassy or mountainous battlegrounds aboard the carriers or on land they will dock to participate in. Why is this anime so good? Maybe it's the funny dichotomy of a innocent and goofy group of school friends, whose friendship and chemistry allow them to make great tank crews and an effective (underdog) panzer divisio - that can strategize and win these dangerous tank battles. The strategy and action is a lot of fun to watch with good pacing and knowledge in part of the battle tanks (history, mechanics and usage in battle) and the characters are all likable with their own quirks. There are also a number of moments outside of the tank battles between the characters which build their story and world.

Well worth a watch. 9/10

Watch order:

Season 1 (2013) ep 1-7 This is the real Anzio battle! (2014) OVA Season 1 (2013) ep 8-12 Girls und panzer der film (2015) Film Arius war! (2016) Bonus OVA Girls und panzer the final chapter 1-5 (2017-2025) The final part 6 will be released later on.

This anime is very good one. It has a gorgeous Ghibli-esque art style and a solid but unobtrusive sound track. The dub seemed fine but I ended up opting for the original Japanese audio with subtitles (I've watched 80s/early 90s anime since the mid 90s. Both dub and original VAs can be great - watch whichever takes your fancy).

This anime is about an abyss within a circular shaped island that goes down deep into the earth, and the city built around it. People risk it's depths as cave diggers to find relics or treasure of the old world, and this show centers on two 12 year old kids, one of whom is an orphan. It's a somewhat harsh world the setting and even these kids must brave the depths and bring back loot. The cave diggers from kids to adults are ranked by different coloured whistles based on their experience, ranging from a bell or red whistle to a legendary white whistle. The depths however have various levels with increasing danger and a lot of dangerous creatures, as well as something else sinister.

This is not a kids show, it does have some violence/gore in it, one scene in particular is a little hard to watch. But this is not shock value gore, it's just part of the story.

Another thing that must be mentioned, is this show skirts the line with what may or may not be appropriate to show involving character's under the age of 18. I.e one scene shows a 12 year old being punished by the harsh orphanage via being left tied up and relieved of their clothes (there is no full nudity in this). Another scene there's a joke about a stick being poked up the rear of someone not human. To decide whether any of this truly crosses the line, I would use Netflix's creepy notorious show 'Cuties' as a benchmark. A show which chose to outright sexualize minors using actors under the age of 18 - landing Netflix in stock and subscriber free fall plus a police investigation into the producers.

I can easily say this show Made in abyss is in no way comparable to Netflix's Cuties in this regard. The scenes between the 12 year olds and their friendships are simply wholesome and at times endearing. Just be aware there are one or two things which are not necessarily needed given the character's ages, which may seem excessive.

Overall, the intrigue and mystery as the duo journey into the chasm will have you wanting to smash the play button on the next episode. A very good anime.

Nowadays TV shows like the big screen and other entertainment mediums are at rock bottom, with little to no creativity or intelligence. And writers/producers who see the mediums as nothing more than a vehicle to push their ill social political beliefs onto others. But years ago TV shows and sci-fi's were capable of being something special. Born from love, intelligence and creativity, and Farscape is about as good as they come.

The world created manages to feel authentic and easily obtains suspension of disbelief, thanks to the creativity involved. The special effects, the makeup, animatronics, the set pieces and the world building/characters. A lot of effort has clearly been put into this show. We as the viewer are also on the same footing as the main character John Crighton, in that we know no more than he does, as he's thrown into another part of the universe. And has to make sense of the very alien worlds he is now amongst. The show has a lot of good action sequences in space and on planets, as well as good humour. But the story writing for each 45min episode almost always manages to be interesting and different from what came before (whilst also making references to prior events - good continuity connecting the episodes together).

I'm not by any means a hardcore sci-fi person, I just grew sick of the absolute drivel pumped out nowadays (everything from Star Wars Acolyte to Rings of Power) and wanted to watch something free of social political propaganda and made by talented people. I certainly found it in this show.

My favourite character is Rygel the XVIth (but they are all great in their own ways). I watched this upscaled by AI and in original 4:3 ratio (for the episodes that were) was a 'Vertag' upscale. A tricky find but great quality.

Anyhow it's definitely worth a watch.