PLOT:  Ten years after the Great TokyoWar, each prefecture in Japan has split up into independent nations. Each nation is ruled by a prophet called “Mosa” and an army called “Mob” as they start to compete to take over other countries. Four “Mob” girls from the Saitama clan, Nozomi, Yukina, Ai, and Chiaya, are ordered by their “Mosa” to travel around Japan riding their motorcycles to mediate multiple battles between nations and clans as they emerge. {Taken from ANN}

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Talk about a series with high production values!  I’m impressed by WIT STUDIO’s works:  Shingeki no Kyojin, Hōzuki no Reitetsu, and they will be animating in April Tagami Kagami’s shonen manga Seraph of the End.  Can’t wait to see what they have in store for Noitamina’s mysterious anime Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri as well!  The soundtrack here isn’t widely magnificent like Hiroyuki Sawano’s works or this season’s Yumi Kuma Arashi’s Hashimoto’s musical score but it does capture the balancing themes of the story well.  A whimsical fantasy adventure about gangs rivaling around Japan.

Based on the 2014 manga from Guilty Crown’s author Miyagi Yousuke comes a shonen series about gangs.  The premiere here decided on being extremely flashy and I hope this doesn’t run their budget dry for the remaining episodes.

My concern right now is having Guilty Crown‘s concept writer’s manga into an anime adaptation here, but somewhere the silliness of the gangs, Saitama and Higashi Murakami works out surprisingly well.  Maccha Green feels out of place in the beginning but this actually succeeded in bridging the gap between being really serious to being comedic.  Reminds me a lot of the Flamengers from the Samurai Flamenco arc.  Rolling Girls has traces of the tokusatsu genre amidst being a tried and true shonen series with girls battling each other for the protection of their own territories throughout Japan in wildly flashy costumes.  I am going to enjoy this series just for what it is:  an entertaining ride of wackiness.  Similar to how Kyousogiga had been.

Nozomi Moritomo, a teenage girl and new recruit of Hiyoshi Town Propellers.  A really like how they didn’t use the main lead here as a buffer to wrap the story around her rather than what she appreciates–  the Saitama gang and her neighbor Masami Utoku.  As for Utoku she is secretly Maccha Green and the story here didn’t force it down our throat so dramatically rather they used Higashi Murakami’s representative leader and Mosa prophet Executive Kuniko.

Japanese food culture is always a huge part of comedy anime series and Rolling Girls chooses to focus this popular country’s food, ramen as a ad-hoc link in switching genres.  The ramen contest between the two Mosa prophets initiates a hilarity between the two sides and it was great to see the cook involve himself by giving them a second handful. A playful battle of indulging in a cultural food to defend the honor of segregation between areas of Japan!  Genius!

The transition that progresses this here to more of a wacky drama happens to be Kuniko’s invitation to Maccha Green [Utoku] at the amusement park.  It’s this situation that utilizes a light-hearted setting and evolves it into leaving the Hiiyoshi Town Propellers’ recruits on the roller coaster and blowing up a section of the tracks.  Strong cliffhanger:  Utsuko needs to make it in time to save all of them and that very quick flashback of her and what looks to be a younger Nozomi surrounded by a group of people foreshadows this dark tone quite a bit!

OP:  “Tsuki no Bakugekiki” (月の爆撃機) by The Rolling Girls

No opening animation was featured in this first episode but the song was used as an over layer between Propellers and Murakami gangs.  Fluffy song that gives off the brightness this series focus on:  in terms of animation with the sparkling pink and starry explosions and it’s wacky story.

ED: “1,000 Violins” (1000のバイオリン) by the Rolling Girls

Unique animations that illustrates the whimsical aspects of the series’ battles between the gangs and uses the main cast of girls as the singers of this song that introduces the idol genre.  Generic song for most idol series.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 8/10

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