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| 3. Cross
Scars  
More a story about a poor college student than aliens, Niea_7
is a surprisingly down to earth anime. The series focuses more on the hardships
of Mayuko and the Enohara bath house more than it does anything to do with aliens.
From these events Mayuko comes across as very sympathetic and quite realistic
character, although it would have been nicer if she weren’t quite so shy
and self-depreciating. NieA, the other main character, is not nearly so handicapped
in the same way. She is indeed quite annoying and is any scene of hers one that
doesn’t involve her complaining about lack of food or her scheming to get
food? Thankfully though the supporting cast are a decent selection of characters
that makeup for most of NieA’s annoying tendencies. For
all of this NieA_7 is a nice little series, however the lack of depth given
to events is a highly frustrating. The series constantly hints at certain feelings
but it never bothers to explore them and other events occur, to which we’re
not really given any explanation, so finding a reason to care is a struggle. Because
of this NieA_7 is an enjoyable series, but one which is ultimately unsatisfying. |
| 2. Iodine
From the creators of Serial Experiments Lain comes a
completely original story about aliens, a bath house, and one long summer in the
little town of Enohana. The plot is basically a nostalgic shapshot of life on
the verge of change. All the characters are a little strange and exist together
on the sidelines of normality. Our main protagonist is Mayuko, a working student
about to take her entrance exams, who struggles through multiple jobs and continuous
calamities. Most of these calamities are caused by NieA, her antennae-less, and
therefore marginalized, freeloading alien roommate. The biggest problem with the
setup is that NieA isn't very likable and her presence is usually an aggravation.
Whether a viewer can ultimately come to tolerate NieA is probably a good indicator
of how much he will like the series in the end. The
atmosphere is warm and the mood feels very slice-of-life. Though it has many of
the same off-kilter elements as FLCL, NieA_7 never really bothers
to do anything with its own story besides present a few episodic tales and reveal
a few minor secrets. By the end, nothing has really changed for the staff of the
Enohana Bathhouse, but that wasn't the point to begin with. With so-so animation
and designs that range from fairly quasi-realistic to the decidely not, the visuals
complement the unique subject matter and subtle themes very well. If nothing else,
the series succeeds at being something different, and the opening theme alone
is worth a look. |
| 1. Tempy
Aliens have been living amongst human for quite a while now.
NieA is one such alien, a lowly under seven class alien, without an antenna even.
Somehow she ended up living with Mayuko, a poor student working several jobs to
support herself and NieA. Their relationship seems an arduous one: NieA is a lazy
freeloading bum (she invited herself to live at Mayuko's, and eats Mayuko's food),
building UFOs out of junk, and often a real pain in the ass for Mayuko. NieA_7
is character based show and ranges from crazy absurd humor to melancholic moods.
While some of the craziness is hilarious, a lot of the humor is also based on
bad puns and toilet humor, often embodied in the form of Chada, an alien from
India, who for instance "evacuates his bowels" in a no-poop zone. NieA
is also quite aggravating at times, being irrational and with almost no consideration
for Mayuko. I did enjoy the more melancholic moments, and likable characters such
as Chie, a mature little kid who helps run her father's restaurant, and Genzo,
a soft-spoken childhood friend of Mayuko, who likes to bring her bags of rice.
NieA_7 was conceived from sketches by Yoshitoshi Abe while working on Serial
Experiments Lain. It's a very unique and unorthodox show, definitely worth
looking at, though I don't think it's for everybody. |
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