Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince

Well, pretty much every anime season, there's a show about space and aliens. In fact, it's not just about that but the fact that it becomes a major theme for that show. Then, there's Majestic Prince, a science fiction anime that takes place in the latter half of 21st century. The problem here is though the 21st century isn't exactly the most peaceful place in the future. In fact, humanity seems to be put into jeopardy by unknown alien forces from space. Then, the government decided to train a group of young people to take on these alien forces. Dubbing themselves as 'Team Rabbits', wehave some real some heroes in the making....or do we? [The future is not so bright] This show is of the mecha genre so expect some giant robots/mecha fighting in space. More than that though, the series has a group of young kids trying to defend humanity. They are 'Team Rabbits'. Unfortunately, the future doesn't seem so bright. For whatever reasons, the aliens are threatening humanity. From an subjective point, Majestic Prince takes this idea and makes good usage of it from the beginning. In fact, we can see that humanity itself is in danger. It keeps that tone in check mostly throughout the story as humanity seems to be on the verge of being wiped out. The future is definitely not so bright. [Team Rabbits] The main casts of the series is made of this group of kids known as 'Team Rabbits'. No, they don't have long ears or furry fur. Rather, they have the ambition to wipe out the aliens that threatens their future from the rest of face of the universe. The team is composed of five members – 3 guys and 2 girls. Among them is Izuru Hitachi, who declares himself as a hero or rather a wannabee superman in charge of his own mecha suit, the AHSMB" (Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device). Most of the time, he seems to be doing on things on his own and tries his best to help out others. Other times, the kid is stubborn and even puts the team at danger of their lives. The other casts consists of Toshikazu Asagi (the tough guy), Ataru Suruga (the brains), Kei Kugimiya (the badass chick), and Tamaki Irie (the girl who falls for just about any guy with a pretty face). It's hard to take the cast seriously at some occasions with their conflicting personalities. While the team often succeeds in missions, they fail in terms of real life sense. Tamaki has never gotten a guy to fall in love with him while Izuru is too naïve to be a real hero. Then, there's a lack of confidence from our brains of the team. It's almost hard to believe that they are able to succeed in some of their missions or even picked by the world to pilot those badass mechs in the first place. This is especially true in the beginning where their skills are so fawned upon that they were not worth the time to kill by enemy forces. Is it because the enemies too strong or are is Team Rabbits just too pathetic? I think the latter. Oh and let's not forget the men of the team are often considered perverts while the ladies' love lives are empty as tea cup. The love (tea) for them is missing there. However, their characters progress dramatically as the series accelerates forward. It is the experience that builds up from their various encounters with the enemy, learning from their past mistakes, and shooting for greater heights. I am quite grateful at their progressing elements as they seemingly grow up both mentally and professionally. With three airing mecha theme shows all at once from the Spring 2013 season, Majestic Prince sure had to set the bar high in order to shine by itself. Perhaps the mechs are part of that solution. In essence, the technology used by Team Rabbits is obviously more advanced than our modern world. Because of that, there's comes the existence of AHSMB that stands for “Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device”. True to its name, these machines serves the purpose of combat against those nasty alien invaders. Their instinctive designs of these machines does pack serious firepower and has the potential to wipe out enemies. However, they require skilled pilots. The key word here is 'skilled' but like mentioned previously before, Team Rabbits isn't exactly big guns that can take on the aliens like a rabbit hunting game. However, the mecha designs does fits within the futuristic themes of the show and gives off a majestic look. Their unique fighting style and teamwork pulls together in various battles to protect the humanity's future. [Challenges and Direction]: Well, the series challenges itself many times in order to prove to itself that the majestic princes are what the humanity needs. (or rather maybe the government and humanity) However, the team themselves seems to not be getting what they really want at various occasions. Well, if publicity is one factor, then that counts. But for political purposes, the military and government seems to “sell off” Team Rabbits as a product to the media. The group itself is often put under stress from the social media with challenges posed to them as high expectations from what they are to present to humanity. On a more technical side, the series sometimes shifts from its main plot to nonsense with its fan service and slice of lifish episodes. In fact, there are several episodes throughout the series that depicts Team Rabbits' daily lives. Rather than exploring their histories that viewers may be keen to know, the series wastes time of showing what they do in their every day lives. And speaking of that, there's not much unique about it. The girls tries to pick up dates with fail and the guys doesn't fare any better. It's a direction the show follows and doesn't work out right to be honest. There's some character development though later on but falls under the too slow of a pacing zone. However, that's mostly in the first half as the second half of the series gives a much stronger appeal. In fact, the plot itself of Majestic Prince wasn't something I considered a masterpiece in the beginning. On the other hand, its progress later on made it all worthwhile as we see our protagonists demonstrate what they've learned while making surprises on the screen. Oh and if that wasn't enough, there are even new characters that joins the fun that brings out the best of surprising gifts, talents, and surprises. [Majestic Visuals?] If I'm counting pure action alone, Majestic Prince wouldn't have a problem scoring above a 7 or 8. But then, the visuals department for whatever reason makes their characters' designs look flat. The way the characters look does not give off a serious outlook of the team. Tamaki has enormous breasts for the role of Ms. Fan service while Izuru looks far from a real hero of justice. However, the mecha designs looks decent and strongly presented. Why can't the characters be the same? It took me quite awhile to get used to the characters' designs (even more so with a trap being introduced). As a fan of some of the other gundam franchaise such as Gundam 00 and SEED, this show lacks a bit of appeal in terms of maturity. On the other hand, the enemies of humanity stays true to their visage as being a prominent threat. Their artwork design gives off both a dangerous outlook as well as being contrasting to what humanity are forced to deal with. [Sounds of the Universe] For music, the series nailed it right on the mark with its first opening song, “Watashi wa Souzousuru" by Natsumi Kon. As a talented singer, she brings a serious tone to the series with her thrilling voice. There's also that sense of echoing attractiveness that brings out the series' outlook from the surface. The OST is strong too especially during action scenes when the needs calls for it. Unfortuntately, the series can't put seriousness of the soundtrack into its characters most of the time. This counts for the voices of a few characters such as Tamaki and her childish tone. Then, there's also Surugaya with his voice that seemingly lacks confidence. However, Izuru (voiced by Aiba Hiroki) gives off an impressive tone. Although not well known in the VA industry, Izuru portrays a more mature side of the crew and his voice demonstrates both a sense of confidence and power especially later on. His confidence creates that power of motivation that seemingly even influence his teammates. Kei Kurugaya and Toshikazu Asagi too takes that sense of maturity in their voices and brings them life with responsibility. [Final Verdict] If you're a mecha fan, this series might be a hit or miss. If you're looking forward for pure action, then this show might not be for you. However, if you take some time of patience and wait for the story to develop, then Majestic Prince might surprise you. In fact, stories about alien invasions with a kids trying to save the world from obliteration isn't exactly a new idea nowadays. What Majestic Prince brings though is an evolution for its themes and ideas. The combination of its serious mood balanced with comedy makes it worthwhile to invest time into especially for those who wants a change of tone in the typical mecha/space invasion trope. I do have to say that the animation of series might not be suitable for everyone. For me, it seemed a bit childish and took me awhile to get used to. However, my patience ultimately paid off as revelations are unrivaled, characters shined bright with brilliance, and battles takes revolution into the universe. Majestic Prince isn't what exactly I call a majestic masterpiece of the decade but definitely has its own style that is entrancing in that majestic way.

It is very challenging to impress the viewers when it comes to ‘mecha’, and not to mention, it is even more difficult to compete when ventures like Gundam, Gurren Lagann or Macross have already made their mark in the market. Moreover we have seen so many different types of anime revolving around ‘mecha’ with different elements like music, romance etc, that there is hardly any room for a particular anime to stand out of the norm. Aired in spring 2013, Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince is one such anime that certainly did not appeal to many viewers. One of the reasons might be because of its stereotypicalplot and characters. However, Majestic Prince does offer a decent story progression and also manages to cover some of its plot holes. Now then, extenuating with lame excuses such as “decent story progression” will not make some fastidious viewers to overlook the obviously predictable and insipid premise. The story is pretty simple; mankind is on war and is fighting for its very existence with aliens christened ‘Wulgaru’. From the very first episode it is pretty apparent that the highlight of the show is on the protagonist and his fellow teammates, collectively known as ‘Team Rabbits’ or ‘Fail Five’. Out of nowhere they are selected due to some unexplainable reasons for piloting the latest model armed robots ‘AHSMB’, despite them being the least performing team in the whole school. Hence, we embark on a journey with the five leads and come across on how they affect the war. Now this is what you can refer to as ‘from zeroes to heroes’ situation or rather in more presentable terms as a stereotype that follows a conventional and monotonous format to portray an anime. The first few episodes are fast paced following Team Rabbits from one mission to another, which make it seems like the plot is progressing blindly, without any real motives. But this is just a preamble to a more entertaining time in the second half of the series. There are many anime that start slow and are boring, but after some progression they turn out to be more promising. Majestic Prince is one such series, wherein the second half saves it from chastising. Right around 10th episode the series takes a slow turn and progresses into a show with proper explanations to current circumstances and somewhat little character development. Majestic Prince is definitely a story driven plot and offers very little room for character interactions and them to develop. After the miraculous 10th episode, the production house finally decided to show some character interactions which regretfully was still next to nothing. But nevertheless, there is development to its frivolous characters. The protagonist, Izuru Hitachi is honest with his feelings and because of his obsession with manga he aspires to become a real life hero. He is the leader of Team Rabbits and surprisingly does a good job in directing them during battles. Next to Izuru is Toshikazu Asagi, who is not as honest as Izuru, on the other hand is feisty and sometimes rational. As the show’s affable character, Tamaki Irie is present to lighten up the ambience in the show and oftentimes tried to represent her endearing nature to the viewers, which might not be as satisfying as it should be. Kei Kugimiya is a transparent and under-developed character and albeit her shown as an introvert, she holds a vital position during the battles and as well in the team. Lastly, there is ‘the geek’ Ataru Suruga and a weapons enthusiast who despite being a geek actually shows interest in women. This is the first impressions’ on main characters and they are all stereotypes and dull, but as I have mentioned earlier there is development. How these characters spend their time when they are away from the battlefront is where most of the development lies. That being said, you don’t have to actually compare them to Youko Nakajima from Juuni Kokuki or Erin from Kemono no Souja Erin, considering them as epitomes of character development. Now, continuing with characters, all the side characters are inevitably present for the plot advancement. The antagonists, Wulgaru, are there to repetitively assault the Earth’s forces and for the MC to become stronger. As much as it lacks in its characters, the same doesn’t applies for the art. There are always high expectations for art department, especially if it is in a ‘mecha’ anime. But can the same be said in Majestic Prince’s case? Ingenious designs for AHSMB robots and fluid action sequels are the strongest element in this show. Anime is one field where the author can run his/her imagination as wild as possible and turn it into a captivating experience. Not only the ASHMB units are product of those wild imaginations, but the alien unit designs are bizarre and they do give feeling of “Extra-terrestrial”. The action scenes are worth a watch and you’ll crave for more sequels every time one is concluded. A single orchestral track is played in the background during action scenes, which if you’ll notice really affects the scene by intensifying the tension created. To accentuate the tension created to next level the production house made befitting use of several sound effects like explosions, fire shots from laser guns, respective sounds from AHSMB units and Wulgaru units as well. The production house put in a lot of time and effort in robot designs and action sequences, but on the other hand the character designs lacked subtlety. We often come across the phrase “Simple is elegant”, however, here the simple and lackluster character design drag down the overall quality of animation. The only act of justification done to the characters is in sound department. The seiyuu did adapt to their roles and expressed the character feelings with ease. Among the seiyuu, notable were Hiroki Aiba for Izuru, Yuka Iguchi for Tamaki, Akeno Watanabe for Ange and lastly my favorite Miyuki Sawashiro for Rin Suzukaze. The OP and ED are good, but the ending themes are better and are worth listening to till the end. If watched with scrutiny and analyzing every section then this show does not offer anything new. Though being weak in characters and having a rather predictable premise, Majestic Prince offers a creditable story execution, wonderful robot designs along with gripping action scenes. Hardcore mecha fans might not appreciate this anime, but if you are looking for a good mecha-action anime, Majestic Prince is recommendable. If you decide to watch this show, make sure to watch all 24 episodes.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW Short and simple review. The story sucks, there is some interesting bits later on when the enemies come in and you find out their background but it's generally dismissed because of Mr. "I want to be a Hero." It moreoless sticks to the stereotypical, happy go lucky MC with dreams of becoming a hero; very little development is shown for any character- for the most part it's a one person show. Art; generally it's decent to good. Except for when the mecha fights begin- then its excellent and you can see that's where the budget is all in. Sound/music: It's passable, again most of thegood tracks are reserved for the intense mecha fights. Characters: The main cast is boring, like paint drying boring. Some of the villians are pretty interesting but little development. Enjoyment: I enjoyed it for what it clearly was, a fighting mecha; it does the one thing it sets out to do and that's set up a scenerio where you can have cool mecha fights in space.

This review is written in hindsight, but I cannot LOVE this series anymore. The enemy is far from complex. There is virtually no character development, but it’s not completely nonexistent either. The characters are one dimensional and you know what: I DON'T CARE! I am here for the hot mech on mech action. Like Argevollen, nothing anyone could say or do could change my mind about this series. I am the target audience: cool character designs, cool mecha, and a story of how they are part of a much larger conflict. I’m tired of the mecha genre trying too hard to find deeper meaningin a series that’s about giant robots battling one another. Or focusing on the emotions of the pilot. Mecha show aren’t about an emotional journey. They’re about firepower. I don't like to throw out tens like they are Mardi Gras beads, but this series renewed my faith in the mecha genre, especially after Gunam Seed. No one is whining or crying over their fate. They have a purpose and they fulfill it. They’re soldiers first, kids second. Plus it’s a visual treat, it’s very pretty to look at even if certain animations are repeated. Plus I love the fact that it’s co-ed (something I wish more anime were) the girls and boys serve equally in all areas. If you’re a fan of the mecha genre then I highly recommend this series.

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