| I’m honestly at a loss for words on how to express my displeasure with Tenbatsu Angel Rabbie. I have seen more than my fair share of mahou shoujo anime in the past, but never have I seen such a horrible anime that was meant to be taken seriously. At least I knew that Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose was a joke when I tuned it on (although it was still a horrible piece of animation), but that was not the case here. The summaries of this anime actually led me to believe that it was to be taken seriously.
So where did the anime go wrong? First of all, the characters are simply atrocious. Sure, Lasty Farson (which, for the record, sounds like ‘Lusty’ in the Japanese version) is molded to be a Sailor Moon copy—always late, trips over everything, fails tests, etcetera—but she fails to do even that right! Normally, when your peers and superiors classify you as a klutz and a flunky, you’re just that. So how is it that Lasty suddenly goes from an accident-prone mess to a lean, mean fighting machine? Your guess is as good as mine.
To add to the problems, the rest of the characters might as well be walking shadows, since none of them really have a purpose other than to represent various stereotypes. This anime has it all, including Team Rocket wannabes, the mysterious creepy chick, and the good-looking guy the lead female falls for based solely on his looks. Seriously, guys? At least pretend you’re trying, here.
Another issue is that the viewer is no better informed than the humans Lasty is sent to protect. We know very little about this world, if anything at all, and we’re just as confused and awestruck by the entire fight. It would be great to get some backstory on the great war, or even on what exactly the angels are.Overall, this anime has only a small glimmer of hope to persuade me to say something positive about my experience: the animation and soundtrack. However, the opening song is a nightmare to listen to—Under17 screaming tenbatsu repeatedly is not my idea of a good song—and beyond that, there is nothing in the soundtrack worth remembering. The animation, on the other hand, is actually not bad. The character designs are pretty standard for the magical girl genre, and the animation quality is fairly average, as well. Nothing is particularly stunning, but nothing is particularly bad, either. Just don’t question the mechas, monsters, or creatures (see the images on the right for a creature that begs a million questions; I could write a second review on him alone).
Aside from its mediocre animation, there is absolutely no value in this anime; I can’t even recommend this series to a small, select few. If you are reading this review, do not watch this anime under any circumstances; go watch something that is actually good, like Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. If you have seen this anime already, I am truly sorry for the loss of time and brain cells that results from trying to rationalize this show. |
