Anime: Saishuuheiki Kanojo: Another Love Song

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on feedback, whether it is a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

For those readers who have already seen the original Saishuuheiki Kanojo series, this will be a wasted review, as I doubt there is anything I could write that would convince you not to see the Saikano OVA. For those readers who have not seen the original Saishuuheiki Kanojo, this will be an equally wasted review, as the Saikano OVA holds about as much merit and entertainment as Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children does for those who have not played the video game. However, for those among you who have seen the original Saishuuheiki Kanojo as well as the sequel Saikano OVA, and are looking for someone who agrees/disagrees with your own assessment of the series, you’ve come to the right place.

Saishuuheiki Kanojo - Another Love Song is a two-episode sequel to Saishuuheiki Kanojo, a thoroughly depressing TV series by Gonzo. Unfortunately, it’s not a very good sequel, answering questions that did not need answers, while focusing on the weaker elements of the original series, namely the action sequences. With weaker animation and a weaker storyline, the Saikano OVA feels like a purely moneymaking venture designed to capitalize on the popularity of the original series with a sequel that, frankly, did not need to be made.

The visuals of the original series were spectacular, with movie level CGI blended with hand drawn images, which is one of the staples of Gonzo. The OVAs, on the other hand, feature more washed out animation, with a noticeable deterioration in detail from the original series. Characters faces move less, and are less detailed, reminiscent of some of American animation’s lesser works. The backgrounds suffer from a similar reduction in budget, with the majority of them being less than awe-inspiring.

The music is fairly well done, with the few pieces used fitting well with the scenes they play in. The sound effects do a good job of not drawing attention to themselves, while also avoiding any conspicuous absences. The seiyuu do a fair job, though the dialogue they are forced to give is hard to sell at times. Chise’s “I’m sorry!” tirade is still in full swing, which is either a very good or very bad thing, depending on the your point of view.

Saishuuheiki Kanojo - Another Love Song focuses entirely on Chise’s time with the military, namely the moments that were original handled off-screen in the original series. The main problem is that there was a very good reason that these scenes were never made, since they would have distracted from the message of the original series. The same goes for the explanation of Chise’s abilities, deliberately left unexplained in the original, are brought into the light in the Saikano OVA. While these explanations are interesting from a sci-fi standpoint, they do nothing but detract from the original work, comparable to turning Darth Vader into an angst-filled teenager.

Surprisingly, Chise is not the main character in the Saikano OVA, the focus being shifted to a new, unknown character by the name of Lt Col Mizuki. Mizuki is a previous, early attempt at making a human weapon, with Chise being the end result of the research. Mizuki acts as a not-so-silent observer, watching as Chise loses hope, as well as control of her body, as she is forced to kill more and more enemies. There are a few faceless military men barking orders, and a love interesting for Mizuki who is basically wasted. With a running time of sixty minutes, the story felt rushed and uninspiring, ending on an almost random note.

Not that it matters, but I cannot recommend the Saikano OVA, even to those who have already seen the series. It is a completely unnecessary sequel that focuses on action sequences of Chise and/or Mizuki blowing up faceless opponents, ecchi (really, the nude scenes are gratuitous at best), and answering questions that did not need answers. While not a wholly unpleasant watch, it has too many faults, and is too insubstantial and pointless to be recommendable.

(Note: For those of you who still plan to see the series, which I’m guessing is everyone who reads this review, make sure to continue watching after the second episodes ending credits. The story continues for an extra minute or two after them.)

Edit: Updated after watching Mission 2.

The animation and sound are about at the same technical level as in the Saikano TV series. The characters however look a little different, not as charming as they used to be. I expected more from the animation department. While the quality is good, it could have been much more detailed and smoother being an OVA. There are some complex and detailed action sequences, but the overall quality remains the same. Another Love Song includes a lot of "useless" nudity. I had nothing against it in the first episode, but it got out of control in the second episode and it started bothering me. And they do NOT look good nude.

The characters are mostly new. Shuuji and the other classmates are left out. He is mentioned often but there is no new footage concerning him. The bulk of the characters is of course the army personnel; we know two of them from the TV series. Surprisingly enough, Chise shares the screen time with a new character; a woman who works for the military and is the primary focus of this OVA. That woman is the only one being developed, and personally, I don't find her interesting.

The story is parallel to that of the TV series. It begins rougly at the same time but it's very hard to situate the events compared to the series' timeline. It's practically impossible to pinpoint when this OVA ends compared to the series.
The story is insightful on Chise's actions and thinking when she was not with Shuuji, and shows much more of what happens on the battlefield and at headquarters. There is -some- novelty to Chise's thoughts while she is a weapon but that isn't very interesting either. There are some funny moments that blend in well enough and are worth a mention. In short, we can finally see how the ultimate weapon fights, and I'll leave it up to you to judge if it's worth seeing or not.

There's nothing sad, besides the characters being sad themselves, but it was an ok watch. I would not recommend it however, it is very very very far from being as good as the masterpiece that Saikano is.