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Now in Japan
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Saturday, 03 December 2005 00:00 |
 I have to admit, I'm a bishoujo-loving kinda guy, so when Cluster Edge hit my screen - a show so targetted at bishonen
fans that there's barely a female to be seen in the first episode -
I'll confess it wasn't exactly a front-runner for being a show I'll be
sticking with. Watching the first episode didn't do anything to change
my mind, either...
1 - A Boy Named Agate
Agate Flourite has just enrolled at Cluster EA, an elite academy where
even royalty can't be guaranteed places. On the way to his first
day at the school, the train he's travelling on is stopped by the
military due to an attack on a nearby town. After intercepting
the army's radio transmissions and learning what's going on, Agate
launches the fighter plane he's conveniently travelling with and heads
off to stop the attack. At first it seems his efforts will be in
vain, but Agate has unique powers. His actions also earn him the
attention of one of his fellow student...
I've seen a number of descriptions for Cluster Edge since it first hit the Japanese airwaves: "My:HiME for women" - which is fair enough, given the emphasis on all those bishonen, no starring
females. It also has the visual flair and shallow but populist style of My:HiME.
"Old-school shoujo" was another one, although to me it's not obviously
so - although it does seem to revel in a certain deliberate style of
cheesiness which seems to be a shoujo trait. "Last Exile meets
Escaflowne." Two good shows to be compared against, there, but while I can see the Last Exile comparison in terms of the setting I'm not sure how Escaflowne fits in.
What I do know is that I need my anime to have a little more in the way
of feminine charms - and I don't mean having men who look like women,
which is something Cluster Edge isn't short of. While it
definitely looks the part, is also aimed at a very specific audience -
and that audience doesn't include me. Pass. |
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