Initial Impressions: Busou Shinki / 武装神姫

October 20, 2012
Posted by DarrenW

Hey all!

It's me again, and before I bid thou adieu, I will be providing you with 2 initial impressions (Editor: Its actually 3, he forgot about the third one) that I have promised. Today, one of which called "Busou Shinki"! / 武装神姫

So what is Busou Shinki? To those who do not know (like myself), Busou Shinki is generally a subset of figurine culture, except for the fact that they aren't really figurines. What do I mean?

Well, each Shinki has a set of inter-changeable parts, where different battle armourments are able to be attached or swapped. Majority of these Shinkis were created by Konami, and it looks like a pretty decent and good fun to collect I guess.

But of course, that isn't what the anime is about? So what IS the anime about?

Well, for starters, the shinkis I described are REAL in the anime, able to roam around freely and have a concious thinking mind. (Possibly the dream of the collectors). Players who own Shinkis can send their own into battles with other owners, and win awards, etc.. blah blah blah fighting, killing, explosion.

But the owner introduced in the anime (Rihito), doesn't feel the same way. He prefers to let his Shinkis live a normal and carefree life, instead of getting blown up to pieces by battling with other Shinkis.

And here are the three main Shinkis we are introduced to:

Arnval. Rihito's childhood friend. Having owned Arnval since young, he shares fond memories with Arnval and Arnval also feels the same way. Generally the cheerful and smiling type, Arnval also helps around with the household work and carries a sense of responsibility.

Atlene

Cecillia Alcott

Atlene. Basically clumsy in nature, Atlene is mostly very blur and always stumbles over things. She also appears act very cute at times. However, what intrigued my interest was NOT that, but the fact SHE LOOKS LIKE CECILLIA ALCOTT (Editor: Infinite Stratos Character). I mean SERIOUSLY? They look so alike. Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue suit, the face.


And then we have Altines, the third Shinki owned by Rihito, whom many sources say is tsundere but I can't see that. Basically, she was the third Shinki owned by Rihito and she acts pretty much normally.

Then, upon moving back to his childhood home in Japan, Rihito gets a surprise, when he discovers a black chest. Upon opening it, he finds this:

Strarf, which is one of the brand new models of Shinkis currently available, of which recently won the Shinki competition recently.

And then thats where the plot falls apart. Yes, the setting is battling Shinkis, guns and robots, but where's the storyline?

Well, to give you a picture of what's going on in this anime:

1) The Shinkis help Rihito move in using their powers. Household chores. (Ep 1)
2) The Shinkis help Rihito cook a celebratory meal. Cooking. (Ep 2)

Looks like shhhhh------reding of cardboard!!!

Of course, at episode 3, it appears that the plot has finally picked up, but you should see it for yourself.

Personally, I find this anime to be "meh", because of the setting and plot. It's like Infinite Stratos all oer again, except now with smaller characters (literally). The battle scenes look very intense and amazing, but like all mecha animes interest level drops after seeing explosions, noises and blur fighting scenes for 5 whole minutes.

Of course, I like this anime for its other things, like a creative storyline, and no harem (PLEASE no harem). Of course, the outfits are ecchi, so expect lots of that.

It will appeal to people in age-groups between 15 and 17? I guess so, and figurine collectors. Its a good promotional method for the Busou Shinki figure series.

Busou Shinki premiered on Oct 4, and is currently being fansubbed by Commie and Hadena. It will have 12 episodes, and is produced by 8bit. You can also find it on Anime on Demand and The Anime Network (4 Days Late)

The OP and ED. Nah.

Have fun watching battles (or many other stuff)!

DarrenW
Edited by FayeA