::07:21:08::

::: Aquarion :::

By ~ Apollo

There are some animes out there that have a lot of potential, but just never fulfill it. I would have to put Aquarion in that category. The show has got some nice visuals, some characters that have the potential to be memorable, but the show never quite becomes the drama and action packed adventure that you want it to be. I wanted to like this anime. I really did. There are bits and pieces that fans will enjoy, but overall this show just really never comes together.

The story is about a war between the human race and a group of beings called the shadow angels. Humans have only one weapon that is able to combat these beings. The weapon is called Aquarion. Aquarion is basically three separate ships. The ships are piloted by one person at a time(in most cases) and they unite to form the robot Aquarion. One of the weirdest aspects of this show is the unification process of the three ships. The pilots have synchronization rates that affect the succes rate of the unification. That is all fine and logical, but it begs a question or two. Firstly, if the three ships almost always combine before they start fighting, then why not combine before you encounter the enemy? It makes sense to me. No guys I got a better idea. Let's play this stupid game where the enemy can either watch like an idiot while we combine, or he interrupts us because we were too stupid to do it before hand. Another thing that I just have to know is why in the world does the unification have to include making the pilots look like they are part of some orgy or something. When the three pilots are combining, they appear naked for an instant and say stupid phrases like "It feels so good" or "Oh it's beautiful" in the most erotic manner possible. Really? Am I supposed to keep a straight face and act like nothing is funny here? Anyways moving on from that. Under the main plot is a sub plot of love between two of the pilots. We have Apollo, who is the reincarnation of the shadow angel Appollonius, and Silvia, who is the reincarnation of Appolonius's human lover Siren. Appollonius turned against the shadow angels in order to save Siren. This aspect is never fully explored and we only get hints of romance. This was definitely a major disappointment.

I guess the real strength for this series lies in its visuals. The characters are well animated and it has a very fresh look to it. The battles are pretty good, but unfortunately they all end the same way more or less. Our heroes have some task that seems impossible to overcome; yet they always find a way to succeed. After this, the music starts to play and they combine forces to unleash some new attack. It’s kinda like playing the power ranger theme every time the rangers are about to finish off somebody. Actually it’s exactly like it.

Overall this is a pretty mediocre series in my opinion. I wanted to like it because it looked pretty cool and had tons of potential. Unfortunately it let me down. I can't say I recommend this anime. It’s not terrible and if you are a big anime junkie then I suppose its not bad to watch it and add to your mental archive of anime. Otherwise your not missing too much.

Grade: C-