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» shoujoboy's Grenadier ~Hohoemi no Senshi~ Tv Review
Grenadier ~Hohoemi no Senshi~ tv Review
Story & Characters
I'm finding myself enjoying shorter series of late. You get all the story with a lot less filler. Grenadier does
just that, it gives you all the story that it needs to without dragging on too long. Grenadier does not have the type
of story that you are going to want to consider amazing by any means, but it is going to be entertaining as hell
nonetheless. The basic premise of the show is you follow the lead heroine Rushuna Tendou as she goes across the land
spreading her "ultimate battle strategy". This is her removing your will to fight by making you smile and
just forget about fighting. This alone seems like a boring idea, but it works pretty well. Eventually though her
mentor puts out a hit to have her killed so it develops from there that Rushuna must return to the capital and find out
why all of the sudden the woman she looked up to and followed is now having people come after her. From here it
develops like your typical adventure anime. Girl travels, meets new friends, battles some new enemy each episode and
makes it to their destination. Typical story but well executed and oddly enjoyable the whole way.
While the show is not a plot powerhouse, where it does shine is the characters. Rushuna is an overall well developed
and well loved character. She is sweet, caring, kind of ditzy (which most of us fanboys typically enjoy) and well an
extreme badass. This girl can move and nobody stands a chance. Her partner in crime is a swordsman by the name of
Yajiro. This is (at least early on) crazy "I'm gonna kill em' all" type at the beginning but he
goes over to Rushuna's side slowly but surely. They compliment each other very well and make the whole experience
worthwhile.
Rating: 8
Art
The art and animation is somewhat of a mixed bag in this show. The character designs are very attractive and the
scenery is well done as well. The action shots are the bread and butter of this series and it is extremely well
animated. Fluid motion and overall gorgeous art. The only complaints I do have is that the animation quality at times
does suffer quite a bit. On shots from above or close ups, the animation quality tends to faulter quite a bit, it
isn't as refined. It is noticible at times that it isn't up to par but it doesn't ruin the experience
all that much. Overall very good animation and very fitting to the show. Just note if you are one of those bothered by
abnormally large breasts, the animation may get on your nerves as it tends to showcase Rushuna's bosom.
Rating: 8
Sound
First the opening and closing songs. I am very biased at this point as I am a big fan of Mikuni Shimokawa's work.
These songs are no exception. The opening KOHAKU is quite a beautiful song right on par with her other song Kimi ni
Fuku Kaze of Full Metal Panic Fumoffu!? It sets the tone of the show very well and is a great stand alone song. As for
the voice acting, it is quite good. Rushuna is voiced by Mikako Takahashi, which does a phoenominal job voicing her. I
honestly haven't heard her work (or can at least remember that I did) but I can say I like what she does. She does
well with the emotional moments and really brings out Rushuna's happy go lucky character. The minor characters do
their jobs quite well too. Usually in animes you can find that one person that just doesn't fit the character, not
the case here. The BGM was fitting but nothing special, and not too varied. There is really only two BGM's that
will play throughout the show so there isn't a lot of variety which is pretty weak.
Rating: 7
Presentation
Again this show is not your intriguing plot type of show. What it is though is highly enjoyable. I watch a lot of
anime each year and I would put this as my surprise hit release of 2005. After purchasing the first dvd I knew this
show was going to be one that caught of me off guard, and boy was I right. This show is just fun to watch and you can
easily marathon it without even noticing. The show is first off just a light hearted and funny show to watch. You
aren't going to be emotionally distraught watching it like some other dramas, but you are going to be laughing at
some of the hijinks in the show. Rushuna and Teppa are the two funniest characters in the show, and when they are
together it makes for some priceless moments. But if funny isn't your thing, this show has action... lots of
action. The gunslinging madness in this show is enough to make any fan have a nerdgasm. Watching Rushuna go from happy
girl to extreme badass was one of those things that gives you goosebumps and makes you want to watch more. Also for the
three of you that have actually seen the movie Equilibrium, the last gun battle in this show is going to make you have
flashbacks.
Rating: 8
Final Verdict
7.8333 (good)
Reviewed by shoujoboy, Jan 10, 2006
Comments
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shoujoboy, you did a very good job of describing Grenadier objectively in your review as well as applying quantitative
figures to qualitative items. While I personally found the anime to be a little over the top, I do agree with most of
what you wrote. Regarding the music, it was actually because of watching a few episodes of Grenadier that I got
introduced to Mikuni Shimokawa, and now some of her tunes frequent my J-Pop mix on my iPod.
All in all, an excellently-written review. Keep up the good work!
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yeah, 1st i bought this cuz i though it was full of action! turns out of the scenes were really funny! either way i love
it! the bad thing about the i bought it is that the las 2 cd, w/c almost ends the anime, is broken & the shop doesnt
have a replacement! T_T
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Hmmm... interesting review. I've watched the anime before, so I'm curious as to know where you deducted your
points. You've given some good points, and I can definitely see where your ratings are coming from. Good job on the
review.
I encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to, at least, watch it once.
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