In a dystopian future where Japan's political organization has crumbled after the Great Tokyo War, Japan is broken up into 10 independent nations, with each nation controlled by a gang led by a "Best," a human-proclaimed prophet with destructive superpowers. Nozomi Moritomo is a "Rest"—a normal girl that has just started out as a rookie in the local gang. She wants to help the Best Masami Utoku, her childhood friend and role model, in the ongoing territorial dispute.
When Masami becomes severely injured and unable to fight, Nozomi decides to go on a mission to complete the requests sent to Masami from all over Japan. Along the way, she meets Yukina Kosaka, a shy girl with no sense of direction; Ai Hibiki, an upbeat girl who loves eating; and Chiaya Misono, a quiet and mysterious girl that wears a gas mask. Together, the four girls travel all over the country on their motorcycles while getting involved in territorial wars, disagreements, and even suspicious conspiracies.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
ZephSilver
Watching Rolling☆Girls is like watching a newb play a video game. You helplessly look on as they mash buttons and hope something substantial will come from it. You grit your teeth as they ignore all the opportunity to advance or even score a few points. But as much as you'd like to take the controls and show them how it's done, you're simply delegated to being an onlooker, as you watch them run around aimlessly with no sense of thought or direction. With the chance to truly make something worth watching squandered, the show seems to lack any proper direction or purpose. Instead what weget is another moe-blob adventure with cute girls going around engaging in silly shenanigans. They hint at some kind of "bigger than life" plot involving magical stones, which when ascertained gives the holder power, but that never seem to manifest itself as it is simply overshadowed by the blaring attempts at cuteness and dull comedy.
As a "road" anime it fails since we get no real sense of progression or proper world building. Nothing is ever truly explored and the only setting exploration we get is in a form of a cheap info dump in the 1st episode. They simply attach a quick backstory of a territorial war between prefectures in Japan, which we're told resulted in its current state. This later leads to gang disputes where magical stone holders known as "Bests" duke it out to show dominion over other rivals. But it isn't until 9 episodes in the show that anything substantial happens in terms of plot. The show jumps around aimlessly from one location to the another just to allow our moe dango balls to get caught up in some sort of fluffy tension-less conflict, for it to simply be resolved without any sense of accomplishment. They repeat this monotonous cycle without any cause or context. They simply arrive at a new destination, silly shit happens and then they leave for the next location like it never occurred, that's literally it. The show seem to simply exist as an excuse to show "pretty" visuals and silly hijinks. They didn't even attempt to flesh out any of the 1 dimensional cast, which made them fail as even basic archetypes... how do you even fail basic archetypes is beyond me, that's like failing to write your own name.
The only saving grace to speak of is the bubbly up-tempo art and consistent animation. The world of R☆G looks like it was colored within the mind of a hyper active 10 year old, which makes every episode appealing to look at. It was vibrant, eye catching and made the experience more palatable. But that's about it, outside of the art and animation R☆G offers nothing to sink your teeth into. The show is trying to entertain but doesn't seem to have a clue as to what a "plot" is.
Overall: 3/10
It's simply a moe-blob show with pretty visuals. Other than that it's soulless, forgettable and lacks any kind of purpose. This is as "bottom of the barrel" as an anime can get and only seem to exist to simply pander to the viewers with blatant escapism. There's nothing here that warrants 12 episodes. Your time is better spent elsewhere.
For other titles that does the same thing but to a more refined degree I point you towards:
Kill La Kill: Crazy over the top presentation but have a more focused structure and a sense of progression. It feels like it's doing something with its premise and not squandering it for silly moe/cute girls pandering.
No Game No Life: Striking similarities in visuals and also excessive pandering. But unlike R☆G, it has a clear goal and a better grounded plot. It doesn't payout in the end, with a "read the manga" ending, but at least there was a sense of direction to begin with.
FLCL: Similar over the top presentation with a unique artstyle but handled with finesse and is more self-aware. Has a more clear cut objective, great usage of motifs and allegories, but most importantly, it contained a sense of "fun" that R☆G seem to fail at capturing.
skysonglark
The first two episodes of Rolling Girls are an explosion of light and colour, leaving the viewer wondering what sort of show this wacky, crazy and interesting thing is going to be. The answer is: not a whole lot. Rolling Girls never lives up to that original promise. The story decides to focus on entirely different characters than the premier, introduced in about the third episode. It jumps from city to city, introducing characters but never spending enough time with them for the viewer to actually care about them. The Rolling Girls themselves, Nozomi, Yukina, Ai and Chiaya spend most of their time failing to achieve,well, anything.
Now to explain the art rating. Man, this show is pretty, and the duel animation is a thing of beauty. Every background is a watercolour-style painting that gives the show an interesting atmosphere.
Unfortunately the rest of the show is something of a letdown. The writing basically backs itself into a corner, and the show goes out with a lot less of the energy it came in with. The end of the story leaves you going-or at least, it left me going-"Wait, what?" The show had some okay arcs, but on the whole it was something of a flop.
Link_of_Hyrule
**SPOILER FREE REVIEW** Rolling Girls is what happens when you sell out. It’s the embodiment of relinquishing your own vision and creativity to ensure that your product sells rather than ensuring its actual quality. This anime is a great exemplification of the profit-over-quality mindset that has plagued the anime industry with its indistinguishable moe garbage for nearly a decade. Now, I’m not being so hard on this show because it’s the worst offender of lazy moe-blob entertainment, but because it has the structure and budget to be something that’s actually good, yet consciously chooses to be something stupid and generic instead. That, to me, is theultimate offense. You Rolling Girls fans probably want me to elaborate after that seething intro, so let’s jump into this:
Synopsis: In an alternate reality, Japan is split into a multitude of factions, each of which is controlled by one or many moe-blobs. Hijinks ensue.
After watching the first episode or two of Rolling Girls, you might be fooled into thinking that this show has an actual plot, actual characters, and a fleshed out setting. Well, don’t be, because this anime has none of those things. The only imaginable reason that you could enjoy watching this show is for the flashy animation with no rhyme or reason behind it and the copious amounts of moe. It’s the epitome of mindless entertainment. Now, that’s all fine and dandy if the show was honest about what it is, but it isn’t. Rolling Girls tries to convince you that it develops a coherent story and legitimate, multi-dimensional characters when it so obviously is not.
The whole idea of Japan being split into factions seems like a cool and imaginative idea, until you realize they are merely using it as an excuse to change the show’s setting and supporting characters every episode or two. Following a largely episodic style, characters come and go before you’ve even committed their names to memory, much less their personality or motivations. Every single subplot is incredibly shallow and pointless, and ends in the same place that it began. To reiterate, NOTHING of significance happens in this show; there is no coherent plot, no matter how hard it tries to convince you that there is. The only reason to watch it is for comedic, moe hijinks, which you can get in so many other shows without the deception.
The characters, as you might expect from a moe-blob show, are completely one-dimensional, boring, and indistinguishable. They all have the exact same sense of humor (which, again, is moe) and even the exact same face. They are completely uninteresting, unoriginal, and zero-effort. However, yet again, the show will try to trick you into thinking they are more than that. The first two episodes strongly indicate the backstories, motivations, and personalities of the girls will actually come into play at some point. Needless to say, they don’t; this is a plotless comedy show and nothing more.
The one and only thing that Rolling Girls deserves praise for is its bright, colorful animation. When they actually decide to animate something of note, this show is absolutely beautiful. Fantastic (though seldom utilized) choreography combines with vibrant colors to really pop off the screen and make you want to never look away. This is really the only reason to watch the anime, as it goes quite well with the whole theme of mindless entertainment that the show has. The soundtrack is pretty unremarkable, as the opening is a pandering idol-girl sequence and the OST is bland. The voiceacting is your standard series of moe quirks and not memorable either.
In short, is Rolling Girls a bad show? Not necessarily, but it certainly is an uninspired one. It can be actually funny at times and the colors are pretty, but when it comes down to it, there is no reason to recommend this show over any other moe-blob comedy; especially when many other shows do the comedy part far better and don’t pretend to have depth to their plot and characters when they actually don’t. I do not recommend Rolling Girls, though I can see how people would enjoy watching it.
karlstein12
Rolling Girls came into the scene with plenty of promise. Following in the path of the widely known Kill la Kill, Rolling Girls, with a variety of vivid and artistic colors had a fair amount of potential to become the next big thing. But does it live to the expectations? Not quite. Set in a period where all the territories and districts inside Tokyo are divided and ruled by various people, the first glance you'd get from Rolling Girls is a positive one. If you just started this anime you're in for a good ride for the first couple of episodes as Maccha Green, the"Best" for the Tokorozawa district is up against Kuniko Shigyo who's the "Best" for Higashi Murayama. The fight scenes at the start is extremely cool and stylish with great aesthetics and a wonderful art style. However, it only lasts for a couple of episodes as after that the show clearly loses its charm. After the fight, both Maccha green and Kuniko get injured and are unable to defend their own territories and thus Nozomi, a "Rest" and a substitute for Maccha Green's squad, sets on a journey to various districts and places in place for Maccha Green and search for the heart-shaped jewel, which is believed to give power to the one who wears it and thus helping them to get stronger and be a "Best".
The greatest asset for Rolling Girls is its art, without a doubt. Following the trait of that of Kill la Kill, Rolling Girls uses an extremely unique, elegant and an exaggerative art style. The way the characters are depicted is truly beautiful and the backgrounds which match that of an oil paint art, is pleasing to the eyes. As the show progresses further, Rolling Girls gets very boring and tends to be repetitive with our girls going from place to place. And as a result the plot seems to be all over the place but the one thing that kept me hooked into it was certainly its aesthetic visuals.
I really hoped to see more of Maccha Green and the next fights she would encounter but that was quickly thrown away into the water as the show focused a lot more on Nozomi and her friends that she makes in the way as they travel from place to place. The development for each of the character isn't progressive too as they vie for the stones that would make them stronger but instead mostly end up causing a mishap.
Perhaps another redeeming factor for Rolling Girls is the soundtrack. The opening theme is catchy and gets inside your head quickly and also with wonderful visuals. There are several tracks inserted into each of the episodes and it perfectly suits the scenario. The art plus the soundtrack of this was a good enough reason for me to keep watching Rolling Girls.
Rolling Girls tries to be adventurous and wacky but eventually fails as the show progresses. It had all the things you need to turn it into a good anime, but not a good plot. I really tried to enjoy this show for what it had but alas if the core of the anime itself is bad then there's no way I could. This doesn't mean Rolling Girls is a horrible show, you may easily come to like just by its superb art style and visuals. I could only wish for a second season but it ends on a note where it's pretty satisfying and shuts itself down so there's little chance for it...
misacchin
SPOILER-FREE (I try :p) Just a disclaimer, I can see what the other reviews refer to, lack of story and sucky plot, etc. However I feel like the most important part of Rolling Girls was the character development, which I have not seen covered in the reviews I have read. This series might not be for everyone; those who like a plot intensive series will not find it here (there is a plot but each episode more or less has episodic plots (a plot may extend to 2-3 episodes along with the main plot that is barely there except for the last 3 ep.). Many maycompare it to Kill-la-Kill (i did until i got 3 ep. into the series) however those who like klk may not even like Rolling Girls (but i digress)
Back to the main point, I feel like this series should be judged mostly on what it claims to be.
ACTION: Looking at the genres, yes it is slightly action however action fans may be slightly disappointed at the lack of fights throughout the mid-part of the series so I would down mark that, say..5/10. The fights that ARE there are actually pretty well drawn and eye-candy. If the series were to have had more fighting scenes, those that like this genre would enjoy this series quite a bit but sadly it is lacking for it to be tagged Action :p
ADVENTURE: "Adventure fiction is a genre of fiction in which an adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, forms the main storyline" According to this definition, Rolling Girls is accurately placed into the Adventure genre. They travel all throughout divided Japan risking their lives as reps for the Best of the heroine's hometown. Can't argue much there. 8/10
SUPER POWER: Now here comes the interesting part. Super powers are shown all throughout the series. The Bests are the ones with the fantastic shiny powers while the Rests are our everyday common folk. This makes up a big part of our plot (which is pretty lacking in a way). These superpowers are shown throughout the series in different ways, through races, fights, etc. but I also feel like it is shown through the heroines. To keep this spoiler free, throughout the adventure the heroines discover more about themselves and find out what their superpower is (not as in the literal superpower, whether or not they have them is up to you, potential watcher, to watch >83) It may not be official but I feel like I should put up my opinion somewhere :pp 10/10 (in all ways possible >83)
SLICE OF LIFE: Despite the fights you may see in ep. 1 and 2, this is DEFINITELY a slice of life. The heroines go on a journey to represent a tiny town and discover more about themselves and their inner strengths as they progress into their little adventure. If you put aside the ridiculous fighting scenes and plot and actually look at the characters themselves, you'll definitely see the Slice of Life in there. Just imagine.
It's getting pretty lengthy however I feel like all those other reviews are scaring off people who'd like this series too ;A;. Yes, the plot is lackluster however the characters are great. They may seem like annoying moe girls (I thought so too) however the ending changed things for me :p. I would've given this series a 7-8/10 however that last bit towards the ending made me look at the series from a different perspective. This may not happen to everyone however I feel like it's important to atleast note that. Hopefully this review was not too lengthy/ doesn't-scare-you away-from-the-series. Many may agree to disagree on this comment however I hope that for those of you who read this that it might change how you see the show. It isn't the best series out there however I feel like it is under-rated (and in no way am I over-rating it, I just want people out there it is worth a try)
Thanks for reading and hopefully this review will leave you thinking (even if it is just a tiny bit like 0.01% or something >.
bedamijo
When I first read the synopsis for Rolling Girls, all I said to myself was "..... What the heck is this?" Not in a "This looks so stupid" kind of way, though. More like "What on earth is the plot supposed to be??" After twelve episodes of adorable mob girls and flowery explosions of wonder I can proudly report... that I still have no idea what I just watched. So ladies and gentlemen, here is my opinion of the anime Rolling Girls. Story: 6 The story of this show is, well... not good. The writer seemed to have a bad habit ofhaving some wonderful idea and throwing it into the story without ever telling us what exactly that wonderful idea was supposed to be. For example, imagine sitting in some class where the teacher keeps using this seemingly important term "parydot." You have no idea what the heck a parydot is, and neither do any of your classmates, but apparently your professor sure does. Of course, he'll never explain it to you for some reason only God knows. That's what watching Rolling Girls is like; you constantly question whether you missed some crucial piece of information or not, even though in reality none of what seems to be integral pieces of the plot are EVER explained.
If you were to ignore this aspect of the show, however, what would be left is some really loud and over-the-top plot that... I honestly didn't hate. Something about the way they blew every action way out of proportion reminded me of Gurren Lagann. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm not trying to compare the whole show to Gurren Lagann, though I suppose in retrospect they have more similarities than you'd initially think... Hmph, maybe I am comparing it to Gurren.....
Art: 7
The art of this show is certainly unique. All of the backgrounds look like watercolor paintings, which give the show a fresh and interesting look. The palette used is full of bright pastel colors that look like liquefied Starbursts. And even though I had never seen art quite like this in an anime before, it wasn't distracting at all, which I was pleasantly surprised about. If I had to describe it all in a concise manner, I'd have to say it was just plain fun.
The animation, on the other hand, was just meh. It was pretty standard, with a few awkward shots and movements every episode or so. Not good, but not bad either. This was mostly obvious in the slower-paced scenes of the show, when there wasn't too much action going on. And even when action was going on, it was a bit of a toss-up whether you'd get a smoothly animated fight or not. I'd say the animators would get the action right about 70% of the time. But lemme tell you, when they got it right, they got it RIGHT. Those over-the-top scenes I mentioned before really stood out in my mind, and I mean that in a good way.
Sound: 8
This was my favorite aspect of the show. While the opening and ending were nothing special, just standard-old J-Pop, the OST was just great. It really set the mood in the most important scenes, and before long I would catch myself bouncing on the edge of my seat, grinning like an idiot. I'm one of those people who don't really notice the OSTs of shows, I get too caught up in the visuals, but this case was different. The music of the show grabbed my attention and, most importantly, complemented the story. And don't even get me started on that song at the end of episode 8. :-3
As for the voices of the characters, in this regard I was also pleasantly surprised. Rolling Girls consists of a bunch of different one-to-two episode arcs, so naturally our quad of MCs meets a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of different characters. When this happens you usually run into the problem of many of the characters starting to sound the same to you. Rolling Girls managed to avoid this problem, however. Each character had a unique sound to them that made them easily recognizable. Even more impressive, I didn't hate or find ANY of their voices annoying in the slightest. Bravo, Rolling Girls, bravo.
Characters: 7
As has been already stated, there are a lot of characters in this show, most of which you will only see for one or two episodes. And all of them were fairly likable, I'd say. Some were cooler than others, but none of them were especially terrible. Some I wanted to slap across the face a couple of times, sure, but none I wanted to kill out of pure hatred. They each are unique with their own aspirations and motivations, and none of them are "recycled" throughout the show.
While all of this is just fine and dandy, they're just side characters in the end. And our main characters, our "Rolling Girls," unfortunately did not impress me as much as them. They're personalities have nothing wrong with them, and they're not all that bland either. They... just..... don't go anywhere. In a show like this you'd expect our travelers to be the ones to grow the most, but that just doesn't happen. Our main characters hardly do anything, the plot is focused on and furthered by the struggles of the side characters. They're barely developed except for one (kinda...), and at the end we're thrown some random connection between the four that totally just came out of left field. It was quite saddening.
Enjoyment: 6
There was something weird about Rolling Girls that just made it hard to watch. I would sit and stare at the video on my computer screen, but I found it soooo difficult to press "play." Once I started, everything went fine, but just that initial click was a real challenge. This has happened to me for a couple of anime, and I just can't explain it. And even though there were many scenes that I greatly enjoyed while watching the show, I can't say that I've ever experienced an episode that just flew by with Rolling Girls. While I wanted to have one of those "five-minute episode" experiences, I felt like the episodes were twice the normal length instead.
Overall: 7
All in all, this show had its high and low points. It's artistically different and refreshing, but lacking in content. In my humble opinion, it was just "okay." I'd suggest it to anyone who's got time on their hands and just wants to watch something simple and ridiculous.
(A note on my ranking scale: My average anime score is 7. This is because I rate on quality and enjoyment, not in comparison to other works. A 5 would be something I was completely indifferent to, and since I somewhat enjoy most shows I watch, my average is 7)
BanjoTheBear
(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) Growing up, kids always have dreams of what they want to become. A fire fighter, a police man, an astronaut; we all aspire to be something more. For me, it was a professional hockey goalie. In my mind, they’re the last line of defense who get all of the flak when a goal is let in but also all of the glory when that huge save is made. And while that dream of mine never came true, even as an adult, I still maintain that underlying principle: to be someone greater than who I am rightnow. For while you or I may be content with our current selves, as they say, “there is always room for improvement.” Rolling☆Girls uses this idea as its base, but the pretty visuals and varying soundtrack cannot make up for the plentiful errors elsewhere.
STORY
Rolling Girls stars Nozomi Moritomo, an avid fan of the legendary “Maccha Green.” When Maccha Green is injured during a duel, Nozomi, along with her newfound buddies Ai Hibiki, Yukina Kosaka, and Chiaya Misono, traverses the countryside to complete the contracts her idol had yet to get to. All the while having the adventure of a lifetime.
The best way to view this show is on a micro and macro scale. That is, there are the individual, slice-of-life instances and the overarching narrative that ties it all together. Essentially, starting in the small camp, the girls move from location to location participating in hijinks while providing some interesting backstory to the world presented. Interesting is kind of the wrong word though; rather, it’s wacky. Not so much random as it is “culturally diverse.” In short, each area maintains its own, distinct motif. From the anime-obsessed city to the village that thrives on motorbikes and fish statues, there’s never a dull moment when it comes to the sights to be seen. However, this already introduces an unsightly problem: disjointedness. The only commonality that really exists between these separate instances are the girls. There is no correlation from one set of events to the next, meaning when one problem is solved or taken care of it is subsequently dropped and forgotten. This missing sense of connectedness always made the show feel as if what it did was never worthwhile, because nothing ever came of it.
One way to fix such an issue is for the macro level to incorporate some form of togetherness. Here, Chiaya’s alien subplot is brought forth. But once again, the problem lies in how meaningful it all comes off as being. Initially, Chiaya’s background was shrouded in mystery, which later gave way to peculiarity. People were looking for her, sure, but her status or predicament never directly affected the micro instances, with the exception of the concluding one. At this point, the anime goes through an exposition dump, releasing all of the necessary details to make the previously rocky plot have some form of substance. But it’s “too little, too late.” Since the compact happenings never seemed to make the girls grow and the larger happenings never managed to maintain a sense of purpose besides at the ending, it all comes off as having a lost sense of direction. It’s like the girls were simple tourists, enjoying the various landmarks “just because,” without ever having a fulfilling experience despite everything they witnessed and went through.
The anime does have a thematic presence, even if it is small, and it’s the one talked about in the introduction. The show places people into two groups: the “Bests” and the “Rests.” The former are those that wield inhuman power, supposedly due to the “moonlight stones” they found; the latter is everyone who isn’t a Best. Naturally, the girls are all Rests themselves, which is what makes their subcontracting strange. Basically, since they have no powers of their own with which to use to solve the problems at hand, they go by normal, conventional methods instead. What’s interesting, though, is that it’s these very same Bests that have all of the issues; that is, despite their newfound status and capabilities, they still have problems of their own. So what we see is that the stones don’t make the person: it’s the person’s passion that provides them with the wherewithal to do the impossible. In other words, everyone, deep down, is a Best; he or she simply needs to unlock his or her own potential to become one. This message – that with enough tenacity, dedication, and determination, anything is possible – is promising, because it’s something we all understand. Unfortunately, the show forces this idea rather hastily at the end, with little in the way of exploration of it besides an example and a few lines from a narrator. Meaning, while the theme on its own is strong, the show’s inability to properly work with said theme prevents it from becoming lasting or meaningful.
ANIMATION
The strongest aspect of Rolling Girls is the art and animation that accompanies it.
Once again, strong might be the wrong word; it’s often captivating in what it creates. The most obvious detail is the coloring, with the vibrancy and vividness apparent at all times. There are more colors used for everything within the anime than there are stars in the night sky, making each place pop and crackle with shades and tones that seem almost unreal. But to make it have that much more of an impact, the backgrounds are water-colored, giving each environment a rough yet serene look about it. Each place is beautifully handled, and due to the sheer amount of diversity encountered, the show is given ample opportunities to craft whatever it sees fit for the moment.
The character designs follow suit. As with nearly all things Rolling Girls, due to the characters being a part of their own settings, everyone manages to have their own signature look. Nozomi has her motorcycle gear, Ai sports her half bikini, half leather jacket outfit, and Yukkipe wears her all-blue fashion with matching trucker hat. And even the side characters – from the young geisha, to the bar-owning butler, and even to the one teenager with the crocodile mask – each have their own designs that bring about their own flair.
Actual animation is also above average for nearly the entire show. There’s a lot that goes on – circuit races, concerts with fireworks, and aerial warfare with giant robots, to name a few examples. But the most stellar scenarios to see are the Bests doing, well, “what they do best.” They literally explode with colors, flowers, and energy that clearly demonstrate not just their powers but also the great attention to detail each punch, jump, or sword swing held.
CHARACTERS
When it comes to Rolling Girls, a large portion of the cast cannot stand on their own. Main member Nozomi is arguably one of the most underwhelming characters in a starring role, doing next to nothing throughout the entire series. Yukkipe is similar, with her only trait being her bad-yet-not-bad drawings and horrible sense of direction that gets overused joke-wise. The side characters also land into the same bad habits; they’re given minor, relevant background information to make their cases garner some sense of importance. But as has already been discussed, these same characters are around for an episode or two, making such developments in their persons seem weak or inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Now, one argument for why the sides get more focus, and therefore more development, when compared to their main counterparts could be for the simple reason that they are Bests while the girls are “lame” Rests. Yet, this goes against the established theme; if we’re all capable of being something better, why not place attention on those who can become so? It’s almost counterintuitive, since even when we know this to be the message, we never truly see it come to fruition through the characters and their actions.
Regardless and moving along, Chiaya doesn’t fare much better. Having been cooped up in her home to keep her out of harm’s way, she never had the chance to experience school, parties, and most of all, friends. So, this journey of theirs did just that. The girls have their own highs and lows between each other, but eventually, Chiaya and the rest become the best of friends, giving her the one wish she sought her entire life. Her characterization is nothing more than a cute little girl who randomly transforms into her true, alien form from time to time. And sadly, even the outcome reached doesn’t feel like it was achieved. The anime (understandably) spends a lot of its time on the constant stream of new side characters and when it does shift its focus to the group, they never come off as a tight-knit band of buddies, mostly because they hardly do anything – not just for each other but together.
The only character worth mentioning is Ai, but this isn’t saying too much. Her whole reason for joining the gang from the beginning was to simply become a “Best.” That’s it. But out of everyone involved, she seems to have the only personality that differentiates her from the others. Not only does she come off as somewhat selfish but also she never gives in to the tribulations set before her. She tries and fails on numerous occasions, but her hard works pays off, allowing her to “level up,” giving the characters and the audience the insight about the theme of dedication. She more or less grows as a person, both in her behavior and in strength. It’s minimal, though; to reiterate for the umpteenth time, such monumental changes happen right near the finale in one fell swoop rather than being nurtured over the course of the anime. Thus, instead of Ai’s character being impactful, she ends up being only slightly less useless than all of the other cast members.
SOUND
If this anime is remembered for anything sometime in the future, it most certainly will be for its opening theme. It’s a fantastic piece that perfectly captures the fun that is had, the rocking music that it jams to, and the ideas at play. Its extremely catchy beat and simple lyrics really do make you want to “go for it.” As expected, the ending theme is a big step down. It utilizes the same rock-n-roll instrumental vibe, but doesn’t have the same adrenaline-pumping feeling. The tameness and slowness makes it a piece that contrasts in a bad way with the OP, and in turn the goings-on of the anime itself.
The original soundtrack is filled to the brim with a large amount of tracks that keep the style of the anime in mind. Tracks such as “Macchagurin Basasu Shikkou” have a mixed style of piano and hard guitar to highlight the uniqueness of the world, whereas “Mame Sen Dai” demonstrates the cultural influence many of the locations steep themselves in. Even something like “Onore…” keeps with the rocker sounds while still acting as a foreboding mood piece. And beyond this, each area has its own lyrical track that usually plays at the climax of each of the smaller plot lines. This not only further makes each setting its own, distinct environment but also boosts the OST’s overall strength. Since Rolling Girls so heavily leans on the idea of togetherness, including such band-like performances only makes sense in this context.
The voice acting for the show is somewhere around average. Special shout-outs are deserved for Ari Ozawa as Nozomi for her not-too-girly voice and Risa Taneda as Ai for her tomboyish manner of speaking.
ENJOYMENT
When I first saw this one, and even when it first started airing, I was pretty convinced that it was going to be something good. Not “greatest I’ve ever seen” material, but at least something that could be remembered when it finally wrapped up whatever it had set out to do. All of the pieces were there to work with – an interesting world, some fun characters, and cool visuals and music to boot. But like a Lamborghini without gasoline, it looked pretty but didn’t go anywhere.
The longer it went on, the more it all started to blend together. It reached a point of repetition, with the same relationship-mending occurring at each stop along the way. And those “fun” characters started to lose their sparkle once it became noticeable that they didn’t do much of anything. It all became rather boring since Nozomi, Chiaya, and the others were such paltry characters. I couldn’t come to care for them, let alone find myself investing emotion into the anime’s progression. The laughs dwindled. The only real drama surfaced too late. And the actual ending was less than ideal. It was a heaping pile of potential that was squandered by the show’s own devices.
Rolling☆Girls could “talk the talk,” and while it did manage to “walk the walk” for a brief period, it slowly came to a crawl and eventually a full stop. The art and animation is top-notch, and the sound-work is handled nicely, but it doesn’t make up for the lackluster story and especially the incredibly weak cast that it contains. Or in the anime’s terms, it’s not one of the Best; it’s just like the Rest.
SUMMARY
Story: Bad, micro and macro instances don’t work on their own or in unison, with the theme of “Bests” being strong but improperly explored
Animation: Great, vibrant and water-colored art, nice character designs, above average actual animation
Characters: Terrible, nearly everyone is useless besides Ai, and even then, there isn’t enough there to warrant marked purpose
Sound: Good, fantastic OP, fine ED, very nice soundtrack, average VA work
Enjoyment: Bad, initially interesting but eventually follows repetition and boredom
Final Score: 4/10
Lancehot
TL:DR; An at times visually stunning & entertaining road trip through a bombastic future Japan, The Rolling Girls should be everything fans of Fooly Cooly, Michiko & Hatchin, Little Witch Acadamia & other such shows would want from a series. Sadly, despite all its promise, Rolling Girls ultimately is a show that I spent too much time wanting to enjoy rather than actually enjoying, let down by unfocused storytelling, sloppy character development, occasionally poor art direction & a general sense that this is an experimental 60-120 minute OVA that for some reason got made into a 12 episode series instead. Wit Studio have garnered quite thereputation for an animation studio that has been active for only three years (not withstanding that it is a subsidiary of animation powerhouse Production I.G.). With only Hoozuki no Reitsu, film Hal & of course Attack on Titan to their name, I was certainly interested to see what the first original animation from a studio that has certainly shown itself to have a flair for animation would come out with.
On first appearance Rolling Girls seemed like everything I could have wanted & more. A visual feast for the eyes, the first two episodes were an almost constant colourful, explosive set of action sequences fought between the two rival Bests of Saitama state, Masami Utoku & Kuniko Shigyou. It's frantic. It's exciting. The Bests & the Rests motif for how Japanese society post the Great Tokyo War operates is compelling, as is the apparent friends turned rivals relationship between the two Bests. I wanted to know more. More about this mad world & the colourful chaos it has descended into. What would come of the fight between & would Nozomi, Masami's sister from another mother, so to speak, find a place for herself as a Rest in a world where only the Best seemed worthy of note?
However, two episodes in both Masami & Kuniko end up hospitalised & the shows direction changes to that of a bike riding road trip of self-discovery for Nozomi & three other girls: boisterous Ai who wants to be a Best herself; clumsy Yukina who lacks any sense of direction but wants to be an artist; & the strange moeblob Chiaya who wants to collect the heartstones that all Bests wear & also somehow knows the other girls despite their apparently having never met. Not that this should necessarily have been a bad thing. Their journey, undertaken ostensibly so Nosomi can fill Masami's role as a peacebroker in various disputes around Japan, should & to an extent does serve as a way for us to go on a Gulliver's Travels type journey through various places which serve as allegories for different elements of Japanese culture & society, while our quartet of bike riding heroines learn more about themselves, each other & hopefully find whatever is really at the heart of the wanderlust that set them on their journey.
The places the girls visit on their journey are certainly a varied & interesting bunch. Their first stop is the state of Always Comina, where post war society has become one of constant conventions & cosplay, watched over by a cosplaying Best named Thunderoad. The story in each place tends to be about two groups, each represented by a Best, who are in some form of conflict with each other. The Rolling Girls roll in (pun fun) & in some way help the main character of each story arc to resolve whatever problem they're having in return for payment in the form of their heartstone, though as often as not said stone never manages to find it's way into their hands.
While the stories themselves during this part of Rolling Girls are pretty simplistic - a conflict between friends say, or in Thunderroad's case her learning that sometimes getting something you want is not worth the price you have to pay to get it - they none the less for the most part are told well enough & perhaps most importantly facilitate the visual extravaganzas that make Rolling Girls unique among the other shows airing in Winter 2015. However it does often rely on a convenient convergence of events to bring everything to an end, which can feel rushed & somewhat anticlimactic even with all the fireworks going on around it.
Unfortunately, The Rolling Girls fails in one crucial respect: it fails to make you care about the main characters. A good road trip is not really about the places people go but what they learn from going there. A movie like The Motorcycle Diaries isn't interesting because we see some places & events happening in South America. It's interesting because we see how the mind of the man who would become Che Guevara was shaped by those things. The Rolling Girls fails to achieve this. Yes, each girl in the group has their own thing that's the reason for their embarking on this journey, but it rarely if ever has any connection to the story being told at each stop. Indeed, it's really only in the in-between episodes where the girls spend any real time thinking about their goal & acting as the friends they're supposed to be becoming, all their focus otherwise being spent on what really should be of secondary importance to their story.
The best example of why this is a problem is in the character of Yukina. Her "quirk," as it were, is that she has a terrible sense of direction & often gets lost. This really is just meant as a funny joke & perhaps reflecting her own feeling of her life not having any real sense of direction. The problem is, each time she gets separated from the group I'm left wondering if it would make any real difference if she didn't find her way back? That shouldn't be how the viewer is left feeling about a nominally important group member in a series like this, & in truth the same can be said of all the characters. This is supposed to be their journey of self-discovery, but instead The Rolling Girls just uses that journey as a lazy way to string otherwise unconnected events together. The result is a set of minor characters whose stories are too short to get involved in, & a quartet of main characters whose story is too undeveloped for anyone to care about.
It's such a shame, too, because The Rolling Girls really does have some good things going for it. I enjoyed the weird worlds the girls visit & really do wish more effort had been made to connect each one with the journey of personal discovery the girls are on. I liked how the heartstones they're trying to collect are ultimately only a symbolic object to show that it's really strength of character & resolve that marks a Best from the Rest. I really wanted to like Nozomi, Chi, Ai & Yukina, who were different enough both in character & motivation that it should have been so easy to make their story of four girls searching for answers & finding friendship so much more compelling than it ends up being.
Things only get worse towards the end, when The Rolling Girls changes gears again to try & form a final story arc that brings together all the different subplots going on through the series into one big finale. Sadly, it's a complete mess; with three supposedly connected storylines involving, among other things: yakuza, pirates, mechs, spaceships, a kung-fu emu & an out of nowhere story about aliens. The whole thing climaxes in a giant, visually confusing battle that makes absolutely no sense to anyone involved in it. It really almost feels like a case of director Otomi Deai saying screw it, it's an ending kind of like Fooly Cooly's & that's enough. It isn't enough.
The visuals on which The Rolling Girls so heavily relies are a more mixed bunch than I'd hoped as well. When it works, it's stunning, with fast, fluid animations coupled with a softer, more varied colour palette than is standard for animation makes for some utterly gorgeous sequences. The already mentioned fights between Masami & Kuniko are a highpoint that comes too early, but there are other scenes, such as the final bike race in Kyoto, which are also well directed visual treats.
The choice of using watercolours for the background art at times further enhances the vibrant colourfulness that runs throughout the series. The character design has a decent variety to it & the use of thinner borderlines & softer, pastel colours for them helps to avoid that problem animation sometimes has where characters seem to pop out of the background as though they're standing in front of a screen.
However, for every good thing about Rolling Girls art & animation, there's something bad. When they work, the action scenes are fantastic. But just as often they can feel overwhelmingly chaotic & hard to follow, the anime equivalent of a Michael Bay Transformers fight. The climactic final action scene I've already mentioned is a case in point, a cacophany of explosions, fights & flying objects (including one rocket impact cut that is reused two or three times in five minutes) that lacks any sense of focus or disciplined art direction. Stuff just happens & keeps happening, apparently for the sake of it.
Those backgrounds too, are a mixed blessing. At times, particularly indoors, they can become so busy, in the sense that they're trying to paint a lot of small, different coloured objects, that they seem almost muddy in appearance. The art direction, again, falls short in a lot of scenes where there are characters not doing anything. Often as not, they will be staring with a gormless expression directly at the audience, rather than whatever action is happening in the shot. It happens often enough to become distractingly noticeable, not least because it's something that would surely be so simple to correct. Equally, while the simpler nature of the character design makes for more fluid action when animated, when static it can often look, for lack of a better way of phrasing it, almost cheap; as though they didn't have the time or budget to draw in enough detail.
Finally, the music of The Rolling Girls feels like it's trying a both to stand out as one of those OSTs that make the series while at the same time being restricted to music the voice actresses can sing to. For all the rock & roll mentality that permeates the series, this isn't a soundtrack like The Pillows composed especially for Fooly Cooly or Michiko & Hatchin's eargasmic journey through Brazillian jazz, samba, hip hop & rock. Instead, while some of the tracks are enjoyable to listen to they all feel either forgettable or meant more as songs otaku idols can sing along to rather than something meant to really capture that feeling of rock & roll. It's not bad, by any means, but neither does it feel like the soundtrack that The Rolling Girls needed to match the visual style of the show.
It can feel bad to watch a show with all the promise of The Rolling Girls & be forced to conclude that not only does it fail to live up to the hype but doesn't even manage to be good. It had real promise to be one of those shows that really stood out as something memorable, that even those who might not necessarily enjoy it none the less recognize as something that doesn't come along very often. To The Rolling Girls credit, it certainly feels like it's trying, at least at first, to be just that. But knowing that just makes it all the more disappointing, almost heartbreaking, to see it fall so flat. I certainly hope this doesn't stop Wit Studio, Otomi Deai or writer Yasuyuki Muto from attempting further projects like it. I so wanted to like The Rolling Girls & it almost did enough that I could look past its failings & say that even with its flaws it was still worth watching. Almost, but not quite.
Py687
STORY [6] --- ART [7] --- SOUND [6] --- CHARACTER [6] --- ENJOYMENT [8] Seeing the varied review scores on this site is unsurprising to me. Rolling☆Girls takes inspiration from everything, doesn't excel at anything, and at the end of the day resolves nothing. So why did I find it so enjoyable and relaxing? Right from the get-go it's easy to see what influenced Rolling☆Girls. FLCL, KLK, Samurai Flamenco, and Kyousougiga are the ones that jump to my mind. -------------------- The story of Rolling☆Girls doesn't stay on the forefront at all times, and is primarily a premise to get the show rolling. Our main girl, Nozomi, is filling inas a substitute "peace mediator" for her injured friend, and travels across post-fictional war Japan. Each arc just focuses on the group of girls tackling a new issue, whether it's a problem they find themselves in or a local problem that needs solving. And it isn't until the last arc that things get personal and the girls find themselves part of a critical issue. In fact, most of the problems are solved only because the girls play support and give a motivational push to other, local characters.
This plays a lot into the background idea of the "Bests" (mosa) and their supporters, the "Rests" (mobs). Nozomi wishes to transcend her lack of abilities as a Rest for her Best friend, yet never are she and her friends major players in solving problems. Their involvement feels artificial and contrived, in line with their role as Rests. The irony is that the show's caption pretty much spells it out from the start. "Rolling, Falling, Scrambling Girls. For others. For themselves. Even if they're destined to be a 'mob'"; yep, the keyword is "destined."
Ultimately you are watching a show about side characters. The characters you never pay attention to in all the popular battle or mystery anime; the characters who get the short end of the stick when it comes to claiming the spotlight or getting recognition.
Characterization? It's there, but it's not entirely apparent until the last arc when each of girls' skills and motivations are questioned. It isn't a driving point of the show, but it is there and it's as plain and inconsequential as you might expect for a show about secondary characters. I'd go into more, but the gist is that each girl grows up a bit and becomes more mature or independent.
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Visually the animation is contemporary, on a simpler level than KLK. In fact, a lot of the explosive action from KLK occurs in Rolling☆Girls during fights between the "Bests," superpowered fighters from each prefecture. Additionally, the character designs are cute and pleasant. Meanwhile, the background world is visually distinctive between prefectures/arcs. The colorfulness and wackiness of characters is oddly reminiscent of Kyousougiga's Kyoto, even if the themes of the shows are nothing alike.
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So let's move onto motifs. The biggest reasons I name FLCL as inspiration are the scooters and bikes, and the ever pervasive past-generation band Stones that the girls bond over. Add in a cover of a late-80s song for an opening and you start to get a picture of the tone of the show.
But I think Samurai Flamenco also provides a thematic base for Rolling☆Girls. Nozomi looks up to these superhero-tier Bests, and despite her remaining as a supporter rather than becoming a superhero like Masayoshi, she does her best to tackle every new challenge that confronts her. Near Rolling☆Girls's conclusion, the sudden and unexpected conflict is a little similar to Samurai Flamenco's jump in craziness midway, albeit on a much smaller scale.
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As I said, Rolling☆Girls doesn't excel at anything. That is to say, it never once takes something to its extreme, and you never feel any sense of urgency or thrill in its story. The fights between Bests are tame, the strife in each arc mild and non-catastrophic. Rolling☆Girls doesn't match the visual chaos of KLK, the world is never as alive or likeable as Kyousougiga's, and--for better or for worse--Samurai Flamenco's escalation of events dwarfs the final fight in Rolling☆Girls. The soundtrack is unfortunately nowhere near the memorability of FLCL's. Even the ending is lighthearted and easygoing, in spite of the fact that a main character was leaving the planet forever.
I could only recommend Rolling☆Girls to fans of cute girls looking cute, in an unfamiliar non-school setting. There is a small bit of action, but Rolling☆Girls is just so middleground that you can't take things seriously, but you can't laugh off everything either. It is lighthearted, easygoing, and well-intentioned. The conclusion won't have you in tears or applauding, but you won't be raging either.
I did have a good time watching the anime, and was less bored with it than this review might have you expect. I can definitely see myself rewatching it one or two years down the line to pass a drought.
Thanks for reading! I wrote a surprisingly large amount of words for my first review but hopefully I got my main point across. If you want to discuss this anything with me hit up my profile.
Hofmann-Hightype
The Rolling Girls, first off, caugh me off guard. I had read the negative reviews, the feedback on different forums, and how more or less a majority hated it. I was hesitant when I picked it up, though I don't regret my decision; what I found instead was a true diamond in the rough with a lot of heart: an awkward, crazy, pretty fast paced narrative that rewards your focus, oddball characters that all have relevance, and a climax that's quite rewarding and fitting for what the series was going for. Yes, it's about squid aliens and superhero fights; of four seemingly useless and incrediblylucky girls to oversee the events throughout the series, and grow themselves. It's quite the childlike tale. But that's exactly what was so charming about it.
I, too, understood the critics. It's not a series meant for anyone. But if you can appreciate the times when you were a kid and everything was extravagantly outlandish, irrealistic, and somehow awesome, then you'll have a good time with it. The world in Rolling Girls is just the way it is, pastel-colored and dreamlike, and that's part of the series' childish surrealism. If you're wanting for something complex and mature to reward your time, go watch Mononoke or something.
Still, if you're merely interested in the series itself, don't hesitate to give it a try. It's worth the watch.
And, of course, this is the perfect show for stoners. The soundtrack makes half the show, its 70s-like song list and how it fits together with the storyline rolling along is eargasmic. The animation is pretty pleasing and relaxing. The storyline has a pretty decent message, and manages to tie itself off pretty well towards the end. The loli knight's arc was the only one that felt like filler. Overall, 420/10.
JamestheReviewer
My abridged review of *The Rolling Girls*, a visually stunning anime that makes absolutely no coherent sense! From the studio that brought us Attack on Titan comes The Rolling Girls, the winter season's Kill la Kill, well, at least until episode three... The Rolling Girls' first two episodes feature over-the-top colorful battles that introduce the viewer to the world's concepts, and the series arguably peaks in these episodes. The rest of the series follows the other girls, and the plot becomes more and more convoluted and confusing as it progresses. As much as I wanted to enjoy The Rolling Girls, the usually two part adventures are, moreoften than not, incomprehensible. At times you can make sense of what is going on with some stories working better than others, but many times I found myself saying: "What the heck is going!?" A simpler approach to each episode arc would have worked best with an easier to follow story. Towards the end, the series tries to bring together an overall plot, and while it works to a degree, it still does not save the series as a whole.
Thankfully, the characters are at least cute and likable, and sprinkled throughout are moments of heart, especially the very end of the series.
Wit Studio's animation is what makes you continue to come back to watch The Rolling Girls. Visually, The Rolling Girls is a splash of crazy colors, and it so visually appealing! From the use of watercolor like art for the backgrounds to the soft character designs, the series is a pleasure to just look at. During the occasional action sequence, the animation shines even more with explosions of color and fluid animation.
Another highlight is the J-Rock soundtrack with the OP being one of the better ones of the winter season, and I watched every episode (watch it in the full post).
With appealing visuals and a potentially fun concept, The Rolling Girls should have been a sure bet to at least serve mindless entertainment. Unfortunately, the completely incoherent style of storytelling makes watching the series a chore at times; however, if you really love the art style, then it might just be worth watching.
_Watch if you like:_ Colorful art
*-6.1/10*
sugarhoney322
My first thought of Rolling Girls was an all out action anime, but I guess I was wrong about that, it certainly did contain actually with like street races, concerts and stuff which includes the best fighting each other. But it wasn't those really exciting action that you would actually want more of those stuff. The story was half confusing, it required me to watch the previous episode before watching the released one to make sure I didn't miss anything important. It felt like as if I missed something since the episodes don't even relate somehow. It was confusing but the overall concept of trying tomake peace and encourage friendship was successful, you will still get some feels of the characters.
The art was pretty nice in the first thought, it was drawn like a cartoon style to make it look rather flashy and cute. Lots of bling bling during the actions.
For character development was good, you get to know the characters in the positive side but not a lot in the negative side. But you can see the bond between the main characters start to grow better and better.
Canaan
Second review - Rolling Girls, where to even begin, when i started watching this anime I was more like 'what even am I watching?' however as i carried on watching the anime I started to really enjoy it. It's about a load of girls going on a trip and yada yada, read the disc. but you get the general idea. It was crazy and weird, but the more you watched it the more enjoy I got out of it. They put in jokes and funny scenes, an anime can't be all serious or you'll get bored. Even the characters themselves were made funny, they hadtheir own traits and their own styles. Personally I loved this about the show, it gave it character and allowed you to enjoy watching the individual personalities evolving throughout.
Honestly, if you want an anime that's serious and is all about the plot line then this isn't for you as such, this is a funny anime that actually keeps to the plot but with a spin of amusement on the side. Me being honest, I would love to watch this again as it gave me the laughs and was all about the fun an anime should be.
Canaan ~
_lynxy_
As what the title stated, the 'rolling girls'... we have four girls who are air-headed, an enthusiastic girl on becoming the 'best', a girl who can draw but with funny eye designs and a alien octopus girl. What they do, they're the subs for Macca green and go explore around Japan. Make my review short. Story 6/10 - Story is on flow, just that it's too random. Art 8/10 - So vivid and colorful artwork designs, but some areas are a bit cartoonish, and some animations are a little off but still ill give an 8 for its vivid designs. Sound 7/10 - Just listen Character 7/10 - Youwatch and you will know.
Enjoyment 8/10 - Though random, still manages to make comedic scenes at least, far better than making it boring.
Overall: 7/10
PinguStrategist
I think the problem with most reviews is in that they are all subjective. While in general, shows that primarily have one main genre, it doesn't help shows trying out different mixtures of genres. And this is what Rolling☆Girls tries to do. While it claims to be action and adventure, it is also a slice of life. This is where the problems start. Slice of life is not for everyone, and usually works better with drama/non-action genres. But for those that love slice of life, this is an anime that is able to do combine action and adventure with slice of life. And what iskey about this slice of life is that in being both action and adventure, they can have both flashy scenes and many diverse characters along with the different and interesting stories the "normal" girls get to see as they travel.
This would have had "higher" reviews had the focus been on the overarching plot itself. However, the novelty of this was to see this story from the point of view of the "normal side characters".
It might feel like the side characters stand out more than the main characters, but that is the point. These girls are classified as "normal" girls, and the anime does very well at making that clear. However, despite being normal throughout the anime, you'll find that without the ending would not have been the same.
Think of it as NPC's trying to have an impact on the story.
spartakiss
This is the sort of show that will make the optimists out there think something like "I have no idea what's going on, but I'll suspend my disbelief for a bit and see what happens." What happens is that you wind up with your disbelief suspended so high it's somewhere in the stratosphere and yet your patience goes unrewarded. I'm being harsh. Let's talk about what drew me to this anime. The art is hands down fantastic, with beautiful sprawling surreal settings and pleasing character designs to boot. The first two episodes promise a hilarious and stylized spoof on superheros driven atits heart by the relationship between two sisters. But then the show takes a completely different tack and ultimately tries to stuff way too many plots into twelve episodes, purportedly held together by a road trip that lacks any road trip style nostalgia and stars characters that get zero development. To be fair, there simply is not enough time! There's no time for this show to do what it tried to do, and for that reason it winds up a confusing, convoluted mess with way too many moments of "they just happened to be in the right place at the right time because... reasons... cough".
To be fair, however, I did enjoy this anime once I stopped expecting too much from it. Its power is in its individual scenes, which use its fantastic animation and sound to amp up your emotions to a "Hell yeah!!" frenzy despite your complete disconnect from the characters. There's something to be said for that skill. This show is also very funny, with a referential humor that might go over the heads of people without much intimate knowledge of Japan (read: me), but it still feels fresh and lively and doesn't take itself seriously. The tone and animation are what makes the show.
Is that enough to be successful however? I would regrettably say no. Even if I had fun with the first half of the series, I found myself dragging my feet through the rest because I just had nothing to latch onto, no characters or risks to get me invested on more than a superficial level. In the end, I'm disappointed but not unhappy. The potential was there, it just didn't pull through.
GiancarloLS
Rolling girls is a disappointment. Yes, I know, I couldn’t believe myself either. I mean, how did this happen? Rolling Girls was one of my anticipated anime this 2015. But do read where I will be getting through with this scrutiny because I haven’t scrutinized an anime so bad as this. So let's begin. Over the years, there is a ‘gap’ in the car industry about slotting a kind of vehicle between a proper off-roader and a proper road car. It’s a mystery why people can’t figure out that pickup trucks are the vehicles that had always been filling that gap, but car manufacturers were able tosort out a solution called the ‘urban-SUV’, which soon morphed as ‘compact-SUVs’—and got commonly referred as ‘soft-roaders’ because they can’t go off-roading. Ford has them with some, so is Toyota with its RAV4, Hyundai with the Tucson, and up to the even big brands like Audi and BMW with the Q3 and X3 respectively.
For this metaphor, I’ll give an example. A car that I know and close to getting, but instead don’t wanna: the Ford EcoSport—Ford’s ‘compact SUV’ for South America and Asia market. On paper and commercials, Ford seems to have designed and engineered it to be so impressive that you can water-wade it on a river, towards a waterfall and down past the thick forests before reaching back to the road. Impressive enough, Ford says this is not just a compact SUV, it’s a ‘crossover’. The thing is, being the “compact SUV” or “crossover” means it’s fitted with a compact SUV engine: an incline-4 mill crossed from the Ford Fiesta. Yet, it’s raised 200mm above the ground to give an off-road impression, but with shocks belonging to the Fiesta, on a Fiesta chassis, and that it is front-driven because I see no differential on it, ultimately means it is a Ford Fiesta on stilettos: nothing more but a real soft-roader ‘car’, this.
Hence, that brings me back to Rolling Girls.
It is an anime that tends to be action-y while maintaining cutesy, much like how the Ford EcoSport wanted to become an off-roader while being a cute Fiesta on raised suspensions. And that’s the problem because both of them failed in trying to become two things at once. Both became disappointments.
STORY = 6
The story begins with the main character (MC) who is a ‘rest’, which is the show’s term for a ‘supporting character’. Episode one begins with cotton candy explosives that goes haywire-fantastic, and in a turn of the events, the MC wanted to help her friend who is a ‘best’ and known as “Maccha Green”. With the plot developing positively towards adventure and some events that went as an outcome, she then decided on substituting for her friend. She was joined then with three moe’s: the moe she met before, another moe who she initially met on the enemy’s side, and another moe she was fated to meet and met since way back. Adventurous as sitting on the Ford EcoSport, you’d really think of getting through the forests and hills of excitement, maybe like how Kill La Kill treated you on your seat, all the while being comfortable on the seat listening to J-rock-esque tunes that resembles K-On and being fuwa-fuwa. It seems like an ambitious but highly-anticipating prospect, this all thought out to be.
CHARACTERIZATION = 3
Yet, as the story progresses, the character development faded after it left the road, precisely after Nozomi decided on that substituting. I mean, really. What Rolling Girls really managed to develop were the sweet sparkles and flower-blooming pretty visual effects, but they were all like candy foil-wrappers. It was the candy that matters, not the foil. It's like what the Ford EcoSport’s brochure told you: ‘candy red’, ‘ingot silver’, ‘mars red’ and ‘winning blue’ are some of its colors, all sounded like jelly flavors, yet it was the Fiesta-on-stilettos itself that propels you past the terrain, not the candy-red paint. To give some credit, the first-half of Rolling Girls does revved up excitement. It was something worth the watch, and there really seemed to have some characterization going on.
Past the second-half and you just realized that there doesn’t seem to have any. In fact, character development does not appear to be a part way back when the writer was outlining the story. Or maybe he forgot.
It was like the EcoSport’s way of saying water-wading—but with only the front-wheel-drive on it—those Ford engineers must have thought water-wading the depth of a puddle. After Nozomi’s decision, which is the only decision ever made, they then tried to become helpful; which they did become helpful when they’re not, and not when they need to be. What really happened was all of them four moe’s seemed to be taking the backseat and no one’s driving after. No one changed or developed from being ‘rests’ or supporting-character-ish. Maybe the writer on this thought character development wasn’t necessary because it’s all moe-ish with guitars and tunes that sounded like HTT's compositions. But I’m sorry because that just could not happen. This is not K-On or KinMoza or Koufuku Graffiti. You simply cannot portray ‘moe’ in this adventure-action genre (or what sounds to be like) without the essence of developing the characters to what and how they will be. Because the plot isn’t about music and tea, or Europe and Union Jack, or cooking, then the MCs need to develop because the plot demands them to.
Hence, the end-product is nothing more but a total backseat-driven plot where the four MC’s don’t matter at all. All they did was to drive their motorcycles after deciding they will do something helpful, while the plot drove itself into unveiling after drifting from one episode to the next. In fact, the unveiling of events were so forced that the caged crow swooped the stone, the motorcycle race was decided by rivalry all bound to happen, then the rockers and geishas and villains all came to an abrupt stop, and worse—the stone which serves as the plot element just fell from the sky in quantum numbers and finally--they don't have anything to do with anyone at all. All of these are a mashup of force-majeure in a weird script—or just badly written. This is like the Fiesta rethought to become an EcoSport—but was never further thought as to what harsh punishment the off-roading brings.
ART = 10
What every weak, wishy-washy, hapless attempt of plot and characterization that Rolling Girls rolled, fell, and scrambled and finally destined to be lost elsewhere, the art made—or at least tried to make all amends up. It’s all flowery, glittery and kaleidoscopic that beats the city of blinding lights and Aurora Borealis combined. Though, I can imagine the animators tasked to animate this thing must have realized what a complete waste of time and talent they’ve poured themselves into.
SOUND = 7
J-rock tunes and music compositions for the opening and ending that give you the K-On! feel, yet doesn’t really come as heartbeating and unforgettable.
Seiyuu-wise, Risa Taneda and Rina Hidaka are among the known seiyuus on this, all of which both made a good assurance for what anticipation-turned-disappointment that Rolling Girls turned out to be.
ENJOYMENT = 4
I enjoyed Rolling Girls, really I did—from the high hopes of looking forward to watching it until the second half where I all figured the mess and wrote it up here. It’s another letdown addition to the meager list of recent 2014/2015 CGDCT or slice-of-life anime, or you know, the kind of anime that doesn’t hold the caliber of Fate-series or Psycho Pass or any other epic anime. Metaphorically, the Ford EcoSport sort of feels this way before it was released in 2013. I also had high hopes for this crossover-SUV, only to find out after inspecting it personally that I recognized its faults.
OVERALL = 5
Probably this is the first anime I rated as 5 that I could have wanted to rate higher, yet I honestly can't. If you’ve seen my anime-list, ecchi anime like Infinite Stratos was rated at 6 for me not because I like it better than Rolling Girls, but more so because generally, there are other people who’d appreciate it—especially those who likes ecchi. Rating the Infinite Stratos is like agreeing that a stray dog would like leftovers, when a sausage dog would not. It’s like giving a nod to a stickersized Honda Civic for all its ostentatious mods and upgrades because nevermind if I don’t like the tuner effect, I know other people out there will appreciate it for their tastes.
However, giving Rolling Girls a 5 is a means of saying that watching this really goes like watching Wizard Barristers in KyousouGiga fireworks presentation—or worse, Glasslip. I'm not comparing this to Kill la Kill because it just isn't. It’s like not being able to smile and nod to people who like the Ford EcoSport—because that car or crossover or compact-SUV doesn’t have anything much to offer, so why bought a car that looks off-road but can’t really do the off-roading? Rolling Girls is like that: why bother it with the action-y and moe when it failed miserably on striking the plot and characterization? Maybe if you don’t mind plot and development, being contented with the haphazardness of such anime, and you’re a prospect target for Ford marketing personnel, then Rolling Girls is a go-glitter for you.
Otherwise, you might just rather take note to watch action-y and moe anime as two very different shows instead.
Verdict: another CGDCT anime brimming with lackluster.
sleepwalker
Rolling Girls was an anime that I was looking forward to, but utterly flopped in my eyes. It was filled with such potential to do something great, but in the end it was squandered with a lack of substance. Story: 2 The first two episode of Rolling Girls put down a foundation for the series that was absolutely amazing. These episodes put up a colorful backdrop to an interesting world. It was a story about what it means to be Best, and what it means to be Rest. Even after the Comima Arc, I was loving the series. But as time went on, it was clear thatthere was no real plot to what was happening. Each arc followed the same predictable format, right up until the very end.
And the end was still not very good. When the show begins to wrap up, it starts to oversaturate itself with all of the things we need to know - things that should have been explained throughout the series. All of the 'plot' comes together near the end, but the execution left us feeling just as directionless as Yukina.
Art: 8
Everything in Rolling Girls is beautiful. From the fight scenes, to the watercolor backgrounds. Movement is fluid, colors are bright, locations are creative and fun. The characters are all designed uniquely and interestingly, and all looks fit the personality of the person. Near the end, though, it looked like a few corners were cut, and that animators simply said, "Good enough."
Sound: 8
The music in Rolling Girls was something that set it apart to me. The series uses and covers a multitude of songs by the band, The Blue Hearts. The OP, Hito ni Yasashiku, is catchy and bubbly, while the ED, Tsuki no Bakugekiki, has a tune that seems to wrap things up. The insert songs, are also mostly, if not all, covers of the same band. In any case, the music is phenomenal.
Character: 6
The characters are the (somewhat) saving grace of this anime. Yes, it's another quartet of female leads, almost mimicking the K-On girls. You have the loud, fun, beat 'em up girl, the quiet one, the other quiet-yet-fun-loving one, and then the true main character. All four of them have their own motivation for going on their trip, as well as their own quirks. Their designs are pretty and unique.
Side characters are also well designed and have good motivation. Antagonists, on the other hand, seem to lack true motivation (especially during the Kyoto arc). The oversaturation of pointless antagonists caused most of the villains to be pretty bland.
Enjoyment: 3
Rolling Girls wasn't very exciting. The anime was rushed and then, boring. After around episode 5 or 6, it became more of a chore to watch. While it does have its fun moments, there weren't enough to reel me back in. I never finished an episode and wanted to watch another.
Overall: 5
Rolling Girls did little right, and a lot wrong. The lack of plot made it difficult to follow any encompassing story. Characters, art, and sound were fantastic, but didn't offer enough to save it. The anime tried too hard to be slice of life, after it set up a world that could be explored in a more action-adventure focused anime. They never delved into the possibly lush backstory that was set up in the first episode, merely saying, "This happened and now this is happening." In the end, the small hint of backstory played little role, even at the end of the series.
Rolling Girls is a big 'what if' to me. What if it was a 24 episode series? What if there was more plot? What if they stuck with the action? Sadly, we likely will never know.
Danananana
Personally, I'm really into animation and art, and the style of this show is what got me from the start. If there was one thing that stood out to me for the whole show, it's the musical number in Episode 8. I, personally, enjoy dubbed anime and the song 'Stones' has me utterly hooked. Otherwise, the story was lackluster with no real world-building. It's a great show to watch if you enjoy a fast-paced adventure with a general overarching storyline! Another note is that the four main characters aren't that well developed. We get a character who idolizes a hero that she can never live upto, a character who has no clear backstory, an alien, and a character who wants to become a hero at any cost. With that setup, it could've hit greatness but instead, they ended up with little to no character development on most parts.
Although the ending made me cry, admittedly, It's a show with very little substance when it comes down to it, and it sucks because it really could've been something quite great! Rolling Girls will always be an anime that I watch when I need a pick-me-up, purely for its amazing art and general happy feel.
