[WT!] The Rolling Girls

Rolling☆GirlsRolling.Falling.ScramblingGirls.ForOthers.ForThemselves.EvenIfThey'reDestinedtobea"Mob".MALFunimationGenre: Action/AdventureIntroductionTen Years after Japan's Great War each prefecture have split into individual nations. Any disputes between nations are settled through peace talks, however any disputes that cannot be resolved by these Talks are settled by gang-like conflicts between each nation's "Bests" and the nation's "Mob" - otherwise known as "Rests". The Peacebroker and Best of the city Tokorozawa - Macha Green is injured while fighting the Best from Higashi Murayama. Now, in substitute of Macha Green, four Rests travel across Japan to offer aid to other nations.Why watch Rolling Girls?Fun. If there is one word that describes this anime the most is "Fun". What it lacks in long intricate storytelling or topnotch industrial audacity it more than makes up for with diverse set of characters, fluid animation, and great soundtrack. It has a refreshing upbeat tone that is not afraid to showcase its flamboyant visuals.An episode of Rolling Girls takes more of a form like a volume of a comic book read sequentially rather than a linear plot in a show. TimeCharacters Done RightOur main protagonists are the four Rests. They are not too unique in terms of personality depth, but the contrast and each protagonist's place within the group works well and is clearly defined. You have your goodhearted leader, impish tomboy, soft spoken girl, and naive girl-next-door. Nothing too creative, but the tropes work.Mostly each episodes are of a different nation in Japan and have their own set of individual conflicts. Thus each nation needs to have specific qualities to set them apart from every other nation. One of my past times is playing a lot of Table Top Roleplaying Games such as D&D, World of Darkness, and FATEcore. One of the things about creating a campaign is making key NPCs distinguished within the world. Each NPC has to have uniqueness to them. Rolling Girls takes this concept and creates a brilliant world and set of side-characters such as:Speaking like Yoda, a nation of musicians doesOr an antagonist that revs his motorcycle while talkingEach nation and character has distinct aspects that makes it very easy to distinguish and remember them. Every new nation immediately feels unique. This is VERY important to the show because with such a fast paced show of only twelve episodes with such a diverse set of characters the show NEEDED to have such memorable traitsFluid animationThe tone for fights are something different from a lot of action anime where there seems to be a melodramatic urgency to winning or losing. Rolling Girl fights have some stakes to them, but the focus is not so much in the winning or losing rather the visuals and instance of fighting. This show is no slouch to great fight scenes with lots of action, explosions, and color.With every episode having at least a fight scene there are plenty of shiny carnage to indulge with.SoundtrackAs a teenager a large influence in my life was punk rock. The Clash, X, Dead Kennedys, The Ramones - all staples of punk rock. It was not until about two years when I started to look for punk in other regions. What first came to light was The Stalin. I was completely taken aback when I heard Rolling Girls OP above - a cover of the Blue Hearts. Instantly a wave of nostalgia hit me. It was perfect too.The ecstatic pulse of action, themes of hardy kinship, the defiance against traditional norms - punk rock fits the bright tone and action of Rolling girls perfectly. Insert songs are never misplaced tempo for the right moment. There may not be songs that will be hailed in the anime community to be remembered, however it is undeniable that everything just meshes all together.FlawsThis section will touch upon some of the blemishes that this show has. Some may be shared by previous other watchers while some may be my personal preferences.Pacing:As described previously, every episode is more like a new volume in a comic book. The time frame of each episode is not really constructed and the little details given about how long certain episodes are in the span of the Mob’s adventure is not well constructed. With the sheer plethora of characters (both main and side) it seems as if each episode is, again, cluttered. There are also very specific details about the plot that just seemed rushed, poorly explained, or downright forgotten. This can be a problem particularly since there really is not a constructed epilogue to the series.Character Development:Do not read this as “non-existent”. Rolling Girls certainly have both main and side characters develop. The problem arises with the pace of character development. Since each episode focuses on specific side-characters the show must make meaningful and dramatic change/resolution to character conflict and create a facade of development. Twenty Four minutes to do this with every single episode for a wide cast of side-characters. This feat was executed brilliantly with some side-characters while others are left with much to be desired. Every new episode has several side characters that are at least have a minor role for the plot. Due to this, it may be hard to remember every side character and each episode may seem cluttered. The show is not terrible at giving each character their moment of glory, but it does have the fault that some character’s time to shine is a bit too brief.The main characters do not exactly fundamentally change in any specific way. They make subtle little strides individually developing in minor aspects of their inner personal conflicts. The main characters have all 12 episodes to do this so the pacing is a lot less dramatic and can seem less significant due to the slower development. It is also true that no main character really is any different from start to end. It is more like that they have extinguished an aspect they were wanting to get rid of rather than actually gaining any new perspectives, traits, or personality quirks.Resolution:A large blemish that many people have had with Rolling Girls is the lack of any meaningful resolution or point to the series. Yes, there is a general theme but it comes off as “friendship and perseverance is great”. The lack of a larger theme or moral of the story can be a bit disappointing especially for such a original concept.Yes, there are flaws with development and resolution where it seems a bit too rushed or incomprehensible, but parts of those things are not exactly necessary for an anime like this. Seeing how it only got one cour, I would say it did pretty well in terms how it presented a variety of conflicts and resolution.ConclusionRolling Girls is jam packed with action and refreshingly bright visuals that you do not see in many anime. The characters and settings that each episode displays are done fantastically and should be referenced on how to make a unique world with an expansive cast of characters.Rolling Girls is fun. http://ift.tt/1X19nLv