I said it before, but it bears repeating here: my gateway drug into the world of magical girls was Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Well, actually, a combination of MGLN and some other things. Cardcaptor Sakura helped too, but Nanoha was one of the first mahou shoujo I liked. It had a nice mix of action, plot, and huge frickin' lasers. Also, it taught me how terrifyingly awesome a nine-year-old redhead with a magical staff could really be, especially if she wants to get the villain to listen to reason.
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| And I do mean 'terrifying'. |
The story starts off in the world of Flonyard, where kemonomimi run rampant and everybody is named after food for some reason or another. The forces of the kingdom of Galette are cornering the forces of the republic of Biscotti, and in a last-ditch effort to save face, Princess Milhiore of Biscotti gives the order to summon a Hero from another world.
That hero is Shinku Izumi, a kid who was a former Ninja Warrior finalist. In a rare subversion of expectations with shows like these, he isn't summoned by the cat-people side, but the dogs (hence, the title). As it turns out, Shinku is well suited to this 'war', which is equal parts battle and... athletic competition.
...Okay, yeah, the initial presentation of the concept is silly, even I recognize that. They all but drop the second part after a while, though, so it becomes just the battles.
Anyway, Shinku, being who he is, naturally takes to the world like a fish to water. In his first appearance as Biscotti's hero, he blows away the competition and manages to push back, with a little help, most of Galette's forces.
From there, the show proceeds to hit battle after plot point after plot point after battle, moving at a slick pace that I can't help but enjoy. My biggest complaint is that the show feels the need to shoehorn in fanservice, at least once an episode, where it's not necessary. Maybe I missed where the show was clearly marked as an ecchi- it would explain Shinku's ability to charm his way out of half the awkward situations he finds himself in- but really, with an exotic setting like Flonyard, with likable characters such as loli mad scientist Rico and cat prince Gaul, and with the show moving as quickly as it was, it could have benefitted from less nudity and more delicious fight scenes. No girl is exempt from her five minutes of fanservice, either- In one of the later episodes, Rico gets her clothes blown apart in an energy blast as she's making a grand exit from a fortress under siege. It's a pretty sweet moment up till she gets caught by the attack, and while she isn't left entirely indecent (her hair and body positioning cover anything that could be considered as such), it's still a moment that left me shaking my head in disbelief. Thankfully, by the time she arrives to save the day, she seems to have found a fresh change of exactly what she was wearing before. Which makes no sense, but whatever.
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| "He's been like this ever since Rico got hit. Keeps muttering 'I give up' or something like that..." |
Medium: Anime
Episodes: 13
Rating: PG-13
Dub/Subs: Subs
Score: 7/10
Pass/Fail: Pass
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