poster for the anime
Saishuu Heiki Kanojo is an anime based off a manga that is both a love story and an apocalyptic fiction. A war of unknown origin, which remains mostly unexplained throughout the course of this anime, has broken out between several countries in the modern world. Japan is being bombed by several foes. Earth has begun to destroy itself. People are starting to lose trust in the world they live in. The only hope left for this world lies in the hands of an insecure high school student, Chise.
The story takes place in a town called Hokkaido, but the entire anime itself is a flashback of the memories between Chise and her boyfriend, Shuji. In the first episode, Shuji and his friends are walking around on a seemingly normal day, when suddenly their town is bombed and attacked, causing chaos and destruction all around them. In the midst of the battle, Shuji runs into Chise, who has suddenly grown enormous metal wings and weapons of all kinds on her back and arms. She then, effortlessly, destroys the planes bombing the city in the blink of an eye. She later explains to Shuji that she has become an ultimate weapon, and is the last hope for saving this world. It is never made apparent why Chise was chosen for this task or how it was done, but there are subtle hints in the anime that suggest the Japanese government was behind her transformation, and chose her because of her ‘compatibility’ with the weapon systems.
The subsequent episodes focus on Shuji’s and Chise’s reactions to her increasingly powerful destructive abilities, the relationship between the two, and Chise’s fight to remain human, as well as stay alive. There are also a number of sub-plots that keep the story moving, in addition to showing the reality of peoples’ lives in the context of war. This is not an anime for the light hearted; there is a large amount of blood and gore, several people die (including some of the more prominent characters that you get attached to), and almost every episode is incredibly sad. There are no filler episodes whatsoever, so every section of the anime is relevant to the main plot or sub-plots of equal importance. There are only 13 episodes, so it’s a good anime to watch if you don’t want to take up half of your life watching it (unlike Bleach or Naruto), or want an anime you can finish watching in one weekend. It is an anime that both men and women will enjoy, and I highly recommend that you watch it!
(NOTE: Stop reading now if you wish to avoid spoilers or intend to watch this anime.)
The end of the anime can be confusing the first time you watch it. I would suggest watching the whole anime twice. The first time you watch it, you will understand the plot and the story, but when you watch it the second time after seeing the end, you will pick up on several hints and suggestions that you didn’t notice the first time, giving you a better understanding of what the hell just happened and why. Essentially, the day comes where Earth has decided that humans have become too destructive on the planet, and is now going to fix things by wiping the human race from existence. As this apocalypse unfolds, Chise does everything in her power to try and save Shuji, and ends up sacrificing her physical body to keep Shuji alive. However, Shuji is the only person left alive in the world, and he is surrounded by destruction. It is left up to your own imagination to decide if Shuji will stay alive, and how he will live out the rest of his life. As for what happens to Chise, I’ll make you watch the anime to find out.
The Good:
- No filler episodes
- Relatively short (13 good, story packed episodes)
- Interesting drawing style
- Good voice actors
- It is not a child’s anime (mature and deep)
- Plot twists that you could never have predicted
- The music is very sad, but very emotional and beautiful
- Excellent story line
- GORE = J
The Bad:
- The ending is frustrating and confusing when you first see it
- Emotionally sensitive people will be in tears for the entire anime >.>
- A character that you love dies halfway through the anime
- You have to watch the anime several times before you understand everything on a deeper level
… We dont have time to do any more blogs but we’ll come back late January with new members (hopefully), new anime, and Anime Boston!!! We’ll see you then until then….
