| Animation: | Good |
|---|---|
| Depth: | Fair |
| Design: | Good |
| Characters: | Fair |
| Story: | Good |
Type: TV (12 episodes)
Vintage: 2014
Category:
Reviews @ Archen's Anime Page
Invaders of the Rokujyoma
Summary: >
Kotaro finally got his own apartment. Best of all it's cheap, which is important since he doesn't have much to live on. It also turns out the apartment is haunted, the planned staging area for invasion by the Earth People, a fount of power for Magical Girls, and a proving ground for a space princess who must subdue the resident of the room (chosen by chance).
The landlady refuses to allow representatives of each faction to fight over it, so she draws up the Corona Convention; stating they must compete fairly and peacefully to gain control of the room. Kotaro divides the room into equal sections, with one given to each girl and himself. Card games will be used to win (or lose) sections, but how long will the girls put up with this method?
Thoughts: >
Introducing so many characters in the first episode leads to a level of craziness which this anime obviously wouldn't be able to maintain (even if fun). Early on I had the feeling this would turn into THAT kind of harem anime. While bracing myself for the worst, none of the problems plaguing harem anime really happened. This show has oddly strong points considering the outward appearance of fluff. I won't to claim Invaders of the Rokujyoma is amazing, but it certainly avoids many pitfalls expected from an anime featuring a guy living around a bunch of girls.
Kotaro's relationship between each of the girls varies, although they have common interested in the apartment. The romantic sense of the relationships is left ambiguous which I really liked. The girls don't shamelessly throw themselves at him, nor squabble over him. Depending on how cynical you are about this type of anime, you may not find it convincing; but I thought Invaders of Rokujyoma was uncommonly sincere.
Kotaro isn't just the "nice guy" due to some lame contrived situation invented for the girls to madly fall in love with him. Instead Kotaro forms friendships, and alliances which truly show a legit bond between them. The characters themselves offer nothing new and feel a bit tired, but I think at least it got the rest of it right. Some situations I found unexpectedly cute, like Magical Girl Yurika healing her new injured friend with her powers - you know, actually using magical girl powers for something USEFUL? Or the ghost who wants to experience life by possessing Kotaro. This is weirdly done by her hugging him from behind, and often she's found with her arms draped over him - yet this is presented in a way completely non-sexual: very rare for anime these days. This anime is sprinkled with quite a few cute moments I'd find myself saying "awww", something I almost never do for harem anime.
In anime titles, incantations usually amount to magic sounding gibberish, yet Magical Girl Yurika uses RPG inspired phrases. I had to laugh thinking to myself that her spells made sense. No wait, they actually make sense.
Example: Angel Halo Area Affect 4x modifier
Spells can receive modifiers, however the nature of how the modifiers interact changes how effective the spell is, and I'm guessing there's limits on how many can be used at once. For example, a spell may have Area Affect, or Seeking effect, or neither (to free up another modifier slot). I noticed the quick cast used quite often, which makes sense when putting up a shield in a reactive way. This is a weird off topic thing, but I enjoyed following the magic battles this way.
The stories are fair. Not exceptional, but good enough to be worth watching. There's also the bigger plot which may turn out fairly strong, but at this point it's tough to say. Animation and designs are good, although character "extras" have no face, which is kinda creepy. Even though Invaders of the Rokujyoma looks like the same old fluff, it does quite well with the formula because it doesn't half ass everything just to showcase the girls.
Quote: >
Yurika: I don't like this either! This outfit doesn't hide my chest or my butt all the way, but the Magical Land says I have to wear it proudly.
Theia: A sword represents the promise a knight has made. It is the promise that shouldn't yield, not so much the sword itself.
Screen Caps: >
