I had high expectations coming into this first episode of Shangri La, and thankfully they were pretty much fulfilled. Of course like Gonzo shows of the past, the key will be see if they can keep this up for a full series. But I'm willing to be an optimist on this one.
The episode itself had a great energy to it, especially with the "gelling" of the music and scenery. The music actually grabbed my ears first, almost overshadowing the animation itself. The animation department didn't slouch either, the jungle covered ruins of Tokyo and Kuniko's small town come out vibrantly. Interestingly enough, Range Murata's touch seemed absent for the most part character design wise, especially compared to something like Last Exile.
Still the characters themselves came as interesting and likable, especially in Kuniko. Shes the star of our show, and does a pretty good job at that. Aside from Kuniko, Momoko gets a decent chunk of screen time during this first episode. I know hes supposed to be a drag queen, but it just seemed over the top at times, especially having him run after military men. Still they fit in well together as a makeshift family and Momoko obviously cares for Kuniko.
Some of the minor characters caught my eye as well:
- Lady Ryoko (damn I love her attitude)
- Lady Mikuni (has the dual colored eye thing going on, adorable)
- Karin (sounded semi psychotic)
Each of these characters seemed to have some sort of weird quirk attributed to them. Be it Lady Ryoko's man servants, Lady Mikuni's armada of protection, or Karin with her teddy bear. The obvious main male lead even makes an appearance towards the end in Major Kusanagi. Major Kusanagai is a young, "by the book" military officer that obviously has some connection to the "Metal Age".
On the story front there isn't much to mention, except the word of the day....
Carbon!
That's right kids, can you say Carbon?
Aside from the impromptu environmental lesson, the story is relatively interesting. Hopefully they'll flesh it out some of the side characters a little more as the show moves on.
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