There are a large amount of shows this season that are being under watched, ignored, or being genuinely forgotten. I mean, that is the fault of having so many shows at one time. It is impossible to watch over thirty shows every week unless one is being paid for it and even then i must get exhausting. I do that by watching about 10 shows every season. But regardless of that talk, out of all the shows that are ignored Rumble Garanndoll is one of them and I honestly think it is worth a look. It might be one of those underrated gems if it keeps going where its going.
To be opening honest, Rumble Garanndoll is a harem mecha anime. The very concept relies on a lot of different elements of Japanese culture including one former host piloting a robot which uses the otaku-ness of the girl in the back to power it. So there is the harem portion and a robot syncing with its pilot into one very interesting mix. By fighting the True Army, Akibahaki (yes, very subtle) throws out these two in a robot to find all otaku kind. It’s a very fun and very meta sort of premise with a bit of a harem element that somehow works. If anything, it’s rather fascinating.
The plot revolves around Hoshimichi merging his own perspective with the otaku girl in the back and that could be the giant robot lover Rin or Japan’s last idol Yuki to create an ultimate machine that couldn’t be more unstoppable. The first act of Rumble Garandoll was Hoshimichi being true to himself. His phone played a super robot theme that Rin was very into as well, but he kept denying that fact leading to nothing. No spark, no energy or nothing. It was only through embracing his true love of otaku feelings that he was able to succeed at anything.
The second first was just as interesting but in reverse. As the last idol in the business, Hoshimichi suddenly becomes Yuki’s manager and there is some cynical aspects of being an idol that Yuki hasn’t been able to hold onto. So of course, that art concludes when Yuki finally realizes that she loves being an idol and she and Hoshimichi can fight together. As of this point with two battery girls, I don’t know where else this plot is going. I do know that there is some jealousy amongst the girls occuring in the mix right now and that could go somewhere or not, but each girl is treated respectfully by the narrative and there is no usual bad fanservice traps that usually happen in harem shows. There is a third girl on the poster, so I wonder how she will change the dynamic.
Produced by Studio Lerche and under the hands of Masami Andou once again, Rumble Garanndoll is a bit of a low budget but very intriguing and well directed show. I mean, it is a simple show of I think hand drawn mecha in chibi form fighting each other one mech at a time and I think the character stories is what sells it all. As an original anime, it is surprisingly focused and knows what its about. Whether or not it’s an examination of Japan’s otaku culture or just for pure fun, I think the show will be interesting to watch regardless. The circumstances are unique and there is some interesting things at play here and I think it will continue to be like that because that focus allows it to be somewhat safe in its own culture it created for itself. If you have the time, check it out. There is some things in episode 6 which will make it more interesting going forward.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 