Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo

I don’t write very many reviews, as most of the time I feel like other people can convey my feelings about a work better, or my opinion on a show is similar enough to the masses that it’s an unnecessary effort. HOWEVER, that is not the case with Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo, also known as Rumble Garanndoll. This show is honestly so much god damn fun, one of my favorites of 2021, and I just can’t understand how other people don’t see it (aggregate score reflects that). Also, this won’t be some long, drawn-out review to breakdown the "quality" of the story, sound-direction, and ... animation because if that's what you're looking for, then you're already approaching the show wrong.

THE STORY:

First things first, Garanndoll is not just some generic Mecha/Comedy as the tags make it appear, but rather it’s effectively a parody anime, particularly of the Mecha genre, and somehow so many people fail to recognize that. The entire premise of the show is damn hilarious as it’s literally about an organization, called the True Army, seizing power and using Mechs and WWII-esque propaganda to suppress the predominant problem plaguing Japanese society…Otaku culture (Games, Anime, Idols, etc.). Meanwhile, our “heroes” are members of a rebel group, called Arahabaki, trying to fight back against the True Army and reclaim what was lost before the True Army took control. Considering the meme plot of suppressing Otaku Culture, it shouldn’t shock anybody that the main geographic location of our story is Otaku central, aka Akihabara, Japan.

THE CHARACTERS:

The characters in Garanndall are all "uniquely generic" and super fun in their own ways. They all play out stupid/common tropes and yet they are unique and add nothing but enjoyment to the series! For example, all the three main villains (Outside of Akatsuki) are classic waifu cliches for female characters, being the princess, the ninja, and the stern military general. And then we have our “heroes” which are (1) Hosomichi -who is basically Shinji Ikari since he was scarred by his relationship with his father but still has to get in the damn robot; (2) Rin - a Mecha weeb whose goal is recover a boxset of her favorite discontinued anime; (3) Yuki - an Idol who just wants to continue Japanese Idol culture and; (4) Misa - a shut-in who loves to play fighting games. Not only that, but the leaders of Arahabaki, the rebel group which our heroes support, are just as "dumb" - (1) Balzac – A guy who just wants to be Kamina (Watch Gurren Lagann); (2) Mimi – the tech wiz who is legitimately just a cosplayer and; (3) Tanaka-san - A loli with seemingly endless resources and some mystic aura (because why not?). Like seriously guys, these characters are all just funny and if you don’t see it, you’re completely missing the point.

THE MECHS:

The mechs in this show are just hilarious and it just fits so perfectly. At first, I too took the show seriously, and was like “are you being serious with these dumb designs right now?!” only to realize that I was the one being dumb. The goofy aesthetic of the Mechs, both on the True Army and Arahabaki sides, all perfectly fits the over-the-top nature and overall theme of the show. Not to mention that the fights aren’t even that bad, especially when you factor in how hilarious the Mech transformations are (See Misa Kotatsu fight).

THE MUSIC

The OP is a banger, that is all you need to know.

In summary, Garanndoll Rumble is absolutely ridiculous and it’s easily one of the most fun shows I’ve seen in a long time, especially as a long-time participant of general Otaku culture. I don’t want to come off as “elitist,” but I legitimately believe that one’s enjoyment of Garanndoll will increase with not only of anime you have watched prior, but also your own personal connection to things that fall under the “Otaku” umbrella. It’s sad to see something I love this much be so misunderstood, and received so “poorly” as a result, but I do think this show is absolutely worth a watch for any anime fan.

This show didn't seem to know what it wanted to do. From reading the synopsis I had a completely different idea about what the show was going to be. I figured there would be more direct conflict between the two different versions of Japan and I think the story overall would have been more interesting if it had been about the initial invasion rather than another boring and bad resistance plot. The protagonist suffers a bit from "get in the robot" syndrome while he struggles to find a personality, and many ideas presented are executed poorly or forgotten before they can go anywhere interesting.

Overall it ... wasn't painful to watch, but it wasn't exactly fun. 6/10

Over the many years of watching anime, I pretty much have a standard of knowing what to expect for shows, even more so for originals, where ideas can get so ridiculous and even thought-provoking at times if it chooses to do so. At least for Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo a.k.a Rumble Garanndoll, I can respect the concept that came forth from this original expedition by famed studio Lerche director Masaomi Andou, but in all honestly, this was far from being original, was a chore to go through, and is pretty tame as a derivative of something that's already done the same, but superior in ... every way.

Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo a.k.a Rumble Garanndoll is the story premise concept about a "what if" situation if in the modern day (before the crossing of <Emperor name> years), Japan's entertainment epicenter Akihabara gets purged by government officials declaring that "Otakudom is dead", and leaving it irately desolated of what made it popular in the first place, only for the same Otakudom to declare war and fight for their rights to be free from oppression. If you're wondering why I'd label this Otaku project as being unoriginal, there is a source material that I feel has done this concept a lot more better, and the oldies will know it best: Winter 2017's Akiba's Trip. The same premise of protecting the core town of Akihabara from evil beings in their know-how with the exact kind of ludicrious humour that depending on the viewer, is able to evoke enjoyment or disappointment. IMO only except that the former is Akiba's Trip if it went all mecha-like, and compared to how I really love the latter because it doesn't take itself seriously while being very entertaining and simultaneously a love letter to Akihabara, I can't say the same for this show, which other than the mecha aspect being so overused these days, sounds good on paper while having some questionable execution choices from start to finish.

The knife cuts the wound even deeper because Makoto Uezu is the person responsible for the overall composition of this show, and no doubt most of his work are good (stemming from recent works and series like KonoSuba and Yuuki Yuuna to name a few). But bear in mind that this is the same person whom helmed series like Seikon no Qwaser and the infamous School Days, so take it as you will.

I'd think the BIG problem with this show lies with the characters. Their motivations are all heartfelt because they genuinely love the Otaku roots, and want to rebel against the government (which is the True Army) to protect their "motherland" of post-decimated Akihabara (known to them as Arahabaki, as if it's no longer a tongue-twister already). That in and of itself isn't wrong, but the main problem is putting characters on a pedestal and labelling them as such: the Denchi Shoujo a.k.a Battery Girls when stripped of the plot mecha armor, become simplistic characters that play the significant role of just like any other person fighting for the same goal. The Arahabaki Otaku military that's led by its acting Commander Balzac Yamada, even with VA Tomokazu Sugita, is only as best as an unsuccessful attempt at replicating how Gintoki would react if he was Isekai-ed to a fantasy world such as this. At least Akio Watanabe's character designs are pretty good.

Even more begrudgingly and frustrating to watch, is the MC himself: Hosomichi Kudou. Being someone who lives a carefree life without any issue or worry, it's only apt that with his buddy that is Munekata follow him throughout the progression, only to be forced into this contraption when he least expected it. I'd thought that he's gonna take this experience and help out the Arahabaki people (because he wants to get out of it as well), but nope. Since he's the central character to help "Power Up" the Battery Girls and their sense of motivation, this is akin to what I can refer to as the worst of the Otakudom: toxic behaviour, where both you and I just rub each other the wrong way until we come to a consensus, like it or not. I don't really expect much from Hosomichi in the first place from the beginning because he's just learning to accept his inclusion into an entirely forced premise, but man, did the progression ever made that "drama" more forced to watch until it becomes totally ingrained and impliedly pulled along with the plot's narrative. Serious or not, I'd at least expect the MC to at least have some backbone or a ground that he can stand on, but nope, Hosomichi is a pessimist through and through, somebody whom I can relate to as not to give flying effs about what is happening around him.

Studio Lerche can do absolutely no wrong when it comes to production of even their most insane creative ideas, and I can wholly trust director Masaomi Andou to know what he and his staff team are doing for this show. From absurd expressions to the actual mecha battles, it feels like a polished production (except for the occasional background production issues) that anyone can pick up and enjoy. For the most part, this is fine and I have no issues whatsoever if this project is yet another passion work to do something different for once.

Sound direction is kinda hit-and-miss, but that's also depending if you take this show seriously or not (which I know that most of you would do the latter). It's certainly wacky and full of charm embellished of the Otakudom, and it does that pretty well. Even this trickles down to the OST of Mia REGINA's OP and Aina Suzuki's ED, which I'd like to believe, also holds a prominent foreshadowing of the entire series overall. The OP "Fever Dreamer" evokes all of the vigor of the intensity of Otakudom support and sounds like a banger, while the ED "Reverse-Rebirth" tells the overarching story of MC Hosomichi, whom was someone like them but regressed because of his upbringing. IMO, the OP is so repetitive and feels like an utter reject of song ideas compiled together that makes it unsatisfying to listen to, but the ED is such a stark comparison that only Aina Suzuki's angelic voice really made it for me, I'd say that this was one of the low-key better EDs to come out of the Fall season.

Alas, as much as I want to "turn off my brain" and enjoy this show like any other easy-going person would, it just had ideas and concepts intriguing for a parody of themes done before, that all while managing to pull off decently, the payoff...just doesn't exist. I didn't come into this with any expectation whatsoever, and still found it to be very mid. You're free to disagree though, because Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo is a show that disappeared just as fast as it came, only left to be forgotten as a minor footnote in people's career list.