Kirameki☆Project

Kirameki Project is an endearingly silly little show that manages to throw an old-school blue-collar mecha premise into a shoujo comic fantasy. Then it adds lots...LOTS of fan-service...lots considering its 13up rating. Due to all the skin, KP will probably appeal more to fans of Agent Aika, My Dear Marie, or other lightweight sci-fi sex-farces, rather than fans of mecha or shoujo. It is essentially a parody that, in my opinion, successfully develops, to the needs of this show anyway, 2 separate storylines, with 2 reasonably well-developed lead characters. The characters in general are one of the stronger elements of the show, mostof whom are likable cliches that most of us have seen dozens of times in other shows, but for the most part, they prove amiable enough here...did I mention fan service...anyhow. The story itself is a bit of a throwaway that leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but I found myself not caring too much...you can read ANNs synopsis above to see how important the story is. The animation, while not my favorite style, may be this show's raison d'etre (did I spell that right). I often felt the 3D CG mecha fights, obviously meant to be show-stoppers, were a bit obvious and didn't always fit in with the rest of the art...however, the comic timing of the physical gags was much to my liking and generally kept me smiling through most of the show...granted it's no Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (thank God) but there was enough to keep me entertained. The music was good all around, but I really liked the opening and closing songs...although admittedly, I think, they just fit real well with the animated sequences which I found funny enough to watch through all 5 episodes, a rarity for me. Overall, I enjoyed the absurdity of it all. Not my normal fare but it was quite fun.