Active Raid

Summary: >

In the future, technology helps mankind achieve new heights, but likewise becomes useful to criminals. Power suits known as Will Wear are at the forefront of the latest technology, which police division unit 8 specializes in. Asami is newly assigned to unit 8, not only to assist them, but also to evaluate them. They get the job done, but are a very strange bunch.

Thoughts: >

I don't want to give the impression that Active Raid is terrible, although after a few episodes I didn't want to watch any more and was thankful when it was finally over. Clearly this wasn't an anime for me, but why is a tougher thing to pin down.

It's strange how this anime is so very bland, contrary to many elements which should make it exciting. Power suits battles are just there, with nothing out of the ordinary (in the world of anime anyway). The characters are especially dull, although I liked the two guys who are near opposites working together, the kind of formula more often found in buddy cop shows. Otherwise I didn't find any of them even remotely memorable. On a related note, this show has an incredibly lame antagonist. Combining all this results in a futuristic cop show as exciting as writing parking tickets and filing paper work.

A core part of Active Raid is the theme of bureaucracy and red tape hindering nearly everything the police try to do. They aren't allowed to simply apprehend criminals, instead they have to navigate protocols and jurisdictions at every turn. As a reoccurring theme this feels more and more like the chore red-tape burdened jobs actually are. I appreciate trying to leverage an oddball idea of this sort, but honestly; I don't give a damn about getting the bosses approval or if someone handed in their TPS reports on time - that's not why I watch anime. That aside, this anime pads time with unnecessary banter that doesn't go anywhere. With visually good artwork and animation, and a setup which should be cool, the result is a pretty big letdown.

Active Raid falls short in entertainment value. I don't think the concept is necessarily bad, but it feels like a show trying to "tone it down" when the show was substantially "toned down" to begin with. Skip it.

Screen Caps: >