Active Raid – 03
When you spring a trap on a trap
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Hey guys, I just ate half a dozen macarons and now I’m in sugar heaven. I need to finish writing this before I fall into SUGAR HELL. |
Oh Active Raid, you just get goofier and goofier. It’s funny because last week they opened with a brief changing scene as the first thing we see and now we start with Kazari singing in skimpy clothes. So if you haven’t guessed by now, Active Raid is very serious about being silly. That’s just fine by me. It would have been nice if they took those glimmers of great ideas and brought them to new heights…but I guess I can live with hologram robo-idol concerts mimicking a transgendered idol while a hacking battle is raging on in the background. How can I complain about that?
Never underestimate the power of autotune
That final scene really just brought it all together for me. It took all the ridiculous ideas being throw around during the episode and mixed them into one spectacularly goofy finale. It was an interesting experience, because before all that I was groaning at how stupid everything was. I think I was still in the mindset of an action-packed police drama with a few laughs thrown in, kind of like Tiger & Bunny. It was only until things got so unbelievably campy that my brain officially broke down and I started to enjoy it. That moment was when I crossed over from thinking this was a garbage show and not liking it to still thinking it was a garbage show but actually liking it!
Maybe it’s not fair to just call it dumb without a little explanation, so let’s go through what actually happened here to get to this spectacle, shall we?
(That’s not really a rhetorical question because I’m going to do it whether you say yes or no)
We start off, of course, with some cosplay karaoke. From there, I will admit there is an attempt at giving more depth to Kuroki and Sena. It seems like they don’t really talk much (or at all), but they manage to work together on the battlefield. At least, that’s what Kuroki says, but they look pretty messy when they’re in action too. I don’t think punching each other in the face by accident while trying to take out a bad guy counts as teamwork. Still, the two find some sort of weird harmony of recklessness and rigidity. They also bring up the issue of Sena contemplating leaving Unit 8, but it’s resolved so quickly that it just comes off as a superficial attempt to create drama. I mean, of course he’s gonna stay! He’s the only other hot guy in the show and the series just started!
Then the weird stuff really starts. The computer genius who is hoarding a mute loli in his room has his “sister”(????) come in and suggestively feed him a tomato by mouth….which was just so ridiculous on so many levels that I don’t know where to begin so I’m just gonna, uh, end. Then things get weirder (which I didn’t think was possible) as a fat, naked idol otaku tries to molest an idol while wearing a baby pink camera mech. Holy shit was that creepy. I felt like I needed a shower immediately. He was such a stereotypical otaku, all the way down to resisting his orders to hurt Amu-chan in a last ditch effort to prove his worth. It was predictable and just….sad.
Never underestimate the power of barbie pink hot pants either
But of course, once I realized that this kind of lunacy was par for the course, I started to loosen up and enjoy it more. Yes, it was stupid, but it was the kind of stupid I could enjoy. Kazari starting her mech idol dance was my tipping point. I’m actually glad Active Raid turned out to be a hot mess, because I feel like that’s the kind of show I’m craving to blog right now. Everyone wins. Except Unit 8 who had their reputation completely ruined. But I win so that’s all that matters, right?
Finally, proof that it’s useful to be able to tell seiyuu apart to avoid things like this from happening
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Oh, I’m sure you’re going to pay dearly for such rampant consumption.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I had a bit of a sugar crash but I don’t regret it at all =w=
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Chaotic, destructive, nonsensical yet I still found myself liking it all regardless. Who says a hot mess can’t be fun?
Surely Kazari will take to heart Rin saying the karaoke bit was an act of mercy, encouraging her not to do anything that warrants disciplinary action. What a brutal choice of chastisement.
After the fiasco needed to tame the perp in the pink Willwear, it’s more or less a guarantee to haunt Kazari for some time to come.
The thing is, it’s all about getting a grasp of what a series is doing. Once that’s done, you can either accept, adapt and enjoy it or be dissatisfied at what’s presented and leave it behind. Pretty simple, really.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, Active Raid is that kind of chaotic yet fun show for me. Poor Kazari had to face endless embarrassment that day…
I wasn’t sure I was going to like Active Raid, but loosening up really helped me appreciate it more. I can totally see people dropping it at this point though…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
An inevitability majority wise for my guess, but it can’t be helped. In the end, it’s all about the target audience the show is aiming for.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Autobots are guilty of Robomolestation.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Since when were such laws and crimes established?!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Our benevolent Lord Megatron decrees it so!
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
When you spring a trap on a trap.
I believe Sir Austin Powers summed it up best with this statement, “That’s not a woman – it’s a man, baby!”
The question is whether they’ll cover the mystery behind creepy computer genius and his mute loli for this season, or save it for Season .
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
* save it for Season 2.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I don’t know how this show is able to make me want to drop it instantly one moment, and then the next draw me right back it.
I was ready to dump this thing up until the action part where they have the computer battle between them and Mythos. I’m interested in what Logos and are they just doing this because they’re a group of very rich, very smart guys who are very bored, or if there is more to it.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Getting a whiplash, are we? 😉 This is why the three episode trial exists. And there are those foolish enough to say it should be discarded. Nonsense!
It’s only right to be wary of those types. Idle hands are the devil’s plaything… or something along those lines. I don’t fully know the saying. 😛